Electric bikes an increasingly popular way to get commuters out of the car and onto a greener mode of transportation—but, the transition comes at a pretty high price. With that in mind electric bike company EVELO created the Omni Wheel, which transforms ones existing bicycle into an e-bike in just 30 minutes, and for half the cost of a new electric bike.
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EVELO co-founder Boris Mordkovich explained to us that since the inception of the electric bicycle company he’s noticed two trends. Firstly, a lot of people already have a bike, and even those who rarely use theirs are often hesitant to buy a second, new bike. The other prohibitive factor to adopting e-cycling is cost—new bikes cost in the region of $2000.
The Omni Wheel was created as a solution to both of these factors. Mordkovich says “it takes advantage of the resources that people already have. This also makes it more versatile, so if a client has a unique bike – small, large, folding, recumbent or anything in between – they have the ability to electrify it and keep the bike they have and love.” And by containing the whole set up in one wheel, it comes at half the cost of a new bike—the Omni Wheel starts at $999.
Related: MIT-designed Copenhagen wheel finally hits the market, turns any bike into a hybrid electric vehicle
The Omni Wheel contains the all electronics, the battery and the motor within a simple front wheel. The wheel can be installed in place of the existing front wheel on many bicycles, and allows you to keep your existing gears.
The wheel features adjustable pedal assistso one can exert as much or as little physical effort as one wants—this assist is controlled wirelessly in a display that also provides the rider with data about their distance and speed. The wheel features a durable Panasonic battery, with an option between a standard 24V8.7Ah battery that provides up to 15-25 mile range in pedal-assist mode or an extended range 24V14.5 battery that will give a 25-40 mile range.
EVELO was founded on the idea that “if we can help people get over the mental and physical barriers, such as hills, age, fitness levels, or even arriving to the destination sweaty and tired, we can help make biking less intimidating and more fun and common” and to that end, Mordkovich hopes that this new twist of the e-bike will help put even more people on two wheels.’ “Electric bikes, traditionally, have been more appealing to an older demographic,” he says “however, we also anticipate that the Omni Wheel will find an audience among the younger riders as well, due to a lower cost and ability to be setup on virtually any bike.”
+ EVELO
