Backwards Downhill Ride

Why would you ride backwards down a curvy mountain road!?! Sometimes words just can't describe why people do what they do, but I am sure it was invigorating. Don't try this at home, kids!

If you want to see more crazy bike rides, check these out:

Via ABG

Experiments in Speed with Bicycles

This video is pretty crazy. Experiments in Speed documents how a bike maker makes the fastest bike that he could. The goal is not to beat a world record, but simply to push personal limits. It's a very cool project, and I won't give spoilers on how fast he went. See for yourself:

You can see other bikes built by the same people at Donhou Bicycles.


Via Vimeo, Reddit

Amsterdam Reacts to NY Times Article

A few weeks ago, the New York Times published a piece about bikes in Amsterdam, basically framing things in such a way that the message was more or less "there's too many bikes in Amsterdam, let's not make the same mistake in New York". I covered it, concluding that "The real problem seems to be that infrastructure hasn't kept up with the growth in cycling. [...] The solution is now fewer bikes, but even more bike garages (build them underground if need be), bike racks, bike lanes, etc!"

But the best way to debunk the New York Times' claims is to go to Amsterdam and ask the people who live there what they think. Clarence at StreetFilms did just that for the second video in his Amsterdam series (the first can be found here: Things you might see in Amsterdam, the bike capital of the world...):

It's sad to see so much anti-bike propaganda in the media. Whatever problems there are with bikes, they are smaller than the problems we have with cars, and they are easier to fix. On the other side of the ledger, there are huge benefits (environmentally better, healthier, less expensive, etc). So why pick on bikes?

Via Streetfilms

Citi Bike Takes the Pain In the Ass Test

I knew that NYC's bike share would come with people complaining and being against it just because it was new. I knew it would eventually become a normal part of NYC life since bike share, after all, is just bicycles...that people share. I consider bike sharing to be city cycling's 'gateway drug', i.e. a super effective method that eases the biking uninitiated into the pleasures and practical value of biking in cities.

Casey Neistat, a creative film maker, decided to see just how good (or bad) Citi BIke are when compared to two of his other daily transport choices - taking taxis, or riding his own bike.

In Neistat's film, taxis come out as the fastest choice (by that we mean a couple of minutes faster) but in terms of their 'pain in the ass' factor, they were the worst. At first, his own bike seemed better than a bike-share bike to Neistat because of the very high level of frustration and time-wasting he experienced going through the steps of checking out a bike at a Citi Bike kiosk.

Once Neistat realized that Citi Bike members can get a key to bypass the on-screen registration process, he pronounced bike share the least 'pain in the ass' method of transport for his own daily commute.

Of course Neistat's assessment is subjective, and his Manhattan commute is relatively short. But the video goes some way in dispelling some of the notions people might have about bike share. While there is still quite a lot of media coverage of Citi Bike's effects on the city's residents (and the inevitable report of an accident involving one of the bikes), something must be working. Look at the stats on early usage:

Average trips per day: 14,200
Total revenue thus far: $3,334,000.00
Duration of average ride: 23 minutes, 36 seconds
Most popular bike stations: Broadway and W. 57th St.; West St. and Chambers St.; 17th St. and Broadway
Citigroup’s sponsorship deal for six years, $41 million

Via: BIKECRUSH

Indianapolis Cultural Trail Finally Getting Noticed

I have been luck enough to know and be related to several people from Indianapolis since before 2007, when the beginning of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail was being conceptualized. The main goal was to create a vast network of beautiful protected bike/pedestrian paths around the city center to connects the city's five downtown Cultural Districts, neighborhoods and entertainment amenities, and "serves as the downtown hub for the entire central Indiana greenway system". Fast forward to today, and Indianapolis' Cultural Trail has become a reality, yet it has been flying under the radar compared to some other bike initiatives like, for example, New York's Citi Bike. That's too bad, because the Indianapolis Cultural Trail deserves the spotlight, and should serve as a model for other cities. It is the biggest bicycling infrastructure achievement in North America and yet it's still practically a secret.

See for yourself how cool it is:


Above is a map of the Cultural Trail (you can see a large version here). What's amazing about it is that it was built with philanthropic dollars. This could be a model for other cities where tax dollars are scarce.
Via Indy Cultural Trail, Streetfilms

The Bike Maker

The short documentary below tells the story of Harlem bike maker Ezra Caldwell of Fast Boy Cycles. It's beautifully shot and Ezra's story is quite touching (he was diagnosed with cancer in 2008). I'll let you see for yourself, but be warned that it might not be entirely safe for work because of a bit of swearing and some 'medical' nudity when he discusses his illness. But what truly matters is that like the best documentaries, it doesn't just tell us about the obvious subject matter, but also about human nature in general and the universal pursuit of happiness.

The video below gives you an idea of some of what Ezra does when he makes a custom one-of-a-kind bike:

You can find more on the Fast Boy Cycles blog. Ezra also posts a lot of bike stuff on his Flickr page.
Via Vimeo, Fast Boy Cycles

Streetfilms Video from NYC Citi Bike

Streetfilms, shot some footage at the Citibike bike-sharing debut in NYC. In their words, it was a "media frenzy", with more journalists present than at any other past bike event in the city. Mayor Bloomberg and NYC DOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan gave speeches, but the real star was the bike-sharing system. New York finally joins the rank of cities like Hangzhou, Paris, Montreal, DC,  etc.

Check out this great video:

3D Printed Track Bike (Mostly)

Most people don't realize that before buying a bike, you should make sure it fits your body. It probably didn't matter when you were three feet tall, and just dying to get those training wheels off, but now that you're an adult, a bike that's a little too small, big, short, or long for you can cause some real issues.

Even the slightest angle change can affect the performance of professional riders, which is why designer Ralf Holleis is developing the VRZ. Using a combination of carbon fiber track bike frame, and 3D printed titanium lugs, Holleis has created a super-light, fixed-gear bike that can be customized for an individual rider in a very small period of time.

Normally obtaining a bike that's custom built for your body takes a) a lot of money or b) a lot of welding know-how. With Holleis' new hybrid method, however, the time and cost are reduced.

"You could change the geometry to what ever fits you best, then the lugs gets generated by a software," explains Holleis on his website. "The generated 3D files are produced with laser-cuseing process. Afterwards the printed parts need to be finished and bonded to the tubes."

Ok, so it still takes a fair bit of know-how. But considering how quickly 3D printing technology is disseminating through our culture, one can only expect that it will become easier and cheaper over time. And the benefits for bikers will be huge.

Not only is the VRZ safer and healthier because it's created just for a specific person's body, it's also lighter than almost every bike we've ever seen. At a trim 4.9 kg (10 pounds 11 ounces) it's the perfect vehicle for whipping around the track in style.

Stoopidtall Bike Is a Hit at L.A.'s Ciclavia

Here, in a fabulous aerial view, is proof that the people of Los Angeles are ready and willing to bike, especially when the streets are free of car traffic. This year's most recent Ciclavia (L.A.'s car-free streets rides), packed the pavements with riders. The LA Times reported that over 100,000 cyclists took part in the ride. And amongst them was Richie Trimbles, a young guy riding what must be one of the tallest of the tall bikes seen on city streets. From the ground to the handlebars is 14.5 feet.

No, this bike Trimbles is riding isn't street legal, as the law specifies the rider should be able to put a foot on the ground. And no, Trimbles didn't wear a helmet as he trekked on the car-free streets. And from the video evidence, he didn't have an easy way to come to a stop and balance.
Maybe that's why he calls the bike Stoopidtall.

But the crowd at Ciclavia loved it. Here's how Trimble described the most harrowing portion of his ride to Streetsblog LA, when he was under an underpass that was getting progressively lower as he rode:

As I go under, I drag my hand along the top and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, I’m probably the only person to have touched this besides the workers that built the overpass.’ And that was pretty chilling, but then I realize that the street I was on was at an incline and the bridge above me was banking, the gap was closing in on me. And all I could think was, ‘Holy shit! What am I going to do if I can’t make it out? How do I wedge myself up against this and still make it out? What do I do?’ I could feel the crowd below me, they all knew what was coming. All eyes on me and this bridge closing down on me. It got to the point where my body, my back was parallel to the ground and I looked at my hand and I had about two inches clearance above my knuckles and then I came out from under the bridge and the whole crowd ROARED! A deafening scream of ‘Holy shit, you made it!’ And I swear, those smiles must have lasted the whole ride. That was the moment for everyone.

Trimble hopes to break a world record for tall biking, and answered those who chided him for not wearing a helmet by saying that the ride was a performance, not meant to be imitated for your daily bike ride.

Via: Huffington Post

New Style of Urban Bike Store

A new bike store opened this weekend, sandwiched between two restaurants on the Koreatown section of Toronto's Bloor Street. This is not a major event in Toronto; lots of bike shops have been opening recently, notwithstanding the city's official ambivalence towards two-wheeled transport. But Gallant Cycles is different; there are just a few bikes on the floor, and they are all made to order under the Gallant Badge.


It's a new project by Tony Mammoliti, owner of the successful YNOT Cycle line of bike accessories, and Jason Wood. They have broken the process of choosing a bike down to a series of steps:


Surprisingly, the first step is to pick a colour. Jason has developed a powder coating process that matches the wheel rims to the frame.


Then you pick a frame, in a conventional or step-through design, in a wide range of sizes. you then have an option of single speed, fixed gear, coaster brake, 2 speed automatix coaster or freewheel or 3 speed. It's all so simple.


The design of the store is simple and minimalist; store fixturing is built out of Unistrut, an industrial framing system usually used for hanging pipes and ducts. It is far more attractive than the usual slatwall.


Here, the display system is holding other items in the YNOT line. Jason has hacked the Unistrut with wood strips so that it can accommodate standard Slatwall display hardware but still show the brick behind.

City bikes are a different, relatively new breed of bike. You don't need the weight and suspension of a mountain bike, and you don't want the cost and sitting position of a road bike. You just want to get where you are going in comfort and, frankly, a bit of style, at a not terribly high price. I think Tony and Jason are on to something.

Not much information on the website yet at Gallant Bicycles

Raspberry Pi Headlight Projects Useful Data on the Ground

Cycling is my favorite way to get around, and in past years technology has created all kinds of devices that can help make it more convenient. There are countless smartphone apps that help people plan their route or keep track of various things when they ride. But safety is important, and anything that takes your eyes off the road can be a problem. That's why this do-it-yourself project by Matt Richardson is so cool: He used an inexpensive Raspberry Pi credit-card-sized single-board computer to create a very special kind of bike headlight that can dynamically project information on the road in front of you while still illuminating your way and making you more visible to other road users.

His prototype shows speed, but it could show almost anything that a rider might find useful: Maps, or turn-by-turn directions from a GPS program on a smartphone, or weather info, time to destination, distance traveled, proximity warnings if a car is getting too close, etc.
Check out Richardson's video for all the details:
If you want more on how and why this was built, here is the sneak peek video mentioned in the other video, it gives more details:
Granted, the concept of the dynamic headlight is not without faults and it would have to be done right to avoid being one more distraction. But if only minimalist data is projected in a sane way, I think it could be useful to some cyclists.

Just Bike!

I love cool videos that are not only well done, but also help normalize cycling. Almost everybody has, at one time or another, been on a bicycle. It’s not about who rides what bike, how fast they ride it, or what they wear while riding. It’s about human powered transportation and the freedom and fun that comes from it. Ride on!

Japanese Bike Parking Technology

This is some of the coolest and unique technology to park bikes safely from theft and bad weather...

NYC Bike Advocacy Getting Stronger

Local Spokes is a New York City-based coalition of nine different local organizations that does bike advocacy in the Lower East Side and Chinatown (you can see a list of the nine at the bottom of this page). They do a great job, working particularly hard to reach low income people, immigrants, young people, etc. Elizabeth Press has a great video providing an overview of the work they do:

To understand the transportation needs of the neighborhoods, Local Spokes conducted an extensive survey in 2010 and 2011 and held a series of workshops in Chinese, English, and Spanish.

Last summer Local Spokes synthesized everything the coalition had gathered from this process into a neighborhood action plan for bicycling [PDF]. The goal of the action plan is to ensure that residents of the Lower East Side and Chinatown will have a role guiding decisions about bike-related policies and initiatives for their streets, and to create a model for community-based bike plans in other neighborhoods. (source)

The action plan has been published here (pdf).
Via Streetfilms

Open Streets Continue to Grow and be Successful!

H.G. Wells was quoted as saying that the sight of an adult on a bicycle gave him hope for the future of the human race. I feel the same about ciclovías, those wonderful big-city events in which streets usually packed with cars get cordoned off for all types of wheeling and walking citizens. Cyclovías originated in Bogotá, Columbia 35 years ago, part of an effort to make that city friendlier for pedestrians and cyclists and reduce the dominance of automobiles.

Bogotá’s sustainably-minded former mayor Enrique Peñalosa made ciclovías popular starting in the 1990s, and helped to stimulate the spread of ciclovías worldwide (though they are sometimes named something different, such as Portland's Sunday Parkways or LA's CicLAvia. One of the beautiful thing about the ciclovías in Bogotá and Lima, for example, is that they happen each week, and draw thousands upon thousands. In the U.S. the events are usually just a couple of times, during the summer.

In the video, the streets of Guadalajara, which has 64 kilometers of closed streets each Sunday, are featured. Filmed by Sheila of Sheila and Kai, a couple biking the world to live their dream, this nearly five minute video is a sweet treat because of the way Sheila captures the streets with people on bikes, skates, skateboards and on foot, occupying them. They form a contrast to the noisy, chaotic, and stress-filled streets that are generally filled with cars day and night in most big cities.
Luckily, the ciclovía movement is still expanding. Take a look at all the cities (and this list is by no means definitive).


2 cycle 2gether Around the World :: Guadalajara Via RecreActiva from 2cycle 2gether on Vimeo.

Separated Bike Lanes Hit Harlem

Elizabeth from Streetfilms has created a great video on how East Harlem had to fight to get the safe streets it deserves. In 2010, New York City's Department of Transportation originally had planned separated bike lanes that went all the way up to East Harlem only to later change its plans. But thanks to the local community putting pressure on elected officials, East Harlem has finally gotten 'complete streets' that are safer and more convenient for cyclists.

This is exactly the type of action that should take places in all cities and neighborhoods that aren't getting proper transportation infrastructure. Separated bike lanes are very much a "build it and they will come" type of proposition, and if city officials don't have the vision to go all the way, they should be reminded by citizens that this type of infrastructure is crucial to a healthy, green modern city.

How to Not Design Bike Infrastructure (From a Dutch POV)

I love this video prepared contributed to BicycleDutch and complaining about London bicycle infrastructure. On BicycleDutch the film-maker describes it:

It was really interesting to see cycling infrastructure where I’d least expected it and no infrastructure where in my opinion it was most needed. Something can also be said about the design of the infrastructure that was available. To a Dutch eye the tracks and lanes are narrow and it is hard to see where they actually are. Because there is not much difference from the footpath sometimes. There are also a lot of obstacles and the surface is not continuous and not smooth enough.

Extreme Mountain Uni-Cycling

Bikes are awesome as a clean and healthy way to get around, no question about it. But they're also a great source of entertainment, as these extreme unicyclists prove!

The video is in german, which I can't understand, but the images tell the story. These mountains are quite beautiful! Nice setting to break your bones, I guess...
That guy came this close to such a bad fall 30 seconds into it... Eek.

Here's an interview with a unicyclist with some nice off-road footage and cool urban tricks:


The video quality is terrible in this one, but the uni-cycling is crazy and takes place in all kinds of terrain. Look at that cliff!

54 years old Terry Peterson riding his uni in Simi Valley:
 
Here's Alexis Blanc doing some freestyle unicycle tricks. It's not in the mountains, but there's some cool stuff. If you like the music, it's by Bonobo.
And finally, for those who can't get enough, here's some unis riding over various rough terrains and ramps. Not always the most visually impressive, but the level of difficulty must still be very high!

Bikes Hitting the Fashion Runway

Clarence from Streetfilms attended a fashion show where the model weren't walking up and down the runway, they were biking (or sometimes walking next to a bike)! That's a pretty cool concept, and takes further the idea behind Cycle Chic. The show was called “Cycle Chic: Past, Present & Future…A Celebration of Dressing for the Destination”, and it featured fall fashion, in Long Beach, California.

More info here and here.
Via Streetfilms

World's First Chainless Folding Electric Bike

The Footloose by Mando is doubtless going to make you want to test ride it. Asserting that it is the world's first chainless hybrid electric folding bike, Korean auto suppliers Mando Corp and Meister Inc have collaborated to bring us this beautiful design.

Designboom states it can go up to 18.6 miles with the motor alone, and farther with pedaling by the rider. "By directly transforming electricity via an alternator connected to the crank, power is generated directly from the user. The energy stored in a lithium-ion battery, which is then used to actuate the engine. Using an electronic control unit (ECU), the 'footloose' works with sensors and an automatic gear changer to monitor terrain and adjust the motor's output as necessary. It monitors the system for problems, which it displays via a handlebar-mounted human machine interface (HMI)."
As Gizmodo puts it, "It's like the bicycle equivalent of the Chevy Volt."

And as we mentioned, there is no chain so added to the extra perk of being able to fold it is it's ability to fold to a very small size:

It will apparently be available in the European markets starting next year. Here is a video illustrating the bike a bit more: