Reinventing the Wheel, Efficiently

The bicycle may be one of the simplest ubiquitous environmentally-friendly inventions around, but that hasn’t stopped scientists from making it even better for eco-enthusiasts.

Researchers at the Senseable City Laboratory at the Massachusettes Institute of Technology have created a new energy efficient bicycle wheel.  Dubbed the Copenhagen Wheel, as it was unveiled in Denmark at the Climate Change Summit, the technology saves kinetic energy and stores it to be used later.  It is the same concept used in electric cars as captures energy when the brakes are used, and then saves it when needed.  The same principle applies here with the bike, as a battery in the wheel’s hub harbours otherwise wasted energy.  Thus, cycling has become more efficient.

The new technology has a potential for a great positive impact on the environment. While cycling is already environmentally friendly, the new wheel should encourage more people to ride bicycles instead of using cars.  Any bicycle can be retrofitted with the hub, so a new one does not need to be bought. The more efficient technology allows people to travel farther using the same energy. Thus the limits people are willing to travel somewhere can be increased.

Steve Hed, a wheel designer and the owner of Hed Cycling Products in Shoreview, Minn, explained the appeal.

“It could be great for people who have a 10-mile commute and don’t want to show up at work sweating,” Mr. Hed told The New York Times. “Elderly
bikers might also make a good target, Mr. Hed said. “For my mother it
would be perfect,” he said. “She loves riding her bike and has one or
two hills on her normal route that this could help with.”  Hills and rougher terrain will be easier to traverse, making more routes bicycle accessible to more people.

The new wheel offers other special devices that will benefit riders.  The hub tracks mileage, air quality, and GPS routes, and all the information is easily accessible instantaneously. Unlike electric bikes, there are no extraneous wires, and nothing that needs to be plugged in and recharged.

Die-hard cyclists may be hard to win over, as the current trend is for the lightest, simplest bike. However, for those seeking to be ever more ecologically friendly, the Copenhagen Wheel triumphs.  “It’s a technology that can get more people on bikes,” said Christine Outram, the project’s lead reearcher..  The red wheel has been out less then a month, but can already be seen on
city streets can is on its way to become a symbol of energy efficiently and eco-friendliness.

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