The Jivr E-Bike Zips, Zooms, And Folds

The electric bike, like the electric car and, for some, electric underwear, has long been the dream of futurists. Many have tried to make a solid, portable, and foldable bike and many have failed. Perhaps Jivr hasn’t?

This chainless bike was created by a Polish inventor Marcin Piatkowski. It can go about 20 miles per hour with a 20-mile range and it is light enough to pedal if your battery poops out. It is highly portable – just fold it and go – and it connects to your cellphone via a plug-in cable and Beacon technology.

You can get an early bird unit for about $1,200 and they will start shipping in September. It’s obviously a bit pricey but most e-bikes are floating in the $1,500 range and this one looks like the old Polish skladak, a bike so beloved/hated by many in the country that it is almost cultic. To be able to own your own super-powered, high-tech folding bike is, for some, a dream come true.

The team is looking for £70,000 to start building and they’re pretty close. I’ve seen the bike in person, or at least an early prototype, and it looks pretty nice. I’d like to give it a spin one of these days and race a Tesla while wearing, obviously, my electric underwear. Excelsior!

from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ZzvmX7P5z6Y/

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