Looking like some kind of next-generation kayak, the Eta speedbike with pilot Todd Reichert now holds the global record for fastest human-powered vehicle.

He and the team of AeroVelo competed in the World Human Powered Speed Challenge, where serious cyclists tuck in and try to beat previous records. They ramp up over 5 miles before hitting a stretch of ultra-flat pavement for 600 feet – the key strip of road is repaved each year to make it as smooth and level as possible.

“If you were to describe what the team at AeroVelo does, “human-powered world firsts” would be a fair answer. The team’s Snowbird ornithopter (flapping wing craft) managed a world-first 19-second self sustained flight in 2010. In 2013, the crew would bag the coveted Sikorsky prize, which required a controlled human-powered helicopter to fly for one minute. The land speed record, therefore, was the next logical prize.”

From their website: “Advances are made by pushing limits. We are limited only by the power output of the human body. This forces us to approach each challenge from the perspective of conserving energy and creating the most efficient vehicle possible.”

The post World’s Fastest Human-Powered Vehicle Can Hit 86 MPH first appeared on Gajitz.

Some cyclists seem obsessed with riding higher and higher, and for those who enjoy the creative genius behind those bigger bikes, this film gives viewers a window into the world of their creation and use.

This extended teaser enters the world of the Zenga Bros of Vancouver who were taught to be creative at a young age and follow a lifestyle with three intersecting tenets called the “Three Beans: Create Everywhere, Redeem Everything, and Be a Fool.”

Discovering super-tall bikes back in the early 1990s, they became obsessed and started making their own wild versions, then documenting the works of others through photography and film.

As the video and images illustrate, it is not just about getting up above the fray, but in some cases can be a way to pack two people onto an odd-shaped cycle, or stack multiple bikes to create some kind of monstrous hybrid.

The film’s trailer premiered as part of the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

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Professional bicycle racer Johan Le Bon has been co-developed a strange single-speed city street cycle that pivots in the middle of the frame, allowing the back wheel to twist and swerve in ways that, at a glance, make it look like it is about to fall apart.

Created with two his friends in Brittany, France (Alban Haloche and Alexis Honoré), the project has been nicknamed the “Trocadero” and lets riders steer with their hips. The result: users can turn in ultra-tight circles and slalom urban street obstacles with ease.

Its makers claim it only takes a few minutes to get used to and a few more to master its use. For riders wanting to switch back to ‘regular’ mode, a simple pin inserts to turn it back into a normal fixed-gear affair.

Thanks to the bicycle’s viral popularity, the creators are making a limited run of 30 vehicles for now to see how serious outside interest really is. It remains to be seen if this is a one-off quirky invention or a serious next step in the future of cycling.

The post Trocadero Fixie: Watch this Bendy Bike’s Back Wheel Pivot first appeared on Gajitz.

Cycling in Sweden, where it is cold and snowy for nearly half of the year, is not an easy feat, but this new bike makes it possible to do so in comfort and (a strange kind of) style.

Swedish design engineer Mikael Kjellman developed the PodRide, a velomobile or bicycle-car that can travel across tough terrain, including snow- or ice-covered roads and hills.

The four-wheeled, human-powered vehicle is covered in waterproof fabric and looks like a compact European car, but narrow enough to work either on a street or a bicycle path. Instead of doors, the whole hood lifts up to let the driver (or: biker) in and out.

The bike corners and steers remarkably well and comes equipped with studded tires, a small trunk, a heated windshield, an adjustable back-supporting seat and front and rear lights powered by a battery. Basically a car, but no gas needed, but a power assist is available for those who want it. It even has a hookup so you can tow a trailer with extra belongings or small children.

“Bicycle Cars are practical, good for your health, cheap to run, good for the environment, and fun to drive,” said Kjellman. “They require no new and advanced technology to work and they would not cost much if they were mass-produced.”

The post Car-Shaped Shell Conceals Awesome All-Weather Bicycle first appeared on Gajitz.

As much a psychological experiment as crowd-sourced art project, this series of 3D-modeled bicycles is based on sketches made from the memories of participants trying to recall how bikes are put together, then turned into fully-rendered prototypes.

Gianluca Gimini, a designer in Bologna, Italy, asked friends, family and strangers how they remembered a bicycle working, but without being able to look at an actual bike.

He collected hundreds of the resulting drawings, then started turning them into photo-realistic renders which look laughable but reflect a quirk of psychology that allows many of us to forget just how things go together.

In his ‘Celocipedia,’ he found “there is an incredible diversity of new typologies emerging from these crowd-sourced and technically error-driven drawings. A single designer could not invent so many new bike designs in 100 lifetimes and this is why I look at this collection in such awe.”

The post Error-Ridden Bike Renders: Bicycles Drawn from Memory first appeared on Gajitz.