Update: GeoOrbital has surpassed $1 million on its Kickstarter campaign with 1,351 backers and nine days left to go.
“We are amazed by the global reaction to our wheel. It’s more than anything that we could have hoped for. Kickstarter has helped us launch a great company that’s proud of our local roots," founder Michael Burtov told me of his company's crowdfunding success. “We could not have had such a record-breaking launch without an amazing amount of support from our local community as well as the world over. We are proud to be part of rich fabric of innovation in Boston."
GeoOrbital is now the sixth most funded project currently on Kickstarter and among the top 200 most funded projects in the crowdfunding platform's history.
Earlier: I have never turned so many heads in downtown Boston.
On Friday afternoon, I got to test drive GeoOrbital, an electric bike wheel out of the Cambridge Innovation Center that replaces the front wheel of almost any bike in a matter of minutes and propels the rider to speeds up to 20 MPH with a flick of the thumb.
Zipping through the streets near South Station, pedestrians and motorists alike couldn't help but stop and stare, a few even asking what I was riding. I would have stopped to explain, but I was having too much fun.
"We went out of our way to make the installation super simple and take just seconds."
The concept is the brainchild of Michael Burtov, who has been working on the prototype for almost two years. This, the fifth and most polished iteration of his original idea, is now live on Kickstarter. The campaign kicked off Sunday evening to friends and family with a goal of raising $75,000. At the time of this writing, the campaign stood over $115,000 with 44 days to go.
"The GeoOrbital wheel can make your bike 'part-time' electric," Burtov told me. "It takes seconds to go from a 100 percent manual bike to electric. With no tools and no modifications to your bike."
Burtov walked me through the installation process and, as advertised, the wheel takes about a minute to install, with no need for tools. (It's also flat-proof, as it's made from an innovative foam material rather than the typical rubber.) Just pop off your existing front tire, and put this one on, easy with the use of a quick-release bolt and two velcro straps that attach to each stem of the fork. From there, a throttle attaches to your handlebars with a simple clasp and you're good to go. The wheel comes in two sizes the team says makes it compatible with 95 percent of adult-sized bikes. Right now, it won't work with bikes with disc brakes (unless you're OK riding without a back brake), though they're working on that.
Through the use of a Panasonic 36V removable Lithium-Ion battery, the bike gets up to 50 miles per charge with pedal assist, or 20 miles without. There's also a built-in USB port to charge your phone while you ride.
The benefits of an electric bike wheel like this are apparent from the outset. For starters, you don't need to ditch your existing bike and buy a new electric bike. Those are often clunky and heavy and not much to look at. With GeoOrbital, you could commute on your $3,000 Specialized road bike as-is when you want, then rotate the electric wheel in when you want some assistance – on a particularly hot summer day, say, when you're headed straight to a meeting.
"It started as a fantasy while I was watching the TRON movie a few years ago. But the thought kept hunting me," Burtov told me. "Why don’t we put a motor and a battery in that empty space inside those motorcycle wheels? I really have no engineering or building skills so it seemed crazy for me to try to pursue this idea."
GeoOrbital joins Cambridge neighbors Superpedestrian, maker of the Copenhagen Wheel, which links up to your smartphone and replaces the back wheel, rather than the front. Both top out around 20 MPH.
"This wheel is different. Compared to many others, we went out of our way to make the installation super simple and take just seconds," said Burtov. "All you need to do to operate the wheel is to press down on the throttle."
True to form, I found the bike very easy to use. The throttle was responsive and the front didn't feel overly heavy. The wheel itself weighs about 20 pounds – so subtracting the weight of the existing wheel, you're only adding about 15 pounds.
More than anything, though, I was impressed with the speed and acceleration. From a standstill at a red light, you can accelerate right along with traffic, a major advantage when riding in the city. At top speed, you're really moving: fast enough to feel like you're on a moped, not a bike, but not so fast as to feel out of control.
"Because Mike's wheel concept leaves everything stationary except for the tire itself, I had so much freedom in the design and feature set," Decker told me. "This let us use proven and tested components without many constraints on size and position. It allowed us to pack so much into such a tight package, and offer it at such a low price. “
At the outset, it seems like GeoOrbital might have struck the right balance between aesthetics, ease of use and performance. If its Kickstarter campaign is any indication, this is the first of many products we're likely to see from the team out of Cambridge.
The wheel is slated for a November delivery with a retail price of $950. On Kickstarter, it's selling for $650 and up.
See more photos below:
Images provided or taken by the author.
