zackshapiro:

The Copenhagen Wheel is a remarkable set of technologies debuted in Copenhagen a few days ago by MIT researchers. The Swiss army knife of technologies inside of the rear wheel can monitor speed, smog in the air, your friends and where they are on their bikes. It will talk to your iPhone via Bluetooth to tell you the speed that you’re traveling, direction you’re going, and the distance you’ve traveled.

But wait! There’s more!

The Copenhagen Wheel has the ability to convert kinetic energy generated during breaking into power that will charge batteries. Those batteries can then be used to give you a speed boost up a hill through a built-in electric motor.

The best part is that the Copenhagen Wheel can be fit into any bike wheel, no special parts or modifications needed. I can see this technology making big impacts biking cities like Copenhagen or Boulder but MIT researchers hope that the built-in motor will encourage more biking in hilly cities like San Francisco. No one wants to get sweaty in a suit on the way to work and with the Copenhagen Wheel, you might not have to.