Eco Factor: Folding bicycle for eco-minded commuters.
Designers have always focused on the development of folding bicycles that could help eco-minded owners carry them with ease wherever they go. However, till date no bike could actually fold enough to allow the owner carry it like a trolley. 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.
The bike, dubbed The Contortionist, has been shortlisted for this year’s James Dyson Award for innovation and may bag the young inventor £10,000 in prize money. Another great aspect of the bike is that it folds in just 20 seconds. The clever part is how the front wheel rotates and repositions to allow the frame to fit between the two wheels of the bike. The inventor is in talks with various manufacturers and hopes that his bike will be into production soon.
Via: Treehugger/Guardian/SkyNews