The last thing you want to have to deal with when riding your bike, particularly in busy traffic, is your sunglasses falling off. So to ensure they stay on your face no matter how rough the terrain is, the Helm from Dux features a retractable pair of sunglasses that will never go missing. More »
My day with Dan Sorger was winding down and the photographers were out joyriding on his bicycles when he beckoned me to look at something on his tiny, age-stained LCD monitor. Nestled in between a curling collection of Post-It notes was an anecdote about a wealthy Italian man which he began to read aloud, “Once upon a time, long ago …” According to the story he had spent an exorbitant sum of money to modify his prized Alfa Romeo. As a result, his family tried to have him declared insane and wrest control of his fortune. As the trial got underway, the judge asked to see the vehicle in question and, once he set his eyes on the custom-crafted aluminum body, he dismissed the case, declaring, “The search for beauty is the most natural thing in man.” The tale is allegedly the origin of storied automobile designer Ugo Zagato, but it’s the judge who is the real star and it’s his words that struck a chord with Dan, the founder and owner of DBC City Bike Design.
Gallery: DBC City Bike Design
Continue reading Engineering a better bicycle with DBC City Bike Design
Filed under: Transportation, Alt
Engineering a better bicycle with DBC City Bike Design originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sure, you can turn your smartphone into a bike computer, but if you’d rather not put your pricey piece of tech anywhere near harm’s way, Wahoo Fitness’ RFLKT Bike Computer offers an alternative. Instead of packing all the brains, the device sits atop a bicycle’s handlebar and displays data it’s fed via Bluetooth 4.0 from cycling apps running on an iPhone 4S or 5. At launch, the hardware will support the firm’s own Cyclemeter application and Wahoo Fitness App which can monitor ride information ranging from location to speed, in addition to heart rate with additional accoutrement. Aspiring Alberto Contadors can page through data and even sift through tunes on their playlist with the help of buttons on the device’s side. Gently tipping the scales at 2 ounces, the RFLKT measures up at 2.4- x 1.6 x 0.5-inches and boats a one-year battery life on a single coin cell. Wahoo’s gadget is slated for a December launch, but there’s still no word on pricing. For more specifics, take a gander at the full press release below.
Filed under: Misc, Transportation
Wahoo Fitness introduces RFLKT: an iPhone-powered bike computer that lets handsets stay in pockets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 Sep 2012 00:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The best way to stay safe while biking is to stay visible to those you share the road with. And while concepts for laser-based systems that create a highly visible virtual lane around your bike have existed for years and years, they’re finally real (and cheap!) now. More »
It’s hard to get into the habit of exercising unless you’ve got some sweet incentives waiting for you at the finish line. That’s probably what Janko Hofmann and Fabian Pammer were thinking when they came up with the Arduino-powered Personal Energy Orb. It’s basically a device that measures your ‘virtual energy level,’ which gauges how much time you spend in front of your computer versus other activities that will actually require you to move.
This energy level goes down with every minute you spend using your computer, but you can push it back up by going out for a ride on your bike. Aside from turning red when your virtual energy is dangerously low, the orb works in conjunction with an app that’ll decrease your cursor speed until it barely cross across your screen.
So if you want to keep using your computer, you can’t really do anything except go for a ride so your cursor will go back to its normal speed.
[via The Verge]
Expanding on its product line which makes it easy for someone to find your emergency contacts if you’re injured, ICEdot (In Case of Emergency) is taking the idea one step further. Working with a company called SenseTech LLC, it’s developing a tiny helmet sensor that knows when you’ve been in an accident, how severe it was, and automatically triggers your phone to call for help. More »
Wahoo Fitness’ BlueSC cycling sensor is well and good for iPhone owners that always have fair weather and friendly roads to ride. For everyone else, there’s the company’s just-unveiled KICKR Power Trainer, a bike training system that uses a Bluetooth 4.0 link with Apple’s device (or an ANT+ bike computer) to come as close as possible to the real thing. The KICKR can change resistance as soon as third-party iOS apps like Kinomap Trainer and TrainerRoad give the word, either arbitrarily for a routine or to replicate that on-asphalt feel at up to a 15 percent hill grade. Wahoo claims the super flywheel and wheel-off design improve the sensation of the virtual road and keep the measurements for both power and speed accurate over the long haul. If there’s anything holding back indoor athletes, it’s the launch. The KICKR will only land in US basements and living rooms come November, and while we haven’t been quoted a price, we’d wager that it’s much more likely to fall in line with the cost of a regular bike trainer than a sensor like the BlueSC.
Continue reading Wahoo KICKR Power Trainer lets iPhone cyclists feel the simulated burn (video)
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile
Wahoo KICKR Power Trainer lets iPhone cyclists feel the simulated burn (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 03:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google’s cycling directions have been slowly expanding their reach to the mobile world and other countries, but the only option for navigation so far has been to memorize the route. As of today, you won’t have to stop every five minutes to get your bearings. Google Maps for Android has received a low-key update that adds spoken, turn-by-turn Google Maps Navigation for riders in every country where biking directions exist — if you can clamp your phone to your handlebars, you can find your way. Many more riders are just seeing mobile support of any kind in the process. Both navigation and regular directions should now be live in the Android app for 10 more countries, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Cyclists just need to swing by Google Play to keep their two-wheeled adventures on track.
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation, Mobile
Google Maps for Android adds turn-by-turn biking navigation, helps pedal-pushers in 10 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 21:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Making use of pedal-power to charge your phone or power headlights isn’t a brand new biking technology, but the EcoXPower brings something new to the table by letting you do both of those simultaneously. More »
Bicycle rigs for charging cellphones have lit up our radar before, but now the EcoXPower is being billed as the first device of its kind that can simultaneously juice up LED lights and a smartphone with the power of your pedaling. Packing a headlamp, a red tail light and a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, the contraption attaches to a bike’s front wheel hub with the help of a universal mount. When clamped on, the apparatus’ clutch engages between the velocipede’s spokes so it can generate electricity. A USB adapter cable runs up the two-wheeler’s fork to a water-resistant, touchscreen-friendly case that can house iPhones, Android handsets and “all major GPS devices” perched atop the handlebars. Cyclists yearning to charge their electronics with the dynamo can pick one up for $99.99. Roll past the break for the full press release.
Continue reading EcoXPower charges a smartphone, bicycle headlight and tail light with pedal power
Filed under: Transportation
EcoXPower charges a smartphone, bicycle headlight and tail light with pedal power originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 01:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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