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Showing posts from October 9, 2011

2011 Fall Leaf Peepers Tour Recap 10152011

Highlights Nelsonville - Hocking Technical College start/finish Passed through Wayne National Forest Shawnee and other small towns Great ride with 4 rest stops on the 70 mile route Winds gusted to 35mph, consistent for 20+ miles From Tim's GPS Departed: Oct 15, '11, 06:18am Starts in: Nelsonville, OH 45764, US Distance: 70.1 mi Elevation: +  5554  / -  5591 ft  Max Grade 29.6 % Avg. Grade 2.2 % Total Duration: 06:08:30 Moving Time: 05:01:55 Stopped Time: 01:06:35 Max Speed: 39.4 mph Avg. Speed: 13.9 mph

New York City High Line Park

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The High Line is located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to West 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues. Section 1 of the High Line, which opened to the public on June 9, 2009, runs from Gansevoort Street to West 20th Street. Section 2, between West 20th and West 30th Streets, opened June 8, 2011. [High Line Park website]

Firefly Stealth UltraCommuter:: Titanium :: Bertone Edition - Amazing Di2 Integration

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For the front end we went a little nuts: we made a titanium bar/stem combo. We integrated the front and rear shifting into the bars via a couple of brass buttons and a complicated, yet sleek, internal mechanism that Jamie machined and assembled. The action of the buttons are flawless. Precise shifting with a stealthy minimal look and engaging feel. [Firefly Bicycles]

Wireless Bike Brake Concept [Gizmodo]

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This Wireless Bike Brake Concept Fails Maybe Three Times in a Trillion Researchers at Saarland University in Germany developed a system that replaces both the bike's brake cables and levers with a wireless system that employs control algorithms typically found in aircraft and chemical plants. These super-dependable brakes reportedly offer 99.999999999997 percent reliability and are able to apply the brakes within 250 milliseconds of being activated—half the time it takes to blink. [continue reading at Gizmodo]

PRE Franklinton Gardens Benefit Show ride is October 15th 5PM

The weather will be beautiful this Saturday so come out for 15-20 mile urban ride that will be starting at 400 West Rich Street Arts Complex at 5 PM this Saturday, October 15th. The ride will end at 7 PM and coincide with the start of the Franklinton Gardens Benefit Show which starts at 7 PM and will be held at the same address. Bring your helmets, light and be ready to ride and then to have a fantastic time supporting Franklinton Gardens at their Benefit Show. http://www.franklintongardens.org/2011/09/franklinton-gardens-benefit-show.html

Jim Langley, Bicycle Aficionado

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Bicycles are easy and fun to fix.  Everything’s right there, easy to see and figure out. With basic hand tools, you can make many common repairs. Just by riding, you can diagnose problems. And even advanced bicycle repair such as wheelbuilding  is within your reach . . .  (more) Here are articles  that’ll help you achieve your wrenching needs and goals. Maybe you’ll even  become a pro mechanic  (a great occupation , because you can get a job anywhere, and every repair is different; be sure to read my story about wrenching  at the world championships)! Plus, you too might land a gig as a cycling journalist (read my weekly  Tech Talk column). Twenty-five Repair Articles Click the 1938 bicycle wrenches to see the articles: [More at Jim Langley's website] Please note  that versions of a few of my how-to repair stories also appear on some bicycle-retailers’ websites and may occasionally appear on certain bicycle-club websites. They are used with

Vertigo Bicycles will install internal hydraulic lines, for a price...

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017 :: Internal Hydraulic Routing Posted: 2011.03 .13 Since returning from NAHBS I've received quite a few inquiries about the hydro routing on  my personal 29er . It seems fair that I write a little bit about it. It will cost $1500 for that option. I want to be straight forward by saying that the hard internal line doesn't do anything at all to help performance in any way. It doesn't make the brake stiffer and it's definitely not going to do anything to help you with the ladies. What it does is add two days and about $900 in material costs to the build. Material costs are high. Error tolerance is low. For example, the tolerance on line length is about 0.020" making the banjo mount hole location critical. It obviously has to be tested leak proof, requiring a test procedure, a line cleaning procedure. It's not going to work with all bottom bracket combinations as the line location inside the BB shell is highly dependent on where the chainstay mee

50 Rides of a Lifetime [via Bicycling Magazine]

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We asked readers and staff to name their all-time favorite places to pedal. The result (in no particular order): classic destinations, must-do events, and two-wheeled adventures that should be on every cyclist's bucket list. By Evelyn Spence 1. The Cobbles of Belgium. Cyclists like to suffer, and the mystical mecca for pain—in the form of jaw-rattling pave—has to be Flanders. Follow the narrow roads of the spring Classics, try to summit one of the countless hellingen  (short, sharp climbs) like the fabled, 20-percent Muur van Geraardsbergen, then take solace in the fact that Belgium is also home to 450 kinds of beer. 2. Vermont's Green Mountains. Autumn leaves—bazillions of them—flashing red, orange, and gold. 3. Slickrock Trail, Moab. 4. Pacific Coast Highway, California. Follow Highways 1 and 101 from the Oregon border to L.A. for 800 spectacular miles. 5. Classic Climbs of the Tour de France. Al

2011 Leaf Peepers Pre-registration extended (Ride is October 15th)

We have extended the $25 per-registration for a few more days for you.  This is the perfect event as an end of year ride. All routes take you through the Wayne National Forest during the height of leaf color season.   Fund raiser for The James! Great Route! Easy to reach! Great food and treats! Great support! We have 3 routes.   70 mile Metric Century is a challenge on the order of Pelatonia to Athens with stunning scenery as you ride along what is known as "The Rim of the World" 35 mile Half Metric is a challenge on the order of Pelatonia to Amanda with some very long "close to flat" sections and some of the hills from the Pelatonia route at the end.   Your choice length - bring the family to ride the bike trail from Hocking College as far as you like and back. Family fun includes the pioneer village and the train stop at the ride start/stop point. Perfect for sharing some family fun or riding with novice cyclists.    Fully supported with rest stops, sag, mechan

The Bike of the Future Is Theft-Proof, Solar-Powered, and Very Slick

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An Olympic cyclist puts together some of the coolest bike-tech out there to create a vision for the next-generation urban two-wheeler. Bicycles aren't known for being high-tech when compared with other forms of transportation. But cyclist Chris Boardman's new  bike design  prototype takes bikes well beyond advances in carbon-fiber frames and electric assist technology. The bike, which relies on existing technology, has a mini-computer attached to the handlebars to count calories; a purportedly unbreakable locking device that uses fingerprint identification; and a battery-assisted motor powered by solar panels. Boardman's design also features a lightweight carbon-fiber frame, spoke-less wheels that improve aerodynamics, and self inflating, puncture-proof tires. All told, the contraption could remove many of the barriers that prevent citygoers from using bikes as their main source of transportation, including concerns about theft, maintenance, and too muc

Almost Genius: Spokeless Bike Wheels

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Almost Genius: Spokeless Bike Wheels BY   WILLIAM BOSTWICK Mon Mar 15, 2010 A wave of spokeless bike designs (more renderings than reality) prompts one question: why? Come on, guys: what did spokes ever do to you? It seems like  every   new   bicycle   prototype spinning around the blogosphere has one thing in common. Or rather, lacks it: spokes. For some reason, designers hate the things, coming up with one heavily-stylized way after another to do away with hubs and spokes. Some mechanical engineers from Yale even caused a stir last month by  actually building one . But why? The most common reason is weight: Hubless wheels are supposedly lighter. But considering it's pretty easy to find wheel pairs (with spokes) weighing less than 1.5 kilograms, the claim is dubious. You'd need a pretty powerful rim to hold up under pressure unmediated by a set of spokes, and that's bound to weigh quite a bit. Spokes are near perfect: They put the wheel in tension, like

Detroit GETS IT! Detroit Greenlink offers new connections for cyclists [Bike Radar]

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Detroit's new Greenlink  (Giffels-Webster ) With the world headquarters of General Motors dominating the skyline of downtown Detroit, MI few people need a reminder that despite its hard times this city is still the “Motor City.” Yet despite this car culture, city planners are serious about making the old Motown friendlier to those looking to get around via pedal power. This is evident in the city's recent completion of the Corktown-Mexicantown-Southwest Detroit Greenlink, 16 miles of bike lane that will connect these three inner city neighborhoods. Additionally, this project now connects to the Southwest Detroit Greenway, the largest concentrated network of bike lanes in the city. The irony of this happening in Detroit is that the city has wide roads, originally built to accomidate big cars, which atucally made adding bike lanes all the easier. “Detroit's streets are actually a huge asset in creating a bicycle-friendly city,” Scott Clein, PE, LEED AP, and executive vi

CU on a Bike recap 10092011

Highlights 10 miles 20 cyclists Goodale Park start DK Diner - brunch one flat : ( Hilltop Connector bridge Main Street Bridge Scioto Mile Barley's - beer tasting and tour Bodega - beer and cheese pairing

NTT DoCoMo Shared Bicycle Initiative hands-on [Engadget]

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Well,   NTT DoCoMo   is at it again, this time dabbling in the fine art of   bicycle sharing . The Japanese mobile carrier's own flavor is currently undergoing beta testing in Yokohama, just outside Tokyo, and uses a familiar kiosk system to collect and dish out bikes. Residents (and tourists with Japanese cell phone numbers) can rent bikes 30 minutes at a time for 105 Yen (about $1.40) for the first half hour, then 210 Yen for each subsequent period. You also rent bikes by the month for 1,050 Yen (about $14). Overall, this implementation doesn't appear to be different than what's already been installed in some US and European cities, but it's apparently a first for the Tokyo area. [continue reading at Engadget]