Biking Gadgets
Training Wheels Eliminator
One of the joys of parenting would be to be there when your little one grows up, handling different stages accordingly – it is basically a learning process. Kids these days might lean more towards video games as their entertainment mode of choice, and I would strongly suggest exposing your progeny to more physical based activities like hiking, flying a kite, and even riding a bicycle. Of course, there is that initial fear period to overcome as balancing on two wheels seems impossible for a kid, and this is where training wheels come in. For parents who want to make do away with training wheels, you can always install the Training Wheels Eliminator.
This gyroscopic bicycle wheel will teach children to ride a bike without training wheels, where you replace a bike’s front wheel with it, sporting an internal, powered gyroscope that spins independently in order to generate a force (gyroscopic precession) that stabilizes the bicycle. Whenever the rider starts to topple over due to a loss in balance, the gyroscope precesses, or turns, while guiding the handlebars in the right direction of the fall in order to maintain stability. This encourages kids to lean improperly away from a fall, while preventing them from developing incorrect riding habits.
You can choose from 12″ and 16″ models which retail for $99.95 and $139.95, respectively.
Proviz Saturn Bicycle Helmet
If you are an avid cyclist, but can only get your weekday cycling digs on after work, surely you should not be taking any chances on the road, by making sure that your visibility rate is extremely high to the rest of the motorists out there? This is where the £49.99 Proviz Saturn Bicycle Helmet comes in handy, as I always subscribe to the mantra that it is always better to be safe than sorry, and the Proviz Saturn Bicycle Helmet should be able to go some ways in making sure you remain highly visible to others whom you share the road with.
Not only does this helmet look sleek and stylish, it is also bright enough to shame a sunset – OK, it isn’t going to be that extreme, but you can get the picture on just how much brighter it is compared to a regular helmet, can you? This is made possible thanks to integrated LEDs located at the back and front, making it the ideal companion if you tend to scoot through busy traffic under low light conditions. There is also a reflective yellow color that will do its job of catching headlights of oncoming cars, while red and white LEDs informs others on the road on your direction.
Bicycle mount from Joy Factory plays nice with iPhone 4 and 4S
If you love your iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S to bits and pieces, and bring it with you just about everywhere you go, then surely those who cycle around would love to have this bicycle mount from Joy Factory – known as the StormCruiser, this is the latest mounting system for both smartphone from Apple. I suppose folks who use an app on the smartphone to keep track of how far they have cycled as well as the amount of calories that they have burned will find such a mount useful.
The new StormCruiser will is a perfect solution for mountain bike riders, active adults as well as moms who are on-the-go, where their Apple device is their main communications device as well as a handy GPS navigation system, et al. Sporting a scratch-resistant case, it will allow you to access the GPS, phone and music features without fear of the Gorilla Glass display cracking when you take a tumble as you navigate through tough mountain bike trails. Bring it out with you while walking to the park as well without any worries.
Continue reading » Bicycle mount from Joy Factory plays nice with iPhone 4 and 4S
Velocomp presents the iBike Workout
We have written about a lot of bike related things for the iDevice like the Wahoo Fitness Bike Pack. Velocomp, a sports tech company that has created of the iBike Dash cycling computer, has recently unveiled the iBike Workout.
The iBike Workout is a simple dongle designed to fit in the 32-pin connector for the iPad, and it is quite simple to download the iBike application. This allows the iPad to be used for indoor cycling training with ANT + sensors.
Continue reading » Velocomp presents the iBike Workout
Blackburn Flea 2.0 USB Lights Combo
Are you an avid cyclist, and prefer to get your exercise routine done at night simply because there is far less traffic than the mad morning hour rush, and the weather is also a whole lot cooler? Well, that’s fine with me, but I need not warn you that the dangers of night cycling increases by a whole lot. I don’t have the statistic to back me up, but obviously visibility is reduced, and more people tend to knock back a tipple (or more) then, hence decreasing their ability to be alert behind the wheel – which does not translate to a very favorable environment for cyclists.
You might want to do your bit to maximize your chances of being spotted, so apart from wearing a fluorescent yellow jacket increases your visibility, how about the £44.99 Blackburn Flea 2.0 USB Lights Combo? This unique device might be tiny just like their namesake, but is virtually impossible to ignore. Each of these front and rear lights will feature a quartet of built-in super bright Nichia LEDs that can produce up to 40 lumens of brightness. You will be able to set them to glow at all times, or flash to attract more attention. They’re powered by built-in li-ion batteries, and you can recharge them by plugging it into a USB port.
All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount from Bracketron
This device from Bracketron is for those who are in to biking, either motorbiking or pedaling. The All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount is a way to mount a mobile device to bike’s handlebars, and it works pretty well.
I had a chance to try it out for myself, and it lives up to its promise of mounting without tools. The bolt to install the mount can be twisted by hand, and the case snaps in place easily.
The case is made to lock tight with the zipper, and I was able to interact with my iPhone’s touchscreen from there. This would have protected my iPhone from the rain with the “weather resistant housing”. Sadly, this case was too small for my Motorola Droid X, but is perfect for iPods and iPhones. It even comes with some padding to fill the gap between the device and the weather-resistant plastic screen.
Continue reading » All-Weather Soft Case Bike Mount from Bracketron
Tour bus has detachable bikes
This is the “Bike Guide Concept”, a way of travel that could be the next form of tourism.
As you can tell from the image, the Bike Guide uses bikes attached to the bus itself. The bus has a screen to announce information about the next destination, and then each bike has a screen to share even more. Screens are also used in bus stops, and the user scans their credit card to arrange a bike/bus tour.
You can watch a video of it after the jump, and you see that the bus parks and drops off the bikes. The tourists pedal around the attraction, and I believe that there is a timer on each bike to let the rider know when it is time to return them.
Continue reading » Tour bus has detachable bikes
Frii Concept Bike
Some of you might remember our report on the INgSOC bike, a bicycle that definitely challenges our current diamond frame bike aesthetic. This Frii prototype is doing the same thing.
I’m going to assume that that the “ii” combination in “Frii” is pronounced like it is in “Wii”. That would mean that this is pronounced “free”.
It is certainly free of normal biking conventions, but that might be a good thing. Designed by the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design student Dror Peleg in Israel, the lightweight and colorful bike is made entirely of plastic, which includes the tires. The plastic tires insure that they never go flat, and it looks like the seat is all plastic too.
Continue reading » Frii Concept Bike
