Quantcast
ZME Science
  • CoronavirusNEW
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Other Design

Meet Mando Footloose – The Chainless, Foldable Bike that Runs Without a Chain

Henry Conrad by Henry Conrad
June 24, 2015
in Design, Technology

With an already saturated market for bikes, companies are coming up with more and more creative options, but it’s becoming more and more difficult for a particular bike to stand out. The Mango Footloose however does so, not only because it’s an electronic bike and it folds (that’s not extremely uncommon nowadays), but because it runs without a chain.

Image: Mando

First teased in prototype form at Eurobike 2013, the Footloose IM works by transmitting the rider’s pedalling power to charge the bike’s 36-volt, 8.2-Ah lithium-ion battery via an alternator in the crank. That battery in turn powers the 250-watt rear hub motor. You can also remove the battery for charging, if you’re feeling especially lazy.

According to producers, you can go up to 60 km (37 miles) on one charge of its battery, with a maximum speed of 25 km/h (15.5 mph). The bike weighs 21 kg (47 lb), which makes it pretty light for an e-bike. Mando Footloose also features a polished aluminum alloy frame with a protective plastic coating, built-in rear flashers and a removable HMI (human-machine interface) bar-mounted LCD control unit.

Mando seem pretty happy about the end result, as they announced that the IM is a “stylish, simple and elegant” way of riding a bike.

The Mando Footloose IM’s battety can be removed for recharging (Image: Mando)

“Mando’s dream of creating a vehicle that would take you “As far as you want, in the style that you want, and with only the effort that you please to make” was a challenge which could not be solved with outdated thinking, technology and design. As a result, the company developed the world’s first Series Hybrid System that could power the vehicle with a built-in motor without a chain and dressed it up with the simple design of a world-class designer.”

I still have some reserves, as riding a bike without a chain can lead to some difficulties (as the BBC also highlighted), but I find it attractive and interesting – I could definitely see it hitting the streets soon. You can already buy it in many cities in the US and Europe, but the price is quite hefty: €2,690 (about US$3,050).

Get more science news like this...

Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Tags: bikebycicle
Henry Conrad

Henry Conrad

Henry Conrad is an avid technology and science enthusiast living in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his four dogs. Aside from being a science geek and playing online games, he also writes poems and inspirational articles and short stories just to dabble on his creative side.

Follow ZME on social media

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Environment
    • Climate
    • Animals
    • Renewable Energy
    • Eco tips
    • Environmental Issues
    • Green Living
  • Health
    • Alternative Medicine
    • Anatomy
    • Diseases
    • Genetics
    • Mind & Brain
    • Nutrition
  • Future
  • Space
  • Feature
    • Feature Post
    • Art
    • Great Pics
    • Design
    • Fossil Friday
    • AstroPicture
    • GeoPicture
    • Did you know?
    • Offbeat
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.