Any way you look at it, a car can kill you

I have been very fortunate this year to have had many opportunities, including two news interviews, to express my rigorous views on bike commuting. Strangers have come up to me to say they are impressed or that they think I'm "crazy" for riding in the cold.

The overwelmingly frequent comment, however is that the person is inhibited from commuting by their perception of the dangers of motor traffic. In a word, fear keeps them in their car and off the bike.

Let me give you something to really fear. Picture the fat forming at your gut and thighs as you sit docile behind the wheel of your motor vehicle. Picture the lipids solidifying and building little dams in your blood stream--that dam will cause you to stroke out--probably when your blood pressure increases due to the stress of motor vehicle traffic.

The more of us that commute via bike, the more folks there will be that are sympathetic to cyclists' safety when they choose to be behind the wheel. Once you've felt the heat of a truck's engine as it passes you at 18" away, you will always think of the cyclist's safety when you pass him or her with your motor vehicle. Afraid of commuting again? Do four dollar a gallon gas prices scare you?

We sold out of Dahon folding bikes this week. More came into the shop today and we get calls asking about them on a daily basis. Are more folks tired of dying a slow death behind the wheel of their motor vehicle?

650b Waterford Project

650b is a wheel size that is between 700c and 26". With the use of longer reach brakes, this wheel fits the "700c" frame and allows for use of fenders and 32mm tires. I took this bike on a 58mi ride yesterday with a bike club. This Waterford was the first up every hill!

New for Spring: Biria Classic Dutch Bikes

During the bike boom of the Seventies the U.S. imported thousands of European three speed bikes. The comfort and simplicity of these bikes and the fact that they are built to last four life times make them objects of pure beauty. The Dutch ride bikes--I won't go on and on at this time about how they are better than us because of this and about how fat our kids are 'cuz we drive them to school--maybe in some other post. The point is that after decades of using bikes for transportation, a style of bike remains that is called "Dutch" and it deserves our attention.

These Birias are ideal for rides of zero to 20 miles or so and the rack combined with a bag or two will carry groceries for a few days, a lap top, school books, etc.

Pioneer Press Visits with The Bike Guy

Recently fallen snow provides picturesque scenery as bike commuter and "Bike Guy" blogger Dirk Ingram rides his studded-tire equipped bicycle from the Lake Bluff Metra station down the Green Bay bike trail to his job at Market Square in Lake Forest at Kiddles Sports Store. (Eric Davis/For Pioneer Press)

Please see Ruth Solomon's engaging feature in the 2-21-08 issue of the Pioneer Press (pioneerlocal.com). Ruth is a true convert to bike commuting and this article will entice many more cyclists to join the Revolution.

Mayor Daley Salutes Motorists

The Chicago Tribune reported today:


Also on Wednesday, Daley introduced an ordinance to slap fines ranging from $150 to $500 on motorists who turn left or right in front of someone on a bicycle; pass with less than 3 feet of space between car and bike; and open a vehicle door into the path of a cyclist.The mayor, an avid rider, said he has been involved in unhappy encounters with motorists, providing them with "a few choice words" and "salutes" that he said were delivered "in the Chicago way."

Ride In Peace Sheldon Brown

Boston area Bicycle Mechanic Extrordinare Sheldon Brown died last night of a heart attack. No one has come close to creating half of the mass of meticulously archived articles that Sheldon wrote about maintaining ("Care and Feeding", as he called it) and riding bicycles.

I had the experience of meeting Sheldon at the Las Vegas Bike show in 2001. I thanked him for writing the instructional article that virtually taught me wheel building. When he learned of our mutual love for collecting old Raleigh bikes and that I was seaching for a particular model from the 70's, he pulled out his PDA. After a few scribblings, he said that there would be email for me when I returned home. Indeed there was. Sheldon was incredibly connected in the bike community--or, I should say, we were all very connected to him. I answered an email, bought a Raleigh Folding Twenty from a fellow Sheldon fan in Texas, and then used Sheldon's detailed articles to restore it. I will never part with that bike.

Sheldon was humorous, intellectual, and uniquely multi-talented--know any other bike mechanics who sing at the Metropolitan Opera?

Sheldon, thanks for your generousity--may the wind always be at your back.

Hey Bike Guy, there are so many different bikes. What bike is for me?

Well, thanks for asking! Choosing a bike is great fun and when you come to Kiddles I'll discuss your specific desires with you, thus sparing you the time it would take to listen to me run on about EVERY kind of bike. But I am "The Bike Guy" after all, so since you asked. . .

Types of Bikes
Think of bikes as existing on a continuum. On the left is a heavy-duty dual suspension mountain bike that appears to be just an engine away from actually being a motor cycle. On the right is Lance Armstrong’s time trial bike; very light and built for aerodynamics and speed. Those two categories are often referred to as Mountain and Road. Here’s what the continuum might look like:
Down hill
Dual suspension
Hard tail
Rigid mtb
26” comfort mtb
Cruisers
700c hybred
Fitness (Trek FX type)
Cyclo cross (Trek XO-1,2)
Flat bar road
Raised head tube road (Pilot)
Road (Madone)
Triathlon/time trial
Track

Definitions:
Downhill/Dual Suspension: A bike that has a rear shock absorber allowing travel of the back wheel to soak up bumps. The front fork is a heavy suspension type and the steering angle is designed for stability, not agility. A heavy bike that is not suitable for much climbing or longer rides.
Hard tail/Rigid Mountain bikes: Hard tail refers to a bike that does not have a rear shock. Rigid is how all mountain bikes started; without shocks at all. The 820 through the 6700 and the Gary Fisher Hard tails all have suspension forks.
Kiddle’s mountain bike customers begin with the little guy that buys a Trek Mt. 60 that has 20” wheels and a suspension fork. It’s big brother is the 220, that has 24” wheels. These bikes are popular because they resemble the bigger mountain bikes. 8-15 year olds, especially boys, gravitate toward our mountain bikes. The advantage of this marriage is that the bikes are durable with their large tires, shocks, and heavy construction. The disadvantage is that the knobby tires and big weight make speed and distance a challenge.
Comfort Mountain: This category has diminished in popularity lately. It is a mountain bike with a raised handle bar position that allows a more upright riding posture. The Trek Navigator is an example. The Hybrid category offers the same posturing, but with a lighter, faster product.
Cruisers: This is a design that is at least seventy years old and remains popular because of its comfort and cool looks. The Biria brand bicycles, although the frame is much different, actually places the rider in a cruiser-like posture. Gearing on a cruiser varies from coaster brake (one speed, pedal backwards to brake), to seven speed and also includes three speed gearing.
Hybrids: The term hy- bred refers to the combination of two types of bike, the road and the mountain. It uses the 700c wheel size of a road bike, but the frame style of a mountain bike. Most hybrids include suspension seat posts as well as light weight suspension forks. They also include adjustable stems, that make them very appropriate for 11-16 year old kids as an option to the mountain bike. The posturing of a hybrid is very upright and comfortable for shorter distances. Most folks who ride with their family a few times a week, or are very focused on the comfort of their bike, will wind up on a hybrid.
Fitness: This is a newer category that moves hybrids closer to the “Road” end of the continuum. The suspension fork no longer is here and in most cases the fitness bike opts for a threadless steerer/stem as opposed to the heavier, but more adjustable hybrid quill stems. Fitness bikes use the mountain bike frame platform of a raised head tube (higher handle bar position) and sloping top tube, but offer much of the speed and endurance of a flat bar road bike.
Cyclo cross: tucked somewhere in here in the cyclo cross bike. CX racing originated in Belgium as an off-season sport for road bike racers, but has become very popular in the U.S. too. Think of a road bike on steroids. The CX frame allows larger tires that make some off-road riding easier. The ’cross bike is also popular among commuters, because it allows the use of fenders and the larger tires absorb bumpy city roads better than the traditional road tire. With thin, high pressure tires, a cyclo cross bike is capable of all road bike duties.
Flat Bar Road: Some of the raised head tube road bikes (like the Pilot model) offer the option of a flat, mountain bike style handle bar. Many people want the endurance and speed of a road bike, but either dislike or have never used traditional road bars (referred to as “drop” bars).
Raised Head Tube: This is the future of Road Bike design. The Pilot Series offers a raised head tube design that allows a rider to sit in a less bent over position. For 2008, the Performance Series Madone is Trek’s offering for this geometry, with a 30mm raise in the HT. An estimated 80% of Road cyclists are now buying this geometry as opposed to the racier, more aerodynamic traditional posturing. In this set up, the handle bar is positioned slightly higher than the saddle in most cases. Touring bikes have raised head tube designs as well as other geometry changes that make your bike stable and comfortable when carrying loads.
Road Racing: this is usually thought of as a geometry that sets the saddle higher than the handle bar. The handle bar is the “drop” style. Light weight is the goal and proper fit is crucial. .With the right adjustments, and the addition of aero bars, a road bike is a great contender in triathlons.
Triathlon/time trial: Triathlon racing is huge and the bikes are expensive. This is a sport in which every second counts and the competitors are prepared to pay for speed. A triathlete ready for a Tri-specific bike already has invested thousands of dollars into this sport and usually come to our store with her decision practically already made. A triathlon bike, with its aero bars and very steep geometry, is not suitable for riding outside of training and racing, which is why a road bike equipped with clip on aero bars is a more practical, enjoyable investment for many racers.

Track: To the south of us is the Northbrook velodrome and to the north there is another track located in Kenosha where racing is popular. A track bike is one gear that is fixed, no coasting. The Trek T-1 is a very light, moderately priced track bike that also may be used on the road. It comes with brakes and also a “flip flop” hub that has a free wheel sprocket (able to coast) on one side and a fixed cog on the other. Kiddles also offers Gunner track bikes, and Surly.

Of course, other micro categories and lables exist. The right bike for you is the one that is capable of your current goals and additionally has the ability to serve you when your goals and fitness reach beyond today. I think the concept of having only one bike is simply crazy talk! We don't ask one pair of shoes to fulfill all of our footwear demands--yeah, I see it like that. However, if you must have only one bike (for now. . .) that's OK--Kiddles will set you on the correct point of the continuum.