Today I want to address the subject of the drop bar for mountain bike use. It seems to be a ridiculous suggestion to some mountain bikers to even consider a drop bar off road, but in reality, drop bar usage off road pre-dated flat bar use off road, even in the beginning of the "modern era" of mountain biking, which I put at about 1977 or so. (Basically when Joe Breeze conjured up and made his first purpose built off road bike)

Guys were using "drop" bars off road and they worked great. When the whole "mountain bike" thing got going; however, there was a movement that rejected anything "roadie" oriented. Drop bars were most commonly associated with road racing rigs, so the whole idea of even thinking about using a drop bar off road was a totally "anti-mountain bike" thing for many folks. Some folks didn't get that message though and were thinking in a whole different manner.  read more »

Where has low volume friendly advocacy gotten LA the last 2 years? Nowhere.

As a rule, I don't make fun of victims on this site, unless they are fashion victims. In particular, I avoid making fun of theft victims. Bike theft is perhaps one of the most infuriating yet degrading things that can happen to a cyclist. There is shame and stigma attached to being a bike theft victim, and when you're forced to report one you feel like Lionel Ritchie probably did when he reported his wife for spousal abuse. As such, to make fun of somebody under such circumstances would simply be inexcusable. (Though in the case of Lionel Ritchie, ridiculing him years after the fact for being abused by his wife is perfectly fine.) I've just received an entreaty from a fellow blogger, Michael Green of Bikeblog , whose bike was stolen in New York City only yesterday.  read more »

Date: March 13 and 14
Mileage: 22.5 and 31.5
March mileage: 102.5
Temperature: 37 and 35

I dragged out my road bike today - first ride of the year. With an inch of new snow on the ground and temperatures in the mid-30s, it was a risky move. But after taking Pugsley to a few nearby trails yesterday and finding nothing but slush and mud, even a potentially icy road seemed more appealing.  read more »

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 »

As usual, I spent this past weekend in my metaphorical crow's nest, scanning the horizon for the arrival of The End. And sure enough, a mast appeared. I removed my Cone of Smugness and peered into my Spyglass of Vigilance, only to see a ship so laden with Apocaliciousness that most of its hull was below the surface of the water. Yes, that's right: Monster Track 2008 has been cancelled. If you don't know what Monster Track is, it's apparently the Lollapalooza of alleycats . The organizers have issued the following press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The organizers of Monster Track 2008 have decided, after careful consideration, to cancel this years main race. This decision did not come easy and was debated at length.  read more »

Cool biking stuff happens in tons of places besides Toronto. Here's some news, views, and inspirations that I've come across in the last week: Montreal: 100 kilometres of new Montreal bike path in 2008 Some of these are new paths on major traffic arteries, like on Cote Ste-Catherine road. Some are connections between existing bike paths. But we are promised 100 new kilometres. The Latest Innovation From Paris: Cargocycles So what's the delivery truck equivalent of the bicycle?  read more »

Between 1982 and 1986 I built 216 custom dave moulton frames; the frame numbers were registered in a book that I still have. I built a few more between 1986 and 1993 when I retired from framebuilding, but so few that I didnt even record the numbers. A custom frame I consider to be one that the order preceded the frame, unlike the Fuso for example that was built in standard sizes and kept in stock. It has the name dave moulton on the down tube in lower case letters. The way either bike rides or handles is identical. The exception to this was one of the custom models I built called a Criterium frame. It had slightly steeper angles and was designed to be ridden fast and hard, and handle quickly. Out of 216 custom frames, there were only 36 Criteriums. I have been tracking eBay sales of my bikes for over two years since November 2005. During this period there have only been two custom dave moulton frames come up for sale.  read more »

I received two emails last week with questions on framebuilding. I don't have the time to go into lengthy instructions on how to build a frame, however, I thought I would post my answers here, that way others might find it useful.

I am hoping other readers will find it interesting to know some of the aspects of putting a frame together.

One question was, "Where do I start, do I need to build a jig?" A jig is simply a fixture to hold the tubes in place during assembly, it speeds production if you are building a number of frames all the same.  read more »

I know that is a repeat of some information but... I threw it together for SPOKES magazine and it did not make the cut too much of a narrative not enough information so... since I went through the time I might as well post it here it was a great ride I enjoyed the exercise of revisiting the experience here it is... Earlier this season I got on a plane and flew out to Northern California for a long weekend in late Apr il. No, this was not a trip to race at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey which was being held that same weekend; this was a trip to an old college buddys wedding. Although multi-tasking is not a strength of mine I managed to make this multi-purpose experience; a Santa Cruz wedding and a California mountain bike adventure. When I got the SAVE THE DATE email from an old college friend inviting me to his wedding in Santa Cruz I immediately contacted a mutual friend of the groom to see if he had been invite as well. My old friend Kevin McCarthy who earned the nickname of Snoopy in college said he had gotten the invite. I planted the seed of heading out for the wedding and doing some mountain biking the days before the weekend. It did not take long for this seed to grow... Snoopy was game. It was agreed that we would be heading to Santa Cruz for our friend Michael J.s wedding. This trip would involve more than standing in beautiful old white church to watch a man in a black suit and a woman in a white lace dress say I DO, this trip was going to include a gathering with some old friends and some epic west coast mountain biking!  read more »