Jalopnik: bicycles

Transit Authority Rap: I Got 99 Problems, And A Bus Ain't One

Sam Smith — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST

The Bluegrass State is a strange place, and Louisville, its largest city, is home to some weird and wonderful stuff. If you ever find yourself in the 'Ville and have to ride the bus, use a bike rack. Fool.

What we have here just might be the greatest piece of community-service rap ever written. The backup singers alone are worth the price of admission.

Full disclosure: I grew up in Louisville, and I remain fond of both TARC (the Transit Authority of River City, the city's bus system) and the town's quirky, offbeat vibe. If you're ever there, try the breakfast at Lynn's Paradise Cafe. It's like love on a plate.

Honda Builds A $7,853 Paperboy Simulator

Ben Wojdyla — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

Honda's been getting into some odd projects lately (Honda U3-X anyone?) but this is near the top; the Honda Bicycle Simulator is a safety trainer addressing Japan's escalating rate of biking accidents. It's really a $7,853 Paperboy simulator.

Honda to Begin Sales of Honda Bicycle Simulator Developed for Traffic Safety Education

TOKYO, Japan, October 15, 2009 - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced plans to begin Japan-wide sales starting February 2010, of the Honda Bicycle Simulator developed for the purpose of traffic safety education. By safely experiencing the possible risks bicycle riders may face, users will improve their ability to predict risks and increase safety awareness. In addition, rider evaluation session which will follow the riding simulation will help users learn traffic rules and manners in an enjoyable way. Honda will aim for widespread use of this simulator by a range of customers including public offices, law-enforcement organizations, driving schools and educational institutions which conduct bicycle safety education programs primarily for school children and senior citizens. Honda will begin accepting pre-sale orders in November of this year.

In recent years, the total number of fatalities from traffic accidents has declined in Japan. However, the ratio of fatalities in accidents involving bicycles has increased. Bicycle riders aged 10 - 19 in and above the age of 50 have the highest chance to get involved in an accident, and approximately 70 percent of bicycle accidents are caused by violation of traffic rules.

Leveraging the know-how accumulated through its activities to promote traffic safety since 1964, Honda has been developing and selling motorcycle and automobile simulators since 1996 and 2001, respectively, as traffic safety educational devices which enable users to safely experience the risks based on real-world traffic situations. By offering these simulators, Honda's goal is to improve people's ability to predict risks and increase safety awareness. Striving to realize a richer mobility society in the future, Honda developed the Honda Bicycle Simulator as an educational tool for a wider range of people.

Key features of the Honda Bicycle Simulator

・ Compact design (length 2,270mm × height 1,400mm × width 990mm, weight 88kg)
・ Equipped with monitors to check right/left and behind.
・ Equipped with a "walking sensor" which recognizes the user's action of walking the bicycle.

・ Contains different courses such as "going to school," "going to the grocery store," "going to cram school" and "going to a local shopping street" to offer realistic experiences for user groups of different ages.
・ Contains a course for the user to learn traffic laws and manners to ride a bicycle in mixed traffic.
・ After the simulation, the rider's path can be reviewed from multiple vantage points -above/below and right/left- and the riding situation and evaluation will be displayed on the monitor.

Sales Plan (in Japan): 500 units per year

Suggested Retail Price (in Japan, including delivery fee): 732,900 yen (698,000 yen before tax)

Sending A Clear Message To Bicyclists

Ben Wojdyla — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EDT

"This cycle lane lets you smack both your handlebars and your knuckles into a lamppost at 50 metre intervals. It definitely gives a rhythm to the journey." [The Guardian]

Photo credit: D Richards/Warrington Cycle Campaign/Eye Books

Whale-tail Porsche? Check. Mustache? Check.

Peter Orosz — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EDT

Apparently, there really was a decade called the '80s. And in this decade, a professional BMX rider named Woody Itson advertised not a Porsche 911 convertible, but a Hutch Trick Star bicycle.

If you’re just as unwell-read about BMX professionals as I am, you can catch up on Mr. Itson right here. Growing a head of hair and a mustache to match his will take significantly more time but is well worth the effort.

"You Hit Me With Your Prius"

Ben Wojdyla — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:30:00 EDT

A San Francisco bicyclist and Craigslister offers to sit down with the Prius driver who hit him for a nice cup of coffee... and strangulation!. Moral of the story? Don't hit and run, it's not polite. [Best of Craigslist]

Bike Owner To Bike Thief: Truck Off And Die

John Krewson — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Call us crazy, but we think stealing is wrong. So does this plucky poster-maker, who also throws proportionate response right out the window. We're on her (we assume; girl's bike, tassels) side. Monster-truck owners, your duty is clear.

(Hat tip to Nate!)

Hipsters On Bicycles Seek To Screw With Woodward Dream Cruise

Ray Wert — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 15:30:00 EDT

Apparently hippies-on-bikes in Ferndale are looking to screw with the Woodward Dream Cruise by massing at 9 Mile and Woodward. As you can see, all eight of them will likely be easily dispatched of by one Mustang's open-ended burnout.

Maniac Cyclists Take To The L.A. Freeway To Protest, Or Something

Travis Hudson — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:20:00 EDT

If you were stuck in L.A. rush hour last Friday, there's a chance you encountered the folks from Crimanimal Mass, who took to the freeway, on bicycles (and in-line skates), as part of some sort of demonstration. One of the organizers said the purpose was to raise questions of transportation infrastructure. Aren't there better ways to protest than pissing off the already unruly L.A. commuters? We generally try to treat everyone equally around these parts, but cyclists on the roads need to GTFO. Sidewalks, son, sidewalks. [LAist]

RFID Embedded Bicycles, Traffic Lights Saddens Scumbag Lawyers

Travis Hudson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:45:00 EST

The Danish City of Grenå is doing something about all of the bicycle accidents occurring at busy intersections. The city will be installing See-Mi. See-Mi consists of 300 RFID sensors that will be installed into residents' bicycles and special RFID-sensing traffic lights at seven busy intersections. These traffic lights will know when a cyclist is approaching and activate a light warning the drivers at the intersection.

It's still the responsibility of the driver to actually pay attention to the warning, and then be aware of the approaching cyclist, but at least the scumbag lawyers of Grenå can find other ways to sue the pants off the city, like suing the pants off of the driver for not paying attention.

Another city installing a system to warn motorists of cyclists is Copenhagen. This city is installing diodes at intersections that will begin blinking when a cyclists passes a nearby sensor. No word on how they'll be able to tell the difference between a bike and let's say — a pair of joggers running in tandem.

Normally I would try to relate this to the United States traffic situation, but who I am kidding, the only bikes we really care about are of the fuel-burning variety. [Treehugger]

2006 Woodward Dream Pre-Cruise: Bike Moves!

Ray Wert — Thu, 17 Aug 2006 21:42:43 EDT

Out past the cornfields where the woods got heavy
Out in the back seat of my 60 chevy
Workin on mysteries without any clues
Workin on our night moves
Tryin to make some front page drive-in news
Workin on our night moves
In the summertime
In the sweet summertime

—Bob Seger, "Night Moves"

With the congestion on Woodward Avenue during the week-long Pre-Cruise, and especially on the Saturday of the Cruise itself, it'll often make more sense to hoof it than to try to drive it. Even better than hoofing it would be to bike it, and we can't think of a better bicycle to be on than this custom piece of glowing metal. Not only is neon the thing on this here ride — it's also got XM Sirius radio, stereo speakers and a DVD player — and for a price far lower than anything you'll be seeing out on the streets! But expect to see this bike every night from here to the wee hours of Sunday morning — cause it'll be seen even with the Night Moves. [Thanks to volunteer photog wohho — who points out that sadly the rider of said contraption had no mullet.]

Related:
All our 2006 Woodward Dream Cruise coverage [internal]