Bicycles

Evelo Omni Wheel turns almost any bike into an electric bike

Evelo Omni Wheel turns almost any bike into an electric bike
The Evelo Omni Wheel
The Evelo Omni Wheel
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The Evelo Omni Wheel is an electrified wheel that can be installed on a non-electric bike to provide a power boost
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The Evelo Omni Wheel is an electrified wheel that can be installed on a non-electric bike to provide a power boost
The Evelo Omni Wheel can be installed on most bikes
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The Evelo Omni Wheel can be installed on most bikes
The Evelo Omni Wheel is available in 26-in and 28-in sizes
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The Evelo Omni Wheel is available in 26-in and 28-in sizes
The Evelo Omni Wheel can deliver a speed of up to 20 mph (32 km/h)
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The Evelo Omni Wheel can deliver a speed of up to 20 mph (32 km/h)
The Evelo Omni Wheel has a range of up to 40 mi (64 km)
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The Evelo Omni Wheel has a range of up to 40 mi (64 km)
The battery for the Evelo Omni Wheel is available at either 8.7 Ah or 14.5 Ah
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The battery for the Evelo Omni Wheel is available at either 8.7 Ah or 14.5 Ah
The Evelo Omni Wheel can be charged in between four and nine hours depending on the battery in use
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The Evelo Omni Wheel can be charged in between four and nine hours depending on the battery in use
The Evelo Omni Wheel has a wireless LCD dIsplay that is attached to the user's handlebars
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The Evelo Omni Wheel has a wireless LCD dIsplay that is attached to the user's handlebars
The Evelo Omni Wheel range from US$999 to $1,499
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The Evelo Omni Wheel range from US$999 to $1,499
The Evelo Omni Wheel
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The Evelo Omni Wheel
The Evelo Omni Wheel
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The Evelo Omni Wheel
View gallery - 11 images

Whether you cycle to work or just for pleasure, there are no doubt times when a little help wouldn't go amiss. The Evelo Omni Wheel can provide just that assistance, replacing the front wheel of most bikes to give an electrified power boost.

The Omni Wheel is one of a number of recently announced powered wheels for non-electric bicycles, but Evelo co-founder Boris Mordkovich believes it could be the first to market.

"Since we do not rely on crowdsourcing to fund the development and production, we are able to better control our timelines and meet the delivery commitments," Mordkovich tells Gizmag. "Although other companies have been working on an all-in-one wheel design for some time, at this point, we may be the first ones to actually ship the product to customers in March."

The Evelo Omni Wheel can be charged in between four and nine hours depending on the battery in use
The Evelo Omni Wheel can be charged in between four and nine hours depending on the battery in use

Those competitors include the FlyKly Smart Wheel and the Copenhagen Wheel. On paper, the entry-level Omni Wheel appears to outperform the comparable FlyKly version. It is more powerful, with a 350 W motor compared to a 250 W motor, and can go faster, at up to 20 mph (32 km/h) compared to 16 mph (25 km/h). The two have a similar range of 25 mi (40 km).

The Copenhagen Wheel, meanwhile, has the same motor power and top speed as the Omni Wheel, but a battery that offers a longer range of 31 mi (50 km). It also comes in a little cheaper than its competitors at US$949. The Omni Wheel is available to pre-order for $999 and the FlyKly for $1,099 (although there is also a FlyKly hub that can be attached to an existing wheel available to pre-order for $999).

The Evelo Omni Wheel range from US$999 to $1,499
The Evelo Omni Wheel range from US$999 to $1,499

The Omni Wheel's battery size can be increased from 8.7 Ah to 14.5 Ah though, giving an increased range of up to 40 mi (64 km). The batteries take up to four and nine hours to charge respectively and the larger of the two can push the price to $1,499 (currently $1,299 on pre-order) depending on the battery and wheel size (26-in or 28-in) that is required.

Unlike the FlyKly and the Copenhagen Wheel, the Omni Wheel does not have an accompanying smartphone app. Instead, it comes with its own wireless control unit that is attached to the user's handlebars. From here it's possible to control the five levels of pedal-assist via buttons on the unit and keep an eye on speed, battery-life and other information about the wheel on an LCD display.

Evelo says it takes about 30 minutes to install and provides an instructional video for its installation.

The Omni Wheel is available to pre-order now, with shipping expected to begin in March 2015.

The video below provides an introduction to the Omni Wheel.

Source: Evelo Omni Wheel

Omni Wheel by EVELO

View gallery - 11 images
9 comments
9 comments
VirtualGathis
My first question when looking at this wheel is "How do they prevent the wheel from breaking the fork?". The reason most of these powered wheels are in the rear wheel is that applying power to the front fork forces it to flex in a non standard way which breaks it over time, so how to they apply power to the fork without breaking the bike?
Paul...
No regenerative braking?
jeffrey
It looks like a great product, unfortunately that thousand dollar wheel would be stolen in ten seconds the first time I parked my bike.
Ben29
I have been waiting for the Copenhagen wheel since it was meant to be launched in May 2014.
I contacted them recently to see if it will be available in London UK. was advised "hanks for your interest.
1) We are targeting first shipments to our pre-orders by the end of the year. 2) Cost is the same as in the US - $799.99 + $79 shipping (internationally). 3) If you are in the Boston area sometime soon, we do demos every Friday at the office. As for a Demo in the UK - the timing is still TBD. We have noted your interest and will keep you updated should we start doing demos internationally"
EVELO Inc
Good day everyone,
My name is Yevgeniy Mordkovich and I am one of the founders of EVELO.
We at EVELO highly appreciate your interest in our new product.
I'd like to address the questions and concerns that have been raised here.
1) In regards to preventing the wheel from breaking the fork. It is perfectly safe to use these, fairly low powered, motors on the front fork. In fact a lot of the production ebikes on the market use front hub motors as a method of propulsion. We do recommend a non-suspension fork; however our tests show that the users should be perfectly safe with a suspension fork as well.
Just to be on the safe side, we include a torque arm and torque washers with the Omni Wheels so make sure the motor does not damage the fork in any way.
The only option we recommend against are carbon fiber forks.
2) In regards to the regenerative braking, we have decided against adding that feature to the Omni Wheel. It would require the use of gearless/direct drive motors which are heavier and bulkier than the geared motors currently used. In addition, the amount of energy that can be captured using regenerative braking in an ebike application is insignificant compared to the added weight and drag the direct drive motors would produce.
3) Finally it is fairly easy to protect the Omni Wheel against being stolen. A good U lock through the opening in the wheel near the valve should leave it as protected as a bicycle can be.
DonGateley
Kudos to the founders for eschewing KickStarter. These days KS funding is a sure way to spot products with a very high probability of being at best incompetent and at worst fraudulent.
I'm not sure whether FlyKly is the former or the latter.
telocity
I like the idea, I could use something like this on a daily commute I do. However I will probably DIY it myself. Since what I really want is to have a single wheel trailer for all the items I need to carry from time to time. Putting the electric motor on a single wheel trailer will allow for easy access to batteries and allow for it to be used by other riders in the family. Simply connect the trailer and move the controller over. This seems like such a obvious use for electric motor, I'm surprised there are few companies offering it. There is ridekick, but it's two wheel and not really designed to carry anything. The Cycloboost trailer is exactly what I was thinking of, but seems to be only in Europe.
Gavin Roe
they may run into a snag in SA where 250W is the maximum for a bike above that it is classed as a motor cycle
unklmurray
If I was going to spend that much $999.00 I would get a ''BaFang'8FUN'' more bang for my buck........I like locking my bike then covering it entirely and locking the cover on......nobody messes with any part of the bike, especially since they can't see it!!........LOL :-)