Turn Your Bike into an Electric Hybrid with MIT’s “Copenhagen Wheel”

Bonaverde’s “Roast-Grind-Brew Coffee Machine” seemed like one of the cooler inventions I’ve recently stumbled upon. But then I came across this: The Copenhagen Wheel. Originally created by researchers at MIT, the Copenhagen Wheel “transforms ordinary bicycles quickly into hybrid e-bikes.” It allows bike riders to “capture the energy dissipated while cycling and braking and save it for when you need a bit of a boost” — like climbing a hill in San Francisco. The wheel also feeds data to your iPhone, allowing you to monitor pollution levels, traffic congestion, and road conditions in real-time. After spending several years in development, the wheel can now be pre-ordered online and it will ship next spring. It retails for $699.

Get more background information on The Copenhagen Wheel via this MIT web site.

Related Content:

Designers of the Invisible Bike Helmet Describe Their Revolutionary Product in Short Documentary

Science Behind the Bike: Four Videos from the Open University on the Eve of the Tour de France

Brussels Express: The Perils of Cycling in Europe’s Most Congested City

David Byrne: From Talking Heads Frontman to Leading Urban Cyclist

The Physics of the Bike

 


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Comments (5)
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  • Dellu says:

    putting motor into it?? that loses the greatest virtues (points) of bikes…another project to fatten up Americans

  • Lmos says:

    Andy Botwin’s idea! (Weeds)

  • andy says:

    Its a shame that in a city like London, the government doesn’t do enough to protect and support city cycling as it should. There is way too much politics involved in something that should be mainstream by now. Look at Copenhagen and Amsterdam compared to London. They have been much more bike friendly for a lot longer. All these kind of technologies can only be allowed to flourish if motorised vehicles are progressively phased out in city centres and cycling is allowed to take over. The head of the Met Police in London recently said that he thought people only cycled because they couldn’t afford public transport- that is the kind of thing we deal with in London. And when cyclists die on the streets its the cyclist’s fault not the drivers, so they put more police on the streets to penalise the cyclists- its ridiculous.

  • Lorraine tickelton says:

    Hello how much is the Copenhagen wheel please
    And do you need the size of my present bike wheel?
    Thank you

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