In this entry I'll explain the basic options for where one can buy a bicycle in LA, share my opinions as to which are best, and I'll briefly discuss helmets, locks, and lights.

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

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 »

Congratulations to Pegasus Partners . Pegasus has just sold Cannondale to Pacific Cycle for $190-200 million (the final price will depend on this years EBITDA). Following the purchase of Cannondale out of bankruptcy for roughly $58 million in 2003, Pegasus rebuilt Cannondale from its ashes into a $200 million/annual company.  read more »

When Marian Hayes took an evening bicycle ride along the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis last year, she felt as if she had the trail to herself.

Happy Friday everyone! Friday's the day BikingToronto wraps up all the bikey news from the last week and puts it all in a nice little package for your easy digestion. STILL huge in the news this week is the whole issue of bike theft. Also, if you don't know, you can post about your stolen bike on the BikingToronto Community (which has a contest running now that you can get in on). Stolen Bike Recovery Program - 3000+ Bikes on Display! The stolen bicycle numbers from the Igor Kenk bust keep going up and up. The latest reports have the numbers exceeding 3000 bicycles, and Toronto Police have set them up in two locations so Torontonians can check them out and hopefully find their long lost two-wheeled friends: Toronto Police may have your Stolen Bike!  read more »

Teacher Joyce McCusker of Herndon, Va., owns a bicycle for the first time in years. She bought it last month and uses it to make the eight-mile trip home from work. Bicycle shops across the country are reporting strong sales so far this year, and more people are bringing in bikes that have been idled for years, said Fred Clements, executive director the National Bicycle Dealers Association. Mark Krenz, 48, is giving it a try. The Bismarck auto-parts store manager recently spent $750 on the 24-speed bike and is building up his mileage to prepare for his hilly commute. "In this business, everybody is constantly talking about how to save gas," Krenz said.  read more »

As I halfheartedly reported yesterday, and as everybody knows by now, the Great Trek Bicycle Making Company has severed its relationship with Greg LeMond . In fact, Trek has filed suit against him, claiming hes done damage to the brand. Trek allege that he did so not only by badmouthing Lance Armstrong and Trek, but also by re-selling bicycles he purchased at a discount directly to customers. According to the suit (a copy of which which was forwarded to me by a reader in the legal profession, along with a bill for $1,500): ... since 1999 Greg LeMond has made numerous purchases of LeMond bicycles at employee pricing from Trek with a suggested retail value of over $2,500,000. Upon information and belief, Greg LeMond has resold, bartered for value or otherwise distributed many or most of these bikes, harming Trek and its dealers. As one example, in early March 2008, a Trek Dealer sold two LeMond Zurich bicycles to two customers. These bicycles sell at retail for more than $2,800, each, and thus are important sales. This Dealer ordered the bikes and expected to complete the sales when the bikes arrived. On or about March 15, 2008, one of the two customers who had ordered the LeMond Zurich bicycles returned and informed Treks Dealer that he and the other customer were able to get LeMond-branded bicycles directly from Greg LeMond himself, at a price much lower than the retail price. The customer explained that since they were saving over 50% by buying from Greg LeMond instead of from the Dealer, they ordered La Victoires, a more expensive LeMond-branded bicycle ($5,279.99 suggested retail price), instead of the Zurich bicycles they had ordered from the Dealer. As his business was harmed by the loss of sales as a result of LeMonds unauthorized and unlawful conduct, the Dealer commented: Why would we support a vendor that is deliberately using back-channels to sell products in our market? As an immediate resolution to this problem, the only fair and practical thing that I can see is to bill Mr. Lemond's account for the lost profit $$ that we have foregone as a result of his action. Furthermore, going forward, I would like an apology and his word that he will not sell around his dealers going forward. Again, these are only allegations, but if this is indeed true, Greg LeMond may be the worlds most famous shop rat. Be that as it may, the Great Trek Bicycle Making Company has lost a member of the family. Granted, losing Greg LeMond might be the same kind of familial loss as when your 45 year old unemployed crank-addicted cousin finally moves out of your basement, but its a loss nonetheless. And the big question is: who will move in to fill this loss?  read more »

Many bicycle shop workers across York County used the same word to describe business on Wednesday. Busy.

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 »