Hope's Aeris bicycle begs to get run over
by Darren Murph 
posted Jul 2nd 2008 at 12:27PM
Okay, so maybe Hope's forthcoming Aeris isn't that bad, but it is somewhat hard to believe that sensors were installed in the handlebars to "prevent accidents" if some demented designer didn't fully expect this thing to be a vehicle magnet. Designed for the urban [Via ShinyShiny]
Filed under: Transportation
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
letstakeawalk @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:38PM
I'll take this as the sci-fi fantasy it is (exotic metalurgy et al), but I think the integrated lights are something that could be implemented very easily on urban/commuter bikes. Excuse me now, I've got to buy some neodymium magnets to epoxy to my shoes so I can trip those farking induction-loop controlled traffic signals...
Benson @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:49PM
If you have steel pedals (or axles), you won't need clips anymore, either!
Matthew Hilario @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:01PM
just have the light leave a long trail. i always wanted the bike from TRON.
tasteslikechicken @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:21PM
hybrix, looked it up, found this:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/01/0128_material/source/8.htm
it looks like it isn't tricky metallurgy, but rather the internal structure of stainless steel. It's based on bio-mimicry (bird bones) and is apparently a sandwich of stainless steel with the pseudo-bone shaped stainless in between.
Kaiser-Machead @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:39PM
None of this crap will ever replace my beloved tube-framed Specialized.
Sensors to prevent accidents? I can just see it now.
Bill's riding his Aeris bicycle down Broadway, when suddenly a pigeon happens to flutter passed one of the accident-prevention sensor nodes. The bike's brakes lock automatically, and Bill goes flying into the oncoming traffic at the intersection ahead. A random bum comes along, and takes his bike amidst the chaos, only to be tossed off during an accidental sensor trip.
The plague spreads.
The ref @ Jul 2nd 2008 8:45PM
Some Chinese whispers. The referenced article states "the futuristic Aeris urban cycle features indicators built in to its handlebars to help prevent accidents". Somehow indicators (blinkers) has been changed to sensors, so no problems with stray birds.
Citrico @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:39PM
Erm...Aeris? Perhaps I'm a nerd, but when I think "Aeris" I think "about to be impaled by an excessively long sword".
Yeah, they're not even pretending riding this bike won't get you killed.
jason51873 @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:25PM
haha
neofolklore @ Jul 3rd 2008 8:23AM
I'm going trolling for these things in my SUV named Sephiroth
Ryan Trevisol @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:41PM
I believe it's "get run over". Ran over is past tense. For example: I ran over my iphone with a semi, and it still works! If you put your iphone in the street, it's going to get run over.
Ryan Trevisol @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:41PM
Interestingly, MS Word doesn't catch this particular grammar issue.
initialxy @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:03PM
be-done is passive voice. "get" can be equivalent to "be" in this case, thus "get ran..." is considered correct (at least by MS Word).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice#With_get_as_the_auxiliary
initialxy @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:18PM
oops my bad. sorry, only checked up grammar, but failed to check verbal tense.
looseinthedeuce @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:20PM
Perhaps "get ran over" can be used if your meaning is that:
At some point in the future, the bike will exist in the state of being ran over.
The meaning is definitely the future EVENT of the biking being RUN over, not the future state-of-being of the bike.
Razor @ Jul 2nd 2008 7:33PM
The grammar Nazis return. Seriously, who gives a shit? Oh right, everyone (including me) that responded in this thread =P
natels @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:43PM
Two..? Perhaps, one comment would make sense here.
Mehdi Cheddadi @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:45PM
hybrix in my pants?
huh @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:47PM
why is engadget so rabidly anti-new-tech in so many posts? it's an interesting new direction, let's be open to it.
derX @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:07PM
Which posts are these? A lot of the tech that've showed are ill-conceived and deserve a sound berating. It's Engadget. They love tech. It's in the name, the theory of the site.
looseinthedeuce @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:50PM
Yes, if only engadget would post comments when I hit the button. Even loading a new page didn't show the post went up.
ddub @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:51PM
Hybrix is obviously made from the element unobtanium.
kurt.tappe @ Jul 2nd 2008 12:53PM
Wow--this thing looks pretty bad. I'm relatively proud when I park my Cannondale in front of the building each day, but I'd have to conceal my identity if I rode up on something that looks like this.
jason51873 @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:31PM
Its all a matter of taste - I'm sure you one of the ppl that say all the new super modern streamlined autos are ugly as well.
Lets just all be glad everyone does not think like this or we would all still be driving around in cars that look like 1980 AMC Eagles.
brian @ Jul 2nd 2008 6:53PM
it actually looks like a rediculously aweful bike to ride. the fork appears to be straight with no rake, the saddle appears unadjustable, and the frame and wheels will make you run into a car in the lane next to you if a decent side wind comes by.
some sort of handlebar sensor may be useful for an urban setting, but everything else they did to change that bike is rediculous and impractical.
Mike C @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:19PM
They have said sensors for riding around in a city.
Physical Object Sensory Nodules (2), more commonly referred to as "eyes"
Early Warning Acoustic Receptors (2), a.k.a. "ears".
...if people would only not ride around with ipods and their eyes closed.
brian @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:54PM
i agree mike c, people need to use their eyes and ears when they ride. it annoys me to no end seeing people on their bikes with headphones. that's extremely unsafe. i ride my torelli through dc every day and pay constant attention to the traffic around me. this still doesn't prevent everything. despite using my eyes and ears drivers do stupid things. for instance, i've had all the following happen to me:
1) car almost made a left turn into me while i was going straight through a green light. - avoided because i had my eyes open and swereved out to the edge of the crosswalk and she narrowly missed me by a couple inches
2) clipped by a tour bus passing me when i was riding straight down the road in a different lane
3) clipped by a taxi riding straight down constitution right by the senate office buildings on my way to class
4) had a driver stare me down when i was next to him and swerve out of his lane and inches from the parked cars on the side of the road i was riding next to, completely cutting me off just to prevent me from passing. this happened in the rain too when a bike's brakes aren't as good.
these are the most extreme. almost every day i have to quickly react to not get hit by a taxi though. they constantly swerve out from being parked next to the curb right as i'm passing. it's also semi-regular that cars will quickly swerve from the left lane to make a right turn and then stop directly in front of me because there are pedestrians in the crosswalk. unfortunately, not all cyclists are aware either of their surroundings or that drivers will unexpectedly swerve requiring a quick reaction to avoid an accident.
neale @ Jul 2nd 2008 5:53PM
brian- get on the pavement
letstakeawalk @ Jul 2nd 2008 7:21PM
@neale
Your comment is confusing. I read Brian's post as he was abiding by the law and riding on the pavement, with traffic. Traffic laws vary, but most require the rider to act as a motor vehicle. Perhaps the biggest problem we cyclists face is motorists who mistakenly think we are not supposed to "share the road".
I also agree with Brian that cyclists who wear headphones are just asking for trouble.
Daniel Kirk @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:11PM
Attractive looking bike, if in a weird way. I'd feel like I'm riding a wildly overpriced vacuum cleaner on it, but I'd do it just so people would look at me funny.
But for $5k, I'd expect an electric drive system, and on that particular bike it'd better sound like something from The Jetsons.
Matt @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:18PM
"I'd feel like I'm riding a wildly overpriced vacuum cleaner"
You've just summed up how I feel every time I step on my Segway
galvaro @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:56PM
It's not clear from the pic what kind of drive it has. I see no chain.
Boynamedsue @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:11PM
People who complain about hipsters being tools are usually both. If you concern yourself with it, it says something about you.
Reid @ Jul 2nd 2008 1:36PM
How does this beg to get run over any more than any other bicycle?
And hipsters ride fixies, not expensive road bikes.
(anybody else here doing the Death Ride next weekend?)
doctorSpoc @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:02PM
questions and comment...
- how do you raise the seat... that's a pretty big detail to miss
- anyone who has actually ridden a bike with fenders in the rain knows that those fenders don't cover the tires enough to do squat... will not keep water off of you.. your butt yes, but your feet legs will get soaked from spray off of the front wheel and the back wheel by the seat tube.
michas_pi @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:17PM
Is the Leo coming soon after this?
Gibson @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:34PM
Be on the lookout for the new Ford Sephiroth concept car, and the Nissan Cid aerial.
Citrico @ Jul 2nd 2008 6:15PM
Yeah, when you're driving a Sephiroth you have this uncontrollable urge to drive over this.
KilgoreTrout @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:36PM
Not bad, not bad at all, but this new material must not be good enough for my ideal bike because I can see that there still is one shaft too many that the right kind of material should render redundant.
Moreover instead of those silly sensors it should sport bluetooth mike&speakers for cell phones and possibly GPS, all of which should be powered by the turning wheels.
Or what?
Idlemind @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:38PM
Five large would be.....
Hundreds? Thousands? or headaches?
Wiigee @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:11PM
"prevents accidents" the only thing that does that is your reflexes. fancy handle bars wont stop some stupid driver from dooring you. the most complicated thing on a bike should be the gears. I dot know any self respecting cyclist that would buy this. If anyone brought it to Critical Mass, i truly pity them for the ridicule they will receive
Boynamedsue @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:22PM
i'd pity the people with heads up their asses that would ridicule another cyclist. Nothing like a self defeating purpose "Hey lets unite and bike en masse it will be so producti.... hey nice bike retard."
The Schneid @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:13PM
I thought I saw that bike on Ask Max!
renmimby @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:27PM
Don't see the Hope affiliation. Certainly doesn't look like anything they would make. Anyone who knows Hope bike parts will know that they're all CNC machined components - hubs, bottom brackets, headsets, quick releases, seatposts and brakes. This isn't the sort of thing they make, nor are they equipped to make, as far as I'm aware.
Bill @ Jul 2nd 2008 3:34PM
I like this one better:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/2008/urban/soho/sohos/
http://www.trekbikes.com/images/bikes/2008/xl/sohos_black.jpg
And it's 1/10th the price.
letstakeawalk @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:14PM
As a fan of Fisher, I'm waiting for the '09 Simple City. They're building a new Trek dealership up the road, so my local Gary Fisher franchise can't order one for me yet. Aluminum frame, 3 speed Shimano internal, real fenders, and lots of cargo capacity. It'll fit nicely with my '99 Tassajara and my '06 Electra Rat Rod.
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/simple-city-3M
dos @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:14PM
"urban tools hipsters"
Boy I can't get enough of that snarky Engadget 'tude. How about you guys report the news without editorializing for once? I don't even understand the remark, everyone who rides a bicycle is a tool and a hipster? Or is it everyone who lives in a city/urban area and not the suburbs? Is this blog's target market middle America or something? Way to come off as out of touch dweebs posting from mom's basement guys, not to mention alienating your audience.
Idlemind @ Jul 2nd 2008 4:27PM
I kinda agree with you.. but generally the only folks that get upset by such things are the people that feel they fall into one of the aforementioned groups... and care to mention it.
thomas_malkin @ Jul 2nd 2008 5:56PM
I have no idea where the posters got the notion about "eyes" and "ears" and all the other... stuff. I've read shinyshiny's article. What is SAYS is that there are integral turn signal lights on the ends of the handlebars. A great idea, one I've been proposing for years. The rest of the stuff about riders not paying attention is shinyshiny's wordplay, and I've no idea what the hell that has to do with turn signals.
As for the bike itself, apparently the chassis is reinforced with interior structure to make it very strong and very light. It has integrated rear lights. It probably has headlights, can't see them. But is about time that we stopped pretending bikes are toys that can be operated with a 1 watt flashlight acting as a headlight. Would you ride a motorcycle in traffic with a 1 watt LED flasher your only light? Hell you wouldn't.
The enclosed body will be useful someday for housing batteries and GPS's and anything else that is expensive and prone to destruction when it rains.
Why should a bike be a collection of tubes forever? I swear, young male techies are amongst the most conservative people in the world. Weird, considering what your professions are.
I think the "begging to be hit" meme has something to do with drivers righteously killing the dweebs riding a bike like that. Talk about your peer pressure. Perhaps a built-in missile launcher with car-piercing projectiles would be an appropriate add-on for the hollow chassis, just for the occasional would-be critic of the bike who wants to sideswipe the hipster.
Somehow, I don't think the US is going to lead the world into a brave new century of cooler transportation as long as its most technical people sound like a pack of dudes from Jersey hassling a Prius owner.
skateelectric @ Jul 3rd 2008 9:00AM
Electric Skateboarding in London?
Check this out- on a Skate Electric board, in rush hour from Nottingh Hill to Big Ben in 23 minutes, faster than a car, a bus and a tube.......
Future commuting ?
3 min vid is http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YqmEA3aW_60
Peace
Nick
pheer6224 @ Jul 3rd 2008 6:41PM
although I bike everywhere, I'm a lot more comfortable just crashing my 75 dollar trek single speed roady than having a near miss on some 8000 dollar composite thing.