Wheelies—not just your classic stunt anymore. Thailand-based mototaxi frontrunners, World Moto Inc., recently unveiled an on-wheel technology that's meant to revolutionize on-vehicle advertising (and individual aesthetic expression, of course) one tire at a time.

So What Are They?

To hear World Moto tell it: "Wheelies™ are your own personal canvas in the physical world." But they essentially boil down to static or streaming visual "playlists," which are powered by your motorcycle's electrical system, and controlled by a wireless remote. The visual effect is achieved by blades mounted to your spokes—the more blades, the brighter the image. A point of emphasis is that there is no maximum speed to achieve in order to engage your Wheelie™ and therefore it still works when the motorcycle is stopped.

Mounted blades

A Whole New Ad Game

The corporate advertising upside of this technology is obvious. It's an eye-catching display zooming in and around thousands of other vehicles and pedestrians everyday. Potentially, it's a pretty great way to spread your company's good name/brand.

But What About the Unincorporated Rider?

The individual interest is possibly a bit more complex. Beyond the "make the world more dynamic," "personal canvas," "innovation, innovation, innovation" start-upy, personal-brand platitudes, there is precedent—albeit an analog precedent—for individuals making money with on-vehicle advertising.

"Auto-wraps" and "paid-to-drive programs" had their moment about a decade ago, but as evidenced by a glance at the roads, are not the phenomenon their creators probably intended. Who wanted to display (and cash in on) their individual aesthetic with, let's say, a Quizno's decal?

With Wheelie™, World Moto clearly believes it has the cure for the aesthetic challenge-facing individual, on-vehicle advertising. In fact, and probably rightly, in last week's press release, the technology was compared to AdSense and other web revenue generators, rather than any physical predecessors.

Okay Sure, But...

But yeah, you could also just disregard the entire monetary angle and utilize Wheelie™ technology for its intended purpose of displaying custom (or stock!) images that show off your interests, engage on-lookers, or simply broadcast your carefully curated sense of self-expression to the world with a really, really sick graphic.

Or it could just be Santa. Don't count out the Santa option.

World Moto's Wheelies: The Next Big Look (And Revenue Stream)?

Would Wheelies Pop on Your Bike?

World Moto's Wheelies: The Next Big Look (And Revenue Stream)?

So we want to know what you, the RideApart universe, thinks of all this? Is it a fad-y grasp at market saturation in waiting? Exactly the cool, personalized medium you've been looking for to bring your bike's style into the digital age? A less polarized opinion? Random thoughts?

Let us know in the comment section.

Check out videos below and hop over to their Kickstarter for more details.

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