Hollywood heavyweights are at war with a bike lane, though the movie industry isn’t anti-cyclist, only at the color the path has been painted. The lane – which runs a 12-block length of Historic Core, California – was painted lurid green less than two years ago, The Hollywood Reporter writes, in the process allegedly ruining
There are plenty of electric bikes these days, but from time to time, one comes along that sets itself apart, like this one from Germany’s Smart. Smart is best known for their ultra compact city cars, but I’m impressed with this e-bike too.
The Smart Ebike provides 250 watts of power from its front-mounted motor, and can reach speeds up to 15.5 mph. It’s supposed to be able to go even faster when you use the 3-speed gear hub. Its chain has been replaced by a carbon tooth belt, which is supposed to be more efficient and last longer than a normal chain.
It’s been designed to work for urban travel. Its rechargeable battery can cover up to 62 miles on a charge. It takes about five hours to charge it up, and there’s also a regenerative system that will top off the battery when coasting, braking or riding downhill.
[via designboom]
How’d you like to be able to fly over the traffic while riding your bike to work? This flying bike could be just the ticket. This remote-controlled bike actually left the ground for about five minutes. But not with a human onboard. A styrofoam dummy was used instead because it still needs more powerful propellers to carry a real passenger.
The helicopter bike comes from a teamup of three Czech companies. It has four large, battery-powered propellers mounted inside two cages, and weighs a total of 209lbs. It may not do much more than lift off and hover a few feet off the ground, but as they improve things it will get better. Imagine a future full of flying bikes. Of course, if they looked like this, they’d have to fly all of the time, because this thing is too wide and long for the road. It’s also ridiculously loud. Yeah it isn’t very practical. It’s more a proof of concept. But it’s still pretty fun to watch it in flight…
Still, if they can make the engine stronger and have the pilot sitting back more, it could be an economical way to put flying vehicles in the sky.
Colin Furze has a need for speed, and he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty in order to speed up stuff that normally doesn’t go more than a few miles an hour. That’s because they’re not supposed to exceed those speeds, but hey, tell than to Colin.
If his name sounds familiar or if you feel like you’ve seen him before, then maybe you already have since he’s the guy behind the baby stroller that can go as fast as 50mph.
This time around, Colin set his sights on a plain old bicycle.
When he was done with it, the bike had been completely transformed into a jet pulse bike. And because the previous owner of the bike was his friend’s mom named Norah, that’s what the bike has been named also.
The bike is elongated for two reasons: to fit the jet and to make sure that the cyclist doesn’t get burned while he’s on it. Colin explains: “Had I binned the pedals idea, yeah, it could have been shorter, but the heat this thing chucks of is intense, and at times I’ve struggled to turn a valve of 40 centimeters away from it, so sitting on top of it would need some sort of heat shield, and I think it would start to look less bicycle like.”
Because of this, Norah was cut and stretched by almost one meter. Check out the video above to see this insanely dangerous ride in action.
[via C|NET]
Google has added bike directions to a number of European countries today, including Germany, France, Poland, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. You’ll be able to get biking directions based on bike-safe roads and trails, and the map will also show you bike trails and roads with bike lanes the explore right on the map itself.
The directions work the same as how they always have. When you get directions from one location to another, Google will work its magic to come up with a route that avoids busy roads, as well as take advantage of bike paths and bike-safe streets. You can also get turn-by-turn navigation just like you would in a car.
This update comes as the cycling season is getting under way in Europe with the Giro d’Italia just wrapping up yesterday. The Tour de France begins June 29, so until then, you can map out your own Tour de France with the new Google Maps update to get yourself prepared for the big race, but those guys won’t need directions from Google Maps.
Google saya that avid cyclists who know a lot of bike trails and paths in their area can jump onto Google MapMaker to make changes and improve the system. While Google does a lot of the work, you’d probably be surprised how much of Google Maps is crowd-sourced, and the cycling community is a pretty tight-knit group of folks who are willing to stand up for their fellow cyclists, so we should be seeing a lot of improvements being made to bike paths in the future.
SOURCE: Google Europe Blog
IMAGE CREDIT: Tejvan Pettinger
Google Maps brings bike directions to more European countries is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Yes, you read that right. A maniacal Frenchman piloted a home-made rocket-powered bicycle to what he claims was a speed of 163 mph. On a bicycle. Holy crap!
François Gissy developed the rocket bicycle with the help of the Swiss company Exotic Thermo Engineering, which created the hydrogen peroxide powered propulsion unit. A GPS placed on the bike was used to measure the speed. The video is quite short, as François holds on to the rocket bicycle as it rushes past a car.
He made the run on a disused air force runway this past Sunday and the speed record is as yet unverified. Other sources state that the bicycle went much slower, but we’ll soon find out if this really was the fastest bicycle on Earth.
[via Bikeradar]
When Specialized’s Turbo e-bike launched last year, it was almost too fast for its own good when it couldn’t legally be sold in Europe and the US. The American riders, at least, won’t be held back now that the Turbo is on sale in their country. The US version costs an eye-watering $5,900, but it can reach the same 27.9MPH peak speed through its combination of pedal power and the 250W of typical output from the electric motor. With that kind of performance, it could almost pay for itself — who wouldn’t want to blow past rush hour traffic in the bike lane?
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Specialized
Bicycle-powered generators aren’t new concepts by any stretch, but they frequently generate AC power and sometimes can’t charge at all when the pedaling stops. Siva Cycle doesn’t think either limitation is very helpful for powering a smartphone during the daily commute, so it’s launching the Atom generator to keep the energy flowing smoothly. The rear-wheel unit puts out power regulated to match its USB port, and it includes a detachable 1,300mAh lithium polymer battery that can follow riders long after they’ve parked. Moreover, the Atom is unintrusive — it slips on after releasing the rear wheel, and it’s diminutive enough to minimize drag.
As is often the case these days, the catch is getting the product to market. Siva Cycle wants to crowdfund $85,000 to make the Atom’s November release target, and supporters will need to plunk down at least $85 to receive a generator, if its fundraising goes smoothly. When the company plans to donate one Atom to the needy for every ten it sells, however, the pledge is for a good cause — and it might be the key to having a usable device charge after a bike ride home.
Filed under: Peripherals, Transportation
Source: Kickstarter, Siva Cycle
Weighing just 99 grams and folding away into a compact package that’s easy to pocket, Victorinox’s new Swiss Army Bike Tool is the perfect weapon against misaligned handlebars and other on-the-road cycling emergencies. More »
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