When the tentacled aliens from Gliese 581g arrive on Earth, they’ll probably be riding a YikeBike.

At least, that’s how the YikeBike looks. In reality, it’s made for the posteriors of humans, not the glistening thoraxes of our future Gliesean overlords. It’s the most compact electric bicycle ever made, its creators claim, and it looks the way it does because they threw out every preconception about the way bikes are supposed to look.

Instead, they stripped the YikeBike down to its essentials: One big wheel to propel you forward and one little rear wheel to stabilize your ride. It’s a design that inventor Grant Ryan, the founder of YikeBike, calls a “mini-farthing.”

We spent some time with Ryan recently, riding his strange two-wheeled contraption around the Wired parking lot. Watch the video above to see it in action. Despite its looks, it’s quite fun to ride.

Full story: Hands-On: Eccentric YikeBike Gives Segway a Run for Its Money | Gadget Lab | Wired.com.