Cycle champion Chris Boardman reveals 'intelligent' wheels of the future

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Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman today unveiled a design that he believes will be an everyday product within 20 years.

Boardman, 40, who won gold for the four-kilometre pursuit at the 1992 Olympics, said advances in technology could soon make bikes as "intelligent" as computers.

An inbuilt computer system incorporates an "unbreakable" locking device that allows only the owner to open it via fingerprint recognition. A mini computer on the handlebars counts the calories the cyclist is burning by monitoring each turn of the pedals.

Chris Boardman

Spoke-less wheels make the bike more aerodynamic while the tyres will be puncture-proof with self-inflating tyres. Owners of the bike, which is still being designed, won't even always have to pedal - a battery-assisted motor run by solar panels takes over if they get tired.

The frame is made of carbon fibre, making the bike strong and lightweight. Boardman, who led a research team for British Cycling in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics, said the bike would not be "financially feasible" for 20 years, but added: "It could be built now if there was a will. All the technologies are already there, it's just that nobody's put them all together before."

Tom Bogdanowicz, campaign manager at London Cycling Campaign, said: "Some of the ideas behind this bike are clearly things cyclists want. But it really needs to be affordable."