Commuting made easier...

[NotthatJasonKenny]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flykly/flykly-smart-wheel

 

[AndyRM]

Nifty.

 

[Berties]

This Type of cycling does get a lot of people into the saddle ,so by just changing a wheel ,it's a good idea

 

[lozcs]

Want!

 

[jarlrmai]

Singlespeed only?

 

[Pale Rider]

Singlespeed only?

Looks like it might be.

Most of the pics on the site are taken with the bike facing left, so you can't see the sprocket.

Lots of purpose built ebikes have a rear hub motor and space for a seven-speed derailleur cassette - the drop outs on those might be wider than standard.

Storck say their powered rear wheel can be swapped for an ordinary one, suggesting it has a standard frame.

The battery is frame mounted, but the idea is you leave the battery at home so when riding it as an ordinary bike you are only lugging around the extra weight of the wiring, battery carrier and controller.

This Storck could take an ordinary wheel:

http://www.storck-raddar.co.uk/specprod.asp?id=15

 

[Matthew_T]

I dont see much in terms of the power from it, but the security looks really good. It notifies you when the bike is moving and you can track its position and relay it to police. Very nifty device.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Great! Now perhaps I can persuade my wife to come cycling with me ... But then again, with a $500 price tag, maybe not!

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Singlespeed only?

From the website:

Can Smart Wheel be used with my multi-geared bike?
Yes, Smart Wheel is actually fully compatible with multi-geared bikes since the rear gear cassette gets removed together with your old rear wheel once you replace it with the Smart Wheel. This of course turns your bike into a single-speed bicycle but we don't see that being much of a problem since shifting is no longer necessary beause Smart Wheel is already doing all the work for you.

 

[adds21]

Looks virtually idential to a Copenhagen Wheel (http://senseable.mit.edu/copenhagenwheel/)

 

[jarlrmai]

250 watts is nice I wonder how long it can sustain full power output for.

 

[Frood42]

Nice idea, and I suspect there would be takers, personally I am happy with my geared hybrid and getting up a sweat on my ride, as I mainly cycle for the "fresh" (well I do cycle through London) air and exercise.

I could see this as useful as a sort of shopper or short distance work commuter bike, but not for me yet, maybe when my knees give in.