“Traffic congestion costs the U.S. economy $78 billion a year, wasting 2.9 billion gallons of fuel and robbing commuters of 4.2 billion hours.” This article from Weather.com lists the top ten worst cities for commuting.
Commute by Bike
Ivan Basso rides a Raleigh One Way
We really like the Raleigh One Way bicycle, a sweet steel singlespeed bike with fenders and wide tires that’s great for city riding. Professional cyclist Ivan Basso apparently agrees… Read more at Raleigh Commuters blog, from where I stole this photo.
Manitoba Bike Commuter Rides 112 Miles a Day
Wow! Simply, wow. CBC News has a feature up about a guy riding 112 miles (round trip) twice a week. Doing the math, he averages a little over 22 MPH. Mike Caslor says “My office mates think I’m a little bit crazy. But in many ways, part of the reason I do this is to…
Abused commuter bikes
Yesterday we talked about hot road bikes for the commute. Lightweight road bikes, though, can be a little finicky, and many of us like to keep the sporting equipment in pristine condition. In a comment, Steve asked the question: “What constitutes ‘commuter bike abuse’?” A few things come to mind for me; I’m sure CBB…
Hot road bikes for the commute
Here at Commute By Bike we focus primarily on utility bikes designed more for practical transportation rather than fast sport recreation. I know many of you, however, like the fast road bikes. My good friend Ken Conley in Silicon Valley is a fast bike fanatic who rides his bike to work. He recently had an…
Chat LIVE: Join me right now (we're done, check the update)
UPDATE 2: It’s over and we had a great time. Look for the next announcement in the near future! UPDATE: We’ve got over 20 people talking and some great discussion on lights going. Join us… I’m trying something new today with Commute by Bike. I’ve setup a chat area so you can ask your commuter…
RideTheCity.com: Safe bike routes for NYC
Live in New York City? Ever wondered what the safest route is between where you are and where you want to go? Check out RideTheCity.com. It’s a mash-up application based on Google Maps that uses several different data points to help you safely find your way through the city by bike.
Quick Tip: Forgot your light? Use your iPhone!
Saw this tip pop up on Twitter from user rabbieburns (click here to follow him): Best alternative use of an iPhone so far? I forgot my front bike light tonight. Some sticky tape and iPhone later… That’s a very brave man… Click here to follow me on Twitter.
End of Summer BOB Trailer Sale
We’re having our End of Summer BOB Trailer Sale at the Bike Trailer Shop. The sale is running from August 23rd to September 7th. Its a great opportunity to get a BOB Trailer at 10% 0ff (BOB Yaks from $259 or BOB Ibex from $323) BOB Trailers are a great all purpose trailer. From bike…
Bianchi's city bikes for 2009
I’m looking at the preliminary 2009 Bianchi product line. I see some pretty interesting things in their road and mountain bike lineup, but this is a commuter site so I’ll keep my focus there. For the city and commuter bikes, I see mostly evolutionary changes and enhancements to Bianchi’s existing product line. For example, the…
In praise of YOU, the everyday Olympian
After bicycling for 152 miles in 6 hours and 23 minutes in Beijing’s smoggy air, the gold medal was determined by a fraction of a second. Spain’s Samuel Sanchez willed a supreme effort to out-sprint the world’s great riders like David Rebellin and Fabian Cancellara. Fifty-seven million U.S. citizens ride a bicycle, at least, on…
Gas prices are fueling higher bike sales
There’s things that are just “common sense” to a lot of us, but it’s always nice to see it backed up by real data. Bikes Belong did a survey recently that shows that gas prices are pushing bikes sales higher than ever.
2009 Masi Bikes Commuter Preview
Last year saw a lot of good things come out of the once road-only Masi Bikes. Last year saw the release of the Caffe Racer, Speciale Commuter and SoulVille. All three models are selling well with the Speciale and SoulVille selling out as quickly as they can be stocked. Masi 2009 shows more variations of…
Interbike is coming (plus, I need your help!)
Interbike, the yearly bike-gasm trade show held in Las Vegas, is quickly approaching. This is the event where cycling related companies all get under one roof and try to peddle their wares to bike shops and media folks. Last year saw a huge swell in commuter specific bike products and 2008 promises to be no…
Fisher El Ranchero longtail bicycle
Trek World is Trek’s annual show where they show dealers what to expect over the coming year. I’ll have more about some exciting new bikes like the Trek District, a redesigned Soho (with belt drive) and others later, but first I want to mention Fisher’s El Ranchero cargo bicycle. The El Ranchero looks superficially like…
Cargo bike co-op
Cargo bikes are handy for hauling large loads, but not everybody has the place to store one, and cost can be a factor. It doesn’t always make sense to a cargo bike or large trailer sitting around all those days that you don’t need one. A small group in Vancouver, BC have started a new…
Civia Cycles 2009 : New Model
Civia Cycles is releasing snippets of a new bike that is going to be released at Interbike ’09. The bike is geared for shorter distance commutes with the ability to carry more due to front and rear racks coming stock on the bikes. A gentler geometry than what is found on the Hyland. An internally…
Driving in America: 1950
Disney’s perspective of driving in 1950. Goofy stars as a Jekyll and Hyde character, Mr. Walker/Mr. Wheeler. When he’s a pedestrian he’s mild-mannered and rational; when he’s a driver he’s mad and bad. It’s amazing to see that the issues we faced over half a century ago haven’t gotten any better. Video posted by our…
Traffic engineers are not cyclists
Born Again Cycles recycles bicycles in Melbourne, Australia. BAC blogger Mark Horner rants about a topic that might resonate with many of us, that the people who design our streets are not cyclists. The problem is that those who research, design and implement solutions for the vulnerability of cyclists within increasingly frenetic ordinary road situations…
Spike Bike
Since some people are talking guns and bikes in the previous post, I thought I’d bring up Bob Fishell’s old “Spike Bike” stories from the late 80s. Bob wrote those stories in 1988 and 1989. One story was published in an issue of the now-defunct Cyclist magazine. Bob told me a short while ago that…
The continued clash of bike and car commuters
This New York Times article, Moving Targets, is a fascinating read about the growing animosity between cyclists and drivers on the roads. While the main subject focuses on the issue of sharing the road, there’s also several interesting nuggets of information gold buried in there. Here’s my take on it…
Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie commutes by bike
This story about Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie is very cool. As a Mormon he spent two years as a missionary, so perhaps that’s where he got his bike riding start. It’s excellent that he still gets around by bike. It seems as if half the Orioles team gets around on two wheels and…
Friday news and blog roundup
SF Bay Area firm pays 58.5 cents per mile for employees who bike for their jobs. “Schools move to eject cars from campuses,” USA Today. Dutch Bike Company Seattle to open a store in Chicago next month. They’ll sell Bakfiets, Velobris, Retrovelo, WorkCycle and other European utility bikes in the Windy City. Check out this…
Billy the Boombox (Custom Music Bike Trailer)
Our fellow bicycle trailer enthusiast, Ryan Cooper, contacted us about a custom music bike trailer that he cooked up. We decided to post up his words and photos about his project. Also, check out another music trailer we reviewed. The Origin of The Project: “The local Critical Mass group completed their May ride and pedaled…