Party on Wheels: Beer Bike Totes Two Kegs and Pizza!!

This is quite possibly the greatest idea ever. Well maybe not, but it's still pretty cool! It's a mobile brewery. You know, on second thought, that seems like a lot of work...

The Beer Bike was designed and created by Hopworks Urban Brewing of Portland, Oregon, has been built on the frame of a cargo bike that carries two kegs and taps, plus a hot pizza storage unit. Impressive, but I can't even imagine pedaling two full kegs of beer around. I mean, those things are heavy.

The bike will be shown off at the upcoming Oregon Manifest handmade bike show."

Tandem Robo-Biker That Pedals For You?

Never would have thought of it myself, but this guy has got some mad design skills..

The skinny little rider you see perched atop the back seat of this tandem is Joules, robot cyclist extraordinaire. He's the creation of a guy called Chris who, challenged by his son to create an electric tandem that worked via pedal power, more than satisfied the brief.


The nuts-and-bolts robot is powered by a PMG-132 electric motor and, unlike most lazy-assed back-end tandem riders, does all the work himself. Not sure whether I could live with that — I'd probably get so fat from lack of exercise that the tandem would crumple when I got on, and Joules would never forgive me.

Endless-Sphere.com Via Gizmodo.com

Brunton Flip-N-Drip Coffee Maker


Make yourself a fresh cup of joe on the run with the Brunton Flip-N-Drip Coffee Maker ($45). Simply boil water in the base, attach the brew chamber filled with your favorite coffee, and flip the unit over to begin percolating a great cup of coffee. Great for hiking, camping, or covert caffeine consumption.

Trek Lance Armstrong Bikes of Stages

Trek Bike - Stages - ttp://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/stages/

Help out a great cause and get yourself a one-of-a-kind ride by picking up one of the Trek Lance Armstrong Bikes of Stages ($TBA). These unique bikes were created by artists like Shepard Fairey, Marc Newson, and Damien Hirst, and will be auctioned off on October 2nd in NYC, with proceeds from the sales going directly to The Lance Armstrong Foundation to help fund cancer outreach, awareness, research, and advocacy.

Product Review Teaser!

Soon, I will be receiving a set of virtual cycling training DVDs for indoor cycling. Global Ride Productions has graciously offered to send me their entire Hawaii series DVD boxed set to review!

From what I have found out so far, these DVDs are quite different from most 'trainer' rides. They travel to exotic locations, have multiple coaching tracks on every DVD, licensed music, and bonus yoga, pilates or strength training sessions designed for cyclists.

Keep Watching!  I will update you as to when the product arrives, how the review is going, and of course I will post a complete product review as soon as possible

**** UPDATE ****
I have recieved the DVDs and I am staerting the review process. There are 3, 1+ hour DVDs, so I am going to do a 3 Part Review. So keep watching for Part 1 coming soon!

There Is A Great, New Local Food Experience in Scottsville, Virginia

Cyclists can not survive on riding and caffeine alone... We also require food, and I have found a great, new place that you should try if you find yourself near the historic town of Scottsville, in Central Virginia.

Country Blessings Local Food's has just opened on Main Street (actually addess is 20 Valley Street). It is easy to find though, look for the first building on your left after the James River Bridge if your heading North, or the last on your right if heading South on Highway 20.

Country Blessing's offers a wide variety of Virginia products with the majority coming from within a 50 mile radius. Products from well-known, local sources and local organic produce, a great varity of  Wines From Virginia Vineyards: and Great Mirco-Brews FromVeritas Virginia Breweries.

The Deli/Grocery Carries Regional and International Food and Cheeses

They also serve Breakfast, Lunch, Weekend Brunch (which I really like) and are open until 8PM every night,

Their menu includes Pizzas (Be sure to try the Deep Dish!), Strombolis, Calzones, Sandwiches (Deli &; Grilled), Paninis, Burgers (hormone-free beef),  Gyros (Whowould have ever thgouth you Salads, Home-Made Sides.

Even better you can download a copy of their menu for yourself.

Happy Tax Day!?

Leo Tolstoy:


“I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means -- except by getting off his back.”

Hmmmm…. Happy April 15.

Please help me fight multiple sclerosis!

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I have a very personal reason for wanting a cure for MS found. Multiple Sclerosis has had a direct impact on my life, and I don't want other families to go through what mine has. My mother passed away in 20002 from Progressive-Relapsing MS.

That's why have I registered for the 2009 Bike MS ride, the Tour de Vine, and that's why I'm asking you to support my fund raising efforts with a tax-deductible donation of any amount, great or small, which helps to make a difference in the lives of people with MS.

Please pledge your support to me today!

Click here to visit my personal page.
I appreciate your support and look forward to letting you know how I do.

From Friday, June 12 through Sunday, June 14, 2009, I will be joining 800+ cyclists who will (hopefully) enjoy various length routes passing through Virginia’s famous wine country and the beautiful landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains and supported throughout by hundreds of volunteers, in this year's 'Start to Finish MS Bike Ride', better know as The Tour de Vine. Lengths include a 25, 50,75, and 100 mile option for both Saturday and Sunday.

My Goal is to ride the 50 mile route each day.

People living with MS overcome challenges everyday: to walk, to have energy to go to the store, to have the will power not to give up. That is why it is so important to me that I support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and I need your help to turn my goal into a reality.I have accepted the challenge to raise funds in the fight against MS and you can help me get there.

Please pledge your support to me today!

Click here to visit my personal page.

If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/VABBikeEvents?px=6297198&pg=personal&fr_id=10668&s_tafId=104521

If you would like more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from Bike MS are used, or the other ways you can get involved in the fight against MS, please visit nationalmssociety.org

Gary Koenig, the Denver Cycling Examiner, has a great list for cyclists you should check out!

As part of the wide-ranging stimulus effort to get our great country back on the right economic track, it's your duty as a cyclist to go out and buy some stuff.

If you’re trying to figure out which pieces of cycling equipment you should be lusting after, if you endeavor to understand where you stack up in the rider hierarchy or if you’re just trying to pigeon-hole the rider you just blew by (or vice versa), here is a checklist of equipment choices that should help you get the US economy perking again.

Start paying attention to what other riders are riding, carrying and wearing to get a better sense for what you need to buy to more closely approximate the rider you think you are. Bicycling can be an incredibly simple and relatively inexpensive sport, but gear choices are almost unending, so get your favorite cycling catalog out and start planning your acquisitions. Right now you'll get some great deals and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped right a sinking economic ship.

Drinking caffeine before strenuous bike rides reduces muscle pain, a new study suggests.

Reporting in the April edition of the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, Illinois professor Robert Motl describes how java comes to the rescue. He says caffeine works on a system in the brain and spinal cord called adenosine neuromodulatory that is involved in pain processing.

“Caffeine blocks adenosine from binding so you stop part of the pain receiving process,” he says. “We do not have the data to show how caffeine takes effect, but we do know the physiology of caffeine.” He said one of the next steps for his research team would be to conduct studies with rodents in order to better understand caffeine’s role in reducing pain.

His study involved 25 fit, college-aged males. One group had low to non-existent caffeine intake. The second group routinely drank three to four cups of coffee a day. Everyone was instructed not to drink coffee 24 hours prior to the session. For one session, they were given a caffeine pill, the equivalent of two to three cups of coffee. For the next session, they were given a placebo.
During both exercise sessions, riders were asked to record perceptions of quadricep pain. Motl says the results surprised him. Both habitual and “naive users,” or people who didn’t drink coffee, experienced less pain after taking the pill.

A former competitive cyclist, Motl says he would always meet other cyclists at coffee shops before they would ride so “we could get all loaded up. And wherever you go in Europe, you’ll see cyclists sipping on a shot of espresso or drinking their latte before riding.”

Motl thinks people intuitively know to drink coffee before riding because it makes the exercise less painful and they can push harder.

Photo of Motl with his bike and a cup of coffee by University of Illinois.

--By Janice Lloyd, USA TODAY

Update: WebMD has pretty much the same story

Austin unveils bicycle sharing for city workers

AUSTIN, Texas — A new going green project in Austin, TX involves people power and balance.

The city on Thursday unveiled a bicycle-sharing program for municipal workers who need to travel short distances for meetings or other business.

Austin bought 15 bicycles, at a cost of $256 each, as part of the Climate Protection Program funded by Austin Energy.

City spokeswoman Charlotte Blum says Austin is providing helmets and locks.
Workers can reserve the bicycles via the city's Intranet Web site, then they receive an access code.

The bicycles must be returned to the same location, with six sites available, as part of the city's pilot program to also ease traffic congestion.

Portland, Portland Style: Touring by Bicycle

Matt Furber over at the New York Times has written a pretty good article of cycling in Portland, Ore. Good enough to make me want to take a trip out there just to see if he is correct.

"Careering through streets on a bicycle in Portland, Ore., this time of year can be an easy weekend adventure that mixes showers, sunbursts, cafes and a robust bicycle culture. And equipped with a sturdy rain jacket, booties, fenders and a bike map (a waterproof version that folds to the size of a credit card is handy), visitors can enjoy the city the way locals do."

Check out the rest of the article here

2009 San Diego Custom Bicycle Show, April 3-5

If You're in San Diego this Weekend...You love bikes? You really love bikes and you're near San Diego? Well then, you've got to check out the 2009 San Diego Custom Bicycle Show! It takes place this weekend on April 3rd, 4th and 5th. Of course, best not to drive to the show. Here's the San Diego regional bike map, and if the weather's not nice, there's always mass transit.

Here's the exhibitor list:
The show takes place at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in the "Golden Pacific Ballroom", 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, California 92108. This is where Highway 163 crosses Interstate Highway 8.

For more information, visit the official San Diego Custom Bicycle Show website. You can order your tickets here.

Via San Diego Custom Bicycle Show, Cyclelicious

Need a 'cyclists' job? UPS Back to Delivering by Bike

UPS is looking for cyclists in Portland, Corvallis and other cities to drag around 200 pound trailers to do deliveries.

UPS's Jeff Grant spoke with Jonathan Maus of Bike Portland:

“For every three bikes we use for deliveries, we save an average of 17 gallons of fuel per day (compared to one truck). That’s about $50 in savings.” Across the entire district, Grant says for every three bikes used during the holiday season, UPS will save $38,000 in vehicle operation and upkeep costs.

Grant told Jonathan that " he’ll ask delivery staff to deliver about 25-50 packages per day, compared to 150 stops a day for a normal “package car”.

I am surprised that they can only deliver such a small proportion compared to the normal car, what with the problems of parking. I am also curious about security of the packages left on the cart when they run in to make a delivery. But I certainly can see big savings for UPS; no truck, no fuel, and a great workout to boot. What more do you need?

Nude Aussie bicycle riders take to streets of Melbourne for World's Naked Bike Ride

A newly married couple got a wedding picture with a difference when naked cyclists converged on their photo session at State ParliamentHouse on March 15th.

World Naked Bike Ride organiser Heidi Hill said the newlyweds grabbed the chance to get a photo when the cyclists reached the mid-way point of their annual ride yesterday.

“They were having photos taken on the steps of Parliament House and all of a sudden we showed up and they had to have a photos with us,” Ms Hill said.

>>Gallery: the naked ride through Melbourne
>>Gallery: last year’s ride
Warning: both galleries contain nudity

Ms Hill said the naked bike ride through Melbourne’s streets went off without a hitch.
Police accompanied cyclists from Fitzroy to State Parliament and back yesterday, but no arrests were made.

Event participants last week vowed they were prepared to be arrested if police tried to stop them riding nude along Brunsick and Lygon streets.

Police last year told male cyclists to cover up “because men have exposed genitalia”.
Ms Hill said about 50 cyclists who braved the cold yesterday “had a ball” on the hour-long ride.
“We had a couple of people fall off in the wet on the tram tracks, but no one was injured,” Ms Hill said.

“Police were helpful but unobtrusive. They let everyone ride naked.”

Read the rest of the article at the Melbourne-Leader

History Lesson: Some Cyclists and Pedestrians Were Jerks In 1908 Too

An absolutely fascinating seven minute film of the streets of Barcelona in 1908, taken with a camera mounted on the front of a streetcar. The streets are dominated by bicyclists and pedestrians, many of whom appear to be in a non-stop game of chicken with the trolley. It is lovely to see a world without cars where streets are for people; not so lovely to see that some people's riding habits haven't generally improved.

More Schools Join the Pay-You-to-Bike Bandwagon

Clark U, Rice University, U Minnesota are all launching bike-sharing programs, along with the City of Minneapolis. Towson University has launched several green transportation programs - sadly no bike sharing, yet. Many of the schools include financial incentives to get out there and try biking for a change.

Article continues at TreeHugger.com: More Schools Join the Pay-You-to-Bike Bandwagon

GreenWheel: Swap the rear to make any bike electric

The "GreenWheel" lets you turn a bike into an electric simply by swapping the rear wheel. The batteries and motor sit inside the plate at the axle, while the throttle control operates wirelessly through Bluetooth. At full charge, the GreenWheel has a range of around 25 miles, extended by the pedaling of the rider.

Discovery News:

A GreenWheel equipped bike is a smooth ride, as Discovery News found out during a recent afternoon test ride around MIT's campus. Turning the handle mounted throttle, like any motorcycle, just a few small degrees produces a noticeable increase in power and a light electric hum.

The inventors estimate a life of nearly 40,000 miles, which is pretty incredible. They're trying out different sizes and power ratios and hope to have a product on the market very soon.

KGS Bikes custom bicycles know nothing about the credit crunch

Tier 3

Luxury is something that could come your way in any form, and if it’s simply a two-wheeler, then it definitely needs your attention. Custom bicycles from the house of KGS Bikes seem to be a recession defying notion at the time when companies from all around the world have succumbed to the global financial meltdown. Maybe it’s a bad time to introduce luxury bicycles, but it doesn’t stop Kevin Saunders from rolling out the high-end custom bicycle “Tier 3” priced at a cool $30,000. The one-of-the-kind custom bicycle that costs almost equivalent to a car comes etched with fine woodwork and comfort riding that adds an immeasurable value to the buyer’s life. Apart from the highest priced bicycle, the manufacturer brings two relatively low-end versions - Tier 1 and Tier 2 – priced at $10,000 and $20,000, respectively. Saunders says his high-end KGS bicycles are as exclusive as a Lamborghini, Rolls Royce or Bugatti.


Tier 2

Tier 1

Via: PRWeb/KGSBikes

Six Great Long-Distance Bike Trails Without Cars

Wouldn't it be great if there were long-distance trails specifically for bicycles? Basically -- roads without cars?

Well, there are! A quickly emerging network of abandoned railway lines are being converted by regional governments into superb bike paths. In addition to offering very gentle grades that are ideal for bikes, many of these new trails are satisfying long. The longest rail trail is over 300 miles long, and the longest off-pavement bike trail in the country stretches 2,500 miles. On these bike roads you can cruise along for weeks without ever encountering a car, or worrying about being bumped off the white line by an oblivious motorist. These are not paved roads, but packed gravel or dirt. Many sport spectacular tunnels and bridges courtesy of the former railways. At the same time these trails pass through small towns affording local eateries and rural lodging, as well as the usual camping spots along the way. I tell you, there's nothing like arriving at the soft pillows of a B&B after a long day of pedaling.

Many of these trails did not exist as bike paths even a few years ago. More are being opened every day. There's great effort to sew short sections together into long haul bike-primary paths. Eventually you will be able to cross the country via a series of interconnected car-free roads. In the meantime, the clearinghouse for the latest additions to the bike-road network is the Rail to Trails Conservancy.

But you don't have to wait to enjoy some fantastic overnight tours on roads without cars. Here are six of the longest continuous bike trails in operation right now, in ascending order of length on Kevin Kelly's Website KK.org/cooltools.

Arm powered quadcycle is like a rowing machine with a view

Most of us start out on an exercise plan with good intentions, but let's face it, sitting in a room doing the same repeated motion gets boring pretty fast. I have a rowing machine propped up against my wall, but lately, it gets used mostly as an expensive coat rack.

Cycling is a great alternative that gets you plenty of fresh air and outdoor views, but the exercise is confined mostly to the lower torso and legs. What if we could combine the outdoor fun of cycling with the all over workout of rowing? Well, short of finding the nearest river and launching a kayak, this arm powered quadcycle called The Champiot looks like a great solution.

Instead of pedaling, you create power by thrusting the handlebars back and forth like a rowing machine, and unlike most human powered alternatives to a regular bike, the Champiot is designed for one rider. Manufacturer Ferez Industries makes several versions including some with supplemental electric drive for when you lack the strength to row home. The Champiot Ultra shown here sells for $999.

Ferez Industries, via Treehugger.com

'Sound From Wind' Turns Bikes into Musical Instruments

Remember the mods you used to inflict on your bike when you were a kid? Flags and streamers were fine, but best was the conversion of pushbike into motorcycle by the simple addition of a playing card and a clothes-peg. To a child's ears the rat-a-tat of laminated linen against spokes was engine noise.

Sound from the Wind is another way to convert motion into music. The concept, from Korean designer Joseph Kim, consists two ceramic replacements for the handlebar grips which channel air through their internal tubes. The setup apparently sounds like a flute or ocarina, and you can alter the pitch with some switches on the handlebars. Volume is increased by riding faster.

What I really like, though, is not all about the sound but the look of these things. They remind me of airplane jet-engines, which are obviously an essential addition to any kid's bike. In fact, the only problem is that they are ceramic, clearly too brittle to survive for long.

Sound from wind: musical bicycle

Double Bike Takes You on a Supremely Ridiculous Ride

By the looks of things, this double-wheeled bike concept can easily stand alongside gems like the 12-foot tall bicycle, face to face tandem bicycle and the running bicycle in terms of sheer stupidity and pointless danger.

Since there is no chain attached to the lower wheels, I can only assume that the upper wheel is generating all the momentum—transferring the energy like a set of gears (although, I can't imagine that would be very efficient—and you would have to pedal backwards).

At any rate, you would have time to think about how stupid this all is as you hit a pebble in the road and fall to your untimely death.

[My Confined Space via Coolbuzz]

Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses

Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses

While high-end coffee makers promise ultimate convenience, there's still nothing quite like a french press.

The Bodum Chambord 8-Cup Press & Thermal Glasses ($40) brews up to 8 cups of coffee the old-fashioned way, and features a built-in, three-piece stainless steel filter, a polished stainless lid and holder, a wide black handle and knob, and a glass carafe.

As a bonus, the set includes two 12-oz. Pavina double wall glasses, giving you everything you need for a great coffee experience.

A2B Trike offers disabled children a special needs vehicle with style...

Inspired by disabled children in Jerusalem, designer Shabatai Hirshberg concocted an ultra-cool tricycle for special needs children that never-the-less inspires a bit of geek envy.

The A2B Trike is designed to allow a child to walk right into a mounted position for cycling, while the chest support plate stabilizes the child's body during transit. Although still in the developmental stage, Hirshberg hopes to bring the prototype design to market for around $6,000 in the near future.

Via Metropolis & Yanko Design

Factor001, world's most advanced superbike, rolls out for an amazing $27K+

When the world runs out of gas, we'll all be riding carbon fiber bicycles, weighing 15.4 pounds and hooking our bodies up to telemetry systems that rival the space program. With The Factor001, you don't have to wait for such inevitabilities — if you happen to have a spare $27,724 lying around, that is.

Designed by Formula One race car engineers at BERU F1 Systems, it's the most advanced bicycle in the world. You'd think it was a Ferrari, with its carbon ceramic brakes controlled by a hydraulic system, and then there's that flashy metallic finish. It's also packing a built-in GPS transmitter, and like a good Garmin Forerunner, gathers up "laboratory quality" biometric and performance data for you to peruse on your PC when you get home.

Besides all that, it looks so cool I thought it was some design-concept-y prototype bike. But no, it rolled out at London's Science Museum on March 11th, and is ready for prospective buyers to be measured up for this custom-fitted machine of the future. Now if they can just bring that price down to under $1000, I'm in (that is if some wealthy reader can loan me the cash).

Factor001 Press Release, via Inhabitat, Via Dvice.com

Tensegrity bike is totally wired...

Tensegrity is a word coined by Buckminster Fuller to describe structures where strength and integrity are achieved by balancing members under compression, with other that are in tension. In creating a bike frame where most of the members are under tension, Romanian designer Ionut Predescu's Wire Bike replaces most of the tubing with high strength carbon fiber and Kevlar cables, saving lots of weight in the process.

WhileI don't doubt the Wire Bike's basic strength, I wonder whether it will have sufficient lateral strength to avoid flexing when a rider really stands on the pedals. Especially when a 'BOB' (Big Ole Boy) like me hits it....

Yanko Design, via Treehugger.com

Sportsta Mask - Darth Vader's Missing Link?

Whether you're biking, riding, skiing, or climbing, protect your face — and your health — with the Sportsta Mask (£27.99; roughly $40).

Features HEPA-style filtration. Filters Out Exhaust Emissions and sub-micron pollutants all within a lightweight Neotex aerated mask, the Sportsta provides maximum ventilation paired with maximum protection.

I would hope that this would only be required by some commuters and bike messengers, but the way our air is getting, you never know...

Lance Armstrong's Bike Stolen, Then Found...

Lance Armstrong's one-of-a-kind TREK time-trial bike was stolen from the Team Astana bus in Sacramento overnight. Armstrong and the rest of Team Astana are in Sacramento for the Amgen Tour of California.

The bike and three other Astana team road bikes were discovered missing sometime this morning. According to Armstrong, " ... it's the only one like it in the world." Armstrong has a backup TT bike he can use in the Solvang time trial if the stolen bike isn't recovered.

A reward is being offered.

Going to the Amgen Tour of California - Stage1? If so you must check stop by the California Bicycle Museum at UC Davis

Emily Blake, left, a UC Davis alumna who lives in Davis, and Drew Tombleson of Woodland check out the Draisienne bike at the California Bicycle Museum during the Celebrate UC Davis! street fair Oct. 12. (Karin Higgins/UC Davis)

Learn a little bicycle history at the California Bike Museum in the basement of the Third and B Street building downtown.

The temporary exhibit includes the Pierce Miller bicycle collection, which features bicycles from as far back as the 1800s, and will be open through the Amgen Tour. The museum, in which the city and UC Davis are partners, opened its inaugural exhibition in October 2008. The show had been scheduled to close in December, but organizers decided to keep it open through the Amgen Tour weekend.

Swiftwalkers to Streamliners, Bicycles 1823–2008, showcases the museum’s Pierce Miller collection, which includes some of the earliest bicycles ever built. One organizer estimated that as many as 4,000 people have visited the museum since its opening around the time of UC Davis’ Centennial Fall Festival last October.

The exhibition in the Third and B Street Building’s basement is open from 9 a.m. to noon every Saturday through Feb. 14, 4-7 p.m. Feb. 11 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 15. Admission is free, with donations accepted.

To inquire about museum tours at other times, contact David Takemoto-Weerts, bicycle program coordinator at UC Davis, (530) 752-2453 or dltakemotoweerts.edu.

More information: http://californiabicyclemuseum.org

Media contact: David Takemoto-Weerts, TAPS bicycle program, (530) 752-2453, dltakemotoweerts@ucdavis.edu.

Caltrain bolstering on-board bike space

For those of you that live in California and use Caltrain, here is some great news!!

Caltrain crews soon will begin ripping out seats from their train cars to make room for more bicycle racks, the first in a series of moves intended to bolster capacity for frustrated bikers.

At a meeting Thursday the Caltrain Board of Directors authorized the "interim" solution to the problem of hundreds of bicyclists who get "bumped" (left at the station) whenever a train's bike racks are full.

The board decided that the number of bike racks in gallery cars should increase 25 percent from 32 to 40, while the number of racks in bombardier cars should soar 50 percent from 16 to 24. To free up space for the racks, the number of seats on the bottom floor of gallery cars should drop from 16 to eight and in bombardier cars from 19 to 11.

In all, the total available bike slots for the entire day should swell 28 percent from 4,000 to 5,152. During peak commute times there should be 27 percent more slots, for a total of 2,930.

A total of 272 seats will have been removed. Read the rest of the article at the Mercury News

The Blue Glow - Sweet Wheels!

The Blue Glow - Long Glow: uv protected automotive clearcoat

This is a 30sec exposure in the dark bathroom, you get the idea.

Mobius Cycle (206.290.20961016 1st ave, fourth floor Monday to Friday) off of 1st Ave in downtown Seattle has partnered with SIK Werks to create a custom rim that glows in the dark for 14 hours on a full charge. The rim pictured here is a white DT Swiss 1.2 that glows with a blue phosphorescent in the dark. The photo below is the wheel in daylight.

Bicycle Design Winner

Bicycle Design blog held a contest and a bent won.

Bike Hugger.com has a great discussion about the design and the practicality of the design. Check it out here.

Bikes Move Tomorrow

In this ad, CSX is telling the story of how you need big trains to move lots of cargo. Well, I was wondering who made all those cargo bikes!

Gladiator helmet makes you the scariest cyclist around

Regular bike helmets protect your head when you fall, but do they intimidate and terrify everyone around you? No, they don't. That's not so with the Gladiator Helmet, which looks like it does a questionable job of protecting your melon but does a bang-up job of making you the most intimidating cyclist on the street.

While the helmet/goggles combo doesn't look too comfortable, and while it looks like it would julienne your head rather than protect it in a fall, it has a certain look to it. You know, a look that says "I'm not above murdering you if you get in my way." And there's certainly something to be said for that.

Via Yanko

Bring the bike lane with you with LightLane...

This is a concept right now, but I really like idea...

Having a bike lane on the street that you're pedaling down is a great thing. It makes drivers aware of you and it gives you your own space to travel in. Unfortunately, that is rarely an option. What to do? Just take a bike lane with you!

The LightLane is a concept design that uses lasers to project an illuminated bike lane all around you wherever you go. It keeps you visible to cars and it keeps you safe. Until all cities put in bike lanes for cyclist safety, we might have to rely on clever devices like this to stay safe.

Good, via The Daily What

Strida folding bike: "Look, Mom, no (greasy) hands!"

The main innovation of Strida's sweet line of folding bikes isn't in the elegant design that let's you fold the bike in a convenient package that's easier to wheel into an office, subway car or elevator.

Its biggest selling point is a freakin' rubber belt that replaces the greasy chain. For you hardcore eco-commuters who sweat what a folding bike can do to your suit's pantlegs, it's a godsend.

Oh, and the folding-up thing is great, too. Many folding bikes require you to carry them — transferring the aforementioned grease to your jacket — like a heavy, awkward briefcase. The Strida handlebars fold in, and the triangle design collapses together to bring both wheels side by side, like a collapsed baby stroller's.

It retails for $800, but you can get them online with some shopping around for $600. Accessories include mudflaps, a saddle bag and — of course — an iPod backpack.

HMX fuel cell bicycle looks like a rocket bike, but for the lazy rich

In an effort to bring their hydrogen fuel cell expertise to small electric vehicles, Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies' HMX — that stands for Hydrogen Mobility X-Tender — has finally made the moped cool.

At a top speed of 15 mph, the bike gets 180 miles on a single hydrogen charge. The bike's 36V engine does allow it to operate "pedal-assisted," although with a $3000 price tag, it's unclear why an owner would want to do any work at all.
Recharging the solid-state hydrogen fuel cell takes 30 minutes, but the six-gear motor does take 10-15 seconds to warm up. Because you wouldn't want a bike this unique-looking to be a bank robbery getaway vehicle anyway.

The HMX comes to the US later this year.

Like, Who Needs Lights on a Fixie?

K, so why is that top bar sticking out either end? Turns out that there is an LED integrated into each end, evidently solar powered too, though I can't see any solar cells. Or perhaps you can open it up and fill the thing with a dozen D batteries.

I am probably opening myself up to significant abuse to note that fixie riders usually don't encumber their bikes with lights any more than they do with other marginally useful inventions like brakes.

It is being sold by Areaware for $500, which seems pretty cheap considering that a leather seat alone is worth about a hundred bucks. Via Dvice