No matter the city...

Image yoinked from Walkenworks.com.

...in peak hour a bike is your weapon of choice.

This time it's Tel Aviv. Previously London, and NYC before that. Even Melbourne's been officially conquered by two wheels.

Speaking of potential weapons; this from the Herald Sun about scooter riders wanting a piece of the bike lane pie. I don't think the lanes are wide enough, personally, and may have said something to that effect in the comments. All due respect to the motorised.

Also, it's nothing new, but Calfree make bikes (serious ones) out of bamboo. How sweet is that? If the carbon footprint of transporting the frame from the US wasn't so huge I'd be saving right now. I mean, look at the cross model. Looks like something found in a shipment of 1930s Japanese office furniture. Sweet. The lugs are hemp soaked in resin. No, not that resin.

Wish you could pump your tires while riding? Little weird, but okay, sure, Uber Bike Nerd to the rescue. Audaxers are gonna love it.

On the subject of bike nerds (I'm on a segue roll), who said recumbents weren't cool? Check this thing out.

Saw a very stylish woman on a very stylish yellow Cecil Walker fixie with red anodised Velocity rims ride past Vic Gardens and up the bridge on Barkers Road this Sunday. Badass. Anyway, reminded me that Velocity USA have gone powdercoat crazy on their new Deep Vees. Of course, if you're low on funds you could always roll your own. Ahem.

The Weekend That Was

So I was standing on Swan Street at 10am Saturday morning - in the fullest, warmest, brightest sunlight of the past six months - surrounded by people in coloured scarves.

Some kind of sporting event I guess...

One the the small clutch of shops stuck like barnacles to the underside of Swan Street's Richmond Station is Abbotsford Cycles; a fine store if you're one of those rational people more interested in maintaining a bike than throwing it away to buy a new one.

Also good if you're one of those people who's broke.

It was to AC that I had travelled to replace a broken spoke on my rear wheel... aaaaand the rear hub axle. Turns out mine was snapped clean in half.

Good thing I didn't break the $50 before leaving the house.

"The problem with an aluminium frame like that" explained John the Mechanic, "is that there's no flex in it - it doesn't absorb any of the impact". He asked if I had hit a pothole, and took my hesitant shrug as uncertainty. Probably for the best - given a few more seconds I might have pressed index finger to digit after digit and recounted them like rides at the fair - without so much as a conscious thought I manage to sample them all before a day is done.

Anyway, the whole thing came to $40 - including a free derailleur hanger straightening. Funny that I never had a problem with it until BSC's spanner monkeys repaired a flat for me.

"Heh heh, your new tube, like, exploded, so like, now we have to upsell you to a new tire, heh heh, plus we kinda don't have it in the 700x32c you're after, so we hope you don't notice that we gave you a 28 instead, and like, we totally bent your hanger and left your bike in its highest gear. That'll be, like, $75!"

John also tells me I'll need a new bottom bracket soon, as I've mangled the current semi non-sealed one. Apparently I'm "cutting grooves in the cups", which, despite the lyric quality of the phrase, is not a euphemism for krunk DJing.

A Shimano UN-54 will set me back $35.

I ran my plan to buy a Cross-Check* past John, which was met with slow and steady nod of the head.

"A steel-framed cyclocross bike is a very good idea if you want both speed and durability".

Why doesn't everyone ride one again?

Simondo out.

P.S. Saw the Mummy 3 on Sunday with some free tix Jen scored from work. Up until that point I thought the two hours I spent inhaling RP-7 fumes while cleaning my drivetrain was the biggest hit my IQ could take before the weekend was out. Geeez. I mean, you've heard of wait 'til DVD? This is more like wait 'til drunken skeet shooting. End credit design was nice tho.

*This isn't throwing a bike away and replacing it so much as it is removing one from an abusive relationship.

I think it might be time for new tires...

What do you think? Had to leave some rubber at the bottom of Macarthur St the morning when the lights turned amber and a car (also on Macarthur, at the lights) decided to make a late run for it. I hadn't seen indicators, but I wasn't going to risk the 'left-hook' scenario (flip the images at this American site to see what I'm talking about). Turns out the motorist was headed straight into the top of Collins and I could have rode along side, but hey, I'm safe, and therefore I'm not in the least bit sorry.

Still, it's not quite as bad as this...

A rather tidy effort from Nancy Boy, whose blog is definitely worth reading if you've ever wondered what a 90 minute commute was like.

Most Ridiculous eBay Sale Ever

Someone just paid $500 for this Repco RT sport. How bad? Let's see.

It's a crappy mass produced 10 speed frame from 1970-1980 something with sloppy welds, a rear derailer cable boss that sticks out like Chopper's partially amputated ear, and cup and cone bottom bracket bearings - the kind that sound like a large pepper mill full of malteasers whenever it rains.

The seller proudly proclaims it to be 1020 high tensile steel. Steel, he says, is real. Yes, and in this case steel is real friggin' heavy too - 1020 the same stuff from which $89 K-Mart bikes are made.

It has a freewheel (it's not a fixed-gear or a coaster brake bike, so pushing back on the pedals will not slow it down) and yet it only has one brake - an old, single pivot caliper brake on the rear wheel (where braking power is at its least effective). He says he will add a front brake before shipping, but why it was ever anywhere other than on the goddamn fork where it belongs is a mystery.

The seat post is the kind where the clamp is held to the post with a band rather than molded as the one piece. Another sign of its bargain basement heritage.

The rims are budget, and 27", which is an outdated size. Nothing wrong with them, but not worth more than $80 a piece brand new from a good manufacturer (and these aren't either).

The chain is a 9-speed chain, and will fail sooner than a track or single-speed specific chain. I know from experience.

Speaking of not single speed or messenger, look at the frame geometry! I mean, most SS road bikes share with their track bike forebears the common goal of speed, and therefore the common features that facilitate hauling arse - rear wheel tucked right up against the seat post, short chain stays, high saddle, low bars, a wheelbase so short you'll clip your toe if you even think about turning. You couldn't achieve toe overlap on this bike with clown shoes. Frankie wasn't this relaxed.

And then there's the flat bar. Why? Was the prospect of three hand positions too mind-boggling? And where did those grips come from, your kid's trike?

I hope that Pro Max lever is non-linear compatible, or your braking power just halved again...

$500? Why not just save an extra $100 and buy an SE Lager brand new?

eBay is the devil people. Restoring old bikes is a noble thing, but to pay $500 for a bike that bears the kind of tenuous resembelance to an actual single-speed that a cave painting does to a gazelle is just plain dumb.

BSC opens new store at QV on Russell - Service may still suck

Apparently, Brunswick Street Cycles has opened the city's biggest bicycle store in the QV on Russell St.

I'm all for it, so long as the service is better than that provided at the eponymous festering heart of their evil brake mis-aligning empire.

Also, it'd be nice if the operators at Vodafone 123 didn't treat me like a total bonehead when I ask for Brunswick Street Cycles in the CBD.*

*I have some painful conversations with those folks (yes, The Westgarth is a Palace Cinema, but nobody calls it that!).

Awesome Photo Of The Week - Most Awesomest Wedding

At first I thought it was 'send-Simon-photos-of-nude-people-on-bikes' week...

Image pilfered from The Economist, all rights totally theirs.

But it turns out CB was actually linking to an article on Car Vs. Bicycle production figures.

Basic Bike Repair Workshop

From the Commuter Bikes emailer today. Looks like a really handy workshop for only twenty bucks and just two hours of your time!
- Kate :-)

1st Bicycle Workshop.

The best way to keep your bicycle running smoothly, is to get to know it a little better. We'd like to share with you a few handy tips that will help you perform basic routine maintenance and diagnose mechanical problems before they become costly repairs.

Our first bicycle workshop will be running on 6th October and will cover the mechanics, safety devices and the 'things that wear out'. Titled 'Pushbikes 101', this is a general overview of what makes a bike go, how to keep it going, and what can make it stop.

Huw Vellacott, principle mechanic, will be hosting the event, which will cover topics such as:

• The basics of how a bike works
  
• Routine maintenance
  
• Basic adjustment of gears and brakes
  
• Puncture repair
  
• How to diagnose the start of major mechanical problems
  

Light refreshments will be served. We encourage you to bring your bike in too, we might be able to use it for a demonstration!

We will be running workshops throughout the year for people of various skill levels, so if this one's not your cup of tea, stay tuned.

The Nuts and Bolts:

When: 6th October 2008 7pm to 9pm
Where: Commuter Cycles, 14 Prentice street Brunswick
What you get: An overview of bicycle functions, components and routine maintenance.
Cost: $20
Bookings are essential: We're keeping it intimate so you can get answers to your questions, this workshop is limited to 10 places. Call Huw at Commuter Cycles - 9388 1319 or email huw@commutercycles.com.au.

Ride To Work Posters

Eco Velo - An Excellent Blog

I'm comfortable with the fact that I'm a bicycle nerd, and for that reason I think this blog is great.

Ecovelo is a blog wherein people take really nice photos of their commuter bikes and submit them along with a description, or a story about them, or whatever they care to add.

In addition to some half decent photography (i.e. way better than mine), it's an insight into how other people solve common commuter problems, and the small-world vibe that pervades the content makes you feel pretty awesome about yourself.  

Pamela at Kalaroma

Big hills and beautiful views.

2009 Ranges Abound

Including this awesome offering from Bianchi, who have re-introduced good old steel to their line-up for the coming year.

Check the webpages of your favourite brands for an idea of what's headed to your LBS.

Warning: Some brands *cough*Avanti*cough*, have opted for basic colour and top tube curvature changes only (as well as a really annoying and badly compressed flash dude on the bottom left of the main page).

Not the Best Week

I haven't posted on the recent cyclist death on Swanston St for a few reasons; it's received attention in all the local newspapers and the best blogs, it sparks up the inevitable 'no-place-on-the-road' victim blaming debate, and talking about it at all sits somewhere in the uncomfortable space between community awareness and scaremongering.

Also, it spooked the crap out of me.

I've taken a dive on tram tracks more than once, and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays I cycle with my partner Jen halfway to her work in Parkville before turning onto Canning St - a route that sends me down Swanston St and past the now funerial Bourke St corner. The space afforded the commuter cyclist on that stretch is sometimes no more than the thin, creased strip between tram tracks and buses (parked, merging, turning).

Some commentators have suggested rider ignorance is to blame - tram tracks are an obvious hazard easily avoided. It's an oversimplification. Buses park in the outside lane with their hazard lights on. If you're halfway past them when they switch from hazards to their right-hand turn signal, how are you to know that the lights on the left have gone dark and the bus is about to merge out? If this happens in the blind spot, you're in trouble. If a tram is passing at the time, well, you can imagine.

The buses do have to go somewhere, that's certain. But that place is obviously not on the busiest bicycle route in the state.

This morning the shade was cool, but the sunlight heartening where it tiptoed through the buildings. It felt good. I didn't look to the flower memorial today. I just rode on past - over Flinders St where the station stood incandescent in the sunshine.

They're years ahead of us!

No hands (for about 2.5seconds)

Apparently there's a guy who rides down Smith St while reading a book.

I hate him.

I've never actually seen him, mind you, but I hate him.

He's endangering others - but that's not the most annoying bit.

There's no way he could be reading anything of substance if he can still navigate traffic - but that's not it either.

He's obviously preening - but that, too, pales into insignificance, because the truth is as simple as it is damning...

...try as I might, I can't bloody do it.

One hand is fine, but as soon as my left hand index finger leaves the ergo grip the bike feigns one way and then keels to the other as if leaning into a sudden invisible corner without any input from me, the apparent decision maker.  The result is the same regardless of speed or spin, surface or incline. I was busy making excuses for myself regarding this very thing as I rode in this morning (perhaps one of my legs is an inch longer than the other and I never noticed) when I stumbled upon something seemingly unrelated to do with holding a line.

You see, for some time I've been convinced that the key to sorting out my balance (and perhaps coming to grips with f%$#ing trackstands) is to work on holding a straight line at low speed. I'd noticed I was especially bad at this several times in the past. At one point, for whatever reason, I chose to modify my pedalling technique. Where I usually push the ball of my foot flat into the pedal to apply maximum force (so that at its forwardmost the sole of my shoe is at about 10 o'clock) this time I angled my foot down as far as was comfortable without losing grip - say, 8 o'clock. Suddenly things smoothed out, even during my more locomotive, I'd-sooner-have-my-knee-caps-fly-off-than-concede-one-more-gear-to-this-headwind moments.

I waited until a flat stretch of Merri Creek Trail.

One hand. Slight re-adjust.

One hand and 4 digits. No noticeable difference.

Two hands...

It was as if I was scooping at the pedals with my feet. Rather than pushing the bike from left to right by stabbing my soles forward, I was gently reigning the bike back in with my feet - ironing out the many small imperfections of balance.

I say this as if I rode with my thumbs in my ears and my tongue lolling out all the way down St. George's Rd. In reality it was a handful of meters, a couple of seconds at best.

But let there be no mistake, it was progress.

BMX = Insane People on Bicycles

There's a Handlebar Mustache Joke Going Here...

Bicycle advocacy in Hungary. Noice.