Built by Dutch company FlevoBike, the GoLo GoCamp is a tiny camper built on a recumbent e-bike platform. It offers similar amenities you’d enjoy while car camping but maintains the cycling experience. It’s based on the FlevoBike GoLo, a four-wheel cargo bike capable of carrying a surprisingly heavy load, but it adds a bunch of extra functionality and features for recreational trips. Even cooler is the fact that the camper is a removable module sitting on top of the GoLo cargo bike, so you can always take it off if you want to use the bike for more practical everyday travel.

The camper module is ultra-compact, at least compared to most RVs, but it pops up and extends a foldable canopy to offer additional length when the user is laying down. In bedroom mode, it’s also big enough to seat two at an interior fold-down table. The 33.5 by 86.6-inch mattress is comfy for a single occupant, and in its extended form, the camper features mosquito mesh and a window for ventilation. The side wall pops up to turn into another canopy offering shelter and shade.

An integrated 60W fridge, storage under the sleeping area, and wall shelves give you space to store your food, toiletries, and other items, and there’s a drawer hidden in the base for a spare wheel and bike tools. You’ll also find USB, 12V, and 220V outlets inside. Boosted by 400W solar panels mounted to the outside of the camper, the 250W motor and 1,000Wh battery provide maximum e-assist for 31 miles (50km) per charge. That may not sound like much, but most people usually only use assist when going up hills or when they’re feeling extra tired. Plus, on a sunny day, you’ll be juicing up the battery as you ride.

The camper’s narrow profile may be a snug fit for sleeping, but it’s a pro rather than a con when you’re on the road. It sticks to the width of a typical cycling path for safety. When you want to remove the camper shell to use the bike on its own, it’s fairly easy to do, simply clicking in and out of the bike’s base. Designed with delivery and service fleets in mind, the GoLo e-bike itself is comfortable and easy to ride, even when pulling a load this large, thanks to its recumbent design.

The GoLo GoCamp bike camper is still brand new, and the company has only produced one prototype to show off what it can do. But that prototype has already traveled 500 kilometers (more than 300 miles) across the Netherlands, so it’s looking pretty promising. We know what you’re thinking: how can you get one? Contact the company on their website or Facebook for more information.

The post GoLo Solar-Powered Bike Camper Makes Cycling Trips a Lot Comfier first appeared on Dornob.

International design office Carlo Ratti Associati (CRA) has teamed up with Office for Living Architecture (OLA) and non-profit organization GAL Terre del Po to create “The Tree Path,” a dreamy route for cyclists and pedestrians that rests on two parallel rows of plants acting as pillars. The elevated path leads to Sabbioneta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in northern Italy.

The Tree Path aims to explore sustainable mobility while “blending the natural and the artificial.” The use of a living supportive structure is one of the most remarkable parts of this project. OLA is one of the world’s leading experts in a technique called Baubotanik (“botanic construction” in German), which adapts living trees into architectural elements. The trees are incorporated into all kinds of structures, including full-scale buildings, contributing shade, natural cooling and air filtering, oxygen production, CO2 absorption, and a good habitat for local wildlife.

Roughly 1,000 trees will grow around a stainless steel platform and hand rail for this project, building and transforming the path structure over the course of several years. The path makes its ascent in three different levels, rising from the ground to a height of nearly 20 feet to bypass road traffic and waterways, entering Sabbioneta from an elevated perspective. Digital sensors will also be incorporated in the pathway to measure factors like air pollution and make sure all the living organisms along the path are capable of withstanding the structural load. This is envisioned as an “internet of trees,” connected by an artificial intelligence system provided by the Mindicity Urban Intelligence Platform.

“What if one day we could grow architecture like a tree? We are still very far from that future, but we can start exploring the convergence between the natural and the artificial. We can use trees as elements of construction, while leveraging the data from digital technologies to get a better understanding of the surrounding environment,” comments Carlo Ratti, founding partner at CRA and director of the Senseable City Lab at MIT.

The new path will connect Sabbioneta to the existing VENTO Cycle Route, a 435-mile-long bicycle path that runs along the Po River in northern Italy, via the town of Casalmaggiore. For many centuries, the Po River was a major navigable river in Europe, transporting goods and people between Turin in the south and Venice in the north. The Romans even used it to move armies and carry out their conquests throughout Europe. Following the Po honors this cultural heritage and encourages both Italians and international visitors to ride bikes instead of driving. The Tree Path adds yet another destination to explore along the route.

If you’re wondering how living trees could possibly support the weight and strain of the path and its users, check out previous Baubotanik projects created by students at the University of Stuttgart. The Tree Path is similar to an elevated pathway they completed, wherein flexible, fast-growing trees like willows are pictured wrapping their trunks around metal structural elements for stability.

The post A Treetop Bike Path Winds Through the Picturesque Italian Countryside first appeared on Dornob.

The architects identified three major needs in the city of Pune, which itself is one of the fastest-growing cities in all of Southeast Asia. With a burgeoning population, a thriving IT industry, and increasing demand for education, high quality schools are a top priority. Though it’s quite compact in size compared to other major Indian cities, with decent access to public transit, few areas are walkable, and there are no cycling tracks to speak of. Like many industrialized cities around the world, Pune also struggles with poor air quality.

NUDES’ design addresses all of these common urban issues. Forest School can accommodate a large number of students and help boost Pune’s reputation for both innovation and high quality of life. A double-height auditorium occupies the lower two floors, while the rest are dedicated entirely to classroom space. The rooftop cycling track, which features two bridges for crossing between the towers, offers a fun place to ride a bike with unforgettable views.

The infinity symbol on the roof may be this project’s standout feature, but those stepped balconies covered in plants are definitely eye-catching, and they’re functional, too. NUDES envisions them as one big “green living skin” that can help remove pollutants from the air through phytoremediation.

“The design explores the relation between nature and pedagogy in dense urban settlements built on the foundations of ‘Grow,’ ‘Learn,’ ‘Reuse,’ ‘Plant’ and ‘Play,’” explain the architects. “Sited in Pune approximately three hours by road from Mumbai, the city has witnessed dramatic urban growth in the last decade. The project harbors two ‘green’ cylindrical volumes stitched by a rooftop ‘infinity’ loop track.”

“Each cylindrical volume represents the stage of phased construction with planned programmatic activities. The project explores the dynamics and logistics of a vibrant space for student-centric interaction and learning. The ‘green’ skin can be serviced and maintained by a peripheral service track that is accessible from both landing and mid-landing levels on every floor by horticulturists.”

Forest School is just the latest unusual educational design from NUDES. The firm previously designed a conceptual school in Malawi with sinuous curving walls made of stacked straw bales in response to an architectural competition by Archstorming on behalf of an NGO called Active Africa. The brief called for the use of local materials and construction systems, a focus on sustainability, and a modular solution that can be built in phases. Straw Bale School features a modular “ladder” component to form a structural system that’s fluid and easily expanded.

NUDES is led by architect Nuru Karim, who received his Masters in Architecture and Urbanism from the Architectural Association London in 2006 and has previously worked for Zaha Hadid Architects. He explains that “NUDES operates within the realm of cross-disciplinary cultures of art, architecture, and computational design powered by digital ‘making’ tools addressing larger social, cultural, and environmental networks.”

The post Forest School: Twin Vegetated Towers Topped by a Looping Bike Track first appeared on Dornob.

The “Ooneepod” is a compact, prefabricated, and customizable bike locker that keeps your whip secure while you work, shop, dine, or hang out. Oonee co-founder and CEO Shabazz Stuart, a 31-year-old Brooklyn native, dreamed up the idea back in 2015 after his bike was stolen three times in five years on commutes to and from work. He and co-founder J. Manuel Mansylla decided New York needed secure, affordable bike storage that wasn’t an eyesore and developed an ad-supported walk-in design that basically acts as a mobile billboard. While most people probably wouldn’t consider ads attractive, they attempted to balance out that element of the design with a green roof.

The first two ad-supported Oonepods were installed in Jersey City and at The Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn near Barclays Center in 2018. This year, the company will add two “Oonepod Minis” in New York City through a sponsorship by scooter sharing company Voi. Oonee worked with cyclists, pedestrians, public space managers, city officials, and even school children to develop these smaller storage huts, which feature large illustrations of bikes on the outside instead of ads.

Smart Access technology lets riders unlock the pods by keycard or smartphone, and inside, they’ll find lights and a free air pump. You don’t lock up individually, but if you’re worried somebody might swipe your costly electric scooter for their beater, at least take heart that bikes stored inside are covered by insurance. While the original pods stand quite tall, the minis are barely taller than a standard sedan, so they won’t block sunlight or views from the buildings they’re placed in front of. Each Ooneepod Mini is about seven feet long.

The founders explain that “cars are everywhere on city streets, but what about some space for bikes? Built to survive the demanding streets of New York, Oonee Mini delivers up to 10 high-quality secure bike parking spaces in place of one car. We packed the pod with hundreds of design and technology innovations that ensure a top-notch experience for both cyclists and community members that just happen to be walking by.”

In the future, Oonee hopes to bring its pods to cities around the U.S., and provide additional services through its app, like on-demand mechanics fixing flat tires, or even the direct purchase of bikes and scooters. The pods are currently free to anyone who signs up for the app and provides proof of identity (a measure aimed at preventing theft).

The post Oonepod Mini: A Secure Bike Storage Pod That Fits into a Parking Space first appeared on Dornob.

No combination of quarantining and winter storms can keep the engineers from quirky science YouTube channel The Q inside. Replacing a traditional bike’s wheels with circular sawblades, the Q team recently created an “icуcycle” for getting some high-level thrills and exercise even in the slickest conditions.

In a video entitled “Epic Cycling on Ice” that’s garnered 43 million views in two weeks, the designer starts by dissembling the wheel systems of a Corso Number One Spirit bicycle. After deflating the tires, the spokes are removed from the hubs to fit the new sawblade discs. The Q engineer then takes apart the bike’s rear cassette, welding and equipping them for the heavier steel drums. After some slight adjustments, the original chains are carefully reinstalled.

After all that laborious work, the test run on a frozen lake was much less than epic. As the video shows, the sharp blades dug downward into the ice, getting stuck rather than propelling it forward.

The Q scientist returned to the lab, deciding to turn each blade point into a “T” by welding on a tiny additional metal horizontal piece. This modification was a success, allowing the bicycle to speed forward on the icy terrain by keeping the discs from sinking into the ice and creating the right amount of traction. The effect was essentially the same as attaching snow chains on car tires – except for the fact that these tires could kill you. Falling on those knife-edged wheels could certainly puncture an internal bodily organ, let alone the skin. While there are no specific warnings on the video, it is hopefully obvious that viewers should not try this modification at home.

There may be safer alternatives to biking in the ice than perching precariously over steel razors. Back in 2018, YouTuber Shifter welded an ice skate blade to the front of a cycle frame with decent results. And the company Ice Bikes of Buffalo has been producing two-wheelers mounted to an entire frame of ice blades for years now, renting them out on the frozen New York canal.

If you like the Q’s edgy style though, the channel – whose awesomely head-scratching creations have generated over 11 million followers – has produced a few other inventive few bike alterations that might be less hazardous to one’s health. For instance, the Q team once replaced another bicycle’s rubber tires with spinning wheels of running shoes. Handcrafted spokes were fitted with six Nike kicks on each hub. While the effect was a rather bumpy ride, it got the job done.

And then there’s the video where the Q turns a bicycle into an unconventional tricycle. Although unclear what the added benefit of this might be, the inventor cuts apart a traditional two-wheeler and creates a custom frame to house three tires all in a line.

And perhaps the most bizarre redesign is the Q’s robot-like walking bike. Swapping out the back wheel with a contraption of moving metal rods, this bicycle appears to mechanically walk as the rider pedals.

The post Behold the Icуcycle: a Sawblade Bike for Winter Rides first appeared on Dornob.

CLIP is just what it sounds like, clipping onto the front wheel of any standard bicycle to instantly convert it into an e-bike. There’s no complicated installation process or even tools required. It takes literally seconds to attach or detach, and since it’s so portable at a weight of seven pounds, you can tuck it into your bag. Lock up your beater bike, take the most valuable component inside with you at your destination, and breathe easy. Once plugged in, the CLIP recharges from 0 to 100 percent in about 40 minutes.

The CLIP is a standalone product with no separate batteries, sensors, or wiring. Compatible with all city, road, and hybrid bikes with a 26 to 28-inch front tire and any fork stem thickness, the plug-and-play design features a friction drive, a type of mechanical transmission that transmits torque directly to your front tire via a small roller. And if you’re concerned that an electric motor will erase all the health benefits of cycling, worry not – you can choose to activate or deactivate it whenever you want.

One of the coolest parts of the CLIP is the fact that it even works with shared bike services like Citibike. Let’s say you do most of your commute on a bus or train, but have another few miles to travel after that that aren’t efficiently serviced by public transit. You don’t have to lug your own bike along with you. Just bring your CLIP and attach it to a rented bike for the duration of your ride. If you really wanted to, you could just ride your bike the whole way. The designers say CLIP will allow you to bike a distance of up to 15 miles in about 45 minutes. CLIP performs within the Class 1 classification of e-bikes, offering pedal-assist only rather than throttle, with a maximum assisted speed of 20 mph.

The makers of this portable e-motor say the CLIP’s friction drive won’t wear down tires, but it performs best on dry or semi-dry roads. If you’re trying to bike in rainy conditions, you’ll want to use the power of your legs instead. Apparently, they have some upgrades coming in the next generation that will eliminate this issue. They’re also set to debut an accompanying iOS/Android app with features that haven’t yet been unveiled.

“[We] realized that the solution to this problem had to be nuanced and apply to a wide demographic of urban commuters,” says Somnath Ray, co-founder and CEO of CLIP. “The solution had to be portable and lightweight, so it could be easily detached after every use and taken along, so it can’t be stolen, modular and inexpensive so a person who doesn’t own a bike or has a complicated inter-modal commute can bring it along to use it on shared bikes; or just rent it from a vending machine.”

At $399 USD, the CLIP costs about half the price of a regular electric bike and offers a oe-year replacement warranty. They’re accepting pre-orders right now on their website with a $50 deposit.

The post Instantly Turn Any Bicycle into an E-Bike with CLIP Conversion Kit first appeared on Dornob.

One way to encourage consumers to buy your EV is to design a beautiful, practical car. Biomega, a Danish company that normally produces electric bicycles and cargo bikes, unveiled just such a vehicle last month in the form of SIN. Named after Singapore (the city that inspired its concept), SIN is an affordable, lightweight EV for urban mobility. It seats four passengers, can go from 0 to 62 miles per hour in under 13 seconds, and has a maximum speed of 80 miles per hour. Its frame is made of carbon fiber, and its 14kWh battery is hidden in the floor. Unfortunately, European consumers will have to wait until sometime between 2021 and 2023 to shell out €20,000 for a SIN of their own.

So what prompted a company that normally makes electric bicycles to design an electric car? Simply put, Biomega believes in making attractive bicycles and is now approaching the SIN car with the same goal of encouraging a paradigm shift in transportation away from fossil fuel dependence. To achieve this, they put together a world-class team of creatives to make their products look as irresistible as possible.

The original colors of Biomega’s bicycle collection were selected by Beatrice Santiccioli, a color expert with over two decades of personal experience. Santiccioli has also created colors for the Nike eyewear featured in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, Benetton watches, and numerous Apple products. Jens Martin Skibsted, the co-founder of Biomega, heads one of Denmark’s top product design firms alongside architect Bjarke Ingels and industrial designer Lars Larsen, all of whom have brought at least some level of knowledge and expertise to Biomega. The all-star team doesn’t end there, either. The company has also been blessed by the involvement of Marc Newson, the Creative Director of Qantas Airways, and Ross Lovegrove, an internationally acclaimed designer whose work has been exhibited as some of the world’s most prestigious museums.

The company website concisely states that the design philosophy for their bicycles is either “mega” or “meta” tech, explaining: “Mega-tech is when the fascination of a certain technology becomes the driving force of the bike design, and innovation arises from a clash between form and function and this technology; meta-tech is where technology becomes instrumental to the bike design and subsequently can cause paradigms to break in [its] application…”

Similar to their bicycles, Biomega’s SIN car represents true Danish minimalism, unlike the soulless style that so commonly passes for Danish design these days. The company calls this phenomenon out on its website for becoming “its own pastiche,” preferring to endow their own products with a more exuberant “organic minimalism.” When all is said and done, getting back to the beauty of Danish design is what Biomega expects will most encourage people to accept alternative forms of mobility.

The post The Beauty of Biomega’s Affordable, Lightweight Electric Vehicle first appeared on Dornob.

Italian Cheesemaking Kit

Bravo! This kit includes everything you need to make 10 tasty batches of your favorite Italian cheeses, including mozzarella, whole milk ricotta, bocconcini, burrata, mascarpone, and ricotta salata. The kit’s inclusion of all-natural ingredients and all the necessary equipment guarantees mouthwatering cheese in just a few short hours.

Walking Talking Dino Kit

No dinosaur is more beloved — or stars in more films — than the ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex, and dinosaur aficionados will delight in the thought of building one of their very own. No glue, no tools, and certainly none of that pesky DNA is required here, because this prehistoric warrior’s wooden pieces easily snap together. When the job is complete, you can watch your T. rex walk around and listen to it roar via sound activation technology.

Natural Henna Temporary Tattoo Freestyle Kit

For many people, the worst thing about tattoos is their “forever” aspect. By contrast, henna tattoos only last for seven to 10 days. Comprised of three simple stencils, premeasured henna powder, and a professional-grade applicator and tip, this kit allows you to craft between 20 and 30 different designs. What better way to try out some tats without the commitment?

Flashing Bike Light Kit

Light travels faster than anything in the cosmos, but people might rethink that claim when they see a bike decked out with lights that make you look like you’re flying with every pedal revolution. Thank wireless electricity for the phenomenon and delight your favorite biker with this amazing DIY kit, which is easy enough for anyone ages six and up to put together.

Balance & Tranquility Grow Kit

Few can dispute that we’re in the midst of trying times. This garden kit grows only plants that inspire peace and harmony, which is perfect for those of us that might need to calm down in the midst of such a dense global climate. It includes a recycled egg carton for starting seedlings, wooden plant stakes, and six types of heirloom seeds including soothing chamomile, stress-relieving basil, relaxing lavender, stimulating peppermint, comforting wild bergamot, and razor-sharp sage. Recipes for oil infusions, teas, and a DIY smudge stick are also included in the kit.

Build Your Own Marble Coaster

Physics and engineering have never been more fun than here, where they’re working together to make a marble coaster with as many turns, dips, and amazing moves as a full-sized amusement park ride. Easily assembled with a set of artfully-crafted instructions, laser-cut Baltic birch wood, and a little white household glue, this coaster is perfect for anyone ages nine and up. Hand-crank it to send four marbles on a kinetic energy-powered ride unlike any other!

Margarita Carry-On Cocktail Kit

Sometimes nothing tastes better than a freshly made margarita, like when you’re soaring above the clouds in a big jetliner. All you need is a mini bottle or two of your favorite tequila, and the kit takes care of the rest: margarita mix, a stainless steel bar spoon, a half-ounce steel jigger, sea salt for the rim of your glass, and, for a touch of class, a linen coaster. Flights don’t get much better than this.

The post Fun DIY Kits for Both Kids and Adults first appeared on Dornob.

When Arcimoto was founded in 2007, it sought to create affordable, agile, energy-efficient, and enjoyable machines. They developed eight prototypes over the years before arriving at their first finished product: the world’s first Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV). Think of it as offering the thrill of a motorcycle, the adventure of an all-terrain vehicle (ATV), the stability of a small car, and the nimbleness of a sturdy bicycle. The FUV represents the best qualities of all of those vehicles, all in one package.

Bearing a structure similar to that of a tadpole trike, the FUV is a semi-enclosed, 109-inch-long by 61-inch-wide by 61-inch-high electric vehicle. With two wheels at its front and one at the rear, the FUV weighs 1,100 pounds and is far more nimble than a standard ATV.

An FUV driver and one other passenger can go streaming across the landscape at up to 80 mph, travelling between 70 and 130 miles on a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery that takes about eight hours to charge. It can go from zero to 60 mph in about 7.5 seconds. The seats are heated, and the windshield comes equipped with a wiper and defrost capabilities. There’s even a dashboard and sound system built into it. As far as storage goes, the FUV can carry groceries, sports equipment, and even a bicycle. All this for a base price of $11,900 US.

The purpose behind creating such an alternative vehicle is to rethink how the average motorist moves around. “Our mission is simple, and you can you see it by standing on any busy street corner and watching the cars go by. Over and over, 4,000 pounds of vehicle steel rolls past, carrying just one person, maybe two,” according to a statement on the company’s website. “Why haul around thousands of extra pounds of steel and cubic yards of unneeded space for daily commutes, a trip to the grocery store, or on a movie date?”

In many cities, there is an acrimonious divide between motorists and cyclists, with neither side wanting to give a single inch to the other, resulting in road rage and sometimes death. The introduction of alternative vehicles like scooters and FUVs would simply give users more options to choose from. For example, someone who is going to play roller hockey at the beach three miles from their house could easily pack their hockey stick, roller blades, and other equipment into an FUV. Such a trip would be too far to walk, too cumbersome to bike, too inconvenient to use public transit, and too environmentally unfriendly to drive. There’s be no need to burn all of that gas and go through all of that trouble just to have a good time. In these cases, an FUV will do quite nicely.

The post Arcimoto’s “Fun Utility Vehicle” is Going to be Ultra-Popular first appeared on Dornob.

Each component is made from 3D-printed materials and a core piece that the creators describe as “the world’s smallest contact and frictionless bicycle dynamo, which is integrated together with the electronic and lighting system in the brake shoe of a caliper brake.” It works using eddy-current induction, in which a magnetic wheel in a generator is set apart from the bicycle rim by a narrow air gap, creating temporary a magnetic field when the rim is in motion.

“Neither batteries nor external cables, further fittings or spoke-magnets are necessary. Solely the brake shoes are to be exchanged for microlight-brake shoes, so that the maintenance only involves the exchange of worn brake pads after thousands of kilometers. The included bake pads are compatible with other standard brake pads of other manufacturers as available in every cycle shop.”

Choose the set that best fits your needs: the front basic set with one dynamo light unit and a reflector for each side of the front brake shoe, the rear basic set with the same components for the back wheel, the basic set that includes both, the front or rear stand light set, the set that includes both stand lights, or the smart set. The latter includes all the components featured in the other packages plus a few cool smart features like brake lever-activated turn signals and smartphone-controlled navigation, which itself enables automatic signaling and Bluetooth-speed data transmission.

The front lights illuminate the road ahead while the rear lights function as brake lights and turn signals and help improve the rider’s visibility on the road. The fact that the turn signal feature works without a smartphone is pretty convenient, allowing you to simply double tap the brake lever to turn them on and off. Download the accompanying mobile app to connect your smartphone to the lights and program them to automatically activate as you turn. Meanwhile, your phone can stay safe and protected inside your bag or pocket.

There’s no complicated installation process required, and the Magnic Microlights can be placed on almost any bicycle. Though they’re designed with caliper brakes in mind, an extra adapter is included in each set to accommodate disc brakes, too. The Kickstarter campaign still has quite a way to go before it’s fully funded, but there are plenty of rewards available if you feeling like claiming a set of your own.

“Without lighting, cyclists risk their lives in the dark — but those on the road with battery lights will soon be left in the dark when the journey takes too long or the batteries are no longer full. For those who do not want to mount heavy dynamos or use batteries or lay cables, we’ve launched two Kickstarter projects with our non-contact Magnic Lights, which feel like battery lighting without having to exchange or change batteries. Magnic Microlights can’t be turned off at daylight, and we are convinced this makes sense from a safety point of view: with lights on your visibility increases significantly, which means a great deal of safety.”

The post Turn Your Ordinary Bike Into an Illuminated Smart Bike with “Magic” Microlights first appeared on Dornob.

The post Graduate Designs System that Allows People to Cycle Up Buildings first appeared on Dornob.

The post UrbanX: Add-On Wheel Turns Any Bike Electric in Under a Minute first appeared on Dornob.

“Ride with the Laserlight’s forward projection technology, combining a white light and laser image to beam out of blind spots, junctions and situations where you’re otherwise unseen,” say the designers.


The laser beam reaches 18 feet in front of you and is visible from multiple perspectives, which is ingenious. Independent testing has revealed that the projected image does help bus drivers see bikers more often. British transport research agency TRL compared the Laserlight to a standard LED-only light and “demonstrated its superior visibility” the Blaze team reports. “To a bus driver, visibility increased from 72 percent to 96 percent, with similar results for other vehicles.”

New York’s popular Citi Bike bike-share program is currently testing the Laserlight in all five city boroughs this month, and the London Santander Cycles bike-share program was so impressed with the TRL research that it decided to install the Laserlight for all of its customers. Both cities are hoping the enhanced safety will attract new riders who’ve been hesitant to join the hectic pace of urban biking.

So that’s the premise and the proof of its effectiveness. What about the specs? How can the Laserlight improve your daily commute?

The Laserlight has 109 components within its aircraft-grade aluminum case, and it is designed to survive jolts from even the bumpiest terrain (city potholes, for example, the nemesis of every urban biker) and all kinds of weather, from frigid to tropical. And since it’s completely waterproof, you won’t be able to use rain as excuse to take the bus instead of biking to work.


You can use the laser and helmet light separately as well. The bike light itself casts 300 lumens of white LED to shine the way forward with both a steady beam and a flash mode. It can last an impressive 13 hours on a single charge, which may be longer than your legs will. There is even a handy indicator to show you the battery level, and you can recharge it quickly via USB (we’re talking 50 percent in an hour).

But, if you’re still worried that you’ll run out of juice, switching to power-save mode can get you safely to your destination. Blaze calls this mode the “get me home,” which is an LED flash at 95 percent depletion, and it will give you four hours of light. Hopefully that will take you door to door, and when you get home, you can easily detach the unit with one hand and stow it till next time.

Blaze also offers its Burner, which is a powerful LED light that clips magnetically to the front and rear of your bike for added visibility.

The post Bike Safely in the City with the Laserlight first appeared on Dornob.

The section system keeps costs down for the manufacturer, too, which in turn means customization that regular cyclists can afford.
As company founder Zahari Radev explained to bicycle website FreeRiderPunctRo:
“With the brackets we can also change the tubes or geometry anytime. Let’s say you buy aluminum tubing and after a few months you want a lighter frame. In the normal case, you would need to buy a new frame; here in Radev, you get titanium or carbon tubing, swap it on your frame, and that’s it! You now have a lighter frame!”

Another advantage of the tube and bracket system: if you wipe out on a tight turn and bend your bike around a tree, you can replace the damaged sections of the frame without having to buy a whole new one. One less headache–and hopefully your helmet prevented another. (Speaking of which, check out Radev’s design-prize-winning Extreme Hit-Absorbing Helmet.)

“Welding every frame with different angles in mass production would cost a lot of money, which the customer pays in the end,” said Zahari Radev. “Radev looked at making them a different way so we can all get more affordable prices on a custom frame.”
The frame’s not where customization ends, though. You can also choose the way your 3-D brackets look (note the cool guy on the wheel bracket, above), apply personalized graphics, and select your favorite color from Radev’s color palette.

Watch for Radev on Kickstarter any day now. We’re sure it’ll be worth the wait. In the meantime, you can satisfy your appetite for high-tech bikes on the company’s Instagram.

The post Clever Custom Bike Frame That Fits in a Backpack first appeared on Dornob.

Getting cities without bike lanes to install them isn’t really that hard. All they do is paint a thin white line with a periodic picture of a cyclist and they’re done. But those lines of paint don’t do a thing to protect the cyclists trying to ride in the bike lanes.

Flow Bike Lane from Copenhagenize Design Company is an efficient and low-cost way for cities to install actual bike lines which are above street level, giving cyclists a little more protection from the motorists driving just inches away.

The Flow tiles are all made of 100% recycled plastic and wood. They come in the form of tiles which snap together in any configuration and can create a bike path that’s as long as it needs to be to accommodate cyclists. Because the tiles are a different color than the street, they also help to provide a visual barrier between car space and bike space.

Copenhagenize wanted to prove just how simple it is to install the system, so their advertisements depict children pulling the tiles into place and snapping them together. With an adult crew, half a mile of track can be completed in just one day. The company hopes that someday this design and others like it will show cities just how simple it can be to install bike lanes in places where cyclists would love to have a safer place to ride.

“Only a few generations ago, the bicycle was an integral part of the urban landscape in cities and towns around the world. Modern urban planning is often singular in its focus on technical models, statistics, political mandates and cost. Copenhagenize Design Co. prefers to place the primary focus on human nature in our work. We think about the bicycle user first and design from there, whatever the city.”

“In an age of increased urbanisation, strained public health and continued addiction to the automobile, modern mobility solutions are needed more than ever. Every city once used the modest bicycle as an important tool for successful urban mobility. We are intent on helping cities go back to the future and learn to simplify by building for bicycles.”

The post Recycled Snap-Together Bike Lane first appeared on Dornob.

Just about everyone agrees that bicycling is an environmentally friendly way to get to and from work, yet not many of us actually commute this way. A large part of the reason for this lack of bike commuters is the safety issue. Any cyclist who’s ever had a close call with a car knows that riding on a street with no bike lane can be a bit scary. But installing bike lanes is prohibitively expensive, and many cities simply can’t afford the cost of adding these life-saving safety features to their streets.

Knowing the dangers that cyclists face on the mean streets, the inventors of LightLane created this innovative safety device. Originally created for a design competition focused on increasing commuter biking, the concept rapidly gained popularity with the online bicycle enthusiast community.

The LightLane is a small gadget that attaches to the bike frame. It projects the boundaries of a bike lane onto the pavement via lasers, creating a familiar and easily avoidable boundary for car drivers. Rather than having to guess at how much room to leave between their car and the bike, drivers are given a defined border to stay outside of.

It is the hope of the designers that their creation will make it less scary for cyclists to ride their bikes at night, thereby increasing the number of people who commute on their bikes. Because it’s highly unlikely that cities without bike lanes will start installing them with any type of speed (due to their cost of $5,000 to $50,000 per mile), the LightLane gives cyclists an immediate solution to the dangers of urban cycling.

More than just lights, which may alert cars to the cyclist’s presence but do nothing to protect the cyclist, the LightLane makes it easier for drivers to maintain a safe distance from the cyclist while not impeding the bike’s performance in any way.

Curious how well it works? GearJunkie tested it out – check out their review.

The post Night Biking Gadget: Mobile Laser Lane for Safer Cycling first appeared on Dornob.