Green Thinking for the Average Joe » bike http://www.ecojoes.com Green mess, eco-friendly experiments, and environmental news mess Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:14:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 How to Charge Your Phone with Your Bike http://www.ecojoes.com/how-to-charge-your-phone-with-your-bike/ http://www.ecojoes.com/how-to-charge-your-phone-with-your-bike/#comments Fri, 11 Jun 2010 21:42:59 +0000 ecojoe http://www.ecojoes.com/?p=850

Have you ever wanted to charge your cell phone, but didn’t want to waste precious electricity that you had to pay for? Well now you can get some exercise AND charge your phone for free, because good ol’ Nokia just came out with a bike phone charger!

How do I Charge my Phone with a Bike?

The Nokia Bicycle Charger Kit is attached to your bicycle. As you pedal your bike, it powers a small generator that transfers electricity to a charger on your handlebar. Voíla, just that easy.

How Much Pedaling To Charge Cell Phone?

I’ll let Nokia answer this question; Nokia, the floor is yours:

“To begin charging, a cyclist needs to travel around six kilometers per hour (four miles per hour), and while charging times will vary depending on battery model, a 10-minute journey at 10 kilometers per hour (six miles per hour) produces around 28 minutes of talk time or 37 hours of standby time. The faster you ride, the more battery life you generate.”

That sounds pretty good to me. Plus, it only costs around $20. So if you’re down for biking and charging your cell phone at the same time, this might just be the ticket for you.

]]> http://www.ecojoes.com/how-to-charge-your-phone-with-your-bike/feed/ 6 Bamboo Bike | A Bike Made From Bamboo http://www.ecojoes.com/bamboo-bike/ http://www.ecojoes.com/bamboo-bike/#comments Thu, 14 Feb 2008 21:16:43 +0000 ecojoe http://www.ecojoes.com/bamboo-bike/
Update: This is on the front page of Hugg, so por favor vote for it!

TADOW

Have you ever ridden a bike? Have you experienced the unmitigated exuberance that rushes through your body as you accelerate to the max whilst riding a bike down a hill? ‘Cause I know I have. Bikes truly are t-riffic (especially this energy generating green bike).

But now, thanks to Calfee Design, they are even greater. This guy makes bamboo bikes, which look awesome AND are strong as heck. Plus, since they’re made from bamboo instead of carbon fiber, they have a lower carbon footprint than normal bikes.

bike-de-bamboo.JPGI hear you ask, “Hold up. Will the bamboo break?”. I am proud to answer, “NO”. Instead of using fragile fresh bamboo, Calfee uses special heat-treated bamboo, which makes for a stronger bike frame and dampens vibrations.

But to get one of these green bikes made from bamboo, you gots to pay a lot of green. The cheapest bamboo bike frame Calfee sells is about $1,700, so start saving your money if you’re planning on getting one of these mamma jammas.

]]> http://www.ecojoes.com/bamboo-bike/feed/ 48 The Green Bike http://www.ecojoes.com/the-green-bike-that-generates-electricity/ http://www.ecojoes.com/the-green-bike-that-generates-electricity/#comments Fri, 18 Jan 2008 03:51:36 +0000 ecojoe http://www.ecojoes.com/the-green-bike-that-generates-electricity/
A Shocking StoryLast spring, two of my friends went to work building a bicycle generator. They slaved away on it for literally a couple days, but eventually it was ready to be tested. Me and Tiff stopped by for this special occasion; Thanh and Billy had hooked up the bike generator to a lamp. All we needed was a volunteer to ride the electrical monstrosity. After a moment of trepidation, I bravely stepped forward to offer my bike pedaling services, and as night fell in the thriving metropolis of Raleigh, I began pedaling…


Amazingly, it did not explode in a deadly shower of sparks. It worked. We had invented… ELECTRICITY. As that realization hit us, Captain Planet flew into the room, and everybody high-fived. It was awesome.Update: WRAL is going to put this on the news. The bad news is that we have to put the bike generator back together, as it’s been through some mess since last May.

]]> http://www.ecojoes.com/the-green-bike-that-generates-electricity/feed/ 6 Bus, Bikes, and Cars http://www.ecojoes.com/ride-bikes-or-bus-instead-o-cars/ http://www.ecojoes.com/ride-bikes-or-bus-instead-o-cars/#comments Fri, 16 Nov 2007 20:07:12 +0000 ecojoe http://www.ecojoes.com/ride-bikes-or-bus-instead-o-cars/
Next time you’re thinking about hopping in your car and driving somewhere, por favor consider riding a bike or taking the bus (if possible). Not only will you save money (it costs approximately 40 cents a mile to operate a car), but you’ll be polluting less AND helping to clear up congested roads. Plus, if you ride a bike, you’ll be getting swole at the same time from the exercise.

Dang, look at all that saved space!

Here’s another example to make you think twice about skipping the bus and driving in yo’ car.

]]> http://www.ecojoes.com/ride-bikes-or-bus-instead-o-cars/feed/ 4 Use Bikes Instead of Cars In College http://www.ecojoes.com/bike-benefits-for-college-students/ http://www.ecojoes.com/bike-benefits-for-college-students/#comments Mon, 08 Oct 2007 15:49:21 +0000 ecojoe http://www.ecojoes.com/bike-benefits-for-college-students/ Last year, when I was still in college, I used my bike pretty much every day. Why, you may ask? Welp, here are my top three reasons to bike instead of drive.

Save Money By Biking

The initial investment to get a bike can be as expensive as you want, but it’s pretty easy to get a cheap (or even free) bike. I got my bike as a birthday present back in 8th grade, but it’s still going strong. I had to get it fixed up at one point, though, so I took it to 1304 Bikes here in Raleigh. They fix up old bikes and give them away, and they were able to help tell me how to fix my bike. If you are buying a bike, look on OhSoHandy or other websites to find some great deals on used bikes.

The biggest way that biking saves you money, though, is because of all the money you’ll be saving by not driving your car. If you cut out all the gas that you normally buy, plus all the repair costs of your car, you’ll be surprised at how much money you’ll save. It’s a big reason why I was financially able to get through college without having loans out the ying yang.

Look at all that non-polluting going on!Lower Your Pollution and Your Eco-Footprint

If you’re using your bicycle, you’ll be creating a lot less pollution (zero, believe it or not) than by driving your car to get to places. Cars use up a lot of resources (gasoline and oil especially) and also are a huge source of pollution in today’s modern dog-eat-dog world. In fact, driving a car is the most polluting thing that an average person does. So riding a bike (and not driving your car as much) is a great way to cut down on that hefty ol’ eco-footprint of yours.  Plus, by riding your bike, you can enjoy all the natural scenery that you’ll be biking past, instead of concentrating on the back of the car in front of you while you’re in a traffic jam.

Get Yo’self Some Exercise And Wake Up

In college, I had a job that required me to be on campus pretty early (2:00 AM on Wednesdays!). The only thing that woke me up for that shift (besides good ol’ coffee) was biking about 2 miles to get there. Biking helped wake me up and keep me all energized for the whole day, whether I was going to class or work. Plus, it kept me in pretty good shape, even though me and my friends would eat a bunch at the dining hall. Without biking, I probably would have been morbidly obese and sleeping through all of my classes.

Alarm ClockGet To Class On Time

Now I know most of you have probably never been late for class ever, but back in the day, I was usually about 5 to 10 minutes late (especially for those huge auditorium classes).  The embarassment and shame this caused me was almost too much to handle, but then I got me a bike and have never looked back since.  It’s amazing how much faster you can get around on campus by using a bicycle.  You can fly by people, and make it across campus in about a quarter of the time that it takes to walk.  So do yourself a favor if you’re in college (or even if you’re not), and go get a bike.  After a week of using it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t start biking sooner.

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