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“I’m totally against bike helmets. If you’re wearing a helmet, you’re in more danger.”
At 2 p.m. EST, we’re chatting live with MIT Media Lab scientist Sandra Richter, who wants to find new ways to encourage city citizens to ride bikes. Helmets aren’t one of them.
La Boriosa: Based in Treviso, Italy, Biascagne Cicli makes custom, mostly single-speed and fixed-gear bikes from used and vintage new-on-stock components.
Shape Field Bike: San Francisco–based studio Shape Field Office partnered with Nicholas Riddle, a framebuilder and founder of the Urban Mobility Lab at California College of the Arts, to create this handsome porteur-style conveyance.
Bough Bike: Dutch designer Jan Gunneweg sculpts bespoke wooden bikes from his workshop in Alkmaar. He’s planning to introduce a lower-priced wooden bicycle line.
Thonet Bentwood Concept: Legendary furniture maker Thonet commissioned Andy Martin and his London-based studio to design this limited-edition roadster, marrying the low-tech methods that Michael Thonet used to build his 1830s chairs with 21st-century technology. Martin didn’t rely entirely on traditional steam-bending techniques but employed a CNC machine to cut and join the wood frame, which sits on off-the-shelf carbon wheels. Such craftsmanship doesn’t come cheap; you can get yours for $70,000.
Cities across the country are making plans to cater to bikers and pedestrians (along with cars) as they design and manage their transportation infrastructure. These are 10 that are doing it really well:
How much did you pay for your car? The Coren, by UBC, is a $32,000 fixed gear bike made from carbon fiber.
The economic benefits of bikes: an infographic.
This $9 Cardboard Bike Can Support Riders Up To 485lbs
The Alfa weighs 20lbs, yet supports riders up to 24 times its weight. It’s mostly cardboard and 100% recycled materials, yet uses a belt-driven pedal system that makes it maintenance free. And, maybe best of all, it’s project designed to be manufactured at about $9 to $12 per unit (and just $5 for a kids version), making it not only one of the most sustainable bikes you could imagine, but amongst the cheapest, depending on the markup.
“I had so many people coming to me with the with the same story,” says Josh Zisson, a Boston-based lawyer specializing in bike law, “I was doored on my bike, but the cop told the driver to leave because it was my fault for riding too close to the cars. I never got the driver’s info.”
What To Do When You’re Doored: Fill Out A Bike Accident Report Card
Ai Weiwei Piles 1,200 Bikes On Top Of Each Other, For Dazzling Effect
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum hosts a large-scale exhibition of the Chinese dissident artist with his new work, “Forever Bicycles.”
This Bike Could Save Your Life: An Infographic On The Massive Benefits Of Bicycling
