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…
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New Rideshare Program for Ohio Bike Commuters
The Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency has just announced a new service for those of you in Ohio who commute by bike in Lorain, Medina, Cuyahoga, Lake or Geauga counties. OhioBikeBuddies goal is to help you find a partner to share your commute. If you’re interested, access the site HERE and register. It may take…
What happens when a bicycle helmet meets the wheels of a car?
Lest you’re ever tempted to believe claims that bike helmets can hold up to the weight of a truck, allow me to direct you to the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (aka Randy Swart) page demonstrating the true effectiveness of bicycle helmets when placed underneath a car. Click here for more photos, which feature sticky red…
State Farm Backpedals on "Humiliated Cyclist" Ad
I came across this State Farm ad last week and at the time found it to be somewhat insulting to bike commuters. The video has been pulled from YouTube, but the link describes the commercial. Apparently many of the commenters on Streetsblog also took offense, and surprisingly, Tim Van Hoof, the Director of Marketing Communications…
Q&A: What gearing should I use on a singlespeed mountain bike?
Ed. – This question came in from a reader who needs some advice. If you’ve got an answer and/or opinion, please leave it in the comments. Also, if you have a question you’d like answered, email diggers@commutebybike.com. From Anthony: I’m going to give commuting a go and need some advice. I’m a singlespeed mountain biker…
The Slacker's Guide to Bike Commuting
This article isn’t for the detail-oriented bike commuters. It’s also not for the hardcore, race-to-work riders either. This one is for those of us that don’t like to plan ahead. Bike maintenance isn’t our thing. We consider rain showers wash-day for our bikes. And we certainly aren’t using our daily commute as training for a…
Georgia Cyclist Will Carry the Olympic Torch
Congratulations to Bonnie Bobbitt of Fayetteville, GA! This fellow cyclist will be carrying the Olympic Torch on it’s route to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Bonnie will be one of 80 Americans to carry the Olympic Flame during the San Francisco leg of the Relay, the only U.S. stop during the torch’s world tour. “Judy…
Earth Day:!@%$#! Cars, Ride Your Bike
Earth Day is around the corner and, the way we see it, the only thing better than having an excuse to ride our bikes is having an excuse to get lots of people to ride their bikes.
You might have guessed that we have a passion for bicycles here at the Bike Trailer Blog. A big part of that comes from our desire to minimize our individual impact on the environment. Join with us this Earth Day in promoting bicycling as a solution for earth friendly transportation.
"Flintstone Car" Case Thrown Out of Court
You may have seen this video floating around the interwebs a few months back, which shows Michel de Broin’s so called Flintstone Car hitting the street and eventually getting pulled over by Toronto Police. The ’86 Buick Regal was gutted and “equipped with 4 independent pedal and gear mechanisms that make it possible for passengers…
Commuter profile: Dolin in the South Bay
Dolin is a fashion designer in San Francisco who (until recently) commuted from her home in San Jose to her job in San Francisco via Caltrain, riding her bike the two miles from home to the train station. ” It was a very long and tiring commute,” says Dolin, “but the thing I looked forward…
No Tax On Sub-$1000 Bikes (in Ontario)
Up here in my home province of Ontario, the provincial government has removed the provincial sales tax (PST) on bikes under $1000. The program, introduced last December has been extended for another two years until the end of 2010. “We want to encourage more Ontarians – young and young-at-heart – to get outdoors, spend time…
Insanely long bike commute
I think most CBB readers know that my commute is “multi-modal.” That means I ride a bus, a train and then my bike to work. Today, I missed my bus. Rather than wait 15 minutes for the next bus, I decided to bike the entire distance to work. For me, the entire distance is 44…
Improve bike sales with commuter appeal
Ray Keener, a long time bike industry sales consultant, wrote up his creative ideas for Commute By Bike on how bike retailers can capitalize on increased interest in bike commuting. Keener writes for BRaIN and runs the Bicycle Leadership Conference. Visit his website GrowthCycle. Ray also recently developed the Selling Coasting retail training tool. Selling…
New Trailer Lineup
The Bike Trailer Shop has been expanding a bit lately, and in the interest of reaching all segments of the bike trailer market, no matter how niche, we’ve have decided to throw our hat into the trailer-building ring with the first two of what we hope will be a long line of BikeTrailerShop.com branded trailers.
The first of our new bike trailers, sure to be a hit among riders of all stripes, is the Pony trailer, designed exclusively for the mass transport of refreshing beverages. You’ll be like the pied piper with this trailer, followed closely wherever you ride by hordes of thirsty fellow bikers.
Video: Bicycle Anatomy 101
This is an amazing little video put together by Carlton Reid of Quickrelease.tv. It walks you through all of the parts of your bicycle and lets you know what they are really called (as opposed to “that lever thingy”). Let us know what you learned… Bicycle Anatomy for Beginners from carltonreid on Vimeo.
Bike Trailer Sound Systems
While most of you are probably just concerned with a good trailer for bike touring or getting your groceries home with, there is a growing scene of eclectic and sometimes inspiring ways to make further use of cargo trailers.
Bicycles and music are finding a union through bicycle trailers. In bike festivals and parades a wild variety of sound systems can be found perched on bicycles and mounted on cargo machines.
General Motors buys Specialized
Update: As most of you already figured out, this is indeed an April Fool’s post. Carlton Reid of Bike Biz, Fritz, Arleigh and I were all in on it from the beginning… about two weeks ago. It was all in good fun… seems even Mike Sinyard got a laugh out of it. Silicon Valley Business…
Stupid, but for different reasons
Everybody has been talking about this video from Slate about the “stupidest bike lane in America.” Andy Bowers thinks his one block long bike lane makes it “the stupidest bike lane in America.” In many areas, local governments have committed themselves to striping every wide street in their jurisdiction, so these short bike lanes abound…
Early Spring
We’re having an early spring here in Flagstaff. And with it we’re surging ahead with strong sales. It’s been awhile since I last posted and we’ve got quite a bit of news to report. First off, Jeff Hankens has joined the Wandertec team. Jeff was a great find for Wandertec, already having experience with bicycle…
Take the Pledge
Take the commuter pledge over at Velocommuter.org I took mine today! Try riding a bicycle to your job or school. Just once! You might discover what so many others like you have found: it’s fun, healthy, and faster than you think!Leave all of your troubles behind you as you get that exercise you keep trying…
Product Review: Cannondale Doubletrack shorts
I bought a pair of Cannondale Doubletrack mountain bike shorts on March 24, 2007. The Cannondale Doubletrack mountain bike shorts consist of a mesh inner short with a padded chamois and a separate durable outer short. Last Monday (exactly a year after I bought them), the fabric finally wore through in the crotchal area. I…
Positive feedback: Complimented for cycling?
We discussed here and elsewhere the trash talk from co-workers, acquaintances, family and strangers about our crazy habit of cycling to work. It’s a proven scientific fact, however, that the mere act of being on a bike makes you more attractive. For a dramatic example of this, take a look at my wife’s cousin’s brother-in-law…
New BikeTrailerBlog.com Authors
I am kicking off our update blog by introducing several new authors that will be contributing with posts:
What caused your flat tire?
Pinch flats. I got a classic pinch flat last night on my commute home. I was in a hurry and bumped hard against a curb, after which I heard the hiss of a deflating tire. Pinch flats happen when the tube is pinched between a hard object (like a curb or pothole) and the wheel…