Canadian designer Peter Boutakis claims to have developed the world’s smallest folding bike, which “folds down to the size of its wheels” (+ film).
When fully folded down, the Helix bicycle’s dimensions are 58 centimetres substantial, 63.5 centimetres across and 23 centimetres wide.
“Helix is the world’s smallest folding bike,” claimed Boutakis. “No other bike in the planet folds so tiny.”
Connected story: Unattainable Technology’s electrical bicycle folds away into a backpack
“It really is not only little in width and height, but also depth,” he added. “Helix is only somewhat wider than its crankset.”
The front and rear wheels of the Helix are connected to its frame by helical hinges, allowing each to pivot in the direction of the light-weight titanium frame and in between the cranks – the component of a bicycle drivetrain that converts pedal electrical power into movement.
A button positioned beneath the rider’s seat is utilized to unlock the rear wheel from its rigid position so it swings under when lifted, resting to one particular side of the frame.
The front wheel is pulled back to the other side of the frame soon after a lock positioned on the head tube – which supports the handlebars – is launched.
The handlebars also collapse down to a single side and the seat is fully lowered to make the bike as compact as feasible.
“Helix was created from the quite commence with a focus on security,” stated Boutakis in a statement. “Helix uses pass-via locks to hold the front fork and stem locked in location incredibly rigidly”.
“The locks are spring-loaded to avoid put on over the lifespan of the bike a secondary security is in location should the spring loader fail,” he additional.
As properly as aiming to enhance the security and trip quality of folding bikes, the Canadian inventor also set out to make them much more hassle-free.
“Not like any other folding bikes, Helix can be folded in any purchase and without having getting to rotate the pedals,” he explained. “It really is easy to fold simply because the helical pivots guide the wheels to their correct place.”
The bicycle is handmade in Toronto, Canada, and is due to commence shipping in late July 2015. It will be available for pre-order on Kickstarter in early March.
Other folding bicycles launched this year include an electrical bike that can be carried in a backpack and an additional that utilizes a magnet to generate the locking method that holds the frame together.
