The League of American Bicyclists announced that Portland, Oregon has been promoted to the platinum level of its Bicycle Friendly Community program. The designation of “Bicycle Friendly Community,” given at levels from Bronze to Platinum, recognizes those communities that are improving conditions for bicyclists and cycling safety. Portland is the first large U.S. city to…
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Fort Collins bike library opens
The Fort Collins, Colorado Bike Library opened earlier this month. The Bike Library, which is run by the city of Fort Collins bike program, currently has 50 bikes available for for anyone to use for free for up to seven days at a time. Unlike the automated bike kiosk rentals available in Europe, planned for…
Bicycle-Sharing Program to Debut in Washington DC
WashingtonPost.com: The metal racks are for SmartBike DC, a bicycle-sharing program touted as the first of its kind in the nation. The program is a public-private partnership between the District government and advertising giant Clear Channel Outdoor, which operates similar automated bike rental systems in France, Norway, Sweden and Spain. By mid-May, the racks will…
Grade your bike locking skills
New York bike mechanic Hal Ruzal goes out with Bike Church founder Kerri Martin to evaluate how New Yorkers lock their bikes in this video at Streetfilms. Bikes with secure front and rear wheels and saddles using quality locks get an A, while those secured with “Craptownite locks” from the hardware store get a D….
What are the top cities for bicycle commuting?
As Commute by Bike continues to be the most visited resource for bike commuters on the web, I’m able to take a look at our stats and see where people are reading from and get a good feel for the top locations for commuting by bike. The top ten cities in the US are: Chicago…
Snapple's Antioxidant Water
Snapple recently announced the release of their new line of Antioxidant Water. As part of their launch I was contacted by them to try out and review some of their new water. Apparently we were chosen because this site promotes fitness. If only they actually knew me and how much of a slacker I really…
Turn signal cycling jacket
Here’s something just for Sue, who keeps asking for turn signals for her bike. Michael Chen of Middlesex University in the UK designed his “Reactiv” responsive cycling jacket. The jacket uses an accelerometer that senses movement to change the color of the LEDs in the back from green (accelerating) to red (braking). It has amber…
Finally, a Mobile Phone that Fits on my Bike Trailer
Sorry, I just couldn’t resist that headline, but this is actually a serious story about an interesting new concept in Nicaragua. From the Triple Pundit story:
Here in the US, we’re used to the near ubiquitous access to cell phones, with the possibility of thousands, if not unlimited minutes. But what if every phone in the US was prepaid? Such is the case in Nicaragua. There, people use their phones mainly to receive phone calls, or as address books to make calls at one of the numerous, more affordable “call shops” in the country. Brian Forde looked around, saw the prevalence of three wheeled bikes, carrying cargo, people, ice cream, and had an idea: create a pedal powered mobile version of the call shop, able to go wherever the people are.
The company, Llamadas Pedaleadas, makes the trailers using common parts for easy repair and maintenance. The electronics run off of a car battery that is charged through the pedal power of the bicycle (with a kick stand to raise the tire for stationary charging). Check out the video below to see it in action.
Bike trailer trash
This Earth Day weekend, Bike Trailer Shop staffers Josh and Jeff, got out to help clean up Flag’s south side. Not wanting to get too dirty, we naturally volunteered to haul around the bagged trash and deliver refreshments, while the thirty-or-so other volunteers donned hip waders and dredged the infamous Rio de Flag. When they filled up a bag, we picked it up and rolled back to the collection site.
Earth Day 2008
Tomorrow is Earth Day! If you are a sometimes commuter, why not make tomorrow one of the days you ride your bike to work? Earth Day has been celebrated every April 22 since 1970, sparked by US Senator Gaylord Nelson’s desire to push the environment on to the national agenda. It was intended as a…
Batavus Personal Bike AT
Seattle Bike Supply is the USA distributor for “the Dutch Biking Sensation,” Batavus bicycles. At the 2008 Sea Otter Classic, SBS showed some of the Batavus models now available in the United States such as the Personal Bike AT. The Batavus Personal Bike AT features a very low step through frame, skirt guard and chain…
Basil bags now available at YOUR local bike shop
I and many of you have gone ga ga over the beautiful panniers and bags available from Basil Bags in the Netherlands. I loved them so much I bought for my wife last year from Clever Cycles of Portland, OR, which had arranged their own import deal. I learned just today that the big bike…
The bike industry is coming along
My biggest beef with the US bike industry is the lack of vision of what a bicycle is and can be. The bicycle was stolen by the sport market and they are now seen large and wide as a hobby and/or toy. But things are changing. I spent a lot of time the last three…
Award: Swobo Del Norte
I got to spend a good while riding the Swobo Del Norte around this morning. While it’s obviously not enough time to do a full review, it was a nice smooth ride I would expect from a single speed. Lots of red bits and chrome handlebar tape (while not the most comfortable) is what makes…
It's Spring… Time to get a BOB Trailer!
Thought I’d mention that BikeTrailerShop.com just launched their annual Spring BOB Trailer Sale.
It’s a great opportunity to get a BOB Trailer at 10% 0ff. Get a BOB Yak from $269 or an Ibex for $332.
New Pedros Trixie tool
Pedros is well known for their bike care products and for being a very environmentally minded company. They’ve recently picked up some new investors and gotten a new infusion of cash. During the press conference yesterday I asked what they would be doing with their new found money and they said: We’re very interested and…
New Redline "Chick" 925
We’ve reviewed and posted 2008 pics of the Redline 925, however they are now showing the new “Chick” specific model (with matching bag) here at Sea Otter. All the same specs and features as the original 925, but with updated graphics that match from the frame to the saddle to the Basil brand bag. What…
Schwinn Coffee (and Cream)
The Schwinn Coffee is a budget minded commuter bike built with design and function in mind. This very classic looking bike has a lot of great features for the commuter. A rear rack, chain guard, kickstand and steel fenders come stock. The brakes are both Tektro dual pivot and coastor. The swept back handlebars will…
The Wacky World of Bike Trailer Tents Part 1
As I scrape the edges of the internet for all things related to bike trailers I’ve come across a surprising variety of bicycle trailers with tents built into them. The amount of design that has been put into these towable shelters is at the same time impressive and a bit odd.
When it comes to tents and bike trailers it would seem to me that the simple, obvious solution is to just bring along one of the numerous lightweight backpacking tents. That being said let’s humor these interesting setups with the spirit of invention.
Commuter profile: Suit in the City
One of the more common reasons given why people don’t bike commute is because they can’t wear office wear on their Bianchi Pista track bikes. This bike commuter is architect Riyad Ghannam in San Francisco. He rode is bike to elementary school, middle school, high school, to his college classes in North Carolina, and now…
2008 Sea Otter
I’m currently sitting in an airport in Chicago on my way out to Monterey, CA for the annual Sea Otter event. I’ll be there with the rest of the Crooked Cog crew covering the show and keeping an eye out for all the newest and brightest products for your commuting pleasure. If you want to…
Update: How the Surly Big Dummy Rides
I’ve been riding the Surly Big Dummy on a daily basis for a month now and am reading to give my thoughts on how it works from a commuting standpoint. This first segment will focus on how it rides. One of the regular question of longtail bikes is how it rides. In general, it feels…
Natalie Ramsland on city cycling
Natalie Ramsland is one of the principles of Sweetpea Bicycles and one of the few female framebuilders in the American bicycling industry. Earlier this year, Natalie participated in a panel discussion about City Bicycles in Portland, OR. Though “Women Specific Design” bikes are more available, many of these are either recreational sport bikes for athletes,…
SealLine Urban Backpack : Preview
Last week I took delivery of two bags from SealLine, their Urban Backpack and Shoulder Bag. The first one I really will be testing out the next few weeks is the Urban Backpack. With its dry sack design and roll top it really is water proof. This right now is needed in the South East…