News

Barcelona gets electric scooter hire scheme

September 6, 2013

Shoppers, commuters and tourists in Barcelona can now hire electric scooters as a quick and quiet way to explore the city. The Motit electric scooters can travel at 40mph for up to 40 miles and cost less than £3 per hour to hire. To use the...

General News

The Piaggio motorcycle you can drive on a car licence

August 18, 2013

With urban populations on the increase, commuters who prefer the freedom of personal transport will have to take a more flexible approach to the type of vehicle they choose. Congestion charging, restricted parking, traffic jams and increasing fuel costs have already pushed many towards two wheels, but a 300cc scooter from Piaggio that can...

General News

Eccentric weather protection for cyclists

August 16, 2013

Like a bicycle, the umbrella is a design of such simplicity that it no longer needs to evolve, but that does not stop people trying to make improvements. Nubrella is a shoulder-mounted, folding canopy designed to shield people, including cyclists, from rain, wind and snow. The device has already found customers in 70 countries and a new-and...

Cycling

Say goodbye to earphones for cycling

August 16, 2013

Much is said about the risks of cycling while listening to music, but a new type of ear phone, which forgoes speakers in favour of ‘surface sound technology’, promises a safer alternative. Sound Band fits behind the ear and uses a process referred to as surface-excitation to produce sound without the need for traditional in-ear speakers....

Cycling

Kids’ bicycles for grown-ups

August 15, 2013

How well do you remember your first bicycle? Whether you are old enough to have owned the iconic Raleigh Chopper, went straight into BMXing or inherited a hand-me-down off-roader, the sense of achievement and freedom that comes with owning your first bike is the same, and leaves a memory that lasts into adulthood. Looking back further...

Cycling

Watch your back: A bicycle mirror for your wrist

August 8, 2013

The traditional handlebar-mounted mirror has gone the way the way of the mudguard and is no longer regarded as a desirable accessory by most cyclists. The handlebar-mounted configuration has evolved into a sleek, bar-end arrangement but the thriving market for bicycle accessories has spawned all manner of alternatives, including spectacle...

Cycling

Bicycles and Boris: Johnson’s war on Lycra

August 8, 2013

It was a daft exchange of words between cyclists that would have passed without further comment had one of those involved not been Boris Johnson. As it was, the teasing by club cyclist Bob Carter provoked the London Mayor’s acerbic wit...

Cycling

Buses to get mobile roof gardens

August 7, 2013

London’s 7,500 buses consume millions of litres of diesel each month, so given that parked side by side the fleet would occupy 23 football pitches, why not put their roofs to good use and turn them into mobile gardens? Urban green spaces are the lungs of the city; vital for photosynthesis, the process by which plants absorb CO2 and release...

Driving

Bio sensor warns cyclists about hitting the wall

August 1, 2013

If you have ever ‘hit the wall’ while cycling, you will know how long it can take to recover, but a study in the journal Analytical Chemistry this week describes the first human tests of a new bio sensor that predicts an impending ‘bonk’. Hitting the 'wall' When our muscles demand more energy than the body can supply from aerobic...

Cycling

Bubble wrap bicycle

July 31, 2013

Riding a bicycle and popping bubble wrap rank as two of the best stress busters, and now Eric Buss, a man who describes himself as ‘some dude who lives in Los Angeles and travels the world doing funny stuff while people watch’ has combined the two. However, while bursting the pockets of air by hand evokes the relaxing crackle of an open...

Cycling