OneBot S7 Is the Sleek Three-Fold e-Bike We Need Right Now

With the incredible surge in popularity of e-bikes, we’re also seeing a more varied offering from makers. Depending on your budget and your exact needs, you can get the bicycle of your dreams, whether that’s a high-performance machine built to last a lifetime, or a smaller investment that you can haul stuff with or move from place to place on the regular.

Speaking strictly of the daily commuter, the reality is that most people don’t want (can’t afford or don’t need) a high-performance motor-assisted bicycle. Put it differently, most people wouldn’t pay real car money for a two-wheeler, specifically when they’re only casual riders. Storage of an e-bike in the city is another issue that’s keeping them from overspending on one because, you know what they say, a bike lock is only as strong as the thief’s determination to break it.

The obvious solution to that problem would be to get a bike that’s lightweight and / or foldable. The market already offers those (the RadMini 4 from Rad Power Bikes we had the pleasure of testing is one such example), but here’s another. This one is even sleeker, lighter and more compact, but it also has a huge disadvantage: it’s also not real.

If you’re up for a spot of daydreaming, the OneBot S7, a conceptual design from designer Kinson Chan, is a possible direction for the e-bikes of tomorrow. It uses a three-fold mechanism like the aforementioned RadMini, but it’s more compact and overall more sleeker, which would make it a perfect fit in any urbanite’s already crowded and busy life.

The thin frame is one-piece, made of magnesium-aluminum alloy using die-casting process. This would cut production costs and speed up production times (by as much as 500%, according to the designer), but also result in a more durable frame. The fact that it folds is the proverbial icing on the cake: when folded down, the bike would be so compact as to fit into a tiny nook or even under a desk at your office. In this case, the OneBot would be 60 cm (23.6 inches) high, 35 cm (13.7 inches) wide and 60 cm (23.6 inches) long.

The frame itself has a very low profile, but the adjustable handlebar and seat post would accommodate riders of all sizes. OneBot rides on three-spoke wheels and wears paintwork inspired by automotive craftmanship, both in terms of color and quality of the gloss. A simple display on the handlebar would provide essential stats during the ride, as well as offer options to adjust power assist.

The battery is hidden in the frame, under the seat post, but is removable for charging. Specifics on the battery or the rear hub motor are not included, and with good cause: this is a study in design, an exercise into how you could get a lightweight and comfortable city bike that would also be easy to store or carry on public transport.

As one – as simple design study – it stands out. OneBot is very clean-looking and sleek but, most importantly, it promises the day will come when storing an e-bike in a small city apartment or hauling one onto public transport is no longer something you dread.

So here’s to hoping that the day when you ride to work and then neatly “park” your bike under your desk is also the day when such e-bikes no longer cost an arm and a leg.