Irish invention aims to revolutionise cycling at fraction of price of E-bike

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An Irish invention is seeking to revolutionise transport by bike by increasing the distance commuters will be able to travel on two wheels, without any power source required.

The Superwheel has been invented by Louth-based entrepenur Simon Chan and is about to go on sale to the public in competition with E-bikes.

While wheels that assist cyclists are not new to the market, the Superwheel is different in that it requires no charging and no power source at all and so has no range limitations. In short, it can never run out of power because it doesn't need any power.

As a result, those behind it claim it is more environmentally friendly and much cheaper than other power-assisted wheels on the market.

The wheel operates on a system that converts a cyclist's weight/mass into power, which Chan calls 'weight to energy conversion technology’ (WTECT).

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It comprises two mechanisms: an external spring mechanism and the internal drive:

“The action/reaction force caused by weight compresses the springs in the upper section of the wheel and decompresses in the lower section," Chan says.

"Using the centre as the pivot, this converts energy and reduces the frictional force in the opposite direction and facilitates the rotation. Using 10kg active weight, the mechanism is shown to generate a moment ranging from 7.3Nm to 7.8Nm.”

Chan claims it can boost speed by 30 per cent and with refinements he believes that will improve to about 50 per cent.

The start-up company is operating out of the Regional Development Centre at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT), the institute’s enterprise and innovation hub. The company is also supported by Enterprise Ireland.

Superwheel has secured a distribution contract with a French distributor and will be manufactured in Calgary, Canada.

The wheel will retail at €395 and while the Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the project over recent months, a crowdfunding campaign, which had previously been planned but was postponed, was expected to proceed early next year.