It seems reasonable to claim that since Q&A is about learning, Aardvark’s network-based Q&A site can be described as a type of learning network. The less obvious but, in my opinion, more interesting claim is that the design of learning networks can (and should!) be viewed as a social search problem. Illich argued this, Meetup demonstrates it quite nicely, and Grockit is moving in that direction, too. In an email exchange published last year, I suggested that the future of AI in Education will have a lot to do with social search:

I think the AIED systems of the future will be less about teaching directly, and more about providing guidance: when and how a student would benefit from working with someone else (perhaps a teacher, tutor, or peer.) When I get stuck solving a particular type of problem, who (that’s online and available) can best help me understand it? A good system will have predicted the frustrating challenge, and will have already lined up the person best-suited to explaining it to me in a way that I will understand. After I’ve demonstrated that I mastered the necessary skills, who can I then explain it to, both to help them and to clarify it for myself? A good system will be able to seamlessly coordinate this process. Through these interactions, the system will unobtrusively be learning more about me — both as a learner and as a peer-tutor — in order to improve with time.

Downright Aardvarkian.

My bicycle has a flat tire, so I’ve recently been walking to work. I seem to end up spending much of this time thinking about how to be less late when commuting without a bike. While I always follow the same route when biking to work — one that balances total distance with hilliness — I have found no clear best route for commuting by foot. My path changes the most in the Mission, where the ground is flat and the streets are on a grid. I never walk any more than necessary to get there, but I hate the idea of standing still at an intersection while waiting for a light to turn green.

The beauty of walking is that the sidewalk grid is more detailed than the road grid. A standard intersection has two crosswalks on each of the four corners. If you are trying to walk northeast, a North-facing red light isn’t a slow-down, since it will be accompanied by an East-facing green light. Since I can’t really remember which intersections have lights, I can’t really plan ahead too much. So I commute by heuristic.

So this is the sidewalker’s dilemma: When arriving at a street corner en route from Point A to Point B, how do you decide whether to turn or to walk? I’ll lay out a few variations to make things interesting. Feel free to leave your heuristics (or additional variations) in the comments:

1. Let’s start simple: There is a rectangular grid of streets with sidewalks on either side. Your work is n blocks over and m blocks down from your home.
2. Some intersections have traffic lights, but you don’t remember which ones. When you arrive at a street corner, you can see the color of the lights at that intersection.
3. You can look a block ahead of you to see if there is a light at that intersection, but you don’t know what color the light will be by the time you arrive.
4. Each light is on a different schedule, and the schedules seem to change. Lights have pedestrian crosswalk signals that count down seconds before the light turns. You can see these numbers as you approach the crosswalk. You can muster up the energy to sprint a bit to get to the intersection in time to make the light. But only some maximum number of times during the commute, because you’re not really a morning person.
5. You remember a few of the intersections that have lights and a few that do not.
6. There are several coffee shops in the neighborhood. You know where they are, you know you want a coffee, and you don’t really care where it’s from.
7. You’re running too late to walk. You head to the nearest bus stop.

Does this describe your commute? What’s your strategy?

The idea is to build an automatic continuous transmission for a bicycle, by wiring up a controller for a NuVinci CVP designed to maintain a constant level of effort from the rider.

In the past year or two, I’ve spotted articles and reviews discussing an interesting new technology for bicycles: the NuVinci CVP from Fallbrook Technologies. The “CV” of the NuVinci CVP reflect the fact that the gear ratio is continously variable: While most bicyclists are familiar with the clicking feeling of switching between discrete gears, the NuVinci CVP offers an alternative in which a continuous spectrum of gear ratios are available. The demo video gives a nice overview. While a few high-end bicycles now incorporate the NuVinci into configured bike, you can also purchase just a hub or purchase just a pre-built wheel. Most user reviews so far have been quite positive about the technology, ratio speed range (350%), and test rides, but have been less positive about the added weight (~8lbs), reduced efficiency, and price (~$400). (See the reviews at bikehugger, veloblog, and bikecommuters).

…build a controller that continually adjusts the NuVinci’s gear ratio to maintain peak efficiency.

So let’s assume for the moment that the NuVinci CVP lives up to its billing. I’m suggesting that rather than constantly adjusting the NuVinci’s “CruiseControl” twist-shifter to maximize your efficiency, we build a controller that continually adjusts the NuVinci’s gear ratio to maintain peak efficiency. If I’m not mistaken, the effect should feel something like riding a stationary exercise bike. Or am I mixing up effort, power, and cadence? I did a bit of looking and came across one off-the-shelf power output sensor (the Polar Power Output Sensor Kit), and there are a whole slew of relatively cheap cadence sensors available.

Automatic controls for gear-shifting has made a recent resurgence, thanks to the three-speed Shimano Coasting group. Bicycles built on the Coasting components (or a similar system) automatically switch gears based on the bike’s speed (?? correct me if I’m wrong on this.) The goal of the Coasting system has been to enable simple bicycle designs for non-riders, by removing those pesky hand controls for shifting and braking. Clearly I have a different goal in mind than Coasting: elegance, not simplicity.

A bicycle that automatically and continuously maintains the preferred gear ratio (or cadence?) for the rider. Too good to be true? A simple afternoon hack? Please share your thoughts on the NuFixie Challenge…

Let me start by saying that I believe in visibility. And not in the dim-red-blinky kind of way. A healthy dose of LEDs and reflective tape cover both me and my bicycle when I ride after dark. But while my 4-AA front Cateye is quite bright, and my PlanetBike SuperFlash on back is nearly unmissable, my side visibility falls short. So a few years ago I picked up a pair of Hokey Spokes, and attached one to each wheel. (These battery-powered units attach to a spoke and fill the wheel with light from 16 yellow LEDs when it is spinning.) Last week, I took off the Hokey Spokes to try out something new: the Monkeylectric Monkey Light (m132s model.) I’ll start with a few videos…

I first heard of Monkeylectric last summer, when I met Dan Goldwater in Cambridge to see his then-current prototype. Dan, the force behind it, is a bona fide Maker. Prior to Monkeylectric, he was a co-founder of Instructables, a community site for how-to’s and DIY projects. He has contributed a large number of projects there, both LED-themed and bicycle-themed, and the Monkey Light clearly draws on this body of work. Where the Monkey Light differs, however, is in accessibility: It is for sale, already assembled and ready to use.

I will compare the Monkey Light to the Hokey Spoke based on the three criteria that I believe to be most important to the bicycle commuter: enjoying the commute, practicality, and staying safe.

Enjoying the commute:
There’s no questions about it: the Monkey Light is fun. Bright colors, in a variety of patterns, constantly changing.

I’ll repeat a request I made when reviewing another fun bicycle accessory: I’d like to see the lights blink to the beat of the music, a la iTunes Visualizer. Dan has posted schematics online, so perhaps this may not be impossible after all. If you figure this one out, please let me know…

Practicality:
Installation does take some time, but you only need to do it once. The included instructions are a bit skimpy, but Dan has posted a detailed guide on Instructables, which I recommend printing out. The unit is attached to spokes with zip-ties, and a set of rubber spacers eliminates any rattling. The Hokey Spokes, on the other hand, rattle incessantly, regardless of how much they are tightened. On the other hand, they were designed to be easily removable (with a screwdriver), and that does advantages over zip ties. I used the Hokey Spokes in the winter, when I ride home in the dark, but take them off in the summer, when it remains light longer. Now that the Monkey Light is zip-tied on, it’s not coming off again (unless someone cuts it off.) One suggestion: Before using the zip-ties, think about which side of the bike you stand on more often, and orient the Monkey Light so that the buttons are accessible from that side of the bike.

Unfortunately, the battery cage of the Monkey Light is not water-proof. You can either remove the batteries when parked outside on rainy days, or follow Dan’s Instructable on waterproofing the batteries, themselves. On the other hand, everything electronic outside of the battery cage has been coated with a water-proof layer, so you can use it in wet weather, if you so choose. The Monkeylectric website has photos of wheels partially-submerged in puddles during a downpour, to reassure you. I have yet to leave mine in the rain, but will update this review once I do… Monkey Lights now ship with a waterproof rubber cover for the battery cage, which works just fine.

When it comes to bicycle accessories for daily commuting, my preference is generally for road-ready manufactured products over homemade DIY products. Rain, snow, salt, constant jostling, and potholes are eventually unavoidable, and so my bicycle and the things on it must be able to handle that. So while it looks like a great project, I haven’t assembled a SpokePOV kit. Aside from the Hokey Spokes, there are other approaches to side-lighting for bicyclists. Commute by Bike reviewed the Pedalite Self-Generating Luminescent Bike Pedals earlier this year, and while it doesn’t look particularly bright, it wins points for not requiring any batteries.

Hokey Spokes do offer one feature missing from the Monkey Light: multi-unit synching. This is a cool trick in theory, but I found that the IR sensors were often triggered by bright sunlight, and frequently found them already running when I returned to my bicycle at the end of the day (Partially covering the sensors with electric tape solved the problem.) This synching and the fully-waterproof enclosure were two areas that the Monkey Light still lags behind. Perhaps next revision.

Staying safe:
The Monkey Light is significantly brighter than the Hokey Spokes (I included a direct comparison photo in the gallery above.) So to the extent that higher visibility means increased road safety, that’s good. I’m a bit worried about the swirling color light show being too visible, and causes a distraction to drivers, so, for the time being, I’ve been setting it to a single-color (orange.)

Summary: If you are concerned about cars not seeing you at intersections, the Monkey Light is a remarkably bright wheel-based light set. The customizability, hackability, and color variations may be unnecessary for a visibility-focused commuter, but hey, they definitely add to the fun.

Dan is offering a discount to readers of Bits and Bikes. Use coupon code “BIKECULT” when ordering to receive a 10% discount at the Monkeylectric web store. You can also purchase the Monkey Light through Amazon.

The Soul Cycle mobile audio systems look excellent, but are clearly overkill for commuters (at $475 for a head-unit that still requires speakers, or $3200 for a complete Soul Cycle Classic). I also liked the idea of a DIY solution, like the Bike Stereo instructable, but I’m always skeptical about how the DIY projects and kits will fare in commuting conditions (jostling from bumps on uneven roads, moisture from rain and snow, etc.)

Enter the iHome IH85B Bike to Beach Speaker System for iPod…

What is this? First and foremost, the iH85B is designed specifically for an iPod with a dock connector. This is the only audio interface, so if your music is on a Zune, Blackberry, or even an iPod Shuffle, there’s nothing to see here. This is an iPod speaker for your bicycle, and not a bicycle speaker for your iPod. Two aspects of the design are bicycle-specific. The speaker itself has been designed to fit in a water bottle cage (either your own or the one provided). And the iPod can be controlled with a wireless remote that is handlebar-mounted (but removable for when you park your bike.) The remote includes all of the standard buttons: play/pause, previous/next track, volume up/down.

I’ve been using this speaker for about a month of commuting, and am happy to report that it has been a fantastic addition to my day. Music plays loud and clear, the handlebar-mounted controls are easy to use (even with gloves on!), and the attention to design is clear. Including batteries and my 4G thick iPod, the whole setup weighs just over 2 lbs. But these are definitely the most fun 2 lbs that I’ve added to my (70 lb) commute, so the weight has been fully justified.

Functionality:
The iH85B speaker itself only has a single button (power on/off). I was pleasantly surprised to find that turning the speaker on also turns on the iPod (and starts the music playing). Turning the speaker off also turns the iPod off. Nice! The controls on the remote are well-designed and can be used without looking down. The remote communicates with the speaker wirelessly, and I have noticed occasional problems with the connection dropping (and the remote being ignored.) I think that adding audio feedback (a beep or blip) when a button is pressed would help here.

twist it open to set up the iPod

the wireless remote clicks into a handlebar mount

Power:
This speaker runs off of 4 AA batteries, which makes it sufficiently loud for most commutes. I’ve never needed to turn the volume up to the max limit, which is great. The box includes an AC adapter plug, which simultaneously powers the speaker and recharges the iPod inside. Sounds great, but this is of little value to the bicycle commuter. It means that you can use it as a speaker at home, but if you already have a good sound system, this will power adaptor will likely end up in a drawer (along with the included case and extra iPod inserts.) I haven’t tested the limits on battery life, as I generally recharge mine over the weekend. I’d love to see a version that runs on a battery pack, that recharges using the included power cable. If it didn’t affect the price much, that is. The only real drawback I found here is that the remote control runs off of two CR2032 coin cell batteries, which cannot be recharged. I haven’t had to replace these yet, but once I do I’ll add an estimated lifetime here.

inside, iPod docks on one side, 4 AA batteries sit in the other.

Fit:
I found fit to be a weak point. The speaker can be squeezed into an existing water bottle cage, but you’re much better off installed the included plastic cage, which is slightly wider. I initially installed it on my seat tube (I prefer to leave the down-tube for a water bottle), but found that the snap-closure mechanism on the new cage couldn’t quite clear the position of the other cage. I swapped the two, giving me a setup just like the bike diagram above. I’d like to see future versions of the cage allow more clearance for double-cage use, ideally allowing for seat tube mounting. I’ve also had some trouble with the remote. Removing it from the handlebar mount is often quite difficult, due to a poorly-cut corner on the mounting. Are others having this same problem? My favorite aspect of the design is that it can be carried easily off-bike. The remote control “puck” snaps into the main unit, simultaneously protecting the speaker grill and the remote buttons. I stick the whole thing in the side of shoulder bag, where it fits perfectly in the water-bottle side pocket. Nice!

cage design should be revised to sit higher on tube

One corner of the mounting square catches.

It fits nicely anywhere a water bottle would!

The remote doubles as a cap for the speaker grill when not in use!

Overview:
Overall, iHome hit on a great idea here, designing a wire-free sound system that can easily attached, controlled, removed, and carried. The wireless remote is great (as long as it works), and the overall design feels rugged and commuter-ready. How could this product be improved? Fix the location of the cage mounting holes, slim down the unit (if possible, to fit cleanly in an existing cage), add some audio cues to the remote button presses for feedback, and of course, make it more visible. I stuck a few reflectors on the sides of mine, but would really love to see a version with LEDs built into the sides of the unit, pulsing lights to the beat of the music.

Purchasing an iHome iH85B speaker through the Amazon links provided in this post helps support the Bits and Bike blog.