This actually looks good

"Theft is a huge problem in cities not only for motorcycles, but also for bicycles.
Leave a nice bike parked outside in New York, and chances are it will be gone by the time you get back, or at least harvested for parts.
Cube’s designers have taken a novel approach to this problem, creating a high-end, full-size road bike that folds into an incredibly small package."

If a guy called Dave (Yates/Marsh/Russell) with a welder and a special needs son to fetch Birmingham steel can make a better bike... why bother.

IMHO

Looks like one of those old one piece frames... forget the name.

I really liked them.... so i also quite like that.

Holy shit, is it fixed or internal gears!? ! Looks like a belt drive too. I want one!

yeah me too. Group buy?

Cool site which shows how it folds, and also has a video here

hey check this out - it sounds like a really impressive piece of engineering :

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/thats_folding_c.php

'Concept'. Vaporware.

Conceptual design is all well and good, and I agree that the thing looks smart. It does annoy me when concepts get touted around and reported on as if they are real products. It seems like cheap and lazy publicity. And it definitely isn't engineering because nothing has been engineered - the appliance of actual physics and material limitations is completely sidestepped.

"Cube’s designers have taken a novel approach to this problem, creating a high-end, full-size road bike that folds into an incredibly small package."

From the treehugger article: "Gregor has also integrated front lights into the brake levers, added an integrated dynamo in that front wheel hub turns on lights automatically in darkness, and included an integrated rear and stop light in the seat post."
"Wow, how clever he is!" Except he hasn't actually 'done' any of these things in any real sense, he's simply written them down, drawn a picture or at best made a model. He definitely hasn't dealt with the problems of making this 'high end' bike actually work, and not be the wobbly, creaky, 50-lb monstrosity that it could so easily become.

It's the high-end equivalent of a 5 year-old's day dream.. "my dreem bike wil have rokkits on it and it will go REALLY fAst!!!! it will fly in teh air and it will go really really small so i can put it in my pokket when i am at skool and the bullys cant steal it and if the bulis do stel it then it will turn into a robot and beat them up! i luv my dreem bike."

hey crank that looks pretty sweet. any adea when they'll be on sale here? and do the rokkits come in diferent colours or is it purple across the board?

that video clearly shows one of the bikes in action at the bottom of the page... (http://www.cube-bikes.de/xist4c/web/Urban-Street-Concept-Bike_id_22953_.htm;jsessionid=CF6D191DC71AD61D0559F4900BB477BB)

...so its a bit unfair to ridicule him straight away and say he has done nothing crank. I think its a nice design, obviously needs some development but give credit where its due. I agree with you though about people/companies developing concepts and then getting everyone excited with them, only for them to never be heard of again. Like nearly every Jaguar concept car of the last 7/8 years. But i think the bikes nice, a rare case of a good idea combined with a nice design. Unlike other concepts that made it into production..

I want one of those bully killing, folding, rocket firing, winged bikes!

'Concept'. Vaporware.

Conceptual design is all well and good, and I agree that the thing looks smart. It does annoy me when concepts get touted around and reported on as if they are real products. It seems like cheap and lazy publicity. And it definitely isn't engineering because nothing has been engineered - the appliance of actual physics and material limitations is completely sidestepped.

"Wow, how clever he is!" Except he hasn't actually 'done' any of these things in any real sense, he's simply written them down, drawn a picture or at best made a model. He definitely hasn't dealt with the problems of making this 'high end' bike actually work, and not be the wobbly, creaky, 50-lb monstrosity that it could so easily become.

It's the high-end equivalent of a 5 year-old's day dream.. "my dreem bike wil have rokkits on it and it will go REALLY fAst!!!! it will fly in teh air and it will go really really small so i can put it in my pokket when i am at skool and the bullys cant steal it and if the bulis do stel it then it will turn into a robot and beat them up! i luv my dreem bike."

Agreed lazy designers not taking into account real life in their design. It's poor design practice from start to finish.

hey! its a softride! but folding. oh wait, that's why the stopped production, cause they folded. under you.
@dr alfonzo - i didn't see it in action in the vid, just the right side of the handlebar folding, was it the video where the designer (student) was walking you through how to fold the bike?

that video clearly shows one of the bikes in action at the bottom of the page... (http://www.cube-bikes.de/xist4c/web/Urban-Street-Concept-Bike_id_22953_.htm;jsessionid=CF6D191DC71AD61D0559F4900BB477BB)

...so its a bit unfair to ridicule him straight away and say he has done nothing crank. I think its a nice design, obviously needs some development but give credit where its due. I agree with you though about people/companies developing concepts and then getting everyone excited with them, only for them to never be heard of again. Like nearly every Jaguar concept car of the last 7/8 years. But i think the bikes nice, a rare case of a good idea combined with a nice design. Unlike other concepts that made it into production..

the vid doesn't really show the bike in action. he doesn't even fold it up.
the only pics of it folding are cgi, which would suggest that it doesn't actually work yet.
i like the idea though. need to get some of those folding wheels on it though!

that video clearly shows one of the bikes in action at the bottom of the page...so its a bit unfair to ridicule him straight away and say he has done nothing crank.

The video doesn't actually show the bike in action, it shows a model. The bike never folds and nobody sits on it. It appears to have two moving parts, and is probably made of polystyrene or some kind of rapid-prototyping polymer.

I didn't intend to ridicule the designer, its an incredible degree project (which is what it is). My problem is with the company who present it as a working product rather than an idea, and the media who report on it as if its going to hit the shops any minute now. I think that both of these groups act in bad faith. I'm sure that treehugger at al. get more than enough hyped press releases to their inbox to be aware of the difference between a product and a concept, but don't make this very clear in their article.

I want one of those bully killing, folding, rocket firing, winged bikes!

I am currently seeking investors to bring this concept to market. I initially require fiddy mirrion dorra in order to create a prototype. I expect the Transformobike(tm) will be available in second-quarter 2009.

In answer to questions about the colour scheme- the initial product run will come with purple rokkets as standard. There will also be available a number of limited 'city editions'. Detail are pretty hush-hush, but the NYC version will come with taxi-seeking missiles, in yellow livery, and the London model will transform into one of the iconic and much loved 'bendy buses' for maximum stealth. Special editions will also be fitted with Tynanz Hip-Hip Crimpz as standard.

I'm not going to invest fiddy mirrion dorrars of my childrens inheritance in this business.
I'd rather stick pins in my eyes.

So I'm out.