A Specialized Tarmac SL2: 15.8lbs – the same as roughly two gallons of milk. This is one of the bikes that’ll appear in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. It retails for $8,500 according to Wired’s coverage of Olympic Gear but can be found used for ~$4,900.

Whichever you ride, it definitely beats an internal combustion engine in terms of efficiency.

PS: If you’re looking for a new bike in the Rochester area, visit the guys at Trailblazer’s in Victor, NY. You’ll get free yearly tune-ups (including wheel truing) and their bikes undergo thorough pre-sale “date testing”.

“Our next-generation, hydrogen-powered vehicle is every bit BMW, but it has something more. Or less, actually. It produces near zero emissions. Which means the exhause produces water vapor, not carbon dioxide. So it reduces pollution and greenhouse gases and lessens our dependence on imported oil. Of course, with a powerful 12-cylinder engine and a top speed well over 130 mph, it’s a BMW in every way. And further proof that as a independent company, we make sure leading-edge ideas live on to become Ultimate Driving Machines.”

What’s interesting to me is that these two big companies look like they’ve both chosen to market very different messages to the same Wired readership:

• BMW is saying: “We know that you want fast, powerful cars but that you don’t like relying on foreign countries for a dirty way to power them”
• Shell is saying: “You can feel good about using oil because we’re using creative methods to make sure none goes to waste”

Enough marketing analysis. The tree-hugging skeptic in me wants to get to some numbers…

According to NYT article entitled “Exxon and Shell Report Record Profits for 2006“, Royal Dutch Shell netted 25.44 billion USD in income in 2006. A group called Friends of the Earth claim that in 2005, Shell spent a meager 1.1% of their capital investment funds on renewables. Wikipedia indicates the same was true in 2006.