If you live in or commute daily to a city, you know the drawbacks of relying on a car. There’s traffic, the high cost of gas and maintenance – not to mention the endless challenge of finding a parking spot.
And it goes without saying that cars in the city produce tons (literally) of pollution. Biking is an alternative that many urban dwellers are gravitating toward, and with his new concept bike, Marc Anew Cardinal imagines taking cycling to a new level of ease and sustainability.
Meet the i-Go. It’s a rentable, foldable, energy-storing bike made specifically for the urban populace. When the bike is ridden, energy produced is stored in a battery.
But doesn’t that energy already go into moving the bike? Not all of it. Cardinal is counting on some pedaling energy being stored, and also on gaining power from regenerative braking, just like hybrid cars. For inclines, an electric motor can be called on to give you an extra push.
Smart phones can be fully integrated into the bike, fitting snugly between the handle bars and giving riders access to map apps, or the ability to clock distance and speed with the “personal trainer” option.
When the ride is over, the lightweight i-Go simply folds up for easy transport and storage. Plus, your phone has been charged with the energy you produced.
But phones aren’t all the bike charges. Cardinal wants his invention to be more than just a device to suit the needs of one person at a time. When a bike is are returned to its stations, the power stored inside is transferred to the station, and then to the city itself, easing the strain on the power grid and cutting down on pollution.
Sure, this would be a complicated thing to make happen – but it’s a cool concept that’s not out of the realm of possibility. In effect, by riding an i-Go, you would be powering your own city. Cardinal has even included an incentive for riders to produce energy into his design: the more energy produced, the lower the rental rate.
