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Ricardo Bilton & Gloria Sin

Volkswagen electric Bik.e folds up, can be charged via AC, DC currents

By | April 30, 2010, 4:03am PDT

Summary: Electric bikes are no longer something we’ll just see at the gym. Volkswagen has unveiled their latest electric vehicle: the Bik.e, which lacks pedals and can be charged directly from a typical AC outlet.

Electric bikes are no longer something we’ll just see at the gym. Volkswagen has unveiled their latest electric vehicle: the Bik.e, which actually lacks pedals and can be charged directly from a typical AC outlet.

According to AutoBlog Green, Volkswagen rolled out their first form of electric transport at Auto China 2010. VW is set to unveil its first electric automobile in 2013. I guess it’s better to start somewhere small first, such as with a two-wheeler.

But this eco-friendly black and white creation is not too shabby. Not only does the Bik.e fold up into a flat disc to be easily stored in the spare tire compartment of your trunk, it can also charge up via an AC outlet or DC current from a car. If you’re curious to see just how this bicycle folds up, check out the promo video from the show.

As for speed, don’t expect to go as fast or as far as a car or even a regular scooter on the Bik.e. The typical distance range on a full charge is 12.5 miles, and the peak speed is 12.5 miles per hour. Not exactly something to use when in a hurry, but definitely a decent option for traveling to work, school or just around the neighborhood.

Given that this has only been spotted at a car show, there aren’t any official details on pricing or release plans around the world just yet, but hopefully this goes commercial soon. I wouldn’t mind having one of my own, depending on the price. Although, then I’m forfeiting the amount of exercise I get from a regular, old bicycle.

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Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

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Great Product design ! Congrat to VW
Donald.Nagy@... 2nd May 2010
This one of the best looking ' design electric bike '
that I have seen. Excellent design.

Hope VW can get people to go for it.

From California - I will buy more than one.
0 Votes
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So...
trance2tec 30th Apr 2010
It's extremely slow and has no range? It can only operate for 1 hour?

Sounds like it belongs in 1999, not 2010. What a worthless piece of junk.
0 Votes
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Welcome to reality
frgough 30th Apr 2010
Energy density stinks in chemical batteries and all the wishful green thinking in
the world will not change that fact of physics.
0 Votes
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It's all relative...
Feldwebel Wolfenstool 30th Apr 2010
that range I could find useful. Don't be a Goldilocks, now. Maybe with GEN 2 models you'll be filling up the frame with methanol for a fuel cell. Or maybe tow a little bowser with an extra 20 litres of CH3OH.
Now I like that bike, still needs pedals. Batteries WILL go dead at the worst of times/places. Besides, pedals can generate power on the go. It's still can be used as excersize. "Dred the Thought!", some'll say.

My predction on future batteries. There would be none. Micro-powerplants.
LOL, Flux capacitors, or micro-gerbles on micro tredmills.
Sounds good in concept.
For instance there is no spare wheel well on a 7-seater Touran sad
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Helps make room for...
Feldwebel Wolfenstool 30th Apr 2010
...fat Ammurricans.
I think they are on to something here. The bike has a great folding design and the ac or dc is a plus. If you're at the beach you can give it a charge from the cigarette lighter in your car. They will have to work on the speed and range part but that will come with the next generation model. Also a big plus is the fact that the design is striking to look at. Looks very futuristic.
The seat looks dangerous and grossly uncomfortable and ill-fitting for anyone over 30 years......
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Fat Bottomed Girls
klumper 1st May 2010
The seat looks dangerous and grossly uncomfortable and ill-fitting for anyone over 30 years......

And especially for fat bottomed girls and boys as commonly found in the States. lol [Maybe should include back up pedals just in case] wink

Are you gonna take me home tonight?
Ah down beside that red firelight
Are you gonna let it all hang out?
Fat bottomed girls, you make the rockin' world go round


--Fat Bottomed Girls, Brian May (Queen)
Electrical+Volkswagen???? That's a scary thought. My
last car was a Jetta and was a lot of fun to drive. I
never had another car that handled so well in 45 years
of driving. But I'll never buy another VW product
because the totally unreliable ELECTRICAL system
caused me so much grief. 5 Starters the first 100,000
miles, numerous security system headaches causing the
car not to run, and frequent failures to start in wet
weather made owning this car a nightmare. The car was
excellent mechanically but a total failure
electrically. I have no confidence in anything
electrical made by VW.
0 Votes
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Also
eddzpc@... 30th Apr 2010
When the dealer refused to cover the fifth
starter, I went to a private garage. I told them
to use an aftermarket starter and definitely not
the VW part. The non-VW starter lasted the
remaining 100,000 miles I kept the car without
incident and was working fine when I unloaded the
car.
0 Votes
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Some things never change
klumper 1st May 2010
Once upon simpler times I had an old 6 volter with a minimalist wiring grid that we used to have to kick start whenever we drained the battery for too long (like when taking in tunes at some mountaintop hop). Didn't seem to take much to *pop* a fuse either.

But damn if that little beast could hang corners like a demon and sprint like a jackrabbit, all on a 40hp 1200cc motor (bored to 1400cc thanks to a bolt-on kit courtesy of Valleycore of California). It was at that time you realized its atavistic connection to the Porsche, which was after all its grandpappy. wink
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Other high tech e-bikes
yonian 30th Apr 2010
http://yikebike.com/

The yikebike might actually be for sale soon.
Too expensive for me, but I admire the creativity that went into it.

Even more original is the Uno dicycle, but also not for sale yet and likely to be wildly expensive.

And don't forget the Segway.
0 Votes
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Good looking bike
kikl 2nd May 2010
It sure looks good. The folding mechanism is smart. It adds mobility once you've parked your car. 12.5 miles is too short. Additional pedals would be nice. It should recharge automatically once you put it back into the boot of your car.
0 Votes
+ -
Great Product design ! Congrat to VW
Donald.Nagy@... 2nd May 2010
This one of the best looking ' design electric bike '
that I have seen. Excellent design.

Hope VW can get people to go for it.

From California - I will buy more than one.

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