Cycling and Velomobile Stuff

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Doug
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Cycling and Velomobile Stuff

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Lighting system for bicycles to make them safer at night. "Blade" light from Sigma Sport in Germany. A flexible mounting system allows them to be set up as a pair for those who want more than one.

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"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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Beer Bike-Bus

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DOUG
OK, this is some great bicycling!

A multi-rider bus/cycle that has a keg in it. The owner/proprieter or some other person steers, and the drinkers pedal.

This has been a great hit in the Netherlands (where they are light years ahead of the U.S. in being bicycle friendly), and now Minneapolis is getting one for their bike trails in the Twin Cities.
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"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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Velomobile MS Thesis

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Someone's Master's Thesis on velomobiles as sustainable transportation, for an MS degree, Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.

Here.

Abstract
Transportation has a very important influence on the future of society. Cycling as transportation is recognised as beneficial and sustainable means of transportation and is increasingly included in transportation policies in nations around the world. Nevertheless, there is almost no future vision for technological innovation and improvement for cycling
as a transportation system; cycling as transportation has remained conceptually the same for more than a century.

This paper goes through the history of cycling technology up to today from the perspective of the social construction of technology theory. This theory can help explain why certain cycling solutions developed, and why others did not. Moreover, it becomes clear that the solutions that did develop can obstruct further development. One of the cycling technologies that has been latently present is the human-powered, weather protected ”velomobile”. Using the social construction of technology theory, an appropriate framing of the velomobile concept is proposed, giving the velomobile a place as a mode of individual transportation in our current context. A velomobile is about as different from a bicycle as, taking a parallel for motorised vehicles, an automobile is different from a motorcycle. From this frame of reference, the potential of the velomobile concept as a mode of transportation is discussed...

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"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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This Frenchman added a child seat at the rear of his velomobile.

Ingenious!

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"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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Post by Dardedar »

DAR
Now if he will just add little pedals back there so the little bugger can learn to help his papa.
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PPV

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DOUG writes:
I just got this from Ebay! It's a PPV, a People-Powered Vehicle. It needs some restoration.
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Here's how they look when they are restored.
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This guy added canopies to his three PPV's.
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Here's a picture from the original 1970's brochure.
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"Hey, baby! You can get in if you can pedal."

The chick magnet.

Later in the brochure (no joke!) the guy has picked up the redhead and now a blonde wants to join him (bottom picture). Image
He may have to add a trailer...
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Post by Doug »

For those who worry that the velomobile is only for fair weather, see this guy, Glenn in Windsor, demonstrating the winter set-up for his Quest velomobile.

See here.
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Post by Doug »

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Bike with jet engine. Very fast. It would get me to work.

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If skydiving doesn't quite do it for you, you could always strap a jet engine to your chest. That's what Bob Maddox did until discretion got the better of him and he decided a jet-powered bicycle might be a little safer.

Maddox, an artist and cabinetmaker in Medford, Ore., has been tinkering with pulse jet engines for seven years now. He's recently started bolting them to old-school cruiser bicycles and selling them on eBay, and a video of him riding one is bouncing around the blogosphere.

We got ahold of him at his workshop, where he's wrapping up a sweet purple jet bike for a customer in the Netherlands. He's only built two so far. He got the first one up to 50 mph but backed off when visions of catastrophic wheel failure danced in his head. He figures the bikes will hit 75 if anyone's got the guts to do it.

"When you're on a motorcycle going 50 mph, you don't think anything about it," he told us. "But on a bicycle, it feels way too fast."

And loud. Way too loud.

"It's loud like a top alcohol dragster loud," he says. "It'll pop your ear drums if you aren't wearing protective gear. That's a drawback to the engines."

No kidding.

Pulse jet technology dates to the beginning of the 20th Century when they were developed in Sweden. Germany used them during World War II to propel the V-1 "buzz bombs" they hurled at England during the Blitz of 1944. The exceedingly simple internal combustion engines that will run on just about anything and remain popular with hobbyists.

"It'll run on propane, gas, kerosene, absolutely anything except cryogenic fuel," he says. "They'd run on peanut oil if you want."

See here.
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Re: Cycling and Velomobile Stuff

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NEW YORK — Bicyclists planning a protest ride through New York City are calling it their "Freedom Ride" – free of clothing, that is. The removal of clothing during Saturday's ride is meant as a protest over the removal of a bike lane in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

Bicycling advocates say the city erased the bike lane from the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood because some conservative residents were upset about seeing women in skimpy clothing ride by every day.

The conservative Jewish faithful say that's not the issue. They say it's about safety.

See here.

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"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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Re: Cycling and Velomobile Stuff

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The Coolest Bike Lanes or Bike Lane Features from Around the World

See here.
"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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Re: Cycling and Velomobile Stuff

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Introducing!

The Copenhagen Wheel Project

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THE COPENHAGEN WHEEL

The Copenhagen Wheel turns the bike you already own, quickly and easily into
an electric bike with regeneration and real-time environmental sensing capabilities.
The wheel harvests the energy you input while braking and cycling and stores it for
when you need a bit of a boost. At the same time, sensors in the wheel are collecting
information about air and noise pollution, congestion and road conditions.

The Copenhagen Wheel differs from other electric bikes in that all components are
elegantly packaged into one hub. There is no external wiring or bulky battery packs,
making it retrofittable into any bike. Inside the hub, we have arranged a motor,
3-speed internal hub gear, batteries, a torque sensor, GPRS and a sensor kit that
monitors CO, NOx, noise (db), relative humidity and temperature. In the future,
you will be able to spec out your wheel according to your riding habits and needs.

Live in San Francisco? Add more battery power.
Interested in real-time applications? Increase the number of sensors.

Lastly, the wheel is controlled through your Smart Phone and becomes a natural
extension of your everyday life. Simply place your phone on the handlebars, and
its Bluetooth module syncs with the Bluetooth module in the hub of the Copenhagen Wheel.
You can then use your phone and our Copenhagen Wheel Application to unlock and lock
your bike, change gears, select how much the motor assists you and for viewing
relevant real-time information.

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Bloody brilliant.
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Re: Cycling and Velomobile Stuff

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DOUG writes:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=cAcy7EVRpXc

Stephen Mosca, velomobile owner, tells his story in 10 minutes on YouTube.
"We could have done something important Max. We could have fought child abuse or Republicans!" --Oona Hart (played by Victoria Foyt), in the 1995 movie "Last Summer in the Hamptons."
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