All Entries in the "Wheels" Category
Biknd Helium Lets You Travel With Your Bicycle Like A Pro
Can’t last a day without your favorite bicycle? Now you can take it with you everywhere on the Biknd Helium, a compact bicycle case that lets you haul your road companion while keeping it fully protected.
The bag can carry a wide range of two-wheeled pedal pushers, including road bikes with a 64cm frame and full-suspension mountain bikes. Developed with the input of pro cyclists who frequently board public transportation with their equipment in tow, it not only fits your whole bike (disassembled of course), but lets you throw in two reserve wheelsets and a whole slew of accessories too (helmets, pump, spare tubes and more).
Boasting a unique design, the Biknd Helium opens a full 360 degrees (flat on the floor), making packing individual parts easy. Even better, it protects your frame from any type of damage during travel with a set of inflatable partitions on [...]
Opera Pop-Up Camper Makes Outdoor Camping A Genuine Luxury
Yes, it’s really just a pop-up camper. For some reason, though, I’m very keen on the Opera’s official billing as a “mobile designer suite.” Both inside and out, the thing unabashedly screams luxury.
Low and sleek, it looks nothing like the bevy of motor homes you can find campers hauling down RV resorts during the summer. The stretched canvas cover, in fact, looks more like a fancy event tent than bivouacking equipment. Want to indulge in sumptuous sophistication while dirtying it up with nature? This is how you do it – with a camper that appears more comfortable than the last five hotels I’ve slept in (it’s a no contest, by the way, because I’m uber-cheap).
The Opera features a stainless steel mount and full polyester casing, with an 11-feet tall tent cover. Like any good pop-up camper, it’s armed with four aluminum wheels, shock breakers and [...]
Carpuccino, A Coffee-Powered Automobile
If coffee fuels you in the morning, why can’t it do the same with your car? We’ve known about coffee’s potential as a biofuel for a while. Now, somebody’s actually gone ahead and used it in the Carpuccino, an automobile that pulls its juice out of granulated coffee beans.
Created for the British show Bang Goes The Theory, the car will go on display at the Big Bang Science Fair in Manchester, as part of an exhibit to show off modern alternatives to petrol. Not quite the miracle fuel, though, it won’t exactly ease the grind of costly vehicle travel. In fact, it’s being projected to cost as much as 5000% more than regular gasoline to use.
The Carpuccino is a modified 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco, rigged to accept coffee granules as its fuel of choice, just like how God made you (except you prefer your beans in the [...]
Porsche 918 Spyder Boasts Faster Lap Times Than Carrera GT
This year, automakers used the Geneva Motor Show to showcase ridiculously fast hybrid and electric cars. My favorite of the lot? While it’s hard to decide, it will have to be the Porsche 918 Spyder, a plug-in hybrid supercar that makes no compromises on driving power.
While high-performance luxury sportscars won’t be saving the world anytime soon, you can’t help but look in awe of a vehicle that pairs eco-friendly tech with sophisticated performance. In fact, Porsche claims their new hybrid cleared the famous Nurburgring in 7.5 minutes, making it faster than their very own Carrera GT.
The 918 Spyder’s powertrain consists of a V8 engine (pulled from the RS Spyder race-car parts bin) and two electric motors, combining for a total of 500hp and an impressive driving mileage of 78.4 mpg. It posts a top speed of 198 mph and accelerates from 0 to 60 in as fast as 3.2 seconds. [...]
Row, Row, Row Your Car…The Humancar Imagine PS
The Humancar Imagine PS won’t win any points for good looks or speed, but that’s not what it’s meant for. Instead, it promises a cleaner, greener ride, as well as a leaner, healthier driver, allowing you to help power it by rowing.
Normally, you’d hop on a bike if you wanted to get some exercise on the way to the grocery a few blocks away. Not anymore. This novel ride can get you a similar workout, all while allowing you to share cabin space with up to four people.
What if you’re too tired to row? Not a problem, either. The HumanCar is actually an electric vehicle that can power directly from the mains. You can opt to lean back and let the electric powertrain push it along, or help it out a bit by making rowing motions that it converts into trickles for the battery. It comes with four rowing handlebars, [...]
Factor 001, A High-Tech Bicycle That Retails For Over 30 Grand
Ever wondered what the most technically-advanced bike looks like? As things turns out, it appears no different from any regular bike you can walk off the corner shop with. Called the Factor 001, the very high-tech, $34,000 pedal pusher boasts “unprecedented efficiency, responsiveness and durability.” At that price, it better.
Created by Formula One engineers at Bf1 Systems, the bike prides itself in being built “without compromise.” That means they spared no feature, going as far as ignoring regulations set forth by the UCI (the cycling sport’s governing body). Yep, you’re not going to officially race this, but you’re going to leave everyone in the trail behind anyway.
The Factor 001 sports a lightweight and highly-rigid carbon fibre monocoque frame, with a unique twin-vein architecture that helps it adjust to conform to each rider’s particular measurements and preferred riding position. That same frame houses the bike’s load sensors, wiring, batteries, control cables [...]
FX Mountain Moto Combines Power Of Dirt Racers With Agility Of Mountain Bikes
Bored with your extreme sports lifestyle? Try something new with the FX Mountain Moto, a hybrid dirt bike/mountain bike that professes a whole, new riding experience.
First unveiled to the world back in 2006, the crossover motorcycle creates an entirely new category of two-wheeled vehicles: the mountain motorcycle. Plagued by production delays and an economic recession, the novel ride appears ready for its first trial production run this year, duly tweaked to deliver even better performance.
At its current configuration, the New Zealand-designed FX Mountain Moto weighs a light 125lbs, qualifying it as “the world’s lightest adult-sized dirt bike.” It comes with a 125cc Honda-Jialing engine putting out 9 horses. Available in both auto and manual configurations, it reportedly achieves a gas mileage of 100mpg.
Being a hybrid of two popular categories of two-wheelers, it combines both motorcycle (Fox Racing Shox, Motocross brake set and Excel 19-inch rear rim) and mountain bike (Marzocchi [...]
Meet Moosshiqk, The World’s Smallest Electric Bike
You thought your monkey bike is small? You might have to rethink your definition of small with the Moosshiqk (which happens to be Sanskrit for “mouse”), the world’s tiniest electric bike.
How tiny is it? Let’s just say it’s small enough to fit in your laptop bag after you ride it to work. Yep, it’s apparently the easiest way to save on parking fees too. It’s so small it looks nothing more like a remote-controlled toy. Surprisingly enough, it can be ridden, as proven by the video at the end of this post.
The Moosshiqk measures all of 12 x 18 inches (H x W) and weighs less than 9 lbs, making it no more uncomfortable to carry around than a skateboard. Made with simple parts, it can be assembled and disassembled in under 60 seconds each.
Created by an Indian man named Santosh, the electric two-wheeler has only been driven for one [...]
T-Rex-14RR-Is-Part-Motorcycle, Part-Formula Racer And Completely Awesome
Bringing an unusual combo of frightening speed, future-worthy looks and three wheels, the 2010 Campagna T-Rex 14RR deserves to be on every thrillseeker’s wish list. We’re not exactly sure what it is – Campagna calls it a “pavement predator” while the Department of Transportation calls it a motorcycle. Official names don’t matter, though – you can tell it’s one blisteringly decadent ride.
Clad in a reverse trike-style frame, the T-Rex looks like the unholy union of a supercar and a sportsbike. And that’s exactly what it is. Production actually begins with a stock Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 that’s torn apart and used in various places throughout the Formula-inspired vehicle. The seating position, sport steering and pedal assembly, however, should make you feel like you’re driving an extremely low-profile sportscar.
The 2010 Campagna T-Rex 14RR comes with a 197hp Kawasaki 1400cc engine, mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. It weighs a light 1,040 lbs [...]
Drivemocion LED Car Sign Makes Middle Finger Obsolete
During a fit of road rage, seeing middle fingers flying left and right is nothing new. Other than that obvious sign of adulation (apparently, it means “You’re number #1″), though, it’s hard to communicate what you really want to say while driving in a busy highway.
The Drivemocion LED Car Sign saves you from that inability, allowing you to send crystal-clear, unclouded messages to other drivers on the road. Want to apologize for cutting someone inadvertently? Choose the SORRY signal, which displays an excusatory face, followed by the actual word “sorry.” Guy behind almost rear-ended you at the stoplight? Tell him off by getting your machine to display “idiot SLOW down.” Awesome.
Designed to hang on your rear window using a suction cup, the Drivemocion comes with a total of 16 different expressions, running the gamut from friendly (like saying “Have a nice day”) to aggressive (such as showing an angry face, [...]
Tamiya Commissions A Real-Life Sand Scorcher Buggy
Remote controlled cars modeled after real-life special editions are nothing new. This life-size Tamiya Sand Scorcher, however, turns the table around on the iconic RC kit, copying the 1/10th scale model in detail to produce a blown-up version.
We’re not sure if you’re too young to remember the Sand Scorcher, but it was easily one of Tamiya’s most popular kits. Boasting components built almost entirely out of metal and a suspension based on a real Volkswagen Beetle, it was one of the most advanced toy cars of the 80s – the one all the cool kids drove nose first into their parents’ favorite furniture. It was released in 1979 and continues to be a much sought-after model, with mint boxed units having sold for up to $5,100 on eBay. Of course, why buy an RC when you can hit the trails with the real thing?
Built by German customization and restoration shop, [...]
Kettler Kettquad Brings Quad Racing To Kids
How do you trick your Wife into letting you buy an ATV or a Quad for that matter? Rather than reason your way into getting one, go the irresistible route: get your kids hooked to the hobby. How? By buying them the new Kettler Kettquad, a pedal-powered quad racer made specially for kids, aged 5 to 12 years old.
Once your five year old’s off hitting the rocky mountains, sandy deserts and dusty trails all by his lonesome, just wait till the wife begins to worry and begins thinking up a solution. Voila! You can now get your own badass, motorized quad – so you can bond and look after your precious little outdoorsman.
The Kettquad isn’t just a quad-like kid’s toy designed to run on asphalt. Instead, it’s a real quad racer, propped up on four pneumatic tires with lug tread for taking on difficult terrain. Boasting a sporty and durable [...]
Leveraged Freedom Chair Is A Wheelchair For The Off-Road
Wheelchairs are awesome for giving mobility to the people who can’t use their legs . In many places where the ground isn’t necessarily as smooth and flat as your driveway, though, they’re practically impossible to use. The new Leveraged Freedom Chair seeks to solve just that, providing a comfortable chair that can run as well on mud and rocks, as it does on regular roads.
Invented by MIT PhD candidate (for mechanical engineering) Amos Winter, the chair is described as a desk chair/mountain bike hybrid. He claims it’s “something you can comfortably sit in all day and maneuver around the office, but also use to efficiently commute to and from work.” It’s basically a chair even those with power on their legs can use to become completely lazy – which is absolutely my kind of thing.
The Leveraged Freedom Chair does away with the limitations of hand-rim propulsion chairs, which are virtually [...]
Metaltech Anti-Terrorist Assault Cart: An Armored Cart For Close-Quarters Combat
RPG-proof armored trucks are cool. When you’re fighting in narrow alleys and closed spaces, though, they’re practically of no use. That’s where the Metaltech Anti-Terrorist Assault Cart comes in. You’re not hearing it wrong – it’s literally a cart armored up for battle.
Created by Indian firm Metaltech Motor Bodies Pvt Ltd, the vehicle was built in the wake of 2008’s Mumbai attacks, where gunmen holed up in two luxury hotels managed to keep government forces at bay for 60 long hours. The small-profile vehicle is expected to help in similar hard-to-access combat scenarios, allowing commandos entry into the facilities without putting themselves at unnecessary risk.
Able to go where no other military vehicle has gone before, the Metaltech Anti-Terrorist Assault Cart can stroll through hotel lobbies, elevators, narrow alleys and other tight spaces. It can operate for up to six hours on a single charge, reaching speeds of up to 15mph.
Of [...]
2010 Ranger RZR Robby Gordon Edition Is A Sport Side By Side That Seats Four
Utility Task Vehicles (UTV) have also been called side by sides because of their two seater configuration. The new 2010 Ranger RZR 4 Robby Gordon Edition, which should technically be a sport side by side, throws a wrench into the whole mix by coming to the stage with four seats.
Built for the dunes, desert and wide-open spaces, the new vehicle inherits all the performance attributes that made the Ranger RZR family a recognizable name. Despite that, it does one thing no other model can do: carry more than two people over its back.
The 2010 Ranger RZR 4 Robby Gordon Edition boasts an 800cc twin-cylinder EFI engine, giving it the best power-to-weight ratio among similarly-sized UTV peers. Think the four-seater setup will make it unusually large? Not according to the 60-inch width (standard for side by sides) and 1,255lb-weight (which is lighter than many two-passenger vehicles). The modified design also puts [...]
Alfabeast Is A 156hp Frankenstein Bike, Stitched From Alfa Romeo, Harley Davidson And Kawasaki ZXR-750 Parts
What do you get when you pair up the head of a pig with the body of a Mini Pinscher? I have no idea. I do know what you’ll get when you squeeze in the V6 engine of an Alfa Romeo into a hardtail motorcycle frame, though: the Alfabeast.
Spawned from the workshop of UK’s Crossbreed Cycles, the custom motorcycle’s identity crisis doesn’t end there. One-man chop-shop crew Chris Barber also pulled out a four-speed gearbox and kickstart from a Harley, forks and braking system from a Kawasaki ZXR-750 superbike, a pair of Weber downdraught carburetors and six separate four-foot exhaust pipes. Yikes.
The result is the Alfabeast, which uses an aftermarket Kraft Tech hardtail for the frame where all the Frankenstein parts have been screwed in. Contrary to how much of a mess combining all those parts sound, the end product is actually a visually-striking, albeit scary, bundle of crossbreeding. With [...]
