Many long-time bike commuters can relate to this story of “No belt, no bra, no pants”. I’ve made several emergency trips to local stores to buy clothing or personal hygiene items after arriving at work or other destination to discover I’m missing a vital piece of my wardrobe. It’s been a while since I’ve made…
Commute by Bike
Commute by bike, win a valuable prize
The Carbon Conscious Consumer (C3) climate campaign is challenging individuals during the month of August to commute by bike or otherwise avoid driving one day per week. Those who are most effective at getting others to take the pledge can win valuable prizes, including a one week bike tour in Oregon, a free Breezer bike…
Commute by bike in Seattle
The I-5 construction project that begins today in Seattle is projected to create major traffic hassles all the way into Tacoma as 130,000 vehicles per day are re-routed from I-5 onto surface streets. Here are some commute by bike resources for those who try to bike to avoid the traffic mess: Commuting 101 for the…
Bike Trailer Questionaire
A group of students at the Art Institute of Colorado majoring in Industrial Design are working on designing a bicycle cargo trailer. Please help them out by answering some questions about bicycle cargo trailers. Your input could help inspire an exciting new bicycle cargo trailer design.
Yahoo! company car
Check this out. Yahoo! had a huge bike fair at their main campus in Sunnyvale, California. Five lucky winners got this special purple edition of the Specialized Globe Comp IG8. The Globe is Specialized’s line of hybrid commuter bikes, and this particular model is equipped with carbon fiber forks with rack mounts and the Shimano…
Any folders in the fold?
Folding bike maker Dahon recently reported record sales for the first half of 2007, with unit numbers and revenue at all time highs for the small California company. On my commute in the San Francisco Bay Area, I see a variety of folding bikes from Bike Friday, Brompton and other vendors, but I see more…
Raleigh Cadent Recall
Raleigh America is recalling 2007 Raleigh Cadent 1.0, Cadent 2.0 and Cadent Carbon bicycle models with carbon forks. There have been three reports of the carbon forks breaking resulting in injuries including a dislocated shoulder, a concussion and a broken jaw. The bikes were made in China and were sold at Raleigh America dealers nationwide…
Dealing With The Overly Courteous
We have yet to have had a 10° day in the Kansas City area this summer. Don’t get me wrong, I do NOT have a problem with the cooler temperatures. Last year, July and August gave us afternoon temperatures around 10° to 10° on a regular basis. What I have noticed this year is that…
One Way crashworthiness
I’ve mentioned previously that most of my bicycle commuting over the past 20 years has been on skinny tire “racing” style road bikes. A close encounter with a car on these bikes almost always results in a bent or broken wheel and often results in little plastic and metal bits scattered all over the road….
Business Platforms
This week at Wandertec: 1. Finalized the design of the Wandertec Sax 2. Got interviewed by a journalist for the Chicago Tribune for a possible story about Bike Cargo Trailers and their use in Chicago. 3. Worked on designing some packaging using Adobe Illustrator for the Wandertec mLite. 4. Listed some the Ultimate5 Plus Handelbar…
The Perfect Cargo Machine
The perfect bike cargo trailer would be light and strong. It would have lights and a kickstand incorporated into it. You would barely notice its affect on your bike as you pulled it. It would work on road and off and have smooth suspending properties to keep your load from getting jostled. It would work great for both large and small loads. It would go on and off your bike with quick/secure ease. It would collapse down neatly out of the way and transform into a carrying case for your bike when you were traveling like the CELLO bike case.
BSO redux
I stirred up some controversy way back when with my post on bike shaped objects. BSO lovers can rejoice in THE BIKE OF DOOM. This is the journal of an admitted bike snob who bought a low-end Canadian Tire Bike Shaped Object for his bike commute. He’s put 900 miles on the bike so far…
Commute by bike and pro cycling
Just some random and unorganized notes and links about utilitarian cycling and the Tour de France and racing and controversy. Bike Hugger says he expects Interbike 2007 will focus on “comfort bikes, SUBs, cargo bikes, and the like” instead of racing bikes. Great article from Grist on Bicycle Shame To be a successful adult, apparently,…
Commuting In Boise
There is a nice article on the Idaho Statesman site today about bicycle commuting in Boise. Dana Oland writes that the commute by bike began due to economic and environmental concerns but is worried that those of us who have done this for a while will roll our eyes when we hear that Dana now…
Commuting 101: Seat Position
Recently I twisted around a bit to look behind me and twisted my bicycle seat in the process. I’d been happy with the position of the seat before, but having ridden the bike with the alignment off a bit I noticed a little numbness at the end of my ride. When I reached the office…
Commuting 101: Riding in the rain
Several options are available for the bike commuter who rides in the rain. They include: Getting wet: If the weather is warm and if you shower and change at work, this isn’t an unreasonable option. The major drawback is water can get driven into some bearing surfaces, especially the bottom bracket. Even sealed bearings are…
Using the Trailer
This week at Wandertec: 1. Finished the Wandertec SAX (BOB liner) design and began testing. 2. Began assembly of the 1st batch of Wandertec mLites. 3. Fitted lights on my Carry Freedom Y-Frame Trailer. 4. Started using my Carry Freedom Y-Frame and Xtracycle to transport a large load of work equipment across town instead of…
Why Bike Trailers?
Hmm, why do I love bike cargo trailers so much?
Maybe its because I can do what I want to do with them which is ride my bike.
I don’t like sitting in an oil burning car. I like getting out there under the sky and doing something with my muscles and smiling at others as I roll on by.
Why do you love bike trailers so much?
Bike trailer for adult handicapped passenger?
I’ve known my buddy John for a few years now over the Internet. He’s an enthusiastic fellow who rides his bike around Sydney, Nova Scotia. John has a problem and I hope the smart readers of CBB can find a solution. His partner Lisa was born with spina bifida and cannot use her legs. She…
Ideas to promote cycling
A cyclist on the San Lorenzo River Trail in Santa Cruz, California. Photo by me. Here’s a discussion thread for the weekend: CycleDog wants 100 ideas to improve cycling in his state. What are some good things you’ve seen that improved or promoted cycling in your area? What are some interesting ideas you’ve seen? Here…
Biking hazard: Tree sap?
I saw this note posted yesterday on the local cycling list. Is there any thing that we can do with trees that leave such a big puddle of sap on bike lanes? I was riding today and I went through it and my bike skidded out from under me. I feel that it is a…
Attention South Bay Area bikers
Here’s a special deal just for those of you in the South Bay who bike between San Jose and Menlo Park, California. See me, catch me, stop me and mention “Commute By Bike.” I’ll take your photo and post it here at commutebybike.com, along with a short commuter profile. A few random lucky few of…
Commuter Story: Millionaire Bike Commuter
Tip of the helmet to Alan Snel for pointing out this Today Show video — Bob Dotson reports on a Philadelphia businessman who is more concerned about giving to others than making money for himself. In 1973, Hal Taussig gave his last car to a hitch hiker. He commutes by bike and has loaned five…
Racks and fenders on the One Way
Ted in Minneapolis asked: I want to put both front and rear racks on it for commuting as I’m tired of having weight on my back – the sweat and the pain of it…wondering if you’ve done/are going to mess with racks? I mounted a rear rack on the Raleigh One Way without too much…