I shared this terrific Elizabeth West quote in a WendMag blog post back in January (“Bicycle Quotes: The Greatest Words Ever Spilt About the Greatest Machine Ever Built”):
“When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments. Here was a machine of precision and balance for the convenience of man. And (unlike subsequent inventions for man’s convenience) the more he used it, the fitter his body became. Here, for once, was a product of man’s brain that was entirely beneficial to those who used it, and of no harm or irritation to others. Progress should have stopped when man invented the bicycle.” ~Elizabeth West, Hovel in the Hills
With apologies to Ms. West, I must say I am glad progress in the bike world did not stop at the invention of the original bicycle. What would we do without bike-able bars, or cargo bikes, or car-replacing electric cruisers, or suitcase bikes, or–for gawd’s sake–clean water?!…
Beer
The Pedal Pub, originating in The Netherlands, has made the long overseas trip to the states–the Twin Cities of Minnesota to be exact. Maxing out at 5mph and seating 16 people, the PedalPub is a human powered traveling pub! The sixteen passengers sit belly-to-the-bar (ten pedal and six get a free ride) while the driver, a PedalPub employee, does the steering. This ensures that after a long pub crawl (or ride) the PedalPub is still on the right side of the road. The only downfall is that you can’t have a beer while pedaling in a public area. You can however, enjoy a beer while parked on the premises of a drinking establishment. And the PedalPub makes sure to stop off at a number of establishments along its various routes. Check out this video of the PedalPub in action.
Water
Winner of Specialized and Google’s 2008 “Innovate or Die” competition, the Aquaduct is an easy way to transport potable water from its source to your home: but this bicycle has bi-features! As the water is being transported home it is also being filtered when it passes from the storage tank to a clean tank via peristaltic pump. As they say on their informative, short video on YouTube: “the Aquaduct will allow families in developing countries to have daily access to clean water all by harnessing the energy of pedal power.”
Electric
I don’t need one yet since all of my trips are close to home, but if I took a job over 20 miles from home, the Pedego electric cruiser would be my car. My pops is an E-bike guy. He likes the option to use the ‘E’ when one or both of his two bad knees acts up. And he likes the freedom to pedal out as far as he’d like, knowing he can use the motor on the return trip if needed. Like regular bikes, E-bikes also continue to improve. As Pedego shares on their website:
The Pedego lithium ion battery is friendly to the environment and uses a small amount of electricity to recharge. The average battery life is approximately 3-5 years with 500-1,000 charges which will power the Pedego electric bicycle for 10,000-20,000 miles.
Big
The only carbon spewed from this SUV of bikes is the CO2 steadily evacuating your head-hole (read: mouth). The Xtracycle is an extra long bicycle great for transporting brats, brides, bags, and boards, as well as a wide array of things that start with other letters. Their website offers the potential customer the option to turn their existing bike into an Xtracycle or buy an SUB of their own. They also sell some great accessories and have an informative FAQ page–Check ‘em out!
Small
Last, and definitely least in the field of bike-tech, is the Suitcase Bicycle. If the movie Transformers was less about war and more about peace, this puppy would’ve been the star. I shall dub it the Optimus (or Minimus) Prime of the bike world! The name and this animated video on YouTube pretty much say it all.
Enjoy!
And happy cycling!!!
…Oh—two more things—it breaks my heart to write a bike article without mentioning my favorite bike company (Electra, I love ya!) or without showing a picture of my favorite bike rack at the Frisco Marina in Frisco, CO.
Done.
Follow Mean Joe Green (Joe Mohr) at JoeMohrToons.com and on Twitter at @GreenCartoons…
