concept | Evolving Consumer

Electrified

Want to get some electrical assistance on the ride to work? The new E-BikeKit and E-TrikeKit from Electric Bike Technologies USA will electrify your ride.

“This is a significant endorsement for electric bike conversion in the U.S. market and a momentous opportunity for our company,” said Electric Bike Technologies CEO Jason Kraft. “We’ve been hard at work since 2008 developing what we know to be the best value in electric bike conversion kits and to have that recognized by J&B is a real honor.”

The systems are available now from J&B in all wheel sizes, front and rear, with several motor and battery options. Future plans include the introduction of a high-end 500-1000w geared motor and lithium battery options.

E-BikeKit Official Website

Go With the GoRemote

As we’ve said many times a smartphone is a great thing on a ride but not everyone wants to put it in harm’s way. The GoRemote is Bluetooth 4.0 waterproof remote for the iOS devices that allows the handset to be safely tucked away – while this wristband and bracket gives users the freedom to take control.

The GoRemote is now looking to get going via a Kickstarter campaign. Continue reading Go With the GoRemote

Drone Strike

httpv://youtu.be/MXMwsXCeP7o

When we think of drones we think of taking out the bad guys from an unmanned vehicle. Many technologies developed for and by the military have found civilian applications and in the case of drones what was/is used to kill terrorists could soon help make for a truly awesome home video.

Next Level Aerial Filming is using drone technology to put a camera up in the sky and capture the action from a perspective (a bird’s eye view as they say) that wearable cameras can’t match. We’ve seen other attempts to get that eye in the sky – such as the Lehmann LA100 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle – but Next Level Aerial Filming offers truly a professional service without the need to hire a helicopter.

Next Level Aerial Filming Official Website

One Street Makes the Shift

Our friend Sue Knaup, executive director of One Street, has updated on the progress on the efforts to bring out the simple Bike Shift Lever. The group has been working to develop and produce easy to use, easy to repair bike components. It seems like progress is really being made.

The long hunt for a machine shop willing and happy to make our permanent casting mold for our Bike Shift Levers, has finally come to an end. They will begin machining the first mold out of steel this week at their shop in Salt Lake City, Utah. I’m thrilled that we have finally reached this next important step in the production process to create these simple, durable shift levers designed for people who rely on their bicycle every day.

This first mold will be a prototype marked as “Mold #1 2014” so that the shift levers I produce with it here in Prescott will be collector quality, sent only to supporters of our Kickstarter campaign last October. With their feedback, we will adjust the mold design so that the next mold will be ready for full production.

If all goes well, I should be using that second mold here in Prescott to produce shift levers for sale by late summer. At that point, we’ll also be ready to sign up license partners who are prepared to buy in and receive their own mold for producing these shift levers for their region of the world.

Defying Poverty with Bicycles Official Blog

Lure It In

Fish finders will let you locate the fish but you still need to lure ‘em in. The Nano Lure could help you catch the big ones. This does away with casting and reeling and replaces live bait with a robotic fish. It features an integrated sensor that activates once it is in the water, and it automatically cycles between slow, medium and fast swimming to mimic actual fish.

The Nano Lure was developed by Raul Chacon, a Dallas-based designer, and he has cast a line on Kickstarter and is looking to lure in investors for his unique fishing concept. Video after the jump

Krack Up

Skate culture is one that we truly could say has many “old school” elements, but a new start-up dubbed Krack is looking to change things. The wearables company is looking to bring fitness tracking to the board culture. This isn’t as easy as it sounds as skateboarding is a technical sport that involves many quick and precise movements.

Krack’s new system includes tiny sensors that attach to the bottom of a skateboard, and these feature a gyroscope, accelerometer, and magnetometer to collect data, while an algorithms is able to make sense of it. The big question of course is why? The answer is that this could allow skaters to track progress – and possibly allow it to be used to show off their skills even if someone didn’t witness the skater in motion. It could also be used to enhance the skateboarding community through social media.

Krack Official Website

Bike of Valour

The Valour smart bike will ensure you find your way. Its makers called it the first ever connected carbon fiber bike, and by this it means that it offers integrated Bluetooth 4.0 that allows the bike to connect to a companion Android, iOS or Pebble compatible app.

Users can use the app to tell the bike their destination and receive turn-by-turn navigation directly on the handlebars. The bike also features built-in sensors including an accelerometer, magnetometer and a speed sensor that can track calories burned, monitor speed and distance. The system can even suggest the best possible route should you desire to avoid hills or other difficult terrain.

The designers, which are based in Toronto, launched a Kickstarter campaign to help develop the Valour and at present it looks like they’ve reached their funding goals so it is likely we’ll be seeing this one on the streets in the not too distant future. Video after the jump

Every Third Thursday: Night Ride

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rBKUFHd1VQ&list=PL34695342B698FC80&feature=share

ETT Season 4, episode 9: It’s lights out for Dave Lee and the Signal Snowboards crew! As the 2014 season winds down, the goal is to keep snowboarding past the daylight hours and Dave has just the solution—a snowboard with headlights.

Every Third Thursday Official Website

Speed Machine

The above photo isn’t a pill you take to give you super speed – instead it is a concept bicycle that could enable a rider to break the record for the fastest non-motor paced bike. The ARION1 is now being developed by students at University of Liverpool and inside the bean-shaped shell is a full set of wheels and bicycle drivetrain.

With the ARION1 the University of Liverpool Velocipede Team hopes to break the world record of 83.13 mph, which was set last September. The ARION1 will gets its chance to try for the record at the September 2015 IHPVA event. Video after the jump

Upright Design

We’ve seen some attempts to reinvent the wheel, and this is sort of what Los Angeles-based engineer Garth Magee of Null Winds Technology has in mind with his new Kickstarter campaign. He isn’t looking so much to change the wheel itself but rather is looking to make it more aerodynamic.

His solution is to utilize Upper Wheel Fairings, which shield the spokes in the breeze, and he claims that this can enable the bike to go as much as 20 percent faster without extra effort. And unlike disc wheels this won’t blow over the rider in a strong crosswind. Video after the jump

Put on the Brakes

Younger riders can’t always be seen in traffic and they might not always see what is coming at them. Even on bike paths parents often need to tell their children to slow down or stop. Now the MiniBrake, which was designed by a team of inventors in Hungry puts the brakes on the kid’s bike.

This is an easy to attach braking unit that is being developed through an Indiegogo funding campaign, and the idea is that it lets parents control the brakes and stop a child’s bike remotely. It can also be automatically activated should a child be more than 50 meters away. Continue reading Put on the Brakes

Microsoft Looks Smart

Microsoft is reportedly eyeing the wearables market and could be developing a smartwatch aimed at fitness. A newly release Microsoft patent shows what the watch could look like and potentially give a hint at its features. It can reportedly measure heart rate, biometric pressure, calories burned and more.

While this isn’t an official announcement it has long been rumored that this is a market Microsoft has been watching.

[Via Patent Bolt: Microsoft Reveals Future Smartwatch & Dock in new Patent]

NOAH Where to Go

NOAH the movie didn’t exactly make a splash at the box office, but NOAH the bike could be the next big thing. NOAH – or Normally Operated Articulated Hybrid suspension system – made its debut at the recent Bespoked U.K. Handmade Bicycle Show in London. It was developed by U.K.-based COFA Engineering.

This is a unique full-suspension system for a bicycle and instead of utilizing the usual rear and shock and front suspension fork it offers two midships-mounted rear shocks. In its current form it provides 230 mm of front travel so it can more than a mere bump in the road.

The bike does weigh in at 40 pounds, so it isn’t exactly light. However, in its current form it is still a proof-of-concept bike not a production model. If the designers can get it to lose some weight they could completely change the traditional dual suspension mountain bike. Video after the jump