BikeSnobNYC's Blog, page 17
October 29, 2018
Them's The Brakes (Do You See What I Did There?)
I was going to get all kids of stuff done today. However, as I took my younger son to school this morning the braking on the WorkCycles (Magura hydraulic rim brakes) was simply too bad to ignore. (Believe me, I've been doing my best to ignore it for months, but when both levers are bottoming out on the grips you cross that line between "sub-optimal braking" and "bad parenting.")
"No problem," I figured. "I'll just change the brake pads." Indeed, I already had a set of fresh brake pads ready to go, and in theory installing them was a simple matter of popping the old ones out and snapping the new ones in. Just listen to this German man explain it to you:
The thing is, on the WorkCycles, it's not quite so straightforward. See, the great thing about this bike is that it has fenders, skirt guards, a full chainguard, an internally geared hub... What all that stuff means is that the bike can spend most of its life outside, and also that you can hop on it without having to worry about your pant cuffs or whatever.
The bad part, however, is that half that shit has to come off because you have to remove the wheels to replace the pads.
Still, I was feeling optimistic as I rolled the bike into the basement:
Indeed, the front brake was easy, since the only extra steps I had to perform to remove the front wheel were to move the front light out of the way of the brake's quick release, and to unplug the light's wire from the hub.
The back brake was another story. I've removed the rear wheel on the WorkCycles a number of times now, and every time I have it's been a pain in the ass. No doubt my own ineptitude has a lot to do with it, but even so there's no getting around the fact that you've got to undo a lot of shit--even with the handy removable dropout:
There's the axle nuts, and the dropout bolts, and the chain tensioners, and the chain guard, and the cable for the hub gear... By the time I was actually able to access the brake pads I was pretty pissed off, and I reinstalled the rear wheel with the impatience and contempt of a cop shoving a perp into the back seat of a squad car. Oh, also, the chain tensioners are directional. See how the axle nut washer has a little tab that fits into a slot in the tensioner?
Well, if you flip the tensioner the slot's on the wrong side and you can't tighten down the axle nut:
Pretty much every time I remove the wheel on this bike I put the non-drive tensioner on there backwards, realize it when I'm just about done, and have to undo everything to put it back on the right way.
Anyway, two hours later and the bike finally stops like a dog outside of a veterinarian's office, but there goes half my day:
For some reason I insist on doing all my own bike work, but if I had any sense I'd just bring the WorkCycles to a shop. In fact, I'd probably have given up long ago, except I have this (no doubt totally unfounded) fear that the shops in New York won't be sufficiently smug to service this bicycle. Or else I'd move somewhere with a garage where I could set up a workshop, in which case at least I'd be able to spread out and take the time to do the job right. Oh how I dream of hanging my tools on a wall instead of having to dig them out of a tiny storage space like a toddler rummaging through a toy chest every time I want to use them...
(Image stolen from Park Tool website)
Then again, if I moved somewhere with a garage I'd be in the suburbs, in which case might as well ditch the WorkCycles altogether and say "Fuck it, I'm leasing a Hyundai."
Anyway, at least I don't have to worry about it until the brake pads wear out again.
"No problem," I figured. "I'll just change the brake pads." Indeed, I already had a set of fresh brake pads ready to go, and in theory installing them was a simple matter of popping the old ones out and snapping the new ones in. Just listen to this German man explain it to you:
The thing is, on the WorkCycles, it's not quite so straightforward. See, the great thing about this bike is that it has fenders, skirt guards, a full chainguard, an internally geared hub... What all that stuff means is that the bike can spend most of its life outside, and also that you can hop on it without having to worry about your pant cuffs or whatever.
The bad part, however, is that half that shit has to come off because you have to remove the wheels to replace the pads.
Still, I was feeling optimistic as I rolled the bike into the basement:
Indeed, the front brake was easy, since the only extra steps I had to perform to remove the front wheel were to move the front light out of the way of the brake's quick release, and to unplug the light's wire from the hub.
The back brake was another story. I've removed the rear wheel on the WorkCycles a number of times now, and every time I have it's been a pain in the ass. No doubt my own ineptitude has a lot to do with it, but even so there's no getting around the fact that you've got to undo a lot of shit--even with the handy removable dropout:
There's the axle nuts, and the dropout bolts, and the chain tensioners, and the chain guard, and the cable for the hub gear... By the time I was actually able to access the brake pads I was pretty pissed off, and I reinstalled the rear wheel with the impatience and contempt of a cop shoving a perp into the back seat of a squad car. Oh, also, the chain tensioners are directional. See how the axle nut washer has a little tab that fits into a slot in the tensioner?
Well, if you flip the tensioner the slot's on the wrong side and you can't tighten down the axle nut:
Pretty much every time I remove the wheel on this bike I put the non-drive tensioner on there backwards, realize it when I'm just about done, and have to undo everything to put it back on the right way.
Anyway, two hours later and the bike finally stops like a dog outside of a veterinarian's office, but there goes half my day:
For some reason I insist on doing all my own bike work, but if I had any sense I'd just bring the WorkCycles to a shop. In fact, I'd probably have given up long ago, except I have this (no doubt totally unfounded) fear that the shops in New York won't be sufficiently smug to service this bicycle. Or else I'd move somewhere with a garage where I could set up a workshop, in which case at least I'd be able to spread out and take the time to do the job right. Oh how I dream of hanging my tools on a wall instead of having to dig them out of a tiny storage space like a toddler rummaging through a toy chest every time I want to use them...
(Image stolen from Park Tool website)
Then again, if I moved somewhere with a garage I'd be in the suburbs, in which case might as well ditch the WorkCycles altogether and say "Fuck it, I'm leasing a Hyundai."
Anyway, at least I don't have to worry about it until the brake pads wear out again.
October 25, 2018
Rigid In My Thinking
Further to my recent Outside column about the joys of voluminous tires, I see that a new suspension fork has hit the market with great fanfare:
Now I should begin by saying there's certainly lots of room for improvement as far as suspension forks. I should also say James Huang knows his stuff, so if he says this fork addresses many of those shortcomings I'm inclined to believe him. Nevertheless, as a cloyingly smug rigid bike enthusiast it's hard not to read stuff like this and wonder, "Why?"
“On every telescopic fork, when you come into a corner, you want stability. But what happens is that you weight the front of the bike, the fork dives, you get less mechanical trail, and the bike gets less stable. We humans have learned, over 120 years of riding telescopic forks, to just deal with it. The brain is good at just making it work.
“But I wanted to know what happens if you make it more stable? Is it worse? Does it not make any difference at all? Or is it super better? So I designed a device to answer that question. It was this crazy-ass test mule, a big Terminator-looking thing that weighed 7 1/2 pounds (3.4kg). I built it up, bolted it up, and went for a ride in the middle of January 2014. I got two corners into it and was like, this is way better.”
Sounds like he's managed to invent something that handles nearly as well as a rigid fork with high-volume tires.
Then there's the price:
As groundbreaking as the Message clearly is, my guess is that Trust may still have a tough time getting people to buy into the idea. For one, it may offer some genuinely tangible performance benefits but it also comes with an outrageous price tag of US$2,700. That obviously leaves an awful lot of room to expand downmarket with a less-expensive version, but for now, it’s only deep-pocketed buyers who will even consider this.
I strongly disagree, and in all sincerity I think $2,700 is way too cheap. Two grand is the going rate for a wheelset these days, and the most expensive telescoping forks are already well over $1,000. Why not just price the thing at $5,000? Not only will the Mountain Freds gladly pay it, but they'll be more likely to pay it because with a price like that it's gotta mean business.
Anyway, hopefully this fork takes off and they have to start designing bikes around it, which will make pretty much every mountain bike currently out there obsolete.
As for me, I've been reveling in smugness recently by riding a bike that lacks not only suspension but also derailleurs:
I know I said I love the plus-sized tires--and believe me I do--but I also love flicking around a light, singlespeed bicycle with "skinny" tires:
Actually, it's not even that light, but after riding the Jones it feels like it weighs like fifteen pounds.
It's been just over seven years since I first took delivery of my artisanal handmade Engin, and while commissioning an expensive bicycle that can't be shifted may seem no different than paying $2,700 for a suspension fork that works almost as well as a rigid one, I congratulate myself for doing so every time I ride it. I'd been a fan of Drew's bikes (check out his Instagram by the way) since I went down to Philly with some friends years ago to check out his workshop, I'd never had a custom bike, I wanted one because I was a newly-minted author and celebrity bike blogger, and here's why a singlespeed made the most sense for me. For one thing, I have the most fun on them because they bring me back to my BMX-and-tube-sock days:
(© Danny Weiss)
For another, while you can put together a pretty sweet singlespeed mountain bike for cheap, most of the frames are suspension-corrected and/or designed to be run with or without gears or just generally funky because they're for people putting together their sixth or seventh bike out of stuff from their parts bin. I, however, wanted a nice, clean, rigid, purpose-built singlespeed, and the way to get that was to go custom. Sure, you can't tell from my shitty zoomed-in photo, but you don't get awesome rocker dropouts like that on a Surly:
Instead you get something like this:
And that's in no way meant as an insult to Surly, who I applaud for their versatility. But I wanted a really nice singlespeed, not a giant adapter, and so Engin it was.
Then there was obsolescence. No velocipede is more obsolescence-prone than the mountain bike. Suspension; frame spacing; drivetrains...all of these things are way different now than they were just seven years ago. However, it's hard to imagine a time when I won't be able to find the necessary parts for this thing, and geometry fads aside, an awesome-handling bike is an awesome-handling bike. Best of all, since it's designed not to use gears or suspension it was already "obsolete" the moment Drew finished welding it, so what do I have to worry about anyway?
In any case, the joy one gets from material things is always fleeting. Nevertheless, thus far my rationale for commissioning this bike has been borne out, and I'm also glad I got in the queue when I did because now he only builds in titanium and on a limited basis and probably wouldn't even give me the time of day. Really, if you think about it, my ordering this bike was like getting in on the Google IPO. (Assuming someone would give me like $25K for it right now, that is.)
Wonder how it would ride with one of those Trust forks...
Now I should begin by saying there's certainly lots of room for improvement as far as suspension forks. I should also say James Huang knows his stuff, so if he says this fork addresses many of those shortcomings I'm inclined to believe him. Nevertheless, as a cloyingly smug rigid bike enthusiast it's hard not to read stuff like this and wonder, "Why?"
“On every telescopic fork, when you come into a corner, you want stability. But what happens is that you weight the front of the bike, the fork dives, you get less mechanical trail, and the bike gets less stable. We humans have learned, over 120 years of riding telescopic forks, to just deal with it. The brain is good at just making it work.
“But I wanted to know what happens if you make it more stable? Is it worse? Does it not make any difference at all? Or is it super better? So I designed a device to answer that question. It was this crazy-ass test mule, a big Terminator-looking thing that weighed 7 1/2 pounds (3.4kg). I built it up, bolted it up, and went for a ride in the middle of January 2014. I got two corners into it and was like, this is way better.”
Sounds like he's managed to invent something that handles nearly as well as a rigid fork with high-volume tires.
Then there's the price:
As groundbreaking as the Message clearly is, my guess is that Trust may still have a tough time getting people to buy into the idea. For one, it may offer some genuinely tangible performance benefits but it also comes with an outrageous price tag of US$2,700. That obviously leaves an awful lot of room to expand downmarket with a less-expensive version, but for now, it’s only deep-pocketed buyers who will even consider this.
I strongly disagree, and in all sincerity I think $2,700 is way too cheap. Two grand is the going rate for a wheelset these days, and the most expensive telescoping forks are already well over $1,000. Why not just price the thing at $5,000? Not only will the Mountain Freds gladly pay it, but they'll be more likely to pay it because with a price like that it's gotta mean business.
Anyway, hopefully this fork takes off and they have to start designing bikes around it, which will make pretty much every mountain bike currently out there obsolete.
As for me, I've been reveling in smugness recently by riding a bike that lacks not only suspension but also derailleurs:
I know I said I love the plus-sized tires--and believe me I do--but I also love flicking around a light, singlespeed bicycle with "skinny" tires:
Actually, it's not even that light, but after riding the Jones it feels like it weighs like fifteen pounds.
It's been just over seven years since I first took delivery of my artisanal handmade Engin, and while commissioning an expensive bicycle that can't be shifted may seem no different than paying $2,700 for a suspension fork that works almost as well as a rigid one, I congratulate myself for doing so every time I ride it. I'd been a fan of Drew's bikes (check out his Instagram by the way) since I went down to Philly with some friends years ago to check out his workshop, I'd never had a custom bike, I wanted one because I was a newly-minted author and celebrity bike blogger, and here's why a singlespeed made the most sense for me. For one thing, I have the most fun on them because they bring me back to my BMX-and-tube-sock days:
(© Danny Weiss)
For another, while you can put together a pretty sweet singlespeed mountain bike for cheap, most of the frames are suspension-corrected and/or designed to be run with or without gears or just generally funky because they're for people putting together their sixth or seventh bike out of stuff from their parts bin. I, however, wanted a nice, clean, rigid, purpose-built singlespeed, and the way to get that was to go custom. Sure, you can't tell from my shitty zoomed-in photo, but you don't get awesome rocker dropouts like that on a Surly:
Instead you get something like this:
And that's in no way meant as an insult to Surly, who I applaud for their versatility. But I wanted a really nice singlespeed, not a giant adapter, and so Engin it was.
Then there was obsolescence. No velocipede is more obsolescence-prone than the mountain bike. Suspension; frame spacing; drivetrains...all of these things are way different now than they were just seven years ago. However, it's hard to imagine a time when I won't be able to find the necessary parts for this thing, and geometry fads aside, an awesome-handling bike is an awesome-handling bike. Best of all, since it's designed not to use gears or suspension it was already "obsolete" the moment Drew finished welding it, so what do I have to worry about anyway?
In any case, the joy one gets from material things is always fleeting. Nevertheless, thus far my rationale for commissioning this bike has been borne out, and I'm also glad I got in the queue when I did because now he only builds in titanium and on a limited basis and probably wouldn't even give me the time of day. Really, if you think about it, my ordering this bike was like getting in on the Google IPO. (Assuming someone would give me like $25K for it right now, that is.)
Wonder how it would ride with one of those Trust forks...
October 24, 2018
I'm All Over That Internet!
Not only do I have a new Outside column about the joys of riding chubby tires...
...but I've also got this whimsical post on the Brooks blog about the insights you gain into humanity by riding a bicycle:
(Spoiler alert: humanity is stupid.)
And yeah, apparently plus-sized tires are out of style now, which I guess makes me out of style like a fox:
I gotta say I love this bike more every time I ride it, and I ride it a lot. It's pretty much the perfect bike for autumn, which is when you want to be popping in and out of the woods and listening to the delightful sound of the leaves crunching beneath your plush, grippy, confidence-inspiring, and inexplicably outmoded plus-sized tires.
Finally, let's hear it for helmets and the USA!
...but I've also got this whimsical post on the Brooks blog about the insights you gain into humanity by riding a bicycle:
(Spoiler alert: humanity is stupid.)
And yeah, apparently plus-sized tires are out of style now, which I guess makes me out of style like a fox:
I gotta say I love this bike more every time I ride it, and I ride it a lot. It's pretty much the perfect bike for autumn, which is when you want to be popping in and out of the woods and listening to the delightful sound of the leaves crunching beneath your plush, grippy, confidence-inspiring, and inexplicably outmoded plus-sized tires.
Finally, let's hear it for helmets and the USA!
"An analysis by the Toole Group charted helmet use against fatality rates across eight countries. Riders in the U.S. had the highest rates of helmet use among the countries included. But American cyclists also had the highest fatality rate per distance traveled. " @bikesnobnyc pic.twitter.com/P3Dgyzyhqp— Seth Haberman (@sethhaberman) October 24, 2018Shocking.
October 22, 2018
Virtually Virtuous
I don't Zwift. Please note I don't say this with smugness--I've become a total Strava dork so acknowledge anything's possible--but the fact remains that as of now I don't ride indoors, with or without digital enhancements. Nevertheless, I was amused to see that Zwift now offers a virtual New York City for your e-Fredding pleasure:
Of course any New York City facsimile would be incomplete without blocked bike lanes and incessant NYPD ticketing blitzes, though this is a futuristic New York City so presumably our Fredly progeny will have left those indignities behind along with other crude relics such as mechanical shifters and rim brakes:
As a non-Swifter I can only go by the video, but I will give them high marks for verisimilitude because this totally looks like the sort of person you're liable to see in Central Park:
Also, like the sea lions at the Central Park Zoo, New York City Freds can spend their entire cycling lifespan without ever leaving their enclosure. So thanks to Zwift, not only can they do all their actual rides in Central Park, but they can also do their virtual rides in an idealized Central Park with elevated roadways that will lift them over the rent-a-bike tourists and piles of horse manure:
Not only that, but you can also do the unthinkable, which is ride around the park in different directions:
If you're unfamiliar with Central Park, you're only allowed to ride on the perimeter loop, and only in one direction. If you're caught riding against traffic or on any of the park's many footpaths you will be ticketed and then locked in the Central Park Conservancy jail deep in a secret tunnel beneath the park where a cadre of wealthy sadistic patrons will read to you from the interpersonal correspondence of Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted until you beg for the mercy of a swift death.
In any case, I'm not sure that I'll ever need to see the computerized version of Central Park, because I lived it. Crowded and contained as it may be, I enjoy few things more than a leisurely ride in Central Park, especially on a crisp Sunday morning in autumn when the city is sleepy, the traffic is light, and getting to the park is delightful rather than onerous. Still, this is New York, so it's always something--and on Sundays that something is churchgoers parking in the bike lanes:
Jesus died so you could double-park:
One can only imagine if the velocipede had existed in Jesus's time. You've strapped on your sandals and headed out for some hill repeats, only to find mile upon mile of double-parked asses with signs hanging around their necks reading "In Worship At The Mount Of Beatitudes." Actually, a Biblical Zwift could be the one thing that would get me to use it, and Twelve Apostles would make a great virtual Grand Tour team.
Another problem with Central Park around this time of year is that when you get there there's usually some kind of endurance sporting event going on, and the participants get much more latitude than the Freds do. See, in the spring and summer the roadies have to start racing at the crack of dawn, there are course marshals stationed roughly every five feet, and we're already finished and out of everyone's hair by like 7am. Meanwhile, when there's a triathlon or duathlon or whatever kind of -athlon this was people get to weave around the park all willy-nilly during peak morning workout time with nary a marshal in sight:
Though there was this guy in an NYPD t-shirt:
Perhaps there was a warrant out for those outfits:
As a Fred I should probably observe the "Let he who is without Lycra cast the first insult" platitude, but if there's one thing I've learned from watching worshippers park in the bike lane it's that none of those teachings are supposed to be taken literally.
New routes. New buildings. New climb. New... pic.twitter.com/hJ16HQWaqS— Zwift (@GoZwift) October 17, 2018
Of course any New York City facsimile would be incomplete without blocked bike lanes and incessant NYPD ticketing blitzes, though this is a futuristic New York City so presumably our Fredly progeny will have left those indignities behind along with other crude relics such as mechanical shifters and rim brakes:
As a non-Swifter I can only go by the video, but I will give them high marks for verisimilitude because this totally looks like the sort of person you're liable to see in Central Park:
Also, like the sea lions at the Central Park Zoo, New York City Freds can spend their entire cycling lifespan without ever leaving their enclosure. So thanks to Zwift, not only can they do all their actual rides in Central Park, but they can also do their virtual rides in an idealized Central Park with elevated roadways that will lift them over the rent-a-bike tourists and piles of horse manure:
Not only that, but you can also do the unthinkable, which is ride around the park in different directions:
If you're unfamiliar with Central Park, you're only allowed to ride on the perimeter loop, and only in one direction. If you're caught riding against traffic or on any of the park's many footpaths you will be ticketed and then locked in the Central Park Conservancy jail deep in a secret tunnel beneath the park where a cadre of wealthy sadistic patrons will read to you from the interpersonal correspondence of Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted until you beg for the mercy of a swift death.
In any case, I'm not sure that I'll ever need to see the computerized version of Central Park, because I lived it. Crowded and contained as it may be, I enjoy few things more than a leisurely ride in Central Park, especially on a crisp Sunday morning in autumn when the city is sleepy, the traffic is light, and getting to the park is delightful rather than onerous. Still, this is New York, so it's always something--and on Sundays that something is churchgoers parking in the bike lanes:
Jesus died so you could double-park:
One can only imagine if the velocipede had existed in Jesus's time. You've strapped on your sandals and headed out for some hill repeats, only to find mile upon mile of double-parked asses with signs hanging around their necks reading "In Worship At The Mount Of Beatitudes." Actually, a Biblical Zwift could be the one thing that would get me to use it, and Twelve Apostles would make a great virtual Grand Tour team.
Another problem with Central Park around this time of year is that when you get there there's usually some kind of endurance sporting event going on, and the participants get much more latitude than the Freds do. See, in the spring and summer the roadies have to start racing at the crack of dawn, there are course marshals stationed roughly every five feet, and we're already finished and out of everyone's hair by like 7am. Meanwhile, when there's a triathlon or duathlon or whatever kind of -athlon this was people get to weave around the park all willy-nilly during peak morning workout time with nary a marshal in sight:
Though there was this guy in an NYPD t-shirt:
Perhaps there was a warrant out for those outfits:
As a Fred I should probably observe the "Let he who is without Lycra cast the first insult" platitude, but if there's one thing I've learned from watching worshippers park in the bike lane it's that none of those teachings are supposed to be taken literally.
October 18, 2018
Go away or I shall taunt you a second time.
It's autumn here in whatever hemisphere this is, and the temperature has finally fallen to match. It's also stopped raining, and the trails have more or less dried out. This means I can finally de-couple from Fred-dom and enjoy the decadence of riding an all-terrain bicycle without putting on special clothes.
Not only have I been enjoying the decadence of just hopping on the bike and going without putting on my Underoos, but I've also been taking the simplicty all the way by riding a bicycle that is not equipped with any sort of mechanism for changing gear ratios. Such bikes are not for everybody, and one can make a fairly strong argument that they're kinda stupid, but when I get on mine I'm this kid again (well, except for the crisp Lee jeans):
On Tuesday I darted down to Highbridge:
And yesterday I went a bit further afield and tackled the forbidding [open dripping blood letters tag] Trails Behind The Mall [close dripping blood letters tag]:
Eveybody knows that one (1) singlespeed mile is like four (4) Fred bike miles, which means that I basically rode 100 miles. Also, whenever I post a picture of this bike there's always some doofus (whether it's the same doofus or not I have no idea) who comments on the angle of my brake levers, as though I don't know where I fucking want them. First of all, when you have an old-timey road bike-like bar drop as I do here, it's nice to angle your levers down so your hands aren't at a right angle like you're doing a push-up. Second of all, when I wear artisanal hand-painted gloves like the ones pictured above, I want to get that whole "French taunting" effect:
As for the gloves, Barry Wicks sent them to me, as he sells them on Etsy. And since it's peak Riding In Street Clothes season I may have to get a pair of cufflinks from him so I can also ride in a collared shirt:
So there you are, you're totally up to speed. As you can see, mine is a life of heroic cycling exploits and mind-bending sartorial considerations. How I manage to get out of bed in the morning, much less get dressed without showering and fuck off for a bike ride, is beyond me.
I guess I need another ride today to figure it out.
Not only have I been enjoying the decadence of just hopping on the bike and going without putting on my Underoos, but I've also been taking the simplicty all the way by riding a bicycle that is not equipped with any sort of mechanism for changing gear ratios. Such bikes are not for everybody, and one can make a fairly strong argument that they're kinda stupid, but when I get on mine I'm this kid again (well, except for the crisp Lee jeans):
On Tuesday I darted down to Highbridge:
And yesterday I went a bit further afield and tackled the forbidding [open dripping blood letters tag] Trails Behind The Mall [close dripping blood letters tag]:
Eveybody knows that one (1) singlespeed mile is like four (4) Fred bike miles, which means that I basically rode 100 miles. Also, whenever I post a picture of this bike there's always some doofus (whether it's the same doofus or not I have no idea) who comments on the angle of my brake levers, as though I don't know where I fucking want them. First of all, when you have an old-timey road bike-like bar drop as I do here, it's nice to angle your levers down so your hands aren't at a right angle like you're doing a push-up. Second of all, when I wear artisanal hand-painted gloves like the ones pictured above, I want to get that whole "French taunting" effect:
As for the gloves, Barry Wicks sent them to me, as he sells them on Etsy. And since it's peak Riding In Street Clothes season I may have to get a pair of cufflinks from him so I can also ride in a collared shirt:
So there you are, you're totally up to speed. As you can see, mine is a life of heroic cycling exploits and mind-bending sartorial considerations. How I manage to get out of bed in the morning, much less get dressed without showering and fuck off for a bike ride, is beyond me.
I guess I need another ride today to figure it out.
October 17, 2018
Sorry, Been Singlespeeding!
Sorry I've been reticent (as long as you don't count a weekly Outside column, a daily bike forecast, and an unrelenting barrage of brainfarts on Twitter) but I've been preoccupied with various pressing matters, including rekindling my love affair with this artisanal expression of turn-of-the-decade one-speed chic after spending lots of time on a chubby-tired bike with a wide range of gear ratios:
Ah, those were the days...
Ah, those were the days...
October 15, 2018
Let's Get Aero!!!
Hey everybody! Here's a new Outside column about banning aerobars that you should of course take 100% literally:
Sick posish, bro.
Also, this weekend I found this awesome new bike shop:
They had awesome accessories like this valve-mounted lighting system:
This fantastic iPhone mounting system for recumbents:
And this toolkit that's perfect for the tiny fasteners on today's lightweight components and that fits easily in your saddlebag or tool roll:
They even had tubeless sealant!
I'm pleased to report that I left with all of the above items, as well as several pillows and novelty mugs with flatulence-themed slogans printed on them.
Anyway, be sure to check it out if there's one near you.
Sick posish, bro.
Also, this weekend I found this awesome new bike shop:
They had awesome accessories like this valve-mounted lighting system:
This fantastic iPhone mounting system for recumbents:
And this toolkit that's perfect for the tiny fasteners on today's lightweight components and that fits easily in your saddlebag or tool roll:
They even had tubeless sealant!
I'm pleased to report that I left with all of the above items, as well as several pillows and novelty mugs with flatulence-themed slogans printed on them.
Anyway, be sure to check it out if there's one near you.
October 10, 2018
New Outside Column!
This week's Outside column is all about "avid" cyclists:
Though avid cyclists may take issue with it:
(Taj Mihelich)
Also, Bicycling says the Number One Cycling City In Canada's Coccyx is...Seattle!
Right now, things are going the way they should in every city: There are currently 60 miles of low-stress neighborhood greenways in the works, and connecting existing protected bikeways is a major priority, says Dongho Chang, a traffic engineer for the city. The Vision Zero initiative has also been taken seriously. “We timed all 300 traffic signals for 23 miles per hour,” says Chang. That’s significantly slowed traffic, which is a major tenet of reducing bike and pedestrian deaths. The city has also narrowed lanes and inserted speed tables and traffic islands—all of which calm vehicular traffic. Fucoloro even says that the will to reduce speeds was surprisingly universal.
Congratulations Seattle on receiving the Bicycling Kiss Of Death--after all, a #1 ranking from Bicycling is like a positive review from me. (New York City was #1 a few years back so what does that tell you?) That notwithstanding, precipitation and helmet law notwithstanding, Seattle has certainly impressed me with its bicycleness on previous visits so I'm sure the designation is warranted.
Also it's a short, scenic ferry ride from Classic Cycle, so there you go.
That was an enjoyable trip.
Though avid cyclists may take issue with it:
(Taj Mihelich)
Also, Bicycling says the Number One Cycling City In Canada's Coccyx is...Seattle!
Right now, things are going the way they should in every city: There are currently 60 miles of low-stress neighborhood greenways in the works, and connecting existing protected bikeways is a major priority, says Dongho Chang, a traffic engineer for the city. The Vision Zero initiative has also been taken seriously. “We timed all 300 traffic signals for 23 miles per hour,” says Chang. That’s significantly slowed traffic, which is a major tenet of reducing bike and pedestrian deaths. The city has also narrowed lanes and inserted speed tables and traffic islands—all of which calm vehicular traffic. Fucoloro even says that the will to reduce speeds was surprisingly universal.
Congratulations Seattle on receiving the Bicycling Kiss Of Death--after all, a #1 ranking from Bicycling is like a positive review from me. (New York City was #1 a few years back so what does that tell you?) That notwithstanding, precipitation and helmet law notwithstanding, Seattle has certainly impressed me with its bicycleness on previous visits so I'm sure the designation is warranted.
Also it's a short, scenic ferry ride from Classic Cycle, so there you go.
That was an enjoyable trip.
October 9, 2018
Bike Snob Who???
Wait a minute, so there's a Bike Snob Australia now???
There’s no denying that some drillium efforts can be beautiful, but this distinctly DIY effort as spotted by Bike Snob AUS — the Facebook account of Brisbane based shop Cranks Bicycle Garage — hasn’t quite hit the mark.
I was unable to find the original Facebook post (probably because I'm not on the Facebook) but if Bike Snob AUS did not point out the delightful irony that the drillium derailleur is an Ultegra then he/she/they should cease and desist using the moniker forthwith:
If weight is such a concern why not just buy the Dura Ace in the first place?
Anyway I'm currently running Sora derailleurs with both pulleys removed in order to save weight, so maybe I shouldn't talk.
(Runs a little rough with no pulleys and the shifting does suffer a bit--well, it suffers tremendously--but it's worth it for the weight savings.)
In other tech news, while searching to see if anybody has covered the Jones SWB Complete nearly as comprehensively as I have, I happened upon this review:
I agree with most of it, I thought he did an excellent job, and I'm sure he has his reasons for not removing the reflectors. (Maybe Bike Snob AUS wants to weigh in there.) I was also intrigued by these nubbins:
Here is the source of the intriguing nubbins in question:
I think having a place to hang the ol' thumbs when using the forward hand position in conjunction with the Jones handlebar purse would be just the ticket, and I may have to order a set of these things just as soon as I get around to it, which knowing me will probably be somewhere around 2020.
In the meantime I'm still getting plenty of use out of the bike:
And it's pretty much become my default choice for fall, except when it's been raining and the ground is all muddy, in which case I revert to a state of Fredness by riding a road bicycle.
Speaking of road bikes, VeloNews goes uncharacteristically advocacy-ish by way of explaining why the road bike will once again have its day:
Couple that with the woeful state of cycling infrastructure on and around American roads and you’ve got a hurricane of doom for road bikes. Let’s be honest: People who don’t feel safe riding on the roads won’t ride on the roads. And since there’s almost no accountability for drivers who injure or kill cyclists, the problem persists. Compare that to many European countries in which drivers are always on the hook if they strike a cyclist. (Go ahead and Google “Stop de Kindermoord.”)
The industry response to this problem has been inadequate at best, lazy at worst. Hi-viz clothing and flashing lights are nice and all — and boy were they everywhere at Interbike — but they won’t stop a texting driver from mowing a cyclist down. The best way to increase the road cycling population in the United States is to protect riders from drivers. That means infrastructure, not bright, goofy-looking clothing with embedded crystals and wiring for flashing red LEDs. It’s going to take some real, coordinated effort and a lot of heavy lifting to make real headway here.
Nice. At this rate they'll be admitting bicycle helmets are mostly BS in no time.
As for road bikes, it's their "long and storied" heritage that will save them:
But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Road bikes are not dead. Not even close. While they’re certainly not as profitable as they used to be during the halcyon-yellow days of Lance Armstrong’s dominance, group rides still roll out on Saturday mornings. Lunch riders abound around noon. A culture as long and storied as the roadie culture isn’t likely to die a swift death.
So are road bikes cool anymore? Who cares? If it’s fun, ride it. It’s clear we’re in a downtrend heading toward a trough, and road bikes could even be considered a small niche. But the bounce will come. If you’re not convinced, take a look at the data.
I'll buy that. Every now and then you've got to run a razor over the leg stubble, swaddle yourself in Lycra, and hunch over the drops. I suspect it's the same sense of familiarity and obligation that compels mostly secular people to go to their respective places of worship on the major holidays.
Every so often you've got to supplicate yourself before the Altar of Fredness.
There’s no denying that some drillium efforts can be beautiful, but this distinctly DIY effort as spotted by Bike Snob AUS — the Facebook account of Brisbane based shop Cranks Bicycle Garage — hasn’t quite hit the mark.
I was unable to find the original Facebook post (probably because I'm not on the Facebook) but if Bike Snob AUS did not point out the delightful irony that the drillium derailleur is an Ultegra then he/she/they should cease and desist using the moniker forthwith:
If weight is such a concern why not just buy the Dura Ace in the first place?
Anyway I'm currently running Sora derailleurs with both pulleys removed in order to save weight, so maybe I shouldn't talk.
(Runs a little rough with no pulleys and the shifting does suffer a bit--well, it suffers tremendously--but it's worth it for the weight savings.)
In other tech news, while searching to see if anybody has covered the Jones SWB Complete nearly as comprehensively as I have, I happened upon this review:
I agree with most of it, I thought he did an excellent job, and I'm sure he has his reasons for not removing the reflectors. (Maybe Bike Snob AUS wants to weigh in there.) I was also intrigued by these nubbins:
Here is the source of the intriguing nubbins in question:
I think having a place to hang the ol' thumbs when using the forward hand position in conjunction with the Jones handlebar purse would be just the ticket, and I may have to order a set of these things just as soon as I get around to it, which knowing me will probably be somewhere around 2020.
In the meantime I'm still getting plenty of use out of the bike:
And it's pretty much become my default choice for fall, except when it's been raining and the ground is all muddy, in which case I revert to a state of Fredness by riding a road bicycle.
Speaking of road bikes, VeloNews goes uncharacteristically advocacy-ish by way of explaining why the road bike will once again have its day:
Couple that with the woeful state of cycling infrastructure on and around American roads and you’ve got a hurricane of doom for road bikes. Let’s be honest: People who don’t feel safe riding on the roads won’t ride on the roads. And since there’s almost no accountability for drivers who injure or kill cyclists, the problem persists. Compare that to many European countries in which drivers are always on the hook if they strike a cyclist. (Go ahead and Google “Stop de Kindermoord.”)
The industry response to this problem has been inadequate at best, lazy at worst. Hi-viz clothing and flashing lights are nice and all — and boy were they everywhere at Interbike — but they won’t stop a texting driver from mowing a cyclist down. The best way to increase the road cycling population in the United States is to protect riders from drivers. That means infrastructure, not bright, goofy-looking clothing with embedded crystals and wiring for flashing red LEDs. It’s going to take some real, coordinated effort and a lot of heavy lifting to make real headway here.
Nice. At this rate they'll be admitting bicycle helmets are mostly BS in no time.
As for road bikes, it's their "long and storied" heritage that will save them:
But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Road bikes are not dead. Not even close. While they’re certainly not as profitable as they used to be during the halcyon-yellow days of Lance Armstrong’s dominance, group rides still roll out on Saturday mornings. Lunch riders abound around noon. A culture as long and storied as the roadie culture isn’t likely to die a swift death.
So are road bikes cool anymore? Who cares? If it’s fun, ride it. It’s clear we’re in a downtrend heading toward a trough, and road bikes could even be considered a small niche. But the bounce will come. If you’re not convinced, take a look at the data.
I'll buy that. Every now and then you've got to run a razor over the leg stubble, swaddle yourself in Lycra, and hunch over the drops. I suspect it's the same sense of familiarity and obligation that compels mostly secular people to go to their respective places of worship on the major holidays.
Every so often you've got to supplicate yourself before the Altar of Fredness.
October 5, 2018
What Are You Still Doing At Your Desk? Go Take A Ride For Chrissakes!
Yesterday I mentioned Renovo's closure, and now BikePortland has the whole story:
Hey, I've been out of cash and employees for over 11 years now, yet here I still am, go figure.
Anyway, Renovo's story is a dramatic one, featuring no less than two (2) heart attacks, one of them fatal. It also turns out making bikes out of wood takes a long time and isn't easy, who'da thunk it?
Tyler Robertson, a former employee in charge of marketing who worked for the company in the summer of 2014, recalled in an interview today that they faced, “massive delays in production.” While the CNC construction method sounds quick and easy (Wheeler told me back in 2008 that his CNC process, “Lends itself to high volume production”), the truth was much more complicated. “It was a really hands-on, meticulous process,” Robertson said. Adding to the problem were customers frustrated by longer than expected delays. Robertson says they were promised a bike in six-to-eight weeks; but some people on the list had been waiting as much as two years. As word spread of the delay (there are several very negative Yelp reviews during this period), many customers cancelled their orders.
Let's all just go ahead and blame millennials with their apps and their smartphones and their need for instant gratification and their completely unreasonable expectation that bicycles should be reasonably priced and available for immediate purpose.
And of course let's also blame me:
(Thanks Chris DiStefano for alerting me to this.)
I'd argue if I could.
Hey, I've been out of cash and employees for over 11 years now, yet here I still am, go figure.
Anyway, Renovo's story is a dramatic one, featuring no less than two (2) heart attacks, one of them fatal. It also turns out making bikes out of wood takes a long time and isn't easy, who'da thunk it?
Tyler Robertson, a former employee in charge of marketing who worked for the company in the summer of 2014, recalled in an interview today that they faced, “massive delays in production.” While the CNC construction method sounds quick and easy (Wheeler told me back in 2008 that his CNC process, “Lends itself to high volume production”), the truth was much more complicated. “It was a really hands-on, meticulous process,” Robertson said. Adding to the problem were customers frustrated by longer than expected delays. Robertson says they were promised a bike in six-to-eight weeks; but some people on the list had been waiting as much as two years. As word spread of the delay (there are several very negative Yelp reviews during this period), many customers cancelled their orders.
Let's all just go ahead and blame millennials with their apps and their smartphones and their need for instant gratification and their completely unreasonable expectation that bicycles should be reasonably priced and available for immediate purpose.
And of course let's also blame me:
(Thanks Chris DiStefano for alerting me to this.)I'd argue if I could.
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