Volkswagen Smart eBike debuts radar rear camera, claiming world’s safest title

Volkswagen badging is coming to what its maker calls the world’s safest eBike, with a radar-activated rear-view camera system claimed as a first for a production electric bike.

The Volkswagen Smart eBike, developed and built by premium bike maker n+ under licence from the German giant, will be unveiled at the IFA Berlin technology show next month, where visitors can test ride it from 4 to 8 September.

Its headline feature is Smart View, which pairs a full-colour display integrated into the handlebar with a radar and camera unit built into the rear mudguard. The radar continuously monitors traffic up to 70 metres behind the rider, while the camera streams a live rear view to the display.

Riders can run the screen as a conventional trip dashboard, as a permanent rear-view feed, or in an Auto Mode that flicks to the camera the moment the radar detects a vehicle closing in, complete with an orange alert bar. The thinking is simple: the biggest blind spot in cycling is directly behind you, and quiet EVs, headwinds and traffic noise have made ears an increasingly unreliable warning system.

“The optional radar-activated rear-view camera is an unprecedented innovation for production eBikes,” says Peter Jost, chief executive of Volkswagen Accessories, adding that it shows how established automotive technology can be transferred to two wheels.

The radar also talks to full-length LED strips built into the top tube, which glow amber as side markers and automatically brighten when a vehicle approaches, doubling as indicators and brake lights alongside illuminated VW emblems front and rear.

Glasses from the fighter jet school

The safety net extends beyond the bike. Smart Glasses, developed with engineers whose background includes fighter-pilot head-up displays, project the radar’s blind-spot alerts, Google Maps navigation and live ride data into the rider’s view through a microOLED display, activated by a deliberate glance to the top corner of the lens. At 47 grams, they are intended to pass as ordinary sunglasses.

A Smart Helmet completes the set, mirroring the bike’s brake lights and indicators through more than 500 lumens of onboard lighting, with crash detection that can automatically alert emergency contacts with the rider’s location. It carries the NTA 8776 certification for higher-speed eBike use and MIPS rotational impact protection, and runs up to 30 hours in beacon mode.

The bike, glasses and helmet are available to order at smart-bike.net, with no word yet on New Zealand availability. Given the local popularity of both e-bikes and the SUVs that menace them, a radar that watches your back seems the sort of idea that would find friends here.