Modern technology has made life much easier with various portable systems that can easily be carried around. Although the market is clogged with various devices that are foldable, the personal mobility section has largely remained untouched by such innovations. Since bicycles are being anticipated to make personal transportation green in the future, as it did in the past as well, several designers are looking towards folding bikes that take up limited space and can easily be carried in the boot of your car. Here is a list of some of the finest folding bicycles that might transform personal transportation for ever.
• Dubike:
Designed by David Fionik, the Dubike is a concept folding bicycle that can be folded into a cube to allow its user to carry it with ease. The bike is designed for urban people who love to ride a bicycle, but don’t want to use it on a regular basis. The Dubike can easily be folded into a cube measuring 580 x 463 x 406 mm, and can be carried into the trunk of a standard personal car.
• Zoomla:
Designed by Eric Stoddard of SpeedStudio Design, the Zoomla is a folding bike that is designed to be a better alternative for those looking for quick, portable, around-town transportation. The bicycle features a TorqSteer mechanism that eliminates the conventional steering tube for better looks and performance. he 5kg bicycle can fold into a trolley in just 2 seconds, making it a better alternative to other folding bikes available on the market today.
• Db0:
Designed ROBRADY Design, the db0 electric bicycle has been awarded a Gold Spark award in the Mobility category of Spark Awards. The design firm has partnered with DK City to help the bike reach the real world. The folding bike is scheduled to be made available in the first quarter of 2010 and is the first in a series of electric bikes that embody the mission to design a series of clean, bold and innovatively simple folding bikes.
• Everglide:
The Everglide by Frag Woodall is a lightweight bike that can fold into a compact package that can be carried as a backpack or can be wheeled around like a suitcase.
• The ‘One’:
A design concept by industrial designer Thomas Owen, the One is a folding bike that when open is a comfortable stylish bicycle, which when folded turns into a smooth, light and compact case free system.
• Backpack Bicycle:
Designed by Chang Ting Jen, the Backpack Bicycle weighs just 5.5kg and would minimize weight using plastics in the main frame instead of metals. No sacrifice would be made in terms of features incorporated, and a head light, a brake light and turn signals, all find a place in the design.
• Tetris:
The Tetris by designer Danilo Mangini is designed with a motive to cater to the urgent need to improve mobility within cities and especially in historic places. The Tetris is transformable and when not riding it can be converted into a trolley.
• Minivelo AF2014:
Designed by renowned Korean fashion designer Andre Kim, the Minivelo AF2014 can easily be enclosed in your car’s boot to allow you to carry it easily. The bike is available in white and black color at a suggested price of 385,000(KRW) or about $300.
• Urban Street Concept Bike:
Gregor Dauth, a student at the Coburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany has designed the super-flexible Urban Street Concept Bike in collaboration with Cube bikes that can be folded down to fit inside a rucksack! Fully fitted with front lights integrated into the brake levers, the bike also features a dynamo in the front wheel hub that automatically turns on the lights in the darkness apart from integrated rear and stop lights in the seat.
• Sun Fold Bike:
The Sun Fold bike is powered by solar energy and can be collapsed into a compact handy structure. Designed by CaO Dawei the bike focuses on two elements, which are optimizing and utilizing solar energy plus saving space.
• The Contortionist:
Dominic Hargreaves, a 24-year old student from Battersea, London, wanted a truly compact bike that could fold into its own wheel. Lacking options, the inventor designed a bike for himself that can fold into its own wheel with a 26-inch circumference. Moreover, the bike can be folded into a compact package in just 20 seconds.
• Eco // 07:
Designed by Industrial designer Victor Aleman, the Eco // 07 folding bike also features folding wheels. The bike carries a reinvented wheel system that is composed of six modules, each of which has a double pivot in the joints. These pivots allow the user to fold each wheel into six different parts to become smaller. The frame on the other hand is a double triangle structure that is composed of expandable modules, each of which collapses into a smaller dimension.
• Rad Bike:
Mardjetko Gonzalez and Jimena Guadalupe have designed the Rad bike that can be folded into a trolley and kept in the trunk of your car and unfolded whenever you’re in the market to ensure that your shopping doesn’t hurt the environment.
• Electric Folding Bike:
The Electric Folding Bike by designer Thorsten Wickert is a folding bike that you can carry through a narrow stairway and into an elevator as well. The folding mechanism is concentrated around the pedal unit, which serves as the center of rotation. There is no mechanical drive unit, i.e. there is no chain. Therefore, the hub motor makes the whole work and the pedal moving just charges the battery.
• Capella:
The Capella by Truong Minh Nhat, a Ho Chi Minh City University of Architecture student, cuts on space, provides hassle free transport and helps in keeping the environment clean. This electric bike has a top speed of 30 kmph. As a matter of fact, this bike needs 2 hours charging to keep it going for 12 kilometers.
• Grasshopper Bike:
The Grasshopper Bike from the design house of David Gonçalves does much more than keeping you fit and saving some cash you would have spent on fuel for your car. The bike generates electricity through regenerative braking and stationary pedaling.
• Urban Folding Bike:
Conceptualized by Chicago-based designer Ryan Mather, the Urban Folding Bike collapses to half its original size with minimal steps involved. Ideal for short city commutes, the urban folding bike can be taken anywhere and is easy to store and transport. A collapsing function makes it easier place into a car or store by the seat if riding a train or bus.
• Suitcase Folding Bicycle:
The Suitcase Folding Bicycle is easy and brisk to operate. You may effortlessly wrap and unfold the unit within 10 seconds. Operating the Suitcase Folding Bicycle is a fun activity for kids, who most of the time keeps away from heavy luggage and bags, and it also keeps the stuff safe within the hard container.
• iF Mode:
Designed by Mark Sanders the iF Mode avoids oily chains and complex tubes with hidden dirt traps. The iF Mode boasts the company’s iF (Integrated Folding) technology that offers a single-action, automatic fold, with no need for tools or removal of parts.
• Rotation:
The Rotation by designer Yirong Yang is more of a combination between unicycle and bicycle. The rider can sway on choice as to what he has to ride and accordingly adjust the axis in between to give desired shape. Most of the affixations you see on this city bike cum bicycle cum unicycle are adjustable be it the handlebar, the saddle or even the front wheel. When you are done with your riding routine you can simply fold it and walk away carrying it easily unlike the conventional ones, that have to be ridden at all times whilst you don’t intend to harness it.
