Solarbike Has Solar Panel Wheels

In many big cities, citizens don't have cars and the only way to get around it to walk or use public transportation. People who live too far away from work to walk and don't want to spend lots of money on public transport can also ride bikes. The catch is that peddling can leave you a sweaty mess before you get to work. This has led to the invention of electric bikes.

There are lots of electric bikes on the market already with battery packs that have to be recharged at home and in the office to get around. A new electric bike has surfaced called the Solarbike that has a battery and electric motor, but never needs to be plugged in.

Solarbike is able to recharge its battery using solar panels that are embedded in both sides of the wheels on the front and back of the bike. When the bike is parked, the power gathered by the solar panels is sent to the battery. Since the solar panels are sideways, they don't gather as much power as normal solar panels that face up towards the sun.

The bike has a range of 43 miles when the battery is fully charged and a top speed of 30mph. You could certainly go for longer distances if the speed was turned down significantly.

SOURCE: Engadget