News

Upstand: the road bike kickstand

November 29, 2013

Every good bike ride is punctuated with a stop for coffee and cake, but what to do with your pride and joy while you take a well-earned rest? The rarity of kickstands available for road bikes, and the fact that carbon frames do not take kindly to being knocked against walls, has prompted an American designer to come up with a solution. The...

General News

Kubo: an electric cargo scooter for the city

November 29, 2013

With the exception of takeaway restaurants, few businesses in Britain recognise scooters as a quick and cheap way to make urban deliveries. However, if electric vehicle pioneer Lit Motors has its way, all that could be about to change. The Kubo is an electric cargo scooter that claims to combine ‘the beautiful design of a Vespa with the...

General News

Winter driving tips 2013

November 29, 2013

Turning the ignition key first thing on a damp and freezing December morning was once a gamble, with no guarantee that the car would stir itself into life, but no more; the modern car is more than capable of dealing with a British winter and a few simple precautions can help avoid an unnecessary breakdown. Antifreeze During the winter you...

Breakdown

Vintage E-Tracker: A very modern retro electric bicycle

November 22, 2013

The Vintage Electric E-Tracker marries 100-year-old styling with modern battery technology to create an exciting electric bicycle/moped hybrid. The £2,700 bike offers a tantalizing glimpse of what commuters could be riding to work if legislation recognised, and promoted, electric vehicles other than cars. Evoking the elegant lines of the...

Cycling

Flashy cycle jacket with built-in lights

November 22, 2013

The ECLAIREUR is a stylish, double-breasted and illuminated jacket aimed squarely at the smart urban cyclist. The jacket is waterproof and breathable, featuring back and side vents, a removable reflective arm band that stores in discreet pouch within the sleeve, and...

Cycling

Pan-European rail travel on the fly

November 22, 2013

The rapid rise of air travel in Europe that is cheap and easy to book has seen rail operators miss a trick – a fact not lost on British start-up Loco2.com, an online travel agent focussed exclusively on rail and dedicated to making rail travel in Europe as easy as booking a flight. The Loco2.com website makes it possible for the first time...

General News

No-plug pedelec – the Alter Bike fuel cell bicycle

November 22, 2013

The Alter Bike is a fuel cell electric bicycle that has no need for plugs and sockets. Electric bicycles, or pedelecs, do not have the same requirement for recharging infrastructure as electric cars – after all, if you run out of juice, you just pedal home – but...

General News

BMW i3 is a game changer for electric cars

November 22, 2013

At £25,680, the BMW i3 is too expensive to be the electric vehicle equivalent of the Ford Model T, but it will nonetheless do much to alter perceptions. Electric cars are often dismissed as novelty vehicles; exotic runabouts for the wealthy or badges of honour for the environmentally devout, but for most, a drive in the i3 will be a...

General News

Bike Vault to beat bike thieves

November 15, 2013

What if you need to store your bicycle outside, but are without a garden shed? Bike thieves always go for easy pickings first, but they are notoriously resourceful and brazen when need be. The upshot for cyclists is that thieves will remove the hinges from a garden shed, pull aside fence posts to pop open side gates and even demolish a...

General News

Power to the pedestrian – walking bridges around the world

November 15, 2013

Looking like a tendril from the stunning Beijing Olympics bird’s nest stadium, the soon-to-be-built Changsha Meixi lake crossing is another example of the cutting-edge architecture being employed around the world to build landmark pedestrian bridges - a celebration of walking that is always to be encouraged. The architectural practice, NEXT...

Environment