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Ford's new smartbike vibrates to warn you about potholes

Ford has been spending a lot of time working out how drivers can share its cars in recent months, but the manufacturer apparently has its focus on more than just four-wheeled vehicles. Alongside Ford's announcement of its Peer-2-Peer Car Sharing scheme last night, the company also detailed its latest smartbike — the MoDe:Flex.

The bike is Ford's third such device, and like predecessors, is fitted with a motor and battery. The Flex can fold up to be stored inside a car like previous models, but where the older MoDe: Me and MoDe: Pro bikes were were smaller and designed to be used by commuters who may drive some of the distance to work, Ford says the Flex is built for bike enthusiasts. That doesn't mean you'll be getting a high-maintenance road bike with the Flex, though: the bigger device can interact with your smartphone, enabling a "no sweat" mode that will calculate how much effort you need to put on the pedals to get to your destination without any serious physical exertion. In addition to advancing human laziness, the MoDe:Link app also informs riders of real-time weather, road, and traffic conditions up ahead.

Most interestingly, Ford says the app comes with an Apple Watch extension that can somehow detect potholes on the road. Riders will feel their handlebars vibrate when they come close to such hazards, but the car company doesn't explain whether the software relies on existing data, is capable of scanning the road ahead, or is simply employing advanced magic to spot the holes.

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