Taking a queue from the hybrid car designers, MIT has shown off what it views as the future of must-have bike accessories.  The concept, called the Copenhagen Wheel, is a set of intelligent components encased in the rear wheel; a battery, electric motor, bluetooth to communicate speeds to an iPhone, and various other tech.  As you slow down, the sensor detects the speed change, and uses the braking to charge up the battery.  As you speed up, the sensor detects this, and kicks in the motor to help you out …

I thought this was simply incredible.  Frank Schleck takes a dive right over a railing into a ravine while going 40 miles an hour.  Not only was he uninjured; he finished the race!
Take a look at the following video.

Ever wonder how your bicycle helmet (or one similar…) is made?

I was actually quite surprised at the amount of manual labor that goes into creating the helmets.
The stress testing of the helmets was pretty rudimentary though. I was positive they did more to test the helmets, but apparently not much more. Check out the U.S. CPSC lab used for testing the helmets.
While we’re on the topic of helmets, make sure to do a quick check for your helmet in the list of recalls. You definitely don’t want …