I am not interested in this at all, but the Lycra crowd might get excited:
Cycling Enters Electronic Age With Gear-Shifting System – NYTimes.com
Although the battery-powered derailleur by Shimano promises to bring ease and accuracy to changing gears by enabling riders to shift with a light touch to two electronic switches, traditionalists worry that it may erode the basic tenets of the sport.
The Johns Hopkins Gazette: August 30, 1999
When it comes to efficient use of energy, it’s tough to beat a bike. That’s what Johns Hopkins engineers learned when they aimed an infrared camera at a computer-controlled bicycle drive train in a campus lab. The camera detected heat generated by friction as the chain moved through the sprockets under varying conditions. This heat represented wasted energy, and by measuring it, the engineers were able to identify sources of inefficiency.In the best test, the chain drive posted an energy efficiency score of 98.6 percent, meaning that less than 2 percent of the power used to turn the front sprocket was lost while being transmitted to the rear one. Even the worst test turned in a respectable 81 percent efficiency score.
Link to the whole piece.
Thanks for the link SM.
On yer bike: Why there’s never been a better time to saddle up – Healthy Living, Health & Wellbeing – The Independent
With just a chain and a couple of cogs linking a rider’s legs to the wheels, hardly any effort goes to waste. The energy efficiency of a bicycle has been estimated to be the equivalent of the average car doing 1,600 miles on a gallon of petrol.
(Via Copenhagenize)
Read the whole article – full of great reasons to ride.
CETMA cargo
Nice American-made cargo bike.
Nike’s Yoghurt Vs Coffee video (((and the long version on YouTube)))
bicycle:
自 = self
転 = moving/turning
車 = vehicle
Ochazuke’s calligraphy on Flickr: bicycle #1 and bicycle #3
You can download a few computer desktops/wallpapers containing the characters for “Bicycle” on Flickr. I kept the wallpaper dark in order not to be too distracting. A gift from Ochazuke and me.
Click on above image and see three similar wallpapers. And here is the direct link to this full-size image. I am using this one.
The wallpapers will only be available for downloading until Monday Morning.
The Wallpaper/Desktop is no longer available.
