Bike Hugger 

I was just talking about Critical Mass on the phone yesterday to a large event organizer and explained that the intent was never violent. In some cities Critical Mass is calm and in others it can and has gotten violent. Today there’s a Seattle PI story about a violent clash last night with a motorist:

The driver tried to back up, he said, and struck a bike. Bicyclists began attacking the vehicle.

I wasn’t there. Readers? WTF?

Straight up one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen was Critical Mass Seattle riding on Highway 99. Even stupider was when they rode on the Viaduct and then a cyclist got into an altercation with undercover cops. That eventually led to Critical Manners in Seattle and other cities.

Checksum Arcanius blogs about the incident – it just happened to be his first Critical Mass ride.

Gritty Tall Bike, and Georgetown rider en route to the Freemont Summer Solstice Parade. Turns out a tall bike is a great way to get above the crowds for the best view of the parade.

Uploaded by Dapper Lad Cycles | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

One of the trends among high-end carbon bicycle frames is the integrated seatpost. In general, this means that the seat tube extends above the top tube to just below saddle height, and the saddle itself attaches to a stub post or a clamp gripping the top of the seat tube. Scott, Giant, Trek, and others all have top level road bikes with integrated seatposts, but LOOK Cycle takes a different approach.

Their system is called the E-post, and Look designed it to not only take advantage of the weight reduction and aesthetic possibilities of an integrated post, but to also provide a way to further tune ride qualities for the individual rider.

YouTube videos of Cadel attacking … reporters. There’s

• Don’t Touch Me

• I Cut Off Your Head

and the head butt

We heard about a finger to a reporter, a thrown helmet, but haven’t seen it. Aussies defend him: maybe his shoulder, the pressure, or he’s just an ass.

I recently snuck into Bianchi USA’s headquarters and talked to company president Rod Jewett about their new 2009 line-up and trends in the industry. One standout in the new line-up is a limited edition, lugged steel bike to be known as the Dolomite (though this pre-production example was labelled “Stelvio”). The pre-production example that I saw had chromed lugs and 1950s/60s style logos. Strangely, the bike had a carbon fork, but Jewett hinted that they might be able to offer US buyers a chromed steel fork. Of course, the bike is painted in Bianchi’s glorious sea-foam green hue, better known as celeste.

If any big bike company could mount a full-on retro attack, it would be the company with 124 years of tradition.