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

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.

See the device that turns a push bike into an electric hybrid bicycle - http://t.co/Xh8V8T9MNA pic.twitter.com/FoNTejV4mG

— BBC Click (@BBCClick) March 2, 2015

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