Discover Germany | Special Theme | Design Guide Austria
VELLO Bike+
The freedom bike After successfully launching the initial foldable VELLO Bike, designer Valentin Vodev and his team have upped the ante with the VELLO Bike+, the world’s first self-charging electric folding bike. Available at Indiegogo, the lightweight bike is a sensational innovation, literally enabling its users to ride their bike forever. TEXT: THOMAS SCHROERS I PHOTOS: VELLO BIKE
VELLO Bike is the brainchild of Austrian product designer Valentin Vodev. It has been eight years since Vodev created a prototype, when he was preparing for a trip to Cuba. The idea stuck with him and in 2014 he partnered with entrepreneur Valerie Wolff and launched his first Kickstarter campaign. The campaign was hugely successful and reached more than double of its goal. For the VELLO Bike+ a second campaign was started and by now it has reached the magnificent number of almost 520,000 euros. So how does a self-charging bike work? In fact, it employs an Integrated Kinetic Energy Recovery System (K.E.R.S.), which 24 | Issue 48 | March 2017
can convert mechanical energy from braking and riding downhill into electrical energy, that is recharging the lithium-ion battery and gives you an extra boost when riding uphill. Also, even when the selfcharging mode is deactivated, the VELLO will assist the rider with constant support for at least 35 kilometres. The electric bike can be connected to a free smartphone app allowing to select six different pedalassistance levels and even lock the motor to prevent theft. “A self-locking magnet allows hands-free folding, which makes it very different from a typical folding bike with complicated hinges to open,”explains designer Valentin Vodev. The magnet is part of a sophisticated mechanism and de-
sign, that enables the VELLO to be folded down to a suitcase’s size. From a performance point of view, the VELLO is built on a stable, shock-absorbent steel frame, characterised by two parallel frames. Lights are integrated into the frame and the use of smaller 20-inch wheels supplies necessary responsiveness while driving in urban areas. For Vodev and his team, the VELLO Bike+, which is now live on Indiegogo, is part of a larger world view. “For us, converting ideas into products is a metamorphosis from the common to the unexplored – discovery through which we can define new functions and forms.” Needless to say, with the VELLO, you yourself are able to explore the unexplored in a great way too. www.vello.bike www.ks.vello.bike