News

Holidaymakers who rent cars abroad are being faced with hidden charges for breakdown cover. It is unusual for a car rental company in Britain to not include roadside assistance and recovery in the basic cost of the hire, but consumer magazine Which? found that some companies abroad are asking customers to pay extra for the service. Which?...

A new design of cycling top can transform itself from a lightweight windcheater to a fully-insulated winter jacket with a few squeezes of a hand pump. Getting your clothing for a ride right usually involves building up layers, which can be removed when you get hot and replaced if the weather changes. The Klymit Ulaar jacket uses air pockets...

Why do most cycle helmets look so boring? Most countries allow cyclists to decide for themselves whether or not to wear protective headgear, but there is very little choice when it comes to design. Exceptions to the rule include helmets designed to be covered by a hat and skateboard-style lids, but for the most part an additional air vent...

Google might be a many-tentacled, multi-national corporation worth £50bn, but the company’s strives to follow its unofficial slogan ‘don’t be evil’ by building server networks in as environmentally benign a way as possible. Much of this challenge centres on efficient cooling of the power-hungry servers, but newly-released images of the...

Mountain bikes have become the default choice for most cyclists, but trials rider Martyn Ashton has once again proved that expensive road bikes can take on the most extreme of off-road conditions and survive unscathed. Ashton took a Pinarello Dogma 2, the same £10k carbon road bike used by Bradley Wiggins to win this year’s Tour de France,...

Today's cyclists can choose from a seemingly endless range of complex energy drinks, tablets, bars and gels, but in the 1890s the recipes were altogether more simple. Confectioners at Rowntrees in the late nineteenth century believed that Oxcholate, a blend of meat and chocolate, would have a nutritious and restorative effect on ‘invalids...

Protective headgear for military pilots and motorcyclists has long featured retractable eye protection, but for the first time this option is now available on a cycle helmet. Duxhelm has launched the world's first bike helmet with a retractable, removable, and replaceable lens incorporated into its design. The polycarbonate lenses are...

The price of the Nissan Leaf electric car in Britain looks set to drop as production moves to Sunderland next year. The company has yet to announce the exact price but it is thought it could be around £22,000 after the Government Plug-In grant of £5,000 has been taken into account. Nissan plans to introduce a cheaper, lower-specification...

Flip flops and high heels represent polar extremes of footwear and at first appearance neither seems well suited to time spent on a bike, but two new designs from America aim to make life in the saddle more comfortable for road cyclists and more stylish for women. Cycling sandals FOOTbrake folding sandals are designed for cyclists who wear...

Walkers need never again stop to ask for directions; inspired by the film The Wizard of Oz, designer Dominic Wilson has created a pair of shoes with built-in GPS navigation dubbed No Place Like Home. The shoes are based on a traditional design and give little clue to the wizardry hidden within the sole and heel. Once a destination is...