Transportation is shifting into an electronic mindset, with the electric vehicles of Tesla Motors among the developments that are changing how people move about in the world.
Electric bikes have been around for some time, allowing riders to plug in the bicycles to recharge them when needed. Developments on such a transportation mode have been scarce, but a new technology is looking to make electric bikes even more accessible to customers.
Instead of creating electric bikes, GeoOrbital has come up with the idea of a universal wheel that can be swapped with the regular wheels of bicycles to provide riders with electric power.
The creators of the GeoOrbital Wheel used to work at Ford and SpaceX, which reveals their experience in making modifications to traditional means of transportation.
The GeoOrbital Wheel comes as either a 26-inch or 700c (28-inch/29-inch) tire, and features a system that won't make it flat if it suffers a puncture. The lithium-ion battery embedded in the wheel provides a boost to the now-electric bike to speeds of up to 20 miles per hour for a distance of up to 50 miles.
The wheel even has a USB port so that riders can charge up their devices while they go. The wheel also charges up whenever it is moving without using up the battery, such as when the rider pedals, brakes or coasts downhill.
Installing the GeoOrbital Wheel to upgrade a regular bike into an electric one will take less than 60 seconds, according to its creators, and requires no special tools. The device is also compatible with almost all bicycles.
A Kickstarter campaign for the GeoOrbital Wheel is up, and it looks like it's doing very well. At the time of writing, with 43 days to go in the fundraising campaign, the GeoOrbital Wheel has already raised $175,626 from 236 backers, smashing through its goal of $75,000.
Shipping for the GeoOrbital Wheel is expected to be carried out in November. The retail price of the device is set at $950, but there are still a few available slots in the Kickstarter campaign for backers to reserve their own GeoOrbital Wheel for only $649.
