Folding Wheels
The advantage of this collapsible Tuck Bike is that it has foldable wheels. Other folding bikes have small tires so they can fold down to a small size, but Tuck Bike has full-sized 700c wheels that fold along with the frame. These big wheels provide a smoother ride and a ‘real bike’ experience.
Over the past three years, California-based mechanical engineer, Alex Animashaun invented the Tuck Bike. He designed the bike particularly for urban commuting, the airless tires and carbon fiber spoked wheel fold into pieces like stacked slices of pizza. The tires never require pumping and are puncture-proof.
The bike can be unfolded or folded in less than two minutes and weighs around 30 pounds. When it folds down, it measures 61 x 83 x 37cm, which is about the size of a duffle bag.
Animashaun wrote:
After a trip home to London, I returned to Nairobi, Kenya thinking about all the folding bikes I saw. Why did they have to have tiddly, dinky little wheels? I realized that they have small wheels so that they can be folded up to a small package. So, then I wondered, what if you could fold the wheel? Impossible! or perhaps not. So, then I embarked on a multi-year journey of trying to reinvent the wheel. If you check out the prototype journey gallery, you’ll see the many trials and errors along the road. I’ve folded the bicycle wheel. Other small-wheeled bikes say they “feel just like a normal bike,” well, Tuck is a normal bike. It just happens that the wheels fold. It’s ridiculous. I’m ridiculous. I’m the inventor of Tuck Bike, the folding bike with a folding wheel.
Fits In A Backpack
The HiMo H1 city electric bike sizes down to fit in a backpack. It’s not the most comfortable way to travel around town, nor the fastest, but it’s much easier than larger bikes to pack up and carry upstairs, into buildings and onto public transportation.
Speeds reach up to 11 mph, and the 7.5-Ah battery provides enough power for more than 18 miles of range. Though the bike may look small, HiMo claims it’ll support riders up to 200 lb.
The 32 lb Himo H1 folds and collapses into a size that measures 12.6 x 18 x 9-in. Between the handlebars sits an integrated headlight and an LED display that shows information about speed, battery power, and headlight setting. You never have to fill the tire with air because the bike has 7-inch airless shock-absorbent rubber tires.
Currently, HiMo is offering the H1 at Indiegogo’s early bird pledge with $469 or $880 for a pair; the retail price will be $699. The startup plans to start deliveries in May.
Folds In Half
In 2013, a Hungarian non-profit called the Antro group developed a lightweight electric scooter dubbed “MOVEO” that folds in half within seconds and can be rolled around like a suitcase. The Antro group is devoted to developing eco-friendly forms of transportation.
MOVEO weighs around 55 pounds but provides a top speed of approximately 28 mph, and one charge of its battery provides enough power to drive for over 22 miles. Users are protected against coming into contact with dirty parts of the bike because it has a ‘closed design’ when it’s folded.
If you like folding bikes check out the folding mountain bikes from Oyama Power and the SWAGCYCLE EB5 plus folding electric bike.
