News

Calm down, deer: Antler-shaped bicycle handlebars

February 4, 2013

Cycling on urban roads can feel like a primordial battle, so it’s perhaps fitting that New York designer Taylor Simpson has come up with a pair of bicycle handlebars that look like a stag’s antlers. The black antler look magnificent and might encourage drivers to look properly before pulling into the path of bicycles, but the handlebars are...

Cycling

Spectacles for cars cure wing mirror blind spot

February 1, 2013

Good drivers do not put their faith in wing mirrors – the only safe way to overtake is to take a quick glance over one’s shoulder to check for vehicles approaching from behind – but an optical prescription for car wing mirrors could eliminate dangerous blind spots without distorting the perceived distance of other cars. According to a paper...

Driving

Sartorial cycling: The Lycra evening suit

January 31, 2013

Argue all you like about the wicking properties of your chamois leather insert, Lycra cycling shorts may be practical but they are quite rightly regarded as a sartorial faux pas. Until now. The latest all-in-one design is modelled on a two-piece suit together and boasts a handkerchief in the top pocket and a dapper red neck tie. The...

Cycling

50mph electric bicycle for commuting

January 30, 2013

An electric mountain bike with a range of 50 miles at speeds up to 50 mph is being marketed in Britain as suitable for commuting to work. With its 4,000 watt motor and top assisted speed of 50 mph, the Stealth Bomber far exceeds the legal limits imposed on electric bicycles, but bypasses the need to be registered as a moped by being...

Cycling

Video Head cycle helmet with built-in camera

January 30, 2013

A growing number of urban and adventure cyclists clip cameras to their bikes and helmets, but a new design of protective headgear that goes on sale next month has a video cam built into its shell. Urban commuters use helmet cams to record evidence in the event they are knocked off by a car while mountain bikers and BMX riders like to film...

Cycling

New cycle helmet stops cars in their tracks

January 30, 2013

The decision by Charles I in 1637 to enclose the land southwest of London now known as Richmond Park might have been unpopular with local residents at the time, but it more than likely saved the green space from being built upon in the future. To this day, the 2,360-acre site remains homes to hundreds of deer, but, other than the abundance...

Driving

EZ-EV: Latest electric car is DIY

January 25, 2013

Engineer Gary Krysztopik is hoping his design for an easy-to-assemble, three-wheel, all-electric kit car will encourage his fellow Americans to make the switch to battery-powered motoring. The EZ-EV (‘easy electric vehicle’) project is a 680 kg street-legal trike that can be assembled in one week by one person with basic tools. Expert...

Driving

Peugeot Citroen to sell cars that run on thin air

January 25, 2013

While its rivals Nissan and Renault concentrate on electric vehicles, Peugeot has revealed a hybrid car that is powered by a petrol engine when cruising and compressed air while in town. It is claimed the system offers fuel savings of up to 45% while driving in town. The new technology offers an interesting alternative to hybrid electric...

Breakdown

Mercedes cars with eyes: Dumbed down driving?

January 24, 2013

You can now buy a Mercedes car that uses a camera to spot speed restriction signs, no-overtaking zones and no-entry signs and then reminds the driver of their whereabouts. It’s hard to know whether this new technology is a genuinely useful contribution towards road safety that will eventually trickle down to the less expensive cars or...

Breakdown

Sub-zero cycling 100 years before mountain bikes

January 24, 2013

If you're one of the hardy souls who has continued to cycle undaunted by the current cold snap, doff your cap to the pioneer adventure cyclists of the 1890s who took to the snowy wilds of northern Canada without the benefit of modern clothing and 80 years before the advent of mountain bikes. The Last Great Gold Rush in the late 1890s drew...

Cycling