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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 36. The next issue is out in March 2010.
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Personal transport, above and below the waves...Cycling integration, how it could have been, sub-aqua cycling, Sturmey Archer website launch and some useful (and not so useful) gadgets. Sue Archer writes: Integrating cyclists #1, make us like them Design student Joseph Campbell decided that bikes don't fit into America's current road system so he designed a velomobile, which can be seen on the Bicycle Design blog. Campbell's idea is that bikes don't work in the current road system designed for larger vehicles, and so the answer is a car sized velomobile, presumably to increase road presence and visibility and perhaps to make drivers accept the rider as another vehicle. The increased size means Campbell has also had to design features to make the vehicle more agile, and overcome the effect of the even longer than normal drivetrain. The comments on the blog highlight a few downsides - in its current form the design makes little use of the potential extra cabin space and of course it loses the bicycle's inherent agility and ability to filter in traffic. There is also the issue of a car sized object carrying only a single person - but then many motor cars do that routinely anyway. Integrating cyclists #2, make them like us So, if you don't agree with making bikes like cars, there's another idea - get rid of cars entirely. Bjørn Gabrielsen sent us a link to this article from Low-tech Magazine suggesting that all the infrastructure bikes need is good smooth roads, and that most countries have more than enough of those. The trouble is, they are clogged up with inefficient motor vehicles. Clear them away, and you have the perfect cycling network. The difficulty of course is persuading all those motorists to take to bikes or public transport instead. California dreaming The idea of a road system entirely for bikes sounds like a mere dream for most of us outside the Netherlands, but a century ago, it could have been a reality. Bjørn Gabrielsen also sent us a link to pictures on the Cycleway Cafe website, of a custom built cycle road opened in 1890 at the height of the American bicycling craze. There is also a contemporary article on the California Cycleway, describing the benefits of the elevated wooden track over the lumpy, dusty roads of the time. Passing high over obstacles like railways and streets, it was intended to allow an uninterrupted ride from Pasadena to Los Angeles, a distance of nine miles. There were plans to double the width of the track, at which point it was thought that the new fangled automobile might be "permitted the privilege of running over its beautiful surface". Sadly, the coming of the automobile saw the dwindling of the bicycle craze, and the cycleway was eventually dismantled. Elevated cycle routes are an idea that crops up fairly regularly, but these days they rarely get beyond the concept stage, such as this Velo-city proposal envisioned for Toronto. Sub-aqua cycling To avoid motor cars altogether, why not take to the sea? Spotted on the Human Powered Boats mailing list are the Velosub and Subalo. The Subalo is a floating recumbent-style craft, pulled through the water by a propellor at the front while the rider is semi-immersed with their head out of the water. The Velosub is like a surfboard with pedals and a propellor at the back, allowing the rider to lie in a prone position, suitable for snorkelling. With buoyancy built in, they look like a relaxing way to enjoy warm waters. Just watch out for motor boats. Sturmey Archer website live at last News from the Sunrace-Sturmey Archer blog that their website is now live. On it you can find detailed specifications of their hubs, cranks and shifters, company news and history, including some lovely period advertising posters. Gizmos and Gimmicks Coming rather under the gimmick heading, this concept all-carbon fibre X-frame racing bike was spotted on technology blog Gizmag. Seen at the Tokyo motor show, it has the added innovation of two wheel drive electric assist - although this means it's fairly unlikely to fit into any known racing regulations. Thanks to Rik Beeson for the tip-off. More useful perhaps are the LED pedals, powered by a micro-generator in the pedal and with a standlight feature built in. They certainly aren't the only pedal of their kind: we reviewed Ledals in Issue 29 and the Ledals fitted to my winter bike have certainly elicited positive comments from other cyclists. There are a host of 'personal transport' related gadgets on Gizmag, of which the 'Segway-skis' from Nissan may be one of the oddest. Devotees of a great British beverage will be pleased to learn, however, that French scientists have worked out just why teapots dribble. Posted on 3 November 2009 Your comments ...
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