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Video: The Copenhagen Wheel turns any bicycle into an e-bike

The smart electric hub is nearing completion

The Copenhagen Wheel, an electric motor that turns any bicycle into an e-bike and can be controlled from a smartphone app, is getting closer to its launch, and this week BBC’s Click technology show has been given a rare glimpse inside the company. You can watch the video here, in which BBC Click’s Dan Simmons also gets to take it for a spin.

road.cc has been reporting on the development of the Copenhagen Wheel since 2009. The invention is designed to transform a standard bike into a ‘smart electric hybrid. The battery should be good to keep it spinning for up to 30 miles, and braking or freewheeling downhill results in the Copenhagen Wheel recovering and storing energy.

In the video the designers explain how the Copenhagen Wheel has the capability to learn how you pedal and provide the necessary level of assistance, and can multiply your power from three to 10 times.

It’s more than just a motor though. Founder Assaf Biddermans explain how the Copenhagen Wheel has the capability to learn how you pedal and provide the necessary level of assistance.

“You can think of it more like a robot, it responds to your pedalling behaviour and weaves itself seamlessly with your motion, so you don’t even feel like you're on an electric vehicle, you just think the city has shrunk beneath you,” he says.

There’s a smartphone app that lets you control the Copenhagen Wheel and make adjustments to it as well as sharing data with other users and tracking your ride and route. 

Here's the official video:

The company says the Copenhagen Wheel will be available this spring. You can preorder it here www.superpedestrian.com

David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes

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3 comments

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caaad10 | 9 years ago
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I can't believe how slow the development of this sort of thing is - if they were lighter, cheaper, faster and with a better range I'd buy two - 2WD!... I think a front wheel version would be better as it wouldn't have any effect on the gearing, and surely it would be easier to develop?

I remember there was a wheel with a small petrol motor as a hub, it cost around £150 (in the early 90s?) and did a zillion MPG. It would have been great, except for stupid laws making it almost impossible to use legally.

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rxpell | 9 years ago
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Yep, this one keeps coming up - it weighs 5.9Kg and costs US$949 (NINE HUNDRED AND FORTY NINE DOLLARS) - doubt it will catch on.

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Kim | 9 years ago
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Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, heard it all before, how many years have they being saying this?

Anyone else remember this from 2009?

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