Between an non eco-friendly automobile or a motorcycle and a tiring bicycle, an electric bike or scooter sounds like a good choice. Understanding the need of a huge population who are environmentally aware but are not patient enough to cycle, companies and designers around the world have introduced various electric bike and scooter designs to grab the market. Here are 20 of the coolest. Many of them are still at the concept stage.
MoonRider Flying Bike Concept
Proposed by Marko Design, MoonRider is a bike concept that can fly. Powered by electricity, this eco-friendly bike is supposed to run on a plasma jet engine instead of a turbo jet engine. The front of the bike is going to be made up of solar panels which will charge it up.
Unbreakable Bike Concept
Via: DailyMail
Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman introduced a bike design that he believes will be an everyday product within 20 years at the cost of £2,000. The bike will count calories as you pedal, play music and use a solar-powered motor when you get tired. It also includes an inbuilt computer system with an “unbreakable” fingerprint-based locking device.
EBIQ Charger Electric Bike Concept
The electric bike concept EBIQ version 2’s smart design will not only provide the rider a comfortable journey, but also feature a compartment to store your portable gadgets like laptop, cell phone, iPod and more to charge them on the go. Developed by designer Yuji Fujimura, the bike runs on power generated from a Lithium-ion battery.
Foldable Capella Electric Bike
Truong Minh Nhat, a Vietnamese student, has designed a lightweight electric bike that can be folded into an easy-to-carry structure for better storage and more efficient battling with daily traffic. Capella, as it is called, can run at the speed of 30 kilometers per hour with a battery that will provide juice for 12 kilometers on a single charge.
Foldable Solar Man Bike
Via: Ecofriend
The Solar Man is an innovative solar powered bike design that has earned Chen Weiping the bronze at Lotus Design Awards. The bike incorporates solar panels in the frame that charge the batteries placed near the pedals. The Solar Man weighs just 12kg and is foldable.
The Beast Electric Bike Concept
As its name suggests, The Beast design from M55 Bikes is supposed to be a powerful animal that will take over bullying motorbikes on the roads. The bike is made out of light and strong materials such as aluminium and carbon fibre. One full charge of the electric motor will allow The Beast to go up to 75 miles without stopping.
Electric Yike Bike
YikeBike, invented by Grant Ryan and designed by a team in New Zealand, is an ultra light and ultra compact bike that weighs just 10kg, thanks to the frame made of carbon fibre, and folds into 6 x 23.6 x 23.6 inches to solve all your space congestion problems.
Ecodrive Bicycle Concept
Via: Ebikeguru
Ecodrive has introduced a cool looking bike design that incorporates turn signals, a smart phone receptacle and funky wheels. The only problem is that you will have to take the whole thing to the charger as you cannot take out the battery.
Grasshopper Foldable Electric Bike
Via: The Design blog
One more design and we can see that foldable bikes are trending here. Inspired by nature and designed for city commuters, Grasshopper is an extremely good looking bike that can be folded and carried around as a trolley when not in use.
Sunny Day Bicycle Concept
Via: Gizmag
Sunny Day’s adjustable streamlined solar panel on the front stem helps to reduce wind resistance when on the move, and will automatically turn to face upwards to make the most of the sun’s energy when the bicycle is parked.
Collapsible Electric Bicycle Train
Via: Jiang Qian
The bike design from Jiang Qian of China is an interesting bike that works like a train. You can either ride this bike alone or attach extra helpers bikes when needed. It is also collapsible to ease storage.
Folding Scooter
The folding scooter by this MIT group is a fun yet practical design for easy transportation and saving the environment.
Copenhagen Wheel Bike
Named after the city that is well known for its large number of cyclists, the Copenhagen Wheel is a smart and elegant bike design. At the center of the rear wheel is a red hub that contains a motor, batteries, and an internal gear system to help it overcome hilly terrains and cover long distances at ease.
Hybrid Bicycle Concept
Designed by Jamie Tomkins for the year 2020, the Hybrid Bicycle concept is China’s answer to pollution.
Electric Cherry
Inspired by a fruit, electric Cherry has such a quirky design that you don’t know if you should call it a bike or a motorbike. Cherry’s super compact body is made of carbon fibre plastic and weighs 40kg.
AutoVelo Electric Bike
Via: Ecofriend
Designer Eric Stoddard of Speed Studio Design has introduced a bike that features a seat similar to that of a car. The AutoVelo electric bike, as it is called, includes an electric motor that propels the rear wheel and a set of pedal that can power the front wheel after the electrical power runs out.
Scoot Electric Scooter
Scoot, as this cool scooter design from Martin Uit Utrecht is called, can travel up to 40-50km at only 50 cents. Its Lithium-ion battery is removable and needs only 6 hours of recharge.
Marrs Cycles Beach Cruiser
Via: The Design blog
A luxurious product, everything of Marrs Cycles beach cruiser, including the frame, handlebars and leaf-spring front ends, is hand crafted with highest quality motorcycle components.
Lexus’ Hybrid Bicycle Concept
Via: Ecofriend
Assuming that the car market probably will not turn out very well in the future given the more and more traffic jams, Lexus has switched its focus on hybrid bikes. Made of carbon fibre, Lexus’ innovative hybrid bicycle concept features a 240W electric motor and is fueled by a 25.9V lithium-ion battery. It also includes an eight-speed transmission and a regenerative braking system.
Volkswage’s Bik.e Concept
Via: Engadget
Volkswagen is second to none in this bike competition. Unlike Lexus’ hybrid bicycle concept, Bik.e is a full-fledged electric bicycle. In in addition to a standard AC outlet, the bike can also be charged using your car’s DC current in a pinch. It can go up to 20 kilometers on a full charge at the speed of 20 kilometers per hour.
