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Fenders are vital accessories for continuing the ride through inclement weather. It doesn’t take a die-hard, everyday commuter to appreciate them. Anyone who has ventured to a friend’s house or otherwise gone for a ride with even a hint of wetness on the roads, a puddle here and there, understands. While the stripe up your back may have been a badge of honor as a kid, I’d bet that these days its just not the same feeling. Planet Bike makes a wide variety of fenders to fit every flavor of bicycle to prevent such personal wetness – today we focus on the clip-on variety, the Speedez Road Fenders, rated for tires up to 700×28mm wide.
Monthly Archive for January, 2008
Atlanta’s Sopo Bikes cooperative is proud to present the Broken Hearts & Bicycle Parts alleycat and benefit show. The weekend-long event kicks off on Friday February 15th, but registration is open now.
According to Sopo’s executive director, Rachael Spiewak, the event is just one of many exciting projects the good folks in the dirty south are undertaking. Among them are an earn-a-bike program at a homeless shelter, ongoing bike distribution among refugee families, and a trip to rwanda to set HIV case workers up with bikes. Visit www.sopobikes.org for more info.
Many people are perfectly happy riding around in plain old pants, either cut off or rolled up to avoid getting caught in their chain. But there’s no denying that purpose-built cycling knickers (also known as shants) have some great features and certain performance advantages. Take Swrve knickers, for example.
The Dynamic knickers are made from a lightweight material that’s stretchy and durable. Features like an articulated knee and seemless crotch make them more comfortable on the bike, as does the waistband that dips down in the front and stays high in the rear. The zippered rear pockets make sense for the urban rider, and the hip-mounted cell phone pocket is surprisingly secure and rather handy. The cut does seem to favor tall, thin people, so you may be best served buying them from a local retailer where you can try them on first
After months of regular use, I’ve got very few nits to pick with these knickers. The fabric shows almost no visible wear and the seams are all intact. One complaint is that the button above the fly zipper popped off after just a few weeks. 
True, I had been wearing the knickers three to five days a week, but it just seemed premature. Maybe it was bad thread, maybe my awesome gut could not be restrained. The other nit to pick is the $90 price tag. I got a significant “industry insider” price break, but you most likely won’t. Even at my cost, I could have bought a couple pair of pants and a six pack of PBR. But you get what you pay for, and in this case you’re paying for a high-performance specialty item that happens to put food on another cyclists’ table.
Visit www.swrvecycling.com for more information.
Ok, so it’s a commercial, but it’s also a cool little short film with a subtle anti-doping and anti-automobile message.
And Pearl Izumi makes a damn fine rain shell, too. I’ve had one for six years and it’s still going strong.
Macaframa is coming. Another fixed-freestyle production from San Francisco, this time shot in HD. The preview shows off some exemplary camera work and all of the West Coast fixed style you can stomach. Lets hope the full length lives up to the production quality presented here. If so, this should be an interesting film.
Check out the trailer by visiting Cliquenmove and tune it to Channel 2.
We get a fair amount of requests for event sponsorship. Races, charity events, film showings, etc. We love them all, and now have a formal offer on the table for a box of magazines, a grip of stickers and $20 off any size ad in Urban Velo for event promoters.
This means event promoters can reach 20,000+ online readers, 1500 print readers and countless blog viewers for as low as $20 for an 1/8 page event ad.
Visit our Event Sponsorship page for more. Step right up!
The Burrito Project is a grassroots, non-profit, community activity. Initially started Los Angeles, chapters all over the world meet once a week to distribute free food to the hungry. Typically the food is delivered by bicycle, and if possible the food comes from salvaged or donated sources. But since the ingredients aren’t expensive, it’s not entirely necessary.
Many people saw the documentary (above) at the 2007 Bicycle Film Festival, which follows L.A. Burrito Project cyclists. Even more people learned about the project thanks to the MySpace Impact Award last year, which garnered the group $10,000 and promotional consideration on MySpace. Chapters continue to pop up all the time, and interested parties are encouraged to start their own. Visit www.myspace.com/burritoproject for more information.
Anyone who’s been through a few cycling books knows that long ago wood was used in many parts of bicycle construction. Primarily utilized in rims, there are nontheless countless examples of bikes of old with wood frames. In the modern era, there are companies such as Calfee using bamboo for high performance bicycles and craftsmen such as Urban Velo contributor Ezra Caldwell creating fenders and handlebars from this renewable material.
That said, I’ve not seen anything that quite compares to the absolutely, completely wooden bicycle made by the young Marco Facciola. Each and every piece is crafted from wood – the frame, the wheels, the freewheel mechanism and even the chain. Including the pins. Quite the display of ingenuity, patience and wood craft. Color us impressed.
Read all about it over at the Lee Valley and Veritas Woodworking Newsletter.
Some of you read Johnny Tarr’s article “Pedicabs After Dark” in issue #5, but still wanted more info on the machine. We empathize… We’re bike geeks, too.
The Classic Pedicab is built on a TIG welded 4130 steel frame. It retails for $3400 and measures 50 inches across and 110 inches from front to back. The vehicle weighs in at 150 pounds, and stopping duties are handled by a V-brake in the front and a disc brake in the rear. It features a compact mountain crankset and a 21-speed Shimano rear hub. Visit the Main Street Pedicabs website for more details.
While the popular cartoon The Boondocks is really about social commentary and not cycling, the episode “Thank You for Not Snitching” repeatedly showcases young Riley’s bicycle. The bike sports a set of “spinners” which incite Uncle Ruckus. “The law say, when the bicycle stop, the wheels supposed to stop,” he shouts, “You need a special permit for wheels like that!”
Avid Boondocks fans have probably noticed that the highly anticipated episode “The Hunger Strike” has mysteriously disappeared from Adult Swim’s lineup, and the previews have been yanked from You Tube. The second season continues to roll on with “The S-Word” which aired this week. Keep an eye out for creator Aaron McGruder’s newest creation, “The Super Rumble Mixshow,” which is set to debut in early 2008 on Super Deluxe.
Niner’s “You Are What You Drink” top cap lets you show off your favorite brand of bottled beer, and for many serves as a reminder of the sudsy treat that awaits at the end of every ride. Machined from 6061 aluminum, this $13 goody is only available in anodized black for 1 1/8″ threadless headsets. Presumably, if you ride a threaded headset you probably prefer your beer from a can…
The YAWYD works equally well with both twist-off and crimped bottle caps, and assembly is as easy as you might imagine. Top cap removal is only a bit more complicated with the YAWYD installed, but even the tightest fitting bottle cap comes free with the flick of your favorite bottle opener. And while most people should be able to remove the bottle cap with their bare hands, the YAWYD appears to hold fast even on the roughest rides.
Check out the schematic or visit NinerBikes.com for more information.
…well, actually, they sat down at the Interbike media center. Tim Grahl of the Crooked Cog Network led Tim Parr of Swobo, Tim Jackson of Masi Bikes and Urban Velo’s own Brad Quartuccio in a discussion on how to get more people on bicycles. The conversation focuses heavily on the marketing involved in doing so.
Click here to watch the video.
As we had hoped, Urban Velo is being viewed by cyclists all over the world. Click here to see a chart listing the top 100 countries, ranked by the number of visitors per country.
Not surprisingly, most of our web traffic comes from the United States, however the United Kingdom contributes significantly. As does Chile, who makes a surprisingly strong showing at number 10 on the list. Hopefully this global reach will result in increased contributions from around the world.
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