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Velco's smart handlebars use lights to guide you home
Smartphones are great for getting you where you want to go. But when you're on two wheels, it can be tough to keep track of your progress. You either have to pull over, or attach your device to the handlebars. Velco's "Wink" smart handlebar solves that issue while also adding additional security to any bike it's attached too.
Google uses GPS and smart locks to secure wayward campus bikes
Google is well-known for offering free bikes on campus to help its employees get around, but those bikes frequently don't stay on campus. Up to 250 go missing per week -- and that's rather ironic for a company that built its reputation on finding information. At last, though, the search giant is putting technology to work to solve the problem. Google has been adding GPS trackers to its bikes as of late 2017, and has been testing smart locks that employees can open with their phones.
Cosmo's bike helmet light will alert others when you fall
Cycling can be dangerous, especially if you ride at night or in busy metropolitan areas. To help, a startup called Cosmo Connected is working on a smart light that clips onto the back of your helmet. Eight LEDs -- four red, four yellow -- are positioned in an oval shape. By default, they're set to an "always-on" position so that you're clearly visible in the dark. An accelerometer inside will know when you're braking, however, and warn fellow cyclists, drivers and pedestrians with a more intense light.
New-look Boris bikes start hitting London's street
With all the newfangled, dockless cycle-hire schemes popping up in London, TfL couldn't have chosen a better time to give Boris bikes -- officially called Santander Cycles -- a makeover. The transport authority announced that redesigned Boris bikes have begun hitting the capital's streets today, with thousands more to follow this first batch over the next few years. The new model has smaller wheels for faster acceleration, improved brakes, a tweaked frame and fork design for better handling, a comfier gel seat and harder-wearing tyres. Blaze -- the company that created the laser projection light now present on all existing Boris bikes -- has also been involved in the design.
London is now awash with bike-sharing schemes
How many bike-sharing schemes does London need exactly? Well, at least five if you ask the companies behind such services. Today, Ofo comes to the capital, following a limited trial in Cambridge that began earlier this year and a launch in Oxford last month. Initially, the Chinese firm has dotted 200 bikes around the London Borough of Hackney. Yesterday, European outfit Urbo announced it was also arriving in London this month, putting 250 bikes on the streets of the Borough of Waltham Forest.
London is getting another dockless bike rental service
Competition over putting bums on the seats of rental bikes is hotting up in London, with Mobike today announcing an expansion of its dockless service into the capital in September. The company will start by parking 750 bikes around the London Borough of Ealing, primarily in Acton, and will add more as demand grows. This follows the launch of oBike in London, which operates an identical dockless bike rental scheme, just a few weeks ago.
oBike arrives in London with its dockless take on Boris bikes
Already this year we've seen two Chinese companies that run novel bike rental schemes expand into the UK, and now Singaporean firm oBike is throwing its chips into the pot, too. The startup has this week put 400 of its two-wheelers to work in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, despite the capital being home to over 11,000 for-hire 'Boris bikes.' Unlike these, though, oBikes don't require docking. Through the company's mobile app, you locate the nearest available pushbike on a map, unlock it by scanning its unique QR code, then leave it wherever you want when you're done.
Pricey electric bicycle wheel gets you to work sweat-free
Yes, I own a bike. But it's nothing to get excited about. A neighbor put it on the sidewalk with a "free" sign, and bam! I had a bicycle. It's old and rusty but perfect for neighborhood errands. I normally wouldn't use it to ride to work, but the $1,000 GeoOrbital wheel could change that. If I could afford it.
Chinese bike rental giants eye the UK as next battleground
London's for-hire 'Boris bikes' have been cruising the capital's streets for nearly seven years now, while similar projects operate in other parts of the country. Two Chinese companies believe there's still room for more innovative bike rental schemes, however, and both are expanding outside of Asia to compete anew in the UK. One of these is Mobike, which today announced that its plans to move into Europe begin in Manchester and Salford, where 1,000 bikes will be available to hire starting on June 29th. The launch comes after rival Ofo began a UK pilot of its own in Cambridge two months ago, though it's a much more modest trial with only tens of bikes dotted around town.
LeEco's Android-powered smart road bike is for hardcore cyclists
LeEco, the eccentric maker of TVs, phones, cars and bikes, has a new pair of high-end smart bikes to show off here at CES 2017. The company hasn't even brought its original Super Bike to market yet, but it's already refined the concept to make its new offerings more practical for serious cyclists. Gone are the heavy dynamos and size limitation; this year's vehicles come in two flavors, and are more lightweight. The new, somewhat blandly named Smart Road Bike and Smart Mountain Bike pack a new version of LeEco's Android-based Bike OS software that now supports a small selection of third-party sensors. I hopped on a prototype road bike the company was showing off for the first time here in Las Vegas, and so far I find the idea of a smart bike slightly questionable.
LeEco brings Android-powered smart bikes to the US
LeEco is determined to add a dash of technology to just about everything, and that now includes old-school pedal power. The fast-rising tech company has unveiled two bicycles for the US, the Smart Road Bike (above) and Smart Mountain Bike (below), whose centerpiece is a 4-inch touchscreen box that runs a customized take on Android. The front end gives you turn-by-turn directions from Here, music playback (including streaming), ride data and even chats with nearby LeEco bike riders. They have their own GPS and sensors, and you can track your own fitness by pairing ANT+ heart rate and power monitors.
SpeedX's Unicorn bike knows how much effort you're putting in
SpeedX is back with another "smart" road bike that promises to track your rides with a sleek, blemish-free design. The Unicorn is a sequel to the Leopard, which I took for a spin last June, and comes with a new, detachable bike computer on the stem. It has a 2.2-inch touchscreen and runs a custom version of Android, clearly indicating your current, average and maximum speed, among other information. Despite its color display, SpeedX says the new "SpeedForce" computer will be visible in direct sunlight and last more than 20 hours on a single charge. There's also a wireless button on the handlebars for convenient screen switching.
ICYMI: Airbag helmets might save your noggin
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Stanford researchers just wrapped up a study of bike helmets that found a clear winner with the caveat that it's not available in the US yet. Airbag helmets (like these) are only sold in Europe but are far superior at keeping test heads safe in an impact.
Rimac's electric bike can go 150 miles on a single charge
Rimac has revealed a new electric bicycle that is just as impressive as its LaFerrari-killing, million-dollar Concept One supercar, in its own way. With a massive 3kWh battery, the Greyp G12H can go up to 240 km (150 miles) on a single charge, making it the longest-range e-bicycle out there. If you have a 10 mile round trip to work, each would cost 2.3 cents, making it one of the cheapest powered transportation options, too.
China's largest ride-hailing company is investing in bicycles
The largest ride-hailing service in China just made a big investment in a different kind of transportation program: bicycle sharing. According to a report from TechCrunch, DiDi Chuxing is kicking off a "multi-layered partnership" with Ofo -- an app-based bicycle sharing outfit with a network of over 70,000 bikes in 20 cities. The details of the investment are pretty bare, but DiDi Chuxing says the companies will "explore strategic cooperation in urban rideshare, including offering a quality bike-sharing experience on DiDi's platform." In other words, the company's ride-hailing app may include a bicycle rental option in the near future.
Six folding electric bikes that fit practically anywhere
By Cat DiStasio Imagine being able to carry a clean energy vehicle with you, just about wherever you go. Enter the folding electric bike. Battery-powered bicycles are on the rise as two-wheeled commuting gains popularity in places with heavy traffic and limited parking. Having the ability to fold up an e-bike and toss it in your trunk -- or even in a backpack -- expands your range of transportation options. There are a few big-name car companies like Ford and Volkswagen getting in on the action, while other innovations come from tech startups and university research groups. They all have one thing in common, though: They take a 300-year-old design for a two-wheeled vehicle and make it address modern transportation issues.
Ford dabbles in shuttles and bike sharing in San Francisco
Not content with just announcing that it'll have autonomous car sharing available in five years, Ford is now adding two more means of transportation for urban areas: bikes and shuttles. In front of San Francisco city hall, CEO Mark Fields announced that the automaker had purchased local shuttle service Chariot, and proceed to show off a new fleet for a bike sharing system.
Google's self-driving cars can read cyclists' hand signals
Google is working to expand the capabilities of its self-driving vehicle fleet, and according to its latest progress report (PDF), it's making strides in sharing the road with cyclists. One of the ways the folks in Mountain View are doing that is by using onboard sensors to gauge and interpret a cyclist's intent. "Our sensors can detect a cyclist's hand signals as an indication of an intention to make a turn or shift over," the company's June autonomous vehicle report reads. "Cyclists often make hand signals far in advance of a turn, and our software is designed to remember previous signals from a rider so it can better anticipate a rider's turn down the road."
Xiaomi's foldable electric bicycle costs just $460
Xiaomi may not yet have a drone that can carry people, but at least it has an electric bicycle now, and it'll only cost you 2,999 yuan or about $460/£307. The Mi Qicycle is the second product from the Xiaomi-backed startup, iRiding, who released the premium 19,999 yuan (about $3,000/£2045) Qicycle R1 just back in March. This time round, iRiding is able to slap Xiaomi's "Mi" brand on its latest ride to target the mass market. While the Mi Qicycle weighs a total of 14.5kg (almost twice that of the carbon fiber-made R1), it can be folded into half its size for easier storage. It comes with a 3-speed hub plus a 250W motor which offers pedal assist, and that's good for up to 45km (about 28 miles) on a single charge.
Six of the world's weirdest bikes
By Cat DiStasio Bicycles are ubiquitous on most city streets, but that doesn't mean they have to be boring. Over the years we've seen some absolutely bizarre bike designs that tiptoe around the borders of insanity. Some, like this wild dinosaur-inspired trike, were built to raise awareness about the environmental impact of fossil fuels. Others have more to do with the rider experience, whether it's the pursuit of a more thorough workout or the desire to fly with the birds. Bikes come in all shapes, sometimes with pointy bits, and sometimes without any pedals, but no matter how weird they look or work, there's something distinctly universal about these things we call bikes.
