JAN 17

We've seen several bike-related concepts in the past few weeks. If, in fact, alternative transportation is on the rise, bikes will become a larger part of our transportation mix. To be really effective and to find wide acceptance, these three may help make bikes more of an option.

Copenhagen Wheel

A group of MIT researchers developed the Copenhagen wheel, a versatile electric bicycle wheel which was given its debut last month in Copenhagen during the COP-15 summit. The wheel combines a regenerative brake, a battery, an electric motor, and a variety of sensors and a bluetooth connection. Combining regenerative braking and electric assist acceleration helps make it easier for bike commuters to deal with starts and stops. With the Copenhagen wheel, the bike can also track speed and distance traveled, as well as monitoring local smog conditions and tracking the proximity of friends. The Copenhagen wheel also acts as a smart lock to prevent unauthorized use of the bike.

YikeBike Mini-farthing

Weighing in at 10 kg (22 lbs), the YikeBike is a small folding electric scooter with a large-wheel/small-wheel combination like the a "pennyfarthing." It folds into a space of 150 x 600 x 600mm (approximately 6 x 18 x 18 inches) and can be unfolded and ready to ride in about 15 seconds. The YikeBike has a range of 9-10 km (5.5-6 miles). It is expected to be commercially available soon at a cost of around 3,500 Euros (roughly US$5,000).

Underground Bike Storage

In an area with extensive bike commuting already in place, storage solutions for the hundreds of bike riders becomes a problem. In Japan, the Eco Cycle is an underground storage facility with a capacity of 144 bikes (18 bikes per level and 8 levels of storage). The automated system can retrieve any bike within 10 seconds, making it quick and convenient. A one month pass for the Eco Cycle garage costs about $30/month (2600 yen).

Thanks again, John B!

Comments (8)

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It's such a shame...
written by Global Patriot, January 17, 2010

...that more U.S. cities were not built with bicycle transportation in mind. Especially on the west coast, the sprawl limits mobility for all but the shortest journeys.

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...
written by burepe, January 17, 2010

I can tell you that as cool as the automatic bike garage in Japan sounds, it is impractical unless it is only used for commuting. Most of the bicycle problems here are due to the fact that people do not use the available pay parking. Pay parking is impractical because people will not use it, if you pay monthly you are stuck to that garage, and if you go several places in a day the cost can add up. Japan should be encouraging bicycling as an alternative to petrol-based transportation, but the parking is viewed as a problem and so it is treated as such. People who buy hybrid cars get a 2000 dollar eco credit. Bicycle parking should be viewed as such and be given for free as a tax credit from the government for choosing the eco option. I can assure you even in Kyoto where I live and which is considered an eco city, the mentality about bicycles is very 20th century. Let's change that.

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Bike Parking
written by EconGrrl, January 18, 2010

Several cities in North America are implementing bicycle garages. Nothing as high tech or automated as that Japanese one highlighted above, but definitely better than the catch-as-catch-can bicycle street racks available in most cities.

@jimbob More bicycle parking is a key aspect of creating a transportation infrastructure that encourages the use of bicycles as an everyday/ordinary mode of transportation. Even an energy intensive automated system is carbon positive when compared to all those drivers choosing autos instead of bicycles, even if, improbably, they car-pooled. Is is a perfect solution? No, and we don't live in a perfect world, so all movement in the right direction is to be applauded.

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RE: It's such a shame...
written by Sarah, January 19, 2010

I guess we'll have to suck it up and just ride the extra mile. Sometimes I visit my parents on the weekends. 20+ miles of bike riding. Only a couple of hours. And I am by no stretch of the imagination fit. I think it will do everyone good to get out and ride.

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Bicycles are too dangerous
written by Gary, January 19, 2010

Any reader has spent some time in Japan will know the dangers of rampant bicycles. Bicyclists collide with people all the time and many serious injuries and deaths result each year.

Bicycles are not the answer, especially when considering the high population densities which are going to result from the collapse in availability of cheap energy. American cities are going to becoming teeming swarms of humanity worse than the slums of Calcutta.

Instead of bicycles, cities will need to build assisted motion sidewalks powered by hydraulic pressure from the city's water supply. This is not a conveyor belt system, it is a cell oriented system. A cell can carry up to 5 people at up to speeds of 50kph. Cells are managed by distributed sidewalk cell controllers on a per city block basis. Three cells can share the width of a sidewalk and there are protocols for passing and overtaking. There is an inter-block handover protocol which allows for setting down and taking up citizens on an asynchronous request basis.

This system is immensely scalable and access to the system can be via a Smart Card or RFI tag. Local authorities will know in great deal the travel patterns of citizens and will be able more efficiently allocate law and order resources as a result.

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"BiCYCLING"- Reinventing the commonest mode of transport.
written by Rudolph.A.Furtado, January 20, 2010

Strange but true,"Cycles" are popular as modes of transport and a means of physical exercises in some of the most economically developed country's in the World but considered a 'Poor mans transport" in economically developing Country's.In Mumbai city it is almost suicidal for a person to attempt "Office Cycling" to work during peak hours as there are no "Cycling Lanes" and the roads are jammed with engine powered "$ & 2-Wheelers". Cycles are ridden only by the poorer segments of society in Mumbai's city's or by the elite rich and a few cycle enthusiasts as a "Sporting Activity" in the early morning hours of dawn, before the rush of vehicular traffic clogs the roads.Nice to read about the increase in cycling as a mode of transport in America and Japan and hope the same trends develop in India which is quickly becoming an economic power.

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Keep you bike secure
written by Sam, March 09, 2010

Apart from the multitude of issues that bicyclists are plagued with, there is undoubtedly the need to have a safe and secure bike parking facility - be it for a couple of hours, days or even weeks. Bikes are expensive pieces of machinery and require to be protected from the environment and from those "evil eyes". Automated bike parking solutions is the way to go, where a, yet to be determined, critical number of cycles need to be parked. Issues such as paying fees at one garage and being "stuck to it" can be solved with innovative exchange agreements. Just like buying one ticket to go from A to B with stopovers and changes in transport modi is possible today on public transport. I am working on such a flexible solution that has some similarity as the one from JSE in Japan, but with higher compaction, flexibility and adaptability possibilities.

The traditional step up from a bike to more "luxurious" means of transport like cars, as one's income grows is giving way to a more balanced use of transport modes - more so in emerging economies such as India. It is quite feasible to set up a string of automated bike parking garages throughout metropolitan areas, enabling bikers choices of using one's own or even a rented bike.

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Pennyfarthing?
written by traviswayn, April 03, 2010

Maybe, at a cost of about $5000, it should be called POUNDfarthing, or perhaps EUROfarthing.

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