December 2008 Archives

Yep the MagSafe Airline Adapter totally worked.

That’s the first time ever that I’ve had power on a plane.

And I went for it.

Like Jay Allen said, I

turned the screen brightness all the way up, opened every app, compiled some software, started two movies running simultaneously and started calculating the quintillionth bit of pi; then edited a Huggacast.

I wanted to hear them fans blow; I also blogged with locally hosted Movable Type Pro, deleted a bunch of emails, and turned my screen so the traveler across the aisle couldn’t see what I was doing …

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Animal bikes from a Chinese New year celebration. With the traditional New Year’s day ride coming up, wondered if anyone had something special planned?

In Amsterdam, the first day of the year, looks like this: bike piles.

It’s just Pam and me in Kona, riding bikes, and we’ll celebrate New Years Japanese style with a year forgetting party. Meaning, let’s focus on the new year.

Uploaded by elaine layabout | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

I spent the holidays in Minneapolis and had a chance to visit my favorite Coffee Bar, Bike Shop, Rotating Art Exhibit, and Bike Boneyard. All of this, and the Bianchi Buck can be found at One on One Bicycle Studio in downtown Minneapolis. Check out more photos from One on One after the jump.

Uploaded by Dapper Lad Cycles | more from the Dapper Lad Cycles Photostream.

I hate it when a customer brings a bike in and asks if I can stop their bike’s creak.

I’m sure it’s just a simple fix, can you do it while I wait?

I’ve been toying with my dropbar Bianchi mtb for the past six months or more, but there always seems to be something more that I could tweak.

Trying out a new blend at Hugga HQ and wow — Hurricane is right; it’s like an intense whirlwind of caffeine blowing through the studio.

Kept fresh with a Clip-n-Seal, of course, and delivered fresh by Amazon.

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And hello to you! We don’t name drop here much at Hugga, but there are lots of names in that video and cool.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

Media

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Mark returns from Japan with a mini velo.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

Media

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• More videos
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I recently posted about the Macbook Air as a travel computer for cyclists. I also covered my effort to

… become more mobile, simplified, and lightweight. Traveling with an folding bike, S&S case brings out the perfect packer in me and a desire to get even more efficient on the road.

In this post, I’ll continue the discussion on being more mobile and the “Great Mac Sync.”

Doesn’t even smell like Pedros — it could get an ISO 9000 rating for cleanliness. Anyone guess where this shop is?

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Long johns, longtails, just plain long bikes. Does a cargo bike have to be a big bike? Is there too much beast and burden in these beasts of burden? In this week’s cargo bike entry, I’ll begin talking about cargo bikes that are more conservative in size but may have more potential for the greater cycling public. In essence, the next two types of cargo bikes have racks affixed to the front or on the steering axis but differ in the rack’s mounting points.

The first type is what we will call a porteur, named after the French newspaper delivery riders who rushed the newest editions to the street vendors during the heated print media competition early last century. The best riders were well-paid for their endurance and speed and so had money to buy bicycles from builders better known for their competition machines than mundane work bikes.

So after the biggest snowfall in Seattle this century (of course, we have time for bigger records), I can give my review of studded tires in the form of Schwalbe’s Ice Spiker Pro.

The PI is running a photos of the year feature and this photo of Huey Newton says much about urban cycling in Seattle.

It’s from an audio slideshow.

Photo credit: Mike Kane/Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Bike-powered Christmas trees in Barcelona (video in Spanish).

Hat tip to Treehugger. Also see our Spain tag for more on riding in Barcelona and Girona.

We bought a bike for an inner-city kid this year, donated it to his family, and that reminded me of the bikes I’ve gotten for Christmas. How bout you? My first was a Sears 3-speed that I rode like Evel Knievel. It was remarkably just like this bike, I spotted in the Summer of 07.

I rode that bike everywhere; later, I had a cruiser, BMX, MTB (Gary Fisher and Specialized S-Works) and then an Epic Allez that converted me into a roadie. I hope more kids get bikes this year and ride them.

A couple rides mountain bikes down the world’s most dangerous road in Bolivia.

Huggacast 77 captures the end of Mark’s ride over to Hugga HQ and our holiday party — he brought with him a set of snow tires.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

Media

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These Kenda Klondikes are going on the Kona Jake the Snake for some test riding in the snow. Mark will report the tires he’s running on his drop-bar MTB, in another post. Tip: he’s running about three times the studs per tire as these.

This style of hat is hard to find — I cherish mine: washing them only as a last resort, placing it in a special gear spot, and reserving it for the really cold days. Yep, I’ve got more than one. I hoard them like a cycling survivalist.

I also realize how marginal a sport cycling is when a hat this functional isn’t hanging in every bike shop (instead we’ve got doo rags). The bill folds up when hot and down to function as a sun visor and keep precipitation off your face. The ear flaps fold, for cold and warmer conditions. There’s also enough material for tufting it up on top of your head for off the bike, après-bike style.

NYT profiles the Iditarod Trail Invitational and considering the comments about Seattle’s whussy snow, tell me if any of you are riding in those conditions!

I know that Jill is.

Note those are Pugsley-sized tires, cyclists are self-contained, and survivalist. I remember reading about Iditabike years ago and they eat turkey jerky + nuts for the protein and energy (imagine choking that down when it’s frozen). Also see Commuting in Alaska from Bicycles and Icicles.

Photo credit: Alaska Ultra Sport.

As of Pt3, we had gotten the dropbar mtb assembled, now we can talk about the ride.

First off, one of the primary reasons I wanted a dropbar on my mtb is so that I could get a lower hand position. It’s easy for a tall rider to do that with a flatbar because his seat is a lot higher relative to the top of the head tube, but I needed dropbars and a track stem to do that. Also, I just never found the wrist position of a flatbar comfortable under vigorous, sustained riding. My dropbar mtb solves this.

Ride Inside On My Trainer? Dear God Help Me. Ai yi yi. The snow has dumped on Seattle and that means no outdoor training. ICK. This is my 3rd day going down to the basement and getting on my trusty fluid trainer. The first day was fine, just a 60 minute ride, pop on the headphones and listen to some BIKE TRAINING mix I’d made and before I knew it? Training done.

Day 2? Supposed to be a team ride. That means 2.5 hours minimum. On a trainer? You must be joking. But I’m trying to be consistent this year, so I dug out a Carmichael Trainright DVD on racing and off we go - me and all those indoor Carmichael “we really train with these” team riders in blue.

I decided to warm up before I turned it on, why? Stupid idea, because the “training coach” has you do a brisk warm up right there AND his kind of a warm-up generally wears me out so much that I start worrying about how I will continue to breathe when we get to the “racing” part. When I can get my mind to shut up and just ride the race, I have to admit, it is a great workout. Well, I couldn’t get my mind to shut up on this day, so I made it about 45 minutes into the DVD this time before I gave up chasing down the breakaways on the hills. Then I continued with my own endurance pace. Good idea since this was supposedly a “rest” week.

There’s that old saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention” and also cabin fever … check the Bike Plow from Brian Dryer in Winthrop WA.

Santa suit, cigarettes, bmx bike, presents — a Bad Santa.

Hat tip to Frank from TDFblog for this post.

Uploaded by David Sandell | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

We periodically write about technology, mobility, and gadgets. Our travels to Asia have been to attend Intel Developer Forums and blog about Mobile Internet Devices, NetBooks, and more — we also covered CES and its totally overwhelming consumerism.

A technology I’ve been following is small-form factor, ultra-portable laptops, and have been watching the Macbook Air since it came out.

In Pt1 & Pt2, I described the path I chose in setting up a dropbar mtb. Now I’ll explain how it all came together.

First, the project bike is a 2003 Bianchi Tycoon XL Titanium, the first of the Bianchi ti mtbs with disc mounts. It still came with canti mounts, but I unscrewed them from the stays. One unusual feature of the frame was the welded-on support for a Shimano E-type front derailleur which, as I described in Pt2, locked in some choices for the front shifter. In any case, I got a XTR E-type derailleur in the same deal as the frame.

The rest of the formula follows………

Tipped to ADDI, a young design group, by reader Simon Yuen, I’ve been looking at their Pilen Concept bike; unlike this bike posted on Gizmodo today, it’s looks real.

Wait till the Spring to ride that bike again … .

Uploaded by skippyjon | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

My attempt to hold out on riding in the snow — instead sledding, hiking, fun with the kids — is over (Winter won this round) and with Snow Tires on order, it’s time to get out the big guns for cold weather.

Back in the day, I’d ride in all sorts of weather:

• Rode till it froze
• Riding in the rain in Seattle
• Riding the Storm Out

It’s cold out. Anybody in their right mind would be thinking about hauling their rig out to an island closer to the equator, and Hawaii’s right around the corner from Seattle. I had the chance recently and didn’t say no. I had a great time, In retrospect but I wish somebody had told me a couple things about biking on Oahu. Check out the Maui tag for extensive notes from other Hugga trips

Briefly: There ain’t no helmets for rent; bring a light, a bag, and a tool; consider renting a cruiser. Riding around Honolulu’s a great way to see the city and the coast. More inside…

It snowed in Seattle. It snowed a lot. I rode my dropbar mtb all over the town. Streets were ghostly. The ground was white and glittery and crunched under my tires. People hid indoors as the snow flakes falling blurred the skyline, the trees, the light. The city was transported back in time to a less civilized era, and wolves entered the city to hunt. I saw it all.

I’m so tired. The effort of rolling over even level ground is so much more than a road bike.

I went from Belltown to the U-district and back, then home to Capitol Hill. People were snowboarding in Gasworks park, where this picture was taken.

I’m worried about the impending melt and refreeze. I hope my Schwalbe Spiker Pro tires get here soon. One of the lightest studded XC tires out there and costly. Please Fedex, get those tires from Kent to the bike shop before the ground turns to icy death!

Another reader shows off his new Hugga Wool T with bike parts in the background.

Uploaded by G e o cycle | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Was googling for a Santa bike and found a Santa, riding a bike, doin’ a wheelie, with a shark! Awesome and I bet they were playing some head-banging music while Santa did some underwater bike tricks.

Equally awesome is this one!

Notice the (I think) electric motor. This Santa cyclist was on his to open the famous German Christmas mail office.

Photo credit: Reuters Pictures

Uploaded by mathowie | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Spotted outside the Apple Store at the University Village, Seattle.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

The economy sucks and everyone is trying to save a buck here and there. I’ve talked with a couple different small bike shop owners lately and the impact has been huge - like maybe forced to go out of business huge.

I’m not sure how many of you see your LBS owners driving their Jaguars around town (none), but I can tell you it’s the rare shop owner that makes a truly solid living from the venture. It’s a labor of love. A love that we all share - so stop in and pick up that item that is $5 cheaper on www.superoffshorebikesales.com from your LBS. Get your loved ones stocking stuffers from the shop (hats/socks/walking lights) even if they aren’t riders themselves. You’ll appreciate it when there’s a shop to go to when you need that brake cable at 6pm the night before your next century ride.

Shop owners: Am I wrong? Are you all pulling in the 6 figure take home incomes?

Last week I saw this tall bike wheeling about town while I was on my way to the PDX train station.

Does anybody ride these things in the snow and ice that we’ve had this week?

In the snowy Seattle area, Val photographs his commute home with bonus points for doing it at night.

Meanwhile reader David Schloss sent in photos of his ride in NY. He had to stop for icing at 8 miles.

Reminded me of the time I rode ‘till it froze in the Tri-Cities …

I’m sure someone is working on bike deicers.

On the way home tonight, I stopped in at QFC (local grocer) and ran into Scotty and Mercedes from uBRDO. They were sort of stuck at home, so he closed the shop and stocked up. They even brought home a Tree on their trailers, in the snow.

The snow day that wasn’t in Seattle, is now one today and while that’s slowing down our blog productivity (kids at Hugga HQ bouncing off the walls), it’s also generating much discussion on riding with studded tires, cleats, and riding indoors, especially with euro hotness.

Update

Seattle PI in their ongoing coverage has this shot of a cyclist riding his bike in the snow, here’s another, and the Seattle Times has this video with a cyclist at 01:43.

Last Thursday in Portland, Shimano brought their tech seminar national tour to the Northwest. Besides explaining all about the new Dura Ace 7900 and the revolutionary DA 7970 electronic group, Shimano’s Chad Roberts explained the new Shadow-style rear derailleurs for mtb and the new lighter, more versatile Saint group.

Shimano also markets a line of components under the Pro name. Supplying the likes of Hushovd’s Credit Agricole Pro Tour team, they apparently supply champion track sprinter Theo Bos with this awesome carbon track bar and stem.

Andrew Musselman, local cycling fiend and a dedicated Ride Civilian, whipped up his own Studded Tires in preparation for this weeks icy commutes in Seattle. Here’s a tutorial that covers a similar approach. Andrew’s using flat headed screws, with the pointy side out which makes a bit more intuitive sense. A tire liner over the heads keeps your tubes from popping. At least that’s the theory, how’d it go, Andrew? Anybody else riding studs this late fall? A couple more instructive photos inside…

Friday’s release party for the Lovely Ladies on Beautiful Bikes (we’re a sponsor, yo!) was a big hit despite the inclement weather. Standing room only by 9:00, plenty of oboe-powered hobo cabaretby The Whiskey Romance and later Golden Robot Army played. Many of the Lovely Ladies were in attendance, and although I ducked out a bit early I understand the party was going strong at midnight. Nice work as always, MaLora, looking forward to next year’s calendar.

This is bike with sidecar basket is sweet. The bike is what is sometimes called a cycle truck (or if you’re British, a cycle lorry) with a side car (with spring suspension to boot!).

From Chris 531’s photostream.

I can imagine the surprise when the the lot attendant went to throw the tree on top of the car, but the owner pedaled around the corner on this instead.

Uploaded by wittco.gmbh | more from the Dapper Lad Cycles Photostream.

This is a 46tooth chainring for Dura Ace 7800. Shimano introduced this item without any fanfare, but this is the first item that Shimano ever produced specifically for cyclocross.

Thursday night I attended the Shimano tech seminar in Portland, and I learned that this chainring is not a fluke. Shimano recognizes that cyclocross is no longer a fringe sport for kooks; it is a serious growth sport and a viable market. Shimano will have more products for cyclocross.

So awesome and you can’t really worry about the weight with this bike, just like having no gears in Singled Speed cross.

Hat tip: Matt Haughey

Uploaded by Slonie | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Last time we were having it out with longtail cargo bikes. Longtails are all over the internet blogs, but now we’ll talk about a much rarer beast: the long john.

Stormy, Winter day in Seattle and out running errands on Bettie. Noticed the swells and grabbed this shot.

Here’s another.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

… raven bangs, spike heels, and killer curves, the iconic Bettie Page influenced our work here, we named our longtail cargo bike after her, and the term Betty

slang term for a girl who associates with the punkrock/skateboarding/alternative subculture(s). The term originates from pin-up model Bettie Page’s signature haircut with short bangs, a common fashion trait for girls in these subcultures

is part of bike culture. She died yesterday.

Photo credit: NYT, courtesy of Everett Collection

Never before has a man been more comfortable in a pair of tights; shaven legs and well-lubed.

See our review of DZ-Nuts in Huggacast 55: Cyclocross Shenanigans.

Ibex Bike Hugger Wool T’s shipping now. Embrace your inner Hugga!

Uploaded by El Cargonista | more from the Dapper Lad Cycles Photostream.

Looks weird at first, then still weird a while later. I walked into the bike shop and went, “uh, whoa, wait.” Totally stopped me and messed up my mojo for a while like I was in the Bizarro World Bike Shop.

Readers? What is this bike?

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

It’s rather Sci-Fi in design and aesthetics — Eischer like, even what a drivetrain would look like on the set of Blade Runner and this crankset is going onto the Hotspur.

Check this description of the front derailleur from Competitive Cyclist.

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Release party tomorrow night for the Lovely Ladies on Beautiful Bicycles calendar. Bike Hugger is a calendar sponsor.

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Custom, carbon tubes, titanium-lugged racing bike with Campagnolo Super Record 11 speed.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

It’s that time of year when magazines and media are all publishing top-tens, and the best of lists. We thought, let’s ask the readers what they think was the best of bikes this year.

Looking at our stats, here’s what you searched for, read, and responded to the most.

Typical searches

Fat guy, pink bike, amsterdam, steampunk, bike hugger

Popular tags

urban, MarkV, photos, racing, commute.

Popular entries

Kona Ute, In The Bike Shop: The “Bro” Deal, Bike Blogs, aero wheel wisdom, Helmet Laws in Effect.

Popular photos

Pam & Palin: on Stage, Trek Soho S Japan Spotted, Kona Ute Bike, Hugger @ SXSW Day 2: Drunk, No Makeup, Riding to work, Big Dummy Spotted.

Popular goods

Tees, Socks, Jerseys.

Popular videos

Huggacast 49: Bianchi Oh-Nine, Huggacast 45: Look 09, Huggacast 63: Dura Ace Electric Di2, Mavic Shoes, Huggacast 36: Scenes from Shanghai.

Hell to the yeahs — now that’s the opposite of leg-shavin’ all-too serious roadies, fully-bearded Cross racers.

Uploaded by nanobiker | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Ed. note: We’ve covered riding in the rain and after hearing from our readers, are gathering Cold Weather Riding tips into a post. Well-timed with this essay Patti Dobrowolski, CAT 4 women’s Development Team Captain (and visualizer), WOW wrote for us. Whether your riding urban, commuting to work, racing, or training, these tips should help.

Baby It’s cold Outside

In the PNW it is finally getting cold out and I always have to remind myself about what’s different when riding in the cold. I came from Colorado where it gets “frickin” cold but it often has a lovely sun in the sky and it is dry, so as long as you have a face mask on, you’re set. Seattle, just slightly cold but really, really wet.

from the 3rd Annual Supermarket Street Sweep.

Uploaded by shaderlab | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Bike Hugger was in Whistler over the weekend relaxing and doing some reconnaissance for Snow Hugger, our sister blog. The season was just getting started, they’d been pumping out snow with their machines (9M gallons), and all the talk was about the new Peak 2 Peak Gondola.

Continuing from Pt1, I want to put a dropbar on an mtb, but one needs a plan to get around the many pitfalls. The first problem is brakes. Since caliper brakes are not an option with an mtb, that leaves cantilevers, v-brakes, or discs.

In the Whistler Village, outside a ski shop …

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Alright, last week I laid down a system for categorizing cargo bikes, as God had commanded me. Perhaps the system doesn’t quite recognize every little nuanced variation of cargo bike, but we can’t have a different subgenre of cargo bike named for every butcher, baker, and candlestick-maker who pedaled his way to work.

What we needed was a way to get a handle on the types of bikes so we could discuss how the major variations compare against one another. Longtail cargo bikes get the majority of media coverage right now, but are they the right bike for everyone… all the time? Let’s look at where the new generation of longtails come from and maybe talk a little about their potential.

Fans of our Huggacasts can now watch them in high quality mode from YouTube and for the best quality, downloaded from iTunes. We’re shooting in HD and outputting with Quicktime using h.264. On YouTube, just below the video window, click high-quality and watch. For iTunes and iPod/iPhone users just subscribe to our podcast and they’ll download in HQ.

In advanced longtail, cargo biking, this is known as “Santa’s Sleigh.” It’s a collection of different size boxes, packages, and weights secured to the bike with tie-down straps. The weight in this load is 150 pounds.

Part One was published earlier today.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

Media

• Watch now on YouTube
• More videos
• Subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

My garage will run out of space right quick adding bikes like this to the collection …

Uploaded by Milwaukee Photographer Corey Hengen | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Have you ever been “doored”?

You know exactly what I mean, even though the word door isn’t usually considered a verb in the English language. But it has a very accessible meaning to every cyclist.

Now when I ask you, have you ever been leashed ?, perhaps the idea fails to communicate. Perhaps, you’re thinking of some naughty hijinks behind closed doors. But if I first ask you as a cyclist about ever being doored, and then follow it up with a question about being leashed…you are primed to consider the negative possibilities.

So tonight on the way to return some videos, I got “leashed” and I nearly encountered some severely negative possibilities.

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 fat tire bikes that got multiple gears and better brakes. The Creators 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.

What is Velocouture? Check it out after the jump.

Originally uploaded by Amsterdamize | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Hopefully we’ll get back to Amsterdam with more time to ride and see sights and bikes like this.

Uploaded by little green | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Spotted on Flickr and cool, got that for 100 euros — that’s about $127.00 USD.

Uploaded by Juha Helosuo | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Working with Patti Dobrowolski, Alchemy, on visually mapping out our strategy in 09 and for Hugga 2.0. This video is a peek inside the creative thinking going on at Hugga HQ, our approach to Social Media, and part of what I’ll talk about next week at Web Design World Boston.

This should prove far more useful than the humorous look inside Bike Hugger’s Brain and our Degrees of Hugga chart.

Matt Haughey wrote suggesting that we put all of our Cross tips, posts, and secrets from the Redline Vault of Cross Knowledge into one page and we responded with, “good idea,” and here’s the page.

Photo credit: ydereky

Part two of the Seattle Cyclocross Finale featuring Single Speed and the Cat 3 field. Slippery S turns, Sand Pit Run up, and more are shown. Includes more “dancer like” form from Hugga.

Part One was published earlier today.

Download now for iTunes, your iPod, iPhone, and subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

Media

• Watch now on YouTube
• More videos
• Subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.
• Huggacasts are also available in the iTunes podcast directory.

Part 1 of video from the Single Speed mens race at the Seattle Cyclocross Finale. Shown from the Sand Pit Run Up and barriers. Part 2 features more racing, commentary, and will post later today.

Big props to the racers out there, in a very hard series, racing for the win, as Pam said afterwards, “Cross is not a poseur sport.”

Thanks to Redline for supporting us with Cross bikes, including the Single Speed prototype, and reassuring me that I didn’t have a flat for 2 laps.

This Huggacast video features Aaron’s stoked Bafkiets with Haulin Colin’s trailer and Schlumpf drivetrain. Later, riding up steep hills in Seattle with Bettie.