Bicycles give way to automobiles, but e-bikes keep two-wheel tradition alive.
In China, where streets formerly packed with bicycles are increasingly clogged with cars, a new two-wheeled vehicle is quickly gaining momentum as an alternative means of transportation. Rechargeable electric bikes, or e-bikes, are growing in popularity as Chinese commuters begin to acknowledge the negative aspects of owning a car, such as gas prices, parking fees, noxious fumes and the notorious traffic jams.
Besides the lower costs for parking, and the convenience of quickly whipping through intersections, e-bikes typically cost much less to maintain than cars. Batteries charge overnight and last about a year before needing replacement.
E-bikes range from about $219-366. About 20 million will be sold in China in 2009.
Via: Washington Post
Photo: Nelson Ching/Bloomberg News
Good news on the city transportation front, as three U.S. cities get ready to set the wheels in motion on large-scale public bike share systems. Denver, Minneapolis, and Boston will join Washington D.C. this year as the first U.S. cities to adopt bike rental programs. Generally, bike share works like this: Users pay an annual or monthly subscription fee and receive a membership card, which they......read more
Just in time for spring, Google Maps has added biking directions to their hugely popular online mapping service last week. The new feature comes with directions for cyclists in 150 cities in the United States. This is great news for the cycling community, which has been pressing Google to add bike routes to Google Maps for a long while. Suggested cycling routes are designed to avoid freeways......read more
Ralf Kittmann took home an IF Design Award for his electric bicycle concept HMK 561. This ultralight zero-emission bike concept and design is clearly novel. Unlike most concept designs we see, Kittmann created a working prototype constructed from conductive carbon fiber, which is not only an excellent conductor of electricity, but also acts as a capacitor that can store energy. Energy from the......read more
With the Earth Day launch of B-cycle, Denver, Colorado adds itself to the growing list of U.S. cities taking bike sharing for a ride. Touted as the country's first citywide bike share program, B-cycle opens with 500 bikes and 50 stations dotted around the city. A collaboration between Humana Insurance, Trek Bicycle, and ad house Cripsin Porter + Bogusky, B-cycle adds a green alternative to......read more
The April 16 volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed ash all over northern Europe, grinding air travel to a halt for several days. This neato animation, produced by UK web mapping services company ITO World, visualizes what happened to European airspace in the aftermath. ...read more
...read more
Having been responsible for designing some of the most successful cars in Formula 1 history — including the iconic McLaren F1 supercar — Gordon Murray knows a thing or two about creating high performance vehicles. Of late, the British auto maestro has turned his considerable talents to designing a practical vehicle that is a great deal cheaper to own and run. His first creation,......read more
In terms of energy input vs. output, bikes are the most efficient form of transportation ever invented. In Europe, cycling accounts for more than 20% of all trips taken in urban cities. These numbers blow American cities out of the water, where only 1% of trips are taken via bicycle. Part of this difference is the result of a far superior cycling infrastructure in Europe compared to the United......read more