Channel: Gear

Living in Oakland, you can’t miss the Scraper Bike phenomenon. Local Tyrone “Baby Champ” Stevenson is generally credited for popularizing the style. Baby Champ advocates the scraper bike as “a way of expressing your creative side… it’s a do-it-yourself thing.” Now that’s a philosophy I can get behind! The past two summers, Baby Champ and his crew have led a large ride through the city. You can bet I didn’t miss it!

Keen Austin Pedal Shoes
by Jonathon Reynolds
MSRP $120 USD
Stylish shoes that work well both off and on the bike. Surprisingly comfortable right out of the box, these shoes have quickly become a favorite of mine. The stiff sole (with a recessed SPD compatible plate) makes them great for riding and their understated good looks make them perfect for casual business meetings. They are warm – too warm for warm weather riding – but perfect for cooler commutes.

It’s been snowing a lot here in Boston, the slush is ankle high, the salt trucks have been busy and the roads are falling apart under the strain, the perfect environment to find out if the Lager is really a good match for urban riding. I almost feel bad for what I am about to put this bicycle through.

The Lager from SE is their middle-of-the-road fixed/single speed city bike (MSRP $650 USD). The frame has a classic horizontal top tube geometry that harkens back to steel bikes of yesteryear.  The chromoly frame, while solidly built, is not super heavy (21.5 lbs). I have no trouble carrying it up the three flights of stairs to my office every day.

We tried keeping our piles of bikes in many places: the garage, the backyard, even on the porch. Eventually I devised a two-level hanging rack. It’s easy to build with a minimum of tools and stores almost twice as many bikes in the same space as a standard hanging rack. The bikes are easy to get in and out, and this rack works in a garage, foyer, porch or yard. You just need a wall or some posts.

(All pictured above)
BERN BRENTWOOD HELMET
www.bernunlimited.com
MSRP: $74.99 USD / $99.99 CAD
Sleek simple design combined with new fusion technology make this a stylish and very low profile helmet. Has removable cushioning with either a visor or not. The fit is comfortable yet snug – you can forget it is there. – JR

To try a recumbent bicycle is to take your first ride all over again, but in the lap of luxury.

With your body weight gently suspended and spread over several square feet of the back and buttocks, rather than the few square inches of the sit bones and hands – as on an upright bike – the ergonomics are clear: riding a recumbent means less stress on the body.

For some of us, riding a regular bike can be a pain in the butt at the end of the day. Not even the chubbiest gel saddle kept my rear end happy for much more than an hour or two on my trusty upright steed. My lifelong dream of touring began to feel like an invitation to a hazing.

If you ride after dark or around dawn or dusk, you will need a good light. After a helmet and good riding skills, bike lights are the best safety tool a cyclist has for being seen by drivers. Many lights are "be seen" lights: they will not give enough light to navigate by but they are very visible to cars. If you have a commute that is on lighted streets these are all you need. Some are super small and very easy to attach and have with you at all times.

If you are riding in areas where there are no street lights or other light sources you should move to a bigger more powerful light – not only will you be seen but you will be able to see the road surface better.

After our son Axel arrived, we began exploring options for how to bike with him. Child seats were a little scary because of the effort required to balance them. We tried a bakfiets thinking it would be the perfect bike, but again found balancing the weight challenging. My friend with the bakfiets suggested the Nihola. As he put it, bakfietsen are cargo bikes that can carry kids, the Nihola is a kid’s bike that can carry cargo. He was right!

We asked our readers for recommendations for cycling with kids. What is the best kids stuff for cycling?

The response was overwhelming and many items appeared again and again. The holiday season is now here so this is an ideal time to look at presents for your children (and, let’s face it, for ourselves) which will make cycling a better experience for both our children and ourselves.

Helmets
Mentioned most often were helmets. Topping the list was the Little Nutty from Nutcase, and running a close second was the Bell Zoom. You can encourage your child to protect themselves by allowing them to choose a helmet that celebrates his or her creative individuality.

Ulrike wears Sheila Moon: houndstooth jacket and cap, cocoa fleece hoodie and black riding pants.

Bike: Breezer Uptown 8

(full review in our Gear Issue in January 2010)

“Why is momentum so interested in fashion?” People ask us. Truth be told, we at momentum are not interested in fashion for its own sake – but we are interested in expanding people’s perceptions of what we can look like when we ride our bikes. And we’re interested in seeing clothing makers take the needs of everyday cyclists seriously. Though we started asking models to ride bikes on the catwalk as a whim in the summer of 2008, we have gathered steam on the runway in 2009 – with two more shows under our belts this autumn, and one more to go at the San Francisco Bike Expo, November 21.

For details see: www.sfbikeexpo.com

The Globe Live is an upright-riding utility cycle notably equipped with integrated front rack, fenders, kickstand, and chain guard. I’ve been riding the 8-speed Shimano Nexus equipped Live 02 model for more than six weeks, and it immediately became my ride of choice for errands around the city. The 25 kilogram (55 pound) rated removable front rack mounts securely to the fork crown and blades with the load centered over the front hub for improved riding stability. The Live was engineered with this custom front rack from the ground up; forget the wimpy wire basket on your bike now, this one isn’t going to rattle or sway when going over potholes or curbs.

Specialized sent a full team of designers, engineers and product people to Minneapolis June 10-11, for the product launch of their 2010 Globe Brand of bicycles. The line is made up of five models, including the Roll: a steel frame fixed gear with clean, simple lines; two cargo bikes: the Haul and the Live; the Vienna, a light-duty commuter, and the Carmel, a comfort bike.

The portland-designed Joe Bike almost single-handedly dispels the notion that a bicycle can carry little more than its rider.

Built on the high-tensile steel frame of the Boxbike – a facsimile of the short-box Dutch-designed bakfietsen – the Joe Bike’s reinforced frame features a modular cargo platform with custom brackets designed to accommodate several unique cargo carriers: a traditional wooden cargo box; a low-level tread plate-covered cargo platform, or an upper-tier tube rack. Whether you haul groceries, tires, people or puppies, you can swap the bike’s cargo carriers with little effort using a single four millimeter allen wrench.

Ever since the TV series MacGyver – in which our intrepid hero makes a new fantastical escape each week using only duct tape and a multi-tool – duct tape has been embedded in our collective consciousness as the mainstay of any DIYer’s arsenal. In my own youth as an aspiring Mr. Fix-It, I often used duct tape for my assorted projects. Over the years though, I started noticing the casualties of my wonder tape – everything around me still falling apart and now covered with a dried and cracking mesh of disintegrating silver plastic. Until summer time, when it all turned into a dastardly sticky goo that infected anything it touched. My friends, too, had started to notice similar problems.

Part 1 of this story can be found here

So simple and yet so useful and stylish: Baskets are popping up on bikes all over the place. Whether you’re hauling a heavy package or just need somewhere to toss your purse, baskets are a biker’s new best friend.Wald 157B Giant
Delivery Basket

MSRP $41 US

The 157B Giant Delivery Basket is the largest bicycle basket Wald makes. Available in chrome-plated and gloss black finishes. Liner available. 21" x 15" x 9". www.waldsports.com

Nantucket Bike Basket Co. Lightship Model

MSRP $45 US

14" x 8.5" x 10"

We invite readers to share their own experiences transporting something not usually carried on a bike. Send your stories to editor@momentumplanet.com

From Aaron Goss of Aaron's bicycle repair, Seattle:

When you see the Yuba Mundo you can’t help noticing the large Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. Although balloon-tire cruisers may be stylish in North America, when Yuba designer Benjamin Sarrazin chose them he had a completely different landscape in mind; the big tires offer the most basic suspension to smooth the ride on Africa’s bumpy dirt roads.

Fenders are often one of the biggest annoyances of biking: they go out of alignment, rub on your wheels, crack, and break. Every year I dread putting them on, but regret it when I don’t have them. Wood fenders are strong, relatively easy to build, and are affordable to make. They require little more than basic woodworking experience and access to a shop. Here is a basic “how to” on wood fenders, for those with a little carpentry experience or those just curious about how it’s done. Please read the entire article before beginning to make your own.

Congrats! you’re newly pregnant, and are already daydreaming about hauling your future toddler behind you in a trailer, or on a bike seat. You look forward to sharing your love of biking and a healthy lifestyle with your child. However, at this stage, is biking while pregnant safe? Won’t it get uncomfortable?

I was on the hunt for a bike that would make cycling while pregnant easy and comfortable. I’d found that as my new growing friend in the belly took up more room, I had to abandon riding my bikes with horizontal top tubes. I went out searching for bikes made for those of us with a smaller range of motion in the hips and, from what I hear, upcoming balance challenges.

I found the Biria Easy Boarding 7, a unique aluminum step-through frame bike designed in Germany. The model I tried came with a 7-speed Shimano derailleur with grip shifter, upright handlebars, kickstand, rear rack, and fenders. I also asked for a bell and a rear detachable basket ($25-50 CAD) for my laptop bag.

Bikes on Bikes

I regularly move things by bike and have built several trailers and cargo bikes to do so. Here's me transporting bikes for various youth programs I have instructed.
—Alex Wilson
Chicago, IL

Chairs for Repairs

You've committed to using a bicycle for your shorter trips, but you also have children. Do you really need a minivan to transport them to the local park?
For smaller children, bicycle trailers from companies like Burley, Chariot, Wike, and Croozer can be hitched to your bike to tote your

My work as a home energy consultant entails carrying 90lbs of equipment (blower door kit and a step ladder) to all the homes that I visit. The job could either have been my worst nightmare (spending the entire day driving everywhere) or a dream job of cycling to every house call.

So I began a quest to find a way to do my job by bicycle. I started off with an Xtracycle with wide loaders and a Stokemonkey electric assist. My needs were being met, but my curiosity brought me to the Larry vs. Harry website.

Like discovering that a wonderful old wool sweater is as warm and breathable as the latest petrochemical fabrics, the creators of the Bullitt have looked to the past for inspiration.

How to make a cargo bike not feel like a cargo bike? It was this challenge that the people at Xtracycle had in mind when they designed the Radish. They already knew how to provide more carrying space, but how to make it feel as easy as riding a regular bike?

I asked Dominique and his five-year-old son Luc to see if it would work for them. They live at the foot of one of the biggest hills in the city, and would like to do more daily activities by bicycle.

Helmet covers are a popular trend with both kids and adults but they are especially helpful for concerned parents who are tired of trying to convince kids to wear helmets. Karen Climans, creator of the Toronto-based Tail Wags helmet covers, started her company three years ago after a helmet saved her life during a skiing accident. Why are these covers called “Tail Wags?” Many of them have tails on the back which flutter in the wind as the rider moves. Looking for a gift for young cycling pals? Pink bunny rabbits and ladybugs are popular with little girls. Young boys tend to like the turtles, frogs and monkeys.

Invisible cycling spirits are helping me as I pedal the Giant Twist Freedom DX bike. This 29 kilogram (64 pound) e-bike is cruising effortlessly at 25km/h (15 mph). I’m not even breaking a sweat. Despite feeling vaguely traitorous to my self-propelled persona, I could get used to this. Based upon sales figures for e-bikes worldwide, I’d have plenty of company.

My friend Benny talks enthusiastically about his electric bicycle at every opportunity. No matter the topic of discussion - winter cycling, carrying children or cargo on bike, commuting - Benny always finds a way to work the advantages of electric bikes into the conversation. After cycling 100 miles (160 kilometres) on the Schwinn Tailwind electric bicycle over the past few days, I can understand his enthusiasm.

When it comes to bike locks, it seems we face an unavoidable trade-off between security and convenience. A thick and sturdy cable lock, U-lock or chain is never easy to carry. Lugging around locks that are heavy, cumbersome, and difficult to mount on a bike frame are one of the few drawbacks of commuter cycling. German lock makers ABUS suggest there is room for improvement.