Bike helmets save lives, but they have two strikes against them: They can be cumbersome and difficult to carry when you aren’t wearing them, and let’s face it, they often look pretty dorky. Closca, a Valencia, Spain-based helmet maker, seeks to solve both of those problems with a new helmet that looks cool and can fold up for easy storage between rides.

Read the rest of Closca Unveils Stylish Urban Bike Helmet That Folds Up for Easy Storage

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Post tags: bicycles, bike helmet, biking, Closca, Closca helmet, foldable bike helmet, folding bike helmet, urban bike helmets, urban biking

If you’ve ever dreamed of levitating out of traffic when cycling to work, your dreams may soon come true. Three Czech companies have joined forces to develop a helicopter/bicycle hybrid, complete with giant propellers above the front and rear wheels. Although the bike isn’t quite ready to carry a human on board, it has already been tested by remote control and it can fly for five minutes straight.

Read the rest of Flying Helicopter Hover Bike Takes Off in Prague

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Post tags: Czech flying bike, eco design, flying bike, green design, green transportation, helicopter bike, sustainable design

When transit watchers look back on 2013, they’ll remember it as the year of the bike share. Last month, the country watched as New York rolled out Citi Bike to much fanfare (and plenty of grumbling). Then, a couple of weeks later, Chicago officials announced plans to rollout “Divvy,” the Second City’s new bike-sharing program. Now, the latest city to catch the bike-sharing bug is San Francisco, which is set to launch a bike-sharing program of its own in August. Unlike New York and Chicago, San Francisco isn’t committing to a full-scale rollout just yet. Instead, the City by the Bay will launch a one- to two-year pilot program to test the system’s efficacy.

Read the rest of San Francisco to Launch Bike-Sharing Pilot Program this Summer

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Post tags: bay area, Bay Area Bike Share, bicycles, bike sharing, bike sharing system, biking, Citi bike, green transportation, San Francisco, SF Bay Area, SF Bike Sharing, SFMTA, silicon valley

Inspired by a thriving demographic in Vancouver, Mobiel is a multifunctional cart designed to support the day-to-day needs of commercial urban farmers – people who grow food on a medium to large scale on urban land to sell it to markets, restaurants and other businesses. Beginning with the basic features of a wheelbarrow, this cart has the added benefit of organized tool storage, and it can be easily attached onto the back of a bicycle to carry goods from the farm to the market or from one plot to another. Mobiel carries on the narrative of city farming through its unique functionality and its distinctive character.

+ Mobiel

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Post tags: bicycle, bike cart, Botanical, cart, clea lautrey, farming, Gardening, green design, green garden, Mobiel, multifunctional design, sustainable design, urban farm, vancouver, wheelbarrow

Tokyo’s underground bicycle storage system looks more like an elaborate mechanism from a sci-fi movie than a parking lot for cycles. Put into motion with a single push of a button, the Eco Cycle Anti-Seismic Underground Bicycle Park, built by Japanese engineering firm Giken Seisakusho Co. LTD is just seven meters wide, but it’s deep enough to store 144 bicycles. The system provides the city’s bike users with an efficient parking solution that ensures complete safety for cycles. Hit the jump to see a video of the bicycle park in action!

Read the rest of Tokyo’s Eco-Cycle Park Bicycle Elevator Stores 144 Bikes Underground

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Post tags: anti-seismic design, bicycle parking, bicycles, Eco Cycle Anti-Seismic Underground Bicycle Park, Eco Cycle Bicycle Park, Giken underground bike park, green transportation, no emission vehicle, Tokyo bicycles, underground bike park, underground building

Bicycles are one of the world’s most efficient modes of transportation – but ride one in the rain and you’ll wind up with a soggy seat as the rear while kicks up a steady stream of water. Enter the Musguard – a clever rolling fender that can be carried wrapped around your bike’s frame or stored in a pack. When cloudy skies threaten to ruin your ride, simply unfurl the lightweight Musguard and hit the road.

+ Musguard

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Post tags: bicycle, bicycle fender, bike, bike fender, green design, green transportation, mudguard, musguard, sustainable design, sustainable transportation

Technology has brought bike accessories way past the classic bell-and-handlebar-streamer setup. Monkey Light Pro enables you download and display your own LED animations. The kit consists of four pieces for each wheel that can be bolted to the spokes. The waterproof, full-color display is already loaded with artwork and is able to be customized with personal playlists via Bluetooth. Good for eight hours of run time, the built-in lithium-ion battery is able to be recharged via USB cable. The lights are stabilized for speeds ranging from 10-40mph and are double-sided so that everyone has the chance to see you ride in style.

Read the rest of Monkey Light Pro Lets You Download and Animate Your Own Bike Wheel Display

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Post tags: animation, bicycle, bluetooth, California, cycloscreen, fukushima wheel project, interbike, kickstarter, LED, maker faire, monkey light pro, monkeylectric, old bond, rohs compliant, siggraph, sxsw, university of brisbane

Good news for New Yorkers who’ve been waiting patiently to take a shiny new Citi Bike for a spin. The city officially opened the bike share program to all riders (it was previously only available to annual members) this past weekend. So if you felt left out last week, be sure to head to the closest Citi Bike kiosk and get riding today.

READ MORE >

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Post tags: bike smart, bike stations, Citi bike, citi bike launch date, citi bike official launch date, citi bike share, citi bike share program, Citibank bike share program, citibike, city bike share programs, department of transportation nyc, gramercy park, Hurricane Sandy, new york bike share program, new york bike share stations, new york bike tours, nyc bike share program, nyc bike tours, nyc transportation, shelly mossey, Transportation Alternatives, urban mobility project, when does citi bike launch

When riding a stationary bicycle, it easy to feel as though you aren’t getting anywhere or doing much of anything other than managing a quick workout. The cardio is great, but what if you could capture the energy generated by all that pedaling? Instructables member KlockworkKevin has created an ingenious bike-powered generator hidden inside his patio furniture. When not in use, it is a colorful porch appointment that can be easily transformed into a power-making machine. As an added bonus to being unassuming and out-of-the-way, the generator is quieter than the previous models he built using noisy cordless drills.

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Post tags: "wind turbine", battery, bicycle, bike, deep cycle marine battery, e-waste, generator, instructables, instructables green design contest, inverter, klockworkkevin, patio furniture, solar panels, voltage regulator

New Yorkers rejoice – NYC’s first bicycle sharing program just launched with 6,000 bikes! So far over 10,000 people have signed up to use the brand new Citi Bikes in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and the system will soon be expanded to Queens with 4,000 additional bikes and 330 more stations. Hit the jump to learn more about this innovative program, which now offers New Yorkers a fun, healthy, and low-emission mode of transportation.

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Post tags: bike smart, bike stations, Citi bike, citi bike launch date, citi bike official launch date, citi bike share, citi bike share program, Citibank bike share program, citibike, city bike share programs, department of transportation nyc, gramercy park, new york bike share program, new york bike share stations, new york bike tours, nyc bike share program, nyc bike tours, nyc transportation, shelly mossey, Transportation Alternatives, urban mobility project, when does citi bike launch

Hot on the heels of the launch of New York City’s new bike-sharing program, Chicago officials announced this weekend that the Windy City will kick off a bike-sharing program of its own by the end of June. The program, known as “Divvy,” will ultimately include 4,000 bikes that will be parked at 400 solar-powered hubs spread throughout downtown Chicago and the surrounding neighborhoods. At an event this weekend, transportation officials showed off the three-speed Divvy bikes, which will be painted light blue and feature upright handlebars.

Read the rest of Chicago Announces Plans to Roll Out “Divvy” Bike-Sharing Program in June

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Post tags: bicycle, bike sharing, Bike the Drive, bikes, Chicago bike-sharing, Chicago Divvy Bike, cycling, Divvy, Gabe Klein, green transportation

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Post tags: bicycle, bicycle power, bike design, eco-friendly bicycle, eco-friendly film festivals, electricity generating bike, film festivals, french design, green bike, green films, green transportation, pedal power, pedal powered projectors, wood bike st etienne

Today is National Bike to Work Day, and all across America, people are ditching their cars and trucks for a cleaner, healthier journey via bicycle. Our friends at Voltaic Systems joined in the fun to support NYC’s Bike to Work Day, and it’s no surprise that they added their own solar-powered flair to the day’s festivities. Company staffers decked out a commuter bicycle and with a custom-built bike trailer carrying 60+ Watts of portable solar panels, 180 Watt hours of charging capacity, and lots of connectors to charge up smartphones, tablets and even a MacBook, in an effort to show New Yorkers how much fun can be had when human and solar power are combined.

Read the rest of Voltaic Celebrates Bike to Work Day with Portable Solar-Charging Trailer You Can Rent!

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Post tags: bike commuting, bike to work day, bike trailer, solar charger, solar panels, Solar Power, voltaic systems

Two Lisbon-based entrepreneurs have devised a way to build a new bike from discarded car parts – and they’re planning to ride it the same number of miles that the original vehicle drove to compensate for its air-polluting past. The initiative is called the Carma Project, and it was organized by Leo Burnett Lisbon and B-Bicycle Culture Magazine to raise awareness and provoke constructive debate about urban mobility and alternative modes of transportation.

Read the rest of The Carma Project Makes a New Bike From Old Car Parts

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Post tags: B-Bicycle Culture Magazine, bicycle design, bicycle sharing, bike out of car parts, CARMA bicycle, green bicycle design, green design, green transportation, Leo Burnett Lisbon, Rcicla Bicletas, recycled car parts, Recycled Materials, recycling, shared bicycles lisbon, urban cycling

There are few cyclists who don’t have at least a small addiction to speed – whether it’s cruising down a steep hill or whizzing past traffic. If you really have the itch to fly down the road, you may want to check out the Specialized Turbo, an electric-assisted bike that can cruise at speeds of up to 27 mph. This is the first plug-in from the California-based company — the bike has already been rolling around Europe for a year, but US federal laws have deemed the bike too fast to be sold without calling it a motorcycle until now. The solution? A top-speed limiting gear that won’t let you break 27mph.

Read the rest of The Specialized Turbo is an Electric Bike that Can Hit a Blistering 27 MPH

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Post tags: California, charger, electric bicycle, lithium ion battery, motor, plug-in, specialized turbo, SRAM, traffic

Designed by architect Michael Strain and his team, Levitation is a concept bike designed to power your smart phone that also acts as a mobile hot-spot with unlimited Wi-Fi access. It has an on-board generator, high-capacity batteries which can store energy produced while cycling, and a “drain plug” system that allows the user to plug that energy back into the grid.

Read the rest of High-Tech Levitation Bike Generates Electricity and Acts as a Mobile Hot-Spot

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Post tags: bicycle design, bicycle phone charger, bicycle power, cycling, digital fabrication, eco-friendly Hi-Macs, energy generating bike, green materials, green transportation, Hi-Macs material, high tech bike, Levitation Bike, magnetic levitation bike, Rapid Prototyping, zero carbon transportation

A UK company called Jelly Products just unveiled the Loopwheel – a safe, beautiful bike wheel with a built-in suspension system that could revolutionize the compact bicycle industry. The Loopwheel is compatible with just about any small-frame bicycle and has already busted through its Kickstarter goal – so it may be headed to a bike shop near you very soon.

Read the rest of Loopwheel Reinvents the Bike Wheel With a Suspension System Built Into the Rims

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Post tags: alternative transportation, bike commuting, bike design, bikes, compact bikes, folding bikes, Loopwheels, tires, UK, wheels

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Post tags: 14.5 foot bike, CicLAvia, diy bikes, eco design, green design, Los Angeles Bike culture, Richie Trimble, Stoopid Tall, sustainable design, tall bikes, upcycled bicycles

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", bicycle shop, bicycle station erfurt, bicycle storage, bike shed, bike shop, Bike Storage, Daylighting, eco design, erfurt, germany, green architecture, Green Building, green design, indoor bike storage, Osterwold Schmidt, Osterwold+Schmidt, radhaus, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Carrera’s foldable bicycle helmet is a stylish piece of safety gear that neatly folds up to fit in your bag! The innovative helmets are made up of adjustable strips that provide a custom fit, making it more likely that the helmet will stay securely fastened should an accident occur.

Read the rest of Carrera Foldable Bike Helmets Conform to Your Noggin and Can be Stashed in Your Bag

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Post tags: bike helmets, bike safety, Carrera foldable bicycle helmet, eco design, green design, green transportation, sustainable design