May 12, 2010
Volkswagen
has come up with an novel folding bike that not only looks cool, but
can be folded up into the same configuration as a spare tire. It fits
right in the trunk.
Automakers,
under intense pressure to create vehicles that save fuel and pollute
less, may have finally found the ultimate: the electric bicycle. Both
Toyota's Lexus of Japan and Volkswagen of Germany have been showing off
their own versions of two-wheel transportation.Perhaps because of their association with major automakers, these are no ordinary bikes.
Lexus showed off a high-tech bike at a Tokyo auto show
The
Volkswagen BIK.E -- we don't know why it was given such a strange name
-- contains batteries and an electric motor. VW says the intent was to
create a vehicle that can go where cars cannot go. The VW bike, shown in
the picture above, also has a startling feature. A 40-pound wonder, it
folds up into a circle that fits into the well of the trunk where the
spare tire is normally kept. If you get a flat tire, you can simply set
off for help on the bike.The Lexus hybrid bicycle, which made its
debut at the Tokyo Motor Show late last year and in England last month,
also makes the pedaling a breeze:
The rider is assisted by a
240-watt motor and lithium-ion battery to help out with the pedaling --
and has a high-tech look. It comes across as the luxury car of bikes --
carbon-fiber construction, a fancy belt drive system instead of a chain
and an eight-speed transmission.
So far, neither automaker has
announced plans to sell their bikes. But it sounds like one or both
could make it to the sales floor somehow.
