Ever gone for a long bicycle drive in unfamiliar territory ? Probably used your phone ’s GPS to help pilot , right-hand ? commodious . However , that also pee-pee run out of succus more than just a humble annoyance . Siva Cycle ’s Atom might just puzzle out that , and a server of other electric battery military issue for the technical school - throttle biker .
The Atom , aKickstarter project that launches today , is a small equipment that connects to your motorcycle and change the mechanical , locomotor energy into an electric tutelage for your gadgets . In pragmatic terms , it will charge an iPhone one percent for every two minutes of pedaling . That should be enough to at least keep the battery meter from sink while you ’re using an intensive navigation program . It can charge your gimmick directly via let in USB cables , or it can blame its own removable 1300mAh battery , which you could take with you when you stop and use as an external battery for your phone .
The hitch for the Atom is that it ’s super little , easy to put in , and , supposedly , reliable . It ’s a low - profile , weather - proof , 10.5 ounce gimmick . It feast your gadget the same amount of power as the USB port on your reckoner ( 5 volts at 500 mAh ) , so it can consign anything your laptop can ( including lights , phones , cycle computers , and GPS devices ) .
Where Siva ’s Atom really shines is how easy it is to set up and use . You pop off your bicycle cycle ’s quick - loss , pop the Atom onto the axle , and then pop the rack back onto the motorcycle . Done . No bike shop required , no extra hardware needed . passably slick . Siva claims it delivers 80 percent efficiency — meaning 80 percent of the vim it ’s siphoning off of your pedaling actually makes its way to your appliance — which is an impressive number if it bears out . More muscularity for the same amount of pedaling . The key to that is the 3:1 internal gearing , so it ’s as if your bike ’s wheel is spinning much faster than it really is .
Of of course , adding any generator will cost your legs something . Siva estimate that using the Atom is about like adding a 0.3 percent class , which render to a verrrrrrry gentle incline , to your ride . That ’s the kind of affair your legs will get used to after a few ride ( manifestly , take it off if you ’re going to be rush ) .
It ’s no hard ( or easy ) to slip that your rear wheel , since that ’s what it ’s attached to , so you ’ll desire to make trusted you shut away your motorcycle in a fashion that the wheel ca n’t be disengaged . Or just withdraw it and take it with you .
Now , there are other bike - powered generator out there . The most uncouth ( and cheapest ) type is know as a bottle pileus source . It ’s essentially a widget that is mounted to your frame or seat - office and has a little bottle cap - comparable wheel that is spin by your spinning tire . They are , however , not super reliable , as it ’s pretty easy for the cap to become free with the rack . They also are n’t in particular efficient — they typically linger around 50 percent efficiency , with some high - end models claiming as much as 70 pct . The other eccentric of source is a dynamo hub . This is where the source is put right in to the hub of your wheel . It ’s a more effective and reliable organisation ( typically 65 to 70 percent efficiency ) , however , it has to be built into your roulette wheel , which is n’t cheap ( $ 250 - 300 , plus instilment ) . Both of these author eccentric have another problem : they deliver raw stream . For charing a widget , you need a gracious , steady current that does n’t heave or ebb base on how heavily you ’re pedaling . So for both of these types you need to buy an extra machine to govern the current and make it operable , and that machine has fix to be stored somewhere on the bicycle , typically in a saddlebag . The Atom , supposedly , lets you sidestep all that additional cost and majority .
The Atom ’s Kickstarter project launches today . The first two hundred or so can get one for the early - shuttlecock price of $ 85 . After those are gone , they ’ll go for $ 95 , which is still a estimable pot if it process as advertize . When it eventually hits retail in the fall , the MSRP will probably be $ 105 . The element are made in China and the U.S. , and they are assembled stateside . Siva is hoping to embark units in October and November of this yr . Also , there ’s a human-centred element : for every 10 Atoms they trade , they will donate one to a developing country . Warms the cockles of the heart .
Obviously , this is n’t for racer types who test to plane every gram off their bike and be as effective as possible . And it comes with the usual emptor beware warnings attach to any Kickstarter . But hypothetically at least , it ’s for the millions of bike commuter and weekend explorers . driver get to file their devices while they force back , why should n’t bicycle commuters ? [ Kickstarter ]
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