The Glide Track Bike Concept
The concept is built around a custom nano-carbon frame, presumably focused on good strength to weight performance. It diverges noticeably from traditional diamond frame design, which is a big part of what makes it so cool. Other fancy features include an internal drive mechanism that eliminates the need for an external chain (read: no grease on your pant legs). Also absent are traditional brakes. This is actually not all that unusual for fixed-gear single speed bikes though. What I can't quite figure out is, how the heck do you steer the thing?
Speaking of handlebars, that's where the networking happens. Slide your iPhone into the handy dandy built-in dock and you're ready to get connected. It takes the hard work out of finding other local riders and organizing group rides. There's no need to cruise around solo (no matter how stylish your hog may be).
Designers like to produce jazzy looking concept frames like this one, to get us pondering the future of cycling. I'll confess, I've already imagined myself pedaling one around town, but I doubt I'll encounter one on the rack on any trips to my local bike shop in the near future. The thing is, road bikes have been around for decades and their basic design has changed very little. The iPhone hookup, however, is very plausible, and a great idea. Getting socially connected to locals with common interests is a big deal now, and cycling is already a very social activity. The combination of bike and phone could catch on quite quickly.
[Michael Shrewsbury via PSFK]