Whether you cycle to work or just for pleasure, there are no doubt times when a little help wouldn't go amiss. The Evelo Omni Wheel can provide just that assistance, replacing the front wheel of most bikes to give an electrified power boost.
The Omni Wheel is one of a number of recently announced powered wheels for non-electric bicycles, but Evelo co-founder Boris Mordkovich believes it could be the first to market.
"Since we do not rely on crowdsourcing to fund the development and production, we are able to better control our timelines and meet the delivery commitments," Mordkovich tells Gizmag. "Although other companies have been working on an all-in-one wheel design for some time, at this point, we may be the first ones to actually ship the product to customers in March."
Those competitors include the FlyKly Smart Wheel and the Copenhagen Wheel. On paper, the entry-level Omni Wheel appears to outperform the comparable FlyKly version. It is more powerful, with a 350 W motor compared to a 250 W motor, and can go faster, at up to 20 mph (32 km/h) compared to 16 mph (25 km/h). The two have a similar range of 25 mi (40 km).
The Copenhagen Wheel, meanwhile, has the same motor power and top speed as the Omni Wheel, but a battery that offers a longer range of 31 mi (50 km). It also comes in a little cheaper than its competitors at US$949. The Omni Wheel is available to pre-order for $999 and the FlyKly for $1,099 (although there is also a FlyKly hub that can be attached to an existing wheel available to pre-order for $999).
The Omni Wheel's battery size can be increased from 8.7 Ah to 14.5 Ah though, giving an increased range of up to 40 mi (64 km). The batteries take up to four and nine hours to charge respectively and the larger of the two can push the price to $1,499 (currently $1,299 on pre-order) depending on the battery and wheel size (26-in or 28-in) that is required.
Unlike the FlyKly and the Copenhagen Wheel, the Omni Wheel does not have an accompanying smartphone app. Instead, it comes with its own wireless control unit that is attached to the user's handlebars. From here it's possible to control the five levels of pedal-assist via buttons on the unit and keep an eye on speed, battery-life and other information about the wheel on an LCD display.
Evelo says it takes about 30 minutes to install and provides an instructional video for its installation.
The Omni Wheel is available to pre-order now, with shipping expected to begin in March 2015.
The video below provides an introduction to the Omni Wheel.
Source: Evelo Omni Wheel
I contacted them recently to see if it will be available in London UK. was advised "hanks for your interest.
1) We are targeting first shipments to our pre-orders by the end of the year. 2) Cost is the same as in the US - $799.99 + $79 shipping (internationally). 3) If you are in the Boston area sometime soon, we do demos every Friday at the office. As for a Demo in the UK - the timing is still TBD. We have noted your interest and will keep you updated should we start doing demos internationally"
My name is Yevgeniy Mordkovich and I am one of the founders of EVELO.
We at EVELO highly appreciate your interest in our new product.
I'd like to address the questions and concerns that have been raised here.
1) In regards to preventing the wheel from breaking the fork. It is perfectly safe to use these, fairly low powered, motors on the front fork. In fact a lot of the production ebikes on the market use front hub motors as a method of propulsion. We do recommend a non-suspension fork; however our tests show that the users should be perfectly safe with a suspension fork as well.
Just to be on the safe side, we include a torque arm and torque washers with the Omni Wheels so make sure the motor does not damage the fork in any way.
The only option we recommend against are carbon fiber forks.
2) In regards to the regenerative braking, we have decided against adding that feature to the Omni Wheel. It would require the use of gearless/direct drive motors which are heavier and bulkier than the geared motors currently used. In addition, the amount of energy that can be captured using regenerative braking in an ebike application is insignificant compared to the added weight and drag the direct drive motors would produce.
3) Finally it is fairly easy to protect the Omni Wheel against being stolen. A good U lock through the opening in the wheel near the valve should leave it as protected as a bicycle can be.
I'm not sure whether FlyKly is the former or the latter.