The Compact Urban Concept was one of many experimental projects Torgny worked on at Cannondale. The idea was a friendly electric-assist folding bike inspired by the Apple form language, which was dominating mood boards at the time. The frame material was supposed to be hemp fiber, and the crank was to be a generator similar to that on the Mando Footloose (which was launched a few years later), so that human power would play a part in assisting the electric motor. The folding mechanism was strongly inspired by the Brompton. The hubless wheels with electric motor would be technically possible on a small-wheeled, 25km/h ebike, but whether it makes senses beyond the radical looks is a totally different question!

Torgny’s comment: I blame the hubless wheels on Franco Sbarro, who inspired an entire generation of designers to draw donuts on all sorts of vehicles.