Lifestyle

Reinventing the Wheel

Saves space and pains - revolutionary design invented to provide easier portability and storage of bicycles and other wheeled transports.
3 September, 2018
Years of research and hundreds of 3D models led Andrea Mocellin to his invention - aluminium- framed Revolve wheel collapses like an umbrella when not in use, allowing riders to have all the benefits of a full-sized wheel while saving about 60 percent of a space.
With its 665mm diameter (including tyre), the Revolve is almost as large as a 700c wheel (622mm diameter) with a tyre fitted, folding to a height of 260mm. It is a full-size 26-inch spoked wheel that can be folded to a third its diameter and back again in second. This invention may potentially revolutionize bicycle, wheelchair and many other vehicles markets.

The structure of the wheel is hexagonal with six arcs around the edge that combine to produce the useable wheel. Opening and closing the aluminium frame is simple and the product can be handled with the help of two handles that lock and unlock the wheel when unfolded. An airless tyre folds with the rest of the wheel. Apart from that, the tyre can have different levels of softness depending on the needs of the customers.

Images: NewAtlas
The idea to reinvent the wheel came to Andrea due to his disappointment with the existing folding bikes. They were all small, too light and had relatively tiny wheels that were not suitable for urban environment. Gutters, steps, cracks in the pavement and other obstacles were severe limits for such bikes. However, Revolve is a whole new ball game.

"Revolve is dedicated to people who need modular wheels to store everywhere (home, car, train or airplanes). With bicycles, the comfort is close to that of a regular tyre, the big difference being in the case of someone who wants to achieve high performance in term of speed. I have tested the wheel in urban and suburban environments. The pre-production model has been mainly tested on wheelchairs, having the same comfort and performance as any other large wheel in the market. "

Images: Road.cc
"I have also tested it on bicycles and have had great feedback in term of solidity and modularity. The wheel has been tested for the last mile of trips (moving, for example, from the train station to your workplace). Of course, finding a partner able to produce the wheel will give more opportunity to take the next step and make the wheel suitable for long journeys."

"I didn't design a wheel for single bicycle, but a wheel for many different products that can have the same full-sized bicycle wheel, but can now be folded and reduced in size in many different ways," said Mocellin.

"It was conceived as an enabling technology, and when folded, the side wheels that can be added as either traditional wheels or omnidirectional wheels are also designed to enable new ways of making better folding vehicles that can be used and transported in different ways. The aim is to offer the enabling technologies to open new frontiers for the future of foldable vehicles."

"I expect the most important market segment initially will be for wheelchairs. People with disabilities who wish to travel have no choice – they must take their wheelchair with them, and traveling with a wheelchair is very difficult, be it on an aircraft, or in a car, on the underground, anywhere.

Andrea Mocellin graduated from the Royal College of Art in London with a Masters degree in vehicle design and he has worked as senior exterior designer at Alfa Romeo/ Maserati and as creative designer for car companies like Pininfarina and Audi AG.

Banner image: NewAtlas.com