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21-year old Kevin Scott designed a bicycle that should be harder to steal than most conventional bikes. The frame can be folded in half and the whole bicycle wrapped around an immovable obstacle:
The De Montfort University graduate used a ratchet system built into the frame of the bike to allow it to wrap around a pole, enabling the lock to be wrapped through both wheels and the frame.
Securing all the bike’s components within the lock was his aim in creating the new bike. It also allows the bike to be stored in small spaces.
The frame can be ratcheted tight to allow the bike to be ridden like a normal bike, but it can be quickly loosened to allow the frame to be bent back on itself.
Link via CrunchGrear | Photo: [deleted upon request]
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials in Germany have developed a bicycle helmet that emits a foul stench after an impact. This would inform users that the shock absorbing material inside is no longer effective and it’s time to get a new helmet:
The polymer materials or plastics produced by the process start to smell if they develop small cracks. Large cracks really cause a stink. The smell comes from odoriferous oils enclosed in microcapsules. “Cyclists often replace their helmets unnecessarily after dropping them on the ground, because they cannot tell whether they are damaged or not. The capsules eliminate this problem. If cracks form, smelly substances are released,” explains Dr.-Ing. Christof Koplin, research scientist at the IWM.
Link via DVICE | Image: Fraunhofer IWM
With the fear global warming taking over the minds of Americans everywhere, it’s no wonder that bicycles have gone through a renaissance in the last decade. True to form, the bike renaissance comes with a lot of innovations to make our old two-wheeled cycles safer, faster and cooler than ever. Some of these bikes are really futuristic advances, while others are just plain cool, whichever you prefer, there’s plenty to see here.
The Cycle Sol prototype may look a little strange, but its solar-charged battery makes it an inspiring piece of machinery. Soaking up the sun help to charge the battery, which can help push the bike to speeds up to 15 MPH. Its greatest attribute though may be the convenient push you’ll feel when tackling tedious hills. Also a plus, if it is left in the garage or used on a cloudy day, you can still plug it into an outlet to get the full battery charge you need to get moving.
Talk about a bike of the future. This stream-lined prototype incorporates an on-board computer that can help count the calories you burn, play music and serve as an unbreakable lock. It was designed by Gold Medalist Chris Boardman, who believes his creation could be an everyday product within the next twenty years. Similar to the Cycle Sol, this bike will also have a solar-powered battery to help you out when you’re tired of pedaling.
If you’re wondering how a bike computer could incorporate an unbreakable lock, it’s all through the magic of fingerprint identification. Of course, if the bikes are considered valuable enough, then you may run the risk of losing your digit all together when some really motivated thieves approach you –a fate that has already befallen one iPad user.
One of the biggest drawbacks to cycling is the danger inherent with sharing the road with vehicles. The Shweeb individual monorail system eliminates this problem and gives you the safety and serenity only possible in your own personal bubble. The company working to make these mini-monorail systems a part of your daily commute claims they are “a personal, efficient, and cost-effective transport solution with applications for urban commuting, recreational and fitness markets.”
If the classic bicycle design of two wheels in line with your body is just too outdated for you, then perhaps the Di-Cycle’s two side wheels are more your style. Perhaps the coolest advantage of the Di-Cycle though is its ability to operate on both land and water.
The Hyperbike may not ride on water like the Dicycle does, but its massive side wheels are instead designed to help protect you in the event of an accident. Also nice, its design, which includes both feet and hand pedals allows you to travel at speeds up to 50 MPH.
On the other hand, if you’d prefer to sit on your bike sideways while it moves to the front, then perhaps the Sideways Bike is more to your liking. Inspired by snowboarding, this one allows you to sit and pedal while facing sideways and then to look to your left or right while steering. I’d be terrified to ride this next to the road, but maybe that’s just me.
If money is your main concern, then this handy $30 bicycle might be more in your price range. It’s cool, it’s collapsible, it’s recyclable, and not to worry, it is water proof. The inventor claims that one of the biggest advantages though is the fact that it will probably not get stolen. On the downside, it doesn’t go very fast and if you bike regularly, you’ll need to replace it every six months or so.
When you’re looking for something a little more flashy, but just as bare-boned as a cardboard bike, the Nulla minimalist bike is a great choice. It’s spokeless, stylish and light, as it is stripped of all non-essential components. The name Nulla even translates to “nothing” in Italian, which means it’s also a perfect ride for any existentialists out there.
Minimalists who prefer recumbent cycles are likely to find this spokeless cycle, created by designer Mathew Zurlinden, to offer many of the same advantages as the Nulla, only with the critical difference in the rider’s body position.
If you were on your college rowing team or if you are simply much more muscular on the top half of your body, then why not row your bike home? Unlike a regular bicycle, even a standard hand-operated bike, this one is not powered by rotating pedals, but instead through pushing and pulling the handle bars. Using it can burn up to 850 calories per hour and it’s supposedly easier on your joints than a standard bike.
Now it’s your turn readers. I’m sure many of you have seen some cool and crazy bikes in your time. Feel free to share them in the comments. Also, which of these designs would you prefer?
Sidi Ergo has pictures and descriptions of the most expensive bicycles ever made, including models plated in gold and encrusted with diamonds. This model, the Koga Kimera, isn’t quite so luxurious. But developed by UK bike-maker Koga for Dutch Olympic competitor Theo Bos Koga, it’s priced at almost one million dollars. The Kimera is said to have the lowest wind resistance of any bicycle ever made.
Link via The Presurfer | Photo: Oobject
Bicycle maker Gyrobike has invented the “Gyrowheel” — a wheel with a motor-driven gyroscope inside that helps keep it upright. The manufacturer hopes to market it as a replacement for traditional training wheels on kids’ bicycles. Nathan Barry of GeekDad writes:
It aims to replace traditional training wheels or stabilizers and to eradicate the bad habits that they teach kids when learning to ride a bike – leaning away from a turn and constantly putting a foot down at the first sign of a wobble when they’re eventually taken off. The Gyrowheel uses the “gyroscopic precession” of the independently spinning disk inside it to stabilize the bike. The force created when the disk is turned – via a rechargeable battery – is powerful enough to hold a wheel upright at very low speeds (i.e. virtually stopped), and can actually make a bike look like it has a “Ghost Rider” as the videos below show (and there are plenty more on the Gyrobike site).
Product Page via GeekDad (where there’s an additional video)
Weighing in at 400 pounds, this new design by Portland, Oregon custom bike builder Metrofiets is intended for mobile partying. Here are some of the features that owners Phillip Ross and Jamie Nichols included:
The cargo container is a metal keg bucket which holds two full sized kegs and 25 pounds of ice. Beer from the kegs run through a 50 foot cooling coil and then to your glass via two taps (made by Shimano and Chris King) which protrude from a wooden bar inlaid with HUB’s trademark lightning bolt.
A large, square rear rack is designed to fit a stack of pizza boxes. Below the rack is a sound system “pannier” with another lightning bolt inlaid wood panel casing and a speaker. The bike sports HUB’s colors, matte orange and black.
This party is entirely human-powered, with the help of nine gears — any more would allow a rider to go faster than would be entirely wise, explained Ross. Sturdy looking disc brakes and chunky tires with full fenders adorn both wheels.
Image by flickr user Elly Blue used under creative commons license.
Paul Elkins built this lightweight travel trailer for his trip to the Burning Man festival. It has a roof-mounted wind turbine for electical power, as well as a solar cooker and water heater. It weighs only 100 pounds dry, so he can haul it around with his bicycle:
The skin is 1/4″ flutted plastic like whats used for election signs. This was riveted and screwed onto 3/4″ square aluminum tubing salvaged from an old satellite dish. The base was made of 2×2 fir. The 30″ square door frame, made of 1×2′s was skrewed to the side panel, cut on the sides and bottom. The upper part was left uncut to act as a hinge. The bed hinges in a lounge attitude. On the outside resides an herb flower box, a urinal funnel (sanicans were a ways off) and 13″ wheel barrel wheels on a 1/2″ axle mounted with 1/2″ square tubing made up the running gear. I used 3/4″ steel for the tow bar, A recycled card table for the corner camper supports, and misc this and that. It’s whatever I had kicking around at the time, and that’s how anyone would have to do it if worst came to worst.
There are many pictures at the link.
Bill and Amarins Harrison and their three children are on a lengthy family vacation. They plan on riding their custom-made bicycle to Florida, and thence to Alaska and back again:
They departed Renfro Valley on Saturday. Their immediate destination is Oak Ridge, and then on to the Atlantic Coast by way of the Carolinas. From there, they’ll travel to Florida, head to the Southwest by way of the Southeast (hoping to spend the winter months peddling through warmer environs) and will eventually travel up the Pacific Coast to Alaska.
They figure on arriving in Alaska in August 2010. They’ll stay there for one year, then head back to Renfro Valley, arriving back home sometime in late 2012….
“Risk-taking is what made this country great,” he says. “It wasn’t politics or religion. It was about risking to go around the next bend in the river or over the next mountain. If we still took those risks today, this would be a better world.”
Link via Instapundit
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