Who Says You Can’t Reinvent the Wheel?
Duncan Fitzsimons is a tinkerer. When he was 5 he put together Lego spaceships in seconds. When he was 15 he made a wooden rocking chair. At 26 Fitzsimons has decided to reinvent the wheel.
Standing in his London workshop, Fitzsimons picks up the bicycle wheel he designed and pushes on the sides. In one smooth movement it collapses, inflated tire and all, into an oblong shape the length and width of a skateboard. After three years of modifications and scores of prototypes Fitzsimons has come up with the world’s first collapsible bike wheel, aimed at couriers or commuters who might need to throw a folding bike into a trunk or overhead compartment.
It could be a few years before the design hits the market. Folding-bike makers like Brompton Bicycle Ltd. have been slow to pick it up, partly because they can’t produce such an unusual model and partly because bike designs have barely changed over the last century. “I’m getting an incredibly enthusiastic response from everyone except the bike industry,” the inventor says.
Photo by Tom Fecht.
John on May 7th, 2008 10:41 pm
It looks very clever, but what problem does it actually solve?
I’m not suprised Brompton have been slow, all of their bikes that I’ve seen have much smaller wheels (and therefore no need to fold).
Koyo on May 8th, 2008 7:29 am
Maybe take this one step more and use it for wheel chairs? While most of them fold for storage the wheels don’t. This might make for an overall smaller package.
Melanie D. on May 8th, 2008 11:25 am
“I’m getting an incredibly enthusiastic response from everyone except the bike industry,” the inventor says. -This one strikes me as funny. A few more modifications and i’m sure this wheel will finally serve its purpose.
Angela on May 8th, 2008 3:16 pm
I’m more surprised that someone didn’t reinvent the wheel so it’d fold sooner.
cliff on May 11th, 2008 4:21 am
interesting!
Seccopower on May 11th, 2008 12:27 pm
wow!!! In this way I can carry my bike in my car!
ah ah!
bvisual on May 16th, 2008 11:24 am
This is a great idea. Is it an inner tube inside the tire? And how does it not POP when you fold it up?
“When you can’t be there, bVisual”
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