Bike 2.0 Proves Less Is More

With winter descending on the godforsaken part of the US I live in, I thought this might be a good time to ponder replacing my now nearly antique Specialized Rockhopper before next spring. Although I love the fact that it’s as indestructible as a Russian tank, it also happens to weigh about as much as one, and is just as stylish. On top of its ancientness, I do almost entirely urban and light trail riding, so I always feel like I’m riding a small armored personnel carrier when I ride it through town. As I started doing research, I was open to the idea of an electric hybrid or something, partly because I was intrigued after riding a friend’s A2B Velociti last summer, but mostly because I’m buying a bike for transportation, not pure cycling. And that open-mindedness is where the trouble began. There are so many new and amazing approaches to the design and engineering of a bike these days that you almost need a team of researchers and consultants to fully explore the possibilities. DesignBoom, who also sponsored the competition, did a nice roundup from the Seoul Cycle Design Competition 2010, which is where I ran across the brilliant and elegant simplicity of the Bike 2.0, by Milan-based Danish designer Nils Sveje. It’s hybrid, chainless, has a continuously-variable transmission, a regenerative coaster brake, and instead of shifters, two wireless rings on the handlebar. The frame is also self-illuminating. If this bike ever goes into production, I want the first one off the line. Beautiful. Also pretty remarkable is the Audi BEIK, which possesses perhaps even more elegantly simple lines. What you may not notice right away is that as well as being foldable, the bike utilizes “frame steering”. I’d like to see that in action; there are no videos available, and you’ll notice none of the stills show the bike turning. On a slightly humorous note, the ECO FUV not only makes a nice play on the urban slang term, but if we could make these things mandatory transport in America, we’d solve the energy, pollution, parking, and obesity problems all in one shot. More bikes, images, and vids below.

The ECO FUV

Powered by up to 2,000 watts, the Conway E-Rider is designed to let alpine riders avoid having to take a chair lift up to the trail head.

Ellsworth’s The Ride is not only uniquely stylish but features the NuVinci continuously variable planetary (CVP) transmission.

If they put as much work into the engineering of the M55 Electric Bike as they did the promotional video, it should prove to be an amazing machine.

The Carrier Bike. No word on how whether or not this thing could get through a TSA screening.