One of the most popular evergreen toys is also one of the simplest, wooden track with push-along trains. We all know the brand name, and savvy parents know to pick up the much cheaper knock-off because the kid won’t know the difference. But a really cool kid shouldn’t have to push their train around by hand, and thus [Lauri] has given the wooden track a real, powered, locomotive.

In the 3D printed chassis goes a small geared motor driving one axle, with an ESP32 and a motor driver taking care of the smarts. Power comes from an 18650 cell, which almost looks like the right scale for a fake steam boiler. The surprise with this train comes in the front axle, this machine has steering. We’re curious, because isn’t the whole point of a train that the track directs it where it needs to go? Or perhaps a little help is required in the absence of a child’s guidance when it comes to points. Either way, with remote control we guess there would be few kids who wouldn’t want one. We certainly do.

Ignoring the International Cycling Union‘s mostly arbitrary rules for what a bicycle is “supposed” to look like (at least if you want to race), there are actually reasons that the bicycling world has standardized around a few common parts and designs. Especially regarding the drivetrain, almost all bikes use a chain, a freewheel, and a derailleur if there are gears to shift because these parts are cheap, reliable, and easy to repair. But if you’re off grid in a place like Africa, even the most reliable bikes won’t quite cut it. That’s why a group called World Bicycle Relief designed and built the Buffalo bicycle, and the latest adds a second gear with a unique freewheel.

Bicycling YouTuber [Berm Peak] takes us through the design of this bike in his latest video which is also linked below. The original Buffalo bicycle was extremely rugged and durable, with a rear rack designed to carry up to 200 pounds and everything on the bike able to be repaired with little more than an adjustable wrench. The new freewheel adds a second gear to the bike which makes it easier to use it in hilly terrain, but rather than add a complicated and hard-to-repair derailleur the freewheel adds a second chain instead, and the rider can shift between the two gears by pedaling backwards slightly and then re-engaging the pedals.

Of course a few compromises had to be made here. While the new freewheel is nearly as rugged as the old one, it’s slightly more complex. However, they can be changed quite easily with simple tools and are small, affordable, and easy to ship as well. The bike also had to abandon the original coaster brake, but the new rim brakes are a style that are also easy to repair and also meant that the bike got a wheel upgrade as well. Bicycles like these are incredibly important in places where cars are rare or unaffordable, or where large infrastructure needed to support them is unreliable or nonexistent. We’ve seen other examples of bicycles like these being put to work in places like India as well.

Thanks to [Keith] for the tip!

Nissan started off with a massive lead in the electric vehicle industry — their Leaf was the first mass-market EV available and the highest-selling EV until 2020. But the company has begun to lag behind other automotive manufacturers and their more diverse, modern offerings. As an example, the Leaf still doesn’t have active cooling for its battery packs. On the plus side, though, these cars are pretty easy to work on and parts for them are widely available. This includes the battery pack and motor, which can be dropped in to other non-EV Nissan products like this Nissan Frontier.

For conversions using the Leaf battery pack and motor, [Paul] points out that it’s important to find the motor with the inverter and power distribution unit all integrated together, rather than sourcing them all separately since they don’t always mix-and-match well. There are several third-party parts available for getting these motors running in other applications, including a coupler to mate the motor to a transmission. However, this still needs some custom fabrication to properly attach to the Frontier’s drivetrain. With a new controller as well, the Frontier engine can be pulled, the Leaf engine dropped in, and the battery set into the bed and connected.

A followup video shows [Paul] driving his new EV down a neighborhood street, but it looks like there are still a few things to polish up before it’s ready to hit the open highway including a more robust housing for the battery. But, if donor vehicles can be found like a truck body and Leaf drivetrain components, this type of modification can be done for a surprisingly small cost. These EV batteries can also be put to work as home power banks as well.

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