Superpedestrian, a start-up in Boston, announced on Monday that it has received $2.1 million in financing to help build a wheel that transforms some standard bicycles into hybrid e-bikes.
The product, the Copenhagen Wheel, is a design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology SENSEable City Laboratory. The original goal of the wheel was to entice more people to more bicycles in large cities in lieu of cars by giving them help from a motor.
— New York Times
Initially presented at the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change in 2009, SENSEeable City Lab's Copenhagen Wheel will soon be produced through Boston start-up Superpedestrian. Rather than buying a whole new bike or installing a cumbersome motor, the Copenhagen Wheel can be adapted onto most regular bikes, and will be comparable in price to most e-bikes. The wheel can be synced with the rider's iPhone to collect transit data, both for the benefit of the rider keeping tabs on exercise and commute regimens, and for the benefit of the city -- riders can choose to anonymously share data with their local government, aiding the improvement of cycling infrastructure and traffic management.
5 Comments
Suspiciously similar: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flykly/flykly-smart-wheel
From the Flykly campaign:
"We're aware of some similarities with other 'smart wheel' designs but because this is neither a new or genuine concept neither a patentable one we see no problem of having multiple designs of it on the market."
There are no hills in Copenhagen so naming a gadget that purports to aid in hilly ascents 'The Copenhagen Wheel' is a bit ironic. It also ignores what makes bicycling in Copenhagen so enjoyable - the built infrastructure! The ease of hopping on your bike and going to work removed from traffic without having to dodge motorists at the risk of life and limb is a true pleasure. This gadget takes that pleasure and turn it into a chore - I don't want to hook my smart phone up to my bike and 'share' my biking patterns/read smog reports/or study traffic patterns - I just want a private lane, a smooth ride, and a relaxing pedal to the office. If you really want to get more people to bike in the US, lobby for private bike lanes, not as sexy as smartphone enhanced bicycles but it would actually make a difference. In the meantime I recommend you turn off your phone, get on a bike, maybe pack a nice picnic with some wine, and enjoy - somethings are better left as simple joys... cheers!
Hey BeigeCity –
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. While we definitely agree that there is a need for more private bike lanes on the roads, we don’t agree with your assessment of how overly technical the Copenhagen Wheel is. The technology part is an enabler to allow more people to enjoy riding bikes and give cyclists an extra boost when they need it. People cycle less if there’s a big hill or the distance is too large. And, yes, the Copenhagen Wheel technology includes a wide range of features (biking patterns, road conditions, environmental data) but our users are welcome to pay attention to only the ones they feel comfortable with. The main thrust is making the pedaling function of a bike smarter and more functional for urban living. As a person who truly recognizes the value of the simple joys in life, such as the outdoors like we do, we hope you’ll give it a try!
e-bikes have different sets of rules and requirements than regular bicycles. Just something to keep in mind.
For example - this e-bike would be illegal in Michigan.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.