Posted on 08/17/2012 2:35:01 PM PDT by EveningStar
It's called Hovding, a real IKEA sounding name and it actually comes from two Swedish design students named Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin. They began noodling the idea at the same time Sweden's law on bicycle helmets for children under 15 came in. Legislators wanted the law to also apply to adults.
(Excerpt) Read more at 610cktb.com ...
Now that is COOL!!!
I’m certain that Massachussetts, New York, Illinois, and California will act immediately to ban it.
Neat ... but I’d rather bike with a helmet on than a big collar around my neck.
Earnhardt-inspired technology, for the affluent who are too cool to be seen wearing a helmet?
From the 1st video:
“Bicycles are the future. Cars are so yesterday”.
Uh-huh, girls. You’re delusional.
Good...maybe they’ll introduce their “Emperor has no clothes” line of biking attire next.
If Americans traveled 10% of their miles by bike it would help solve multiple problems: obesity, health, congestion, gas prices, etc.
Obviously there are practicalities involved, but we would be better off as a people if we rode more and drove less.
I don’t propose government get involved in promoting, much less requiring this, but that doesn’t mean I can’t promote it as an individual!
Now when they make one than will surround you with full body Kevlar immediately upon sensing a muzzle flash, they might have something.
ping
I ride a lot for exercise/ hobby, but absolutely never as a mode of transportation. As a mode of transportation bikes suck, no shelter from the weather, very limited storage, complete lack of armor, breathing car exhaust (I don’t ride by the roads, we have “river” paths). I suppose if my car was busted for a while and I couldn’t afford a rental I’d bike, but I put a lot of work into keep those two conditions from happening.
You can do whatever you want. But if you want to go from Des Moines to Ocean City, and don’t have 3 months, a bike is not a great way to travel. The odds of getting killed by a 4,000-lb vehicle on that trip, are very high. However, if everyone lived in 100% density cities, going from the upper east side to midtown, probably wouldn’t take more than 1-2 weeks. Imagine how large all the cities would have to be to house 309 million people (US). The UN’s Agenda 21 has that idiocy on its to-do list.
That said, I agree 100% about the exercise aspect of cycling. I used to own/use a French Racing Bike, an Elvish, in the early 70s -
- but after riding with and seeing a buddy on the same type bike next to me get hit from behind by a car and dragged 3,000+ft, and what was left of him, caused me to sell the bike and not get another. The girls’ inflatable helmet wouldn’t have done squat in that case, except possibly preserve the head, for burial.
You’ve listed some of the reasons I gave up on motorcycles years ago for basic transportation. Bicycles would be worse.
The closest store to my house is 5 miles away. If I want a gallon of milk, I’d have to pedal a bicycle 5 miles there, put the gallon in my backpack, and pedal 5 miles back. And that store doesn’t sell much besides milk and a few goods. To grocery shop, I’d need to go 12 miles one way, assuming I was allowed on the Interstate. Otherwise it is 16 miles, one way.
Bicycles for basic transportation are OK in some urban areas. But no better than OK, as you pointed out. They are a small step above walking. But it is 25 miles one way from my home to work...maybe because I bought my house knowing I had a car.
And since a lot of modern folk change jobs every few years, buying a home near work is pretty much impossible. If my wife lost her job as a nurse (25 miles one way - west), the next closest employment would be 25 miles...north. Or 30, if she went east.
The report was interesting... except for the bit of misandry.
Ran across an interesting factoid recently.
Record for sea to shining sea on a bike is about 8.5 days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Across_America#Records
You are quite correct about the dangers of bicycling. At least on roads. Much more dangerous per mile than in a car.
But not as dangerous as a motorcycle, probably because it’s hard to go 100 mph on a pedal bike.
No, not delusional, but rather Swedish. America's car culture does not span the globe. It's not the least bit uncommon for Europeans to not own cars, and it's becoming less common to own a car.
That’s really hauling ass!
It’s not quite as bad as you make out. I used to ride my bicycle to work at least three days a week. In traffic it took me about 40 minutes to make the 14 mile drive. On my bicycle the trip took about an hour. I wouldn’t automatically consider 25 miles outside of cycling range.
Good points. When weather permits, I bike to work and the exercise certainly pays off. It’s enjoyable to take side streets and to see what’s going on along the way. A bike could not replace my car, but that’s not what you advocate.
Quite right.
Recently did 100 miles, for the first time in 40 years.
Took me 8.5 hours.
I can see other applications as well. Perhaps a full body system for motorcyclists with separate bags for the legs and torso. I’m sure they are looking into that right now.
Those of us who ride horses at speed use something similar—an airbag you wear. I could see wearing something like this helmet for riding horses, too. The usual crash helmets are heavy and are terribly hot on summer days. There’s a continual battle between riders who like the freedom of riding hatless, and those who point ominously at riders we all know who suffered serious or fatal brain damage as the result of a gentle fall. This could work (though it’s not going to protect one in the case of a kick to the head).
My only concern is the potential for hearing damage due to the explosion required for deployment and its precarious location so close to the ears.
Is there any discussion of the sound pressure levels experienced durung deployment?
I make the 25 mile trip in 30 minutes by car. By bike, it would be more like 2 hours one way, because I couldn’t use the freeway & the roads have no shoulder. In thunderstorms (this is the monsoon season), or desert heat. Usually in the dark, tho, because I worked 12 hours shifts.
No thank you.
It’s just a vest that inflates to protect you as you come off. I don’t think it’s going to do much for you if you have a 1500-pound warmblood horse fall on top of you, but if you’re going to do an unscheduled dismount in the hunting field, it might be worth it. Not cheap, obviously.
“it actually comes from two Swedish design students named Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin. “
They didn’t build that.
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