Eco Factor: Electric bicycle to reduce the number of cars on the streets.
Due to increasing urbanization, our cities are getting bigger and have to carry much more people. As a result of this, the living space will run short, same as the traffic area in the near future. The infrastructure can’t be changed, so there have to be some new ways for the mobility of the people. Beside the public transport options like buses and trains, there is a rise in demand for individual transportation, where bicycles could be the answer.
Most commutes in urban areas are shorter than 20km, which is an optimal distance to ride by a bicycle. If you take an electric bicycle, you have an individual means of transport for nearly all ages. If you combine this with a folding bike, you get the benefit to carry the bicycle into your flat or your employment area as well. Designer Thorsten Wickert has tried to realize this concept in a folding bicycle that eases transportation. Since it’s foldable, you can take it through a narrow stairway and into an elevator as well.
The folding mechanism is concentrated around the pedal unit, which serves as the center of rotation. There is no mechanical drive unit, i.e. there is no chain. Therefore, the hub motor makes the whole work and the pedal moving just charges the battery. Nowadays this concept is already being utilized in hybrid cars, where the gas engine just works as a generator to produce electricity. Through an electronic control, the resistance can be changed while pedaling, so a gear shift can be simulated. In a higher gear more electricity is generated, which reduces the external power.
