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Inventor looks to manufacture electric bike

HEIDI DESCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years AGO
by HEIDI DESCH
DEPUTY EDITOR, FEATURES Heidi Desch is the Deputy Editor at the Daily Inter Lake, overseeing coverage of arts, culture, lifestyle, community, and business. Desch leads reporters in developing stories that highlight the people, traditions, and events shaping Northwest Montana, guiding content across print and digital platforms. With more than 20 years of journalism experience, including serving as managing editor of the Whitefish Pilot, Desch is a graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism. She has received multiple Montana Newspaper Association awards, including part of the team leading the Daily Inter Lake to Best Daily Newspaper in Montana Award and the General Excellence Award in 2024 and 2025. IMPACT: Heidi’s work connects readers with stories that deepen the understanding of the community beyond daily news. | June 20, 2017 3:38 PM

Timothy Carolin has invented an electric bike he says is self-charging and he hopes will change transportation around the world.

The bike, KYMIRA, can store kinetic energy, through regenerative pedaling and braking to constantly regenerate the battery, according to Carolin.

“It has the ability to regenerate itself passively and through driving it,” he said.

He calls his regenerative methods for charging the bike his “secret sauce” and declines to explain the details behind them because of the potential for competition.

At the center of the bike is his patented rim drive. Electric motors have generally been used to drive a wheel from the center hub, but his design drives the wheel from the inside circumference applied by a sprocket drive on a roller bearing surface. He says the design creates an immense amount of power and torque at the wheel.

Carolin started Atlas Research and Design in 2013 because he says he always wanted to be an inventor.

Before developing the bike, Carolin was a general contractor and later worked on farms, which he says inspired the bike.

“I had been developing a rim drive electric bike since 2008 because of the economic crash in the building industry of which I was involved as a general contractor,” he said.

In order to begin manufacturing his bike, he has launched an INDIEGOGO campaign to raise funds. On the crowdfunding website, he has set a goal of $77,000 to launch production of the bike.

The KYMIRA two-wheel drive bike is a carbon fiber bike “designed for steep climbs and heavy loads.” It will go up to 60 mph and has the capability to haul up to a maximum of 1,000 pounds, according to the campaign website.

He says there is a lot of electric bikes on the market, but those still require plugging into an outlet.

“This is completely clean, renewable energy,” he said.

He says transportation methods haven’t changed over 100 years and he wanted to find a whole new way of thinking about regenerating power. He hopes his technology can be applied to cars too.

“I have been working on a self empowerment tool for everyone, from the adventurist to Third World living, because we trust nature for our survival and entertainment,” he said. “My commitment to our human family inspired me to expand my focus on the transportation alternative energy market.”

For more information, visit https://igg.me/at/007electricguy.

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