New Year's Revolutions

Assuming that you adhere to the Gregorian calendar, I wish you and yours a Happy New Year. Traditionally, now is the time that we set goals and make resolutions. I like to make what I call "bike goals"--goals designed to encourage revolutions. One year, I decided to participate in the Wisconsin Off Road Series (WORS) and managed to get to 11 out of the 12 events. Another year was "Century Year" and I was transported many hundreds of miles with the help of a three speed, a single gear, and a fixed geared folding Dahon. There also was the duathlon period that included time trials and miles of running (oh, the humanity!) One year, a friend took me up on sharing a goal of racing cyclo cross--he is now one of the state's top riders. My practice of commuting via bike/train is the result of similar goal-setting. This year, I've decided to dive into Brevet riding--consider it the ultra marathon of cycling.

In 2007 at Kiddles we had a fantastic year sharing the "Three F's of Cycling" with you: Fun, Fitness, and Function. The joy on a nine year old's face as she mastered the gears of her new bike while riding on the "test track" behind Kiddles. The determination and passion of a customer that brought himself back to incredible fitness after a crash that broke many of his ribs. The bubbling enthusiasm of a customer riding his Dahon folding bike away from the Lake Bluff train station while wearing a suit, tie, and over coat and carrying his laptop and a thermos of coffee.

I hope to at least double our Dahon sales this year, continue our commitment to making your bike functional with racks and bags, and will reveal a surprisingly cool new product in time for spring riding. Have goals?

Stud Service

My "Designer Dahon" Mu XL fixed gear is now a single speed/coaster brake studded tire monster! Innova has 20x1.75 (409mm) tires with replacable studs. The original wheels I built for this bike are 20"/451mm, as opposed to the typical 20"/409mm that Dahon specs. However, studded tires are only available in 409. To complicate matters further, Dahon's front hubs are 74mm wide, rather than the standard 100mm. I have a 28 hole Dahon hub at the shop, but 28 hole 409 rims are pretty rare. Anxious to get on the new tires once they arrived yesterday, I opted to take a strange route: change the fork, thus making the bike capable of handling standard front hubs.

The two lower pics depict the original wheels: Rolf 14 hole front hub on a Dahon fork and rear Surly flip/flop hub with a fixed cog. The other two pics are the new "snow/ice" version: cheap bmx front hub on new Dimention bmx fork and cheapo coaster brake hub on the rear. Tonight was the maiden voyage. Wow, is it ever bazaar to ride a coaster brake again! Especially when clipped in--I kinda like it. Any bets how long the little hub will survive the cold?

Indoor Cycles

It was a tough week for commuting. Five to six inches of snow and minimal visibility during rush hour last night caused me to have a flash of better judgement and ask my very supportive wife to rescue me from riding on the last two miles of slick highway.

It is times like these that many will bring their bike riding indoors. Many have been introduced to indoor cycling at health clubs, where cycling classes provide 60minutes of aerobic activity accompanied by an inspirational booming sound track. Owning your own machine gives you the freedom of jumping on the bike immediately upon noticing the nasty weather, working out to your own choice of media, then showering and dressing in the convenience of your own home.

We have the industry's best machines at Kiddles and will assist with choice and actual set-up in your home. For years, we've supplied local health clubs with indoor cycles and provided service for those machines. You will not be stressing your cycle to anywhere near the degree of use they receive at the fitness clubs. Therefore, these products will be buring your calories for years.

About one thousand dollars will buy you an incredibly solid Schwinn cycle built with commercial-use quality. For $100, I can add a computer to the Schwinn IC Elite that works to measure cadence, miles, and speed. The Lemond Revmaster is whisper quiet, due to its use of a belt, rather than chain drive. For $200, you can add a wireless computer. Cycleops, the company that makes wonderful stationary trainers, has three levels of indoor cycles. Cycleops computer options include heart rate monitoring and a built in Power Tap unit in the 300 series that not only measures wattage output, but allows you to upload the data to your PC!

Although you will never commute, go to the store for milk, or join your friends in a pace line on your indoor cycle, it will help you stay in shape for all of these pursuits.

Is "Custom" for You?

The bike industry offers a multitude of options when it comes to ready-made bikes, but the option of building a unique custom bike is more "uncommon" than ever. Kiddles offers several options for frames upon which to base your creativity: Surly, Gunnar, Dahon, and Trek are great options. I also will build on your vintage frame--are you thinking fixed gear, or single speed? Expect to pay more for your one-off bike. Buying ala carte is always more expensive than taking advantage of the powers of mass production.

At Kiddles, we think outside of the box. I will listen to your visions and work with you to write a parts list and then develop a price quote. Whatever your niche, chances are I can speak your language. Past Bike Guy builds include: cyclo cross, single speed mtb, ss road, ss folder, fixed gear, high end road, high end mtb (one was featured in Bike Magazine), triathlon, custom Dahon folding commuter bikes, 650b wheel converstions, vintage restorations, and more.

Want to design your own wheels? I will build them. The Wheels on the bike pictured here feature Hugi 240 hubs, titanium spokes, and Mavic ceramic rims. They have been raced for 4 seasons and used for commuting for 2 years--very light!

Winter is the time to pull the trigger on your custom project. Get started now, and your bike will be ready for Spring riding.

Carbon Footprint? CO2 Emissions? Fuel Economy?

I am old enough to remember viewing a film during science class in eighth grade that documented a project performed by Stanford University students. It was the Seventies, and we were concerned about "pollution", mpg, and "alternative energies". The students converted an American Motors Gremlin to burn hydrogen. We watched as one student drank the water he collected from the car's tail pipe. I would have bet you that day that at age 45 I would be driving such a car and our petrol obsessions would be in the past.

Unfortunately, we in the U.S. only respond to problems we see as immediate, and until our environment and our resources are again in "crisis", it is somehow acceptable to drive a vehicle that gets 9 miles per gallon.

Join the Revolution. Promote ideas that move us forward by leaving minimal footprints. The crisis has not been resolved--don't succumb to the common amnesia that forgets that conspicuous consumption is unacceptable.

Ride your bike, take the train, car pool.

Calling all Studs!

I am sitting in my warm living room enjoying coffee from my French press and looking for any reason at all to delay going outside to clear the driveway. Yeah, the fierce white stuff hit yesterday afternoon and last night the roads were mayhem. It rained, it snowed/sleeted, then rained again--a shovel full of snow weighs as much as a Hummer (Yes, I frequently lift Hummers). Unfortunately, I was driving my car rather than riding my bike. My excuse is that I had not installed my bike's studded tires yet--but this will happen today.

If you plan to ride when the temperature is freezing and below, combined with any moisture that has frozen on your route, you must have studded tires on your bike. There is no tire tread pattern that will adhere to ice--believe me, you will go down hard. Ice causes an amazingly quick fall, as if your wheels have been blown out from under you by a 100 mph wind gust. Of all the bike-related products, studded tires have the biggest "wow" factor of all. You will call all of your friends and demand they watch as you flawlessly traverse nasty patches of ice.

The studs add to the experience of your caloric consumption. In other words, they make it harder to pedal due to the added friction. However, when you are not riding on ice, your traction is not impeded by the studs and you will ride with reduced stress knowing that you may plunge over the ice patch ahead.

Kiddles offers several brands of studded tires and I will work with you to determine which width to use on your ride. It is important for safety reasons that we allow good clearance beyond your tires. You should consider fitting fenders too. Cold, freezing slush is not comfortable on the buttocks.

Don't stop riding!

Pedal Pusher Society.org; they're from Wisconsin!

Spirited, uplifting and edgy.

Be a Genius. . .

Save $30 on Kiddle's Major Tune-up for a limited time. No coupon necessary, just show up!

“Hey Bike Guy, what’s the deal with clipless pedals?

This is a common point of confusion. The principle here is that it is more efficient to have your feet fixed to the pedals so that you may issue force to the cranks while pulling up as well as pushing down. Originally, pedals were mounted with “clips and straps”--you’ve likely seen these on the indoor cycling (stationary) bikes at your health club. In order to be efficient, the straps have to be very secure. Historical side effects of this system included numb toes (from tight straps), frustration/inconvenience related to bending down to loosen the straps, and sometimes injury from falling. “Clipless” pedals have a funny and ironic name since they really do “clip”. The system simply involves some sort of spring activated clip on a pedal that holds a metal or plastic “cleat” that is mounted to the bottom of your cycling shoe. To release your foot from the grip of the pedal, you simply swing your heal laterally (out board).

There are two categories of clipless pedals and shoes: road and mountain. The road pedals have a large platform designed for ultimate power transfer and mountain pedal systems utilize smaller cleats that are capable of fitting into the recessed areas of mountain bike shoes, which come with tread for more traction when you’re off your bike.

“What about Spinning (registered trade mark) shoes?”
Any mountain bike shoe, because the treads protect the cleat from hitting the ground, are suitable for use at your health club. Most clubs don’t allow exposed cleats--they’re slippery and might wreck wood floors. The indoor cycles almost always are equipped with the SPD (Shimano Pedal Device) pedals.

Kiddles offers both road and mountain pedals, shoes, and cleats. We’re always happy to discuss the systems and which one is right for you!

Have a Tryptophantastic Thanksgiving!

After you and yours are tranquilized by Turkey (Istanbul, pictured here), satiated with socialization, and fed-up with football, swing over to Market
Square and see us at Kiddles. Nothing celebrates the traditions of gift-giving like the gift of a bicycle: Fun, Fitness, and Function.

Ride, Fold, Repeat. . .

I am thoroughly enthralled with folding bikes and Dahon, by far, is the best option out there. The Bike Guy Stable now contains three Dahons, that have afforded me the luxury of leaving the car in the driveway for days at a time. The commute from Racine to Lake Forest travels through beautifully paved and tree-canopied roads, deer-trodden bike paths and "I am bicyclist,hear me roar" bike lanes. After a ride of 8-9 miles, depending on route, the bike is folded, bagged and brought onto the Metra along with my cup of coffee purchased for one dollar from Ray, the forever polite, Sandwich Stop Cafe proprietor. The train ride often involves a light nap, maybe a quick read, but never angst-ridden, finger-flipping driving.

On weekdays I exit the train at Lake Bluff and ride the last two miles to Kiddles. On Saturdays, I either ride the whole 30 miles, or exit the train earlier yet, at North Chicago.

You may read all the technical data on Dahon Bikes at their web site and who knows, technical data will likely show up on this blog. But for now, we are focused on the prospect of you getting the Dahon Religion and ending your worship of the petrol-burning beast. Like any life change, you will go through contemplation that argues for and against the New Way. One of the many reasons you will buy your bike at Kiddles is the "counseling" you receive--more on my former life as a Mental Health Therapist at a later date.

Dahon has graciously allowed us to purchase certain frame sets for the purpose of creating "Designer Dahons". Most of these bikes have been fixed gear, or single speed bikes, like the one pictured above. They are incredibly light and the 20" versions feature the larger, 451 sized, wheels. I brought my little Dahon Mu fixed gear on a 109 mile ride last year and enjoyed some gritty 21-26mph pace line action. A viable bike? I should think so.

Hey Parents, Grandparents, and other "Santa's Helpers"!

Santa’s bicycle workshop is already humming at Kiddles and we have already sold bikes that will be given for the holidays! We will “hide” your purchase in Kiddle’s “Santa’s Storage Spot” and use a secret coding system so prying eyes won’t notice. If you like, we can even arrange delivery!

Kiddles will make your season more Fun, Fit, and Functional with your gift of a bicycle.
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Season/Schmeason! Ride your bike all year

As the saying goes, there is no bad weather just bad gear. Winter in the Chicagoland area graces us with weeks of temps that are sub-freezing (see bikewinter.org). With the right clothing, you’ll be riding in 20 degree or colder temperatures and laughing bravely when the mercury is in the 30’s.

Yeah, you’ve heard of layering before, but are you wearing the right stuff?
Your cycling body is the engine of your machine as well as the furnace that keeps you warm. Your clothing must do an effective job of retaining heat and eliminating moisture. Three different types of garments is all you need. Wear them in varying combinations to work toward ultimate comfort in all conditions.

Base Layer: Under Armour is effective at wicking the moisture away from your body. Choose a similar product and pick a snug fit to optimize the fabric’s moisture movement technology.

Mid Layer: A micro fleece, or soft shell fabric works here. Choose a piece that has a higher collar and a “half zip” to use when you heat up. The idea here is to create a thermal layer that keeps you warm. The mid-layer will accept the moisture from your base-layer and wick it away to be evaporated.

Shell: Most folks look at a shell and wonder how the heck they will stay warm in something that is so light--something that reminds them of a Sring jacket. A good shell will block wind, retain heat, vent/breath moisture, and in some cases, block rain.

Cotton Kills! Cotton does an excellent job of retaining sweat and inviting hypothermia--not good. Need a natural fabric? Choose wool, it is the original technical fabric and happens to be the only material that still keeps you warm when it is wet.

Bring your extremities into the extreme. It is really tough to recommend specific hand and foot gear, as folks tolerances vary widely. Here are some products that work:

Hands: buy a pair of light “glove liners” made of a wicking fabric. Look for a pair that has gripper material on the palm so you may ride safely with this pair alone. Then choose a winter cycling glove that can be worn with or without your liners, depending on the temperature. The “lobster claw” type uses the buddy system to allow your fingers to be paired off and warm.

Feet: use a thin base layer sock with a wool hiking sock over it. Make sure that you loosen your shoes, or buy new ones that allow for the extra sock material. Shoes that are too tight do not allow air layering and thus make your feet freeze. Booties made of neoprene fit over your shoes, but allow your cleats to stick through. They block wind and cold. A less extreme version comes in the form of toe covers. Fleece-lined neoprene socks are needed for the coldest days.

Hand and foot warmer packets may be inserted accordingly--some folks say these help tons on sub zero days!