You really can't fault MIT's branding strategy here. Debuting at the biggest climate change conference since Kyoto, its Copenhagen Wheel is a mixture of established technologies with the ambition to make us all a little bit greener and a little bit more smartphone-dependent. On the one hand, it turns your bike into a
hybrid -- with energy being collected from
regenerative braking and distributed when you need a boost -- but on the other, it also allows you to track usage data with your iPhone, turning the trusty old bike into a nagging personal trainer. The Bluetooth connection can also be used for conveying real time traffic and air quality information, if you care about such things, and Copenhagen's mayor has expressed her interest in promoting these as an alternative commuting method. Production is set to begin next year, but all that gear won't come cheap, as prices for the single wheel are expected to match those of full-sized electric bikes. Video after the break.
posted December 16th 2009 7:22AM
My first mod for it would be to attach another "electric" wheel to the front.
@Tegdagne not that this has anything to do with your comment, but don't you guys think that people would be even more inclined to steal the bike or at least the back wheel? Bike stealing is already a pretty common issue.
@bigdonny
which should make one even more likely to use a lock&chain.
it also helps to remove the sign that says:
"hey, look here. yeah, you Bikethief (whistle)! see this it's electric and talks to my phone! Steve Jobs & Dean Kaman told me to get it!"
@Tegdagne
Make the wheel easily removable and you could wear it on your back like the disc in Tron.
But your still using the same amount of energy, this thing just makes you peddle harder and then gives you a boost?
@AdrianGazz It's a lower peak energy input - less stress on the rider, plus energy formerly lost through braking is partially retained == less overall energy input.
@YetANOTHERusernameREALLY
But it would be heavier, meaning more inertia to overcome to accelerate resulting in no overall gain compared to a normal bicycle, or what?
I hope they give Nike some credit. The tracking part is just Nike+ipod but for your back wheel instead of your foot.
@(Unverified)
I'm a little disappointed in Nike that they haven't come out with a universal bike monitor/computer/ipod touch program like they have for running.
@(Unverified)
As if nike invented the concept of tracking, what rot.
@(Unverified)
Are you being serious?
Which bike are they using in the video? Look really nice.
It would be kind of weird if you saw 50 of those speeding down the streets of Copenhagen.
Well at least its safe for the enviroment.
This is just shitter and larger version of MIT's Greenwheel. They appear to have ruined it somewhat. And made it more stand-out, which just makes it more attractive to potential thieves.
http://mobile.mit.edu/greenwheel/
Seems to be a different team too, which is odd.
The lack of multiple gears is likely to make you all the more reliant on the wheel. And the estimated price of the Greenwheel was only in the order of $300-500.
The title should be: "Copenhagen wheels are coming off" (read todays news), and I hope so.
the copenhagen name could actually come from a public bike competition for the city of copenhagen that was recently held.
I am not sure how much benefit this wheel would offer. The extra parts make it heavier and less aero. It is single speed, so the boost probably wouldn't be too much help up the hills. And it is less green, as it uses more parts (although it would be interesting to see how it compares to geared bikes in terms of performance and the amount of material used).
The route tracking and performance logging bit is impressive though. Although you could arguably get the same effect from a GPS unit and a powertap wheel, this solution is probably cheaper than the two units combined.
Wasn't there this "troll" who kept posting a link to a site which supposedly offered something extremely similair?
Dunno if it would actually be useful in the hilly city I live in, but at least the "green miles" are a cool idea.
@Galley
Actually I think it would be better suited for hilly cities. I live in a super flat city and thus rarely ever brake, or need assistance. In a city with many hills, on the other hand, (e.g. San Francisco) the wheel would generate a lot of electricity as it slowed the charge down steep hill and could use that energy to help the rider charge back up the next one. At least I think.
I wonder if the chick looks hot?
Stolen in 60 seconds or less, guaranteed.
@Thermos14
My thoughts on this are as follows:
People who can afford to spend $3-5k on an electric wheel will probably not be chaining their bike up to the dumpster in the alley and will probably have a place to store it.
It might be a good idea to integrate a key on this thing that prevents the rear wheel from turning.
Wouldn't it make more sense to put the wheel on the front, thus simplifying the drive train and making it possible to quick release it and take it with you? (Though hard braking on the front wheel may produce more reconstructive surgery than regenerative energy)
@Marc L So much weight where you steer is not a good thing for maneuverability... hence the wheel in the back.
Nice boots.
Looks like the dude in the picture is ready for his daily cycle commute. Those shoes must be so comfortable in which to pedal.
I'd imagine the extra heft from all the electric equipment would outweigh a lot of the benefits. I also can't imagine starting uphill with such a heavy looking contraption strapped to my wheel.
Was the engineer killed with a pedalling gesture?
Can you really recover anything useful from braking? I hardly ever use the brakes on my bike. This really looks like extra pounds for no benefit. However, if you can decide to pedal a bit more to store up energy prior to an upcoming hill, that might be useful, but from the supplied information it looks like only braking puts energy into the wheel.
Too bad none of the hipster here in Portland would reap the benefits of the "hybrid" end; I'm sure the first thing they'd do if they got one of these would be to remove the regenerative breaks.
Why does this have to be all about the iPhone. Where is windows mobile or android support on this matter??? Gets you thinking about monopoly and antitrust issues.