If an Electric Bike Is Ever Going to Hit It Big in the U.S., Its This One.. The Copenhagen Wheel is an electric pedal-assist motor fully contained in the oversized red hub of an otherwise normal back bicycle wheel. Inside that red hub is a delicately crammed array of computing equipment, sensors, and a three-phase brushless direct current electric motor that can feel the torque of my pedaling and add appropriately. Replace the back wheel of any bike with the Copenhagen Wheel and its instantly an electric bike—one that not only assists the rider but senses the surrounding topography and can even collect and share data about environmental, traffic, and road conditions. First developed in 2009, through a partnership between MITs Senseable City Lab and the City of Copenhagen, the wheel is now in its first stages of commercial production. By the end of 2014, thousands will be shipped out to fulfill pre-orders around the world. One of the main principles guiding the design of the Copenhagen Wheel was that it should be incredibly simple. The bike should stay a bike, says Biderman. Ease of use is certainly part of the appeal. Once installed, the wheel is operated by a smartphone app via Bluetooth. With its focus on design and simple application of complex technology, the Copenhagen Wheel is perhaps the sleekest version of the electric bike. But its hardly the only one. Millions of electric bicycles are being used in cities all over the world, offering cheap and accessible forms of transportation in developing countries and dense urban environments. And though bicycling has long been considered recreation in the United States, the electric bicycle is about to become the next big thing in urban transportation. Americans have a mental block about bicycling thats mentioned again and again by industry insiders: While people in places like Europe think of the bicycle as transportation, people in the United States largely still think of it as recreation. Theres a long history of urban development patterns and transportation policies that have led to this perception, and those tendencies are hard to break. Though there does seem to be a general uptick in cycling in pockets of the country, the reality is that most U.S. transportation happens in a car. If the electric bike is to be successful here, it will have to overcome the national perception of bicycles as playtoys. Transitioning the bicycle from recreation to transportation could hinge on something as simple as a sweaty armpit. For 30 years, Ive seen surveys about why people dont ride, says Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. They don’t ride because its too far or because they get hot and sweaty. And these are things that electric-assist bikes can help overcome. A big way to open the market will be to make them more affordable. Even more important will be to make them cool. According to a survey held in the US electric bikes really can get more people biking and to bike more often. Watch the Copenhagen Wheel official product release: youtube/watch?v=S10GMfG2NMY Excerpt from an article by Nate Berg, a freelance reporter and a former staff writer for CityLab. He lives in Los Angeles.
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 06:28:50 +0000