Living Life @ Bikespeed

Well, we all know the drill: use 3 locks, preferably different ones. And make sure your ring lock closes right next to the valve. If someone forces it open, he’ll have to break the valve and end up with a flat.

I always use 3 different locks. And my motivation is that a stolen bike always gives you more trouble than locking it properly in the first place.

But there’s elegant and even more foolproof ways to lock your bike safely.

The most elegant way to haul a decent lock with you, is this idea by Seatylock. 

But this bike by Yerka is an even better solution: breaking the lock renders the bike totally useless.

They’ve been in the making for at least six years now. But today, they are commercially avalaible: Energy Return Wheels from Britek. 

They are called ‘highspeed airless wheels’, and according to Britek, they will increase your drive train efficiency with up to 22%. 

Not to mention the in-wheel suspension and the fact that you will never ever have flats again.

It’s a great startup by a couple of twentysomethings in my home town: Bubble Post, a relatively new service where deliveries in a beautiful old city like Ghent are made by bicycle. It was about time: Europe’s best kept secret was simply gasping for air. This sustainable way of bringing goods to your doorstep will definitely be of help.

Apparently,(much) bigger companies like DHL are experimenting with the same idea: in Almere (Holland), they’ve started an experiment with the cubicycle. Let’s hope this trend catches on!

This is the AERO. It is not even meant to be a bike. It’s an architectural experiment to test wooden structural techniques. But it sure does look like a bike. A gorgeous bike. One that I definitely would want to try. And maybe, probably, buy.

And what does this technical experiment prove? It proves that, in this case, the bicycle industry is well-served by a fresh approach by totally non-typical bicycle designers. 

On a broader scale, it proves that today’s challenges are better solved by an open-architecture approach (pun intended). So,dear  bicycle brands, you better invite multi-disciplinary thinkers to the party.

I must repeat it: it’s a gorgeous bicycle.

Just ‘hop on’. That’s the new Canadian campaign to get people on a bike. It’s such a simple idea. But so, so, so cool.

I’m a staunch biker. And I’m really passionate about technology. When I saw this, I was hit by 2 diametrically opposed feelings: awe and rejection.

To me it’s like desperately trying to match the outdoor experience on a regular bike, but indoors. Even though Widerun is is technically speaking a great feat, at the same time, it has written ‘pathetic’ all over it.

Pinarello and Jaguar have teamed up to build the bike that, allegedly, tames each and every cobble on the ‘Tour of Flanders’. It’s a pretty nifty solution that makes Flanders’ harsh roads feel somewhat smoother.

Unfortunately for team Sky (the heroic riders of the K8), Alexander Kristoff won the race on his suspension-less Canyon Aeroad CF SLX. Apparently not too shabby a bike either.

You can watch him win here.

In 2012, I became a backer on Kickstarter for a project I thought was brilliant: the Torch Bicycle helmet,  a helmet lit up by no less than 10 leds.

I took some more time than expected, so we only got our helmets just before lqst summer. But they were worth the wait: the Torch is truly a great helmet that helps greatly in keeping my wife and me safe. And people keep asking me where they can buy one,

Today, the successor has been announced. On Indiegogo this time.

It’s obviously an improved version: longer battery life along with some other improvements. And a bunch more colors to choose from:

Santos is without any doubt a brand that builds premium bicycles. They're known for their trekking bikes. 

It seems they have a perfect solution for people like me: a bike with an 'ordinary' rear wheal for holiday trips that can easily be swapped for one with a Swissdrive engine to go to work for instance.

That is possible thanks to the Pinion gears that sit around the bottom bracket. Santos also developed a tensioner for the belt.

I have no clue about the price of this Travelmaster 2.9E, but I guess this 1 bike must be cheaper than the 2 bikes it can replace. Just an inkling.

Yesterday, I visited the "Fiets- en wandelbeurs Vlaanderen" (which is Dutch for   "Flanders' hike and bike show").

As I entered of first room, I knew it would be fun. There was this cargo bike that struck me as absolutely desirable: it looks gorgeous, it has a belt drive and a superb tilt/lean mechanism.

I'm talking about the MK1 (MK1-E) by Butchers & Bicycles. 

I also rode (or stepped) a Streetstepper. Kind of weird at first, but feels like lots of fun.

Amazing.

It's not that hard to find a bicycle brand with built-in lights. That's always handy: you never forget them, and they can't be stolen (unless someone takes off with your entire bike).

It's even not hard to find mudguards with built-in lights. They're, well, handy for all the same reasons.

But Magvis by Stilform is not only handy, it's totally awesome. Their solution are like a Starwars' lightsaber inserted in your handlebars. Draw them out in case you need light!

This is essentially a nice idea. Connecting cars and cyclists through the cloud so both are aware of each others presence even when still around the corner.

It's a project that Volvo, POC and Ericsson presented to the public at CES 2015 (in january).

Velofollies 2015 is growing bigger with every edition, that's the impression I have. Obviously there's a lot of nice bikes on show. Very nice bikes indeed.

This belt-driven VanNicholas Yukon, e.g.  The nicest bike to my taste (not  my wallet).

Or this vintage-looking Jaegher.

However, no real surprises. Precitably, lots of e-bikes which were predominantly slightly updated or improved versions of last year's models.

The Mando Footloose was first introduced in 2013. But I hadn't actually seen it before. Not in real life.

There's only 2 products that stood out for me.

The first is by an Italian firm called Cingomma. It makes belts out of used tires. Absolutely cool.

The second is called 'the tangent fender' and it's by Qbicle. It's a very slick and clever mudguard that is extremely easy to install. Try and find it on this VanNicholas bikes:

Apparently very efficient.