Bicycling is a clean, green and healthy mode of transportation. It keeps you fit, saves money and reduces our fossil fuel consumption. In order to inspire urban commuters to go green and make their biking experience even better, there are a number of eco friendly gadgets on the shelves. Five of them are given after the jump.
1. USB-charged Night Bike Flea Lights
The pint sized headlight pictured above is manufactured by Blackburn, a renowned company that fabricates commuter focused lights. These Flea lights are characterised by their light weight and the capability of emitting light readily. Li-ion batteries are used in these commuting lights instead of Ni-Cad units, which are comparatively heavier. These flea lights are tiny but lustrous and imply a novel solar panel that provides green power to charge the batteries plus a USB port charging adapter, which is a convenient option for those who deal with computer works. You just need to plug in the USB adapter for around two hours to charge up the batteries of the Flea lights. You can also charge up the solar panels during the day, while your bike is parked. The solar power it collects is also capable of juicing up small gadgets of the biker. Weighing only 17 grams, these Flea head and tail lights cost for $30.
2. Bike-Powered Phone Chargers
Whenever you pedal your bike you tend to generate energy, which just goes waste. The mobile company, Nokia, has an idea for harnessing this energy for charging your mobiles. They have introduced a charging kit that features a dynamo attached to the wheel of the bike for generating power as you pedal with a charger to transfer it to the cell phone held by a rubber phone holder fixed to your handlebars. The charging is initiated as you start biking with a walking speed of 6 km/hr and charges like an ordinary Nokia charger when you reach a speed of 12 km/hr. This method of charging the dead battery of your cell phone is very efficient, reliable and of course eco-friendly.
3. E-Meters
Japanese company Bridgestone Cycle Co., Ltd. has introduced the world with e*meters cycle meters. The intention behind developing the e*meters was to enhance the conveyance through bicycles as it helps to maintain a good health and also help in cutting the carbon dioxide emissions. The emeters installed on your bicycle enables a connection with an SNS website so that your cycling data is managed by you and even shared with other members of the site. The emeters have made cycling fun as it gives all sort of commuting information like distance travelled, average velocity, calories burned etc. To add to the enjoyment, these results calculated by the e*meters are uploaded to the SNS site and the information is communicated with other viewers. Along with all that, the green device also lets the biker contribute to environmental conservation. This device can be mounted on the bike tire of the size of 14-29 inches. The data is sensed and measured by a non-contact magnetic sensor. The e*meters can be connected to the PC via USB
4. Motive Bike Computer
To promote cycling and its advantages on human health as well as global conservation, FishoDeath has designed the Motive Bike Computer to attract more individuals of the urban areas for travelling via bicycles and live a greener lifestyle. This tiny device called the Motive Bike Computer actually combines a computer and a web community. All information regarding the journey like the total distance travelled, speed, amount of fuel saved etc. are registered within the computer, which can be viewed by the commuter on a particular website. This data will also help the bike manufacturers to make more fascinating bikes. The various parts of the computer used in the device would be made using recyclable materials and more sustainable methods. The system would be more compatible for upgrading the software wirelessly through a centralized hub.
5. Self-powered ‘Laser’
With growing traffic, people are afraid of commuting on roads via bicycles as bikers are very much exposed. Taking into account the safety issues, Leonardo Manavella, an industrial designer has fabricated a product called ‘Laser’ that ensures the safety of the bikers on a busy road and propounds an individual to commute through bikes in a greener way. An elliptical beam is projected about the bike that is of the size of a car. This beam is green in colour creating a safety zone around the bikers. Whenever any other vehicle intrudes the safety zone, the green light is changed to red zone producing a noise of several horns. A dynamo charges the ‘Laser’ and needs o other power source. The product is therefore green as it encourages a eco-friendly means of commuting and is powered by pedalling.
