February 2010 Archives

This one time riding at night, I rode into the Puget Sound by mistake and that was shocking enough; wouldn’t want to do that on purpose like these cyclists in New York.

Uploaded by jonnyfixedgear | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Chilly Hilly is the traditional start to the Pacific Northwest cycling season and it’s just that chilly and hilly with the route being on an island.

It’s also a uniquely Seattle experience with thousands of cyclist queued on a ferry.

Stats

• Chilly Hilly had 3,858 riders
• Riders came from 16 states, including Alaska, Iowa, Nevada and New York - plus British Columbia and France
• 25% of riders were female; 75% were male
• The oldest registered rider was 83 years old. The youngest was two years old.

Also don’t let the recreational riders fool you, there is a finish line to this ride and many cyclists consider it their personal mission to beat you to it. Most are just there for the fun.

Photo posted on February 28, 2010 by awilliams53

Yesterday it was the Seattle Bike Swap.

Stopped by the Seattle Bike Swap during a Saturday afternoon ride. Shot with an iPhone.

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iPhone

iPhone users can download and watch now and access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

Our plans today were to head out to the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Virginia, but a small BLIZZARD got in our way. Crap.

The website Commute By Bike is covering the show, so head on over there if you’d like to see some drool-worthy bikes. Or if your’e in the area drop on by. They probably have low attendance because the whole east coast transportation system is pretty much locked up.

If you’re at the show, drop a line in the comments to let us know what’s good looking there.

Part of the Amsterdam experience, besides all the bikes, is the street art like this Party Ballon with Marilyn Monroe and Michael jackson.

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

While the turnout was light — it was 31 degrees with mixed rain and snow — we had a good time during the Mobile Social Amsterdam @fitc. Mark from Amsterdamize was our guide and took us for a ride when we needed to get another bike …

Tucson is in the high-desert at about 2500’. Riding in the city limits is possible, but venture a few miles in any direction and the options really open up. So far I’ve only gone up Mt. Lemmon until I’ve been turned back by time or ice (pic above is from today at ~6000’). The next couple days should warm up so I’m hoping to get all the way to the top (~8000’) by Thursday.

Housing options are plentiful since plenty of folks “winter” down here, but there are some folks that specialize in cyclist. Check out The Cycling House if you want some top notch training.

HD video from the Mobile Social Amsterdam during FITC, a creative conference. We were down a bike so we rode to get another bike while alternating who sat on the back of Amsterdamize’s bike.

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iPhone

iPhone users can download and watch now and access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

Nice backdrop for an urban bike.

We’re en route to Amsterdam for the first Mobile Social of 2010 during the FITC conference. We’ll ride with Marc from Amsterdamize to a reception at Work Cycles.

Then on Tuesday I’m talking about changing the world with bikes.

For the last week I’ve been at the Olympics in Vancouver, but unlike Byron, who had the chance to go on some rides I’ve been working in the Main Press Center for some pretty long shifts.

While I normally bring my bike to an event like this my scheduled hours made that a bit more impractical. I’m regretting that as our hotel is about 9 miles away and takes about forty minutes on public transportation. I’m pretty sure I could out-sprint the train.

Vancouver is a less-active city bike-wise than I’d have expected. There are some nice paths but the swarms of hip, urban cyclists I normally see just a commuter-flight away in Seattle are largely missing. Perhaps it’s the Olympics scaring them away—many roads are closed and there’s a good deal of traffic—though I’m not quite sure. I brought a bike here five years ago while working on a book project and I don’t remember seeing the hipster flood that I’d expect.

Of course we do see the occasional fixie go by (like in this shot from my gallery of images during the time-off I’ve had here and have stumbled upon super-great looking bikes like Ross’s Peugeut seen here.

Am I wrong in this perception? Is there a flourishing hipster scene tucked away somewhere? I’ve only really been able to get around the Waterfront area so where are all the bikes and the bikers.

Uploaded by davidjschloss | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Remember those Race2Replace posters from a few years ago? They were done by Dutch Uncle and are collected on their website, including this one of Big George

Transporting insulation by bike must increase one’s efficiency rating — hope Jym is tracking his wattage with a power meter.

Uploaded by Jym Dyer | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Continuum Cycles is owned and operated by cyclists who love to ride, work on and custom build all types of bikes, like this one.

Uploaded by nuzz | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

The owner reported that it wasn’t overly uncomfortable. Also see this one.

Uploaded by harry harris | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Pam and I are not tandem compatible for several reasons, mostly because we’re both competitive and can’t imagine sitting behind or in front of the other one while they did something stupid. One of us would pedal lamely, wheel suck or sandbagged up the hill, or whatever. That being said, we know tandems are out there and cyclists ride them. House Industries, a type foundry and impacter of design, has been trolling for tandems.

Readers? Can you ride tandems with your significant other? Family members?

HD video from our trip to Vancouver for the Winter Olympics, including a Tweed ride, hanging with KK+, urban cyclists, and protest marches.

Watch now on YouTube or download and sync to iTunes, your iPod, iPhone. Subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

iPhone

iPhone users can download and watch now and access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

The Dutch Embassy brought 400 Dutch Rail bikes with them to the Olympics and at least two were parked outside of our hotel.

We also saw them riding around. They’re well adapted to the wet and we’ll see more this weekend when we’re in Amsterdam for the first Mobile Social of the year during the FITC conference.

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

Decals

Patrol

A strong brand no longer available in the States.

Uploaded by MiguelLuis | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

We visited the Winter Olympics to blog the culture because Vancouver is a bike town. @kk showed us around and we shot photos in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood, which is a world apart from the Olympics and just a few blocks away.

@ Signs

The Cambie for breakfast

We’re blogging the Winter Olypmpics by bike starting today, following along on Twitter

• Bike tweets — @bikehugger
• Cultural observations — @texturadesign
• Personal notes — @dlbyron

The context is that Vancouver is a total bike town and all those cyclists are riding around the festivities. We’re joining them and expect to see lots of this

and tweed.

Let’s imagine that cycling experiences a decade-long boom in popularity, fueled by media coverage, high profile personalities, and flashy new technology. Then just as suddenly, cycling is no longer cool. I mean, really not cool. The butt of jokes, an association that is an instant buzz kill in the singles bar. Now imagine you are a big time player in the cycling equipment industry, and you dominate the market but your sales are plummeting. What are you gonna do? Well, you either cry yourself to sleep after selling off your assets, or you transfer your expertise to some more robust market, even if it’s crowded with competition.

How plausible is this scenario? Ask Alex Bont. Who is Alex Bont, you ask?

The Burke-Gilman Trail is a successful Rails to Trails in Seattle — cyclists use it as a North/South thoroughfare. The battles to build it were before my time in Seattle and today the controversy is at the Ballard extension. While lawsuits and counter lawsuits make the news, this video from Streetfilms indirectly shows why. Industrial areas, big box stores, cars, and railroad tracks do not mix.

From a West Seattle perspective, Ballard and Stone Way (another law-suited bike lane) controversies don’t address Marginal Way where cyclists are riding through a heavy construction zone. In the history of livable cities, that’s where Seattle’s battle lines are drawn.

Before we arrived in Seattle, we rode in Eastern Washington and in the Winter it was on snow-covered irrigation canals. We’d leave fresh tracks. Those canals brought the desert to life and we’re like bike highways for us. This photo of the Carron Valley Trails reminds me of those rides.

Uploaded by Jist A Blether | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Chris Matthews, Global Integrations Manager for Specialized wrote from the Sydney airport to tell us about expanding Down under and to New Zealand:

So I’m here in the Sydney airport, we’re in the middle of a multi-city tour in Australia and New Zealand along with Prez Mike Sinyard, Women’s Brand Manager Rachael Lambert, and our new local crew to meet with dealers and let them know our plans. We’re stoked to be here, super exciting to be going direct in this market. Starting with 2011 product, the new Specialized Australia and Specialized New Zealand offices will be selling to a new network of both current and new dealers. If anyone needs more detail, they should refer to www.specialized.com/feb10 - or contact either market leader. We’re currently looking for some key staff positions too. As an added bonus: this is a rad place to ride bikes. Tons of riders, seems to be a safe place to ride, and lots of full bike racks everywhere we’ve been so far. And holy crap we sure have a ton of Australian talent on our roster: Sam Hill, Allan Davis, Stuart O’Grady, Chris “Macca” Mccormack…there are a ton of fast guys down here! way cool.

One tip from us is that the accents between those two countries are NOT the same. Do not mistake them!

Apple released Aperture 3 earlier this week with all kinds of new in it, including chronologically Google-mapping your photos.

Aperture Places View

Europe and India leg of our Mobile Social Worldwide

Ok that’s cool and fantastic for your rides and tours because you can create a book like this

Indiana Jones Map style

One of the few perks of being a bike shop employee is working off the clock on side projects. My friend just acquired a used Santa Cruz full-suspension, and we needed to do some work on it to get it ready for Moab. Some Thai take-out and beverage made it all enjoyable.

I’m talking about bikes, blogs, and Seattle on KMTT the Mountain this morning. Mountain listeners, we’re a blog about bike culture and curate all things bike here. Like this

• Turn-signal coat
• Lance Armstrong’s Superbowl Ad
• Coffee to Go on a bike

We’ve been doing this for almost 5 years now: click around, check the archives, and learn more about us. Have a comment on the show? Just sign in and let us know, can also contact us.

Into bikes as well? We’re at the Bike Expo next month with Cascade and ride around the world in events we call Mobile Socials.

While that stem is distractingly tall, the bike itself is a beauty.

Uploaded by Saddle Up | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Check this out: on a tip from Zannestar, Turn Signal Jackets.

With a full tutorial on Flickr. The jackets are made by Shih Chien University fashion students with the direction of Leah Buechley and use the LilyPad, a sewable set of electronic components.

Hooray for interactive, innovative fashion. Just think about what you could do with this tech. Sewn into panniers, for example.

Uploaded by leahbuechley.

The Plastiki is an EcoBoat with energy bikes that power its electronics. Why they would need full suspension for that, don’t know, but OK whatever works. Maybe it’s to maintain optimal position during rough seas.

If they bog down, could call the Schleck Brothers brothers and power all the way Sydney. Or get their bodies scan like Lance did for best evar aerodynamics.

A local fair-trade coffee shop, Caffe Ladro has this nice little 12oz. travel mug. It’s exactly the size for a latte from my Nespresso machine. This morning I thought I’d be clever and save myself the $5 at the office and “pack my own” for the ride. Well it made it for the hour ride without spilling…but it was cold when I got to the office. Back to the drawing board.

Caffe Ladro supports local cycling team IJm.org. Support those who support Cycling!

We were out riding during the Superbowl, and missed this, but hey cool that Lance was in a commercial.

It’s called Little Bumps and is about active lifestyles and lite beer. Just posted a behind-the-scenes video from the commercial to our community.

Almost a decade ago Frank Kirk, an aeronautical engineer, had the bright idea that a magnesium bicycle frame could be made lighter and stronger than conventional aluminium or steel tube frames. He found he could make a magnesium frame only two-thirds the weight of an aluminium frame and one-fifth that of a frame made of steel — the Independent UK

and we spotted a Kirk this weekend. The initial response was, “whoa” and a nod to how this must’ve been the shit back in 1988. While Kirk didn’t own the 80s with this awesome, die-cast magnesium wonder of CAD, for a weekend or a month, somewhere on a group ride, this bike got talked about. Sort of like Trek’s Y-Foil bike or Softride’s “dinosaur-tongue” beam bike.

We’re in Vancouver this weekend to blog the Winter Olympics, hang out with Kris Krug, and the girls from Momentum Magazine.

There’s a Tweed ride on Saturday afternoon and a we’re planning a meetup for that night. See you there?

Tandem mascots uploaded by MEOMI; Countdown uploaded by Xuan Rosemaninovich | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

This is pretty cool. I use the Cyclops Training DVDs because they combine road riding footage with a “toolbar” of what power the coach is putting out. I really like format because it’s not just “go harder,” or “go easy” like most of the other offerings.

If you read the article, dpouncy found software that lets you time-sync your helmet camera with your power data and have it displayed on the screen. It’s be real interesting to see something like this from the view-point of a Tour sprinter in the last 5k. I bet the numbers would be amazing.

We now have a Tour de France narrative that isn’t just Pistolero Contador v. Lance; it’s @lancearmstrong v. #whatatool (that’s a hash tag, it’s like a bookmark on Twitter) @vaughters — Lance tweeted that he wouldn’t be forgetting this comment anytime soon:

In 2009, the tactics worked in his favour and Astana were soft-pedalling a bit to not embarrass Lance [Armstrong].

The quote from Vaughters appeared in a TimesOnline article about Wiggins leaving Vaughter’s team for Sky, a new British-based team. If you’re unfamiliar with the intricacies of cycling, Vaughters just called Lance weak, which is like questioning his manhood. More accurately it’s like calling John Wayne a Communist or calling him a pussy or calling Reagan a Democrat — you get the idea.

Last year in our commentary, we asked what young, champion bicycle rider wasn’t a Pistolero, including Lance who stole the win in a surprise move, at the Worlds back in the day …

Into fixed or not, few could argue about how bad ass this bike is. Looks like a cousin of the pimp Scott Addict SL we’ve got at Hugga HQ.

Roll up on that, throw down some smack, and proudly tell everyone that Bike Snob hates this bike.

Nablis uploaded it to Flickr and titled it Fhai’alchemy.

Multi-modal with a tall bike and train in Portland.

Uploaded by gregraisman | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Photo: Douglas Friedman.

That’s a custom-built Fast Boy single-speed bike next to the model and featured in the NY Times.

More on Fast Boy

• Fast Boy Box Bike
• A bicycle without a Seat
• Sporting Wood

whoa.

Uploaded by e-RICHIE | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Vacation time in the Bahamas over Xmas 09. Rode there with folding bikes from Dahon and Brompton.

Watch now on YouTube or download and sync to iTunes, your iPod, iPhone. Subscribe to the Huggacast Feed for more episodes.

iPhone

iPhone users can download and watch now and access our Huggacasts via the iTunes Store on a Wi-Fi or cellular network.

At some time in the future, we’ll find a bike to restore, and blog it all up. This BSA Bermuda’s patina is like rusted paint and that head badge is cool.

Uploaded by Bikerescue | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

The SXSW Play App (launches iTunes) is available and includes a podcast with me and @livestrongceo Doug Ulman. The podcast is about the Changing the World, Lives, with Bikes Core Conversation we’re presenting on Tuesday

That’s after the Mobile Social during the opening weekend. You can find the podcast under the Greater Good category in the app. It’s also available as an MP3 file.

The two dudes in the photo are from our trip to India last year.

Upon seeing this, immediately fired off a special request to Henry at WorkCycles to have this in our Mobile Social Amsterdam!

Uploaded by henry in a’dam | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

I think it’s those gloves that his mom made him wear. I mean, c’mon that’s totally baby.

Uploaded by pete.holmes | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Lots of cyclists, including us, are already thinking about iPad apps and a handlebar mount. Velodramatic photoshopped a mount and jokes in a post about the Colossus app.

Wind tunnel testing has shown that the low profile iPad has impressive drag numbers despite its size. Deda has fabricated several prototype stems with a revolutionary vacuum mount that channels low pressure behind the headtube via a specially ported fork. Amazingly the vacuum is strong enough to secure the unit on the worst pave Belgium has to offer. Perhaps we’ll see it make it’s first race appearance at Paris Roubaix if it passes the UCI’s technical review.

We don’t know about the viability of the iPad on handlebars and get the joke, but also expect a messenger bag or quick-access pannier for travel and again see the dashboard potential for touring and randonee; especially when connected to the Reecharge system.

Like I wrote a few years back, I kick off each year with riding as much as I can. Every day is the goal. Training for racing with a “real” job and family means lots of days slogging through a wet commute or holed up on the trainer. It’s Groundhogs Day, and like the great Bill Murray Movie it feels like I’m in a bit of a repeating pattern. My last day without a ride was Christmas Eve. Granted Seattle has had the warmest January on record - but at this point I love the routine. We’ll see how long I can push on.

What’s the longest stretch of “days with a ride” that you’ve been able to put together? I know one friend who logged a total of 17 days in 2009 without a ride…All YEAR!

Electra has an iPhone App. It’s available now and is like a mini-catalog brochure, with a dealer locator, and a community function: upload photos. The app is nicely executed and for Electra’s fans.

We’d like to see it do more. Something to make it stickier. It’s worth just a few minutes of bike entertainment with slick photos and video; however, it’s good to see a bike company get engaged in the iPod Touch/iPhone app community.

Scott Addict SL for the Twenty Ten racing season. DA 7900, Hed Stinger 6s, and nothing stupid light. Should weigh in 15 lbs + .

The tape is Fizik and feels like tennis racquet tape. It breaks in and doesn’t slide or wear. The graphics say something in Shimano/Scott language, but I can’t make it out. When combined it’s like a tribal Mori tattoo. Not very often graphics look like they were made for each other. Initial ride is the same as the Scott ProTour bike I rode last year.

Here’s the business end.

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

Kinekt Design has the sort of quasi-bike-gear ring that could probably get me through a super-long meeting better than even Brickbreaker. Check the video and be amazed.

A NYTimes most emailed article about ebikes earlier today contained this quote

“To the core cyclist, it’s cheating,” said Loren Mooney, editor in chief of Bicycling Magazine. “Marketers understand this, and it’s why some have put e-bikes in mass retailers like Best Buy, rather than engaging in the uphill battle of trying to sell them in bike shops.”

There’s a perception problem when @bicyclingmag says you’re not cool and cyclists look down at you, but the ebikes market isn’t about bike geeks, or the opinion of Loren, it’s new cyclists and commuters. Marketers fail to sell ebikes because they’re hybrids with motors, not performance or even cargo bikes with a boost, like the Bettie.

The “uphill battle” with ebikes will continue until the industry makes better bikes, until marketers discover who the urban cyclist is, and actually talks to them. If she hasn’t already, the editor in chief of Bicycling Magazine should meet the urban "noncore" cyclist. She’d likely learn they ride almost everyday around town and don’t shop for bikes at Best Buy.

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

The S&S coupling joins and splits the top and down tubes of a road bike like the Modal.

This hinge folds and unfolds a Dahon

This press release just hit the newswire: FITC Amsterdam 2010 Takes To The Streets With Bike Hugger

Bikes, technology and culture intersect at The Felix Meritis European Centre for Arts and Sciences, Sunday, February 21, 2010, when FITC Amsterdam and Bike Hugger team-up to present FITC Mobile Social, a group ride that combines community and conversation with artistry on two wheels.

FITC commissioned two bicycles from Champagne Valentine based on artwork developed by the duo for this year’s event graphics and we’ll ride them during the Mobile Social. Marc from Amsterdamize is our guide and we’ll arrive at WorkCycles for a reception.

I haven’t seen the bikes yet, but the technical execution of the concept was done by Fietskoning. The bikes will be on display at Felix Meritis during the two-day run of FITC Amsterdam, an annual conference for interactive designers and developers.

RSVP for the ride on Upcoming or Facebook. More details are on the Mobile Social page.

Interested in getting involved with out Mobile Socials, we’ve got a sponsor page just for you.