Thoughts on the Copenhagen wheel?

[Phoebe]

Has anyone read about this (or better yet, tried it)?  Thoughts?

http://sharepowered.com/community/copenhagen-wheel-mit-bike-invention/#

[hybrid]

I'm intrigued by it.  I have an eight mile commute that quite simply can't be done by bike both ways because there is no shower at work and I have an internal cooling system that works very, very well (translate - I start sweating pretty quickly to get rid of excess heat).  This has impacted now much I bike commute.  I usually try to carpool in with a buddy and then bike home, and that works well enough unless the buddy is working out of town, which can be pretty often.

A device like this could get me to work in decent shape.  The downside is I would rather pedal on the way home, so I am hoping there is a simple off switch so I can get the benefits of the exrecise on the way home.

Long story short I won't be getting one anytime soon.

[Will]

My thought is:  $699!?!?!??!??

[aglassman]

I saw this on a season of Weeds, but thought it wasn't a real product.  I'm pretty amazed!  They should have ditched the wifi crap to keep the cost down.  Simple = better!

[YK-Phil]

It is an interesting concept. I am sure some elitist cyclists will dismiss it and trumpet "this is not cycling", and the non-cyclists will say "why don't you just get a moped". I think this is a good middle ground for those who consider the bicycle both for its health and environmental benefits and its efficiency and ease of use as a mode of transportation. If it were not for the price, I would certainly get it, although I am not sure how efficient it would be in sub-zero temperatures I am accustomed to in Yellowknife where I live most of the year.

On this note, I'm off to run errands on my bike. Although I am the boss here, I relish every single opportunity to run errands like picking up the mail, delivering letters to our suppliers, getting coffee suplies, etc... Anything to be out there beats being in front of the computer or in a meeting...it's -26 right now but I going out anyways...

[nawhite]

I bike commuted with an electric bike for about a year. I see a couple pros and a couple HUGE cons of this vs other electric bike setups (because that is what you should be comparing to)

Pros:
This thing is super easy to install. That is so ridiculously simple I'm amazed. No battery shelf, no wires, no switches.
Decent price for what you get. A nice set of Li-Ion batteries will set you back over $250 and the motor setups range from $250 for a cheap Chinese built 250 watt motor to $2000 for a really nice Bionx setup.

Cons:
Its not a plug-in hybrid. There isn't as much energy in regenerative braking as most people think compared to hill climbing. The best part of an electric bike is that I can plug it in overnight and get all that energy when riding up a hill.
It requires your smartphone. WTF why?!?!

[dragoncar]

Yeah there are cheaper ways to get the same effect.  It's an interesting concept but probably not the frugal option.

[PindyStache]

This looks pretty cool, and glad some folks are making them. I do not see purchasing one anytime soon though, as I enjoy the biking part of biking. I also don't have a smartphone. But if it gets more people off cars, great!