Sturdy bike racks are a necessary component to ensuring that people can ride their bikes to work, but aren’t the most pleasing things to look at. A new “artful” attempt to provide new racks, made of recycled cast iron might just change the way people see the racks.
Last week the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency along with the Yerba Buena Community Benefit District unveiled and installed its first recycled cast iron “artful bicycle racks.” These are the first of 250 to be placed in the Yerba Buena neighborhood, and are meant to help meet the growing demand for bicycle parking download. The racks have been paid for by local property owners, and are designed to give a little more style than the usual utilitarian bike racks.
[Via KTVU: Unveiling “artful” bike racks at Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens]
Transporting the young ones can be tricky, especially for those with active lives. This is where designer Oliver Klein’s award winning Kanguru might be the one to beat. This transformable baby carrier/bike seat, which is made almost entirely of recyclable materials that can be easily replaced should any wear out or break, won a Gold BraunPrize 2012 for “Genius Design for Everyday.” The Kanguru can even stand upright on the ground, thus serving a third purpose as well. Again, genius for everyday.
Having a barbell – also known as a dumbbell – around isn’t a dumb idea. Doing a little lifting during the day can keep arms toned up, help utilize muscles to reduce repetitive stress and reduce mental stress as well. But you don’t need to have an ugly weight lying around when you can have the Alias Barbell to lift. Designed by Philipp Starck this could make a nice paper weight for those times when it isn’t being lifted!
Zero is essentially nothing, but the Xero Shoes, which were invented by Boulder, Colo. Resident Steven Sashen, are just slighting nothing more than nothing. These feature no laces, no upper at the toes and offer just a 6mm thin layer that protects the feet from the ground. It is like running barefoot but still having a layer between the foot and the ground.
Plenty of companies make canoe and kayak paddles, but this holiday season consider the paddles from Bending Branches of Osceola, Wis. Their products have been made in the USA since the company was founded nearly 30 years ago. Bending Branches worked to revolutionize the paddle industry by introducing composite tips to canoe paddles and the company has been designing and creating some of the most innovative paddles ever sense.
Show some patriotic spirit this holiday season with a bottle from Liberty Bottleworks of Washington State. The company was founded in 2010 and makes water bottles in its Union Gap factory from recycled aluminum. Currently the only American-made metal bottles, these are BPA free and made from 100 percent recycled materials. The company offers a number of collections, but we’re partial to the Freedom line above!
We’ve seen a few wearable sleeping bags, including the 
According to movies and TV mountain men were quite rugged individuals and the SK Mountain survival utility knife would probably be something that intrepid individual might want to carry. It is part of a collaboration between Camillus Knives and Survivorman series host and survival expert Les Stroud.
This isn’t what we had in mind when someone suggested you could get a “bike rack,” but for the serious cyclist who has a bit of a silly streak consider having the handlebars mounted much like a hunting trophy. So instead of a rack of antlers Bicycle Taximdermy can “mount” those bars!
We first heard about 
While most of us may never have a swing like the golf pros, today there are plenty of tools that can help improve the swing. In the old days it just meant endless practicing but today that practice can include a digital helper in the form of a wearable sensor on the glove.
The ionic Converse Chuck Taylors aren’t as common on the basketball courts these days, but the shoes remain popular off the court for skaters and anyone who wants a shoe that could survive for seemingly ever. One thing the canvas shoes have never been so good in is snow and mud. But the Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Made in Maine Boot looks as if it could endure just about anything. The only catch is that the company is releasing just 80 pair that will be made available at select Converse and First String retailers. However, we did note that Converse has a lot of other boot options ready for the holidays.
The very notion of clipping into bicycle pedals may seem crazy to those who haven’t tried it. While it can be easily – and quickly – mastered, trying it isn’t always for the faint of heart. But Look Cycle, which was one of the companies to pioneer clipless pedals, has introduced the Keo Flex.