The Bike Geek

I’m not much for New Year’s Resolutions, but one thing I did promise my self was making sure I rode my bike more than I did last year. My first commute of the year will be tomorrow to my office. I’m really looking forward to it and take all the steps to prepare my stuff for my maiden voyage.

1. Charge battery pack for lights
2. Have change of clothes picked out
3. Check over my bike and make sure its in good working order.
4. Pack tube, pump and water bottle
5. Get all my hygiene stuff packed
6. Set my alarm!

So that’s about it, I’m thinking of getting into this wool stuff that Russ Roca so avidly supports. I also like the classy/vintage style commuter bikes that I’m seeing more through people’s comments and emails that we get. I may just have to slowly convert one of the bikes into something that sorta accentuates the Russ Roca-ish style of bikes. I’ll start off by saving up for a Brooks saddle…

Wish me luck!

Click here for affordable singlespeed bikes. Beautifully designed, affordably priced canvas and leather bicycle bags. Copyright 2007-2008 www.bikecommuters.com

If so, click over to MtnBikeRiders.com where I posted a video showing you how to adjust/tune a Shimano rear derailleur.

Click HERE to watch it.

Click here for affordable singlespeed bikes. Beautifully designed, affordably priced canvas and leather bicycle bags. Copyright 2007-2008 www.bikecommuters.com

Kevin Saunders of KGS Bikes in San Antonio, Texas sent us a link to his Flickr photo gallery of what he describes as “the ultimate commuter bike”. Built around a Co-Motion “Americano” frameset and featuring exclusive Campagnolo Comp Triple components, Rolf tandem wheels and a beautiful Brooks Swallow saddle, this bike isn’t for the faint of heart (or light of wallet).

Check out this beauty:

And for even more photos of this bike and the other dream machines that KGS Bikes puts together, visit their Flickr photostream.

If you’re ready for a commuter bike like this one, be sure you’ve got a VERY secure place to park it wherever you go. And remember, even a dream machine like this is cheaper and more reliable than a car!

Click here for affordable singlespeed bikes. Beautifully designed, affordably priced canvas and leather bicycle bags. Copyright 2007-2008 www.bikecommuters.com

Forwarded to me by a friend of the East Coast Greenway, and appearing in their newsletter:

Click on the below link to take part in a brief signage survey developed by the East Coast Greenway.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2bdmAJQR4_2f7OrJANA0wbg2Q_3d_3d

This survey will provide preliminary data that will help us to get a proper hearing from the national committee now considering changes to our bicycle route, roadway, and trail signage. If you can spare 12 minutes to fill it out, you will have done much to help this important process. Thanks!

Click here for affordable singlespeed bikes. Beautifully designed, affordably priced canvas and leather bicycle bags. Copyright 2007-2008 www.bikecommuters.com

Watch it in HD.

Pricepoint.com is offering a new hardtail frame… a 29er frame to be exact. Meet the Sette Razzo.

Sette Razzo

Hella cool and wicked fast, the Razzo 29er is ready to rock it from coast to coast!

Featuring one of the lightest 29er frames on the market, the Razzo weighs in at a mere 3.25 lbs/1470 grams (18″ frame size) and uses double-butted 7005 aluminum tubing.

This isn’t just a re-scaled 26″ mountain bike disguised as a 29er, it was designed as a 29er through and through. A shorter head tube allows for more precise, agile handling and the formed sloping tube provides greater fork/front wheel clearance.

Oh yeah, and the Razzo comes in a cool, super shiny polished aluminum finish. Dang! Check it.

Did I mention that it is light? 3.25 lbs is about as light a HT frame as you’re going to get in a 29er. The price, as with all Sette products, is very competitive at $249.98.

Here is the link.

BNC Productions and Dianese presents the World Premier of PINNED the DVD. 

PINNED follows the riders on and off theracecourses tearing up their favorite trails.  Special highlights include Chris Kovarik at Lake Elsinore and Steve Peat, Greg Minaar going head to head in the final run of the dual slalom at Sea Otter.  With multiple HD cameras covering the races and the trails, you wont miss a moment of action.

Locations featured:  Anglefire, Aspen nationals, Southridge Winter Series Fontana Nationals, Sea Otter, Vegas 4x.

Riders: Chris Kovarik - Chris Shewmake - David K - Evelio “evil” Suarez - Ian Odom - Steve Wentz - Szymon Kowalski

To see the trailer, click here.

Presented at the Dianese store in Costa Mesa.  This Sunday, January 4th at 4:00pm.  1645 Superior Ave., Costa Mesa 92627.  For more information, visit www.bncproductions.net.

 

For the past few years, I’ve made it a point to do a ride on New Year’s Day. Honestly its really hard to get a group ride going after a night full of partying. But luckily this year’s ride had a good turn out. We were joined by our newest riding buddy, David Sanderson as well as Eric “The Animal” Hunner. Priscilla, Moe and I met up with everyone this morning at 9:30am and rode the Loop at an easy pace.

Through out the ride, I was actually surprised by everyone’s performance. For the most part you wouldn’t think that any of them had hangovers…David recently purchased a new Redline Monocog 26 Single Speed and he was on fire.

Even though the rest of the crew did well riding, I was still recovering from being tired and fat. David and I actually rode Aliso Woods yesterday for a few hours. So if I include that ride, a long night trying to celebrate New Years, then my overall condition for riding was pretty sad…I was down right messed up. Luckily there’s this hot young thing that was kind enough to keep me company as I grinded my way through the trail…

David and Eric

The Moe

At one of the rest stops, we met up with our friend Christine. The last time we rode with her, she broke her derailleur hanger and chain. It took her shop a full month to get the hanger ordered and installed.

After the ride, we decided to eat at our favorite venue, Farmer Boys. Man that places has some great French Toast!
Moe, Eric, David, Christine and Priscilla. I was taking the photo.

As usual, we like to take short little videos of our adventures.

We had quite a year of riding…and our “club” of Bikecommuters.com readers who are also Bikejournal.com users posted some big numbers in our inaugural year.

As you can see from the sidebar (just below the links to our Interbike 2008 coverage), Bikecommuters.com/Bikejournal.com “club” members posted 41796 miles, saving $7592.94 in gasoline costs and preventing the release of 45975.6 lbs. of C02 into the atmosphere. All this from a group of 39 members…with only a dozen or so who regularly post their mileage to the club page!!! Bravo to each and every one of you!

The club leader this year was Alan Field (user “Fatall”) of Melbourne, Australia, who posted a whopping 4604 miles for 2008. For Bikecommuters.com staff members, our own Russ Roca handily led the pack, coming in at #5. Former staff member Lance Lowry came in at #7, I came in at #10, Moe was at #12 and former staff member Jeff Rossini rounded things out at #14.

Posting miles is a lot of fun, and we like to showcase our combined efforts on the sidebar there. If you are a Bikejournal.com user, please consider joining our “club” (search for “www.bikecommuters.com” in the club search area). If you’re NOT a Bikejournal.com user, please consider that…it’s free for a basic membership and it is a great way to log your ride particulars and meet new cyclists in your area.

Happy riding in 2009!

A note about the gasoline savings: Normally, when I update our club stats (done periodically throughout the year…approximately once a month), I use the current average U.S. gasoline price as published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on their Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update page. For the year-end tally, I used their averaged gasoline price for the entire year of 2008, which is posted at their Short Term Energy Outlook page. In all of these calculations (gas savings and C02 emissions), we use an average mileage rate of 18 MPG…

Click here for affordable singlespeed bikes. Beautifully designed, affordably priced canvas and leather bicycle bags. Copyright 2007-2008 www.bikecommuters.com

2008 was a memorable year for Bike Commuters. With gasoline soaring over 4 bucks per gallon, the bicycle was suddenly a very viable and affordable form of transportation. Being Bike Commuters has its ups (mostly) and downs; we learned that a lot of you ride for fitness, the environment, stress relief and mostly because it is just too darn fun.

We also had a few stories of Bike Commuters being hit by cars (Jack’s own wife was a victim of an SUV), falls due to distraction, (doooh!) and one of bike commuter’s worst nightmare: Having you bike stolen.

We also reviewed a ton of stuff and we were part of the 2nd Urban Bicycle Commuter Expo , organized by our friends from CICLE.ORG, and the Tampa Bay area Bicycle Bash by the Bay put on by Southwest Florida Bicycle United Dealers (SWFBUD).

I also had the chance to be one of the first bloggers to actually ride the IV-1, a bike that can be made of recyclable parts.

We also received a lot of Bike Commuter Profiles, although I had to bribe some of you with stickers! It was great to put faces with names and to spread some “Internet Celebrity” among our fellow commuters.

2008 was also the year that Cargo Bikes made an impact. Jack and I went with Xtracycle’s Freeradical; in fact, Jack nicknamed his the Recycletron 1000.

We also want to thank YOU, our loyal readers. We love your comments, opinions, bike commuter profiles, guest articles, guest reviews, how to’s and your generosity by supporting our site sponsors.

We hope that 2009 will be a great year for Bike Commuters; for those of us who are not Winter Warriors, I hope that as soon as the snow melts you will be back on the bike because we DO make a difference.

The BikeCommuters.com crew: Moe, RL, Jack, Russ and Priscilla

Click here for affordable singlespeed bikes. Beautifully designed, affordably priced canvas and leather bicycle bags. Copyright 2007-2008 www.bikecommuters.com