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Welcome to Velo Vision, the practical cycling magazine.Print edition: Subscribe and/or order sample copies, back issues, PDFs, T-shirts etc...here! Digital edition: details or subscribe! The current issue is Issue 35. The next issue is out in December 2009.
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Copyright © 2000-2009 |
Alternative power and materials...Good news on railway bike parking, hire bikes take to the hills, try your hand at the human powered home, a CatEye that basks in the sun, and a couple of homebuild projects at opposite ends of the scale... Sue Archer writes: Good news for cycling commuters At least, it's good news for cycle/train commuters in the Netherlands. As David Hembrow reports in his View from the cycle path blog, the Dutch national railway company has promised to install 100,000 new bike parking spaces at 150 stations over the next five years, in response to fears that the number of available spaces would soon be outstripped by demand. The promised new spaces equate to 666 extra per station on average. British readers, try not to cry... Electric hire bikes eat Shropshire hills Jon Cooke, Chair of Stretton Climate Care wrote to tell us about their electric bike hire scheme, using four Kalkhoff Agattu bikes. Jon writes: "Visitors can hire the bikes for a half day or longer to explore the surrounding somewhat hilly countryside. By leaving the car behind this is just one more way of reducing carbon emissions and caring for our ever threatened environment. Residents are encouraged to try a bike as an alternative to using their car for local shopping trips and already some have purchased their own bike as a result. Stretton Climate Care believe they are unique as a charity in this venture. The bikes can be hired from Central Garage, beside the railway station in Church Stretton, who manage the bikes for the charity. Call 01694 723939 for more details." You can read about how the bikes coped with a climb of local serious hill, Long Mynd, which shows how a little electric assistance can make all the difference for getting about in hilly terrain. Human-powered household cranks up From powering bicycles with electricity, to making electricity on bicycles. Jason Patient sent us a link to The Bigger Picture: Festival of Interdependence in October, where the hosts New Economics Foundation have teamed up with Magnificent Revolution to produce a room in which visitors can power household appliances by pedalling in an effort to promote low energy use. The Festival also features speakers, exhibitions and workshops and takes place on 24 October at the Bargehouse, South Bank, London. CatEye charges in the sun 
Still on the subject of sustainable power, the new CatEye Hybrid features a solar cell to charge a Ni-MH battery, giving up to 6 hours of ride time in flashing mode. There is also a backup standard AA alkaline battery, giving a further 30 hours, in case the light hasn't fully charged during the day. A tool free quick release means it should be easy to remove and leave on a bright windowsill during the day for maximum available charge. The light should be available from October, just as most of us in the Northern hemisphere start to commute in the dark. Thanks to Seamus King for the tip. Self build, from both ends of the scale Finally, a couple of building projects that illustrate how varied cycle manufacture can be. 
Firstly, Bob Dold, a mechanical engineering student at Western New England College, decided to build an electrically assisted recumbent trike for his Masters project. After consulting www.eland.org.uk for advice on Ackerman steering and producing some nicely detailed CAD graphics, Bob machined the parts, built his machine up and got an A for the thesis. 
At the other end of the scale, but no less impressive, is this project to home build a bamboo bike. The bamboo was bought 'green', then dried and hardened with a blowtorch, and the parts that couldn't be made from bamboo were harvested from old bikes. The joints are roughly glued to hold them, before being wrapped in hemp twine and epoxied - all this was done without a jig to hold the parts together. The result is apparently very quiet and smooth to ride, and the maker is getting more confident in it everyday... Posted on 17 September 2009 Your comments ...
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