Wheelgirl

Bicyle Addiction Usually Much Less Expensive Than Sailboat Addiction

I had a visit from Jim and Tracy a few weeks ago in the shop. Jim has a site, cyclofiend.com. Go click around on the gallery if you want to see some eye candy in the form of 400 classic bicycle submissions from owners, which you can view by maker, if you like. Then, you can check out the collection of Nishiki and Univega bike photos on yojimg.net , which belongs to Jim G., another Bay Area cyclist.

Between both sites, you should be able to get more info on your old Nishiki, Univega, Bridgestone, Rivendell, and Ibis. (I drilled down through the links on a bunch of submitted classic bike gallery pages, and I ended up finding an article on my 1960s Legnano via ebyker.com.)

Wait until you get to work before you start clicking on these sites, or you are going to be late again.

Photo of the #400 submission to the cyclofiend gallery, a Heron Wayfarer, is lifted from the site.
Photo of the Univega happy cycling family is lifted from the yojimg.net 1983 Univega catalog directory.

Dutch Students and Their Nuna4 Solar Vehicle Win Race Across Australia

I know you love your bike. And you may think that your car is boss.

But this solar car is wicked boss.

Dutch students build and race a solar car and win the Solar Worlds for the 4th time while wearing their orange proudly (just in time for Halloween).

Check out the site of the Nuon-sponsored team site. Click on the "nuna4 in actie" button on the bottom right to get a view of the driver's seat. Teams from all over the world participating in the race look like they had a blast.

Spoke Toys Persistence of Vision Devices for Your Wheels

Ok, I was planning to try my hand at making one of ladyada's spoke POV (persistence of vision) programmed led electronic devices for my bike, since I had a grand time making the minty boost.

Ladyada's electronic device allows you to program words or images, which once you attach the device to your spokes, show up when your bike wheels are spinning. (If you check out her site, you can see the Pacman characters are moving.) If you want to know how and why it works, check out the FAQ on her site.

(These photos taken from the ladyada.net site.)

And, now, the consumer equivalent is here, the Lex.

For those who do not want to solder and make devices, you can use Windows (XP, 2000, or Vista) to program into the device a word or sentence in English or in characters (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji). You plug the Lex into your laptop via USB, and you transfer your intended message to the device. You attach the device to your spokes, and when your wheels are spinning, the device creates a message via the programmed led lights. One AA battery is good for 96 hours of cycling word fun.

(If you know the price and where to get the Lex, post a comment for us.)

(These photos taken from the Digital Cowboy site)

• ladyada (for the whys, hows, and gallery of home-made spoke POV images)
• Digital Cowboy (Japanese) for the Lex,
  to Everything USB
  to Gizmodo

Pete's Halloween Treat for Narda 32H Campagnolo Record Hubs Orange Velocity Aerohead Rims

• Campagnolo Record black 32H 10-speed rear hub 130mm
• Campagnolo Record black 32H 10-speed front hub 100mm
• Velocity Aerohead Orange 700c OCR rear rim (machined sidewall)
  • Note: Make sure you calculate spoke length to the correct ERD for each rim type. An OCR rim (off center rim) has an off-center drilling to reduce the dish, and thereby the difference in drive side and non-drive side spoke tensions. The ERD for an OCR is different than the ERD for a normally drilled rim.
    • ERD = 598 for OCR Aerohead 700c.
    • ERD = 602 for Aerohead 700c normal drilling.
• Velocity Aerohead Orange 700c front rim (machined sidewall)
• Sapim DB 14/15/14 stainless steel black spokes and black Polyax nipples
  • Spokes for the OCR rear drive side are 3 cross = 16 x 290mm
  • Spokes for the OCR rear non-drive are 3 cross = 16 x 292mm
  • Spokes for the front are radially laced  = 32 x 282mm
    • (I know. But style and sense said refrain from 3-xing a Campy Record front hub for a 125 lb female road racer who once put 100,000 miles [yes, five zeros] on a Campy bottom bracket.)

Turn Up the Tune and Dance, Dance, Dance

Let me make this clear, if around your middle, you can pinch any amount of fat that could correspond to the outline of a groupset component, you may not be quite ready for uber light Tune components. Your body is 80 percent of your success on the bike. However, if you don't have the equivalent of a short cage derailleur sleeping in the fat between your pelvic bone and rib cage, read on.

At Interbike, I talked with Sarah, the US distributor for Tune, to see what uber light components the German company were going to make available in 2008. First, the Tune 2008 catalog is a welcomed work of graphic creativity. The components are all  photographed in different medical operating room settings. And it appears the employees of Tune have taken it upon themselves to dress up as various types of surgeons. This is not your typical bike parts catalog filled with typical bike parts. Next, I asked Sarah what the purchase-to-thrash rate was for these parts. Light in the bike world is usually bleeding-edge technology. She had no good stories for me. Evidently, her husband, sporting an athletic but non-hummingbird build, has also repeatedly tried to destroy Tune components to no avail. (If you have a story to tell, post it. You know I love a good story.)

But, let's get to the point. If you spend $272 on MIG 45 in the photo on the left; 16H, 18H, 20H, 24H, or 28H; with carbon flanges and carbon axle, you will be riding on a 48-gram front hub, which, children, weighs less than half of your Halloween chocolate bar. For mountain goats who love the simple life, Tune for 2008 is releasing two new single-speed hubs. (Weights and prices galore after the jump.)

MIG 45 front and MAG 180 rear hub photos taken by Wheelgirl in Vegas 2007

Have Beaters in the Garage or Going on a Black Ops Mission?

Ladep is the word "pedal" spelled backwards for those who are not operatives in the CIA. And the Ladep is a tall bike, as evidenced by the photo of the guy riding above the picnic tables. You advance the bike and yourself by pedaling backwards. The friction from the top rear wheel drives the bottom rear wheel. And the chain is on the left. (So you can now permanently stain your other trouser cuff.) Check out a bunch of the 2006 Cyclemagic Festival homemade bikes on YouTube . What do you use it for? Planning to make an apple pie anytime soon?

The Hyperbike is something that Marshall would make in for Sydney Bristow to gain silent and uninvited access to an Eastern Bloc warehouse in the middle of nowhere. It is 200 lbs, not in production, and gives you an upper body workout. Granted it eliminates numbness and discomfort related to pressure on your hands and butt. But if Marshall could mount a silent hand-cranked Gatling tranq gun on it, it could really make for some good spy fun.

via oobject

Daniel's 32H Black Paul Flip/Flop Track Hubs on Velocity White Deep Vs

• Paul black 32H High-Flange Track Fixed/Free 120mm rear hub
• Paul black 32H High-Flange Track 100mm front hub
• Velocity Deep V 32H white rims (non-machined)
• 3 cross pattern
• Sapim DB 14/15/14 stainless steel black spokes and black Polyax nipples
  • Spokes for the rear fixed side = 16 x 281mm
  • Spokes for the rear free side = 16 x 281mm
  • Spokes for the front  = 32 x 281mm
• Velocity red Veloplugs = 64

FYI: I was a lab rat and tried Velocity veloplugs on my own fixie. When changing a flat, I did have one or two of the plugs unseat themselves and not fit snuggly back into the spoke hole again. It was kind of a pain. So, I am back to Velox rim tape. Daniel is  giving them a test on his ride to see what his experience is with the light, waterproof, plastic plugs that fit in the spoke holes. (The veloplugs are the red dots in the photos.)

Photos taken by Wheelgirl

Ladyada's Minty Boost Reduces Spider Monkey Incidents on Bikes

Ok, I am impressed. Really impressed. This week I decided to make ladyada's Minty Boost, a portable USB power pack that will charge your iPod, takes 2 x AA batteries, and fits in an Altoids gum tin.

Why would you make the Minty Boost?  Because you turn into a spider monkey on acid the moment your USB-powered mp3 player dies and you can no longer ride with tunes. Stick a Minty Boost in your seatbag, and put your mind to rest, since now you will not have to get to a USB connection on a computer to restore the power to your player. Plug in your dead iPod and pedal away in happiness. The Altoids tin is a great size for stashing in a jersey pocket.

These photos taken by Wheelgirl

(*Deep Thought: Put the earbud in only one ear. Listen to your music on low, so you don't get pressed. And unless you are trying to win a Darwin award, think about why you don't want to listen to loud music through noise cancelling headphones while on the road.)

ladyada studied some of the other USB portable battery packs, and she designed this pack a while back, in part because it is smaller, lets you listen longer, and doesn't have an on off switch that you can leave on by mistake. Her documentation on her design process and the kitting up of an original electronic design is a good read for you gearheads.

Make a Shimano Mountain Wheel Fixed with Surly Fixxxer Hub Converter

We build many types of track and road fixed gear wheels as well as provide those on a budget with machine-built fixed wheels for street riding at a decent prices. So, I've had this Surly Fixxxer hub converter sitting in the case for a while. There wasn't really a reason to use it. Until last weekend, when I wanted to convert an old red Nishiki Colorado mountain frame into a fixed gear for street trick riding.

The head mechanic stuck the Fixxxer onto one of our hand-built wheels, Shimano XT rim brake hub laced to a Velocity 26" Deep V, and he finished his coffee while it was still hot. You are probably running disc brakes on your mountain bike. So, put an old rim brake mountain wheels you've been saving to good use.

The Fixxxer retails for around $85.00 + shipping according to clicking around on google. And it is a practical answer to those who want to reuse an old road or mountain wheel in the garage, and convert it to fixed. It works on any Shimano cassette hub except for Silent Clutch of pre-1997 Dura Ace.

You can stick on any track cog or freewheel with ISO standard threads (1.375 x 24 tpi) and English lockring (1.29 x .24 tpi Lefthand). It is best to install the Fixxxer on an exisiting wheel that is laced and ready to go, not an unlaced hub. It comes with spacers, so you can space the hub correctly to fit your frame. 

Photos by Wheelgirl: The crumpled, grease-smeared back of the install sheet showing spacing and the Surly Fixxxer installed

Black Tape On Your Frame is Out and Colored Vinyl for $2 Is In

Customer Will came into the store to buy an inner tube, and I couldn't help but notice the blue panels on his Bianchi Pista. Because they matched his tires, and they were, well, very blue. It was obvious that it was not paint, tape, or a bad powdercoat. His secret?

A colored vinyl sheet 8 x 11 inches costing something like $1.18 from Michael's The Arts & Crafts Store. The material (remember Colorforms?) is useful for non-marring decorations and the like. It clings like to the smooth chrome frame (as well as to a smooth powdercoat or paint job). And if you someday might need to sell your bike, the original finish and decals stay intact.

Sure it is a bit hoopdee. It won't cling that well when it is dirty. And anyone can see that it isn't paint. But you won't have to spend a bunch of time getting the adhesive from electrical tape off of your frame. It is classier than a home-made sticker, and you can try on some of your stripe and panel color idea before having to pay the big bucks for a custom paint job.

Blingle Speeds, Titanium Ti-Dyed Spokes, Rainbow and Unicorns

You got a raise at work. You need to make a statement.  Your are not a fashion plate; you sniff your shirts to figure out if you can get another work day out of them. Your parents didn't give you a poetic name. You are not one to dangle a new good luck talisman from your cellphone. And your bike is in a rut, so you are hell-bent on an upgrade that you are not going to see on every bike double-locked to a parking meter. Your stiff wheels and frame are loosening your fillings, but you want to look good?

The answer: Follow your rainbow, because at the end of it is a pot of gold you can spend to have us build you a wheelset that you don't see too often, titanium Marwi Ti-dyed spokes set off by alloy colored nipples for a combination of uber light and comfortably springy hoops. (Of course, you can pick simply silverish Ti-colored spokes, or a solid blue, if you never wanted to chase a rainbow or ride a unicorn.)

Ti spokes will cost between $3.50 and $4.50 each, depending on your taste. You already know that alloy nipples are good for reducing weight, and they are not meant to be serviced continually or last for years like brass nipples. You also know that pricey Ti and aero spokes offer a weight savings that is irrelevant if you ride with your fatso u lock and 5-lb key chain in your 14-pound lady- or man-purse you call a backpack. But you don't care. You've been checking out the reviews on the web. People are liking the ride these spokes provide. And you know you were not put on this earth just to spend money on consumer electronics.

2008 Campagnolo Record and Chorus Front Derailleurs Work with Compact and Traditional Cranksets

First, the big news is that all Campagnolo 9- and 10-speed "QS" trademarked front derailleurs for 2008 will work with both standard and a compact crankset. Happy days. No more having to buy crankset-specific front derailleurs.

Richard at the Campagnolo booth at Interbike showed me the new design of the Record and Chorus front derailleurs. The 2008 change in design facilitates smoother shifting by using the wider part of the derailleur cage, located closer to the derailleur attachment point, to contact and shift the chain. This is a change from the exisiting design, which employed the thinner part of the cage located further away from the attachment point.  Campy has changed the cage, the brace, and the fixing clamp of the Record for 2008.

Campy 2008 front derailleurs have a 16-tooth maximum capacity for shifting difference between the chainrings. So, add 16T to the smallest ring on your crankset, and that is the largest ring you can use. The largest chainring the front derailleur can accomodate is 55T and the smallest is 34T. (For example,  you can't use a 55Tx34T, since you have to add 16T to the smallest ring, which is 34T + 16T = 50T largest ring. But you could, theoretically make a 55Tx39T, but I am not sure why you would want to do this.)

Record front derailleurs are made of aluminum alloy and composite. Chorus is made of aluminum alloy. The other groupsets use stainless steel for their front derailleur material. Front derailleurs are kind of "dumb" components with one job to do, move the chain.  But I can see how reducing the stress on the cage by shortening the lever arm created by the contact point of the cage might be especially helpful to racers executing quick shifts under substantial load. If you are racing with Campy record, and you buy yourself a Record 2008 front derailleur, and let us know if the upgrade in shifting performance was worth the coin.

Photos taken by Wheelgirl at Interbike in Vegas 2007. The extremely ugly pics are usually taken through plastic display cases.

Strida 5.0 Folders at 19.4 lbs in Silver and Red Shipping End of October

Strida folding bikes have been around for a number of years. The Strida 5.0 ($799.00 msrp) at 19.4 lbs is going to be shipping at the end of October in silver and red. The Strida folder uses a Kevlar belt, instead of the usual metal chain to connect the drivetrain. The belt is reported to last for approx. 50,000 miles. (I wrote a post  in August about belt-driven full-sized non-folding single-speed bikes for 2008.)

The Strida 3.2 ($499.00 msrp) weights in at 22 lbs.  Reviews of the Strida are here. (And for some reason, I seem to remember an early print ad campagin with royalty or celebs in it?)

The inventor/designer of the Strida, Mark Sanders, has also designed a full-sized bike folder, the Swivel-Head."

strida (bike site)
swissmiss (designer gal)
treehugger  (alt energy site)
gizmodo  (you know who they are)

Low Rider and Trusty Commuter Bike Rolled Into One

Ok, this bike is not in production, but you can either ride around in a laidback, aimlessly position and visit garage sales. Or you can choose to sit up; get your act together, and really, really focus on your commute to work.

I have no idea how much it weighs or if the components are proprietary. Watch the video to see the transitioning details. I can't say it is pretty, but it looks like a fun machine.

gizmodo.com via www.freshcreation.nl 

Make a $5 Be Seen Solar Bike Light in Your Kitchen

My red flashing led rear bike light has never let me down. But what do you do when you have a great bike headlight and are a couple of miles from home when the battery dies?  I decided to reposition a $5.00 solar garden light into a light-weight portable "be seen" solar bike light that I could hang on my backpack. Now, in the event of a dead headlight battery, pedestrians and drivers can spot a me and my bobbing white light when I am biking on the road after dark. During the day, ride with the panel facing out. Once it is dark, flip the box over, and the white led brightly shines.

The rules of the game for making the be seen solar bike light were that I could only use things I could find in my kitchen, except for the solar garden light, which was in the living room. (They make very nice mood lights.) I had to make it relatively quickly, have fun, and be able to use it bike riding when I was done. You can certainly make yours snazzier, neater, and more weatherproof. But I was in my PJ's on a Sunday morning feeling lazy. The tools and supplies I used for the $5 be seen solar bike light are as follows:

• An old kitchen knife, a pair of scissors, a corkscrew, a wooden cutting board, a ballpoint pen, a Sharpie, a nail file.
• A solar garden light, a small wooden match, an old postal envelope,a twisty tie, a Newman's Own Organic Ginger Mint metal box. The images on Newman's mint boxes are really cool. I used the ginger dragon. But I have a cinnamon tiger tin waiting for another project. (I thought of making it with a cassette tape case, since the clear plastic will allow more light to escape. But the tape cases are made of plastic that tends to shatter. I've dropped my be seen solar bike light a couple of times, and it has survived.)

Directions to make the $5 be seen solar bike light are after the jump.

Tips For Kids Building Their First Bikes

Yesterday I had two inquisitive young men, a mountain goat of a hill-riding teenager, and an encouraging dad cyclist come into the shop in search of possible components for single-speed bike building school projects. This, of course, warms my gearhead heart. Start them while they are young, and they can ride and service their bikes with confidence the rest of their lives. If you are planning to help young people put together their bikes this winter, here are a few tips:

• Your generous donations of bits and bobs to the bike builds may need to be augmented by a few well chosen components. Kids generally need much shorter cranks and much narrower handle bars than adults. Smaller wheel sizes can make a world of difference in handling as can smaller frames. Also, kids have smaller hands, so make sure they can actually grab and use the brake levers.
• The UCI has different maximum gear ratios for those Under 12 (52T x 18T max) to professional adult bike racers. This is so the kids don't blow out joints during  youthful hammerfests.
• Chain line, chain tension, and rear wheel spacing and alignment in single-speed and fixed gear frames are not negotiable. They are big safety and performance considerations. Read, read, read. Then ask a bike mechanic to show you if you have any doubts.

Photo by Erik Silverson

Eccentric City: Phil Wood New Eccentric BB & White Industries Eccentric ENO Hub

Phil Wood at Interbike covered their table with their usual tried and true, bomb proof, extra pretty, practical hubs and components. I am a big fan of the Phil Wood pricey but practical and serviceable regular bottom brackets. The bb cups come in sets which can fit almost any frame's bb threading, French, British, Italian. The Phil Wood bb cartridge and cup design allows a mechanic, converting an old frame to a fixie, to adjust the position of the axel left or right, so you can get a proper and straight chainline. Since the cups do not protrude from the frame. You can slightly shift the entire assembly.

For 2008, Phil Wood has come out with a new smaller eccentric bottom bracket (BB). My photos of shiny things are pretty blurry. The new smaller eccentric bb is on the left. The existing eccentric bb is on the right. You can't decide to blow your payday on one of Phil Wood's shiny new eccentric bb unless you frame is built from the get go with an eccentric bb shell that can accomodate the diameter and width of one of the silver eccentric bottom bracket shown in the photo.

White Industries was at Interbike, and I am a fan of the eccentric ENO flip flop hub, which has been out for a while. It is a great solution for road or mountain single-speed or fixed gear conversions. If your frame has vertical dropouts, get a rear wheel built on an ENO hub, tension your chain correctly, and you are good to go. (This is off the subject, but I also like the thought behind White Industries Variable Bolt Circle [VBC] crankset. I'll write about it at a later date.)

Read after the jump if you aren't quite sure how eccentric components work.

Solar Bike Touring & Getting Your Solar Panel To Work With Your Devices

I was reading makezine.com a couple of months ago, and came across a post about Steve "Chippy", a British cyclist living in Germany and bike touring along the the Rhein River. His trip is about balancing "a 450km cycle camping trip with work and a solar powered UMPC experiment". In his posts, he details the good, bad, and ugly uses of solar technology to power his communication devices and Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC). UMPCs are handy little devices if you need or want to work, but like to travel light.

Chippy made a video of how to use a solar panel to power your communication devices while you are off the grid riding around on your bike. But watch the video and read the posts before you start hooking things up to your solar panel. He outlines issues with solar charging on his bike trip in detail; scroll from the bottom first and read to the top, and it is easier to understand.

Of course, you can argue that if you are away from civilization riding your bike, that is the point, to get away. I agree until it is night, and the moon is full; you have a flat in the middle of nowhere; it is cold; you can't find a match or lighter; it is sprinkling rain, and the batteries in your flashlight are dead. Oh, I almost forgot, and you are really hungry.

(Scott a guy Chippy links to in his post has put together a 4.4 pound solar-powered communication solution during his hiking trip of the Appalachian trail. So, you might want to check that out, too.

iLiad & Electronic Paper, Not New, But Still Cool,

None of this is terrribly new.  Writing tablets and digital sketch stuff has been on the market for years. Ebook readers have been around for years. But this holiday season, your relatives who read but are not technophiles may come in closer contact with ebooks. Borders is going to be selling the Sony PRS-500 ebook reader.

A little googling to try to find the epaper technology to which I made reference in a Sony PRS-500 post, and I found iRex Technologies, a corp. that makes an epaper device, the wireless iLiad reader, which is linux based. (So development possibilities abound.)

The iLiad is a reader, but also has a bunch of other features. You can draw and write with a stylis, so you can digitize your sketches and drawings. And a couple of European newspapers are using the iLiad in conjunction with their daily subscription newspaper service. Basically, people get their daily papers wirelessly delivered on the tablet. And they don't have to drag their recycle bins to their curbs once a week.

The iLiad runs about $699 and the Sony PRS-500 is about $300.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_paper

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILiad

SRAM Red Group Cool Cassette & Weight Comparison of Record, Dura Ace, & Red

SRAM's new Red group got a ton of attention at Interbike. Being a gearhead, the Red cassette was one of the coolest things at the show. Michael at SRAM gave me the Red tour and showed me the 160 grams CNC'd hollow, forged and heat-treated solid steel block.(Picture cutting a cantaloupe in half; scraping away the entire inside, and your chain riding on the rind.)  It comes as a 1-piece block with the two smallest cogs attaching to it (like normal cassette cogs). The cassette purposely has some cogs that are missing teeth for better shifting performance. So don't freak out and think you broke off the teeth sometime during your training.

A plate is press fit and bonded to the back of the cassette to close the hollow form. Now, if I throw a filthy Red cassette in the bio-solvent tank, how long would it take to unbond the back and possibily cause a mechanical mishap? Can somone at SRAM do a real-time test on this and post a reply?

Again, first generation technology means that you are Beta testing for free. Check out the photos.

(Photos taken by Wheelgirl in Vegas. Some booth visitor was nice enough to hold the cutaway, and he also suggested that positioned with the concave part against my hair, it might make a lovely barret pony tail holder.)

Does This mp3 Player Make My Butt Look Fat?

You are a cycling freakazoid. Your friends keep wondering if they should initiate an intervention. You have gone to bleeding-edge stupid light-weight componetry because you can. You have traded in your fat watch. You have shaved off all of your body hair. Your head is clippered daily. (Oh yes, girls can do the self-imposed sci-fi convict look, too.) Now, it is time to trade in your chunky boat anchor of an mp3 player for this $39.00, 2 GB, 12 grams skinny minny USB Chocolate mp3 player. (Specs after the jump.)

In case you are wondering, a 1 GB iPod Shuffle weighs 15.6 gms and costs $79, according to Apple tech specs.

(I am not sure that the Chocolate USB mp3 player is a brand new product, based on post comments on other sites. The navigation icons alone are worth the price.)

http://usb.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00359

SRAM Double Tap 10 Flat Bar Road Shifting at Interbike

SRAM had a bike in the Interbike booth set up with their Double Tap 10 Flat Bar Road shifting system. And I found this somewhat exciting, since I want to be able to build whatever a customer wants and not be limited by drivetrain and shifting compatibility issues. Michael of SRAM explained to me that the Flat Bar Road shifters work with Force or Rival 10-speed road existing drivertrains and brake calipers (front and rear derailleurs and road brakes of both groupsets). You don't need to get any flat bar components to use them.

The Flat Bar SRAM brake levers are adjustable. The trigger shifters have a carbon clamp for weight reduction, and there are no fancy directions for using them. Push with your thumb , and release with your index finger. This is a really nice option for people who want performance but have wrecked their backs and can't get comfortably aero or those who need more of a hybrid performance machine for their riding needs and local terrain. (The Avid Black Ops Research printed on the lever makes me feel like I'm in an Alias episode.)

Photos by Wheelgirl at Interbike in Vegas

Throw Your Pedros Ethik Seatbag into a Landfill and Laugh

Lisa, at the Interbike Pedros booth, was explaining how many cyclists, after a number of years have a seat bag collection sitting in a cardboard box in their garages or basements. My first thought is call kind Marilyn at Trip for Kids and donate that ton of useable bike stuff collecting dust.

In the rare case that Marilyn and her helpful organization can't use your old but perfectly good seat bags, you might throw them away. Unfortunately, these bags are not good landfill fodder. The special outdoor technical fabrics do not readily decompose.

Pedros new Ethik bag is expected to last for 10 years. It is made from HDPE in co-op shops in Quebec, Canada and printed with soy-based inks.  When you are sick of it, you can pitch it into landfill where it will breakdown. The HDPE feels like a very thin, reinforced banner material. The Ethik seat bags are super light and have dry-bag closure buckles to protect your cargo from the elements. They attach around the seat rails and come in black and a peace sign black-gray-blue-white flower print.

A big winner for 2008 bags may be Pedros Ethik Metro Market bag. It looks like a grocery bag; it is really light, and it folds down super flat and thin. (My deep thought: Keep it folded flat on your rack under a bunge, and use it as a fender.) It has a couple of light alloy rack clips attached to it. You fill it with stuff from the farmers' market, clip it to the rack on your beater, and ride home happy. Some different colors and pattern would be cool.

Photos by Wheelgirl at Interbike in Vegas 2007

Cycling Music and Resetting The Insignia Pilot 8GB MP3 Player

Ok, I got gadget fever today, and I went to Best Buy to get the Insignia Pilot 8GB MP3 player, since I had been playing with the demo a week ago. (Insignia is a trademarked label of Best Buy.) The Pilot has a crazy list of features (listed at the end of this post) that I wanted inside of one very, very light, Bluetooth enabled media player, so I could ride the rollers with Bluetooth headphones on, keep the device away from perspiration, and not have to constantly stare at and reposition white wires.

As importantly, the Pilot doesn't use any special software. (I did not open or install the included CD.) You plug the Pilot into the USB port on your computer. It shows up on the screen like an external drive, and you drag and drop your happy stuff onto the device. You can record songs from Raima Radio and drag them into your device. You drag and drop your vacation photos. Perfect. Easy. Foolproof. Almost.

While experimenting with the voice recording feature, I stuck a headphone jack into the mic jack, talked into the ear bud and froze the thing. Not really sure why, it was probably a coincidence. But I hate when you get something new and almost destroy it. I pressed all of the possible button combinations for 5 minutes. Nothing could make the screen unfreeze. I couldn't turn it off. I didn't have the patience to wait until the battery went dead. I didn't see any reset button. In that I could either take it apart or go back to Best Buy. I took it apart.

Here is how you can reset the Insignia Pilot if the screen freezes; get it to work again and probably void your warranty.

Tadpoles, Poison Dart Frogs, and Your Mom's Station Wagon at Velocity

The Velocity booth at Interbike had a few new looks going on for 2008. I spoke with John of Velocity USA and Warren, who works at the manufacturing plant in Australia.

Candy apple green and a candy metallic blue rims looked all muscle car sparkly and happening. The purple, black, white, and blue poison dart frog pattern was trippy. (Built up on a purple Phil Wood track hubset with black spokes, the wheels might give a plain black or plain white frame some serious punch.)

The, ahem, tadpoles, were shown in a few rim and decal color combinations. And there was a new ligh-brown wood-grained patterned full rim sticker, which might look better on a bike than they did on a table. A 20" Fusion rim might be of interest to folding bike riders, like those with Bike Fridays, who want to upgrade to a stronger rim. The totally gold anodized hub, spokes, and rim made an instant style impression. I saw a small sample of a black and silver glitter-covered rim. I have to check to see if glitter is available in other colors.

Overall, I am glad to see Velocity trying new colors and patterns. You never know what customers are going to like. But it is nice to have some color options for strong, quality rims. I am looking forward to seeing some darker color, British racing green, midnight blue, and maybe a Burgundy red to revive wheelsets on vintage bikes make overs.

Need New Music for the Rollers? Record Int'l Internet Radio to mp3 with Raima Radio

I was up too late playing with this new toy, an app called Raima Radio.
You can record internet streaming radio stations from around the world to mp3s. The interface it pretty intuitive and easy to use. I have XM radio's Delphi, and I like it, but it is too heavy to carry on rides. So, I do the mp3 to iPod shuffle cycling music thing. But I need some new tunes. Raima Radio has come to my musical rescue.

You may have to click on a bunch of different stations, since many do not open for some reason. But if you are patient, you can find a good one, and you can record immediately or schedule recordings of anything playing on the internet radio stations in the search results. There is a drop-down menu for different types of searches, such as station name, genre, country. If you right and left click your mouse buttons,  you should be able to figure out how it works. Click on the Wrench to see or change the default settings or the directory where the newly recorded mp3s are routed.

I went on the Raima Radio user forum and poked around, and I get the feeling the whole app has been created and iterated by one or maybe a few people who are really making an effort to resolve any technical issues users might have (firewalls, formatting). So give her, him, them a break. It is free. Good effort. Thank you for not crashing my machine and for letting me listen at 1 am to monster truck pull event announcer voices talking in Italian between trance tracks.

So far, Raima Radio is an easy way to grab some rapid tunes for those of us who pedal better when we are listening to senseless, crazy fast, club, techno, trance, rock, house, funk music stew. (Record some Charlie Parker or Glenn Gould tearing it up for your recovery ride.)

http://www.raimasoftware.com/

http://www.redferret.net/?p=9361

Your Back Fixed Wheel is Making a Funny Noise?

There could be a number of reasons that a track wheel is making a noise. But if you don't see a broken spoke or some other obviously wrong and bad thing, like part of your tire, hub, chain, or frame is not where it used to be, take a look at your cog. You may be pleasure riding a crazy number of miles on your fixed joy toy, and the new noise is coming from your chain trying to mesh with your worn out rear cog.

If you are not making a living on your bike or race training, you may not have a sense of how much fixed riding you do each week. These photos of Jeff's cog will give you an idea of a very worn cog versus a new cog. See the shark fin points that make it pretty like the sun? This means it is time to replace the worn cog. Don't be sad. Make yourself or someone you love a necklace.

The worn cog in the photo is a Dura Ace 15T. The new cog is a Dura Ace 14T msrp approx. $23. Dura Ace cogs are fine for racing and riding. But they are not as tough as a triple heat-treated hardened silver stainless steel Phil Wood track cogs (msrp approx. $45 depending on tooth number) or Euro Asia's best cog, a hardened stainless steel silver Kieran cog, the one that comes in an orange pouch (msrp approx $60).

If you are a mile monster, buy yourself something pretty when you wear out a Phil or EAI Keiran cog. You will deserve it.

Photos by Wheelgirl, lovely worn cog shape made by Jeff on his Felt TK2

Mermaid Triathalon A Success

If you get your feeling of freedom from wheels rolling underneath you via human power, stop by the shop. Yes, that includes guys, gals, and tiny babies in strollers.

(Well done on the Mermaid, Marisol the Organizer!)

Thank You SPONSORS!!!

The 2007 Santa Cruz Mermaid was a huge success!

This was our first triathlon "sell out" as we capped registration at 500 participants. There was an impressive turnout of spectators and we've never seen so many dad's pushing baby strollers as they cheered on their spouses. In all, we estimate that
over 1500 people were in attendance at Seacliff State Beach.
We look forward to growing each of our events in 2008 and with your help
and continued support we'll hit 800 participants next year.

Your support and donations to the Mermaid made it possible for us to donate to local athletics and charity funds. In all the Mermaid donated over $3,500 to our volunteer groups (Harbor High School Water Polo Team, Santa Clara Women's Crew and Santa Clara Men's Crew) as well as the Sara Cole Fund. Sara was hit by a drunk driver several weeks prior to the event and is still recovering from the incident. One of her close friends organized a group to run the triathlon and raise funds for Sara. The Mermaid donated a portion of the groups registration fee to the Sara Cole Fund. If you are interested in more information about the Sara Cole Fund please send us an email.

To all of our mermaid sponsors a most sincere Thank You.
We hope to work with you again at on our 2008 Mermaid Series.

Sincerely,
Mermaid Series

You Love Books, and You Think You're Detail Oriented?

Brian Dettmer uses surgical tools and tweezers to remove parts of book pages. Yeah, you used to be the most detail-oriented person you ever knew. Not anymore, sweetie pie.

http://www.joshspear.com/item/brian-dettmer/

No Mullets or Acid Washed Jeans, But Lots of AC, Sugino, MKS, Nitto, Chris King, Phil Wood Anodized Components

I talked with Brad, the owner of AC, at his booth at Interbike. AC, a USA manufacturer of OEM dirt and vert cranks, can CNC in aluminum some single-speed road, mountain, or track cranksets including a chain ring in lots colors for about $70 retail. You may already have a bottom bracket to fit. The colors were good. If you don't like logos, ask email the kids around the globe who continue to hack the iPhone. I'm sure they can tell you how to remove something.

AC cranksets come in the traditional square taper and an ISIS bottom bracket option for your big strong dogs who round your tapers. I have not ridden these cranks yet. But if they are decent, this might be a great option for fixed and single conversions. And AC makes green (as well as a high-polished silver crank and ring not pictured). AC's site is not pretty or up to date. But many times, this can be a good sign for people who make bike components. It means someone is CNC machining and not listening to techno while typing.

The purple and red Sugino 75s are in, as are some Sugino pink Messenger cranks, and MKS alloy toe clips and Nitto track bars and stems in blue and gold. Chris King is still making fit it and forget it components in lovely hues. And, according to a recent phone conversation with Phil Wood, they may be offering some new track hub colors in the very near future.

Yes, the shop cases are looking like a happy parade.