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I saw this bike locked outside my apartment building recently. I noticed a note and got a little closer and discovered someone was interested in making the bike their own.

Filed Under: admin 

Just a small reminder to all you cyclists out there - cars weigh more than bikes. I have had words with a few automobile drivers in my time but I am always cognizant of the fact that if the driver of the car “loses it” and decides to target me - I’m going to lose. I let the fact that I am outweighed by a few thousand pounds temper my “enthusiasm.”

The following video is a sad story from CNN about a driver who pulled in front of two cyclists and then jammed on his brakes. According to the segment, the dude has a reported history of doing this. The best part? Dude who jammed on his brakes is a doctor. I guess the Hippocratic Oath and all that nonsense about not wanting to do others harm does not apply outside the hospital walls.

Filed Under: culture, safety 

I’m not a huge fan of the government telling people what to do. I think people should wear helmets when riding a bicycle, but I’m not sure it’s the government’s job to institute common sense. When I see people riding without helmets I actually get nervous. Sure they may be expert riders, but no matter how expert you are, you can’t control everything around you.

One thing I see a lot is people riding with their helmet strapped to their handle bars. Isn’t that kind of like opening a condom and never putting it on? In both cases there is a small chance that not using your equipment for it’s intended purpose could change your life forever. Not sure about you, but I’m covering up even if the chances of “an accident” are minimal.

On a ride back in the 1980s a friend of mine went off the edge of the road and if it had not been for his helmet he would have died instantly. The helmet cracked clean in half and it would not have been a pretty site had he not been wearing a brain bucket. A recent editorial I ran into does a much better job than I of making a case for helmets by including some very sobering statistics.

Okay, I’ll get off my stump now and get to the point of this post. For those who want to rock a helmet but fear that it crimps their style, a company called YAKKAY is here to help. They have created a series of helmet covers so you can protect the only brain you have while looking suave at the same time.

The only bad thing I see is not a lot of ventilation going on. You might look stylish, but you also might counter the style effect by looking like a sweaty mess if you ride too long in one. Full details on the YAKKAY site. Have you modified your helmet for style in some way? Feel free to comment.

Filed Under: gear, safety 

This is less hackery than an impressive piece of engineering:

The Dogsled appears to be built for Burning Man, but beyond that I don’t have much info. Oh, and it looks like it’d be fun to ride, though turning seems questionable. Build pics here and more build pics here. And here’s a blog post with more pics from what appears to be a brief test drive.

(via MeFi)

Filed Under: culture 

Here’s a question for all you prolific or would-be bike hackers out there: what are your methods for determining obscure specs on older bikes?

For instance, my friend Roger has a 1999 Cannondale F900 mountain bike and he needs the bottom bracket specs. He’s got the user manual, but it doesn’t inform. And Cannondale’s Web site only goes back to 2000. How would you advise him to get the specs? Roger’s an engineer by trade, so actually measuring is probably within reason for him, but not most of us. I told Roger to hit the BikeForums.net ‘Mechanics’ forum (a treasure trove of useful people and information), and to hit Cannondale directly.

Do you have a better method of determining unknown specs? Leave ‘em in the comments!

Filed Under: maintenance, modification 

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I get tired of automobile companies dominating television commercials. It seems like at least half of the commercials out there are about cars. From London comes a commercial about bikes. Enjoy.

Filed Under: admin 

It seems hip to be associated with the iPhone these days. I have held one once or twice and admit that they look cool and the interface is much better than I have seen on any other hand held device, but not cool enough for me to drop down the cash and change my service provider.

A data plan that runs in the neighborhood of $100 a month (when all the taxes and fees are added in - what do all those things mean anyway?) is a bit much for me. I spend all day in front of a computer, why should I pay top dollar to have the same experience anywhere I go? Okay, enough of my rambling.

Via jpmartineau.com comes news that you can now take the hippest of bikes, the fixie, and associate it with your hip iPhone.

If you are a fixie gear ratio head and rock an iPhone, you now can take your devotion to a new level. Evaluate your gear ratios, check tire wear, and rest assured that you are in the top 1% of all that is hip.

Filed Under: culture 

I posted some pictures of bicycles I saw in Rio De Janeiro last week and I stumbled upon some photos of graffiti I saw in Sao Paulo. These two tags are not super impressive, they just have to do with bikes so I took them, but I must say that I saw some of the best graffiti ever while in Brazil. Them illegal artists can spray like nobody’s business.

Filed Under: culture 

Some things are just meant to go together. Like peanut butter and jelly, Oreo cookies and milk, beer and . . . well, beer goes with just about anything as far as I’m concerned. Another great combination is the bicycle and camping.

Bikes are not just basic transit either, they can be work horses. For example, there is quite a bit of information out there on pulling a canoe with a bicycle. Via the Patent Pending Blog you can see what I am talking about. This just makes me want to go camping right now.

A trailer for a canoe is such a good idea that you would expect manufactured options to be out there. Wicyle.com has an awesome trailer that looks light and simple.

There is always the option of mixing an off the shelf product with some hacking of your own. Such is the case of mixing a DIY hitch as seen below (follow the link for details) with an L.L. Bean boat cart.

Or you can go completely self made as Carolinajim shows on his site. The final product is a thing of beauty.

Do you have any camping bike hacks? Feel free to share in comments or to submit a hack via this form.

Filed Under: culture, modification 

I ran into an article via the Los Angeles Times that starts with this:

When a research study in a peer-reviewed journal appears with the title “Cutting Off the Nose to Save the Penis” … well, forgive me, but I’ve got to take a look.

I would tend to agree. That is a study that, ahem, raises my curiosity. Is it merely an urban legend that the traditional “banana” bike seat can cause sexual dysfunction in males? It seems not now that a study has been published proving that it is no urban legend.

That some male bicyclists can suffer sexual dysfunction, including impotence and problems maintaining an erection, was an idea once scoffed at but recently proven, according to a story by Bill Becher in the Los Angeles Times.

The full article referenced can be found here. I have been riding with a traditional banana seat since I got my first bike back in the 1970s. I have never tried any other seat but I am definitely interested. Global Bikes features a page with a bunch of “noseless” bike seats.

Does anyone out there have any experience with such a seat? I am really curious to know if it is as simple as changing out a standard seat or if adjustments are required. Are they comfortable? If you bought a seat like this did you keep it or go back to a banana seat? Are they good for both on and off road? Please chime in and let us all know in comments. After all, it seems the family legacy may depend on it!

Filed Under: culture, gear