MIT engineers have produced a very welcome addition to the conventional pedal cycle, the Telegraph reports. Cycling is fine until you come to a steep hill or severe headwinds, then it can be a pain. The solution is to replace your rear wheel by one containing a red disc, inside which is a small motor and a battery. It stores power in regular cycling and uses it when needed to give up to ten times your usual power. The motor is a 250W (EU) one with a 48v lithium battery. It fits a standard 26 inch wheel. You use your smartphone clipped to a handlebar socket with an app that customizes it to your riding style. It has 4.0 bluetooth connectivity . The battery life is set at 1,000 cycles, and it takes 4 hours to recharge. The bike’s top speed when the motor is in use is 20mph. Designed at MIT in co-operation with the city of Copenhagen (hence the name), the bike is designed to transform city cycling by making everyone capable of doing it with comparative ease. And of course riding it uses no fossil fuels…
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Madsen Pirie 
This is the same principle which powers human and all living animals. We humans store energy in the form of fat which is converted back into energy to drive us into fight or flight, depending on the circumstances. If we store electrical energy in a cycle battery then we have burned fat measured in calories and converted into available watt hours to drive the electric motor. This process will result in the bicycle being harder to pedal while energy is stored but the balance is reduced when the stored energy is released and the electric motor takes over. The old adage applies, you only get out what you put in, but it will make hills and head winds less daunting to attack. Hence fight or flight perhaps.
Isn’t it an offence to use a phone while on a powered vehicle?