bikes

LAS VEGAS--For all the bicycle enthusiasts, especially those interested in longer-distance touring, China-based Jooyn Power Shenzen is introducing a rear-wheel mini generator that can power the company's bike lights, sound system, and controller up to 18 volts/1 amp. Each light includes a USB port for powering other devices at around 5V/1A, and the generator doubles as a rear light that flashes during rotation.

Solar-based systems are cool, but when reliable lighting is most important (say, for riding at night), they're just not optimal. If Jooyn's new generator (pricing and release dates to be announced) adds … Read more

There's this notion that it never snows in Seattle. Let me tell you, it does. And the snow in Seattle can be especially treacherous, due to a combination of steep hills, a lack of enough snowplows, and the fact that the snow thaws and refreezes, effectively locking the city under a 2-inch thick sheet of super-slick ice. It can get dangerous.

Seattle, like most major cities in the U.S., has a thriving bike community, despite the hills, but the snow renders most non-major streets unrideable for many bikers. So Fritz Rice, who works at Dutch Bike Co., a shop in the Ballard neighborhood, employed a novel way of getting around.

The bike shop doesn't stock studded tires because it really doesn't snow enough in Seattle to warrant them; when it does snow, it's intense and brief, like my relationships. So to get around, Rice installed 62 zip ties (the kind that come 35 to a pack at any drug store) on the rims of his favorite bike. They acted the same way snow chains do, allowing an almost tank-tread-like purchase in the ice and snow.

He told me the first few rides popped a few of the ties. The two packs gave him 70 total, but he only needed 62, so he had some room for error. The trick is to get the tension of the tie to the wheel just right with a little trial and error. Once it's dialed in, it works fine. Sure, it looks kind of silly, but it seems to work. Rice was able to ride, corner, and even brake without slipping into cars. … Read more

Aside from all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday bargains, it's been a relatively slow week for new gadget cravings. That said, we've got a few awesome gems to discuss in Jasmine's absence, including Delorean hard drives, the perfect vacuum shoes for Donald's recently admitted robot maid fetish, bike locks that take to the air, and social-network sneakers. Also, a pizza that should not be!

Subscribe in iTunes SD Video | Subscribe in RSS SD Video… Read more

German company Conrad recently showed off a DIY bike lock that will lift your bicycle up a lamppost, (hopefully) putting it out of reach of thieves. The device is motorized and has skateboard wheels that let it "roll" up the pole, away from prying hands.

This is not a finished product that you can buy, but something anyone can make. Conrad is a Web store that sells parts and tools for tinkerers. In fact, the page where this video is featured includes links to the different components needed for those who want to attempt to make the DIY lock.

Check out the video below to see the contraption in action. … Read more

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then this image of a cyclist perched on a bike rack that's hanging onto nothing more than four suckers on a car's rear window has me sold.

I don't bike. But I do know a few friends who are hard-core cycling fiends. So, these SeaSuckers could well provide the answer to grappling with conventional rooftop or rear-end bike racks that are so frustrating to install.

A spinoff from SeaSucker's marine products, the big difference here is in the built-in pump. It helps the rubber vacuum cups stay in place, so your precious $7,700 Scott doesn't take a diving crash off your vehicle's rooftop.

SeaSucker claims there's enough suction force to allow people to climb up the sides of buildings, though I doubt our intrepid boys at CNET will be taking up that challenge anytime soon.

Installation is almost idiot-proof. You moisten the underside of each cup, put them in place, then work the pump button to suck the cups down. To remove, you lift a tab and this releases the air. As a guide, when the red line on the pump button starts to turn visible, it's time to top up the pressure within the cup. This happens after it's been attached for a while. … Read more

Riding along on your bike, it looks like you're sporting a stylish scarf-ey thing. But if an accident happens (heaven forbid, bite your tongue), that same scarf-ey thing fully inflates into a head- and neck-protecting airbag within 0.1 second.

Meet the "Hövding," or Chieftan, a collar-disguised airbag hood for bikers developed by two Swedish industrial design students. It's being shown off this week at the Scandinavian Technical Fair Stockholm and could be available in Europe by spring of next year.

When inventors Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin asked cyclists on the street why … Read more

It's hard to deny, looking at today's flame-throwing bicycles and ultrafoldable-bikes-in-a-briefcase, that bicycles have ridden a long way since the basic balloon-tired cruiser with coaster brake and white wicker basket.

But they're poised to pedal even further toward the future, if any of the winning designs from the international Seoul Cycle Design Competition 2010 ever hit the pavement. The contest, organized by design magazine designboom in collaboration with the Seoul Design Foundation, tasked inventors with envisioning cycles that could advance Seoul, South Korea, as an eco-aware, design-conscious city.

More than 3,000 designers from 88 countries took … Read more

I've always been amazed by foldable bicycles, but the Wallpaper limited-edition bikes really take the cake.

The "International" bike, designed by Kinfolk and Coat, is a racing model that can be broken down and stored in a leather bag created by Nivaldo de Lima. The "City" two-wheeler by Level goes for the Japanese-salaryman look and fits into a Brooks briefcase.

Though these amazing bicycles were originally intended as works of art, you can actually buy them via e-mail. The "International" version starts at 2,450 pounds ($3,815.65), while the "City&… Read more

This week on Crave, there's a hidden euphemism in just about everything, but you'll have to listen for the juiciest bits. The preview goes a little something like this: a liquid pencil fails to impress Eric, we hem and haw over giant people sculptures made to replace ugly electricity pylons, and a couple wheeled gadgets are getting creepy...and emotional. Also on tap--literally--a kegerator iPad app, and a curvaceous camera that gets more than a few comments from the peanut gallery. Finally, a little food porn in the form of a bacon bouquet.