Copenhagen wheel

[captmike007]

Anyone try the Copenhagen wheel yet?

 

[J.R.]

Court reviewed a prototype some time ago, but the company Superpedestrian hasn't produced a single unit for customers that paid for them 2 years ago. You can read comments on the Copenhagen Wheel on the Superpedestrian forum: http://electricbikereview.com/community/forums/superpedestrian/

 

[MLB]

it doesn't seem to be a viable commercial product. Can't put enough batteries in it for enough power (for most) , and with the controller and motor together, heat is always going to be a problem.

 

[pocomo]

I took a spin on one a few weeks back during SuperPedestrian's regular Friday afternoon test ride sessions. The ride was really short (about 8 city blocks total) and flat, so not a great test. It definitely worked, and was pretty unobtrusive and responsive. I would not call it 'fast', but that doesn't strike me as their goal..

I had a good chat with a representative after my ride; they seem to be focusing a lot of energy on the software that gathers live data from the wheels through the phone and packages it up for presentation to city planners and transport engineers. It's all very noble and such, but it's a lot for a small company to take on. I got the sense that the wheels are pretty much done but getting the ecosystem in place is holding them up. He also mentioned that there are about 300 components that go into building a wheel, and supply chain issues can constrain their manufacturing on short notice.

I'd be happy to try and answer questions if you can think of anything.

 

[Ryank]

I took a spin on one ...I would not call it 'fast'

as someone that has actually ridden the thing, I'm very interested in your thoughts on if it is worth it. I ordered one almost 2 years ago and am *still* waiting for it to come. do you think I'd be better of just getting a conversion kit? I currently ride my road bike to work every day (~8miles each way, some good hills) but wanted to get either a conversion kit or the copenhagen wheel to get me there as fast as possible. I'd still love to pedal and have it feel like a bike (not just some electric motorcycle that happens to be on a bike frame). I am quite athletic and average ~16 mph (in hills) just pedaling normally, so whatever I do I want it to be faster than that.

What do you think? keep waiting for Copenhagen Wheel or give up on the hype and get a conversion kit?

 

[pocomo]

Hmmmm. I think you would find it to be too weak for your needs. It certainly did not feel "rocket like" on the test ride, which is more of what you would feel from a BBS02 750W mid drive conversion (which is what I am purchasing). It seems more designed for someone who casually rides in a city environment, probably averaging under 15 mph. According to their site the max boost speed is 20MPH, which may be too slow for you as well. On the positive side it requires no modification to your bike (completely wireless), so you could try it out when you receive it with zero "commitment" then just return it if it did not meet your expectations. It's also cheaper than a quality conversion kit.

Given where we are in the riding season and how fast ebikes are evolving, if you can stand to wait until Spring '16 for your CPH to arrive you will likely have better options available than what you can get right now.

 

[MLB]

as someone that has actually ridden the thing, I'm very interested in your thoughts on if it is worth it. I ordered one almost 2 years ago and am *still* waiting for it to come. do you think I'd be better of just getting a conversion kit? I currently ride my road bike to work every day (~8miles each way, some good hills) but wanted to get either a conversion kit or the copenhagen wheel to get me there as fast as possible. I'd still love to pedal and have it feel like a bike (not just some electric motorcycle that happens to be on a bike frame). I am quite athletic and average ~16 mph (in hills) just pedaling normally, so whatever I do I want it to be faster than that.

What do you think? keep waiting for Copenhagen Wheel or give up on the hype and get a conversion kit?

I think you are the IDEAL candidate for such a device. If you are avg 16mph in hills you don't need much assist to feel like superman. I have 3 very strong bikes/setups (Falco, Haibike, Stromer) and I use all at the lowest settings or approx., 30% of their capacity when in actual use. All are 36v. I'm strong and athletic but not as fast or probably fit as you. I "think" I could be just fine with a 24v "boost" and guess that might be the case for you unless you want a motor to haul you up those hills by themselves.
These bikes(trike) can all be high speed mopeds if you crank up the boost and adjust the settings. If you don't need that (you don't) then why haul it around and pay for it. But I sure would be *issed if I'd paid TWO YEARS ago and didn't have a product yet. (nobody ever called me particularly patient)