Whilst foldable bikes are nothing new - and are already popular in the Netherlands, particularly amongst commuters - an Italian designer has taken the idea to the next level.

Currently, foldable bikes predominantly feature small wheels - great for portability but not brilliant for cycling. The new Sada bike aims to avoid this shortcoming: it features 26 inch wheels and can be folded to the size of an umbrella.

Sada Bike: How it works

The key unique characteristic of the Sada bike is its hub-less design, meaning that as the frame folds down, it comes apart from the wheels, opening up new potential possibilities for portability.

The bike can be folded in one easy step, by pushing forward on the saddle. Minus the spoke-less wheels, the frame folds down roughly to the size of an umbrella.

Sada: the bike that turns into a backpack?

The Sada bike comes with a packaging container that can store the bike frame once folded. This can be carried as a backpack, or pulled as a wheeled container: making transportation even easier.

Designer Gianluca Sada

The man making waves in the world of foldable bikes is Torino-based Italian designer Gianluca Sada.

So far disappointed by foldable bikes, which Sada believes prioritise portability at the expense of ride quality, he set out to develop a better design in 2008 as part of his bachelor's degree thesis.

In 2010 he was awarded the IDEA-TO award for the most innovative thesis, and was then recognised as one of the "200 Talents of Italy" by the country's Ministry of Youth.
 

Three years ago, and after dozens of prototypes, he completed the aluminium alloy prototype.

The end-result is a city bike with regular dimensions, that can be detached from its wheels and folded to umbrella-size in one straightforward step. In typical Italian fashion, the creator of the Sada bike has paid plenty of attention to aesthetic quality.

Sada looking for investment
With the prototype up and running, and attracting attention, Gianluca Sada is now looking for investors to bring the Sada bike design to production.