Hasta La Gadget!

Bike helmets. Many people don’t like to wear them because they’re big and bulky. And for the vain ones, they cause helmet hair. But to be honest, if it were up to me, I’d rather choose all of the above rather than risk my life by going out on my bike without a helmet on.

If only there were some sort of invisible helmet that’ll protect people without all of the negative stuff that comes with most bike helmets.

Oh, wait, there is already one such helmet in the market, and it’s called the Hövding. It’s the first and only one of its kind.

The Hövding starts out as a collar that cyclists are supposed to wear around their neck. There’s a folded-up airbag inside that’ll pop out automatically upon impact, with the trigger mechanism controlled by sensors in the collar that detect any abnormal movements when the bicyclist figures in an accident.

As you can see, the airbag is shaped like a helmet. It inflates in 0.1 seconds so it’s up and over your head before you hit the ground, providing a cushion of sorts to minimize the injuries you might sustain upon impact.

The Hövding took six years to develop and it’s now finally available for purchase. Priced at 3,998 SEK (~$597), it’s not cheap – but if you’re not going to wear a regular helmet, it just might be worth it.

[Hövding via Focus Forward Films]

They told him it was impossible – three engineers that is. Engineers may be smart, but obviously these ones lacked vision. After his wife persuaded him to give it a try, designer Giora Kariv got to work on a bicycle made out of cardboard, with a cost of less than $9 to manufacture.

Kariv was inspired by a man who made a canoe out of cardboard, and since he himself had a passion for bicycles and recycling, he wanted to create a functioning cardboard bike. Mission accomplished. Surprisingly, it can even withstand water, humidity, and it’s pretty strong. Kariv had to work through several generations of the design to get it just right. It had to be strong enough to hold a person of up to 300 pounds after all.

Folding the cardboard is what makes it so strong. Kariv compares folding the cardboard to origami. With a total materials cost under $10, Kariv sees much potential here. Assuming the labor costs aren’t prohibitive, stores could sell them to consumers for around $60 depending on what they wanted to add to the bike over and above the original design. The cost is great, especially if it should be stolen, you won’t be out as much money.

[via No Camels via Geek]

Velocomp’s iBike Powerhouse, the cycling computer that integrates with your wheels to bring you workouts such as the descriptively named Brazilian Butt, is finally ready to ship. Introduced back in January, the Powerhouse works with an app for the iPhone or iPod touch (hence the iMoniker) to measure your pedal rates and other health stats, with preset workouts guiding you through 45- to 90-minute rides targeted toward your fitness level. The regimens also include tips and video demos from cycling pro Hunter Allen.

The $279 package, available through the iBike site, includes a case for the iPhone or iPod touch, the Powerhouse computer itself, the app, a wireless speed sensor and a handle bar mounting system. Though the system comes with two pre-loaded workouts, you can buy more for $9.99 a pop through the iOS app. Head on down to the PR for more info.

Continue reading iBike Powerhouse starts shipping: a workout coach for your set of wheels

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

iBike Powerhouse starts shipping: a workout coach for your set of wheels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 05:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parker Brothers Choppers, responsible for one of several Tron Light Cycle replicas seen recently, is continuing to prove that electric bikes aren’t all weedy-looking augmented pedal-powered affairs. This time, it tackled the Detonator concept created by Daniel Simon, a former VW designer who was also in charge of vehicle design for the Tron remake. Wired reports that the $100,000 bike charges in an hour and has an estimated range of around 80-100 miles on a full battery. According to the operations manager at Parker Brothers Choppers, it’s “not the easiest bike to ride,” though that could have something to do with Simon’s original design, geared for non-human droids able to rotate their legs all the way around. Human riders, on the other hand, would likely face some chafing issues.

The Detonator brings electric biking to bots, looks pretty bomb originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Nov 2011 07:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There comes a time in nearly every person’s life when they need to get up, get out the door and get to work. Some drive, some walk, some take one form of public transportation or another — but a noble few do something different. Those people ride their bikes, holding on to the passion gained in a childhood of racing around the neighborhood on Huffys and Schwinns, skinning knees or elbows when the latest attempt at a sweet jump turned a little sour.

Sure, those people may say they’re saving money or the environment by riding a bike into work, but we all know they do it for fun. As is the case with most wheeled pursuits, the fun factor increases with the speed, and with that idea we welcome to you to the Grace One. It’s a German electric bike that offers more high-tech trappings than your average economy car — a good thing, because it costs nearly as much as one. What does this $6,000 bike offer? Speed. Sweet, effortless speed (up to 25MPH without you burning a single calorie), and we recently had the chance to put one through its paces. Read on to see how we fared.

Continue reading Grace One City e-motorbike review

Grace One City e-motorbike review originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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