The Omni Wheel is one of a number of recently announced powered wheels for non-electric bicycles, but Evelo co-founder Boris Mordkovich believes it could be the first to market.

"Since we do not rely on crowdsourcing to fund the development and production, we are able to better control our timelines and meet the delivery commitments," Mordkovich tells Gizmag. "Although other companies have been working on an all-in-one wheel design for some time, at this point, we may be the first ones to actually ship the product to customers in March."

Those competitors include the FlyKly Smart Wheel and the Copenhagen Wheel. On paper, the entry-level Omni Wheel appears to outperform the comparable FlyKly version. It is more powerful, with a 350 W motor compared to a 250 W motor, and can go faster, at up to 20 mph (32 km/h) compared to 16 mph (25 km/h). The two have a similar range of 25 mi (40 km).

The Copenhagen Wheel, meanwhile, has the same motor power and top speed as the Omni Wheel, but a battery that offers a longer range of 31 mi (50 km).