2012 Olympic Games Mountain Bike Course

Here is an advance preview of BikeRadar to the climbs and descents of the purpose-built MTB course at Hadleigh Farm, Essex for the the 2012 Olympic Games.

BMX Bike stunts

BMX Bike stunts pretty good jump, stunt, and trick. 

Inmates Use Bikes to Generate Electricity

Here is an interesting story... Inmates in a Brazilian prison uses special stationary bike to generate electricity. What a splendid idea, prisons here in the US should follow this one.

Here is the full story:

The country’s Santa Rita do Sapucaí prison has offered inmates a reduction in their sentences – albeit a light one – if they use their legs to charge batteries using special bikes.

City judge José Henrique Mallmann got the idea for his battery-charging bikes from other prisons that offer prisoners incentives for riding bikes, including Phoenix, Ariz.'s Tent City Jail that requires female inmates to ride a bike while watching television.

For every 16 hours a Brazilian prisoner pedals, he can reduce his sentence by one day.

The batteries the inmates charge while pedaling are taken every night into the city center, where they keep citizens out of the dark by illuminating street lamps. The program has become popular among inmates as it alleviates boredom and keeps them in shape.

One inmate even said he has so far lost "about four pounds."

The prison will soon add eight more bikes to the original two due to the program’s popularity. The ten bikes would generate enough power to lighten a city block, so if the city wants to be fully prison-powered it will need a lot more inmates saddling up.

The Arizona model, which influenced the Brazilian program, was started back in 2010 by controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Named “Pedal Vision,” the Maricopa County sheriff, known for his tough stance toward undocumented immigrants, let female inmates pedal stationary bikes with one hour on the bike equaling one hour of television.

The TV’s power was generated from pedaling the bikes. 

Source: latino.foxnews.com

E-Zip Mountain Trailz Electric Bicycle (EZ-MT8-BL)

Electric Bicycle

This E-bike is fun and easy to use. It is powered by Currie's Electro-Drive system, the rider can select from full power on demand or power assist functions, and the bike comes complete with a charger and removable battery pack. Operation is simple and intuitive thanks to a basic on/off switch, twist throttle control, and easy-to-read battery gauge.

When the bike's parked and ready to charge, simply lift the battery pack from its housing and plug it into the charger via the easy access charger port. The Trailz bike is recommended for young adult to adult riders, with a weight limit not to exceed 240 pounds.

Features and Specifications

    * Motor: 450-watt, DC brushed Earth magnet motor
    * Battery: 24-volt, 10Ah, valve regulated, EV-rated, SLA-type, rear rack-mounted
    * Charge System: UL-listed Currie Smart Charger with LED status display
    * Drive: Patented Currie Electro-Drive System, Shimano rear derailleur, SRAM grip shift, Shimano seven-speed freewheel
    * Controller: Exclusive Currie Electro-Drive, 24-volt, fully potted with power gauge function
    * Top Speed: Up to 15 miles per hour, depending on rider weight and terrain
    * Range: Up to 20 miles with normal pedaling, depending on rider weight and terrain
    * Brakes: Alloy linear pull with alloy brake inhibit lever
    * Wheels: 26-inch wheels with 1.75-inch alloy rims
    * Tires: Two-inch Currie comfort tires
    * Handlebar and Stem: Mid-rise bar and stem
    * Fork: Suspension with fender eyelets
    * Saddle: Comfort design with Q/R alloy seat post
    * Frame: Exclusive Currie Hi-Ten steel, bottle bosses, fender and rack mounts
    * Crank and Pedals: Alloy 44T crank set, double chain guard, resin dual-sided pedals.

Once you got this bike you'll need to assemble it. It is pretty easy to do, just follow the instructions carefully. The battery life is pretty good, it takes about 3-4 hours to charge. with this Ebike it takes less energy climbing hills, it will get you to your destination without getting totally exhausted. It is also really durable, and expect that it is heavier than your ordinary bike. I saw one on Amazon for $799.00. You can check it here: AMAZON

World Naked Bike Ride - Chicago

Naked Bike Ride in Chicago June 9, 2012. They were "celebrating freedom from oil and positive body image." They were chanting "less gas more ass" & "burns fat not oil."

Yup if you are in Chicago last Saturday night, stuck in traffic it was caused by hundreds of naked cyclists pedaling through the city. It was the annual Biking naked for a cause.

The Naked Bike Ride is “a people powered happening bringing radical attention against oil addiction. It IS an extreme free speech exercise trying to save the planet. It’s NOT Mardi Gras.”

Audi at the 2012 Wörthersee Tour Clip

Here's the Audi e-bike Worthersee in action! Looks so light and fast.

The Audi e-bike Worthersee

Audi unveiled an extremely emotion-inspiring sports machine, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee at Wörthersee in Carinthia, Austria. The prototype cycle combines an electric drive and muscle power. Head of Design Wolfgang Egger comments: “As a high-performance e-bike for sports and trick cycling, it features the Audi core competences of design, ultra, e-tron and connect.” The Audi e-bike Wörthersee puts in its first major appearance at this year’s Wörthersee Tour, the 31st meet for Audi, VW, Seat and Skoda fans; trial biker Julien Dupont and downhill specialist Petra Bernhard will demonstrate their stunts and streetbike skills.

The uncompromising dynamism of the bike prototype is fully visible at first sight. “When developing the Audi e-bike Wörthersee we drew on motor racing design principles for inspiration,” explains Hendrik Schaefers, one of the designers at Concept Design Studio Munich. “The e-bike appears incredibly precise, highly emotional and strictly functional. Indeed, the design effort focused on its function as a sports machine. All design elements are thus firmly aligned to the technical features.”

The airy frame boasts a low center of gravity and a compact overall volume. In this way, the e- bike is superbly agile at the sporty handling limits. The lithium-ion battery is incorporated into the frame and needs 2.5 hours to freuteully charge. On long trial tours, only a few simple steps are required to remove the battery and replace it with a charged one.

The frame and the swinging arm that holds the back wheel are made of carbon fiber- reinforced polymer (CFRP). The same material is used for the 26” wheels, which feature an innovative “Audi ultra blade” design with broad flat spokes for an optimized transmission of pedal power. “We were able to demonstrate with the choice of materials just how closely design goes hand in hand with expertise in ultra lightweight construction,” Hendrik Schaefers comments.

Homogeneous LED light strips round out the frame and create the immediately recognizable Audi light signature. For extreme tricks and stunts the seat can be lowered to run flush with the frame itself. At the press of a button, the seat then rises up and the biker can adopt a comfortable position.

Cycling modes and countless other functions can be set using the touchscreen on-bike computer. The cyclist's smartphone hooks up by WLAN to the computer – when you start cycling, for example, the immobilizer is deactivated. Video images of the trial drive or of a trick, as recorded via the in-helmet camera, are uploaded to the Internet in real time via your smartphone.

Each trick performed successfully is then awarded success points, and as the number of points awarded grows, the cyclist receives awards and the challenge level rises, too. The rankings table in the Internet means you can measure yourself against other bikers and your friends. And where they happen to be comes to you via Facebook status reports that pop up on the Audi e-bike Wörthersee display.

The cyclist can choose between a total of five cycling modes – pure muscle power, the electric motor alone, or pedaling supported by the electric motor. In the “Pure” mode, the drive power is purely the product of the cyclist’s legs, while in “Pedelec” mode you are supported by the electric motor that then makes speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph) possible and gives you a range of 50-70 kilometers (31-44 miles).

If you select “eGrip”, the Audi e-bike Wörthersee runs solely on the electric motor and can reach a top speed of 50 km/h (31 mph). The cyclist then controls forward momentum using a gripshift and can configure the power as desired using the computer.

When performing wheelies, an electronic control system supports the rider when performing tricks and back-wheel biking. Different modes can be set using a smartphone or directly on the e-bike – either “Power Wheelie” mode, with adjustable wheelie angle for less skilled bikers or “Balanced Wheelie” mode for sporting challenges.

In "Balanced Wheelie" mode, the electronic control system maintains the rider’s balance, by compensating the biker’s movements forwards or backwards via the electric motor.

This means the rider can influence the bike’s speed by shifting weight: if you lean forwards the bike picks up speed, and if you lean back it slows. You select “Training” mode if you want to keep your performance constant for training purposes.

The electric motor is located at the lowest point on the frame and drives the bottom bracket shaft directly. The maximum torque delivered to the rear wheel is 250 Nm (184.39 lb-ft).



The electric motor generates a maximum output of 2.3 kW, a new world best for e-bikes. The complete bike excluding electrical components weighs in at 11 kg (24.25 lb), equivalent to a power-to-weight ratio of 9 kg (19.84 lb) per kilowatt, or 7 kg (15.43 lb) per horsepower – another record-breaking value.

from Yahoo