(Cross-posted over on the Kool-Aid site...)

For years now, the bike industry has been riding a wave of popularity not unlike the "bike boom" of the 70's. Not only has this boom been good to the US bike industry, but the entire worldwide bike industry as well. It's been a really good ride, but almost all of us in the idnustry (Yes, I meant "industry"... smartasses...) knew it would have to come to an end one day.

The world is not going to come to an end for the bike industry or for cycling enthusiasts and consumer, but there is going to be some noticeable change very soon.  read more »

There has been a trend in the last few months in that my blog gets consistently more and more hits from Great Britain. For every thousand hits from the US I get roughly a third of that number from the UK on any given day. Considering the US has five times the population (Over 300 million compared to 60 million.) I find this both satisfying and surprising. I am left to wonder are there more cyclists per-capita in Britain? My Stat Counter lists the number of hits from different cities around the world; London is consistently number one. Therein I think lies a clue; I keep reading how more and more Londoners have switched to the bicycle as their mode of transport to and from work each day. With gas prices around $7 a gallon, plus a fee to drive into the city. At what point does a person start riding a bicycle out of necessity, then become a bicycle enthusiast to the extent of seeking information on the Internet? I think of my father who never owned a car, or even learned how to drive; a bicycle was his sole means of transport. It got him to work each day, and to the pub in the evening or weekends. However, he was never a bicycle enthusiast. Growing up in the 1940s and 1950s I never saw him read anything about bicycles, or talk about them. He never looked at, or showed any interest in my lightweight bike, or asked to ride it. His bikes were always old and rusty, probably from the 1920s or 1930s. He would lubricate and maintain his bike; buy new tires and brake blocks, and occasionally a new chain. He never had a new bike, or took it to a bike shop for repair. If something was seriously wrong he would ask around the neighborhood or people he worked with, and someone would give him a bike, or he would buy another, equally as old and rusty for very little money. He never locked his bike, and I dont remember him having one stolen; why steal a bike when it had little value and you could get one for free?  read more »

James Starley (1830 - 1881) is considered to be the "Father of the Bicycle Industry." Born in Albourne, Sussex in the South of England, James Starley (Above.) left home at eighteen years old and took a job as a gardener. Starley was a mechanical genius who gained a reputation for mending clocks and inventing useful gadgets. It is interesting how chance meetings in a persons life can not only change the course of that individuals life, but in this case change the course of history. Starleys employer, John Penn, bought an expensive sewing machine for his wife, which broke down. James of course fixed the problem and, what is more, envisioned improvements to the mechanism. Penn knew Josiah Turner, one of the partners of the makers of the sewing machine, and in due course Starley was taken on as an employee at the London sewing machine factory. His talent was such that Turner and Starley started their own sewing machine company around 1861. The pair moved to Coventry, in the West Midlands of England, because of the abundance of skilled machinists there. Coventry had previously been known for its clock making industry.  read more »

I found these wonderful classic Dutch bicycle photos from collector Andre Koopman. It is a mixture of photographs of this collector's bicycles, plus prints made from the old original glass plate negatives, some dating back to the late 1800s. These came from the Fongers factory, a Dutch bicycle manufacturer. One of my favorite set of pictures is of a Gazelle bicycle; (Top picture.) it comes with a pretty amazing story that goes like this: In 1939, a man buys a new bicycle. Soon after WWII breaks out, and with the impending invasion of Holland, man hides new bike in attic. Soon after man becomes sick and dies. Bike remains in attic for the next 64 years. The unused bicycle was discovered in 2003 and bought by this collector.  read more »

12:36 PM: Good day and welcometo VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the first stage of the 2008 Amgen Tour of California. Our coverage begins at 12:45 Pacific time, about 15 minutes before the first rider leaves the start house. Meanwhile, take a look over to your right. There are plenty of photos, a map of today's stage and even videos from the past day of events leading to the start of today's race. You might be especially interested in seeing the pre-race press conference videos from Michael Ball, the AEG organizing committee and our exclusive interview with UCI anti-doping manager Anne Gripper. It's been an interesting 24-hour lead up to the big day.  read more »

I recently received a email with pictures from Rod Taylor, who lives in England. Rod is the original owner of a frame I built for him in 1977. In his message he wrote: Out of all my bikes, road, track, audax, touring, roadster, cyclo-cross, hybrid, mountain, my 1960 Dave Davey and 1977 Dave Moulton stand out as my favorites. Last year I gave the frames to Dave Yates for renovation, the Dave Davey as a track bike was simpler to restore, but I took the decision to equip the Dave Moulton with the newer Campag gear. The rear ends were increased to 130mm and new gear brazings fitted. Although I was using the latest components to rebuild it, I didn't choose carbon parts as I believed Campagnolo Mirage alloy would be more in keeping. The finishing touches were added by employing a company in Cambridge to copy the transfers / decals, and the original orange Unica saddle has been retained. I am extremely pleased with the results of both machines, I love steel frames Thirty-one years old, in dog years that would be 217. Im not sure what the ratio is for old bicycle frames. Maybe 2-1, sixty-two would be a reasonable guess.  read more »

It was too damn stormy to cycle to work this morning, so instead of regaling you with tales of my normal Monday commute, let me tell you about my recent visit to the British Cycling Museum. The museum is in...kimbofo

...she hops onto a ruby-red three-wheeled cycle van with a silver-winged "NAP" monogram emblazoned on its cargo hold – and pedals smoothly into thick Boston traffic.

Two stories to emerge from England over the last few days: Phil Bridge, a 21 year old design student from Manchester, England, has designed the ultimate Cheap bike, made of cardboard. A cycle made from re-cycled material; you cant get any greener than that. Phil hopes his bike will sell for around fifteen British Pounds. ($30.) The plan is that the bike will be so cheap, no one will steal it. Dont count it, have you ever noticed that hotel coat-hangers are made without hooks, because people steal em. And if thieves dont steal it, vandals might set fire to it. No doubt, the honeycomb construction will ensure a sweet ride. I am wondering, will it come in a box, and will the box cost more than the frame?  read more »

Buffalo Bill writing on Moving Target about an article in the British Guardian/Observer newspaper on the Fixie craze. Bill was ticked at the journalist writing the piece because she referred to the bikes as fixed gear when the correct term for the UK should be fixed wheel. I agree, this is a British journalist writing in a British newspaper for a British audience; she should have used British terminology. Anyway, fixed wheel should be the correct term anywhere; it is a fixed wheel as opposed to a free wheel. These bikes are described as having no gears, then are called fixed gear. As I see it, fixed wheel is the more logical term. I have been guilty in the past of using the fixed gear term. In my defense, I can only plead that living in America for the last 29 years, using American terminology comes as second nature to me. Often if I dont use American English no one knows WTF I am talking about. If Bill is offended by the term fixed gear, let me say it drives me nuts that the fixie crowd refer to toe clips as cages. The reason we have all this strange terminology is that people dont know the correct term, so they make something up. These are cages.  read more »