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A bike that cleans the air while you ride

By | February 6, 2013, 11:05 AM PST

Forget selling cans of fresh air to smog-inhaling Beijing residents. Entrepreneurs looking to profit on bad urban air quality in China should check out this bike design that produces fresh air to breath as you ride. Matt Hope, who is living in Beijing, came up with the idea for the “Breathing Bike” and explains how the concept works.

As Hope explains, the major problem holding back the design is safety. Not being able to ride in the rain for fear of electrocution is a major drawback (at least there’s a built-in helmet!). But it’s the first step toward a really fascinating product idea. If 8 million (essentially worthless) cans of fresh air can be sold in China, it seems like a product that helps people get around safely (if the design can be tweaked to avoid electrocution) would be popular. In Beijing biking has declined, but a product like this could turn that around.

I wonder what other innovations we’ll see come out of Beijing’s air pollution problem.

[Via Grist]

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Tyler Falk

About Tyler Falk

Tyler Falk is a contributing editor for SmartPlanet.

Tyler Falk

Tyler Falk

Contributing Editor

Tyler Falk freelance journalist based in Washington, D.C. Previously, he was with Smart Growth America and Grist. He holds a degree from Goshen College.

Follow him on Twitter.

Tyler Falk

Tyler Falk

Tyler does not have financial holdings that would influence how or what he covers.

He writes for SmartPlanet and is not an employee of CBS.

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0 Votes
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Yikes
That looks like a Buck type circuit. I'm not sure I'd want that much capacitance able to ground itself through my testicles... Its not the 5KV, every time you get a shock off something its four or five times that voltage. Those caps might not stop his heart but they'll definitely make him wish they had.

Way to remove yourself from the gene pool - and maybe live to tell the tale...
Posted by SiO2
6th Feb
0 Votes
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Crappy design
With the gap he has in the back of that filter you would not get much clean air either. Seems like a Rube Goldberg fix to me.
Posted by RobertMoore12@...
7th Feb
0 Votes
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Ingenious !!
We thank you for sharing your ingenious ideas.
Posted by love2learn
7th Feb
0 Votes
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Kinda makes you think...
If a bicycle can filter air, how much air could a larger vehicle filter? What if every vehicle in china ran some sort of hepa or water filter? That smog might be gone in a couple weeks and people could breathe easy again.
Posted by i8thecat4
7th Feb
0 Votes
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An idea which will never take off...
not without the study that shows what kind of benefit the bikes would have on clean air.

The study should come first, and before implementation.

If the idea is that, only the rider gets the benefit of his clean air, then, it becomes a license for the big air polluting plants to not worry about keeping their exhaust gases clean. Why worry about a problem that each individual is supposed to handle on his own?

Perhaps much more clean air would be gotten by taking that bucket/filter at the back of each rider, an having it collect any methane produced by the rider, and turning it into clean air, or a solid or condensed gas which could be disposed of? happy Likewise, why not have a similar bucket at the back of each farm animal.

Heck, perhaps a methane collecting diaper which could be worn by all humans, would have a much better effect towards clean air, than that bicycle contraption.
Posted by adornoe
7th Feb
0 Votes
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adornoe...you are SOOOO wrong!
First, proven benefits aren't necessary, or you'd never sell 8 million cans of 'fresh air.'
Or billions of liters of bottled city water.

Second, it is not only the rider who benefits, the exhaust air is WAY cleaner than the input.

The prototype is a bit awkward and dangerous, but neither problem is major, everything I see that needs fixing can be re-engineered in a new, smaller, safer design.

I'd probably revise the design so that the air entered the back of the helmet and the helmet had a full face shield, which would eliminate the fan on top, and greatly reduce the awkwardness of the physical rig. The electronics can be both reduced in size and insulated. The electrostatic precipitator doesn't need to be that large, the prototype was built (as are most) using the closest things which would work that were readily available.

Your comments about methane are not relevant to the issue.
Posted by wizoddg
7th Feb
0 Votes
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Yeah, sure. By the time you finish making all the necessary modifications,
and have the device turned into anything practical and safe, you will no longer be talking about a bicycle, but a vehicle close to the size of a motorcycle and close to a golf-cart, or even a tiny EV.

But, creating such a bicycle or vehicle, will be like a license to the smog inducing companies to just carry on as usual or to even create more smog. After all, the people will create their own clean air, individually. NUTS!!!
Posted by adornoe
7th Feb
0 Votes
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And, oh, yeah.... Isn't methane considered to be a pollutant by
the environmentalists? If clean air is a priority, why not a device which captures methane at the source? wink

Cow farts are believed to be causing a lot of the damage that causes global warming. So were told. Then, why not go with a practical solution to clean up the mess at the source. wink
Posted by adornoe
7th Feb
0 Votes
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Extra Effort
So, this bicycle has a generator attached, which pulls power from the wheel. This means that the rider has to peddle harder in order to go slower. That's a great idea! I'm sure everyone will love riding inefficient bikes.

I also noted that this design only filters out the larger particulates. Great for ash, but no effect on most gaseous forms of smog. What the HEPA rating is for the particles pulled out of suspension is not given.

Finally, the problems identified with the electronic voltage multiplier can be solved with a simple plastic case around the parts.

Just a few reasons why this will not work, as seen by an engineer.
Posted by YetAnotherBob
10th Feb
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