This morning while researching material for TechStuff Live, I ran across a post by Ars Technica’s Ben Kuchera about a nifty device for kids called the Gyrowheel, from a company called Gyrobike. It’s really pretty simple. It’s a bicycle wheel that has another wheel inside (where you’d normally see spokes). The wheel spins and keeps the bike stable when the child is riding, and it eliminates the need for training wheels — take a look for yourself and see on the company’s demo video:
Here’s another demonstration, this one with a live human!
Pretty neat, huh? According to Gyrobike, the spinning disc inside the wheel uses a principle called gyroscopic procession that keeps the whole thing upright. The disc inside spins under power from a rechargeable battery, and carries a charge for several hours. As Kuchera pointed out in his article, there are three settings that provide differing levels of stability for kids learning to ride. At the maximum setting, the wheel will stand on its own for several seconds. The idea here is that kids will learn to ride quickly and without having to re-learn to ride without training wheels.
The company said that the technology was under development for two years and has been patented. But they’re not yet available for sale — the 12-inch (30.5-centimeter) wheel will be on sale starting in December for about $100. There will be other sizes available later. And although Gyrobike doesn’t currently make bicycles, the company Web site says there’s a full Gyrobike coming next year.
Very neat stuff.
For more on gyroscopic technology and other related stuff, take a look at these links:
How Gyroscopes Work
How Bicycles Work
How Segways Work
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