A 70-year-old in Taiyuan invents a two-person water bicycle

　　In wuxia novels, we often come across a martial art technique called "water-skimming lightness skill." The ability to glide effortlessly across water and ride freely has always been a dream of ordinary people. Yesterday, 79-year-old Li Zhengxiu from our city rode his self-invented and self-made "two-person water bicycle" leisurely on the lake in the eastern section of the Forest Park, drawing the attention of many citizens. Some even had the chance to experience the pleasure of "skimming the water."

　　At around 10 a.m. yesterday, on the lake in the eastern section of the Forest Park, there appeared a peculiar "boat." Though it looked like a boat, it didn’t use oars. A senior man and a middle-aged man were seen pedaling side by side on their respective seats, gripping two handlebars each, just like riding a tandem bicycle on land. With each pedal and turn, the "boat" moved forward and changed direction as they pleased, attracting a crowd of onlookers along the shore.

　　After more than 20 minutes of paddling on the lake, the elderly man slowly piloted the "boat" back to the shore. Once on land, he showed no signs of breathlessness or fatigue. It was evident that the seemingly strenuous pedaling for 20 minutes was actually quite easy for him. This elderly man is Li Zhengxiu, a 79-year-old retired heavy machinery engineer and resident of Taiyuan.

　　"This is the water bicycle I developed!" Li Zhengxiu said proudly as he introduced his invention. This "big guy," measuring 3.3 meters in length, 2.1 meters in width, and 1.85 meters in height, has three sealed cylindrical floaters at its base. Between the two sealed floaters is the familiar frame of a bicycle: including a seat, handlebars, and pedals. When a person sits on the seat and pedals, the rotating gears transmit power through a chain to two propellers at the rear of the water bicycle. Each propeller consists of three aluminum blades shaped like spirals. Their rotation functions like "oars," propelling the water bicycle forward.

　　How is the direction controlled? At the rear of the water bicycle is a rudder, which is connected to the turning axis of the handlebars. Therefore, by simply steering the handlebars, you can go in whichever direction you want.

　　"The transmission chain of the bike is from a motorcycle gear, and the white sheet metal on top is scrap material I picked up..." Li said that to save costs, some parts of this water bicycle were made from recycled materials.

　　What if something goes wrong during the ride? Li Zhengxiu said with a smile, "Don't worry, the whole vehicle can support up to 300 jin (approximately 330 lbs), so two strong men can ride it with no problem." He added confidently that the paddle wheels of the water bicycle are made of aluminum, won’t rust, and are angled to provide more power than ordinary paddle wheels.

　　Built it himself and secured a patent

　　Speaking of the reason for developing the water bicycle, Li Zhengxiu told reporters that in the summer of 2010, while vacationing in Hainan with his wife, he saw people renting water bicycles by the seaside. "Two large cloth tubes inflated like drums, with a seat and pedals installed on top—such a crude thing, neither aesthetically pleasing nor safe, yet they charged 120 yuan for just 20 minutes of rental. It was too expensive!" Li said. Before retiring, he was an engineer at the Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Plant, specializing in solving technical issues during mechanical manufacturing. "At that time, I thought to myself, I could make this myself, and it would definitely be better."

　　After returning to Taiyuan, he began preparations: first testing various boats in city parks, observing mechanical principles, sketching designs, selecting materials, purchasing parts, assembling, and testing... To create a quiet workspace, his family cleared out the basement for him. He spent every day inside, often staying there the whole day. "It took nearly three months to finally complete the single-person version. My son-in-law helped me contact an outdoor swimming pool where we conducted six water tests."

　　In September last year, after resolving all the practical issues encountered, he submitted an application to the National Intellectual Property Administration and received a utility model patent certificate on February 27 this year.

　　"This two-person version is based on the single-person one, with modifications such as extending the length of the PVC floatation material and replacing auxiliary materials like steel sheets and wooden sticks with aluminum components, eventually combining them into this form," Li said. In fact, this two-person water bicycle is an improved version of his original single-person water bicycle. The changes in length and materials were made to increase buoyancy and reduce the overall weight.

　　"The biggest features of the water bicycles I’ve invented are low cost, easy transportability, and simple assembly," the elderly man said. Since the materials used are common items like aluminum sheets, steel plates, PVC pipes, and screws of various sizes, the production cost is half that of market alternatives. The single-person version costs less than 2,000 yuan, and the two-person version is under 3,000 yuan. More importantly, each component can be disassembled, and upon arrival at the destination, a single person can assemble it in just over 20 minutes.

　　The elderly man said that although he is already 79 years old this year and still in good health, with his children also living comfortably, he doesn’t invent things for money but to add joy to life and enrich his later years. He also mentioned that if this product goes into production, any profits he receives will be fully donated to social welfare causes.