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Most cycle-commuters will tell you cycling to work is the best way to get to and from work and it's probably doing you some good. However a recent major study, published in the British Medical Journal, suggests that the health benefits are staggering, slashing the risk of heart disease and cancer. FTFA:
Research has consistently shown that people who are less physically active are both more likely to develop health problems like heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and to die younger. Yet there is increasing evidence that physical activity levels are on the decline.
The problem is that when there are many demands on our time, many people find prioritising exercise difficult. One answer is to multi-task by cycling or walking to work. We've just completed the largest ever study into how this affects your health.
You can read an article here at The Conversation website and you the original research is here at the BMJ website.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday September 08 2017, @01:17PM (4 children)
I had a motorcycle when I was young and invincible and it was great because I never suffered traffic, could always find a parking space, and it got me lots of girls. But now the only way I would ride one again, certainly a self-driving one, would be if it had the form of a Tron light cycle, enclosed with climate control and safety features. It continues to amaze me that nobody has built such a machine yet.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Immerman on Friday September 08 2017, @03:33PM
You either haven't looked hard enough, or don't appreciate the difficulty of the problem. There's actually a number of attempts at such a thing.
I believe that the problem is that such an enclosure adds considerable weight, much of it above the rider, which makes it far more difficult to steer and balance. Add a crash cage instead of just weather protection, and that weight goes up dramatically. You could make the whole thing(sans engine) out of carbon-fiber composites and keep the weight down to something manageable, but that makes the price skyrocket. And you still have the issue of needing to put your feet down when you stop to maintain balance - so there's a limit to how enclosed you can actually be (or alternately add mechanized "stopping feet", for more cost and potential for a rather embarrassing mechanical or computer failure)
The alternative is to take the driver's weight out of the steering equation - for example by adding gyroscopic stabilization, resulting in a bike that pretty much can't be pushed over, even when stopped, and leans itself when turning to maintain optimal stability. I assume it costs you some of the visceral feel of riding though, and comes with a hefty price tag (not sure I've actually seen one with a weather or crash cage)
Or alternately, you add a third wheel for stability. Which when combined with a weather shell would seem to me to basically just be a small three wheel car, though there are some fun variations, such as my personal favorite the Carver, which includes a hydraulic leaning system so you still get the fun of leaning into the turns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK4wzBYmTIo [youtube.com]
Regardless of which path you take though, you're pretty much paying enough for at least a mid-range car, which is obviously far more practical even if it is less fun, which severely reduces your potential market. That's what got Carver, which went bankrupt in 2009 for lack of sufficient market for their 30,000 Euro toy.
(Score: 2) by Unixnut on Friday September 08 2017, @05:22PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_C1 [wikipedia.org]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_motorcycle [wikipedia.org]
It has been done. Perhaps not to the level of Tron bikes, but as much as is feasibly possible while keeping the things affordable. As with almost everything you see around you, engineering is about compromises.
Also, there has got to be demand for it. Unless you have the benefit of massive government subsides, you won't be able to make a dent with an alternative vehicle before you go bankrupt.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by rleigh on Friday September 08 2017, @07:30PM (1 child)
See the Monotracer for one production example.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday September 08 2017, @08:03PM
That's not bad. Thanks.
Washington DC delenda est.