Cameron Wright
Earlier this month at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Ford Motor Company had a bike on display it’s called the Ford E-Bike concept and is a rather stark departure from typical auto show flair. Not that it is any less showy or has any less innovation – it’s that it is “just a bike.”
The bike has a fresh frame design and comes packed with technology. The front wheel houses an electric motor with a 9.2Ah battery that can propel the bike 25 kph (15.5 mph) while the rear wheel is powered by conventional means – you. Instead of using a traditional chain the bike uses a carbon chain.
Engadget was over in Germany and managed to get a number of photos including one that clearly shows a smartphone resting in a custom dock on the handle bars. This was a Samsung Galaxy S II – and this piece of kit actually controls aspects of the bike. custom software built-in riders will be able to monitor the battery level and change some aspects of the suspension. Of course, if it is a fully functional Android device it would come with all the mainstays of Google’s Android Operating System.
If a bike such as this were to be released I like the idea of having the phone automatically adjust to the docking system on the bike and put Google Maps into “Bike Mode” bringing up both local roads as well as bike trails, automatically launch an app to monitor your heart rate, cadence, and travel route. I would love to spend some time with this vehicle and its different settings. I’ve put out a request to the people at Ford to see if this could be a possibility.
