[neerajk]

> The nominal mode enables motion through the water at 3.6 km/h, and for speed-seekers, the SEABIKE can reach a maximum of 7.9 km/h – much faster than normal swimming speeds or even flipper-assisted swimming.

https://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/seabike/product-68606-564117...

Pretty fast, but "superhuman"? For short distances Michael Phelps can swim faster :)

[richardw]

Main difference is recruiting much larger muscles, so at some point most humans will be faster over a longer period with the widget. Let Phelps train with this for a couple months and he'd be faster. Although probably sad, because he likes swimming.

[mrfox321]

Michael Phelps is an alien..

[deltarholamda]

Incorrect, he is an evolved dolphin.

[globular-toast]

For short distances Usain Bolt can run faster than most people can cycle.

[dyauspitr]

For very, very short distances I can run faster than most people can cycle.

[space_oddity]

Usain Bolt is a superhuman

[jl2718]

I’m skeptical because the limiting factor for a person using flippers is their lungs, and a propeller is less efficient for propulsion.

[space_oddity]

And their cardiovascular fitness and overall endurance

[willcipriano]

Traveling at that speed for a long distance would be beyond human capabilities, wouldn't it?

Super just means beyond, not way beyond. I blame Superman for this notion.

[sandworm101]

Not really. Most serious lap swimmers can do a kilometer every 20 minutes sustainably, akin to a marathon runner's pace (Sprint pace would be 100m/minute, with 50m/minute being what you would see in the fast lane of most recreational pools). So 3.6 kph isn't all that different, maybe a little faster than average but I assume they were also using a better-than-average bicycle person when doing the test.

There real advantage here is that you can use leg muscle. Distance swimming is all about upper body muscles, with legs being the afterburners only really used for sprinting. This machine would invert that arrangement.

[rrobukef]

Imagine how fast Phelps could swim with this!

[matt_heimer]

Given that he optimized his training for swimming and not cycling I think he might do better with fins. His top speed of 7.2 - 9.6 km/h is freestyling without fins. He reached somewhere around 13 km/h using a Lunocet monofin.

[space_oddity]

I'd watch this