Volkswagen rolls out foldable 'Bik.e' electric bicycle concept
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 29th 2010 7:51PM
posted April 29th 2010 7:51PM
Well, it looks like it's the season for automakers to show off electric bicycle concepts, with Volkswagen now following Lexus' lead with its own "Bik.e" concept. Unlike Lexus' hybrid concept, this one is a full-fledged electric bicycle (sans pedals), and it boasts a few innovations of its own, not the least of which is that it's able to fold up and fit where you'd normally store a spare tire. It's also apparently able to be charged using your car's DC current in a pinch in addition to a standard AC outlet at home, and it promises to deliver a range of 20 kilometers on a full charge, along with a top speed of 20 kilometers per hour. What's more, it seems like Volkswagen is actually looking at commercial possibilities for the Bik.e, although it's not making any firm commitments just yet. Head on past the break for a quick look at the bike in action, and some dancing.
first baby
@onehipcat
...to disappear
@onehipcat
which means...oblivion!!!!
@onehipcat
Is that a girl bike?
@JS
I thought the human body was green enough. Im sure manufacturing batteries isn't 100% green compared to human strength
GM where is Americas own electro bike?
@Inect The thing to partner with this one? A foldable laptop.. http://bit.ly/transformer-laptop-for-the-win
@onehipcat
WOW FAIL!
you can only go flat surface or downhill...
WOW, wtf do I need electric for?
@AppleDrank
Shucks... If it goes uphill, I'll have found my current plug-in e-bike replacement. Damn!
@JS Isn't everything VW makes for girls? One of their cars even has a flower vase by the steering column.
@onehipcat
nice to see them using maxxis hookworm tyres! they are sweet!
@JS it looks more like apple bike..... apple=?girl ?
@onehipcat I know I should keep my comments relevant. But those girls! :-)
Only 20kph? ProTour riders average twice as fast.
@bigcow05 In town?
Does this mean we'll have to endure more of those ads with people punching each other when they see a VW?
ONLY CLASSIC BEETLES COUNT, PEOPLE! STOP PUNCHING FOR EVERY MODEL OF VW, IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY!
@bigcow05
Yea, really 20kph is slow as hell. I average 33-35kph on flats on my normal bike. I'm easily over 40kph when sprinting.
@bigcow05
Does this look like a ProTour bike to you? You're not supposed to attend the Tour de France with this you know. ;-)
@bigcow05 Yeh, only 20kmph. This is much faster than any car would be doing in a traffic jam. It's NOT meant for use in ProTour or the Tour de France or whatever.
@SeeKo
Someone should tell Cancellara...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE
Still waiting for one that is:
a) actually manufactured and for sale
b) $500 or less
@smakus This thing is useless at $1000, ok that's a bit hyperbolic but at 1K and light with pedals at least it's quite practical. Here, it's only for specific tasks, not an everyday bike and not helpful for keeping in shape.
@juanvaldez If you go to China (well at least Shanghai), you will see a lot of two things: VWs and scooters. 20km/hr does seem slow but given how much they weave in and around cars, people and buses, I'm not sure how slow that slow is. Having said that, if they are targeting the Chinese market (based on the design) they obviously aren't targeting those who carry goods around on their scooters/bikes. Still i'd buy one for the right price.
Make it $500, and I'll take it.
Ok I might have missed it in the video but can they pedal on this bike? If not, then it really is a shame. Electric or not, I enjoy my bike because I can actually get off my butt and do some excercise and at the same time get to where I want to go. Other than that, it looks nice.
@carlosol it turns out I cant read. Maybe I should spend more time on that.
@carlosol
I think they need to add a shaft drive to it so you can pedal. That is the only thing that I would change though.
(Well, I like straight lines more than curves, and bringing down the cost, while maintaining quality is important as well.)
I'm sorry, but... what? 12.4mph MAX speed, range of 12.4 miles? It's hard to make an actual bicycle go SLOWER than 12.4mph, at least on flat ground.. and you better believe this thing won't go that fast uphill.
The range isn't so bad I guess, but it's only useful as an around-town bike, where a REAL bike with pedals would be far more useful and require almost no effort to cruise around at 10-12mph.
Not to mention the lack of a backup plan for when the battery dies.
@UnixSystemsEngineer I think they're going for the "park and ride" market which is quite popular over here (park on the outskirts of town to ease congestion, then ride the rest of the way - usually by bus). If you could park then take this thing from your boot (or 'trunk', if you will) and ride the rest of the way without getting stuck in gridlock, it could be a real winner.
Because bicycles weren't green enough...?
@Jason B No clearly not, what every bicycle needs is a chemical battery that is ultimately powered through fossil fuel burning power stations.
@fingers speak for yourself. More than 85% of my cities power is from renewable sources.
Make a fold-able human powered bike first.
@mianmian It's been done and they've proliferated most major European cities as viable means of transport. Brompton manufactures over 20,000 folding cycles a year in London.
I doesn't get any greener than using your own legs...
Just saying.
@Eternity
Depends on your diet I guess haha.
@Eternity It's more complicated than that. It depends on the source of your calories and the source of your electricity. If you have an above average beef consumption and a solar cell filling this vehicle then you are doing a big net positive using this rather than consuming more beef. If you are a vegetarian, it will be closer to breaking even at some low % of renewable energy used for "topping" this bike up.
might as well call this the obese bike because you won't lose wight on this. you can't mimic a real bike!
Why do you insist on calling stuff like that a bicycle? A bicycle is human powered. This thing is an electric motorcycle.
@Pies
You need to listen closely. They never called this thing a bicycle and they never said it should be used instead of one. It's for "mobility beyond the car".
No excuse though. I think this thing is useless too.
@SeeKo Engadget called it a bicycle right in the post title and twice in post text...
@Pies
"Whose motorcycle is this?"
"It's a electrical chopper, baby"
"Whose electric chopper is this?"
"It's Zed's"
"Who's Zed?"
"Zed's dead, baby... Zed's dead"
@Pies
Oh, you're right. Engadget's mistake then. The guy in the video tricks us in calling it simply a "vehicle". Clever dude. lol
@SeeKo
Bicycle: Bi = 2; Cycle = wheel. Two wheels. This is a bicycle. As is a motorcycle, for that matter. And some cars sitting in people's back yards...
They don't want to call it a motorcycle because that would imply it can go fast. This is more of an electric scooter.
@Michael Pollard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle
I prefer the Zuumer - you've got to try it to see how much fun it is to ride it! http://bit.ly/c3obTh
I've been waiting for something to take the hard work and calorie-burning out of riding a bike!
I wish they would make mounts for this bile for my GLI, maybe even a charging "dock" for my car! And of course a matching paintjob. (Salsa Red)
Great fits where the spare tyre goes - guess I'll just keep the spare on my lap from now on
I actually think this could be a very useful and nifty item.. Believe or not all you "get physical exercise" ppl some of us would have times to use this when you dont really find the motivation to exercise thus saving gas and what not and be able to fold it up and take it into work and then back in the car if needed to take it somewhere.. Very good idea in my opinion!
I prefer the Lexus .. http://crave.cnet.co.uk/cartech/0,250000513,49305569,00.htm