It's no secret that Portland, Ore., is one of the world's top biking towns. (Full disclosure: I live and bike here, and love both.) Thanks in part to a bike culture that has led to the development of hundreds of miles of bike lanes, ample signage, and rows of bright blue parking racks, Portland gets accolades for healthy people and air.
MIT's new take on storing and boosting power, keeping track of nearby friends, and monitoring traffic, fitness, and fog doesn't have everyone convinced.
(Credit: Senseable City Lab)But it is Copenhagen, Denmark, home to the 2009 climate summit, that tops pretty much every list you'll find as the world's best biking city, with a whopping 36 percent of commuters going by bike. So it is fitting that MIT's Senseable City Lab came up with The Copenhagen Wheel, which it unveiled this week in Copenhagen.
But to some, the wheel, whose several great features include storing kinetic energy for help up hills and monitoring traffic, fog, and nearby friends, is also a bit of a joke, something akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.
To environmentalists, there are far bigger mountains that need to be summitted (pun shamelessly intended), all the better if by bikes-without-batteries, as the saying may soon go.
To engineers, the storing of kinetic energy is nothing new at all. It's already used in hybrid vehicles, and the 1982 book Bicycling Science, put out by none other than, you guessed it, MIT Press, outlines various energy storage systems for bikes known three decades ago.
And to bike enthusiasts, who've tended toward lighter and simpler bicycles of late (Portland's hipster v. roadie "Performance" video sums up the culture well), adding weight and complexity to a bike, not to mention a hefty price tag estimated at $500 to $1,000, is downright counterintuitive.
And when it comes to one's health, of course, it's best to use your own body to get around. Pedaling a bike is better for your heart rate than, say, pushing buttons on an electric one. The Copenhagen Wheel is to someone who already bikes a lot what a diet fad is to someone who already eats well.
But at the end of the day, if the Copenhagen Wheel gets people who wouldn't otherwise bike to actually bike, it's a boon for personal and, at least to some extent, environmental health. As MIT project leader Christine Outram tells the New York Times, "It's a technology that can get more people on bikes."
(Credit:
The Press Democrat)
When it comes to speed radars, why should police officers have all the fun? Santa Rosa, CA-based Pocket Radar, Inc. has engineered a palm-sized speed radar for those curious about the speed of moving objects.
Tattletales might enjoy aiming the device at motorists or speeding cops, but Pocket Radar is intended for more serious applications.
In an interview with the Press Democrat, co-founder Steve Goody explains that it can also be used by hockey, bike racing, horse racing, and soccer fans. "It has an application for any sport with a moving object," he said.
Steve Goody, Chris Stewart, and Grant Moulton spent four years building the product which will release in spring 2010. The three founders are Silicon Valley veterans who hail from companies like HP, Cisco Systems, and Agilent Technologies.
At $199-249, it's likely only die-hard fans will purchase the radar. However, athletic trainers might find it useful in training, as a prototype is already used by a local baseball coach.
(Credit:
Crave UK)
Phones make trusty sat-navs, MP3 players, and cycling computers--as well as handy phones--so they can replace a pocket full of gear on your daily commute or monthly trek. But short of lashing them to the handlebars with duct tape, you need a decent way to keep them front and center, without them flying off to become the puck in a horrifying game of car hockey. You'll be needing a mount.
With all the mounts we tested, we were surprised how much we enjoyed having our phone at our fingertips while pedaling. Not only did our sat-nav apps benefit from having a clear line of sight to the satellite-soaked sky, but we could answer calls and see texts as they came in, while a quick switch between podcasts was much easier without having to root around in our pockets.
But hopefully it goes without saying that you shouldn't get distracted by your iPhone's beauty and go ploughing into lampposts and pedestrians. Drive safely, people! Try to stay at least as ... Read more
Joules was born out of a challenge from its maker's son, a former pro bike racer. Could his dad build an electric tandem based on actually pumping the pedals?
(Credit: Endless-sphere.com)Joules might be a robot, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy a calming tandem bike ride with his creator, Carl. He's not dead weight, either--he actually pedals, thanks to a PMG-132 motor.
There's trouble in paradise, however. Carl writes on the electric-vehicle-technology forums Endless-sphere.com that Joules "does all of the pedaling," which sounds like the start of every sci-fi plot in which overworked robots rebel against their makers. Besides that little hiccup, this is a really cool project, and sort of cute in a weird, nerdy way.
More photos and a video after the jump.
... Read more
The BioLogic FreeCharge comes in a tiny silicone-encased box that hooks to your generator hub to transfer your body's power into your iPhone.
(Credit: Dahon)Every year at the Multnomah County Bike Fair in Portland, Ore., someone brings a bike hooked up to a blender and lets people pedal their way to their smoothie of choice. Sometimes the simplest, most obvious ideas are also the most brilliant.
So it comes as no surprise that far lighter, more portable charging devices are being designed to fit on bicycle generator hubs. Folding-bike maker Dahon has just unveiled its Biologic FreeCharge at the Eurobike Fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and it has the cycling world all atwitter.
The FreeCharge connects to any dyno hub on the market and charges a small gadget (iPod, cell phone, GPS unit, etc.) by transferring some of the energy your body generates pumping away on your bike to a high-capacity battery, which in turn directs a steady current to said small gadget. A simple silicone casing both ... Read more
(Credit:
Alison Rosen)
Alison Rosen is back on the program today, and no, she's not really shrinking. That said, she is mystified by Craigslist missed connections, so we debate about what sort of scenario would lend itself to the use of the site's bizarre feature.
Next stop, Cougarville--better known as San Fransisco--where we investigate a disturbing new expo: The National Single Cougars Convention. Should cougars be given their own convention or should they be hunted in public, the natural way?
Finally, it seems we're just never going to get rid of Autotune. Especially now that the new T-Pain Autotune iPhone app makes robot voice manipulation so easy--as if it wasn't to begin with.
We've got all this and more on today's 404. Enjoy the weekend! (No show on Monday).
Check out Alison's blog or The Daily Alison.
EPISODE 419
Listen now: Download today's podcastSubscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video
... Read more
Beware the CarMac.
(Credit: Caroline McCarthy)It's not easy doing a show without Wilson G. Tang, but luckily our good friend CarMac steps into the game to help us out! Today, we tackle Cable versus Fios, Adult Twitter clones, and McDonalds' suspicious new Web site, 365black.com.
CNET reporter Caroline McCarthy fills in for Wilson while he's off in Rhode Island dining fine at a Red Lobster, but we ain't complaining because CarMac represents 1 out of 7 total females that listen to The 404. Jeff takes the first quarter of the show to complain about Verizon Fios not running his stick and puck games on television, but after that's over, we get to more important stories like this a spicy new Twitter offshoot.
Stick around for another Call from the Public courtesy of Sally Henderson and Sean Connery, and stay tuned to the rest of this week's Wilson-less shows!
EPISODE 410
Listen now: Download today's podcastSubscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video
... Read more
The women's version of the Comfort Cruiser.
(Credit: Pedego)Editor's note: This post was updated at 8:59 a.m. PDT August 7 to remove the incorrect statement that Pedego is also the maker of the eZee bike.
You have heard of the eZee bike, which is cool but rather expensive. Now there's a slightly more affordable option from Pedego, another electric bike maker, for those who want to be in shape and stay green, but just can't stomach the price tag of the eZee. The new offering is another electric bike, called the Comfort Cruiser, and it costs around $1,600--$400 less than the eZee.
According to Pedego, the Comfort Cruiser is a lightweight bike designed to provide comfortable riding. It has a wide, cushioned seat and a throttle that's controlled by revving the right handlebar grip, similar to that of a motorcycle.
The bike is equipped with a rear-hub motor, which is incorporated inside the rear rim, and a lithium battery that has ... Read more
Ever wondered why Europeans seem to be in so much better shape than us Americans? Well, instead of driving everywhere, they bike around town. The good news is that one of their secrets, the eZee electric bicycle, is now available in the U.S.
eZeebike USA announced Wednesday a major expansion of the eZee brand of electric bicycles into the American market. The eZee brand is already popular in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
eZee bicycles are just like regular bikes except they're equipped with an electric motor that helps power the vehicle to ease the pedaling during long rides or rides on rough terrain.
Each e-bike has a rechargeable battery that takes about five hours to fully power and then has enough juice to run the bicycle at around 20 mph for a distance of about 20 miles. Of course, you can always turn this off and power the bike by yourself, the traditional way.
eZee bicycles are obviously not for hardcore cyclists. ... Read more
RunKeeper provides useful info as you run, then uploads it to the RunKeeper site.
Can I gush? RunKeeper is the coolest freakin' iPhone application ever. OK, maybe not for everyone, but it's definitely the coolest for runners, hikers, bikers, and anyone else interesting in tracking their outdoor activities.
Let me explain. This summer the running bug bit me hard, and I'm now running farther and faster than in years past. Consequently, I've grown interested in determining my pace, distance, total run time, and so on.
My first thought was to get Apple's Nike + iPod, which is reasonable at $29--but incompatible with my iPhone 3G. Plus, I didn't want to have to buy a pair of Nike+ shoes or "hack" the Apple sensor to latch onto my own shoes.
Quite by accident, I discovered RunKeeper Free, which leverages the iPhone's built-in GPS to track duration, distance, pace, speed, and more.
All this happens in real-time as you run, but where it really gets cool is at the end: When you ... Read more
