MIT’s Copenhagen Wheel just took the 2010 James Dyson Award for the US.
Here’s what it is:
- A self-charging motorized rear wheel that fits on existing bicycles
- A trip/traffic planner that syncs with your docked smart phone
- A social networking tool (throwing social networking into everything is the new putting a clock into everything)
See the demo video for more information:
At a projected cost of $600 per wheel, not to mention a big red “steal me” target of a design, I think you’d better get a good cable lock for this sucker if it ever becomes a reality. But from the sound of things, it may be GPS equipped meaning you might be able to track it down if it gets lost.
Go ahead, purists, tell us all about how this is the worst thing to happen to cycling.
[via core77]
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A white bike like that would be the worst thing.
Are you recommending a cable lock so that you can steal the wheel? Thief!
it’s not the worst thing, it’s just a stupid unnecessary thing.
plus it’s really ugly.
I like this one.
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A self-charging motorized rear wheel that fits on existing bicycles
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That first part is a fantastic idea. I’d love something like that without all of the other features if it were to bring the cost down. Unfortunately, I’m sure most of the cost is probably wrapped up in the mechanics of the motor. The silicon to do the rest is probably pretty cheap.
I just don’t get this thing. Does it hold a charge very long? How does it compare to, ya know, actual electric bicycles? Why bother with all the networking crap? Can’t you just do that with a smartphone?
It just looks very Media Lab to me. Lots of gloss, but not actually very useful.
First off, I don’t know any of the specs so I can’t say how long/much of a charge it could hold. But one of the key differences is that the wheel/motor/battery is self-charging and works like a hybrid, gaining charge when you brake. Electric bikes generally just plug into the wall and don’t have any self-charging capabilities. And their batteries, which are often built into the frame, often lose much of their functional charge memory after just a year or so. This guy, if they designed it right, would likely have an easily replaceable battery for when it starts to wear out. Plus, it just clamps onto an existing bicycle.
One of the biggest reasons many cyclists cite (myself included) for not stopping at stop signs or street lights is because they don’t want to lose momentum. A device like this would theoretically be able to change that- your momentum would be saved as electric potential, ready to be used to pop you back up to speed once the light changes or your turn comes up at the stop sign.
But I agree on the social networking stuff- it just seems silly.
I’m also a bicyclist ’round here and I agree about stops signs. The simpler solution is to treat them like yields, though, which works well enough.
The idea that you store energy braking for cross streets is an interesting one. That’s a fair bit of equipment for a minor tweak in performance, though. I’d be interested in hearing what the real electric bike makers think of the thing.
I suspect this will wind up where all Media Lab projects go to die (I’m looking at you, One laptop per child) and we’ll never hear of it again. Don’t suppose it does any real damage to the cause, so meh.
If this worked it could be really cool; it would certainly make stop signs and lights less aggravating and would presumably help with hills. It probably is targeted more at the leisurely commuter than the guy blowing through stop signs on his fixie. It might make cycling more appealing to a much broader segment of the population. Or it might just be crap — all of the social networking stuff seems like fluff that distracts from the main purpose of the wheel.
I know hating is cool and all, but seriously y’all this thing looks pretty f’ing sweet. Well put that “throwing social networking into everything is the new putting a clock into everything,” but this thing has gone prototype to consumer product in less than two years and its just the beginning. I know its been cloudy in the Mish lately, but how about a little love for awesome new toys?
Well, this is a Media Lab effort so it would be more accurate to say that it’s gone from prototype to media saturation in two years. These guys have a history of over-hyping their work and misunderstanding the market (I’m still looking at you, One Laptop Per Child).
My main objection here is that it stands outside of the usual flow of bike products. It wasn’t developed by a real bike parts company, it doesn’t really integrate with any existing systems that solve similar problems and it’s too slick by half. Electric bike systems that actually, ya know, work don’t look like this or work like this. And no, these guys aren’t working on another plane of reality because they’re so f’ing smart. They have to take real world concerns into account just like everyone else and they haven’t.
Summary… this isn’t a real product. It’s kind of neat to look at and could start some cool discussions, but I call bullshit.
You make a really solid point about hype vs. reality. You also corrected my mistake about it actually being a commercial product. And to cap it it off you accurately identified the non-planeswalker status of members of the MIT brain-trust. Having lived in Boston for a few years and I got to visit a few of the labs though and I must say that they are pretty damn cool and they do a good job of making it feel like the future (last time I went there was a team of autonomous gecko-robots casually climbing around and cleaning the windows).
The only point that I’ll still stand behind is that the comments on here so far have shown how predictably dismissive/smug the MIssion can be. I’ll avoid going on a tirade here and just say that the pervasiveness of too-cool cynicism bring to mind a couple lines from “Month of May” off of Arcade Fire’s new album:
Now, some things are pure and some things are right
But the kids are still standing with their arms folded tight
I posted this, I’m not dismissive about it. I think it’s really, really cool.
Being able to convert any bike to motorized is awesome. Being able to track your bike and get real time info is icing on the cake. Social networking on a bike is silly, sure… but fuck it, I would use it if it was there. Makes finding folks in dolores park easier.
I like here. If this worked it could be really cool; it would certainly make stop signs and lights less aggravating and would presumably help with hills. It probably is targeted more at the leisurely commuter than the guy blowing through stop signs on his fixie. It might make cycling more appealing to a much broader segment of the population. Or it might just be crap — all of the social networking stuff seems like fluff that distracts from the main purpose of the wheel.
nice post