What does it take to get you to walk more? Would it get you on your feet to know each step you take will power your cell phone? That may soon be a possibility. InStepNanoPower is developing a shoe with a device in the sole that captures the energy created with each step. This energy is typically lost as heat in our tracks as we keep walking and creating more energy. Continue reading Walk a Mile to Juice Your Cell Phone
Category: concept
Is Plywood the Next Big Bicycle Material?
This year we’ve seen bikes that have simulated wood grain and even bikes made of bamboo in a variety of form factors. Now words comes that a couple of manufacturers are working with plywood, a very odd choice for frame building at first thought, but isn’t plywood technically a composite material?
Well, it isn’t carbon fiber but plywood has advantages in that it is strong, can be made into shapes that typical wood boards can’t, and it has a springiness as well. Polish designer Stanislaw Poloski has created a one-of-a-kind bike called the Bonobo, which is made of curved, laminated layers of plywood. The bike, which weighs about 16 kilograms, is fitted with a single-speed drivetrain and disc brakes. Continue reading Is Plywood the Next Big Bicycle Material?
On the Green With Robotic Putter Helper
In the future there could be robotic caddies that help golfers choose the right clubs, keep track of important data and eventually take over the world – if not at least the golf course (yes, I worry a lot about robots taking over the world). Now however, there is a new robotic device that will potentially aid golfers on the greens. Katherine Kuchenbecker at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia is leading the way with a new project that could help players improve their putt.
To achieve this goal, the team devised a 1.5-meter long training frame with a practice hole. Players take aim and practice with a wired putter that measures the swing and actually corrects deviation to the swing, encouraging better form. The wires actually pull the club, and the golfer can feel the forces, which in turn force him/her to swing correctly. It certainly has promised to get golfers not only in the swing of things, but to get into a better swing in the process.
[Via NewScientist.com: Wire robot yanks your golf game into shape]
Terminus Bike Could be Terminal to the Bank Account
Having spent time in the factories “where dreams are made” – namely the Colnago factory in Italy – I’ve seen some expensive bikes. This reporter can also say that he’s seen some beautiful bikes. The M55 Terminus is certainly the former if not exactly the latter.
It isn’t just the name that evokes the metal interior of the Terminator either, and in all honesty this is probably what a T-80 in the guise of Arnuld would ride if the Terminator went mountain biking. Fortunately for us – and bad for Sarah Connor – the Terminator’s activities are limited (“He’ll find her! That’s what he does! That’s ALL he does!). This $35,000 bike is also heavy enough (heavy duty enough too), at 65 pounds to support a cyborg. And it is actually built like one too. The CNC-milled aluminum frame includes an electric motor powered by lithium-ion cells that give it a range of 62-miles – a bit limited we think were it to be used to actually hunt Ms. Connor.
Other advanced features aren’t exactly space age but they still impress, and include Syncros 26-inch rims, MXR air shocks at the rear, Fohloff twist gear shifters and Formula One braking technology. The good news for anyone worried about this machine potentially being used by our robot masters is that it will be limited to five very limited runs of 55 piece each.
The bike isn’t the product of the machines, but is coming a Hungarian developer, who has been financed by private investors and a $400, 000 grant from the New Hungary Development Plan. Isn’t that always how these sinister plans begin? But at $35,000 who besides a mad scientist or Terminator from the future (who could predict the stock market and bet on football) could possibly afford one!
M55 Terminus Official Website
[Via Wired: Hit the Hills and Highways on Hungary’s $35,00 Hybrid Hyberbike]
Nike Makes Your Run Into Artwork
You may imagine your run as a form of art. You go out, push your body’s limits, brave the elements, and sweat it out a few miles. But when you get home, the run fades. What if you could display a print that marked your tracks?
Nike, working with YesYesNo in collaboration with DualForces, produced the project Nike+ City Runs. Participants wearing Nike+ went on runs around New York City. Runs were then plotted on a lithograph-esque map of the city. A line representing the runner’s path is brighter and wider depending on the speed and intensity of the run.
For a SoHo store location installation, the project tracked a year’s worth of runs from the Nike+ website. YesYesNo created software that palyed back runs throughout New York, London and Tokyo. The runs showed tens of thousands of people’s runs, which animated the city in a black and white relief.
OpenStreetMaps created the maps used for the project.
This was part of the launch of the Nike Free Run+ 2 City Pack Series.
[Via psfk]
When a Governing Body Stifles Technology
Recently I was sent James Thomas’s article from Bicycledesign titled, “Is TJ Tollakson the Graeme Obree of triathlon?,” regarding the use of a carbon fiber 1996 Zipp beam frame triathlon bike by T.J. Tollakson in numerous triathlon wins including Ironmans. Tollakson has been experimenting with different riding positions and use of materials, some non-cycling, to come up with his winning combination. The beam design that he chose has not been utilized for some time now due to its design not falling with the International Cycling Union (UCI) regulations, but this style of frame is still legal by the regulations of USA Triathlon.
As Thomas notes the UCI wasn’t nearly so kind to Graeme Obree, also known as “The Flying Scotsman,” when he created his bike “Old Faithful” using parts from a washing machine. As Tollakson used soccer shin pads to aid the unique design, we’re left wondering if the UCI would approve. But this is just part of the issue.
I remember when the double triangle rule was implemented by the UCI and thinking that it was the end for real innovation with road bike frame designs. Continue reading When a Governing Body Stifles Technology
Tip a Canoe – Make that Fold a Canoe
There are two words that don’t seem to sound right together, and those are “folding canoes,” but yes they exist. In fact they aren’t really all that new. There are many fitness devices that fold up, but then again most don’t have to float. And yet, canoes can do both. The problem is that most don’t pack up to be all that small or light weight. They’re only really portable in the sense that they actually fit in the car or truck.
But an Israeli designer has created a canoe that folds up to be compact enough to take on the go, and weighs in at just nine pounds! And it floats too – that latter point being the really important one of coure. Designer Ori Levin is the creator of the Adhoc, a single-passenger canoe that features a carbon fiber frame and outer hull made of aramid fabric, the same material used in racing sails.
As the video below shows, setup is easy as custom-made locking mechanisms hold the framework together. The whole thing can be stashed away in a backpack and still assembled in about five minutes. So far this is still a very much still in the concept stage rather than being commercial available.
So now you can tip a canoe or fold one too.
[Via DesignBoom: ori levin: adhoc folding canoe]
Video after the jump Continue reading Tip a Canoe – Make that Fold a Canoe
Is Motorola Going to Give Nike+ a Run?
Motorola has seen many bumps in the road. Once a dominant player in the mobile phone space (and a title sponsor in the world of professional cycling), the company has many times seemed down for the count, but now it appears it could be up and running again and ready to sprint against Nike.
Rumor has it that Motorola is looking to take on the Nike+ SportWatch. Online images suggest a “tricked out nano watch,” one which has been described as an “all-in-one fitness and music personal fitness device” along with GPS for “accurate performance tracking.” So far the device hasn’t actually been made public, and has no actual name (MotoActive is one rumor). The word is also that this watch can sync to a PC for post workout analysis. All this is based on an apparent online survey to help name the name – which is where MotoActive seems to have come from.
What is interesting is that this seems to be a multi-use monitor and music player, with some interesting music features. We are hearing that the “smart music player” can compile a list of songs based on the tunes that help you sweat your best. Let’s hope that doesn’t mean that it downloads “Let’s Get Physical” and “Eye of the Tiger” for you!
[Via Engadget: Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender?]
One Street Goes the Right Way By Launching Components Arm
Getting bikes to those who need them is just one way that One Street helps, but now the organization has announced that it has launched a new program to help address the issue of what happens after bike parts wear out. Now the international bicycle advocacy nonprofit has launched One Street Components. This new components arm of the organization has become necessary as One Street’s Social Bike Business program provides durable transportation bikes to impoverished people in communities around the world.
Each local program starts by refurbishing used bikes as they move toward manufacturing their own steel frames, forks and racks. This local manufacturing will be necessary as the bike industry no longer produces quality, affordable transportation bikes. But an alarming pattern has been hindering even the refurbishing stage. Continue reading One Street Goes the Right Way By Launching Components Arm
A New Mountain Bike Standard?
Mondraker, a ten year old bicycle company based in Spain, has announced the upcoming release of what they are claiming will be a new mountain bike standard. The 2012 Podium has features that we have seen before – a carbon fiber frame, internal cable routing and a BB30 bottom bracket; but the feature that they are touting as the new standard is an integrated stem.
The new Podium is a front suspension, hard tail design specifically designed for cross country racing and riding. By integrating the stem as a virtual extension of the top tube, the rider’s weight and center of gravity is lowered on the bike. This increases stability and provides for better pedaling efficiency. Continue reading A New Mountain Bike Standard?
Plastic Fantastic Recycled Bike
There are materials that are just easy to recycle. And while plastic isn’t quite gold, as in it can be used over and over again and forged into new shapes, Israeli design student Dror Peleg has a golden idea with the Frii concept bicycle. While working for his degree at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, Peleg came up with the idea for a bicycle made of recycled plastics using injection molding technology.
The Frii is a single speed city bike that looks unique and has some very unique characteristics. While recycled materials aren’t new, Peleg’s idea is that the bike could be manufactured locally for local use, thus further making a very green product in the process. Components could be injection molded into modular shapes that snap or otherwise connect together, resulting in a strong, yet lightweight and very colorful bike. Continue reading Plastic Fantastic Recycled Bike
Porsche Lends its Design to Bikes
You may not be able to pack it in your Porsche to drive to a ride, but you can look stylish on a Porsche bike. The performance auto maker just announced two bikes, the Porsche RS and S, which will be released in the fall in sizes S, M and L.
Both the RS and S bikes are 29ers, a trend in mountain bikes that uses wheel sizes similar to that on road and cyclocross bikes. The Porsche Bike S is constructed with a belt drive, which minimizes maintenance with a rubber belt in place of a chain. Continue reading Porsche Lends its Design to Bikes
Dare to wear (Cold)Black in the Sun
You may wear black clothes daily, but when you go to work out or spend time in the sun, you probably look for lighter colored clothing. Dark fabrics, especially black fabrics, absorb the heat from the sun and transfer that heat right to your skin. It doesn’t help your workout at all.
A new finish on fabric called coldblack made by textile company Schoeller Technologies makes for a new class of functional clothing. With coldblack, darker colors can be worn in the sun without worries of providing extra heat. The heat bounces off the textile rather than shooting straight through.
An additional advantage to coldblack is protection from UV rays. The fabric provides a minimum Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) 30 when applied to any textile. This protects against UV-A rays and UV-B rays. Continue reading Dare to wear (Cold)Black in the Sun