With rising gas prices and concern over auto emissions, more workers are taking to two wheels. But they must navigate an obstacle course of anarchic traffic conditions.

It was a frigid night in late 2004 when the lights went out on a potluck dinner of frustrated bicycle enthusiasts.

If you're like me, you've been frustrated by the diminutive diameter of your road bike headset bearings. Sprinting with a 1 1/8" front end is like balancing an unabridged dictionary on a sewing needle. And as for a 1" setup, it's hard to imagine anybody ever rode a bicycle like that. I strongly believe than any still left should be forcibly removed from the road, and if you're still riding one then you must be stupid, suicidal, or both.

Fortunately, the big bike manufacturers have heard our demands and seem to be moving towards a new headset "standard," this being a 1 1/8" bearing on top and an even larger 1 1/4" bearing on the bottom. I had originally been waiting for road bike headsets to go to 1 1/4" top and bottom before upgrading, because I'm convinced that's where things are headed and I think right now head tubes are in an awkward "Popeye's arm" stage. However, it looks like I'm going to need a new bike sooner than I intended, since I smashed my last one to bits Pete Townshend-style this past weekend after failing to win yet another road race due entirely to my outmoded front end setup. (Though to be fair my lack of an eleventh cog was also partly to blame.)  read more »

A community meeting last Wednesday marked one of the first steps the city of Long Beach is taking to update its Bicycle Master Plan and make the city more bike-friendly.

Good Monday evening to everyone from here in the Panhandle, snow free for __ days!  read more »

I swear, if one more person emails me a link to that high school kid who built a wooden bike, I am going to lose my mind.
For the lucky ones among you who haven’t yet received this email chain, an online woodworking newsletter has an article about Marco Facciola, a 16-year-old kid who built a [...]

The Comprehensive Plan for the city of Newton supports bicycling as one way of “reducing reliance on auto driving” and emphasizes the importance of safety “on all roads and in all neighborhoods.”

Ah yes another article on Bike Couriers. This one is from my old hometown of Seattle. Unfortunately, there's nothing really new here but I like to include all the articles I can, for the archives. Thanks again to Joe Headry of Messmedia.org for his constant diligence in finding articles about couriers. Seattle street racers: Ride along with Seattle bike couriers By Erika Cederlind Daily - University of Washington , February 12, 2008 Driving in Seattle sucks. Its pouring rain and traffic is terrible. Cars speed up to intersections only to slam on brakes, honk horns and wait bumper to bumper. Weather conditions, road construction and commuters only compound the problem. On a bike, these problems disappear.  read more »

The ultimate for bike maintenance - The Blubike/Super-B combo has all you need to clean and maintain your bike dring the hard wearing winter months. The SUPER-B 96500 is a top quality bike toolkit at an amazing price. Every tool is custom designed to do its intended job and then manufactured to precise tolerances. SUPER-B tools are intended for home mechanics and durable enough for professional use. SUPER-B 96500 includes: 1 - PEDAL REMOVER 15X16MM,15X17MM 1 - CHAIN WHIP (To hold cassette while loosening locking ring) 1 - 8MM HEX KEY+1/2 DR ADAPTOR 1 - L HANDLE 4 - 25L BITS SIZE:PHILLIPS:1/2; SLOTTED:5/7;W/HOLDER 3 - 1/4 DR. SOCKET SIZE: 8/9/10MM 1   - HG CASSETTE LOCK RING SOCKET 1 - B.B. TOOL (Shimano internal bearing type) 1 - BB LOCK RING TOOL 1 - TOOL FOR BOTTOM BRACKET CUP 2 - HUB CONE SPANNER 13X14 AND 15X16MM 1 - HEAD SET WRENCH 30X32X36X40MM 1 - TUBE REPAIR KIT 1 - OPEN-ENDED WRENCH 8X10MM 1 - 6" ADJUSTABLE WRENCH 1 - SCHRADER TYRE GAUGE 1 - SLOTTED 3X75MM SCREWDRIVER 6 - HEX KEY 2/2.5/3/4/5/6MM W/HOLDER 3 - PLASTIC TIRE LEVER 1 - CHAIN RIVET EXTRACTOR 1 - COTTERLESS CRANK TOOL 1 - SPOKE WRENCH The Blubike Cleaning Kit includes all of the essential accessories needed to keep your bike looking great, it will even smell nice too. Brush, scrub and soak your bike to bring it up looking almost like new. The kit comes all included within the large plastic bucket with sealable lid to keep all of the contents organised and fluids contained. The kit includes 1 x Bucket with Lid, Blue 1 x Wash Sponge 1 x Spray bottle of Bike Cleaner Fluid 500ml 1 x Bio Chain Cleaner fluid, 250ml 1 x 10.40 High Tech Wet chain lubricant, 75ml 1 x Chain Machine with rotating brushes 1 x Cassette Cleaning Tool  1 x Bike Cleaning Brush 1 x Tube repair kit What's in the bucket?  read more »

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