Lookie at what I got here: a “Click” multi-tool.
January 2008 Archives
China is getting hammered by the worst weather in 50 years and with millions of people riding bikes, that’s creating lots of chaos. Sure, in Seattle we’re weather wusses compared to Canada or other really cold places, but I don’t think any of us have it this bad …
AP Photo by Eugene Hoshiko.
We posted on bamboo bikes previously, but not a bike carrying bamboo … and a lot of it.
Yield to Life is a new campaign founded and fronted by US Pro Dave Zabriskie. The site has some well-constructed articles on how to act properly on your bike to stay safe. The 10 Safety Tips For Motorists should be a must-read for all drivers…but oh well. I’ve pasted the Cyclist Tips below:
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Ever notice how Lady Fortune has a brutal sense of humour? I’m at the Lapierre Cycles presentation. Seattle Bike Supply and Lapierre had a raffle for a Lapierre X.Lite cyclocross frameset, and who wins it? This little kid named Reuben (see picture left). Yes, of course, Reuben’s dad is the real lucky one, but I’m still ticked that he used his kid to win. I mean, I thought I was clever using my girlfriend’s ticket to improve my odds but clearly I was outsmarted. Next time I’ll need to bring in a daycare center or some homeless people to get more raffle tickets in my hands. Don’t I deserve swag?
Last Friday, Gilles Lapierre (seen here on the left with Seattle Bike Supply’s Tim Rutledge) was in town to present the 2008 Lapierre bicycle line. Mr. Lapierre, whose grandfather founded the company in 1946, is hoping to steadily expand into the US market with a selection of performance road and mountain bikes.
The Yuba is rolling out in the UK and Ghana this week, and the US and the antipodes next month. The Yuba’s an integrated longbike style cargo bike, promising lateral stiffness and lots of capacity (220 kg total load). Built in horizontal racks for hauling the stuff that won’t fit in a pannier or two. Nice touches: chain guard, choice of kickstands, bikes in Africa.
As much as I love the idea of more cargo bikes here in the land of giant SUVs, I love the reality of cargo bikes in the developing world even more. It’s great to see a manufacturer actually shipping to Africa in their initial foray into the markets. Good for you, Yuba!
I was googling for something else and found this Bay Area Bike Culture multimedia piece and photo essay. I can’t tell when it was produced but judging by the Saturn jerseys, I’d say a while ago.
With 2008 well underway, those of us “fair-weather” riders are looking forward to another cycling season that lies just around the corner. As you try to keep warm through the last few weeks of winter, here are some exciting events to kick off the season…and they don’t all require riding in the freezing cold.
- Seattle Bike Swap: Grab some great deals and get your bike tricked out for the upcoming season. Back in Magnuson Park’s hanger #30, this year’s swap is sure to get you ready to ride!
- Clif Bar Chilly Hilly: No other event name describes a ride so well. Back for its 34th year, Chilly Hilly will once again kick off the Northwest cycling season.
- Bike Expo 2008: Sponsored by Group Health, the Seattle International Bike Expo is sure to provide a good time in the new downtown location, Cruise Terminal 30. As in years past, Cascade has lined up a bunch of great FREE presentations, from Chris Carmichael to The Metal Cowboy and a list of others. Stop by to check out the latest in bike gear, new rides and stay for some fun shows.
And for the rest of us weenies, grab your cup of hot coffee and curl up in front of the Amgen Tour of California, set to ride in only a few short weeks!
Of all the bikes in my stable my Fixed Folder is the bike I get the most questions about. She’s also the bike I take the most pride in, having built her up from just a frame and some rims. It’s actually not terribly hard, despite requiring some cold setting. Amazingly, these bikes can still be had new on ebay for less than $200 bucks. So if you like to tinker and want a unique-ish ride, my recipe follows.
Props to Rain City Fix for the updated photo.
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Spotted on Stone Way, in the Fremont Neighborhood of Seattle. Can anyone identify that bike? I hadn’t seen it before and the shop girl just said that the owner had bought it from Europe.
With the cold, sunny days in Seattle (cold for us at least), we shot this video riding around Alki Beach and the University of Washington.
Bikes and gear shown include
- Batavus Flying D
- Bike Hugger Bettie
- Bike Hugger Modal
- Ibex Clive Jacket
- Crumpler Complete Seed
and the audio sample is Lyrics Of Fury from Tricky.
When Bryan and I were riding around Beijing (inhaling various flavors of fuel), I fretted about locking the bikes, making sure we picked a good spot to lock them, and was wary of bike thieves. We debated the likelihood of theft and thought with hundreds of millions of bikes on the street, who would need to steal one? Well, according to a China Daily report, 4 million bikes get stolen a year and they just halved that and consider it a success. Wow that’s a lot of bikes!
Interestingly, the bikes we did see locked, were more like a cursory lock, not NYC style at all.
Delta 7 Sports and Miōn Footwear partnered to power their booth at the Outdoor Retailer show with a mountain bike. Scott emailed me about it and we got a photo from Delta 7 Sports. Show attendees, employees, and anyone else they could find, attempted to pedal more than 3,000 watts of electricity per day
From the Coloradoan, a story about Rob Martin’s bike business.
… each morning, Martin hops on his bike to pick up bagels from Gib’s and deliver them to Old Town coffee shops … every trip I make is one less car on the road or in some cases, one less truck,” he said while collecting recycling at Lyric Cinema Café in Old Town, the fourth stop on his recycling rounds that day. “I want to be part of the solution.
Of course, a bike economy interests us and besides the bagels, Rob picks up recycling for local businesses.
What I’m wondering is what other businesses can run with bikes?
Photo: Rich Abrahamson/The Coloradoan.
Here I’ve been feeling so sorry for myself riding the roads in the cold weather, and not one but two dudes have been riding the sound this winter and for many winters past . I’m don’t see myself giving up my spot on the bus for a water bike on my short trip across Lake Washington, but I’m definitely impressed. Thanks to Bill for the tip! The aqua bikes seem like a very good option for a trip on the sound, stable and reliable, maybe a bit pokey. Turns out there are lots of options. If I’m gonna compete with the water skiers next to the SR-520 floating bridge I think I’ll have to get me one of these and those 6-pack abs I asked for for Christmas. For those with a bit of spare time, here’s a DIY.
In April, Bike Hugger will blog Shanghai by bike and expect to see cargo just like this shot from a Reuters photographer. When we were in Beijing, I saw meat bucket bike, bubble-wrap bike, and more. Jason shot this old women and her market bike in Taipei.
With Cipo in the news, including the whole King of Pants thing, Frank of TDFblog, sent me this link to the (official) euro cycling code of conduct. Cipo has apparently signed with Rock & Republic, and will only be racing in the US, which does suffer from a shortage of men confident enough to wear anything totally euro.
Besides all the women in the States, those of us with white booties, Assos kits, and Cipo Man Crushes are as excited to see him race, as 9-yr olds with Hannah Montana tickets. I know I’ll line up and crush the barriers, just like at the Interbike Crit.
Anybody else with Euro cycling fashion sins to confess? Like, “ridiculously stylish eye wear is to be worn at all time without exception.” Or absolutely “no black socks!” Or a dangly chain with a full unzipped jersey.
How Euro are you?
The weather’s finally clearing a bit here in Seattle, and I’m starting to see a few more bike commuters on the roads but nothing like a full load. Clearing in winter means chilling, as in the cold kind, and I expect many folks are staying off bikes because of the fear of chill.
Fear not says the New York Times. Yeah, the first few minutes suck but it turns out they always suck for everybody (nobody “just gets used to it”). The risks of riding, running, or swimming in the cold are pretty minimal according to the article, provided you keep your tender bits (like ears) covered. Besides, low winter light makes for some nice vistas best seen by bike. Check a few of them out at the Bike Hugger Urban pool on Flickr
Tracking for its debut at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, February 8th in Portland, the Hotspur frame is welded.
The Hotspur is another Bike Hugger project bike.
Details posted on 2/08/08.
One of my regular routes is Georgetown’s Airport Way. I’ve ridden that for over 15 years and industrial Seattle has featured in many projects that range from the first net.art that Textura Design, Inc. published back in the day (TDI is the parent of Hugger Industries); to the term dreeping, which we use to describe living in Seattle.
Georgetown is seen in our photos, visual identity, and of course Bike Hugger …
I found this bike on Fixed Gear Fever. I emailed Shawn (the “framebuilder”) and he sent me the story behind the bike. I’ve uploaded all the pics from Jacob for you to check out. I wanted to share it with our readers for a couple reasons:
- It’s damn cool
- The photos are quite artsy
- It’s really damn cool
After reading his own review, I don’t know how functional the thing is, but as bike art it’s about as cool as it comes. Jacob is a design student, and is actually looking for an internship - so if you are a reader that runs a big design shop and has a slot for an innovative guy like Jacob - hit the Contact page and I’ll get you in touch with him.
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While I was at CES, I missed the whole Rock Racing, King of Pants thing, but Andrew got me up to speed.
Out on a ride, I heard Cipo is signing with Rock and the Pants King, but then again maybe not. During Interbike, I stood with others at Rock’s Lamborghini display and wondered, “what does this have to do with bikes?” Later, I bumped into Frankie Andreu (I did notice he was wearing some really tight pants), talked with him about it, and figured out it was this guy with money throwing it around the sport. I didn’t meet Ball, but did hear all of his primes during the Interbike crit and saw his team pull up in Escalades. Not my thing, but hey he could’ve thrown his money at stripper poles and hip-hop culture.
Tonight is the Schooner Exact Anniversary Party at The Beveridge Place, 7:00 PM.
Schooner Exact is “a local, small batch microbrewery focused on quality, handcrafted ales,” and last year brewed up Bike Hugger Brown for us. Good stuff.
Other blogs have noticed and Bike Hugger will be there
From the what’s old is new department, I bet when the Parasailers were first marketing their thrill rides to tourists, it was all the newest thing.
Ah, but back in the day of safety bikes, Mr. Kabrich was the Bike Chute Aeronaut. I wonder if he chatted up the ladies with talk about “the draft” and “being aero.”
From the Library of Congress bike photos uploaded to Flickr by fixedgear.
Seattle’s had it’s fare share of problems with bike on buses lately, but this article makes it clear it’s not all Metro’s fault. Apparently almost 900 people a year forget their bikes in bus racks. Kent Peterson to the rescue — if you left yours on, he (or some other nice person) can help you get it back at Bikestation. Frankly, it’s not clear to me what gets left behind more often, the bike or the rider.
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Fixedgear has posted bike photos from the recently released Library of Congress collection.
An AP wire photo with the caption: “Bangladeshi potter takes his wares to a local market for sale on a cold and foggy morning in Rohonpur, 230 kilometers (145 miles), north of Dhaka, Bangladesh.”
From AP Photo by Pavel Rahman and submitted by Jerome, BikeWintering west of Chicago, who spotted the photo using FlickrFan.
One of our readers from Taiwan, submitted this story about a bike and a Buick:
Woman hits student on bicycle with Buick. Demands payment for scratches to car. Argument ensues. Mob of students responds with “turning over and violent dismemberment of the sedan” [sic].
That’s bike, well, “mob” justice. While Bike Hugger does not promote bike-on-car violence, I did imagine a mob descending upon one of those PI-bike-hater forum trolls, who were out in force last week over storm grates (of all things). Like this cyclist who challenged a driver in downtown Toronto and won!
Side note on those grates: I’ve ridden here for over 15 years in Seattle and haven’t known anyone terrorized by grates or seen that myself. That was new to me and as a rule I do not ride over grates or hug the curb. Train tracks are absolutely a concern, especially in a city like ours that’s a construction zone.
Late last year, right before our trip to Maui, I tried out Timbuk2s Build Your Own Bag site. Ordering up his and hers bags in the Hugga Comfort colors. The bag builder offered very nice interactivity, with lots of custom features, previews, and more.
I was initially bummed to see that 992 other bag builders created the bag I did, but then kept trying and got this message: “this color combination has been created just once.” An original bag … cool. While the Bag Builder works well, I’d like to see it have persistence. It doesn’t remember you, if you leave and come back. I’d also like to edit what I created or duplicate it and for it to send me what I made and let me download it.
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I love this idea. I have talked with a number of friends about commuting to work. “It’s easy” I tell them. Of course - I have it good. I have a shower on my floor, and I get to bring my bike up the service elevator to my desk. I can walk into the office draped in lycra without raising an eyebrow.
It’s not the distance - the hardest part of the commute is the logistics. Some employers do a great job of helping out by providing the facilities cyclists need. Problem is - not all employers are so kind. The London government looks like they are taking the right steps to bringing these facilities to the masses. Although wide-open public facilities may work, I think there are some better options.
... Read more »Bike Hugger gets all sorts of weird emails, spam, and photos. These photos caught my eye for the welds and the red-tipped frame probe. I have no idea what that probe is doing or what this guy is doing with the probe controller.
The email was written in French, links to this website, and I translated part of it to say, “the testing machine tridimentionelle.”
Any ideas?
Val,
Did you see one of those probes back in the day?
As usual - Europe gets the good stuff first. Raw Cannondale is the name of the new bike released last week at a fashion show in Barcelona. I found it on roadcyclinguk which is a site where I usually find new race gear. Anyway - looks pretty hot with its Alfine trim and rough appearance. At GBP1500 - it ain’t going to be cheap if it ever does make it to the states.
Try as I have, I’ve never got this far with a beard, like nanobiker has. I get close and shave it off or Pam demands that it comes off! Also note the cold-weather riding tips on the photo.
The Tuesday morning commute was made extra-special-icy by the monday evening snow here in Seattle. We usually only see real ice here a couple times a year, making it hard to get any real practice in. What’s a committed commuter to do? Ride right through, maybe take a fall or two. Here are some guidelines for falling from Bike Snob NYC — finally a good excuse for fulfilling my breakdancing fantasies.
... Read more »I ran across this new “must have” (not really) component at bikesnobnyc. Fast Boy Cycles - a craftsman of amazing wooden fenders, is extending his product line to include wooden handlebars. They are probably great for a trophy bike, but in practice I’m not sure I want to ride them over a pothole.
This photo shows an old, way-old flyer for the Raingo Stay dry rain shield system. I’ve googled and can’t find this system, but it could inspire some SUB riders to develop their own. As much as I love Bettie, she’s a cold ride, on a cold day. It’s sitting upright, high on the bike, with your face in the wind and rain.
I also like the Jetsons aesthetic of the stay dry rain shield. Also, noting how it’d really pick up a tailwind and conversely a head wind.
At CES last week, I was on hand to see Bill Gates give his final keynote speech as Microsoft CEO. Before introducing guitar legend Slash to the audience, he mentioned interactive technology that would allow a TV audience to choose, per his example, a race car to follow in the Daytona 500. You could then see the that team’s pit crew and the car’s POV camera rather than just watching what the broadcasters select. I say, screw NASCAR, let’s get that technology for the Tour de France.
Bike Hugger at the Apple Store, in the display window actually — that kit stands out in the crowd.
The Crumpler bag matches the kit …
Here’s a great post from Bicycle and Icicles, a commuter from Alaska. Like many winter commuters he gets (more than?) his fair share of “are you crazy?” comments when the weather turns bad. He’s got a couple of thoughts actually written down that I find myself thinking weekly:
Riding in the snow might look cold and miserable when seen through a windshield, but I’m one of the few people having fun while commuting at rush hour.
Good to remember, and pretty inspirational for this rain rider here in the temperate North West/Lower 48.
Updated with snow on bikes image from a CNN story on the 20 inches of snow that hit parts of New England (AP PHOTO).
Quick, camera phone photos of the Bike Hugger Racing Bike project in progress … tacked up and ready to weld.
The concept frame and bike will debut at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, February 8th in Portland. Details about its interesting and innovative design and fabrication to follow.
Updated
More photos added with full details on 2/08/08.
The local cyclocross race season’s pretty much wrapped up, but that doesn’t mean you need to hang your cyclocross rig up for the year. Good story in the Seattle Times about off-road/on-road touring, written by Mike McQuaide who rides out of Bellingham.
I saw several vendors displaying long flexible strips of LED lights, as seen in the video I shot at CES. They all seem to run on 12V power sources, so they would be adaptable to bicycle use. One vendor had strips that changed colour in waves, but those required a controller about the size of a Twinkie.
If the system was already bike-ready, I’d be buying it for my girlfriend’s bike, just like the dekochari bikes in Japan. That would be so pimp, I can’t even describe it.
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UPDATE: Yeah - I’m recycling this post from last year. I had a co-worker tell me today that they came across this post so I thought I’d re-run it. I’m going to Lowe’s tonight to get new flap material. Seems I’ve worn a hole in my rear flap…
There’s been some comments around fenders lately. One of the most important aspects of a good fendering job is a solid buddy flap. The concept is - even with full fenders, your buddy riding behind you is probably getting a good stream of wet grit in their teeth. The buddy flap gives you more coverage leaving you friends dry and clean.
Buddy Flaps makes some pretty sweet custom flaps if there’s interest in showing off your “hugger” love.
This is pretty much exactly what my daily ride is like, except for the sound track, mountain biking, bmxing, trialing, and fantastic scenery (at least at this time of year) and almost everything else.
The joy of riding though? These guys nail it.
The rider is Mike Bentham, a trials rider out of Victoria BC who’s recently re-launched his website. If you’ve been watching trials videos in the past you’ve probably seen his stuff before.
Remarkably, as our readers requested, we found innovative LEDs (tape!) and a new bike computer with built-in GPS. The video also show robots and these immersive High-Def pods from Intel that I thought would rule for watching le Tour.
UPDATE by Andrew: Wired linked to Dave’s review. Nice!
I got a chance to try out Kona’s upcoming integrated cargo bike, the Ute. I gotta say, this is one solid ride. The ute’s a longbike: a 29er (update: 700c x 47) with a giant rack built in capable of carrying 4 panniers, a couple of passengers, or just about anything else you can strap to it. Several longbike designs have been around for a while now, the Ute’s take is an integrated design — the extended cargo area’s built right into the frame. This makes the bike super solid. Add in smart design, great components and you’ve got yourself a one-stop cargo hauling go-anywhere machine.
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I was touring CES when I wandered over to the Intel/BMW Formula One Auto Team exhibition. The F1 team had a bunch of displays for people to touch and play with. One impressive display was the steel disc brake rotor for a normal production car…and the full carbon disc for the F1 car. Talk about a huge difference in weight.
I’m not a big fan of disc brakes, but I was wondering why carbon disc brakes are not being built for cycling. Is it cost? Service life?
I saw this touch screen display for a GPS unit while walking about the Sands Expo during CES. It’s clear to me that the technology is very close to having touch screens for cyclo-computers. I’m not sure if that would work out well, since the tactile feedback of actual buttons allows one to actuate the computer functions without looking. That of course could be important for cycling.
I found this tight GPS unit for bicycles from Mainnav at CES! You can see where you rode on Google Earth after you ride!
So I rode the Brompton folding bike in Las Vegas during CES. I rode from the hotel right into the Intel booth in the same time that it would have taking me to get to the line waiting to buy monorail tickets (to wait in line for the very slow monorail to the waiting point at the station across the street from the convention hall..blah, blah waiting for traffic to cross blah, blah etc…etc).
Setting aside how much I hate the streets of Vegas, here are my impressions:
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At CES, I was walking by the Haier booth when who would call out my name but Hilary Crowley, my favourite booth girl from Interbike? She’s worked the bicycle trade show the past couple years for Bianchi. But she’s not all show and no go! She’s got plenty of racing cred on a bike, and in fact her team is sponsored by Bianchi. This year they’re running those special edition Bianchis in Ducati motorcycle team red colour.
Walking the aisles of CES, I noticed some audio equipment and telephones that were made in a style that recalls the Forties and Fifties without exactly mimicking a particular item. This reminds me of all the Rivendell Bicycles styled bikes popping up…bikes that are made to look vintage while still taking advantage of more modern features.
I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about how bikes aren’t the zero-environmental footprint vehicles they might seem. Petroleum based chain lubes have got to figure somewhere on the list of environmental impact (for a bike), along with tire manufacturing, plastic parts, and various other sundries.
Thinking of reducing your bike’s environmental impact? Ernestolube’s 100% soy oil, US grown according to their site. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet, and I’ve got to admit there’s a little light that goes off in my head every time I get a whiff of the bottle of my favorite petrol-lube.
Ernesto’s not the only game in town, Pedro’s Chainj is made from good old Canola, and I’m pretty sure the enterprising among you can find source of similar oils at your local grocer.
Cross-posted from Textura Design, a video featuring models, scenes from the CES Blogger party, Bloghaus, and a folding bike in the Intel booth.
It took us an hour in a car the day before to get to CES and under 5 minutes on a bike. At the door, I folding the bike up, and walked right into the booth. Then later, out of the booth, unfold, and off to a ride.
I commute most days. I’ve become accustomed to a much smaller commuting population in the winter months, but this year there appears to be a pretty solid lift in numbers. As I wind my way out of downtown at night there’s a pretty steady stream of folks working their way along the bike-friendly routes.
Last night, as I was cruising up Eastlake I rolled up on a guy and greeted him with an “evening” as I passed him. Not a second later I got a big, “Hey BikeHugger!”. I had my green kit on and the guy (Mike) was a reader. He started commuting this summer and has been diligent about sticking to it. He lives up past UW by Sand Point and has been commuting home most every night (he takes the bus down in the morning). He’s lost 20 pounds and says he’s never felt better. Very cool - and sort of exciting to see that the Hugger is getting recognized!
Bug Labs is up for a Best of CES award for Emerging Technology with their Tinker Toy-related system.
The components could possibly make a bike-related mobile device: there’s built-in WiFi, open source software, and modules including GPS and an Accelerometer/Motion Sensor. Mount it on the bike, track your ride, and blog away.
Question is what would you make for your bike with emerging technology?
CES is crowds, tech from Intel, possibly evil robots, parties, a few bikes, and a “fun-ride” monorail that poses as mass transit with a lax security system. As the video shows, Mark got in through the out door.
Finding random stuff is the fun of CES, especially items like underwater text messaging devices, assuming you wanted to text underwater. I guess I could text from my rain bike that I was cold and wet …
Here we are in Vegas for the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show. Now I’m in a very stressful episode in my life, so for once I am in this town completely sober…as in straight-edged, clean, living pure, high on life, etc etc…. which made it all the more disturbing last night to watch Bill Gates play Welcome to the Jungle with Slash.
Today I was watching the Microsoft squad demo the new “Surface”, which uses “Touch” technology similar to the iPhone and other products.
The demo they keep using is buying a custom graphics snowboard. After you put the graphics on the board, you can spin the board about in the screen using the touch of your finger tips. So what? Now if they could load all the small parts from bicycle drivetrain components into a “Surface” unit and mount it on the bike shop floor, I could very simply save time and make greater sales by having the customers look for the parts.
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Mark the photog at CES — with me waiting for the Gates Keynote. Posts to follow …
Next week, Bike Hugger is back in Vegas to blog the Consumer Electronics Show. We’re there on the cycling tip and looking for relevant technology from Intel and others. Mobile Internet Devices are expected to dominate the show, like we talked about in the Ultra Mobile Bike Devices and Bicycle Hi Fi posts.
Any bike-related technologies that you readers are interested in seeing? Like messengers monitoring air pollution with cellphones and cargo bikes … .
I managed to get away from sick-kid-care just long enough to get stated on this years Opening Day Cargo Bike Ride. Great day for a ride, the weather was pleasant enough for very light clothing, and the xtracycle made it possible to haul almost all the extras. Despite a very social pace, my cargo (6 yr old daughter) veto’d the ride just a few blocks in. Note to self: Dressing pedal people and cargo people are two very different tasks. After the ride I’m wondering when cargo bikes will start designing a cargo-people experience in from the get-go.
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My girlfriend and I went for a ride today. Nothing too stressful, just playing around on the bikes. I’m trying to build her up so that we can get around town together via cycling.
Starting the new year out right, with a sunny winter day, I test rode the Batavus Flying D — D could stand for Dutchman, but definitely not dainty!
This bike is big, sturdy, heavy (not in a bad heavy way, but good), and rolls — just like you’d expect a Dutch bike to do. At one point, I just rode right over speed bumps and let the big wheels, tires, and sprung seat take the abuse.
... Read more »Next Bike Hugger Mobile Social
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