Bicycle with USB port lets you pedal power your gadgets
This new bicycle sports a built in dynamo-powered USB port to charge your gadgets while you ride.
Silverback Technologie Starke 1
Would you pedal your bike just a little bit harder if it meant arriving at your destination with a fully charged smartphone or MP3 player? German based bicycle designers and manufacturers, Silverback Technologie, are betting that you would – and they’ve got the bikes to make it happen. Silverback’s latest crop of city bikes includes the Starke 1 and 2 which are furnished with a USB port in the head tube of both bike’s frames. A hub dynamo powered by the rotation of the front wheel provides the USB port with enough juice to run the bike’s Supernova lighting system or charge “low-voltage” USB devices including iPhones and iPods.
“Seventy percent of humans will be living in cities by 2050 and Silverback has realized that effect urban mobility will play a vital role. We have thus embraced the innovations of integration and automation.” -Silverback Technologie
The Supernova E3 Pro lighting system included on these bikes speaks directly to Silverback’s forward thinking; this dynamo powered line of LED lights is designed to withstand the heat of California, British weather and German winters. Both the Starke 1 and 2 are nine-speed bikes and are built around a “Flow Formed Nickel Alloy” frame. The stylish and functional pair employ both front and rear disc brakes and weigh in around 30 pounds. The Starke 1 comes in lime green, silver or black and the Starke 2 in either red or white.
The Starke 1 and 2 are one-size-fits-all, with the stem being adjusted for different rider heights. One of the main differences between the two models is that the Starke 1 features motor-assisted travel which offers 100w towards climbing those hills. If 100w isn’t cutting it, there’s an extra 100w available by holding down a button on the handlebar for five seconds – let’s hope it’s labeled “turbo boost”.
These types of innovations rarely come cheap and while the Starke twins aren’t the most expensive bikes on the block with the Starke 1 at $2,999 funding the purchase may involve selling a couple of the very gadgets it could charge. In addition, being a “low-voltage” system you’re still going to need another solution for charging your tablet – one step at a time. Whether or not a little extra sweat is worth being able to charge your gadgets off-the-grid may be debatable, but one thing is for certain – if you’re heading down hill, it’s all gravy.
Would you pedal harder to charge your gear?
[via popgadget]
My Dad has one of these only it has two extra wheels, and sits five in luxurious butter soft leather comfort and so far every time I get in the charging system requires very little pedal strain. Apparently, the same four-wheeler comes in many differing colours and is capable in any climate, winter cold in the summers heat and desert hot during winters cold breathe and otherwise one button adjustable. Oh and way more aerodynamic.
So that would be a no, at least not for this reason. I like my bike because it is a bike and I enjoy riding around the area.
This actually kind of reminds me of a hamster wheel generator. That said, it’s an interesting concept… but I think you’d still have to be pretty serious about biking to consider paying that kind of money for the bike.
the article states that there is a motor in the stowed in the seat bag….it should say, there is a battery in the seat bag to provide the power assist
Thanks bob, I’ve updated the article.
Pretty cool to have the USB port integrated into the head tube. Apart from that, the concept isn’t new. I’ve been using wheels with dynamo hubs and an adapter from Pedal Power+ (http://www.pedalpower.com.au) for nearly five years on my touring and road bikes. I use it to recharge my GPS, camera, cellphone, iPod etc while riding. Good dynamo hubs like those from Schmidt or Shimano have no noticeable drag, even when putting out their full 3W of power. As a bonus, dynamo-powered lights never need new batteries!
Gee… an electric dynamo on the front wheel of a bicycle. What a novel idea. I used to have one of those on my bicycle way back in the 1960s. It powered the bike’s front and back lights.
Sure, I had one of those too. They were not very efficient though as they sure slowed you down and the light would fade if you moved too slow. Furthermore they did not take a lot of vibration on a dirt road or anything that was not a smooth surface. Try having your light cut out after going over an uneven train crossing because the dynamo slipped or having it start to bounce off your spokes as it slips and you are in heavy traffic and have it jam into them as you slow down to get off the road, very scary. They also added friction to the side of the tire and made them weaker. At least nowadays these dynamos work differently and the lights don’t require as much juice. However they still have the same basic flaw and that is the power is limited. I much prefer using a battery operated light and rechargeable batteries or lithiums.
Too expensive and a bit lazish if more common. Otherwise nice idea if created and designed just right.