This Slick, Foldable Electric Bicycle Is Almost Impossible To Steal.

The concept e-bike, called the NCycle, has everything a cyclist could dream about: a holographic display, an innovative locking system, even a hidden pocket for your stuff.

Many electric bicycle designs are clunky; they look like bloated regular bikes with motors. There are exceptions to that rule, like the Smart eBike. And now we have the NCycle, a skinny concept foldable electric bike that comes with a handlebar locking system–no outside lock necessary.

Designers Skyrill and Marin Myftiu explain:

The vast majority of current e-bikes are still 100+ year old designs converted somehow to electric, and you can tell it just by looking at them; to most people they still are almost the same, odd mix of tubes and wires and the extra electric hardware adds up in quite a clumsy way… Our lifestyles and needs have dramatically changed since the late 19th century and these structures today are unnecessarily complicated and [do not offer] the extra functionality required in our digital age.

The result is a novel proposal for a bicycle frame that is constructed from a pair of side panels, which conceal a battery, storage compartment and an optional folding mechanism, as well as integrated safety and security features. Thus, the nCycle is intended to represent an electric conveyance that is « cheaper, sturdier, more flexible, easier to build and maintain. »

Additional features include an integrated lock—a telescoping bolt that closes the loop of the handlebars—and lights, as well as a built-in soundsystem. The speakers are integrated into the back of the headlights, streaming Bluetooth audio from one’s phone, which can be docked in the horizontal section of the frame.

The concept bike endeavors to solve other problems plaguing cyclists, including object transportation (the bike is equipped with a retractable pocket–much more attractive than a basket–that slides between the bike’s metal plates), the awkwardness of foldable frames (supposedly this one can fold up in two seconds and still remain sturdy), and headlights, which are a part of the handlebar.

The bike also offers solutions to problems most cyclists didn’t even know they had. Built-in speakers connect via Bluetooth to music-playing devices. A holographic display on the handlebars can connect to smartphones, while the display itself is controlled by touch sensors in the bike’s rubber grips ; the app can be controlled via touch sensors embedded in the rubber grips. (As if to underscore the fact that this feature is a bit farfetched if not altogether superfluous, none of the images illustrate the HUD.)

The electronic components draw power from a small onboard battery in the horizontal section of the frame, between the expandable compartment and cockpit.