If you’ve worked on a high-end mountain or road bike for any length of time, you have likely cursed the Presta valve. This humble century-old invention is the bane of many a home and professional mechanic. What if there is a better option? [Seth] decided to find out by putting four valves on a single […]
It doesn’t matter if its a Vespa or a Peterbilt truck — if you ignore the maintenance needs of your vehicle, you do so at your own peril. But it can be difficult enough to keep track of basic oil changes, to say nothing of keeping records on what parts were changed when. Instead of […]
Many of us could have been lucky enough to have some form of pedal go-kart in our formative years, and among such lucky children there can have been few who did not wish for their ride to have a little power. Zipping around the neighborhood remained a strenuous affair though, particularly for anyone whose hometown […]
A few years ago, [Jeremy Makes Things] built a rope tow in his back yard so his son could ski after school. Since the lifts at the local hill closed shortly after schools let out, this was the only practical way for his son to get a few laps in during the week. It’s cobbled […]
As consumers worldwide slowly make the switch from internal combustion vehicles to lower-carbon equivalents, a few concerns have appeared about electric vehicles. Range anxiety is ebbing away as batteries become bigger and chargers become more frequent, but a few well-publicized incidents have raised worries over fire safety. Lithium-ion batteries can ignite in the wrong circumstances, […]
Long before the first airplanes took to the skies, humans had already overcome gravity with the help of airships. Starting with crude hot air balloons, the 18th century saw the development of more practical dirigible airships, including hydrogen gas balloons. On 7 January 1785, French inventor, and pioneer of gas balloon flight Jean-Pierre Blanchard would […]
One-wheels use motion-tracking hardware and fine motor control to let you balance on a single wheel. That’s neat and all, but [Michael Rechtin] had another idea in mind—what if a one-wheel used a track instead? The idea behind the track was to make the one-wheel more capable on surfaces where wheels simply can’t compete. The […]
If you think sonic booms from supersonic aircraft are a nuisance, wait until the sky is full of planes propelled by up-scaled versions of this interesting but deafening audio resonance engine. Granted, there’s a lot of work to do before this “Sonic Ramjet” can fly even something as small as an RC plane. Creator [invalid_credentials] […]
The current Edison Motors semi-truck prototype. (Credit: Edison Motors) Canadian start-up Edison Motors may not seem like much at first glance — consisting of fewer than two dozen people in a large tent — but their idea of bringing series hybrid technology to semi-trucks may just have wheels. The concept and Edison Motors’ progress is […]
There are a few vehicles on the road that are targeted often by car thieves, whether that’s because they have valuable parts, the OEM security is easily bypassed, or even because it’s an antique vehicle that needs little more than a screwdriver to get started. For those driving one of these vehicles an additional immobilization […]