My neighbor, Flo, feels like she has a whole new lease on life thanks to an ingenious addition to her bicycle: the MIT-designed Copenhagen Wheel. Flo is not a hardcore cyclist, but is a smart cookie who works for NASA and has a ‘sky’s the limit’ approach to just about everything. She read about MIT’s Copenhagen Wheel and got herself on the waiting list for one of the first ones to become available. Flo’s been flying up the hills in the neighborhood ever since, truly addicted to this shiny red device that required little more than a rear wheel change and about $900. She let me take Florence for a spin up the local hills in turbo mode and I now feel ready to join the Tour peloton. MIT truly has reinvented the wheel with this beauty.
What it is:
Motor doping for we non professional riders.
Rather than requiring you to purchase a complete electric bike, the Copenhagen Wheel was designed to turn the bike you already own into an electric bike with regeneration and real-time environment sensing capability. It’s a self-contained rear wheel hub that houses a motor, 3-speed internal hub gear, batteries and sensors. No external wires, removable batteries or complicated set up – you use your smartphone to unlock your bike and simply change modes/gears. This video explains it all:
What it does:
Gives you back your 30 year old climbing legs.
According to Superpedestrian, the company that owns and distributes the Copenhagen Wheel, you get 10X your normal pedaling power.
By enhancing your most minute movements to make your pedaling more powerful, the new Copenhagen Wheel helps you go farther faster, so you can bike almost anywhere.
Yes, it adds significant weight to your bike, but the trade off is significant power assistance. You have 5 riding modes that give you a broad range of experience: standard, turbo, eco, exercise and off. Range is up to 30 miles; top powered speed is 20 mph.
Where to learn more:
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