Transform Your Bike into an Electric Bicycle with No Tools
Bicycling is one of the biggest forms of transportation around the world, and there’s now a method of motorizing your bike without any tools. The GeoOrbital wheel allows you to simply replace your front tire with one that has a battery pack, and a motor that can propel you at up to 20 mph. The […]
Bicycling is one of the biggest forms of transportation around the world, and there’s now a method of motorizing your bike without any tools. The GeoOrbital wheel allows you to simply replace your front tire with one that has a battery pack, and a motor that can propel you at up to 20 mph. The makers boast that it takes under 60 seconds to switch the wheel out, and they have designed it with clamps and snaps so that absolutely no tools are necessary to make the swap. There are two different sizes, and the mechanism is compatible with literally every bike out there. You can check out everything you can do with this motorized wheel in the video below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFu7IugMXoc
Up until this point, there really hasn’t been an easy way to motorize your bicycle, except maybe tinkering around with a spare engine, or shelling out the cash for a stand alone electric bike, some of which cost as much as a car. The GeoOrbital allows you to pedal when you want and let the motor take over when you want to take a break. If you were really not wanting to pedal, the 36V built-in, replaceable battery can take you around 20 miles from full to empty. However, if you want to travel further, just pedal a little bit more to take the load off of the battery.
The tire is made out of durable foam, instead of being inflated by a traditional intertube. This means that you won’t be getting any flats on your morning commute, and it will last for a very long time. You no longer need a fancy bike to have a nice electric motor, instead, GeoOrbital is hoping to bring the luxury of power to every bicycler. There’s even a built-in USB port in case you stop and need to charge your phone.
[Image Source: GeoOrbital]
There is one downside to this electric wheel, and it is the cost. At US$699 for Kickstarter backers, and a retail of US$950, this wheel isn’t cheap, but it by far outprices any of its competition. Being the cheapest and most universal way to power your bicycle on the market, the price can be overcome, but it will still likely push away some hopeful buyers. I definitely want to get my hands on one, this would make biking trips much more fun, and it would help out when peddling gets too difficult.
SEE ALSO: Bizarre Bicycle Twists in the Middle to Make for an Interesting Ride
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