Ride Info: the low tech solution

First of, the owner of this bike clearly suffers from some sort of addiction to information overload. Between the map, GPS computer, watch, headlight & carpenters level. . . wait a carpenters level? on a bike? Yes indeed it is.

Now ask yourself, have you ever found yourself scratching to get to the top of a steep hill and asking yourself, I wonder how steep this hill is. Well if you have got a fancy GPS enabled cycle computer it can probably tell you, but those are expensive & cause frustration when they don't work (and apparently the one installed on this bike doesn't). If you are like me and don't like spend unneeded money & frustration on silly computers (I don't have one on any of my bikes) but you still want answers to such questions you could employ this low tech solution seen on this bike on cyclofiend. Now you probably won't ever catch me ridding around with a carpenters level installed on top of my handle bars, but it is an interesting idea.

Cannondale: folding an update

In an effort to get to the bottom of the, potential dubious origins of the Cannondale folding Jackknife bicycle, I contacted James at Bicycle Design to see if he had any knowledge about the bikes origins. James, who is an amazing resource of knowledge on bicyle design frowarded me this article which reveal the designs origins as being created by two graduate student of transportation design at the Elisava Design School in Barcelona Philippe Holthuizen and Rodrigo Clavel. So it seems that origins of the actual frame design and concept can be traced to Cannodale, but there is still no doubt that aesthetically the two bikes have an uncanny similarity. I also find the folding , mechanisms of the cube design a little more streamlined and sleek.

Bracelets

More ways to wear your support

Save the Bike Messengers

If this dosen't seem to make sense to you, read this first at BSNYC

LA Raod Trip

Some Photos for a recent road trip I took up to LA:


These are photos of a cool art installation inside of the WESC store on Robertson blvd in LA by geoff hastings, the girl in the store told me that geoffhastings.com is in the works, but the site isn't live yet.





Sunset

Canonadale: folding a rip off

Cannondale has just released this bike:

Which seems remarkably similar to this bike designed by Cube of Germany, which I have posted on earlier


While there are some fairly obvious design differences, When I saw the Cannondale I actually thought for a second that the Cube bike had gone into production, until I saw, the lefty (er righty in this case) and the Cannondale logo. I don't know if this is just a blatant rip off, or if Cannondale bought the rights to the design, even the color scheme is the same but here's some more shots of the bike.


And in black

It's Monday So...

I'll post something cool...

Horizontal drop outs are awesome for single speed and internally gear bikes. They let you keep your chain tight, but they also allow for the possibility of not mounting your wheel straight, which can be very frustrating when trying to quickly change a road side flat. Mounting a crooked wheel is going to result in a bike that well, isn't going to roll very straight that where these cool simple slammers come in. Available in varying measurements from 1.5mm, for those who like to run wheels snug into the dropout, to 8mm for those who run their wheels close to the end of the dropout. These things make it easy to keep your chain tight Based in Copenhagen the brand, also has new hubs, frames, linear brake cables, as well as several other smaller components, is available in the UK via IMG distribution.

Something ridiculous...

The crazy tall bike of death, I really do think you could kill yourself of someone ells ridding/ falling off this thing.

Something Funny...


This is probably the coolest possible way to arrive at the pub, bringing a whole new dimension to down tube shifting, or maybe in this case you could call it up tube.

And something useful...


Saw this pic European cargo bike in Portland somewhere on the internet. Its pretty cool have't been able to find out much about it, anyone know who makes them, Ill take one in black with green fenders, thanks.

Mars Volta: New Album

This album is amazing. It marks the bands return to an album with a centralized concept throughout the album. Based on the bands experiences with a Ouija board the band nicknamed Soothsayer which was purchased by Omar in a curiosity shop in Jerusalem. The Soothsayer offers them a story:

"It‟s always about a man, a woman, and her mother. About the lust floating between them. About seduction and infidelity. And pain. And eventually, murder. Entrails and absence and curses and oblivion. Exactly the kind of spooky shit you'd want from your Ouija. Now here comes the rub. The Soothsayer starts asking the band what they have to offer. This connection
thats set up runs both ways, and the invisible voices begin to speak of their appetites. They threaten oblivion and dissolution, or offer it as seduction. The voices merge as Goliath, a metaphysical quagmire and unfed saint whose hunger to return to the real world grows more urgent with each connection. " — Jeremy Robert Johnson, October 27th, 2007, Portland, Oregon

The band believes the spirit of Goliath has begun haunting their lives, the album became part of their efforts to rid the lives of its torment. The album also features a new drummer, Thomas Pridgen, but fear not Mars Volta fans he is truly amazing and this album is simply an awesome, ass kicking, psychedelic, masterpiece.

Sigg Bottels

I posted a while back about sigg bottles before I received mine though mail order from mysigg.com. So I have been using the bottle on my bike for a while now, everyday on my commute to work and on long weekend rides. And I have to say that it really is awesome. The number one reason to use Sigg bottles is they are taste neutral, which of coarse means they won't make your watter taste nasty and plasticy like a regular plastic watter bottle. The reason for this is Sigg bottles don't leach plasticizers and phthalates (pronounced THALE-LATE-S) into your watter. Sigg bottles are made form aluminum so they are not flexible like regular watter bottles, I thought at first that this might be an issue, because I was very accustomed to squeezing my watter bottle, but the sports cap which comes with the sport bottle Sigg bottle provides very adequate flow, and the flip top protective cover (pictured) is removable, which i recommend for ridding. My other concern was finding a bottel cage that would hold my Sigg bottle, while Sigg does manufacture a bike bottle cage, I found that any carbon or plastic bottle cage does the job just fine.

(screw cap does not work well for use while ridding)
A carbon cage my result in scratches in the the paint job on your bottle though. Overall I love my sigg bottel and I am converted for life. mysigg.com also offers bottle with various cool paint jobs, heres a few I like:

Orange Bikes & Pure Destructive Rage

There has recently been allot of coverage on bike blog about the wrath that has been unleashed upon DKNY's orange bike , pro bike campaign. The photos are quite string, and seem to convey a sense of true raw emotion and rage that has been unleashed upon the wasted orange painted bikes. The reaction against this simple ploy of commercialism attempting to take advantage of the current popularity of bike culture, is a testemate to the independent spirit and nature of those who choose to pedal their way through the world. The police apparently have been removing the bikes from all over the city, and they will likely be discarded, but i suggest that they should have a different fate. A permanent installation and the decrepit remains of these bikes, would no doubt be a moving and thought provoking exhibit, that would speak simply and clearly to viewer in a way that many avant gard art installation simply cannot.

Hand Made Bike Show

So the hand made bike show has come and gone, and its all over the web. I must say that I was surprised by the sheer amount of ugly bikes posted online at the show. After pouring over the results I picked out a few bikes that I think are cool, and a few others that are well... interesting

These were my top three pics for single speeds, the first one being my fav.






Then there was this bike. Looks familiar

And while your at it, you might as well add these wood hoops to your wood frame.



So if wood is the new carbon, these bikes are well... a pain in the ass to clean.


There was also this Moots snow bike which Tim at Bicycles & Icicles is probably stocked on.



And finally there was this cargo bike with integrated canoe. Definitely one of the more interesting cargo bike designs I have come across.

Apple is Getting Sloppy: Part II

In response to Craig Sinclair's comment "did you try it?" Well actually no but that sounds like a good idea. My initial comment was just based of my years of experience with observation drawing & photography. Something told me that the photo just didn't look right. So here you go, While this photo may not be the exact same angle (it is very close), my photo shows quite clearly that the dock icons are not visible. I would like to however point out thought it is technically possible to see the dock icons in the reflection, just not at the angle that apple used for their add. For the dock icons to be visible in the reflection the camera would have to be placed on the ground plane at the x-axis, also for the dock icons to be visible you would not be able to see the keys on the keyboard. So theres your prof and it actually turned out be a pretty cool photo.

Insane Gear Ratios

I would love to see a guy wearing tight jeans, a hoddie and messenger bag trying to turn this gear from a stop light.

Last night the California Castal Commission voted down the TCA's proposal to extend the 241 toll road. Just after 11pm Pacific Time, the Commission voted 8 - 2 against the proposed 241 Toll Road extension. An appeal by the TCA will likely follow.

Apple is Getting Sloppy

Apple is reflection happy, while that may be old news, this screen shot from their new TV add shows just how far they are willing to go for that shiny apple reflection look. Look closely at the reflection underneath the computer, not only can you see the front of the screen but you can also see the reflection of the dock icons! Reflection through the key board and the envelope none the less. Its funny that with all the time and money that was spent developing this national TV add campaign no one noticed or had the balls to step up and tell Steve, that the reflection just doesn't make any sense. Its impossible put a laptop on a mirror and see what happens, it definitely won't look like that.

Cannondale purchased by Dorel

Thats right Cannondale has been purchased by Dorel, owner of Pacific Cycle parent company of Schwinn, GT, and Mongoose. This is new development for a company with a shacky past, after an unsecfull attempt to make a bid into the world of cycle motor sports which drove the company to seek bankruptcy protection in 2003. However, management was able to quickly sell the company off to the private equity firm Pegasus Partners, which supported the company's renewed focus on bicycle production. More recently the company also issued a recall of lefty forks.



"Dorel Industries’ purchase of Cannondale now positions the Canadian consumer goods company right behind Trek and Specialized within the independent bicycle dealer (IBD) channel, according to Dorel president and chief executive officer Martin Schwartz."

“We hope to be the No. 3 player in North America with this transaction,” Schwartz said. “Our goal is to be No. 1 in the IBD channel.”

The all-cash deal worth $190-million (U.S) to $200-million (subject to Cannondale's earnings results for the year ending June 30, 2008) sent Dorel stock soaring yesterday to 6.5 percent—its highest level in two months. Schwartz said the deal will add more than 9 cents (U.S.) a share to its annual earnings."

Many Cannondale owners and anyone who is still loyal to the brand probably wonder what this means for the company. The offical statments form Dorel says that Cannondale will contiue with “business as usual” and that “Cannondale will be the crown jewel of this division,(of Dorel) ”. Weather that is true or not remains to be seen. One of my professor in college was an in house graphic designer for GT in Lake Forest before they got bought out by Pacific Cycle. After the company was acquired his whole office was basically shut down and all the employees were laid off. As far as he was concerned the company GT that he had passionately worked for was dead to him. It seems now only time will tell. The only other question I can ask myself is, if Cannondale dies a slow death, will anybody really miss them?

New Comptuer Desktops

My newest computer desk top design

Sheldon Brown RIP

The Cycling world sufered a trajic los last night when Sheldon Brown succumbed to a massive heart attack and passed on. Sheldon was one of the best and richest sources of cycling knowledge on the internet and I hope that his site live on and carries out his legacy. He will be missed.