New Gadget Adds Electric Motor to Any Bicycle

By John Farrier in Gadgets, Hacks & Mods on Aug 12, 2010 at 2:46 pm

Researchers at MIT developed the Copenhagen Wheel — an electric motor that they say can attach to almost any bicycle. The team says:

There is no external wiring or bulky battery packs, making it retrofittable into any bike. Inside the hub, we have arranged a motor, 3-speed internal hub gear, batteries, a torque sensor, GPRS and a sensor kit that monitors CO, NOx, noise (db), relative humidity and temperature. In the future, you will be able to spec out your wheel according to your riding habits and needs.

Users can also dock a smartphone to the Copenhagen Wheel to control how much assistance the electric motor provides.

Link via DVICE | Photo: MIT

Tags: bicycles, Copenhagen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, smartphones

Neat stuff from the NeatoShop:

LarsH
Aug 12th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
These are not new, you’ve been able to buy hub kits for some time now. Even cooler, was back in the moped days, you could buy ones that managed to get a gas engine inside the hub.
Ohm
Aug 12th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
These are junk.

I recently watched unedited video of university students riding this thing for the first time, and almost every one of them fell. They’re almost impossible to maintain balance.
Vonskippy
Aug 12th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
I’ll be sure to strap on my Jet Pack and fly over to the store and pick one up.

More “we’re dreaming” engineering by MIT.

Let me know when (and by when I mean if) it hits the market.
JDoe
Aug 13th, 2010 at 6:29 am
They are in the market – just not ones that read emmision levels. Also the controllers and batteries are usually external.

With just a quick search on bike hub motors:
http://www.evsolutions.net/9Continent.html
http://www.goldenmotor.com/
http://www.falconev.com/E-Bikes.html
monfatso
Aug 13th, 2010 at 10:32 am
my uncle has been making bike assist motors for *years* – http://www.thunderstruck-ev.com
This, being from MIT, is very nice however. I’d love to see if they open their motor controller source and schematics…
Betseflets
Aug 13th, 2010 at 11:01 am
@Ohm, isn’t it true that unexperienced bikers would fall using this wheel rather than experienced bikers like myself running 25 km. per day to and back from work?

I’m interested because i find E-bikes too bulky and heavy, if it is true what those MIT geeks claim i as a dutchman am too say the least fascinated.
Nehmo
Aug 13th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
” and a sensor kit that monitors CO, NOx, noise (db), relative humidity ”
Isn’t this an electric motor? Why would you need a CO,NOx and humidity sensor? And how is an electric setup not going to have wires?
And yes hub motors have been available for some time.
Bad article.
~~ Nehmo

Keep track of the comments with

Comment RSS

Lijit Search

The latest from NeatoBambino: