Gizmodo: cycles

Ben Wilson's Monocycle Calls for Pert Buttocks

AddyDugdale — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:40:00 EDT

Designed for the XXIst Century Man exhibition in Tokyo, this monocycle by Ben Wilson is pretty damn cool. While not as ornate as last year's steampunk monocycle, Wilson's one-wheel wonder is stunning in its simplicity, like many of the other product designs on his website. The Brit, who has several other bike designs under his belt, claims to be a fan of propulsion "ever since cycling for the first time without stabilizers." The XXIst Century Man exhibition, curated by Issey Miyake, is in Tokyo at 21_21 Design Sight until July 6. [Dezeen and Ben Wilson Design]

Joyrider, Possibly the Most Expensive LED Spoke Lights in the World

AddyDugdale — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:32:25 EST

Moritz Waldemeyer, London-based shiny, spangly design person, has designed what must be the most expensive pair of spoke lights evah. Auctioned off at the ICA Gala Fundraiser in London last week, the Joyrider LEDs, which put a smile on the wheels of your bike, went for almost $4,000. Perhaps that's because they came attached to a couple of vintage-style bikes that Waldemeyer has designed.

The design evokes new rave couture, with its iconic smiley face and the strobe effect, bringing kitsch glamour to the cycling experience. The minimalist components are attached to the spokes of the wheel, emitting a fixed image of a smiley face using LED lights. This effect is achieved through inbuilt microchips that are able to calculate the speed of the wheel in such a way that the smiley face remains stationary while the wheel spins.

New rave couture? Oh, man, that's just spokally old skool. [Dezeen]

Bike Cuffs Bring Security, Kinkiness, to Your Cycle

AddyDugdale — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 07:13:27 EST

Made of hardened, laminated steel, and based on the design for police-issue manacles, the bike cuff is all kinds of wonderful. You can lock up to three bikes at the same time, and the ring is big enough to secure to signposts to deter would-be tea-leaves. The heat-treated lock is pick-proof and there's a hardened pivot link, which means no busting your bike using leverage. There is, however, one downside to the cuffs: price. Expect to pay $158.50 for them. [Firebox]

LongRanger Electric Bike Won't Win Any Beauty Contests, But It'll Get You There

Charlie White — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:32:38 EST

Take a stack of car batteries, design a bicycle around it, and you have the build-it-yourself LongRanger electric bike, whose practicality certainly outdistances its dog-ugly appearance by a country mile. In the video, marvel at the quiet of this DIY electro-bike, and then check out this shot, giving you a good idea of just how fugly this sucker really is:

Never mind its lame-ass looks, it gets good mileage on a charge—if you're commuting round-trip distance is 62 miles or less, you're in luck, because this unsightly cycle can go that far. It says here that you can even attach a solar charger to the thing, probably making it even more obnoxious-looking but more practical at the same time. Drop 15 bucks for the plans, go to a junkyard and get some parts, and you're in business. [Atomic Zombie, via Gizmo Watch]

Dekochari Art Bikes Light Up Japan

AddyDugdale — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:00:56 EST

Dekochari bikes are the baby brothers of Japan's well-known Dekotora electro trucks. Every inch of them is customized with crazy paint jobs, lights, banners, chrome and you can see them, big bumpers and built-up back ends, tooling round the streets of Japan of an evening. Catch them in detail in the video, after the jump.

Nice (luggage) rack. [Pink Tentacle]

Killacycle Electric Bike Breaks World Record For Quarter Mile in 8 Seconds, 168MPH

Brian Lam — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:23:01 EST

That dude who drove his electric motorcycle into a minivan while showing off for reporters at Wired Nextfest got out of the hospital and put some 300 extra Li Ion cells on his bike. Then he broke the electric vehicle world record in the quarter-mile running it at less than 8 seconds @ 168MPH. [TG Daily]

Product Release Cycles: Do They Affect Your Buying Habits?

Gizloco — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 17:16:29 EDT

Emperor David Pogue over at the New York Times had an interesting blog post a few days ago wherein readers begged him for information relating to product cycles. Think, "Shoot, I just bought that trendy MP3 player last week and today they announce the new one!" It's quite a conundrum. So what's Mr. Pogue's advice?

In the other realms, it's a matter of watching patterns. Apple updates its iPods and Mac models about twice a year, too. Waiting for January is always a good bet, because the company often saves up big announcements for the Macworld Expo.... If anyone else can shed any light on the gadget-release cycles for other categories, please chime in!

And chime in we shall. What do you hip cats think? In fact, does knowing product cycles affect your purchasing habits? I smell a poll...

Personally, I haven't bought an iPod since the very first rumors of a "real" video iPod began to surface. But then again, I'm crazy like that. – Nicholas Deleon

Clues to Gadget-Release Cycles [Pogue's Posts - New York Times Blog]