Interesting product and design, but they should use a different term than cycling as during the majority of a ride a user will be doing nothing but sitting (no pedaling) since this is an electric bike.
It is pretty comical that in the KickStarter ad they show a picture of a guy sweating as something that you will never have to worry about again with this "effortless ride", then right underneath they promote users to track their calories burned during that same ride. Counterintuitive much?
The best thing about the invention of the bicycle is the fact that it is 100% human propelled. Therefore, if you take away the mechanics of it being propelled solely by the user, and replace that with an electric motor it should be classified as an automobile. In an era where we are working toward adopting more sustainable living practices throughout all aspects of the human lifestyle, this is a step backwards.

I strongly doubt the drivetrain comes anywhere close to the efficiency of a normal chain drive. That drive is about as simple and good as it gets, anything you add to it will inevitably result in a loss of efficiency.

Like ALL bikes featured, it is simply way too expensive. For £2,000 here in the UK, you can get a very decent used car. The two just don't equate. Manufacturers have got to come up with a formula that allows normal bikes or electric bikes to be relatively cheap. Perhaps mass production of standard parts or whatever, but to spend £2,000 on a bike (which you would never leave chained to a tree!) is just absurd. We bought two conventional folding bikes for just £65 each. We can take them in our car to the beach or to the park. £65 each...one 30th the price of this bike!

> For £2,000 here in the UK, you can get a very decent used car.
Yes, but don't forget to add the cost of running a car: Petrol, insurance, maintenance and repairs, parking, congestion charges, and road fine. TCO is much higher.
We should also add the time lost in traffic and finding a place to park, which often makes a bike faster than a car in urban areas door-to-door.
As for e-bikes (pedelecs or pedaling-free like this one), this is a must for the people who otherwise wouldn't be able to ride a bike (too old/weak and/or living in hilly areas.)

Well, it looks surprisingly similar to the [URL="http://www.blessthisstuff.com/stuff/vehicles/cycles/volkswagen-folding-electric-bike/"]VW bik.e[/URL]we made a few years back, even the concept of flipping the wheels into the frame. The JIVR uses cheaper components and adds pedaling, though, which we thought people would just not want to do, once they figure the bike runs without. I hope they make it. It's not easy.

It's a proprietary system, and even the company's own founder refuses to talk about how it works. Forget about it. It's doomed.

this looks great! Another option to get people out of cars.

@Damien yeah on the kickstarter page they say if you need support for it there will be a help at JIVR care centers that will be built in every major city with a population of over 1 million people.
With just 47 backers (38 that ordered bikes) that's going to require a lot of support infrastructure to service their bikes eg. there is no way in hell that is going to happen. That prediction seems far too optimistic.
That's a lot of money for a product that will likely require you reverse engineering it and getting at the components yourself in a couple years to fix and you can't easily use off the shelf replacement parts either so it's a good thing it stores compactly because in a year or 2 it might be a brick.

@Connor B I lost 20 pounds riding an ebike for commuting. I would not dare to ride a push bike in those locations as I would get run over fast. I pedal a lot too. Ebike makes you ride more, and pedaling, while optional is fun and quicker. I can go to places that no car can go. How is your gym and transportation rolled into on a step backwards?

@LikelyLad You can buy a rear wheel hub motor ebike kit off flee bay for around 150 pounds and a battery for about 300 pounds; $250, $500 respectively. They are quite easy to install. If you can change a flat tyre you can install a hub motor kit. Throw this on your existing mountain bike and you have an ebike for under 500 pounds.