GreenWheel Gives any Bicycle an Electric Boost

Researchers at MIT recently revealed an elegant solution for anyone looking to get a little more power out of their bicycle. Developed by MIT’s Smart Cities programs, the GreenWheel is a self-contained electric wheel that can turn any pedal-powered bike into a fully-electric bicycle!

The GreenWheel is essentially a bicycle wheel that has an electric motor and batteries embedded within it. The full casing is quite small and is able to be retrofitted to any bike. Simply twist the handle mounted throttle and a bluetooth connection tells the electric motor to provide thrust. The wheel can be charged by plugging to the grid or by pedaling, and a full charge will give the motor a range of roughly 25 miles.

The GreenWheel was developed by Ryan Chin and Michael Chia-Lian Lin as part of MIT’s Smart Cities programs. The objective is to create a working prototype that can be installed and retroffited to any bike. The team is also thinking for the long term – they estimate that the batteries for the GreenWheel will last around 40,000 miles, or about 8 years worth of travelling.

+ MIT Smart Cities

Via MSNBC

8 Comments

wdmprasad June 5, 2013 at 4:27 am

I want know how can i make clutch and gear box for a bike made using chain saw engine.
Hoolio October 18, 2012 at 3:50 pm

It’s been 3 years since the MIT Green wheel announcement. Copenhagen, Capetown demos, looks great, but it seems the team has gotten into GIS community tech, but where can one get this Green wheel hub? Can’t find any retailers physically or on the net.
chiefnwife12 April 19, 2012 at 4:44 pm

How much & when & where?
Johnathan Christian September 2, 2011 at 4:28 pm

How much would this item cost to have it put onto my bike and the item itself? Also would this item work for a 20in. bike wheel?
jaska January 1, 2011 at 8:43 am

Great idea!
To market this product in Europe and Australia, there should be pedelec option. The throtte is not alloved in these market, e-bikes should e pedal asistant. The pedaling is always needed and the motor gives only assistance.
Do you have plans on this pedal assistance feature?
hosein mousaviyan September 1, 2010 at 8:15 pm

dear sir iwoud like to coaprate with you for massproduce kit to have benefit each other. inform me how can establish relaitonship
blueweaver February 28, 2009 at 3:29 pm

Looks great…does it have regenerative braking? Should be a snap to engineer with such a self-contained unit. Just back off on the throttle and you have braking? Augment with normal friction brakes, of course.
MUV February 25, 2009 at 3:11 pm

This is a terrific development! It saves a tremendous amount of engineering required to house the battery seperately on the bike and enables the easy retrofit of any existing bicycle to electric power. Congratulations to the MIT Smart Cities Team.

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