Cycle taps the technology resources of a user’s smartphone to make for a better ride

Here’s something you don’t get to write every day — check out this e-bike from Croatia!

The cycle you see above is the Visiobike, and what makes it so cover-worthy is not that it’s a nifty-looking e-bike, but rather the fact that this nifty-looking e-bike hooks up to one’s smartphone, allowing the rider to use the unique combination of the two to do things like unlock the bike, track one’s speed, or check to see what’s behind the rider using the cycle’s built-in rear camera.

Now, having the smartphone cradle on the bike’s handlebars obviously impedes on the space allotted for our Bluetooth portable speaker holder, but I suppose we can make a bit of room for this awesome piece of technology.

The Visobike hooks up to the phone via Bluetooth technology, and it’s compatible with both iOS and Android devices. Along with the aforementioned functions, the phone can also display a GPS map of the rider’s surrounding area, and any sort of fitness tracking program it’s running will see the data sent to a cloud for review later on.

There’s also automatic accident reporting and emergency alert if the Visiobike detects any sort of impact. As far as security, the bike comes equipped with GPS tracking and a motion sensor, so its owner knows its whereabouts at all times.

The sporty looking, mountain bike-esque Visiobike has a carbon fiber body, enormous 180mm/160mm hydraulic disc brakes, and a SR Suntour fork. Altogether, the thing weighs, 46.3 pounds, which might be a lot for some, but remember – it is an ebike. There are two versions available, with two different motors: one provides 250W and the other 500W of power, with top speed being either 15.5 mph or 31.1 mph.

Worth noting: the bike doesn’t drive itself. Rather, it’s a pedelec, so the rider needs only to get on and start pedaling like they would with any normal bike. Once they start going up a hill, the motor kicks in, and it feels pretty much the same.

Visiobike’s lithium-ion, 14.5Ah battery lasts for around 62 miles. After it’s been depleted, the rider will need to plug the bike into an outlet, whereupon it’ll recharge in about three hours.

The Visiobike team just launched a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo, with the goal of raising $245,178. Those interested in owning the bike can get the basic version with the weaker motor for $5,318. The better model (automatic transmission and rear camera included) will cost $6,749.