bikes

h(y)r | sweet little online mag featuring a whole host of goodies. Go to features, product then matt jensen to see my boy matt putting together some goodness for you fixie crew. He does plenty of tasty furniture also, watch this space I will dig up more pics...

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Portland is a cyclist's city with expanding bike paths (200 miles installed since 2000) and increasing numbers of riders, but also some pain and problems as more cyclists and motorists try to co-exist. On inner-city rides it is easy to feel that a majority of motorists are accustomed to cyclists and have shifted their habits accordingly, though big trucks still feel like a major hazard.
Portland loves green box biking
Two cycling fatalities last year (and an all-time high of six in 2007) as well as some recent highly publicized bike-car road rage clashes have made...

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Caught at a Red Light
Last night I was biking home from the movie theater when I got caught at one of those red lights that cyclists dread. If you are a cyclist, you know the situation: you're on a small road and need to turn onto a larger road. Unfortunately, the light only changes if a car trips a sensor under the road. Your options now are limited: you can either run the light, wait for a car to trip the sensor, or climb off your bike and push the cross-walk signal (if there is one.) Well, at first I waited for a car to come, to no avail. Nor did the street have a cross-walk signal. My only option was to run the light, but as a law abiding cycl...

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While certain American politicians complain about a million bucks being included in the country's energy plan to promote bikes, in the UK they are investing £140 million (about US$ 280 million) to create dedicated bike lanes, provide bike parking, safety training, on-street bike rental networks and a campaign to promote bicycling in 12 Cycling Demonstration Towns.
The Transport Minister, Ruth Kelly says "A quarter of journeys made every day by car are less than two miles, Cycling is an alternative that could bring real health benefits to millions of adults and children, as well a...

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SolPops photo by gisarah @ flickr
A new era of "post peak oil" bicycle-powered commerce is creeping into Portland's downtown, and what a welcome sight it is. At the Portland Farmer's Market, this year SolPops hit the scene on a sky blue cargo bike with a leafy shade canopy (unfortunately not pictured in this photo) to keep the patrons cool while they choose their frozen treat. SolPops (the SOL stands for sustainable, organic, local) are closer to a Mexican paleta than a regular popsicle, with their thick cold fruity goodness - strawberry, orange, coconut - usually tinged with a surprising extra flavor like basil, or chile.

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Circular Bike made from Salvaged Parts
Yeah, it's pointless and not necessarily green, but once in a while you just gotta have fun with bike culture. We'd rather see this than "pimp my car". As one commenter on reddit sait:
Or as another one said: "I would like to suggest the name 'Vicious Cycle'".

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Video of San Francisco Cyclist blowing every light and stop sign here
We learn from Kate at Carectomy that San Francisco is considering changing the law to permit cyclists to blow through stop signs. "Bicycles would still have to yield if there was a car at a stop sign. They would still have to stop for that car and let them go through," Rachel Kraai of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition told CBS News. "At a stop light they would still have to stop and look both ways, but then they could go through....

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When we wrote that Bike Mechanics are the New Doctors commenter Nate suggested that "bikes are remarkably simple machines to work on," who needs a mechanic?. In Madison, Wisconsin, you get your choice; James of BicycleDesign tells us of the Trek Stop- a vending machine where you can "stop by anytime to put air in your tires or buy basic small items like a tube, patch kit, water bottle, energy bar, chain lube, etc." According to Olive on Flickr, "contains items for doing minor repa...

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The electricity supply in Paris was pretty intermittent in the spring of '45, so an "ingenious beautician hires unemployed 6-day bicycle racers to peddle away on a bike, the back wheel of which is attached to a small generator! The current runs 6 driers." Charlie at Modern Mechanix doesn't buy it- "Hair dryers use a LOT of electricity." Having tried to keep a lightbulb going at the Ontario Science Centre as a kid was a lot of work; the Eco-Geek says that "the maximum output for a toned adult...

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"A major component of the Democrats' energy legislation is, and the Democrats' answer to the energy crisis is, hold on, wait one minute, I'm not making this up, it is"promoting the use of the bicycle!
Watch this extraordinary two minute video of Rep Patrick McHenry decrying "19th century technology for a 21st century problem."In Colorado, another republican says “I’d ...

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Well, dear readers, that mortal moment has come. My alter-ego, Super City Cycle Girl, has been struck low by the evils of traffic. But do not fear. Your heroine bravely battles on with one-handed typing and a new secret weapon: tricycles. Yes, after toppling the two-wheeler, Super City Cycle Girl has returned to the lab to get a closer look at an eco-vehicle which can skid across wet pavement without tipping. Of course, it has to be a cool tricycle -- stylish, sporty and sleek. ...

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Ghost Bike for Un-named victim, Toronto
We were appalled when, after yet another door prize death, a policeman discussed charging the woman who did it and said “If she didn’t look, would that be negligence? It’s very hard to label that as negligent." In our survey, 75% of the respondents agreed that " The driver broke the law and killed someone and sho...

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There are not a lot of choices when one decides to bicycle across Canada; there is really just the two-lane Trans-Canada Highway that is shared by every transport truck, sober or drunk driver or cyclist trying to cross the country, like Daniel Hurtubise and his two kids were, along with Robert Carrier, who left his six kids at home. Hurtubise had juvenile Diabetes, but was riding "to show that the disease does not stop people from living an active lifestyle." But cars do, very effectively; They were all struck from behind by a Honda Civic, and Hurtubise and Carrier were killed, while the kids were sent to hospital. The

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This is a business idea we shouldn't need; every office building should have decent bike storage and a place to change and shower, it should be in the building codes like washrooms. Unfortunately they don't; that is where urban bike stations come in. The coolest one is Bike Central in Auckland, New Zealand; they offer safe storage, showers, coffee and a bite to eat, wifi and will do your dry cleaning and laundry while you are at work. It is more like a health club than a bike shop, but then if you are biking to work that's what you want.

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A young Canadian inventor named Ben Gulak has created an innovative new electric motorbike that takes some of the lessons learned from the Segway device, but implements them in cooler package. The bike, called the Uno, looks from its profile like a strange powered unicycle but actually employs two wheels side-by-side. Riders lean forward to accelerate -- a feature used by the Segway, and can hit a top speed of 25 mph in its current configuration. The Uno also makes use of a set of gyros to enhance ease of balance, and the wheels are independently operated making turning much more precise.

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Despite its bad rep as a Hallmark Holiday, Mother’s Day has historic significance that pre-dates the sappy greeting cards, flowers, and candy: During the American Civil War, social activist Julia Ward Howe organized it as a way to unify women against war and promote nonviolence. To honor the day’s original mission and say "Thanks Mom!" we've compiled a list of treats that will leave every type of mama—including Mama Earth—feeling peaceful and proud....

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Great minds think alike ... Here we have two organisations, almost on different sides of a country, doing much the same thing, with the same name.
The Recyclery, in Evanston, Illinois, a non-profit collective, seeks to build community through the restoration of donated and discarded bicycles. “With these bikes we offer a sustainable form of transportation at little to no cost. We wish to further open ourselves and our resources to the community at large with programs that teach bicycle maintenance, safety, and ecological sustainability."...

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Congrats Portland! The city just became the first major U.S. city to be designated as a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists. The only other city to reach that level in the U.S. is Davis, California, but it only has a population of 63,000, so the challenge wasn't quite the same (not to take anything away from their accomplishment - kudos to them!).
"Portland earned the Gold designation back in 2003 and has been working to achieve Platinum for well over two years. Back in February of 2006, Commissione...

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Eighty years ago the Dutch were building a proper infrastructure for bikes, separating the lanes and making it a safe place to ride. We just built highways and pulled up rail lines. No wonder things turned out the way they did. ::Modern Mechanix

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Batteries are heavy, and consequently so are many electric bikes. Alex Coulombe demonstrates the BionX, a conversion system that you can add to any bike, that tops out at fifteen pounds....

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The Long John in April’s recent post on Five Cool Cargo Bikes reminded me of the wonderful looking Small Haul. This is an exquisitely detailed, hand-made bike frame that includes a vast cargo-hold right under the handlebars.
Joshua Muir, who crafts them in his workshop in Santa Cruz, Calfornia, describes them as “quick and surprisingly light.” The front basket is rated to carry up to 80lbs (36 kg) as indicated by the above pic of the Labrador. The Frances Cable Steering System is employed to ensure turning is nimble...

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Pictured is the Danish Kangaroo cargo bike
After a car-free 1.5 years in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, it had become time to reassess the bike set-up, because a wire basket, back rack and single pannier just didn't seem to be cutting for this rider anymore. When you have to carry every liter of milk, stick of butter and pot of paint either by foot or on your own pedal power, cargo bikes had started to look more and more enticing. That recent weekend in Copenhagen also again made it clear that the Danes are a light-year ahead of everyone (except, perhaps, the Dutch) when it comes to all things urban biking.
So it was timely to see a weekend revi...

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Folding Bike Innovations (FBI), trading in Australia as Onyerbike, are, by their own admission “designers, importers and retailers of innovative bicycles.” They offer several full size folding bikes, such as their top of the range ‘Hawk’, with its magnesium alloy rim, 6 spoke, 26” wheels. The 7005 aluminium frame folds at a massive hinge in its centre, to make for a fairly compact package. The Hawk weighs15.8 kg and costs just shy of $2,000 AUD....

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