Bike

Using pedal-power to get to work makes sense - get fit, reduce your carbon footprint, save money and probably time too - but for many cyclists, negotiating the urban sprawl often means using other forms of transport like trains for part of the journey. That's where the folding bike comes in. We've seen some cracking designs in recent times that incorporate large wheels and make the bike easier to handle when folded, and this award winning example from student designer Robert Dumaresq ticks all the boxes. Called the Switch Commuter Bike, Dumaresq's lightweight, fast-folding design takes up only the footprint of one wheel when collapsed so it can easily be maneuvered in crowded environments. Read More

Here we are in 2009 - televisions are thin, phones are smart and robots are on the rise, but still there's that nagging sense of disappointment each time you look outside and realize that cars don't fly. Samson Motorworks hopes to rescue us from this predicament, but realizing the weight and aerodynamic disadvantages of the 4-wheel platform, it has left the car in the garage and embarked on a mission to create a flying 3-wheeled enclosed motorcycle. Two dual-use Multi Mode Vehicles (MMVs) models are in development - the Skybike, which uses a patent pending telescoping wing design, and the Switchblade, which uses a scissor wing design to retract the wings when you swap the airway for the freeway. Read More

Elite athletes know that training smarter is much better than training harder, and to do that you need to know exactly what's happening in your body. Suunto has introduced its new Triathlon collection heart rate monitors which measure the time interval between heartbeats and its variations to produce seven different body parameters as well as analyze these readings to provide the information needed to maximize their training efforts. Read More

As you read this, 66-year-old Briton Eddie Sedgemore is powering his way all over the UK mainland, a 1,655-mile journey on a Powabyke X-byke electric bicycle to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. The Powabyke is a regular looking bike that has a 250 watt motor which slots into the water bottle holder and weighs only 2.5kg, allowing riders to coast along at a steady 15mph (add another 10mph in pedal assist mode). Read More

There’s a few reasons why cycling has remained a popular form of transport for over a century. It’s cheap, keeps you fit, is environmentally friendly and it’s fun - usually. Unfortunately it can get a little less fun when you hit a steep hill or have neglected your fitness for a while. This is where electric assist devices such as the Gruber Assist can come in handy. It still lets you do most of the work, but helps to make the job that little bit easier. Whereas electric bikes such as the E+, the eneloop and the Gocycle require the purchase of a complete bike to get some electric assistance, the Gruber Assist can be retrofitted to practically any bicycle provided it has a seat tube with an inner diameter of 31.6mm. Read More

Taiwanese-based Agios Technology Company has spent two years developing the Podio - a portable digital Hi-Fi player made specially for bikes, but not exclusively. The cylindrical, pocket-sized music machine has been designed to produce a clear, natural sound, which is intended to be listened to without the need for earbuds. Read More

Given that there are more bicycles sold in the world each year than cars, they are non-polluting, the transport of choice for many developing countries and are used to deliver a large part of the world's freight the final mile, it’s a wonder there aren’t more purpose-built cargo bikes around. The Cetma cargo bike, produced by a small, one-man operation in the US state of Oregon, is one that is out there ... delivering. Read More

April 9, 2009 One of the most compelling examples of urban transportation we've seen in recent times, the Gocycle is a lightweight electric bike developed with professionals and families in mind which brings a number of style and performance firsts to city-specific two-wheelers. Gocycle’s design engineer and founder of Karbon Kinetics Limited (KKL), Richard Thorpe, cut his teeth working in lightweight vehicle design for companies such as McLaren and turned his attention to bicycles in an attempt to break the mould of conventional design - and with its lightweight magnesium alloy construction, push-button access to electric propulsion and an innovative enclosed multi-speed chain-drive, the Gocycle does just that. Read More

Japanese bike component manufacturer Shimano seems to have the pro-cycling world in a bit of a spin with its newly launched electronic Dura-Ace road racing components. It’s still early days but already the Dura-Ace Di2 – which stands for digital integrated intelligence – is receiving favorable reviews, with talk of significantly slicker, cleaner gear changes and one expert opinion describing the electronic component series as “revolutionary”. Read More