A fresh iteration on a previous prototype, this latest version of the Halfbike, like its predecessor, offers a more compact way to cycle through the city and uses your movements to turn quickly in bike or pedestrian traffic. Handlebars are still a means of support and indirectly a way to pivot, but it is the user’s body weight that makes the motion happen.

So why Half when you could just Bike (or walk)? “The standing rider position is very close to walking. It allows the rider to control the Halfbike using his or her whole body instead of just the hands like on a bicycle. Furthermore, the spine stays straight and the chest is not constrained between your hands like it is on a bike, which makes using the full capacity of your lungs easier.” It is also great for car trunks that might not have full-bike space.”

The handlebars fold down to make the entire unit more compact, allowing you to carry it or roll it along easily on its back wheels like luggage. The learning curve is supposedly not too steep and the mode of turning relatively intuitive, but it may still take some time to get a feel for the ride. Each vehicle is hand-built by the company, though presumably this will change if they get sufficient market traction.

More on the design inspiration and half-biking experience: “We took the core driving mechanism of a classical bicycle (a wheel connected to a crankset) but redesigned pretty much everything else. The result – a vehicle that trains your balance and reflexes in a new way. Not only on a physical level but it also affects the way you perceive movement and enhances your senses. The standing rider position is essential for the Halfbike. It brings you closer to natural walking and it’s the only way to control the vehicle with your whole body and not just your hands. Halfbike is a sort of an extension to the body that allows a smooth and intuitive ride.”

The post Halfbike: Standing Bike for Best of Both Walking & Cycling first appeared on Gajitz.

Blending the shared social experience of driving and riding in a car with the liberating freedom to go your own way, this concept vehicle turns from one 4-wheeler to two 2-wheelers on demand.

Proposed by Mark Wilson and executed in detail by ArgoDesign, the result is an asymmetrical design that is flat on one side where the two pieces join and curved on the other. The wheels spread out in motorcycle mode and contract in car mode.

“Chipp Walters, who designed several projects for NASA in the ’80s and ’90s, took lead on the project, and created what you see here. It’s what you might get if you crossed the little known 1980s cartoon M.A.S.K, the Akira motorcycle, the Batman Tumbler, and the Blade Runner Spinner—a seemingly plausible vision for a car that could split into two.”

An automated chassis lock hooks the two vehicles together, released at the push of a button. Originally pitched to Cadillac, the idea did not go over so well with conventional car companies, but perhaps in time.

The post Lane Splitter: Concept Car Separates into 2 Motorcycles first appeared on Gajitz.

A classic kit-of-parts solution with modular twist, this conceptual bicycle is designed to be disassembled on the spot for maximum mobility, able to be shipped with ease, carried onto public transit or taken with a traveler indoors rather than locked up outside.

Lucid Design envisions this full-sized bike as something you learn to break down into its 21 constituent parts and pack to go with ease.

The frame is composed of hollow aluminum components that twist and lock together with a unique key making the completed cycle harder for a would-be thief to take apart. Aside from an aluminum frame, the bicycle features cork handles for easier grips and steel wheels for a sturdier ride.

The design is not yet at a point where it has been prototyped and potential critics have already pointed out some of the difficulties it might face in terms of balancing robustness with portability. Still, as an idea and the beginning of a design investigation, the product is certainly compelling.

From an interview with Dezeen, “Conventional bikes are awkward in every way except when you ride them,” says the company’s creative director Amit Mirchandani. “The Kit Bike was designed to make problems of shipping, traveling with and commuting with a bike, a thing of the past.”

The post Micro-Cycle: Kit Bike Packs Up into Portable Backpack Case first appeared on Gajitz.

If there was ever an invention that needs to be improved, it’s the skateboard. Those four wheels are totally superfluous. Improvements have been made, sometimes to interesting results. The Onewheel is the latest in foot-based transportation.

The Onewheel is an electrically-powered personal transportation device created by California-based company Future Motion. It features (you guessed it) a single wheel set inside a plank. The company’s Kickstarter page calls it “the self-balancing electric skateboard that gives you the feeling of flying.” While that statement may be a bit grandiose, this simple machine has some complex innards.

It’s 48V lithium nano-phosphate (LiFe PO4) battery gives it enough power for about a 20-minute quick ride, or up to two hours if charged longer. The custom self-balancing controller drives the 12″ wheel, along with a 500W direct drive motor. All of this allows the user to glide over the pavement at up to 12 MPH. Future Motion plans on improving the battery life, and you can slide in on a first-run Onewheel for about $1,400.

The post The Segway of Skateboards: 1-Wheel Self-Balancing Wonder first appeared on Gajitz.