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Showing posts from March, 2015

VOLVO LIFEPAINT

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Volvo Cars presents LifePaint. The best way to survive a crash, is not to crash. LifePaint is a unique reflective safety spray. Invisible by daylight, it shines brightly in the glare of car headlights. Making the invisible, visible. Find out more at www.volvolifepaint.com #volvolifepaint

4 Reasons to Take Your Bike to a Co-op @bicyclingmag

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(Photo by SLO County Bicycle Coalition) You know you're in the right place when you see the jumble of used bikes locked up out front. Inside, parts fill every corner of the room, tools explode from drawers and wooden pegs, and a line of rims dangles from the ceiling like the edge of a spiral notebook. Whether in someone's old garage or a fancy storefront downtown, your first time inside a bicycle co-op can be intimidating. But there are good reasons to push through your uncertainty and see what's behind the sprocket-covered front door of your local collective shop. [Keep reading at Bicycling]

Persistence and Partnerships: BikePGH and the Advocacy Advance Model Grant Experience

Persistence and Partnerships: BikePGH and the Advocacy Advance Model Grant Experience from Robin Urban Smith on Vimeo .

Shinola Bicycles - THE NICKEL-PLATED DETROIT ARROW @shinola

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In a limited edition production of just 25, Shinola’s first single-speed bicycle gets a high-shine upgrade with the exclusive, nickel-plated Detroit Arrow, now available. The anti-corrosive nature of this stunning, mirrored finish means these ultra-rare bicycles are built for performance as well as style. Streamlined for urban riding and hand assembled by our bike specialists in Detroit, the nickel-plated Detroit Arrow features a True Temper double-butted CroMo frame with a bright, high-luster nickel finish on the frame, fork and chain guard. Additional features include a silver bell, CroMo front rack, Shinola leather saddle and super-light foam grips. Custom laser-cut rear dropouts feature the Shinola “S,” which matches the same “S” detail cast in the fork crown, and puncture-resistant 700x32C tires with a 3M reflective strip deliver a smooth, pothole-absorbing, safe ride. Each component is fitted by hand and tested for quality precision. This close attention to detail ensures tha

Inspired to Ride

Inspired to Ride Teaser Trailer from Mike Dion on Vimeo .

TPE15: WOHO KICKSTARTS KILLER WOKIT CARABINER MULTITOOL

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Is that a WOKit in your pocket? The new Woho WOKit is ratcheting its way through Kickstarter with this carabiner multitool that fits a surprising number of tools into a compact and utterly useful package. By using a 6061-T6 forged alloy carabiner as the handle with an integrated 1/4″ ratchet, it allows for quick bit changes and a heat treated chromoly steel wrench to be locked into place for adjusting pedals and much more. The design has been iterated upon since August 2013, and it shows with a multitude of clever touches. For example, a soft, single-sided Velcro strap keeps it all snugly together without any of Velcro’s scratchiness that could snag on jersey pocket material. And a thin wire loop lets the accessories compartment dangle freely if you’re hipstering it to your belt loop, to which you could easily add a second loop for house and car keys. Check the video and more details below… The base set comes with the allen/torx keys shown at the top. A larger

Zen Cycles

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Zen Fabrication is a long time USA-based contract framebuilder, making small batch bikes for many different brands over the years. This year along with their contract offerings, they are launching the Zen brand of in-house bikes. The pictured EXP is their expedition mountain bike frame, compatible with either 29 or 27.5+ wheel sizes, and available with custom J-Paks framebag that attaches with 5mm bolts on the inside of the tubes. Portland, Oregon.  www.zen.bike Ready for adventure. Or Search and Rescue… That’s a shiny cassette Matching luggage and a great framebuilding pedigree That’s it for this year’s show. Stay tuned for more custom stuff soon… More NAHBS beauties at  http://singletrackworld.com/2015/03/north-american-handbuilt-show-3-more-custom-beauty/

Adventure Cycling Montana - TransAm Trail

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Women's Ride Halter Bib @GiroSportDesign

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The Road Bully Effect | Modacity

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Melissa and Etienne pedalling side-by-side on the 10th Avenue Bikeway. The Road Bully Effect Earlier this week, I had to run an errand. Being that it is currently March Break, the kids joined me on a short ride from East Vancouver, along the 10th Avenue bikeway, to our bank at Cambie and Broadway. It was the first opportunity we had that day to get out of the house, and it was great to ride alongside my children on a sunny afternoon. And then it went downhill...  As we approached a traffic circle just before the intersection at Fraser and 10th, I heard the familiar sound of a car coming up behind us. So I assumed my usual position - I ride abreast my two children, with one of them behind the other. The reason behind this is that when cycling on my own, more often than I would like, I’ve had cars pass too closely to me. So for the safety of my kids, I want to ensure the same thing won’t happen to them, putting them at risk.  [Keep reading at Modacity]

Jones Plus overnight bikepacking ride, 29+ bike

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How to Use a Dropper Post for XC, not just Downhill

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Burley Nomad

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New cycling fund to build a more bike-friendly, livable Charlotte with $600,000 from Knight Foundation

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — March 4, 2015 — Foundation For The Carolinas will help manage a new project to make Charlotte more bike-friendly as a way to engage residents in community life and create incentives for talented people to live and stay in the city.  The Knight Charlotte Cycling Fund was created with $600,000 in support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. RELATED LINK " New Cycling Fund moves Charlotte, N.C., forward " by Susan Patterson on Knight Blog Knight support will kick off a planning process with experts, community leaders and representatives from city cycling organizations to introduce fun, fast ways to make Charlotte more bike-friendly. The Knight Charlotte Cycling Fund will be used to implement ideas developed out of the plan and introduce new programs and events to get others involved, such as safety classes or street festivals. The project will build on city efforts in the last 10 years to increase cycling routes from one bike lane to 17

Legally Speaking with Bob Mionske: Riding with video cameras @velonews

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Footage from an on-board video camera can be a good tool in a legal case. Photo: Tim De Waele |  TDWsport.com Editor’s note:  We are pleased to reintroduce “Legally Speaking,” a column penned by lawyer Bob Mionske. Have a question about the law and how it relates to cyclists?  Email him , and it may be answered in this column. We heard the deep, guttural roar from behind that has come to signal trouble. I glanced over my shoulder and in my draft, my riding partner did the same. I thought, “here he comes.” He was pulling a horse trailer with one of those pickups on steroids that look big in the distance and gargantuan up close. You know the kind. He gave us a wide berth to start but as the extra-long trailer dog-tracked around the bend, it came closer and closer until I could have touched it with my knee. You’ve been there. Later, we chuckled morosely that, at least, we’d have footage of our demise for our heir’s legal cases because we were rolling with video. And we are not alon

Opinion: Confessions of a trail dumb downer @MTBR

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A rock ramp on the right was built in Noble Canyon Trail. That rock that you would always pedal-strike, I made it smoother. That ditch you could almost wheelie across, I filled it in so now you can roll it.
That tight switchback that you could hop around like Ryan Leach and all your friends were impressed, I made it so you can pedal around it. I have a confession: I am the guy who dumbs down your trails. [Keep reading at MTBR.com]

How To... Adjust Mechanical Disc Brakes

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Thank you, Bicycle

Thank You, Bicycle from Lars Veenstra on Vimeo .

Going Fat in Livigno

|| Going Fat in Livigno || from Martino Vincenzi on Vimeo .

16 reasons why non-cyclists just don't get us @bikeradar

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"You spent how much?" and other things often said to the BikeRadar community There are some things that our non-cycling friends (why are they our friends if they don't cycle?) say that just crop up time and again. You know the sort of thing: "Your bike cost how much?"; "You rode how far?"; and "I would  never  wear lycra"… We asked the  BikeRadar community  for some pearls of, ahem, wisdom that they keep being given by non-cyclists, and here's a selection of the best.  How many have you heard and what other things do non-cyclists  always  say? Join the conversation in  this forum thread here . 1. iPete : "How far?! Are you raising money for charity?" 2. Tetley10 : "You were out in that weather?!" It may be a bit cold but that won't stop us [Keep reading at Bike Radar]

14 FREE PLACES TO SLEEP WHEN BICYCLE TOURING @The_AdvJunkies

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One of the questions we get asked the most is where do we sleep when traveling on our bicycles. Exploring a country with your own 2 wheels opens you to a new range of opportunities to overnight. Some of them can save you a lot of cash while others can also provide you with a completely different perspective of the place you visit. This is, without any doubt, one of the  reasons why I love traveling on my bicycle . So, the next time you hit the road make sure you try some of the places below. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Apart from saving some money you will enjoy another side of traveling on your bicycle with these 14 free places to sleep while bicycle touring. [Keep reading at The Adventure Junkies]

Amish Country Roubaix- Gravel Road Race in Ohio's Scenic Amish Country – Sunday, April 19, 2015

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Starting and finishing in beautiful Millersburg, Ohio, the Amish Country Roubaix gravel road race will return on Sunday April 19, 2015 with a longer, harder and dirtier course than ever! New this year will see a full 100 Kilometer course with a 50 K option for those wishing to partake of only half the suffering. Watch this page for further details. The Course – 2015 Longer Harder Dirtier With so many great options around Millersburg it’s difficult to limit this race to 45 miles – so it’s growing. Look for an exciting 100k option for the 2015 edition of the race. But it’s only April! Did your winter training consist mostly of watching reruns of Three’s Company? Don’t worry, we still have an option for you. Look for a more manageable 50k option in 2015. Both courses will start and end in Millersburg, Ohio. Keep an eye on this websites for updates as the courses are finalized. [Register at Amish Country Roubaix]

Porter Hike-a-Bike Pad

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Porter Hike-a-Bike Pad Deep in the mountains that thread of dirt can turn into a vertical mess of boulders. The “nose-over-the-shoulder” method is a great way to carry your bike and scamper across those impossible to ride sections. Cushion your shoulder bones against the rails of your saddle with our Porter hike-a-bike pad. The low profile avoids thigh rub when pedaling and the easy on/off allows you to stow the pad. $18 Made with closed cell foam and Black X-Pac™ VX21 or 1000 denier Woodland Cordura® Xpac 0.5 oz, Cordura 0.7 oz Stock Order http://rockgeist.com/room/porter/

Three Women who Changed the Course of History On Bicycles @momentummag

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“ La bicycliste et caricature, 1897 ” by  Montorgueil, Georges, 1857-1933 (creator)Somm, Henry, 1844-1907 (illustrator)  – This image is available from the  Brown University  Library under the digital ID  1123259547400435 .. Licensed under Public Domain via  Wikimedia Commons . Susan B. Anthony, famed suffragette leader and women’s rights reformer, once said of the bicycle, “I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.” Anthony described the image of a woman on a bicycle as “the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.” It may seem surprising that the bicycle could have played such a pivotal role in the women’s rights movement. What exactly was it about this familiar two-wheeled transportation device that lent itself so freely to unparalleled social change? In the mid 1800s, when the early women’s rights movement was gathering steam in the West, there were clearly defined roles and expect

TREK SHOWS OFF THREE KILLER GRAVEL/TOURING BIKES, GIVING AWAY DREAM TOURS ON THEM

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Are you #drivenbyadventure? If so, you and a similarly intrepid companion may be eligible to win one of three all-expenses-paid epic riding experiences on Trek’s newly updated and expanded line of touring and adventure bikes. More rugged pairs can hope to win a trip to experience the many terrains of Virginia on the new Trek 920, a drop bar 29er model designed for off-road adventures. It comes stock with front and rear racks as well as a mountain drivetrain with bar end shifters. Tour the rest of the story to see how you can win… http://www.bikerumor.com/2015/03/10/trek-shows-off-three-killer-graveltouring-bikes-giving-away-dream-tours-on-them/

HOW MONTREAL BUILT A BIKE LANE BY DEBUNKING THE AUTOPARKOLYPSE @peopleforbikes

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Boulevard De Maisonneuve in 2012. Image: Google Street View. Every city that's ever considered removing auto parking to make room for a protected bike lane has been, understandably, nervous. North America's best city for biking wasn't immune. But when it was planning its  signature downtown bike project  in 2005, Montreal got past those concerns with a very simple tactic. Instead of counting only the change in parking spaces on the boulevard De Maisonneuve itself, a measure that might have led to headlines and perceptions that "half of the parking" was being removed, it counted the total number of auto parking spaces — public and private, on-street and off — within 200 meters of the project. The district, it turned out, had 11,000 parking spaces. Converting one of the corridor's two auto parking lanes to a protected bikeway would remove 300 of them, or just under 3 percent. "The effect on the debate was suprise," said Jean-Francois Pronovost

Enough with Bikes vs Cars – It’s about Better Cities! @planetizen

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Courtesy Paul Kruegar A few weeks back, I watched with concern Toronto having a rhetoric-heavy debate about removing the relatively new bike-lane on Jarvis Street. Last minute efforts to save the bike-lane  were ultimately unsuccessful , although as small consolation, Council chose not to use bike-lane infrastructure funds to remove it – a previous intention that had been seen as adding budgeting insult to active mobility injury. Just this week, I watched international press  report  on the findings of UBC Public Health research, verifying what we all knew. Painted bike-lanes reduce the risk of accidents by 50%, and separated bike-lanes reduce the risk by 90%.  Bike-lane debates have been going on for some time in Toronto, as they have in many cities. In recent years, exaggerated and polarizing phrases like "anti-car" and "the war on the car" have been thrown around irresponsibly by  media and politicians alike , making me wonder more than a few times if Fox

Home to Home (McGrath to Anchorage on the Iditarod Trail)

Home to Home (McGrath to Anchorage on the Iditarod Trail) from Luc Mehl on Vimeo .

RACE, ETHNICITY, CLASS AND PROTECTED BIKE LANES: AN IDEA BOOK FOR FAIRER CITIES | People for Bikes

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Austin, Texas. Diversity created the city. But diversity has never been easy. Almost as soon as PeopleForBikes selected its first six Green Lane Project  focus cities , we started hearing from their staffers that they wanted to better understand how the values of diversity and equity – of race, of ethnicity, of class – could improve their work to make bicycling mainstream. The four of us on the Green Lane Project team share those values. But we're not diversity or equity experts; we're infrastructure experts. So, to help city staffers and advocates across the country think about these issues, we've teamed up with the  Alliance for Biking and Walking  and spent the last eight months talking to people who live and breathe this work: people like Nedra Deadwyler, an Atlanta business owner working to make her street's stoops and sidewalks places for social gathering, or Jocelyn Dicent, a teen activist working to reconnect New York City's Rockaway Peninsula so sh

NAHBS 2015 Pedalino Bike

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Report Says Doping Was Ignored to Shield Armstrong @NY Times

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Lance Armstrong, right, with Hein Verbruggen of the International Cycling Union in 2005. Credit Franck Fife/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images  For years, cycling’s top officials turned a blind eye to doping, operating in deference primarily to one rider —  Lance Armstrong  — according to a reform commission that spent the past year excavating the sport’s doping problems. The three-member commission  issued a scathing indictment  of the sport’s officials Sunday, laying much of the blame on a governing body that, it said, had interests that ran counter to any genuine efforts to expose doping. The 227-page report detailed how Mr. Armstrong’s extraordinary influence had not only compelled officials to ignore drug use but had also enabled his lawyer to secretly write and edit the report of an earlier investigation into Mr. Armstrong’s doping practices. Continue reading the main stor The panel was appointed by the main target of its criticism, the International Cycling Unio

Dayton Bike Share is Coming - Link arrives spring 2015

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Link  is Dayton's bike share program. Link will provide users with a fun, safe, active mode of transportation in downtown Dayton. Link can be used for short trips and errands to get around downtown - station to station. Link will launch in May of 2015, providing the downtown Dayton area with 24 stations and 225 bicycles. Link is a transportation service proudly provided by Bike Miami Valley and Greater Dayton RTA. [Link Dayton]

Amazing cycle super highways making bikes the transport of the future | CNN

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While new innovations in automobile technology may grab the headlines, it's easy to forget that the bicycle, which predates the motor car by decades and assumed its basic design by the 1880s, is one form of transport that just refuses to go away. At one stage, it was even thought to be the transport of the future. An elevated cycleway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena was mooted as early as 1896 by Pasadena's far-sighted mayor Horace Dobbins, but only one mile of the white-elephant structure was ever built. By the time its truncated route was completed, the motor car and the street car had begun to eclipse the bicycle. By 1900, even its chief investor had lost faith in its future.  "I have concluded that we are a little ahead of time on this cycleway. Wheelmen have not evidenced enough interest in it..." Dobbins opined in 1900 in the Los Angeles Times. [Keep reading at CNN]

AngryAsian: Things you should never say to your bike shop mechanic @bikeradar

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Don't forget: mechanics are people, too Good bike shop mechanics are the unsung heroes of every rider. The best ones are bona fide wizards, magically transforming our rickety heaps into well-oiled machines, deftly silencing the most elusive creaks, miraculously extracting the most woefully seized bottom bracket, fixing the hopelessly unfixable. The wizard's life isn't necessarily an easy one, however, and there are a lot of reasons why they're often so grumpy. As a former shop mechanic with 14 years under his belt – not one of which I regret, mind you – let's just say that I didn't earn my nickname by happenstance. Your hands perpetually smell like oil, your feet ache from standing all day, you're forever fighting for respect, the hours suck, and worst of all, you're constantly surrounded by bikes but rarely have time to ride one. There are good reasons why bike shop mechanics are often pretty surly [Keep reading at Bike Radar]

PROJECT: WORLD’S FUNNEST BIKE – IT BEGINS WITH THE VAN DESSEL WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT FRAMESET

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This bike, which I’ve affectionately dubbed “Project: World’s Funnest Bike” has been a long, long time in the making. Last summer, Van Dessel  revised the finish  on the WTF (Whiskey Tango Foxtrot), their double butted steel do-it-all bike frameset that can be built into anything from a flat bar commuter to a cyclocross racer to an adventure/gravel/ultra-cross cruiser with 29er tires. Shortly after posting about the latest version and just before Interbike, Van Dessel sent us the $699 frameset (frame, fork, headset and seat collar) to review. I had some loose plans for it, but one thing led to another, some parts didn’t work out as planned and, well, tradeshow and other travel conspired to keep the frame hanging on the workstand for far, far too long. The upside? When things finally did come together, it was glorious. Some parts were things that had been lightly used on other bikes and fit the bill. Others were new and sent in specifically to make this project even better. O

When the Sidewalks Were Wider Than the Streets @CityLab

[Source: CityLab]

Alleycats @alleycatsfilm @kickstarter #letsride

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What is  ALLEYCATS ? Alleycats  is an independent action/thriller feature film; exploring the underground world of illegal bike racing in London. These races take place throughout the world and are called Alleycats. For a full synopsis visit:  www.alleycatsfilm.com/ My name is Ian Bonhote and I am the Director. I was introduced to real life Alleycats by a courier friend of mine and instantly became completely hooked on this underground world of bike racing. I even took part in some of the races. I have been developing the film for five years now and I want to bring the unique shooting style I have developed from making many commercials and short films to the forefront of this film. [Kickstarter] Alleycats will be an action-packed, stylish film with a pumping soundtrack that will show a side to London that you have never seen before.

DIY Wayfinding Signs Are About to Go Mainstream @CityLab

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Walk [Your City] It started as a technically illegal exercise in improving how people experience the streets of Raleigh, North Carolina. Just some simple signs, lashed to light poles, at a few of the city’s key intersections, letting residents and visitors know what attractions and amenities could be found within walking distance and how many minutes it would take to reach them on foot. “ Guerrilla wayfinding ” is what people called it. The signs, the brainchild of then-graduate student Matt Tomasulo, were meant to help people think differently about distances in the city, and to encourage them to get out of their cars and explore the place under their own power. [Keep reading at CityLab]

CAN-BIKE // Traffic Skills 101

CAN-BIKE // Traffic Skills 101 from Manitoba Cycling Association on Vimeo .