News

The bicycle conjured from nylon powder

March 10, 2011

Aerospace company EADS has built a bicycle from a bag of nylon powder to demonstrate its latest technology for making strong and lightweight components. The Airbike has been made from nylon using a process called Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM), which generates components from a fine powder of metal, nylon or carbon-reinforced plastics....

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Ban lorries from cities to protect cyclists

March 8, 2011

Lorries weighing over three-and-a-half tonnes present such a risk to cyclists in urban areas that they should be removed and a more appropriate means of delivery found, according to a recent academic report. The report, Deaths of cyclists in London: Trends from 1992 to 2006, shows that over the space of fourteen years freight vehicles were...

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Northern Ireland close to compulsory cycle helmet law

March 8, 2011

Cyclists across Britain are being urged to fight plans by the Northern Ireland Assembly to enact a mandatory Cycle Helmet Bill. Cycling organisations have united to oppose the Cycle Helmet Bill, which has passed a second reading and now goes to committee stage. They point out that in Northern Ireland there were no cyclist deaths in 2009 or...

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A camera tripod for your bicycle handlebars or helmet

March 3, 2011

Cyclists who film their rides, including those urban commuters who want the reassurance of film evidence in the event of a road traffic collision with a vehicle, are being offered an increasing number of camera and mounting options for their bikes. The £16 Flip Video Action Tripod features adjustable straps to attach it to bicycle...

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SUV redefined: Range Rover unveils one-wheel-drive, single-seater

March 3, 2011

Range Rovers are evolving, and in a direction that few would have predicted. Less than a year after the luxury car maker announced plans to introduce a 2WD version of its iconic SUV, it has gone a step further by producing an emissions-free, one-wheel-drive bicycle. And whilst one might expect the maker of heavy four-wheel drive cars to...

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Bicycle helmets: A very British obsession

March 2, 2011

If the sight of the first snowdrop signals the arrival of Spring, then the news articles that always appear at this time each year about potholes and calls for bicycle helmets to be made compulsory must herald the forthcoming cycling season. In the news last week the AA claimed £100m is needed to rectify Britain’s roads and this week...

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Brompton bicycles held up as best of British

February 25, 2011

Vince Cable and Nick Clegg this week visited Brompton, Britain’s largest bicycle manufacturer, to promote manufacturing in Britain and encourage more young people to consider careers in engineering and manufacturing. Managing Director William Butler-Adams said of the visit: “Many are all too quick to write off UK manufacturing as dead and...

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2012 Olympics velodrome design steals the show

February 24, 2011

London’s Olympic velodrome, which was completed and unveiled this week, looks set to be the jewel in the crown of the 2012 Games. Photographs and film footage do not do justice to the dramatic look and feel of the building, designed by Hopkins Architects, a firm best-known for the Mound Stand at Lord’s cricket ground. The £90m London...

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Fiat 500 TwinAir heralds ultra-clean petrol cars

February 24, 2011

This summer’s most desirable car is not a supercar, like the forthcoming McLaren 12-C or Ferrari FF, but rather a diminutive and fuel-efficient city car that has captured the hearts of motoring journalists around the world; Jeremy Clarkson may not be known for his environmental sympathies, but wrote this week that he would sooner have the...

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The Segway rival that fits in your briefcase

February 17, 2011

It may looks like something from the parts bin at the Segway factory, but the Solowheel is a revolutionary self-balancing electric unicycle the size of a laptop bag. The Solowheel manages to cram gyro-sensors, a 1000-Watt motor and rechargeable Lithium-ion battery within its diminutive 20-inch-diameter outer casing. Foldaway footplates, a...

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