I found this gem while tagging faces in the latest version of iPhoto. After we finished the MS 150, I insisted we go back and buy that roadside toilet for $10.00 and Pam refused.
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January 2009 Archives
There’s a concerted effort in Austin, not just a slogan or bumper sticker, to keep Austin Weird. Zombie traffic signs, rattlesnake bikes, confusing bikes like this, creepy-ass mannequins, and more. It’s a whole weird lifestyle there and one of the reason we bring the Mobile Social to town during SXSW.
Our urban ride will watch for Zombies.
Hat tip to Nick F for the Zombie news story.
Before the daylight hours lengthen in the new year, cyclists will talk about nighttime visibility and the merits of this light and that reflective bauble, but I always think back to a time when my colleagues and I emphasized stealth at night. In the 1990s I lived in Gainesville FL, off and on attending the University of Florida. During that time a number of factors, some temporary, made campus pizza delivery by bicycle a great business move by the university’s corporate dining system… and an addictive employment for me. Yes, pizza delivery probably ruined my college ambitions, because it’s hard to get out of bed and pay attention in class if you’ve knocked out sprint after pizza-laden sprint past midnight and then washed dishes until 2am.
Here’s the latest addition to my home tool box. I work in a bike shop, so I usually take care of most needs at the shop, but I like to be largely self-sufficient. Yet tools are expensive and I have limited space at home, so I need to be careful with my acquisitions. I just picked up this 3/8” ratchet made by Cyclus. I like the shiny finish and the rubber grip fits my hand just right. I got this tool to drive the external BB cup tool. If you already own a ratchet set, this Cyclus tool is probably superfluous for you, but you can get this one for about $40-45. Distributed by United Bicycle Supply (not the soon to be defunct United Bicycle Products, thank you Crossmechanic for the correction).
The new Knog Skink is a four LED unit in either red or white configurations and weighs just 56gr. It should retail for about $30, distributed by Cyclone Bicycle Supply . The silicon body seals the electronics from water and is available in 6 colours. As with all Knog lights, the light fits to seatposts or stays by wrapping the flexible loop around to the body. The Skink is obviously larger and more expensive than the wildly popular Frog, but new light runs on 2 AAA batteries, which are more readily available, cheaper, and last longer than the Frog’s CR2032 batteries. Even better, you can buy rechargeable AAAs. Another nice feature is the battery life indicator light, a small auxiliary LED next to the on-button that stays illuminated when the battery life drops below 25%.
Bike Hugger is in a Road Bike Action article about urban cycling and commuting.
I built this wheel for Jake, one of the Seattle fixie stars. It’s a Chub Hub, a double-sided fixed gear hub of massive proportions. The immense hub is constructed of carbon and aluminium with provision for cogs and track lockrings on both sides. The rim is a H+ Son, custom powdercoated black. Finished off with black DT Swiss Champion spokes and black brass nipples, the whole wheel is stealth. I thought I’d just cut the spokes and lace ‘em, but I hate to leave things unfinished.
Noticed Ipso/fatso’s illustrations on Flickr and posted the Wheelie of Hope last week. They’ve been pedaling around Los Angeles since 2003 with the slogan Fat Design for Fat People.
Digging this pee chee-influenced, bike culture piece and more of their work. Note: my kids don’t know what a Pee Chee is; that’s my youth gone by. Pee Chees was last popular in the 90s.
Vik Approved got himself a Dahon Mu P8 to review.
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Before SXSW and the next Mobile Social, we’re at the Bike Expo blending drinks up. Maybe Haulin Colin will join us?
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The book I wrote with Steve Brobak about business blogging has been translated to Russian! Surprise to us and I just got it in the mail. I’m thinking some Gazprom exec is reading the book on a Aeroflot flight or something. Cool.
The original book is available on Amazon.com: Publish and Propser: Blogging for Your Business
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What’s this from CETMAracks? A flatbed truck style cargo bike?
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Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer enters in 3rd printing and was named a 2009 Michigan Notable. Hometownlife.com interviews the author, Jamie Smith, about the book and how it was first rejected then accepted by Velopress.
The book is averaging 5 stars on Amazon.com. Readers have you read it?
... Read more »Rode DA 7900 this weekend and the group is a lot like upgrading an operating system: the same thing (it’s very much DA), but faster, snappier, and more responsive, with new gadgets to geek out on.
This is a quick upgrade review, while Mark works on a DA podcast with all the details. I rode the Hotspur with the new DA on a cold Winter day in downtown Seattle up into Magnolia hill, back on the Burke-Gilman Trail, and to West Seattle.
... Read more »A reader tipped us to his new bike, a 2009 Green Masi Coltello aluminum track w/ rear wheel cutout.
I’d name that bike The Green Manalishi with the Two-Prong Crown.
Little known fact: that song was written and recorded by Fleetwood Mac; second little known fact, I saw Judas Priest perform that, along with other hits, in Spokane during their Defenders Of The Faith tour.
Rock on.
Following our call for yesterday for artists and creatives at the Mobile Social SXSW, O2SM announces ArtBike!
A 2-D/street art/sculpture/installation exhibition, that is open to all. Art galleries, bike shops, schools, artists and artisans as well as other creative progressive people come together through community, bikes and art!
And it’s at the Handmade Bicycle Show in Indianapolis to “tap into the energy created as bicycling streams into mainstream progressive culture.”
Working now on getting ArtBike! to Austin.
From the Bicycle Film Festival to Byrne’s bike racks, Cinelli and RVCA, and all the crazy shit you’ll see at Burning Man, the bike inspires the creative.
Several people had asked me if I meant a Hubbub adapter when I said that I’d seen a dropbar shifter for a Rohloff internally-geared hub. But what I saw was this item from Mittelmeyer, a German company. I’ve seen two examples in person, but I have to say that I didn’t care for them myself. The shift effort was high and the knurled aluminium grip is really aggressive, but they were brand-new when I touched them. Maybe they’d break in somewhat. Also, I didn’t install them, so I can’t say if I might have been able to set them up in a manner more satisfactory. Anyone else tried these?
In these busy interweb times, when there’s a Social Media Expert around every blog corner, bum-rushing the latest beta, reactively dropping names, and ready at will to auto-follow on Twitter, it’s a relief to find another, creative and alternative view from Rhizome.
In engaging the social web we voluntarily fragment our interests, social ties and demographic information in order to make them “machine readable” and allow us to participate in these communities.
Rhizome explores the notion of web inventories — an index of one’s presence online — and profiles artists that are producing works based on the communities they participate in.
... Read more »
Digging this photo because it reminds me of the Tron Light Cycle.
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The BBC Radio World Service is running a three part series on “how the bicycle is used today and what impact it has on people’s lives.” Part one is out now and is available on their podcast.
Did you know Campy had a parts bike truck? Neither did I, but I’m reading about it and more in the Campagnolo: 75 Years of Cycling Passion book, released for their 75th anniversary and available on Amazon.com.
The book also looks good on our coffee table.
Note on the Book
When I posted a photo of the book yesterday, I was alerted by Carrie Cizauskas that some photos within the book were used without permission — there’s a discussion about that on bikelist.
One disputed image is here
- Flickr original image
- Campy History Book version page 143 (PDF).
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Sometimes you just don’t have time to get off your bike.
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The Loro Slowspot, the shop in Tokyo from whom I bought my Gios Feluca, specializes in mini velo bikes and recumbents. The shop itself was about 20x30” with the mechanics working in a corner. They carried pretty nice stuff, including this set of Hed Jet mini wheels.
Reblogging from EcoVelo, a Rohloff-Equipped Surly Cross-Check.
I’ve seen that many bikes stacked up in Amsterdam and Beijing and wow — America did bike to the Inauguration. Just seeing that many bikes in one place, gives me hope.
From Matt McGaughey photostream, which includes Gems like Lance’s Taxi-themed bike and a pink Lemond Time Trial bike.
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Well, let the upgrades begin. My Gios Feluca came stock with some crappy components. I’m still trying to get some SRAM Rival components, but these the Kenda Kwest tires need to go now. But “mini velo” means small wheels, so there’s not a lot of choices when you have 20x1-1/8” (451) rims. 
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is offering free valet bike parking for the Inauguration
Just ride your bike to one of our free bike valet stations, hand the attendant your bike, and get a claim ticket with a number that matches the number on the ticket attached to your bike. Your bike remains safe with WABA’s trusted attendants. As an added bonus, commemorative spoke cards and valet claim check tickets will be available free of charge to everyone who uses the bike valet. While supplies last.
Well that’s what I would’ve done as well…
“A man waving his bicycle infront of the MSNBC studio on the National Mall a day before Inauguration of President Obama. He later confirmed that his friends were able to see him at home.”
Bikes on the National Mall
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The hope at Hugga HQ is for a bike-friendly administration, tax breaks for small business, and bike-related transportation jobs (a small list really).
Photo credit: Mark Stosberg.
Also see the Obama Spoke POV.
New wheels get the Hugga decals — getting ready for racing season.
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That’s a valve extender with the value nut on the inside — pulled it out a of tire like that, been like that for a season.
Hmmm. Was that done in a rush? Did I do that, did Pam; was Mark playing a joke? However it happened, it set right into the rim and didn’t flat or tear.
For all of you awesome commuters, here’s a bright idea. Bring your own bike lane, for increased visibility, even when the streets don’t offer one. Though we’re pretty sure that SDOT would take issue with using lasers on the street.
Somber photo of Liz Hatch’s (Vanderkitten racer) crash.
“On the last descent into Calistoga I was a bit off the front and enjoying a great time down the hill when I came up on a corner full of pine needles a bit too quickly (understatement) and my only choice was to try to lay the bike out or hit the guardrail…”
Reminded me that Landis broke his hip on gravel near his hometown and the time that Lance crashed and didn’t tell anybody how bad it was.
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James May, presenter of BBC Top Gear, writes about his bike commute one day and the trouble with bicycles in a Telegraph UK article.
The trouble with bicycles is that they’ve been accorded an importance out of all proportion to their actual usefulness.
Having ridden in London on a Brompton, May should thank the city planners for an infrastructure that allowed him to get to his interview in 5 minutes. That’s definitely changed since 1885.
Just when I was commenting that we need a new safety bike for commuters, I find an article from Physorg on a self-stabilizing bike. Sure, that’s worth a chuckle, but also an interesting application of safety engineering that’s usually reserved for motorized vehicles and encouraging that engineers are studying ways to modernize bicycle design.
For every fixie rider that can demonstrate how bad-ass they are by descending Yesler in Seattle with no brakes, I’d argue there are 10 moms that’d like to ride to work, but are worried about many things, including falling.
I’ve seen pedicabs like this in Europe and once in NYC. Does anyone know who makes these? Why don’t we have these in Seattle? It looks like it has drumbrakes, which might be a good thing here in the states.
While we don’t cover bike racing here much, Lance’s return is certainly news that’ll impact our beat and we hope re-energize a bike economy that had a gas-price boom and then subsequently crashed with everything else. In Europe,
- The Independent wrote about Lance Fever
- The BBC has video with Lance ruling out a comeback win
- and another fever article from the BBC.
Number 11
Lance’s first race number in a long time. Photo Credit: Lance Armstrong from his Twitterstream.
... Read more »Christian Hubert, who suffers from vertigo, commutes by bicycle over New York bridges and is featured in a NYT’s audio slideshow.
Readers,
What fears do you overcome on your rides? I’m constantly on alert for car doors. Pam survived a dooring once, by hitting it just right and slamming the driver back into the car. Poetic justice we later agreed.
I’ve never felt good about selling new 650B bikes to people. Wool knicker retro romanticists aside, does anyone out there think that this platform is going to survive?
... Read more »While in Taipei, we spotted a bike parking attendant. This was between the hotel and the trade center.
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Don’t think that actually qualifies as a bike, but as a backpack scooter. Withholding full judgement, until I see it in person, but I think you could really biff it hard on a scooter/bike without a rear suspension and that small wheel. However, it looks like a blast to carve trails with on a ski resort, just stay away from the moguls and jumps
Hat tip to Chip at Soar Communications.
What fun you could have with a Dick Power kit and this restored bike.
More on Dick Power from the Bike Cult Archives and a set of Dick Power paintings.
Update
A series of photos about the build, including before and after shots.
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Looking at that photo for a while, I think a mutant, giant-sized crawdad would be aero. Don’t know how it would pedal though.
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This is Speedplay’s prototype MTB pedal that they’ve been hinting at for a couple years. It seems like a direct translation of the Zero road pedal to a 2-bolt recessed cleat mount, rather than an evolution of their existing Frog MTB pedal. It looks as if the cleat will allow inward release, something that no current Speedplay allows. As a long time Speedplay user on and off-road, I’m really keen to try these pedals. No release date announced yet.
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We’re two months away from the Mobile Social SXSW and are finalizing the hugga plan, how much schwag (a shitload), beer, prizes, and more. I’ll post frequently about the event as we get closer and here’s a microblog with all the details to date.
Notice the schedule link and 3 more Mobile Socials in 09. We’re talking about adding 2 more.
Photo Credit: Dapper Lad cycles, at the Mobile Social Las Vegas.
Fixed gear, sure yeah whatever … look at that fender! On the rainiest of days, I’ve fantasized about a fender like this, one with the square footage of a catamaran sail.
A fender that dares the storm clouds: “rain on me, g’head.”
Whoever owns that bike, I’ll give you a Bike Hugger Buddy Flap to fly at full mast behind you.
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Tim from Hed explains the Ardenne wheelset.
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Here’s another entry in the mini velo category. This one made by Kuwahara was at the same shop that I purchased my Gios Feluca; as a matter of fact, I think I carried my Gios home to Seattle in the same box that originally contained the Kuwahara. This Kuwahara “Funny Bike” is a flatbar, single-chainring, multispeed bike with a 24” rear and 20” front. Notice how the fork is built with long blades and relatively short head tube.
Readers win our affection who send stuff like this, with a note like this
If enough point 83 posengers pool their money, I’ll bet they could afford a trampoline.
At first, I thought hoppy there was playing his unicycle like a saxophone, but no he was just making out with it before the stunts.
This video would be 200% better if it was girls on trampolines on bikes. Bonus if your bike did play like a saxophone.
Seeing this striking photo from the AP, I thought, “Beijing!” Not the Olympic controversy, but the air we breathed when we were there. I bet it’s back to that level of pollution after the Olympics.
The photo is from Hungary and the cyclist is reacting to Hungary’s first smog alert.
Photo credit: AP/ Bela Szandelszky
Conscript your children into the Eco agenda … like a Lord of the Flies, Critical Mass …
Readers,
I present “the wheel.” Yes, with all of Mark’s recent posting about wheels (that’s my thing as well), check how someone just stuck pedals on a wheel and called it a Unicycle.
While technically correct (it is one wheel), I’m wondering how you’d actually ride that without an axle or a seat. It’s available from Unicycle.com.
Hat tip Ken Kaplan.
Davidson’s Will Meyers brazed lugged steel.Will has been working at Davidson for years. Here he’s brazing a head tube lug. The coolest part is how the metal glows red. You can’t see it well because of the resolution of youtube, but the last thing he does in the video is dab a little more brass wire on the joint.
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During the past year, we traveled and rode in many places around the world. Those places include Tuscany, Rome, Amsterdam, Vegas, Shanghai, Taipei, Austin, Portland, Maui, Monterey, Kona, Santa Barbara, and Japan.
Our 08 travel posts, photos, and videos, are gathered here on this topic page.
Mobius Cycle off of 1st Ave in downtown Seattle has partnered with SIK Werks to create a custom rim that glows in the dark for 14 hours on a full charge. The rim pictured here is a white DT Swiss 1.2 that glows with a blue phosphorescent in the dark. This is the unassuming rim in the day light. Mobius was inspired by the Keirin Jersey Colors 1-9 and plans on releasing red rims next. Check them out on line, or see the shop owners hot pink Nagasawa here.
Uploaded by mobiuscycle | more from the Dapper Lad Cycles Photostream.
Here’s my oh-so exclusive wheelset: new Hed “Belgian” low-profile, clincher rims laced to Mavic Classics Pro hubs with Sapim straight-pull CX spokes. Hed Cycling is now selling the same rim as used in Ardennes and Bastogne wheelsets to shops for building with any 32 or 28 hole hubs. I got the 32h aluminium Belgian; they also offer the same extrusion in a scandium-alloy (“Belgian-Sc”).
The Belgian rims are the same 23mm wide “C2” platform as the new generation Jet wheels. The Jets use the wider rim to create a better transition from the tire to the carbon fairing, but riders discovered that the wider rim made for a tire than cornered better because the tire is better supported. Hence, the creation of the Bastogne and Ardennes wheelsets, as well as the Belgian series rims now.
Max does the final welding at Davidson Bicycles. I talked him into welding some eyelets onto my ti road bike, thereby allowing me to run a rear rack and fender on my rain bike. The video clip might imply that the process was faster than it was in reality, and setting up is tedious. But since it was titanium, the clean up
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There’s a department store in Japan called Tokyu Hands which started out as a hobbies and crafts store, but now it has something for anyone who likes doing creative things. In the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo, the Tokyu Hands store has the most amazing cycling section I’ve ever seen. Next to a display case of Dura Ace 7800, they have a shelf full of anodized track handlebars, racks of leather toe straps, bags of powdercoated spokes. This is a store that also has everything from calligraphy to model trains. You could easily kill 2 hrs shopping here and still miss a floor of interesting things.
EcoVelo tipped me off to Miami’s plans to promote cycling.
The Miami Herald article: Miami’s long-downtrodden but growing community of bicyclists is reaping a sudden bonanza: Miles of new bike lanes and plans for more. A new monthly, family-friendly bike festival downtown. And a clutch of bike-friendly proposals designed to promote cycling for recreation and commuting. (complete article)
Having grown up in south Florida, I have my doubts about Miami’s long term success.
... Read more »Mark races Starcrossed demonstrating a total lack of fitness and absolutely dismal cyclocross technique. I never even attempted a running remount the whole race. My strategy was to use my mtb’s fat tires to power through muddy turns faster and avoid dismounting as much as possible. Did it work? Well, I did finish…
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With greed, war, unemployment on the mind, this basket bike with slogan reminded me of good times and hope.
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Mavic is in the midst of organizing a voluntary recall for all variants of R-Sys front wheels due to a possibility that the tubular spokes could break unexpectedly and cause a crash.
I can’t help but wonder if Mavic was too emboldened by their success with aluminium spokes (eg Ksyrium SL/ES/SSC and later Crossmax generations). I have always loved their premium hubs because they are so easy to service, so simple in execution. Beautiful. But I’m not so sure that the tubular carbon spokes are a good use of the material, and the bladed carbon spokes of the Cosmic Carbone SLR seem very un-aerodynamic. Hence my switch to Hed Jet aero wheels.
Still, Mavic does some things well. A set of Crossmax ST wheels will be the next and final upgrade for my dropbar Bianchi mtb.
I have to admit, I don’t read the directions that often. I mean, there’s nothing mysterious about a quick release after nearly 2 decades of wrenching. But sometimes the directions make great entertainment.
The manual that came with my Gios Feluca mini velo was mostly Japanese, but there was an important note for aliens.
It’s a Big Island — we were riding South and Lance was riding North. We never saw him, but did see the same lava letters shown in this photo. While riding into Kona Town, a local stopped us to say, “did you know Lance was here?” “Yes!” we replied.
Every cyclist we passed, we’d check if it was Lance. I bet they were doing the same thing.
Photo credit: Liz Kreutz
When I bought my Gios mini velo from the Loro Slowspot, I passed by this mama-chari outside of Tokyo Station. I have to say, it looked posh in red. Sure, it’s got a child seat and electric assist, but something about it says sporty. Like how Jessica Alba is still smokin’ hot even with a baby carrier.
As the West Seattle blog tells the story, a thief tried to sell a bike back to its owner (twice)
In early December a parking garage condominium on SW Avalon was burglarized. The victim had her bicycle stolen. The victim located the bike on Craig’s List and met the seller in the Downtown area. The victim took the bike for a test drive, verified it was hers by the serial number and kept the bike.
On 01/03 the victim notified SW Detectives that the same seller was selling another bike on Craig’s List. Detectives called the seller as a potential buyer and met the seller in the downtown area. When detectives met the seller, the victim was with detectives in a nearby vehicle and positively identified the seller as the same person who tried to sell her, her stolen bike. The seller was arrested and booked for trafficking stolen property.
That story is nearly as good as Bike Lost Bike Found and the Surly Mustache that was also recovered via Craigslist.
Few things say urban tough like an upside-down bike skull sticker …
especially when paired with a snake lock. Oddly the bike shape doesn’t form a face, but instead I wondered if that’s how the skull dude was supposed to have perished, like he ran into an upside down bike or a bike pile.
Hey, forgot to mention last month that at the Shimano Tech Seminar in Portland, Shimano gave away a Dura Ace 7900 group. Not just a voucher, they just handed off a box full of DA during the raffle. Jordan Hufnagel of Hufnagel Bicycles, sitting 2 seats to my right, won. He makes cool bikes, so I can…almost…forgive him for winning.
Check out his custom steel bikes.
Reuters | More than half of U.S. cyclists forgo helmets: report
Whenever we post anything at all about helmets, it tends to descend into a "You're nuts!"/"No, you're nuts!" kind of a thing.
However you feel about helmet use, we're passing along the linked study by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, which found that 58 percent of Americans don't wear helmets while cycling, and that 92 percent of riders killed while cycling in 2007 were not helmeted.
The study looked to quantify how often Americans "engage in risky behavior," but only of the Consumer Reports-safe varieties, including driving 10 mph over the speed limit, leaving items on the home stairs, and talking or texting on a cell phone while driving.
Along with helmet use, the study also tracked things people don't do, like wearing sunscreen or using ear protection when using heavy equipment. It appears in the February '09 issue of Consumer Reports, with some details available online.
In other news, I'm not alone in never unplugging my toaster -- about half of Americans do likewise.
This may have been a dare, a challenge, but I can say from experience that riding in floodwaters is really dangerous because you can’t see the road. Readers, not stopped by most conditions even snow, are you riding in floodwaters? Are we expecting locusts and frogs to fall from the sky next?
Photo credit: Dan DeLong/Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Hugga rode Kona on the Big Island.
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So the Seattle snow-pocalypse seems to be over, but the rain is rather heavy by local standards. Coming from Florida, the NW winter rains never seem that heavy, just incessant.
Living in a small apartment, I have to be careful how much water I bring inside with me. If I had a garage, I could just leave all the wet there. But since everything has to fit inside, I developed a system.
Wet bike goes on the wall hanger, all wet clothes hang on the bike. Shoes, socks, bag, and gloves go on the bamboo mat below. Then I put the floor fan on high to dry it all out.
Everything is usually dry in about 8-12hrs, and the cool air is better for the technical apparel than a clothes dryer (which I don’t have anyways).
Just back from Kona and getting caught up, with more observations about traveling with a Macbook Air. As I’ve written, the computer does what it should, it’s not limited by the processor or graphics card. I ran a full compliment of software including iPhoto, Final Cut Express, and VMware fusion.
Spotted in the airport, returning from Kona, en route to Seattle. That’s a Pixar, custom Timbuk2 bag. See the inside in this photo.
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So a few people have asked what exactly is my souvenir bike from Japan, and here it is: a Gios Feluca mini velo. Mini velo can be any bike with small wheels (and they are frequently folding bikes), but the market in Japan has taken the small wheel platform and added a twist. Some mini velo have taken on the style, components, and sometimes the capabilities of 700C road bikes. Well-known North American and European brands have jumped onto the trend but only offer their mini velo to the Asian markets (Japan, Taiwan, South Korea). 
This picture was the end of my test ride. I bought the bike from Loro in central Tokyo.
... Read more »UPDATED - with some of your favs
The season for the Pro’s is underway. We’ve gotten a few comments asking about the news sources we use for following our favorites. There are a couple of the usual suspects:
Blogs:
but lately it’s been fun to follow the pros on Twitter as they tell you just how much spare time they really have:
- Lance Armstrong
- George Hincapie
- Dave Zabriskie
- Team Slipstream
- Ivan Basso
- FLandis
- Jani Brajkovic
- Bissell Cycling Team
- Tommy D
- King of Pants Racing
Got any others you’d like to share? I’ll update the post with the good ones.
Remember when all spokes were silver? I thought black spokes were stupid when they first came out…now I’ve got this fetish for them. Here’s a picture of a straight-pull Sapim “CX” 2.0/1.5mm spoke against a wheel built on DT “Alpine III” spokes (2.34/1.8/2.0mm).
And what happened to those colourful plastic spoke sleeves kids used to put on their bikes? Did those disappear from the market when The Partridge Family went into syndication?
While I was in Japan, I saw bags of spokes for sale at bike shops, powdercoated in a variety of neon colours. It’s only a matter of time before the fixed gear crowd stateside gets ahold of them. It’s occurred to me that fixed gear bikes are developing from velodrome speedsters to trick bikes in a manner that parallels BMX’s transition to flatland freestyle bikes. Hopefully I’ll have more later to write and maybe video.
I’ve been running a FSA K-Force Light mtb crank and ceramic BB on my dropbar Bianchi mtb for a week and a half now. With little free time and no car to get out to real trails, I’ve had to satisfy myself with urban playtime and I have some things to say about the K-Force Light.
In short, I like this crank a lot, and I have to say that I have in the past generally disliked FSA cranks.
... Read more »I’ve never been a training ride with my bros, when we’ve not stopped for a teammate to mess with their Powertap; to make sure they get the last possible watt measured, set their intervals up, they forgot to set it right, or something. While Powertaps have certainly improved from the days of failing on the bike, they’re still a complicated on-board, super-power-measuring computer. I’m not a Powertap user and have nothing bad to say about their devices — dudes swear by them, I know.
In the past 6 months I have replaced every wheel associated with my four road bikes and my convertible road/fixie/track/travel bike. I rebuilt two sets of Mavic Classics hubs onto new Open Pro Ceramic rims, acquired another set of un-rebuilt Classics Pro, and swapped my Mavic Cosmic Carbones for Hed Het60 C2.
That left the wheels on the do-everything Sycip travel bike. I’ll need a front and two rear wheels (10sp and fixed).
A New York Times article from this week highlights some of the challenges of the bike shops these days. I recently posted a call to the Hugga’ community to get out there and support your local shops. The article provides more insight into some of the struggles. The credit pinch certainly isn’t helping.
What’s hurting the Local Bike Shops?:
- Inventory costs
- Bad assumptions on the size of the Commuter market
- Tightened wallets
- Low gas prices (doh!)
Riding hard on the roads of Kona, I thought that much suffering had come before us. That the training we were doing was nothing compared to the champions who had left it all on the road in the cycling leg of the Ironman.
We went to Denver over the holidays and although I used to keep a bike to ride when I was working there regularly, I decided to use it as my rain bike in Seattle. So it is always with some remorse that I travel to Denver for more than 3 days. I’m not big on spin classes although I have done some killer ones in Boulder, but Denver? The mountains beckon and I just want a real bike to ride.
From the timbos, to the dreads, to a tall bike made for two — stylin’ in the new year.
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Dents, scratches, creaks; all part of a travel bike and a “patina.”
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
I admit it - my brakes squealed today, but then I’m a committed disc-brake for winter riding kind of guy.
Byron’s always had a hard time with the value of it - mostly because of the dislike of brake squeak, but I can guaran-f’ing-tee it makes a huge difference on those dangerous, wet descents. Today I took my Baron Outsider for a nice 3.5hr ride in the cold, wet mess of a New Years day we had here in Seattle. I snapped some pics after I got home to capture the bike in its element (covered in road grit). If you want fancy shots - hit the website.
... Read more »Sign spotted roadside in Kona. Photographed with chuckles and various jokes.
Dapper, urban, and riding bikes on New Year’s Day in San Francisco.
Uploaded by wrenee | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
I joked last week that my New Year’s resolution was to
be more tolerant of Triathletes, as they’re 1/3 cyclists.
well, being in Kona, the land of Ironman, I’ve already tested that resolution. More seriously, I’m working on
- More community outreach — connecting locally
- Diversity — diverse voices on Bike Hugger
- MTB — adding MTB coverage.
In 07, Andrew resolved to ride everyday and I think he did it. In 06, the challenge was to see “how long I can go riding every day.”
Readers what’s your resolve?
Update
Demonstrating what bike geeks we are, we were in bed by 8:00 PM, up at 6:00 AM and riding long today South on Kona.
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