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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.
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.
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.
Make your bike electric with this swap-in tire
Electric bikes have been around for decades but haven't broken out of their niche audience. Instead of building a bicycle around electric power, GeoOrbital is a universal wheel you can swap into your existing bike to power your ride.
ICYMI: How to banish drones, fast levitating train and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-150144{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-150144, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-150144{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-150144").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: A startup plans to detect and disable any drone flying within range of its proprietary system with a planned launch date later this year. The US Air Force beat its own magnetic levitation speed record at 633 miles per hour. Researchers developed e-skin that can track blood oxygen content and heart rate, displaying on LEDs. We are smitten with this commuter bike car from Sweden so please check it out. As always, please share any great tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Balight's bike LEDs light up your ride in the doofiest way possible
Twenty-nine people died in traffic-related accidents on the streets of San Francisco in 2014. Seventeen of them were pedestrians and cyclists. So when I commute through the city on a bike, there's no such thing as being too visible. Well, maybe except for when I turn on the Balight wheel LEDs. This $170 hub-mounted safety light device goes far beyond alerting drivers to your presence: It practically screams, "Hey, everybody, look at me, I'm on a bike!" I'm not sure that's a good thing.
Garmin bike headset warns about traffic behind you
There are already bike-friendly smart headsets that will tell you how you're doing, but they won't usually say much about traffic. How are you supposed to know when a car is getting uncomfortably close? That's where Garmin thinks it can help. As part of a larger CES launch, it's unveiling a Varia Vision headset that not only gives you vital cycling data (directions, notifications and performance) but also teams up with the Varia Rearview Radar to warn about traffic behind you. In other words, you'll know about trouble right away, without losing focus. It won't be cheap when it ships this quarter for $400, but it could be justifiable if you regularly bike on busy streets.
The future of fitness might be a VR-friendly exercise bike
To the casual observer, my morning with VR startup VirZoom was spent peddling like a madman with an Oculus Rift strapped to my face. My experience was a little different; far as I was concerned, I was atop a majestic Pegasus snagging coins out of trees in a verdant valley. The folks at VirZoom believe virtual reality doesn't have to be experienced on foot or on a couch, so they've made a $249 stationary bike (now up for pre-order) to help make exercising less tedious and more awesome.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Concept cars and betting big on solar
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. The World Health Organization handed down some heavy news this week: Bacon causes cancer. Fortunately, scientists are developing healthier meat alternatives. One lab discovered a type of seaweed that tastes just like fried bacon (and it's two times healthier than kale), and Impossible Foods is working on the next generation of plant-based burgers. Watch out for veggie dogs though -- a new study shows that one in 10 vegetarian sausages contains meat.
BeeLine brings easy GPS navigation to your bike
It's easy to get navigation on your bike through dedicated GPS or a smartphone cradle, but that doesn't mean that navigation is easy. How are you supposed to pay attention to turn-by-turn directions when you're busy dodging potholes? BeeLine thinks it can help. It's crowdfunding a navigation device that purposefully simplifies your directions down to an arrow and the distance left to go -- it's like a compass that points only to your destination. You don't have to squint at the display to figure out where you're going, and there's no pressure to follow a specific path when you're content to take a leisurely route. The puck-like design is small enough to clip on to your keys (and thus less likely to be stolen), and its e-paper screen helps the battery last for a month's worth of riding.
6 high-tech bikes that bring cycling to a new level
By Cat DiStasio For cyclists who want to go farther, ride faster and look cooler doing it, there are a lot of options on the market when it comes to high-end bikes. This week we're gawking over a few of the world's most technologically enhanced cycles. Some are electric hybrids; some transform for better ergonomics; and some take the notion of a bicycle and darn near throw it out the window. From the innovative to the chic to the out of this world, here are six of the world's most incredible (and expensive) rides on two wheels.
These Bluetooth lights turn your bike wheels into turn signals
Safety lights are one of the most important pieces of bicycle equipment, especially if you ride at night or in low-visibility weather conditions. Most look the same -- a large, forward-facing beam under your handlebars and a slim row of red LEDs under the saddle. But Revolights are a little different. For years now, the company has been experimenting with lights that attach directly to your wheels and, by constantly analysing your speed, illuminate at just the right moment to create two arcs of light. The new Eclipse, which it's pitching on Indiegogo, is its most ambitious set to date. For starters, there's now a rechargeable "snap-in" battery which removes the awkward, dangling cables from before. The Eclipse+ version is also Bluetooth-enabled, meaning you can track your rides and monitor battery life from your smartphone, as well as trigger turn signals -- a full, flashing ring of lights on one side -- through a control pad on the handlebars, an app, or by gesturing with a smartwatch.
Canyon's Smart Bike Computer puts Android Wear on your handlebars
When you're cycling up a steep incline, hunched over the handlebars and desperately willing your legs to keep going, you don't want to be messing around with your phone or a second-rate cycling computer. Bike manufacturer Canyon has teamed up with Sony to find a solution -- and the fruits of their labor is the Smart Bike Computer. It runs on Android Wear, so the 1.6-inch touchscreen can display a bunch of popular cycling apps including Strava and Google Maps. The small, waterproof unit slides directly into the stem, ensuring the sleek stylings of your ride aren't ruined, and can connect to your phone over Bluetooth. In addition, it boasts up to 8 hours of battery life, built-in GPS and 4GB of internal storage, so you can leave your handset at home and still use some of its essential features.
'How to gross out coworkers,' or my time with the FitDesk 2.0
It seemed like a good idea at the time. I'd been meaning to lose some weight for a while and all the recent news about how sitting for extended periods of time is terrible for your health convinced me that a drastic change was necessary. So, the best way to accomplish both goals simultaneously was with a double-duty exercise bike-workstation like the FitDesk 2.0, right? Boy, was I wrong.
6 amazing bikes that fly, float or go faster than cars
By Cat DiStasio, Inhabitat Staff These days, many people prefer two wheels to four. Folks opt for bikes instead of cars for the exercise, the maneuverability, the low environmental impact and the camaraderie among riders. It's the ever-changing design of bikes that grabs the world's attention, including those of us who aren't so steady on two wheels. Whether you're a diehard cyclist or you're skeptical of human-powered transportation, here are six incredible cycles that will leave you thinking bikes are a superior class of vehicle.
Riding the battery-powered Gogoro smart scooter
While Tesla is working on solving range anxiety with its Supercharger stations, electric motorcycles and scooters continue to be tethered to outlets for hours in order to get back on the road. Smart scooter company Gogoro is trying to solve that problem with a network of battery-housing GoStations. Riders just pull up, swap out two batteries and ride away. The whole process should take less than a minute. It's an intriguing idea that requires partnerships with local governments and companies. But none of that matters if the scooter isn't at least on par with what's already available on the market. So we flew to Taipei and put the Gogoro smart scooter to the test.
The first solar bike path is producing more energy than expected
Back in November, SolaRoad launched a test bike path that generates energy through solar cells embedded in the concrete. It sounds like an outlandish idea, but it's apparently paying off very quickly. The company has revealed that its road has generated much more energy than expected -- it produced 3,000kWh of electricity in the space of just six months, or enough to power a single person's home for a year. That doesn't sound like much, but SolaRoad notes that its path only covers a 230-foot stretch in a Dutch village. You'd get a lot more energy from longer, wider roads.
The Faraday Porteur e-bike can finally be yours for $3,500
Our very own editor-in-chief took a ride on Faraday's dapper Porteur e-bike back in 2012, and now, you can nab one of your own. The company is taking orders for its $3,500 electric bicycle that began as an award-winning concept before Kickstarter backers turned it into a real product. If you'll recall, those tubes house lithium-ion batteries powering an electric motor capable of up to 20 miles before needing a charge. The Porteur comes in your choice of British Racing Green or Classic White with small, medium and large sizes (depending on your height). If you're looking for some accessories to help with light loads, a front rack will set you back an additional $225 and the rear rack is priced at $125. Ready to commit? You can do just that right here, or if you're in the San Francisco area, you may want to schedule a test ride first.
The Solarbike is a very real thing
Here's an electric bike that doesn't need plugging in.. or swapping out batteries. As the name suggests, the Solarbike has solar cells built into both sides of the party typical bicycle wheels, using cells (and a design) that's apparently "shadow optimized": The inventor is based in Copenhagen, so it's certainly an issue that needed tackling. Power drawn in from the solar cells when the bike isn't moving is stored inside an on-board battery, then when you're in transit, power comes both from the Thermos-shaped attached to the bike frame and what ever trickles in from the solar cells. As Treehugger puts it, improvements solar cell tech improvements in last decade has made this design at least tenable -- because the wheels are facing out sideways, not getting solar rays head-on, it makes the task of absorbing light a little bit more difficult.
