Hummingbird The World's Lightest Folding Bike

by Michael Satterfield

Hummingbird, the British bicycle manufacturer behind the world’s lightest folding bike, has broken new ground with the launch of an electric edition. Weighing in at 10.3 kg, it is the lightest folding e-bike available on the market.

Hummingbird, which launched its revolutionary 6.9kg folding bike in 2017 (the world’s lightest), has developed a similarly elegant model with a battery-powered motor to assist its rider on the urban commute. The Hummingbird Electric is powered by a brushless 250 W motor that has the highest power to weight ratio on the market. With its 160 Wh lithium battery, it has a top speed of 25 kph (limited) and a range of 30+ km. All this technology is packed into a discreet rear wheel hub that is just 180 mm in diameter and 120 mm thick. It can be fully charged in just two and a half hours, so there is no need for the rider to carry around a separate battery pack.

The motor automatically senses the need of its rider, delivering the power required to perform the task at hand, whether it be a boost to get away from traffic lights or to provide an assistive push up an incline. To start up the motor, riders need only cycle up to 8 kph and then backpedal three revolutions. The motor then provides the assistance needed and also turns off automatically after two minutes stationery.

Bluetooth connectivity allows the rider to connect their smartphone to the Hummingbird Electric to control power and monitor usage via the bitride app. The phone allows accessing services such as online diagnosis, bike-oriented navigation, mobility stats, and other social functions. An innovative security measure also allows the owner to lock the rear wheel, in the event of a bike being stolen.

Hummingbird bikes are engineered assembled at Prodrive’s headquarters in Banbury, with the lightweight carbon frame being made by Prodrive’s composites operation in Milton Keynes.

Petre Craciun, Hummingbird designer, said, "We have spent the last year determining how to build on what we believe is already a truly remarkable product and the introduction of an electric model that weighs only 10.3kg is a break-through for the urban commuter. Hummingbird represents freedom; the freedom to come and go as you please, which you can’t do with many other models on the market.”