Milan-based Danish designer Nils Sveje describes Bike 2.0 as the next generation bicycle… hence the name. At first glance, it looks pretty ordinary. Its very Spartan appearance doesn’t exactly turn heads, and in fact it’s the lack of external features that gives away the fact that this is no ordinary bike.
Instead of a chain, the bike has a pedal-powered internal generator that’s wired directly to the rear hub motor. Instead of derailleurs, it has a stepless gearbox. Instead of brake levers and discs, it has a regenerative coaster brake. And, instead of shifters, it has two wireless rings on the handlebar.
Regular propulsion is achieved via the bottom bracket-mounted generator, that creates power which is sent back to the 500 W brushless motor. Using the “superconductor” (which one would assume is a capacitor), however, the rider can get power boosts when needed. An Intelligent Cadence Leveling feature keeps the rider pedaling at the same speed, via a continuously-variable transmission. The rider initially sets their desired cadence using one of the handlebar control rings.
Very cool tech… but I’ll bet the price will knock your socks off.
It is not a recumbent bike, so it is not the bike of the future. Surly not a 2.0, at best it’s a 1.5.
Recumbents are the future of bikes!
While #2 will be giving his left testicle to ride one of those, he’ll be losing the other one during the ride.
>> akallio said, on November 25th, 2010 at 12:03 am
>> Did you know that the old fashioned bicycle with roller chains is the most efficient self-propelled mechanism known? Food for thought.
I had heard that — I think ten speed, specifically.
We Americans are so tech-oriented, we neglect marveling at the low-tech inventions that revolutionized our world.
The bicycle for transportation, the AK 47 for war… the plastic bag, the ball point pen, etc etc.
#1
Designer != Engineer
Chain = 99% efficient, dynamo+motor = 80% ?
noooooooo
Designer = Nils Sveje http://inodasveje.com/products/electronics/bike-2-0/
Engineer = IPU http://ipu.dk/english.aspx
Chain = 95% Bike 2.0 max 80%
IPU is working on the project.
Hmm… I wonder how much all this pedal-powered internal generator, rear hub motor, stepless gearbox, regenerative coaster brake, bottom bracket-mounted generator, 500 W brushless motor, “superconductor”, and continuously-variable transmission unobtanium would weigh.
For efficiency of a conventional bicycle, a track bike is tough to beat.
For something unconventional, Sam Whittingham pedaled Georgi Georgiev’s Diablo III recumbent streamliner to 82.33 MPH at the 2008 World Human Powered Speed Challenge at Battle Mountain, Nevada (and no, that’s not a “motor paced” record – check out Fred Rompelberg’s 166.9 MPH record for something really unconventional).
For aesthetics, an old steel track bike is my favorite. No brakes, no derailleurs (or “disraeli gears”), no cables. Just a pair of beefy 1/8″ gears on a classic lugged or fillet-brazed double-triangle frame.
Hmm… time to go for a ride…
Sad rip off of the pursuit track bike Graeme Obree built in his garage using some parts from a washing machine. Unlike this “award winner” Obree’s bike actually worked as evidenced by his breaking the world one hour record…twice.
I love all the emergency room comments. If you’re stupid, you’ll get killed doing pretty much anything.
If you ride your bike down a freeway, you increase your chances of getting killed. If you drive the wrong way up a one way street, you increase your chances of getting killed.
I have an old touring bike in the garage with ~200,000 km on it. The car next to it has ~100,000 km on it. I honestly can’t recall any death defying experiences on the bike, but I’ve had at least one this week in the car (raging soccer Mom in a minivan).
Of course, I’ve had a couple of seriously cool implosions riding my mountain bike on some twitchy single track. But I deserved that.
Told ya so. Just some 3d file. This generation lives in their solids modeling universe. No physical manufacturing skill sets. Just send it off to a chinese bake shop. No real world abilities folks. Forget fast trains. The men who knew about nuclear engineering, workshop fabrication techniques, metallurgy are nearly passed on.