We’ve done that. Not only wet, but stormy the day we rode in Amsterdam.
Uploaded by a.pic.a.day | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
November 2008 Archives
More visual aids for Sunday’s single-speed Cross race. Don’t want to have another erroneous mud avoidance.
Chris Mahan was so kind and thoughtful to make that sign for us.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Our sale is on today through Monday, 12/1/08, and while supplies last. The deals are on Wool Ts, Socks, and Jerseys.
We’ve also updated our aStore with new recommend goods and a Bike Widow’s Guide, written for us by Zannestar.
“I know that cyclists are thoughtful, I’m married to one. I’ve spent many a season as the Bike Widow, and while I never minded the elements, the wait, the all-day-every-day weekends, I’ve put together a gift list for the bike widow in your life, because I know you are thoughtful too.”
So please give us something to do, besides ride our bikes! Place an order and we’ll get it all filled, shipped, and out the door to you.
Update
And the sale is on! Admittedly, we’re running a bit slow today, hungover from all that turkey eating.
With the traditional Turkey Day rides, an alternative Cargonista Buy Nothing Day ride, and lots of shopping, we’re running a Black Bike Friday sale. We’ll have special bro deals on select Hugga Comfort goods and start selling our new Hugga Wool T.
The voice said to me Mark, explain what Bike Hugger at SxSW is like.
Well, I’ll tell ya’. We swoop into town in a cloud of dust and tortilla chip crumbs, spreading good will and nacho stains like cycling fairies… in the magical sense, not the alternative lifestyles sense…not that there’s anything wrong with that. First we check into our swanky digs, and then we spread out to find our cycling brethren and their rides…the cool and carbon…the chill and custom…the wild and Frankenbikin’. We will immerse ourselves in Austin’s bicycle atmosphere…and then we inhale. Next we gather unto us all the fellow cycle-friendly travelers, music and film festivalers, the creative professionalers. We will use all available means to announce our presence such as smoke signals, cans-on-string, bird calls, and possibly even emails and twitter (but absolutely no drum circles).
... Read more »I heart Boxee because of this Little Blue Trickster dude from an ancient episode (1981) of Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. While I reminisced with 80s nostalgia about the episode, my kids not so much. Maybe it was the disco-influenced sets they didn’t like. Most likely the pacing and why exactly did the Zykarians have removable heads? And damn Erin Gray was an 80s hottie.
Picking up on Chris Mahan’s observation that Cross has this, “old school mountain bike vibe,” it’s also more freewheeling, with rules on-the-fly, and lots of opinions on them rules.
I particularly enjoy this because I was into the scene years ago, out, and back in for Bike Hugger’s coverage. It’s cool to see it grow so much with huge crowds, families, BBQs, big personalities, and enthusiastic fans.
Dan Norton — legendary Cross racer, champion, race promoter — and I met midrace at Spokane Roubaix many seasons ago. I’d been dropped hard in another category and later joined by a rotating line of Masters. I asked to roll into their line and pulled until the next big hill. Dan nodded his appreciation for the work and rode off with his competitors. I finished my race by myself, but proud that I’d helped someone. We’ve been friends ever since and saw each other at the Seattle Cyclocross Series Monroe race. Check this quote from Dan
... Read more »I would not hesitate to relegate him, Redline or not, if I thought it was intentional. And now, please give him some grief ! Yell some nasty things at him ( in good spirit), make a sign with an arrow “Matt this way, all others that way” ” Bike Hugger turn here, all others turn there” You can even make a sign that says ” Dan, this way” just have it pointing to the mountains and a figure 11 over Jim Browns snowboard bound figure lying flat in the snow. Knuckledrager, I’m coming ta git ya’
Made for us by Ibex, the Hugga Wool T is the latest addition to our Hugga Comfort line.
Note: This story was told to me by Chris Mahan, REI Designer.
The best part of spending your cold, wet, winter Sunday mornings racing cyclocross is the group of racers. Most of these people are just happy you’re dumb enough to be out there with them riding knobby-tired road bikes in the mud. It’s an old school mountain bike vibe.
Huggacast 73 (available in high quality) features video from the Seattle Cyclocross race at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Andrew and I raced single speeds. As I learned, on a single speed, it’s all about pedaling and technique. I wasn’t fast, but I think rode a good race. Steady, no crashes, and making room for those in contention.
As seen in our photostream, Redline is considering bringing a SS to market in 09 and I raced on a prototype (converted) single-speed Redline Conquest Pro
... Read more »
As you can see in this thread on SeattleCyclocross.com - Redline Bicycles does a lot more for racing than send Byron out on a proto single speed cross bike. A Seattle area Junior and 2007 national champion Logan Owen had his fleet of bikes stolen from his garage this weekend. Keep an eye out for these smallish bikes for sale:
- Redline Conquest Team (black and red) - 44cm
- Ridley X Fire carbon (new red) - 52cm
- Cannondale Six Thirteen (white) - 52cm
- Redline Conquest Disc-R (red and white)
- Redline Expert xl. (Red) - BMX
Tim Rutledge (seen here trying to get Byron to “commit”) jumped in and is getting Logan a bike so he can continue to race here in Seattle and out at Nationals. Thanks Tim!
(Photo Credit Matt Morrisson)
Sunday was beautiful. It hasn’t rained in a few days - so where did all that damn mud come from?
Byron and I made it out to race the single-speed category and proved quite definitively that we are road racers (and not so hot in the slop). No barriers on this course, but plenty of obstacles. A 400m mud slog was the toughest test in the course keeping lap times quite slow. A race that is typically 45 minutes took 60.
... Read more »Cargo bikes. They’re a big hit with huggers, and there’s been an industry buzz for them for the past couple years. You know, they’re supposed to allow a cyclist to do carry heavy loads, reduce dependency on the auto, cut down greenhouse gas emissions, allow people in Third World regions to be bring goods to market… maybe even save baby fur seals. But what are they, and do you actually need one?
In Part 1, I first want to tackle the taxonomy of cargo bikes. Right here I’m going to name these bikes so that everyone understands what we’re talking about, before anyone else decides that he’s got a catchy name for something that has existed for decades. And believe me when I say that there is no revolutionary developments in cargo bikes; it’s just the refinement of details that make these new bikes better, more capable, and/or cooler. As such, there are names that are commonly used to describe the different forms of cargo bikes; I didn’t invent any of them. You may have heard of them, or not. Nevertheless, you should adhere to the names I shall now give as if I were Moses descending from the mountain and these monikers inscribed on a fucking stone tablet.
... Read more »Despite the race promoter’s warnings to not do so, this racer rode through the drop-off ditch before the run up and snapped his bike in half. Wasn’t hurt, the crowd cheered, and he’s got a damn good (albeit expensive) story to tell for years to come.
More stories from the Seattle Cyclocross single-speed field and video to follow.
Note: anyone know this racer’s name?
Coincidentally, saw this last night while browsing for Single Ladies Parodies and have been getting tipped to Bike Hero …
Good to see a gamer get outside and check out those lights. Tip: the video was produced by an agency.
This just in from the fun with blogs department, an analysis of Bike Hugger’s brain, provided by Typealyzer.
Yes we’re doers, but there’s a disconnect of where we think we are on the brain graph, indicated by our logo. Need to work on more idealist words and project thoughts like, “soon SUVs will die off and more people will ride bikes” and “wish commuters would stop challenging me so much on Alaskan Way.”
Cyclelicious plugged in Bike Snob and learned that the anonymous blogger is a mechanic! The graph joins our other informative Degrees of Hugga chart.
Buy Nothing Day is back on Friday Nov 28th:
Stock up early and come with us for a relaxing ride on Buy Nothing Day! Meet at noon on Nov. 28th, Friday, to burn off some calories from the national Day of Feasting while avoiding the crazed hordes of shopping zombies.
Matt Haughey’s Trek Portland with Honjos and hugga flaps. Riding in the rain in style.
Uploaded by mathowie | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
While we’re on the topic of nice looking sites, also check Urban Cycle Chic
London based urban bike fashion, cycle chic and bike recycling blog.
195 pounds of Clip-n-Seals en route to Canada. Delivered by cargo bike to the mail dispatch. Made possible by Big Dummy, Xtracycle, and Stokemonkey.
... Read more »
That’s a photo shirt I think and possibly with some Warhol art treatment. Also coincidentally, I saw this today from CNN (a chimp riding a Segway) and of course, our friends at Clever Cycles started as Clever Chimp making the Stokemonkey.
And, of course, there’s this Paul Frank.
That completes the simian-themed post for today!
Uploaded by Petoto! | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Don’t know how we missed this crew during our last trip to Taipei, but we’re looking them up next time …
Uploaded by fhaione :: subcrew | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Reader dnavusa tipped us to a Cannondale Stealth Concept Bike spotted on a design blog. First I thought, Cannondale survived the motorcycle failure? And then,
it’s like an old madone + magic motorcycle + lefty derivative with a flat bar. I’m confused by it. What does this bike want to be?
Readers?
Dig the Madsen Cargo bike — aka the Tub Bike — serving up refreshments during the Mobile Social Interbike … working now on getting them to Austin with us for SXSW.
Uploaded by Dapper Lad Cycles | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Top-bottom DLG configuration on Long Tall Sally
Originally uploaded by Rock The Bike
Xtracycle, Tall Bike, with Down Low Glow. Not sure how you can top that.
I’m determined to find one of these cycle trucks, restore it, paint it Hugga green and turn it into a schwag machine for our Mobile Socials.
Uploaded by jjlthree | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
VACC, Momentum Magazine and B:C:Clettes present Let’s Get Visible. A spoof on the 80’s hit to encourage winter cyclists to be visible when cycling in the dark. Well timed and our readers have been mentioning the importance of visibility in recent comments.
We posted the B:C:Clettes Sexy Helmet Safety Video earlier this year.
In this Huggacast, we test ride a prototype Torker T300 with Protanium electric assist. A cool bike that we’re having fun with and I felt like the “King of the World” when riding it.
... Read more »
I spent the evening at the Seattle Location of the Dutch Bike Company. I talked with the Dave - one of the co-owners about their new location in Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. It was my first visit to the Seattle location - LOTS of cool euro bikes, a Bakfiets, and Skuuts for the kids. Any of our Chicagoland readers seen the new digs yet?
Malora wrote to say:
The 3rd Annual Lovely Ladies on Beautiful Bicycles calendar is in action for 2009. This year we’ve upped the ante, with a special layout of the East Van Polo ladies team from B.C. Come join in the fun at the release party at Conor Byrne on Friday, December 12 with live music by Golden Robot Army. Enter in a raffle to win a Redline 925 (proceeds will go to benefit a local bicycle non-profit!) Pre-order calendars are $15.
Bike Hugger is a returning sponsor of the calendar.
In the distance, the Space Needle pokes up through a fog blanketing the city.
Iris and I went to the “Taipei Story House”, a colonial-era building that has been turned into an odd little tribute Taiwanese commercialism. On both stories of the house, there are Taiwanese products from the past such as “Darkie Toothpaste” along with print and/or video advertisements. The one thing Bike Huggers should find interesting was the Hey Song Soda bicycle.
(The photo is crappy because I had to take it clandestinely… no photography allowed in the Story House. The majority of it isn’t worth photographing either.)
... Read more »
Finnish designer and bike builder Olli Erkkilä is creating some batsh*t rides...
I love how Olli is mashing up American Testosterone with Scandinavian Utilitarian Minimalism, along with an (un?)healthy dose of Eastern-European Brutalism...
Scandinavia is far more industrial, gritty, and rusty than I'd imagined...
... Read more »
It’s not much of a secret that I favour Shimano components, from the combined perspective of a rider and a mechanic. I have to admit that I like the good stuff, so I usually run Dura Ace, but I actually like a lot of the features of Tiagra.
Yet, a week of riding a Gios Feluca with Shimano Sora has me scheming to upgrade the STI. Oh, it shifts competently out of the box. It’s possible that it shifts as well as top end stuff a generation or two ago. But the ergonomics suck and I would never recommend this to a racer at any level.
... Read more »
Iris and I went to visit her aunt who lives in the apartment where Iris lived until she was 11. Just a couple blocks from the address, tucked in on a small alley, was a little bike shop with a showroom smaller than a American SUV. Despite its size and rather low key shop face, it was chock-a-block full with cool bikes.
One day while in Taiwan, Iris and I saw this robot re-directing traffic. Powered by a car battery, it waved its arms constantly and neither pissed in the street nor made lewd suggestions to my girlfriend.
We had gone to visit her aunt and uncle who live just outside Taipei proper. After stuffing ourselves on a Taiwan feast of stinky tufo, shrimp, greens, and tropical fruit, they invited us for a walk outside.
... Read more »
It’s that time of the year, when I’m at holiday parties and being a cyclist, I get asked about a lot about cycling. And that’s cool. I don’t mind answering the same questions over and over again. Just like when it’s bike-to-work time or Seattle to Portland season, many cyclists just don’t know the basics we know.
I’m posting the typical Q/A here as a collection and asking our readers to add to the tribal knowledge with your tips and suggestions. Those can range from eating on the bike, to riding in the rain, to what you carry in your saddle bag.
Ah yes, second only to coffee as the refreshment of choice for cyclists, this photo from the BBC reminded me to post about seasonal beers.
Readers,
What are you drinking? I’m burned out on microbrews and trying out Spatens and a new Brouwer’s Cafe opened in the ‘hood.
I snapped this photo of my Amazon Fresh Jersey to contribute to an active discussion that cropped up on Byron’s Flickr stream. Bike Hugger readers dig technology as much as the bike culture we blog. So, tech savvy cyclists, we’re turning to you. Weather it’s a blue chip, or dot com bust, show us your best corporate cycling jersey. So far, in addition to Amazon, we’ve seen Vista, Yahoo, Google, Sun, and Intel. What about Apple, IBM, Dell, or new skool like Flickr, or Twitter? Heck, we’d like to see anyone traded on NASDAQ. Show us what (or who,) you’re work’in with.
Amazon Fresh Cycling Jersey
Originally uploaded by Dapper Lad Cycles
What often seems to happen when Asian countries become more prosperous is that cycling takes on a negative aura in the eyes of the public as they rush headlong into the trappings wealth and consumerism. Seduced by petrol drenched dreams of success, people leave behind the bicycle as if its humble drivetrain chained them to old ways and poverty. And while the heavy industries, upon which their hopes rise to the top of world commerce, choke the air foul and the now swarming cars fill the gaps between with rivers of emissions, the bicycles are further pushed to the margins of the road and sidewalks. But the Taiwan government seems to be aware that the quaint bicycle, together with improved public transportation, can be a terrific foil to the issues of air quality, traffic congestion, and infrastructure of a society overly dependent on automobiles.
Spotted at REI World HQ a few weeks ago and live now. Bike your drive is a commuter resource.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
While visiting our friends at Hiawatha Cyclery this summer in Minnesota, I picked up a Frost River Seat Bag for my classic Mercian Road Bike. It’s the perfect size for a day trip, or credit card touring. Here’s what I’ve been keeping in my seat bag. (Crank Bros Pump, Tire Levers, spare 700c tube, patch kit, Genuine Innovations Air Chuck & Two CO2 cartridges. There is also plenty of room for snacks, a light jacket, wool gloves, keys, wallet and a cell phone.) I dig the classic look of a canvas bag, and I’ve found it holds significantly more than the more prevalent mini-nylon seat bag I often spot around town. This Frost River Bag is pretty spendy with an MSRP around $80. For Barney Big Dummy I’m testing out a more affordable canvas seat bag made by Minnehaha Bag Company. The stitching and quality appear to be just as nice, but the MSRP is a more palatable $44.99. What about you? What’s in your seat bag?
Frost River Seat Bag
Originally uploaded by Dapper Lad Cycles.
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these Cargonistas from riding to a soccer game.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
I have to confess that I didn’t do much cycling in Taiwan, I mainly shopped and ate and took really long, hot baths. It was vacation with my girlfriend after all. But wherever I go, I keep an eye out for things related to cycling. And it seems like Taiwanese popular culture has latched onto cycling like America in the 1970s.
We’re hard at work on our next Mobile Social in Austin, Tejas, during SXSW Interactive. Last year we rode, BBQ’d, partied, and gave away product. This year, we’re back with 43% more bike culture. We’re adding rides and racing with the locals. The details will post as we finalize them, including the music and product we’re giving away. Check this microblog for updates.
A couple things: this is awesome and they move in sync, not very fast, but right up the hill. That’s a Bike Friday Triple, updated for kids and I told the dad to enjoy it while it lasts, cause my daughter doesn’t want to ride with me anymore on the Bettie. She’s a teenager now …
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
After all that travel, I’m finally getting caught up in my feed reader and posting the related links. Enjoy.
In this video Criss Angel makes a kid’s bike disapper — while the parents are amazed, the kid is not so happy.
... Read more »Photos like these of wood bikes in war-torn Africa, get my attention every time and remind me to be thankful for what we've got. At Interbike, I've seen Tom Ritchey with one of these bikes next to his Project Rwanda bike. This ain't wood as a retro-fashion statement, it's a material used out of necessity and ingenuity. We'll give bikes to Africa again this year and hopefully help someone.
Photo Credit:Â Uriel Sinai, Getty Images News
A couple times while we were in Taipei, Iris and I went to the Ximending shopping district, sometimes called the Harajuku of Taiwan, a place where youth, consumerism, and culture collide in corridors of bright lights and gaudy colours. We walked through the many shops and arcades, amongst street performers, shoppers, and shopkeepers. We saw these tricycles, apparently advertising escort services with internally lit panels.
“Well you ask me ‘bout the clothes I wear, And you ask me why I grow my hair, And you ask me why I’m in a band, I dig doin’ one night stands, And you wanna see me doin’ my thing, All you gotta do is plug me into high
I said high — High voltage rock ‘n’ roll.”
That’s what I heard when I saw that photo … AC/DC High Voltage rock n’ roll.
Uploaded by EcoVelo | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Loaded up a futon and rode it from one apartment to the other. You never know when a longtail cargo bike will get called into action or what’ll carry.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Spotted at Aaron’s Bicycle Repair, that’s a Salsa Casseroll with drop-bar SRAM S7. Damn!
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Iris and I went to the electronics district in Tokyo, the famed Akihabara. You ever see a movie where the characters visit a sketchy market of cramped alleys and exotic goods? Well, Akihabara would be the place to stage that scene if the characters were nerds into ham radio and action figures. We found 6 stories of model kits and action figures of animation school girls, five by five stalls selling vintage tube amplifiers and high-tech Xmas lights, and a pornographic DVD store catering to any and all of your dirty needs. You want cellphones that do everything except work anywhere else but Japan? Easy. You want an electronic gizmo for a bike? Yeah, I found it. Not in a store, but rolling through the crowds of shoppers in the street.
How to change a longtail wheel — benefiting from a center stand and a very talented mechanic. Val made it look easy while I hope I don’t ever have to do that; at least on the road.
The technique is to remove/replace just like a road wheel: start on the center stand, lift the rear up cradling the Xtracycle in the left arm; center the wheel in the drops with the right arm, catching the cassette on the chain, and let the rear fall into place.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Apparently bookstores are the new hangout in Taiwan. The Eslite booksellers franchise has a huge flagship store about 6 blocks from Taiepi 101. They have 5 floors topped by a fancy restaurant floor. The basement level is a food court.
On our way, I spotted this bike labelled “Rollo”. What’s so unusual about it? It’s model that Bianchi sold in the states, basically a downgraded version of the Bianchi Milano with green metal-flake paint and a stupid clown head horn. I don’t think that Bianchi had a Taiwan presence when this model was produced, let alone sold it Taiwan. How did you get here, you little ugly bike?
Out of necessity, cyclists in rainy, wet climates use all sorts of inventive materials to create mud flaps for bike fenders. Old water bottles, duct tape, political signs, sump pump hose, and so on. Fender flaps are even a fashion statement. The purpose of the front flap is to protect your feet and in the back to protect your buddy from the spray, mud, and debris. On group rides, showing up without an adequate flap will result in a shunning to the back, strong comments, even getting yelled at because the spray from your rear wheel roostertails into the cyclist behind you.
Updated Update!
01/14/09 -- We've got the flaps back in and they are en route to Amazon.com for fulfillment. We pulled a few aside to ship directly for those of you that have been waiting.
01/26/09 -- the flaps are now available on Amazon.com.
... Read more »
The fellas over at Buddy Flaps came through with some fancy BikeHugger branded fender flaps. As I’ve written in the past - nothing says “I’m a nice guy” more than a good fender flap. Funny tidbit?: 90% of SKS fenders sold in the US are to the Pacific NorthWest. Who knew?!
You want a set? - Stay tuned as they go on sale shortly!
Here’s an electric-assist version of the mamachari classic Japanese bike for the housewife. Note the front and rear child seats, and mini front wheel. This was a pretty common site, but I can’t say for certain whether they are a new trend (with the electric assist) or if I just didn’t notice them much the times before when I came to Japan.
Either way, I’m impressed that the Japanese public intends to keep the bicycle as a part of everyday life.
The rainy season is back in Seattle with new wet-weather gear challenges for a longtail. I’ve got riding in the rain down to a science when touring, training, riding hard, and even racing. It’s a liner, windtex, outer shell, and fleece-lined knickers or tights. I don’t generate the heat riding a longtail in a urban enviroment, but also need to stay warm and not get to hot. I’m experimenting with
Marmot PreCip Shell
Windtek gloves
As you can see in the photo, I’m bundled up good with the PreCip hood up and over the helmet. Sitting up and seeing the world is great on the Bettie, but also means the driving rain drives right into your face. Got the campy hat with the bill to keep some of out of my eyes and the eyeware is for protection as well as glare. I wish someone made chaps for cyclists. Reports to follow on how this works out.
What are you wearing on your commute?
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
That time of year again, when cyclists ride inside. I’m terrible at trainer discipline and will attempt to ride in most weather, but in some climates a cyclist has no choice.
What do you do to stay in shape? Trainer, rollers or maybe some brisk calisthenics and medicine balls?
Uploaded by Joel Price | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Chart 10, as it’s known, shows the running bike purchase balance and what I insist is “an even Steven” approach; where I sell a bike to pay for a new bike, sell some wheels on ebay, and it all works out.
Hugga HQ budget staff believes that Chart Ten is “voodoo economics” and represents instead a hole in the budget into which hard-earned cash goes and never returns. Andrew wrote about shuffling the fleet last week.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
My first day in Tokyo, we went to Shibuya and walked to Harajuku. After the UT t-shirt shop I saw this Kona Ute next to this one shop/boutique. This is the only longtail I’ve seen in Japan, but though Japan may score low on the cargo bike parameter, this country is near tops for commuters. I’ve never been to Amsterdam, but in Copenhagen I saw a crapload of commuters. I think that if the subway/rail system wasn’t the best in the world then there would be even more cyclists commuting. There are definitely less motorscooters here than Taipei too.
Versus contacted us via their interactive agency and are asking for input on their Tour coverage.
Readers do tell and we’ll get it to Versus. They’re listening and want to make the Tour better next year. My input was
“Pull Zabel out of that damn Take back the Tour ad. Make it less of a man show with a female correspondent, like Kirsten Gum. Engage more bloggers and die-hard fans.”
My iPhone Omnifocus project for today is “election” — I’ll ride to the polls, vote, and tick off the tasks to complete the project (last week it was Halloween). I use OF all the time on my iPhone, being mobile traveling, and riding. I also use
I’ve found a few bike-related apps; Bicycle Gear Calculator, Cychosis, and BikePower and wondered what readers are using? Do they work well?
An issue is that you’ve got to keep the iPhone on and that app active to get any results from a ride and look at the screen while riding.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
OMFG, my step-father was right! All those liberal, bike riding hippies are a secret plot to steal our tax dollars! Maybe Toyota was Detroit’s demise after all (and not rocketing petrol prices kicking down the house of cards that the full-size SUV built). Next thing you know, the Japanese will be landing wave after wave of these Communist bikes, like this one in Hatagaya.
I got a recent comment about a road rain bike and rack capability. I’ve ridden a ton of different bikes, and I can say with some certainty that I will never put a rack on a road bike again. With a pure road bike, the handling is thrown off badly by a rear rack and it just looks off to me. If you want a rack - get a touring bike. Something with long chain stays, comfortable geometry, and mounts intended for that use. Something that will be less effected by having 30lbs dragging off your rear end. There are a TON of good companies out there making very nice bikes intended for that use. I’m sure plenty of folks disagree, but I’m holding my line here!
Long ago the mountain bike evolved from balloon tire bicycles into capable offroad machines. Or perhaps Gary Fisher invented them (but many people don’t believe in Creationism). Anyways, they started out as balloon tire bikes that got multiple gears and better brakes. The innovators borrowed brake levers and handlebars from motorcycles so that they had enough braking power on those long descents. And thus mountain bikers had flat bars, whereas those dorky roadies had dropbars. That was the nature of mountainbikes, as God intended.
Iris took me to a couple of the night markets in Taipei. These are spectacles that shouldn’t be missed. For one reason, there’s the food, which is both really good and really cheap. Another is the atmosphere of the Taiwanese passing the time, leisurely winding their way through narrow passageways, and the shop people in their semi-busy routine that must have been formed through countless nights just like this one.
In between eating treats of squid legs and yam fries and shopping for handbags, I spotted this work bike. It’s a longtail trike, single speed with what appears to be a frame mounted brake lever. I would see these trikes here and there but never in the new Taipei core around the 101 tower. As the city is almost pancake flat, nestled amongst mountains and dressed with good pavement, the trikes need only be sturdy and simple. Chances are that these trikes were manufactured long ago, and yet despite the onslaught of motorscooters and autos, they live on because of their economy and durability.
I found this picture of a Gios mini velo and someone’s grandma. I’m pretty sure this is Taiwan and not Japan, so I guess that maybe these bikes are imported to Taiwan. Or maybe they never left Taiwan since I’m certain that these bikes aren’t made in Japan. Either way, Gios mini velos are much more common in Tokyo than Taipei.
Also, I’m a bit jealous if this grandma actually owns and rides that bike.
Video from Bike Kill — sort of like Thunderdome on bikes, hosted by the Black Label Bicycle Club.
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