Volata – Bike with Battery & Generator
Cycling is a gadget-heavy enterprise and having lights together with GPS tracker and the computer keeping track of how far and how fast one has gone, it could be quite stressful in keeping track of everything, ensuring that it tends to have adequate juice to run it. Volata cycle tends to take care of it due to its gadgetry into the bike with battery and generator.
The said commute-ready ride has been designed in Italy, but the start-up exist in San Francisco and the final assembly tends to take place in California, featuring a carbon fibre fork, hydraulic disc brakes together with Shimano Alfine Di2 electronic shifting. It carbon drive belt tends to save your pants from certain grease stains.
The LEDs seems to be built in the fork and the top tube and the bike has a 96 decibel horn together with a 2.4-inch touchscreen attached to the stem of the handlebar. Besides that a 10,000 mAh battery is stored in the handlebars which provide the juice and a frictionless dynamo front hub permits you to roll your way to a charged battery. The assimilated screen tends to work with iOS as well as Android in displaying turn-by-turn directions, incoming calls, message notifications and weather forecasts.
Anti-Theft Mode Discourages Offenders
Moreover it also functions as a music controller and a trip visualizer, offering details on the maximum and average speed, or the time as well as the distance of the trip. Browsing through the display menu can be done with the joystick though one would not indulge in it while riding.
In sleep mode the battery life is maximized while an anti-theft mode discourages offenders. If the bike is moved or lifted, the vibration sensors is alert and triggers the horn, flashing the lights and beeps your phone to make the user aware that someone is attempting to ride off with the bike.
Besides that, an embedded GPS chips tends to work anywhere in the world, enabling you to track the bike with your phone. Some of the features such as navigation, forecast and tracking can be provided by a smartphone mounted on the handlebar though it would need to be mounted and dismounted on the bike every time.
Volata – Not the First Bike Start-Up
Volata is not the first bike start-up with a high-tech approach, Vanhawks from Canada had created the Valour in 2014, a connected bike which has raised more than $100,000 on Kickstarter. Latest reports have suggested that the company was not faring well anymore.
The Volata comes at a price of $3,499 and if one is reloaded and is on the look-out for a bike, one could organize and reserve it for $299 and is refundable if one chooses to change their mind.To make the smart bike a reality, Volata would still have to ship product to customers, though it seems to have the working prototypes together with a solid grasp of tangled engineering. The start-up plans to begin shipping the bikes in July 2017 though it also plans to test rides as well as demonstrate in different locations.
