Copenhagen Wheel Converts Ordinary Bikes Into Electric Vehicles
Power-assisted biking has been around for a good time now, but existing solutions have often involved buying an entire bike for that. A startup with roots going back to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has come up with a kit that turns almost any bike, even vintage ones, into a hybrid electric with just a wheel swap.
The idea behind the Copenhagen Wheel was first hatched in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it started from a partnership between MIT and the city of Copenhagen. The city is a hot spot for bike lovers, and a lot of people there already own bikes. However, how do they make people get on their bikes more?
The answer, it turns out, is to turn it into a hybrid electric. The Copenhagen wheel helps the rider with each push of the pedal, making it feel as if they are propelling themselves with a "superhuman boost" even through long distances or over steep hills, as described on their site.
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The kit is now available in 44 states in the U.S., and the company has just announced that they are expanding out to the United Kingdom and Europe for the first time as well, according to Business Insider.
The assistive wheel has a built-in electric motor and battery, which tops up after four hours of charging. By default, the wheel learns how its rider pedals and adjusts its assistive boosts accordingly. By putting everything in the rear wheel, the response is instantaneous and becomes a natural part of cycling, as Forbes notes.
This add-on fits on almost any model of bikes and costs $1,500 for just the wheel. There's also a bundle for $1,999 that adds the rest of the bike itself as well. People who already have their favorite bikes can keep using their daily rider with just a few simple tools.
The video below shows how the Copenhagen Wheel from Superpedestrian works to assist riders, helping them move about the city faster and hopefully encouraging them to take the bike to work more.