Hasta La Gadget!

Everyone knows you don’t need a treadmill in space, right? You just find a free section of the cylindrical wall of your spaceship and run around that, 2001-style.

But when you get back to Earth, you need to exercise your atrophied muscles and get the blood pumping again. But how do you stand up on those weak and skinny legs? An anti-gravity treadmill, that’s how. And it isn’t just astronauts that can’t bear their own weight: injured athletes and accident victims also need to regain strength slowly. The answer is the AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill M310, a newer, cheaper version of the company’s $70,000 machines.

It works like this: The astronaut, or other user, slots themselves into a big plastic bag which inflates around their lower-half and supports up to 80% of their weight. This stops the joints from a-knocking while they exercise, much like doing aerobics in a swimming pool. The difference is that they are not in the water, and so movement is not inhibited, and you don’t feel like you’re running through treacle.

The M310 costs $24,500 and, like others in the range, will support runners of up to 400 pounds (it’s useful for weight loss, too). The base model goes up to 8mph, and the full-on, NASA-budget version will hit 18mph. That might sound fast, but one other neat side-effect of being squeezed inside a giant bubble is that you can’t fall off the back, however much you crank up the speed.

Product page
[AlterG. Thanks, Katherine!]

Traveling with a bicycle is always a scary proposition. You can either do your best to pack your bike safely in a cardboard box or a bike bag and pay over-the-top surcharges for sports equipment, or you can pack the bike safely in a hard case, paying the same rip-off handling charges. Either way, you’ll have to cross your fingers and hope you don’t get to the destination with a bent fork or buckled wheel.

The best alternative I have seen so far is the S and S Coupling, which involves slicing your bike across the top and down tubes and having this specially designed coupling installed. It means the bike will break down and fit into a 26 x 26 x 10-inch box, which is under most airlines’ maximum size for checked baggage and – best of all – you can lie at check in and pretend it isn’t a bike.

However, not all of us want to, or can afford to, chop our rides. This is where the Aerotech Evolution comes in. The 25-pound case is made from ABS and has straps and clamps inside to stop the bike parts form rattling around. Sadly, it is also big, although that’s more the fault of your bike than of the case. Add to this the picture of a bike molded into the side and you start to see that it mightn’t be the stealthiest way to transport your ride.

Worse, it costs €720, or $1080, which is roughly the same an an S and S conversion plus a flight case (and the advantage of no more airline fees). Still, if you are transporting an expensive carbon fiber bike, you might jut appreciate the extra protection.

Product page [Aerotech via Core77]

Bikes and trains are a great mix. A train can get you out into the coutryside for some downhill runs, or let you cycle at a destination too far to get to by bike in a day, saving a car trip. Our own velvet-voiced editor Dylan Tweney throws his taxi-yellow, easy to carry fixed-gear on the commuter train from time to time, and I would travel along with my non-biking friends in Berlin on the bike-friendly U-bahn.

But while San Francisco and Berlin both allow bikes (although I hear the new muni cars have less bike spaces than the old ones), neither is as impressive as the the Stuttgart to Degerloch Zahnradbahn in Germany. The open bike-car has taken bike-commuters along this short two kilometer (one and a quarter mile) stretch since 1983. Two kilometers? Are these people lazy?

Our German speaking readers will have noticed what is going on here: Zahnradbahn is a cog-driven railway, and this train climbs 200 meters (almost 2,200 yards) from station to station, a climb that is guaranteed to get you to work soaked with sweat. We can’t help thinking that the ride home must be a lot of fun, though.

Here in Barcelona, you can take your bikes on trains but unless you get lucky, you won’t find a goods-carriage to put them in (although the city’s trams do have parking inside). Do any of you readers from around the world have bike-friendly public transport where you live? Tell us about it in the comments.

Official page [City of Stuttgart via Cyclelicious]

Jealous of the way those hipper-than-thou ZipCar people are always unlocking the doors to their rented Minis with an iPhone? We aren’t either. But if you are looking to recreate that scenario with your Dodge Dart, have we got a gadget for you! If you already own a compatible Viper security system, the SmartStart module will let lock and unlock your car, arm and disarm your car alarm, pop the trunk, or fire off that panic alarm — all from your cherished handset. There are two modules available, priced at $299 and $499, depending on which Viper system you’ve installed. You also need a SmartStart account which will run you $29 a year (the first year’s free). But don’t take our word for it — check out the action-packed video below for a breathtaking recreation of the system’s features.

Continue reading Viper Security launches SmartStart iPhone app for well-appointed whips

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation

Viper Security launches SmartStart iPhone app for well-appointed whips originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Something seems very wrong about driving to the beach to go surfing. You’re all set to enjoy a free ride from Mother Nature and marvel at the power of the sea, and yet you get to the coast by burning her very lifeblood and spewing toxic waste into her lungs.

No, much better to go by bike. I see plenty of surfers here in Barcelona heading to the sea with their boards on side mounted racks. Apart from the fact that the Mediterranean has practically no surf, these racks work fine.

But an alternative from ACG SurfRacks puts the board overhead on tall stands. Why is this better? Because it makes you narrower (and therefore less of a nuisance on the boardwalk), taller (added visibility) and our favorite, the board itself acts as a sun-shade, kind of like the canopy on those dorky BMW cocoon-like C1 scooters. Add to this the fact that a side wind is less likely to blow you out into traffic and you have a solid set of specs.

The racks bolt on to your bike and offer two padded T-bars, front and back, to which you can secure the board. As the chaps behind the racks are surfers, they’ve spent more time out on the waves than working on their website, so we have no prices for you. There is, though a list of surf shops which stock them. Predictably, the majority are in California.

Product page [ACG via Bike Hacks]