Columbus Rides Bikes!

We’re so excited to announce the 2014 Holiday Sale.  Until the ball drops on  New Year’s Eve, pay $99 for any saddle we make.  We’ve even brought back  everyone’s favorite red and white for the  occassion! We make the world’s most comfortable bicycle saddle. Period.  Here’s why: Proven comfort for long distance riding Our functional slot famously relieves sit bone pain and perineal pressure Choose from  the proven performance of WaterShed leather or  the classic  look Available in Black, Mahogany, Graphite, Vintage, Natural, Red, and White The ONLY saddle Made in America A family business since 2006 http://selleanatomica.com

If this thing works as advertised it could get a lot of people pretty charged up. (Sorry, that was some dynamo humor.) Anyway, Bike2Power has released  a hub-mounted dynamo  that can be used on nearly any existing bike, has a built-in light, and can charge USB devices. Unlike some similar devices that require a dedicated dynamo hub, the BikeCharge Dynamo can be installed on almost any front or rear wheel and the lights can be set to high, low or blinking modes. By cacheing the power in a 1,100 mAh battery pack, it can charge devices like smartphones, which are notoriously picky about power draw. The battery means it will continue to power your device even when the bike is stopped, such as at a red light, without interruption. I predict these types of devices are going to be big in the next few years as more touring and city cyclists want to bring their gadgets with them. I’m also intrigued because it will fit on fat bikes with extra-wide front hubs At $119 it’s a lot les

A high-profile report about bike safety warns that “the number of bicyclists killed on U.S. roadways is trending upward.” Wait, what? (Click for report.) A report released by the Governors Highway Safety Association Monday is a perfect example of what can go wrong when safety experts get stuck behind their own windshields. The  GHSA , an umbrella organization for state departments of transportation whose claims to fame include popularizing the phrase  “aggressive pedestrians,”  is surely staffed by smart people who are working hard to reduce injuries and deaths. But the problems in this report start right at the top. Let’s take them one by one. The language framing the report is pointlessly divisive Spotlight on Highway Safety: Bicyclist Safety [Keep reading at Bike Bortland] 

Chicago is about to take a gamble on a four-block stretch of town where drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians are all equal. It's not as crazy as it sounds. Imagine a street with no sidewalks, no crosswalks, no curbs, no lane markings--basically no real distinctions between pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers at all. At first glance, that might seem like an extraordinarily unsafe street. But the city of Chicago is betting on its success as it redesigns a four-block stretch of its uptown. The  New York Times  editorial board  recently called  the concept of shared streets a “radical experiment” for the city of Chicago, which plans to start construction on  its first one on Argyle Street  early next year. Yet the philosophy behind them--that by removing common street control features, street users will actually act less recklessly and negotiate space through eye-contact---is actually not all that new. Shared streets have been built and shown to be effective  in reducing accident

Thank you for your interest in our products. We at Big O Manufacturing are dedicated to providing quality products at a great value for your hard earned money. We continue to improve our current products and we are designing new products so come back regularly to see what's new. Big O Manufacturing wants you, our valued customer, to be completly satisfied with any product that you purchased. If for any reason you are not satisfied with any Big O product please contact our sales staff  for a full refund.  Big O Manufacturing, LLC's customer service goal is simple: We are committed to providing our customers total satisfaction. Every time. Guaranteed.   http://stores.bigomfg.com/fender-kits/

Photo courtesy of Mme Velo A few years ago, the founders of Mme Velo like many others associated cycling with sweat, Spandex, and products made from technical fabrics. However, a desire to cycle and to have beautiful things spurred the creators to design a line of panniers and bags that are both elegant and functional. [Keep reading at Momemtum Mag]

A cyclist wearing reflective clothing sold at Betabrand’s bike-to-work web store.   Credit Jason Van Horn/Betabrand “It’s yellow, it’s ugly, it doesn’t go with anything, but it can save your life.” That message , written in French next to an image of the designer Karl Lagerfeld dressed in black tie and a Day-Glo safety vest, was plastered around Paris in the late aughts as part of a government bicycle safety campaign. Sarah Canner, an American actress and writer with an equal interest in fashion and bicycles, was living in the city then and liked the poster but took issue with the basic premise. Yellow? Ugly? Why? [Keep reading at NY Times]

THE most improbable bike path in the world is surely on the MacArthur causeway, a road connecting Miami Beach with the city of Miami proper. The road—more a motorway really—has six wide lanes of traffic and a speed limit of 50mph. This being Florida, and speed limits apparently only loosely enforced, in light traffic people travel far faster. And yet driving across it today, your correspondent spotted a lonely cyclist working his way up the road against the traffic. Along the road’s right-hand side, unseparated from the traffic by any physical barriers, was a thin cycle path. Your correspondent in his day-to-day life cycles everywhere. In Washington, DC, turning left on a main road can be dicey if drivers are not patient. In London, racing lorries at the Elephant and Castle roundabout and the Vauxhall interchange both provided daily adrenaline rushes. Yet he would no more cycle along the MacArthur causeway than he would take up bullfighting. It would be utterly i

Finished Bucksaw 1 and one of the original protos... The spirit of adventure drives our product decisions and creations. We like to go places and do things that may not be “normal,” and we like to use bicycles to get us there. When we introduced the  Mukluk , we knew the places  fatbikes  could take us and the experiences we could partake in. What we didn’t know was just how far this fatbike thing was going to go. Still perceived by many as “snow bikes,” they got us Minnesnowtans out in the winter and helped create a passionate army of fatbike riders. The attachment and passion for these bikes had many people, including us, using them in the summer on “normal” mountain bike trails. The fatbike’s incredible capabilities and confidence-inspiring nature had several of us verbally contemplating riding a fatbike exclusively, year-round. Riding a fatbike year round meant that rocks and roots, which were usually hidden under a layer of snowpack in the winter, were now exposed feature

Aloft Cleveland Downtown “Contemporary rooms with a tech-forward sensibility and a vibrant , social atmosphere. The $20 million development includes 1 50 rooms and 3 , 000 square feet of meeting space in the bustling Flats East Bank development . The Aloft is just minutes away from the Warehouse District, the Cleveland Convention Center , Playhouse Square, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and all of Cleveland ' s professional sports facilities.” Our home base was Aloft Cleveland Downtown. Located on the East Bank of the Flats, it is a very convenient and centrally located hotel. I was impressed with the modern decor and the thoughtful amenities. The layout of the rooms is efficient and well designed. Pet owners rejoice, "ARF" to the rescue! Their pet-friendly program for dogs features Aloft-branded bed and bowl and complimentary "woof-alicious" treats and toys. The arf program is free of charge. Like a king, in a luxurious

Self-filling water bottle is a James Dyson Award finalist From the contest that brought you  the Packtasche  comes another potential new product for cyclists: a self-filling water bottle,  the Fontus , that attaches to your bike's top tube. Kristof Retezár, an industrial design student from Vienna, Austria, says his invention collects the moisture in the air and condensing it into drinkable water. The mechanism is solar-powered, and can collect up to a half-liter of water per hour. "My goal was to create a small, compact and self-sufficient device able to absorb humid air, separate water molecules from air molecules and store water in liquid form in a bottle,” he explains in his James Dyson Award application. "I simulated different climatic conditions in my bathroom." For a cyclist who likes to venture into parts unknown where water may be scarce, this could be a ride saver. Sure, it’s not the most aero of equipment, but if you’re out for a long bike trek—

A portion of the Olentangy bikeway likely will be closed for 18 months when the interchange at Interstate 270 and state Route 315 is constructed. Worthington City Council learned of the plans during its Oct. 20 meeting, and some members were not pleased. Though it seems the city can do little to keep the path open, council members requested that the issue return for further discussion at a later meeting. The portion of bike path to be closed is just north of the Olentangy Parklands tennis courts and north of the pedestrian bridge across the Olentangy River. That path leads to Worthington Hills. [Keep reading at ThisWeek]

Positively Cleveland - thisiscleveland.com Columbus Rides Bikes received an email from Positively Cleveland asking if we wanted to attend a very small blogger/media trip that is focused around Cleveland’s urban outdoor scene. We said yes! On September 26 - 28th, a group of journalists and bloggers were taken around the town and given an up-close look at the new Cleveland. This trip included urban cycling, city kayaking, paddleboarding, craft beer and local food. The focal point of this trip for us was the new urban cycling festival calledNEOCycle, " An urban cycling festival consisting of competitive races and unique rides, connected by live entertainment and an interactive, action-filled festival at Cleveland Metroparks Edgewater Park on the shores of Lake Erie." NEOCycle: neocycle.org/ We have all heard the Cleveland jokes and the jabs at the Cleveland sports teams. Yes, even the Cuyahoga River had caught fire at least a dozen times. Did anything

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Sometimes it makes us hoard away concert ticket stubs or hold on to old t-shirts as if they were prized trophies. I am not a packrat, but I am admittedly sentimental. I often save stupid little mementos that represent banner experiences of times past (then I eventually I purge and throw it away). Over the weekend I swapped out the tires on my ECR and retired  the Knards that carried me through Africa . They actually still had a bit of life left in them, but the lure of foreign soil calls for a fresh pair of boots. I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of both of those tires, after all, there is a long story etched in that rubber. So I decided to enjoy a beer and give one of them a second life. I coerced a sexy model to flaunt the final product. HOW TO MAKE A BELT FROM A BIKE TIRE Click to read more…

 From  Lee Kreider, Host   www.ohioraamshow.com www.kreider.us I host the OhioRAAM Show– an online show sponsored by Race Across AMerica (aka RAAM) Time Stations at Oxford and Blanchester Ohio.   My assistant and I plan to be in Columbus this coming Saturday, October 25 between 12:30 and 2:30pm to record video for a show about the Bike 4 All People shop and program. I'm contacting you because: I saw in the shop's website photos which included some of your club wearing those stylish jersey's. I rode with your club on TOSRV many years ago.  I see you formed in 1979.  I'm not sure if you rode TOSRV that year, but I saw you for a number of years. I had the San Diego Club on the show last Spring.   You can see that show #28 here: I would just like to get some video of you and let you tell about your club and Major Taylor. I think you would add something to a show about the shop we want to highlight. I realize it may be one of those pleasant Fall d

Riding a bike in Pittsburgh is like drinking heavily. More on that in a minute. As I casually train for the Dirty Dozen race this fall, I have been trying to put a minimum of 1800 feet of climbing in every ride. That’s easier said than done. Even on a shallow climb I am banging as big a gear as I can manage. The utmost pain, the utmost gain. The DD is the annual victory lap of the road-racing season in the ‘Burgh. It is a baker’s dozen of the steepest climbs in the area connected by a 50-mile loop through the Steel City. [Keep reading at TribLive]

As Alex Zanardi struggled to propel his wheelchair up a steep road Saturday near Kona, Hawaii, during the Ironman triathlon, he noticed fans on the roadside encouraging him. "I was all sweaty and my gloves were sliding," Zanardi told USA TODAY Sports by telephone Sunday from Hawaii. "I was only going about 2 or 3 mph, really struggling. I could see in people's eyes what they were thinking -- somebody wants to go ahead strongly against all odds. Ladies were crying and saying, 'You are such an inspiration.' But I wasn't thinking of that. All I could think was that my gloves were sweaty and I was losing my grip." Zanardi, whose professional auto racing career continued after a crash in 2001 took his legs, added another accomplishment to his inspirational resume Saturday in Kona, finishing the famous Ironman World Championship in 9 hours, 47 minutes, 14 seconds. [Keep reading at USA Today]

The long-vacant Oregon City Amtrak station will become a bistro for bicyclists next year as well as an indoor waiting area for train passengers.  (Steve Mayes/The Oregonian) Blane Meier sees Oregon City's Amtrak station as a destination for bicyclists from far and wide. Meier plans to convert the unused depot into a jumping-off point for cyclists who want to explore Oregon City and Clackamas County. Meier, owner of First City Cycles, envisions a laid-back lounge where cyclists can relax, sip a microbrew or espresso, check out maps or talk to a bike expert. "It will be a great place for people to plan trips and grab a beer and a sandwich," Meier said. [Keep reading at Oregon Live]

Little Smokies Gravel Rally 2014 Big thanks to  Bill Ferriot ,  Eric Tippett  and  Doug Armstrong  for joining me on a great adventure. We rode 58 miles through Shawnee State Forest and climbed 6750 ft. Thanks to  Sarah Lytle Swallow  and Tom for organizing this awesome event. We saw  Matt Rumora  out on the route and got to ride with  Liz Samuelson , Wes,  Nick Tepe  and Cindy for a while. [Swallow Bicycle Works]

This sucks, for sure—but it shouldn't turn into a matter of life or death. (Photo by Rex Roof ) “Death to Bike Thieves” reads the sticker that you can buy when registering your bike at a certain national website that shall not be named here. No thanks. I shudder every time I see one of those decals. I’m not much of a fan of either vigilante justice or the death penalty, particularly not for misdemeanor property crimes. But even among the more progressive circles of the bikeverse, this casual advocacy of violence exists. Actually, it’s not entirely unheard of for it to be carried out. A quick Internet search turns up recent stories from around the world, including graphic photographs and videos, of people being beaten, sometimes killed, occasionally with their bodies mutilated after the killing, on the suspicion of having stolen a bicycle. A guy in Bolivia is murdered. A man in Sao Paolo’s neck is U-locked to a post. A homeless guy in Florida is beaten to a pulp, and hi

Bicycle Built For 2,000 is comprised of 2,088 voice recordings collected via Amazon's Mechanical Turk web service. Workers were prompted to listen to a short sound clip, then record themselves imitating what they heard.