[apendleton]

Absolutely agreed. Even just considering the energy it takes to keep its battery charged, I'd be deeply skeptical that this device would hold the lead for more than a few months, even if the manufacturing energy for a bicycle is higher -- and if you care about keeping the manufacturing energy of your bike to a minimum, you can buy a bamboo bike, or (even better) buy one used, something for which there is no equivalent with this device both because it's new and because I can't imagine it could hope to last 20 years the way a good bike can. And on yet another level, I'd also have to be convinced that this thing can facilitate car-free living the way bike ownership in an urban area can, which is a huge source of energy savings that bikes can bring to the table.