Super-portable bikes are nothing new. If anything, we’re flooded with concepts and with actual purchasable bikes. But the Kit Bike from Lucid Design is different enough to catch the eye.

The bike is a lightweight, hollow-tube cycle that snaps together quickly and easily. Simple twist joints hold the tubes together and, with a little practice, you can assemble or disassemble it in minutes.

But here’s where the really interesting part of the design comes in. With most folding bikes, the frame can easily fold up but then you’ve still got to carry the wheels around with you. The Kit Bike comes with a handsome leather backpack that holds all of the bike’s parts, including the wheels.

There are three compartments in the bag: the center is for the frame parts, and the two outer pockets hold the wheels. The whole thing straps onto your back so you can easily carry it around on the street, on the trail, or on public transport. The design is in the concept stage and might need some further refinement (a more stable frame would be nice), but it’s got serious promise.

The post All Packed Up: Collapsing Bike Fits Entirely in a Backpack first appeared on Gajitz.

Electric bikes are hardly news anymore, but some designs stand out as truly ahead of the pack. The Gi Bike has changed the e-bike game with a bike that is lightweight, folds easily, and includes enviable connectivity and safety features.

The Gi Bike is the “perfect city bike,” according to the company behind it. They integrated all of the features that they wanted to see in a bike to create a mode of transport that is not only safe and speedy, but stylish as well.

Weighing in at just over 37 pounds including the LiFePo4 battery, the Gi is one of the lightest e-bikes to be introduced to the public. It can ride for more than 40 miles on a single charge, making it ideal not only for commuting, but for those long leisurely rides as well. A smart anti-theft lock is integrated in the front and rear wheels, locking the bike and making it unusable when the owner (and his/her smartphone) moves more than 10 feet away.

Toothed carbon drive belts mean fewer breakdowns and a safer ride. Built-in smart LEDs on the front and rear wheels turn on when it starts to get dark, making the Gi even safer. The Gi app connects you to friends, giving it a social networking personality. Friends can request the use of your bike and you can respond instantly.

An integrated USB port and smartphone mount let you plug in your phone to help you navigate or communicate. And when you get to your destination, a single motion folds the bike in less than three seconds. If you aren’t interested in the electronic part of the bike, the company has also designed a pedal-only version. The prices for both versions are, at publication time, still to be announced.

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Foldable bikes are not known as super-easy to operate, either on the road or when folding and unfolding – but this one aims to change that perception. Space from designer Simon Hukaya is an urban folding bike that features wheels set slightly further apart than most similar bikes and a simple one-handed folding/unfolding mechanism.

As most urban bikers know, taking your bike in the morning usually means you’re stuck taking your bike home in the evening, even if it rains or you end up at a bar that’s miles away from home. A folding bike is supposed to solve those problems by letting you take your bike on a train or in a cab, but most of them are not designed for agility and they’re incredibly fiddly to fold and unfold.

The Space features 20-inch wheels, up to three sizes larger than typical folding bikes. These make the bike more stable to ride and more agile in an urban setting. The folding/unfolding mechanism consists of a single button which, when pressed, folds the frame in half on a central pivoting point and allows the two wheels to come together. The rider can then pull it along behind him by the handlebars or carry it.

So far, the Space is just a concept and there are no details on if it will be manufactured for commercial purposes. With its functional but adaptable styling it would definitely be a hit with the office bicyclist set.

The post Gimme Some Space: Urban Bike Folds With Just a Touch first appeared on Gajitz.

Folding bikes are fantastic inventions that let cyclists ride to work or school and then stash their bikes in a secure indoor area. They’re small enough that they can go almost anywhere, but robust enough that they can still perform like regular bikes. Some designers are taking this idea and running with it, coming up with folding bikes that are remarkably lovely and memorable.

The Odachi Folding Bike from designer Nick Domanski seems to be much more about the style than the function, but it’s got so much style that maybe the function can be allowed to take a backseat, as it were, since there are no plans to actually produce the bike currently in place.

The Odachi bike is styled after an elegant samurai sword. When expanded to riding position it features a very simplistic bamboo fiberboard shape that is almost reminiscent of a child’s toy.

The lightweight bike can be folded when it is not in use and slung across the back in the fashion of a warrior’s sword. For those who would rather not wear their bike (or who don’t find it quite lightweight enough to lug around) it can also be easily rolled along behind as the owner walks.

Of course, the design does look a bit impractical for actually riding. But perhaps if the bike ever goes into production the mechanics can be worked out. Until then, it’s a visually stunning interpretation of a leg-powered vehicle that can go virtually anywhere along with its owner.

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When space is at a premium and moving into a bigger place is not an option, what can you do? Make your stuff take up less space, that’s what. Father-and-son Swiss design team Andre-Marcel and Eric Collombin created this outstanding foldable electric bike which will fold up to a tiny apartment-friendly size and unfold in just one second.

Unlike other foldable electric bikes which are still rather cumbersome even when folded and take forever to unfold, this one is built for ease of use. It weighs just 18.5 kg (a little less than 41 pounds) and when folded takes up only 2 feet of width. It stands 2 feet, 7 inches tall when folded and extends to 3 feet, 6 inches.

The top speed of this tiny bike is 15 MPH and it can go for around 25 miles before needing a charge. The team took five years to come up with a design that was compact, lightweight, sturdy and – most importantly – could be folded with one fluid motion made with one hand and in one second.

The team didn’t intend the bike to resemble a Swiss army knife at first, but after building a prototype and watching the way it folded up they realized the likeness. They painted some up in the signature red with a white cross, took it to some Swiss army knife manufacturers and have gotten some interest in the design. As of now, their company, Voltitude, is planning to sell the bikes in other colors but not the Swiss army knife theme. They’ll debut in Switzerland in mid-2012 for a price of around $4,300.

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