That’s Julie with her Schwinn Cream. She was on Martha Stewart one time, and she loves bicycle style.
Uploaded by Dmitry Gudkov | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
That’s Julie with her Schwinn Cream. She was on Martha Stewart one time, and she loves bicycle style.
Uploaded by Dmitry Gudkov | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
I’ve often wished I could think of a way to tell motorists what I’m thinking, but I hadn’t really come up with the idea of doing a custom jersey to do it. The cyclists over at ShareTheDamnRoad.com did it for me. Now the question is—which one do I buy?
My introduction to the sport and the bike — before urban, fixed, or cargo — was with Lemond and Fignon. Hinault, Merckx, Indurain, Mussewu, and Rominger.

Photo: unknown
That’s when the sport seemed far away in Europe and otherworldly to someone that rode his Fisher Paragon in the Eastern Washington shrub steppe desert. Theirs were names told in stories of epic heroism on roads in France. I studied them, watched grainy videos recorded from Satellite TV and learned to ride road. Fell of rollers in the back of a bike shop, read Eddie B’s eat horse-meat book, and was thrilled to get even an hour of Tour coverage on ABC with ridiculous commentary from Adrian Karsten.
Like other mountain bikers, I wanted to get faster by spending more time on the road. This was when the American sport of mountain bike racing was getting overrun by World Cup-class Europeans who were fitter, thinner, and faster. Everyone was turning to road and riding bikes like the carbon-tubed Epic Allez or picture-perfect painted Colnagos, and fishing-lure-green Treks.
The story of a coke-can shimmed Aero Bar, invented by a Triathlete, WWII vet in Idaho was marvelous. Later came the Americanization of the Sport with Lance Armstrong.
What a rich history and dark side this sport has had in the 20 odd years I’ve been into it.
Fignon was many things, a complex character, a true Frenchman and a champion. He blamed his cancer on the dope he took and maybe his death will signal a turning point in this decades-old battle with the two speeds in the peloton. I expect other old pros are wondering about what they did to their bodies. Time for them to come clean too.

Photo: Sirotti via Cyclingnews
RIP Laurent. Today you’re trending on Twitter. I’ll remember you for the wins, the 8 seconds, and the courage it took for you to tell us you doped.
In another time, you were Young and Carefree.
Photo uploaded by BeWePa.
The gadget and design blogs posted on Redfish Creative’s Bicycle Speedometer concept over the weekend and whether or not the idea actually goes into production, it demontrates how the electronic accessories market hasn’t caught up to the urban aesthetic.

Image: Redfish
Leather, stainless, automotive style dials with click counters to replace the boring LEDs we use now? Sure and we’d welcome that because what we’re using is based on late 90s designs from Avocet, Cateye et al. Sure we’ve got power, heart rate, and more but the bicycle computer is essentially the same.

Photo: Wikipedia
Extend that to lights and a family of products that would match your bespoke bike and maybe you’re onto something. What have we seen in updated accessories with a modern design aesthetic besides:
If not the Porsche design studio style, could go to a Steampunky Home Depot DIY vibe with galvanized pipe and PVC or use your phone that talks to a sensor.
What would a redesigned bicycle computer look like to you?
Wait how did we miss this bike in the history of Aero?
Photo: The Inertial Gallery
We’ve seen this Davidson, the Kirk Precision, and fairings to the max Hutch, but not this wedged wonder.
Hey look it’s Shanky Two Wheels with his “knife pokes and crooked spokes,” waiting for you at the start of the next Cross race. Don’t know if anyone has thought of a Cross Children Books, but if so, here’s your antagonist!
Uploaded by TheGrossUncle | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Cycling Northwest’s Russell Stevenson has been leading a cyclocross clinic on Thursdays. This past week the group was in Woodland Park, doing bunnyhop drills and a mock race. All the participants were psyched up for season opener Star-Cross in September. Of course, for the non-technique oriented, you can try Kruger’s Kermesse this weekend down near Portland OR. 
Attended our first bike-in film in San Francisco earlier this year, and there are two of them this weekend in the Pacific Northwest: Seattle and Portland.
Saturday, Aug 28 at 07:00 PM
The Bike-In is a celebration of green transportation, our urban community and summer nights! Grab your bike, grab your friends—we’ll see you for our annual event in Cal Anderson Park on Capitol Hill!
Meet at 5pm to hang out and enjoy tunes by DJ NLJB. Music by Concours d’Elegance and Sap’N at 7pm Short films followed by Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure at dusk (around 9pm).
In partnership with Backyard Blam, the Disposable Film Festival is in Portland at the New PDW Space: 15 NE Hancock, from 8-10PM on Saturday the 28th. That includes a bike race, bicycle tractor pull, and films. RSVP and details on Facebook.
Cross Season starts for us this weekend at Kruger’s Kermesse.
We’ll have new bikes from Redline
and kits from Cycling Northwest
The Redline Team issue is updated with a carbonS-bend rear stays and
More photos. Redline is on Facebook and Twitter.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Obsolete and scary! Tragedy happens when this cycling raptor meets 50s Girl on a Bike or maybe she tames the beast.
Drawings uploaded by karl_addison | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Cross and facial hair go together like peas and carrots, gin and juice, Cruise and Diaz, Turner and Hooch, Salt-n-Pepa, Facebook and Privacy (no wait). It’s time to start considering your look.
Are you going for Magnum PI, Grizzly Adams …
Maybe a beer-drinking, cheering fan with an ironic Tee from Etsy.

Brandon uploaded by Luke, Ezra uploaded by ibikempls, Etsy tee by Partybots | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
A well-made Tall Bike from three Schwinns with a hand brake, Nexus, and LED lights.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
The iconic photos of Audrey Hepburn include bikes, like this one from a Hollywood set.
Fashion communities have worked out mashed-up collections from those photos, inspired by another time that fits our modern urban sensibilities …

and what we noticed is that the “most beautiful woman of all time” is riding arguably the best bike of all time, a 3-speed, step-through Raleigh.
In our travels, we see vintage 3-speeds transporting people to and fro in cities.
Earlier this month, we rode this prototype bike during a demo.

Product managers always have their own pet projects. Maybe an idea that’s been simmering for years and this bike is part of project that may get released.
We hope it does. 3 speeds makes as much sense now, as they have since 1902.
We also wonder and have talked at length with the old dogs of Cyclocross why there isn’t a 3-speed drivetrain for riding road bikes in the dirt? There was back in the day, cause that’s all they had.
1986 and a patriotic version of the Dahon logo for their folding bikes.
Uploaded by vintage 3 speed | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Spotted at Russie’s Bike Swap Yard Sale, this dude with a Surly 1X1 that was really fun to ride. He’s also been seen on a cruiser at the World’s Slowest Bike Race and atop a Penny Farthing. Who is he? We suspect he may have more bikes than us.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Over the past month I’ve been experimenting with different wide-range 10sp cassettes and rear derailleurs with SRAM and Shimano road shifters. I’m still not done with all the combinations, but as a preliminary warning to those riders and shops looking to use wide-range (ie 11-32, 11-34, 11-36, and 12-36 ten-speed cassettes) with Shimano road STI, you CANNOT use the new 10sp Shimano MTB rear derailleurs with road STI. Shimano 10sp road shifters will work fine on those new 10sp wide-range cassettes if you use 9sp Shimano MTB derailleurs, however.
The new 10sp Shimano mtb derailleurs need more cable per derailleur movement than previous designs and require the matching 10sp MTB shifters.

WOW, that’s a really cool fixie that you can travel with! Wallpaper* (don’t forget the asterisk) deserves a lot of credit for their vision. Kinda makes me wish I had thought of that….
Wait, a minute…I did think of that…7 fucking years ago.
And since S&S didn’t even remotely develop their excellent “torque couplings” with Wallpaper* (don’t forget the asterisk) or me personally in mind, I guarantee you that someone else did it before me.
Wallpaper…*……does offer a beautiful and doubtlessly expensive leather bag to pack your bike in. That way you can look quite spiff struggling with your fixie in a bag through every airport…’cause unlike S&S’ well-proven hardcase, their leather bag has NO WHEELS. The smirk on my face while I watch you attempting to carry that bike along with your ridiculous Louis Vuitton bags shan’t be modest. My only loss will be not seeing your grief-stricken face at your final destination after you see what baggage handlers can do to a bike in a soft case.
But proper credit where due, the bike as pictured does have the correct hubs for the job. Phil Wood track hubs are smooth and durable, but they also have the crucial bolt-in axles. Otherwise, the width of solid “bolt-on” axles would affect packing density. Also, the choice of a powdercoat finish is smart, as it is usually less prone to chipping than wet-application paint finishes. Still, anyone frequently traveling with a bike ought get used to blems on the kit, unavoidable as it is.
Of course, no one is really asking for my opinion. The fact that I’ve flown over 120,000 miles, made a couple dozen train trips, and 3 European bus tours with an S&S bike as well as designed (and I don’t mean paint design) a series of S&S bikes with the “Modular concept” (interchangeable kits to rapidly optimize the bike for different uses) pales in the face of professional photography and oooooh! leather.
Sigh, at least the bike is quality craftsmanship. It’s just not versatile, well-thought out, inexpensive, or original.
... Read more »Kinfolk’s S&S bike made the gadget and design blog rounds after winning a Wallpaper award earlier this year. For more on S&S bikes, see Travel Bikes: Couplings and Hinges.
Uploaded by KINFOLK by Ways&Means | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Wondering what the rest of the bike looks like.
Uploaded by rdf1249 | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
That looks like a bike BBQ to us.
Uploaded by Thirteen Of Clubs | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Visited with the SRAM rep today — more photos and posts from Mark V to follow.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
A quote of the day from Mikael Colville-Andersen, Copenhagenize
There are stamp collectors who love everything about stamps and there is the rest of us who just lick ‘em and slap ‘em on envelopes because we have to send a letter.
What he’s talking about is a photo with a mom and her son riding past a yellow wall in Copenhagen. We posted the photo too and readers have noticed the bike tire is low on our blog and on the original Flickr upload page. Andrew and I responded, “that’s how they do it over there” and Mikael continued the dialogue by explaining that
it’s important to remember that while there are 500,000 daily cyclists in Greater Copenhagen, there are very few ‘cyclists’. Just regular people who happen to use the bicycle to get around. Sure, there are some ‘enthusiasts’ who are into ‘gear’ and ‘specs’ and what have you - which is nice - but for the rest of us a low tire is no big deal.
Henry said something similar the last time we visited WorkCycles in Amsterdam about how bikes in the States are marketed as fitness equipment, not unlike a Thighmaster. Even with the surge in urban biking and commuting, the Industry has yet to get a clear message out that bikes are transportation too. I don’t know if we’ll ever see that cultural shift in thinking, when I’m out riding and commuters want to race me or we’re mapping and applying metrics to our commutes and getting the latest gear from retailers.
We saw that in Portland too, earlier this year, when cyclists raced across the bridges and were in a hectic hurry to get where they’re going. The same ethos that built the highways we clogged to serve the cities we work in; the only 2-weeks-of-vacation-workaholic-live-the-American-dream belief system we have is likely never going to get to the point of just stepping onto a 50-yr old, 45-pound bike with a flat tire to take your kid to daycare.
That’s not a buzzkill and I’ve still got hope, but a realization after riding in various European cities and riding more this Fall, is that it’s just not who we are in the States. We’ve got this misplaced vicarious belief system that we can become Copenhagen or Amsterdam while marketing dollars are spent on convincing you that one company’s carbon layup is better than another. Meanwhile car/drive hate just increases.
I don’t know specifically what we can do about it, but we talked about it in my Are We Advocating Wrong? post.
A beautiful photo from Copenhagen demonstrated a cultural divide. What did you see? A fantasy from another world where bikes rule the road? A Euro MILF commuting? A near flat tire?

Uploaded by Mikael Colville-Andersen | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
In 1904, the Chicago Flexible Shaft Co created a catalog for Horse Clipping Machines, including this bicycle attachment.
Simply place your front wheel in the stabilzing box and then place the “fibre friction roll” against the rear tire.
With no loud noise produced by either machine, this easy-to-use horse grooming item is perfect for those equines who dislike the buzzing and strong vibrations from an electric clipper. Get the advantages of hand-clipping with the speed of electric clipping!
The catalog continues to suggest the owner, “enlist children with their bikes, who ‘will furnish the motive power for clipping a horse for a trifling consideration, a matter of 10c at the most.’ Or your neighbor or your friends that think your horse-clipping bike is cool.
After bikes enjoyed a surge in propularity in the 1890s with personalties like Annie Londonderry making the daily papers, engineers designed more human-powered contraptions like this inverted trick bike Fixie kids could use today

and this seat-propelled bike
... Read more »From our visit last week to Seattle Bike Supply. Also saw lots of wind trainers coming in for the Fall.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Studio shot of the Trailhead Coffee Roasters delivery bike. More from Portland Pedal Power.
Uploaded by METROFIETS | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
If you’ve got a Cross scene in your area, you’re likely either training now or hearing about Cross clinics. That’s where you practice dismounts, barriers, running, and so on. Some racers take Cross very seriously and others just for fun. We’re somewhere in between and practice in secret
and Eric (in his off-season largess, below) has a special work out, as he described it
It’s really low key and for everyone. especially if you have no intention of riding a bike. details below:
What: The “I Don’t Want to Stick A Fork in My Eye, But I’ll Drink Beer and Watch Others Stick A Fork In Their Eye” ‘cross workout**
When: Saturday September 18, 2010
Time: Sometime after 3:00PM or whenever
Where: Marymoor Velodrome Infield, Beer Garden
Why: Track is over, the road season is over, beer is good and we can cheer-on many of our friends (and my wife!) who will be happily partaking in the dirty festivusÂ
Requirements: $ for beer, have some good boots to wear in case there’s mud, a vuvuzela or other obnoxious noisemaker, a will to have beer or just be around those who like beer.
We’ll get to Copenhagen one of these trips to Europe to see Cycle Chic like this. It’s just what they do there — no statements, no car-free pledges, they just ride everywhere and with their families.
We’re back to London for another Mobile Social this Fall with a new stop in Berlin, where they bike too. Hope they haven’t banned beer bikes before we get there.
Uploaded by Mikael Colville-Andersen | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Visited Seattle Bike Supply HQ last week for a look at their 2011 lines, including this new Torker Kickback. This was their most interesting new bike, besides the drop-bar Alfine, and here’s a quick look at it. Steel, Sturmey Archer 2-speed Kickshift. MSRP $399.00.

A new T for transportation.

2-speeds with coaster brake. Kickback to hear a click and shift up or down. Kickback harder to brake.

That’ll make a nice bike shop poster

Finally a product manager realized that many cyclists live in hilly areas and geared the bike for the flats and to climb. More photos and longer review to follow.
We read this story of road rash and a victory-dancing Raccoon on Facebook and asked Cindy Freed permission to repost it. She agreed and note there’s a gruesome photo after the jump
I looked at myself in the mirror last night and I didn’t recognize the person looking back at me. Who is that woman with the purple and red face with stitches under the eye, stitches on the bridge of the nose, the tip of my nose is missing and the surgeon tried to piece it back together but it’s going to need more work. My lower lip got shredded but it saved my teeth ( all of them). My eyes are swollen and black , the right one is the worst. This was my first morning to wake up to this face and see if it was any better. I guess a day at a time right now and today is the worst of it I hope.
My helmet once again, saved my life and all of this because of a Raccoon. I have raced all season without crashing, trained my butt off and even did the 24 hour mtn bike race without getting hurt and a wild Raccoon takes me out….I know…seems ridiculous. Brian sent me a text of a note he made that said “No Raccoons”…I will post it…it was actually pretty funny as I was still in the hospital. What happened….. I had just finished McMurry hill intervals at a great speed and had just text him how awesome my training ride was going…thinking as I was out there how well this rest of season was going for me and how I couldn’t wait for the next LWV and excited that Cyclocross is around the corner and I am in good form….start heading toward Dash Point road and this cute animal in the early evening comes waddling out in front of me…crosses the street, thinking i was in the clear I pick up speed and then a truck comes down the road from the opposite direction and it comes speeding back across the road into my front wheel and cranks….I superman over the handle bars and slide on the chip seal on my face till I came to a stop. Stood up and blood is pouring out of my face….the guy in the truck and his wife stop immediately and jump out…meanwhile the Raccoon decides its not done with me and apparently jumped on me while I was down according to the man and a his wife and a nurse also cruising by…yes the Raccoon did a victory dance on my back. The firefighters got there first and got a kick out of that one…yeah..I still had my sense of humor. The couple that stopped called 911, the man gave me the shirt off his back literally…to stop blood from pouring everywhere. The nurse had a icepack and helped call my daughter and Brian. Good samaritans that will be blessed in someway for helping me.
She avoids the raccoon while a truck approaches scaring the raccoon, truck avoids the raccoon and hits her. Raccoon jumps on Cindy’s back. Then does a paw pump with a booyah.
... Read more »Stopping for drawbridges usually means interesting people and photos, like this Almost Gas Free cyclist. He agreed to the photo as long as we said things like, “it’s a movement, being gas free” or “stop eating Fart Bars and you’ll definitely go almost gas free.”
In the Summer, I enjoy the Spokane Street Swing Bridge and not so much in the Winter when it’s pouring rain, cold, and no one is there except you. While waiting, you can contemplate the engineering marvel it is. It was featured on the Discovery Channel and other blogs call it the “low bridge” because it sits next to the much higher West Seattle Bridge. We prefer Swing cause we’ve watched it worked so many times and there ain’t nothing low about it.
We’ve also tested our Sprint on it by attempting to out run the bell when it rings and make it across the other side before the gates close. Both times FAILED and the bridge attendant is not very nice about telling you to ride back and wait.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Vandalism has been linked to teen binge drinking, peer pressure, seeking money to buy drugs, and hostility towards property owners. I’m sure Clear Channel (owners of the billboard) and 76 Gasoline would agree that vandalism is no laughing matter.
We’re not at Trek World this year, but Gary and Chris (the Moles) have been sending us some camera phone snapshots like this. See more from the Moles in this photoset
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

“It’s shark week, bitches!”
Yeah — not as funny if it was Darth Presta.
Uploaded by Jeff Moser / BikeCarson.com | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Damn I’d get these in black. They’d also make some cool wrist bands. Mod Chuck Norris.
Uploaded by TokyoFixedGear.com | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
With our Travel Hero Steve in the news, and we hope soon a dramatic re-enactment of his supreme beer-grabbing, escape-hatch opening, sliding-away-to freedom job quitting, we’re wondering how you’d quit your day job?
I’ve worked for myself for so long, there’s not much drama in my fantasy other than not working and just riding more. Yes I’ve reached the age, where I’m thinking about becoming one of those Masters Racers with the RV and high-end bikes, that rules the 60+ categories at Natz.
While we can’t tell if the story is real or not, quitting with a whiteboard is good too.
... Read more »Baron’s en route to customers with Haulin Colin trailer. Related blog post.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

One of the things I hate is the proliferation of wheels with spoke nipples hidden inside the rim, rather than having wrench flats exposed outside the rim. There are 3 halfway plausible reasons to do this:
... Read more »
Mamuse is departing today for a bike tour in the San Juan Island. They ride from gig to gig playing music that
… at its buoyant best, offers plenty of lively and lilting melodic expressions, back-and-forth harmonic vocals over spritely plucked mandolin, rhythmic double bass and brush-stroked snare drums.
Quinn, who runs the servers that run this blog, is riding along as a Boy Friday with his trusty Nishiki.

He’ll pull this trailer, maybe tune guitars, and make coffee in the morning.
He’ll also ring his spoke bell.
A few years ago we joined the Ditty Bops on tour — similar gig and fun.
I’ve got this problem with “design” bikes. You know, the kind of bike you see in Wired or on some design blog. Sometimes I fear that I’m destined to be the crotchety naysayer, but it infuriates me that the general public cannot differentiate between a design exercise and practical product. A bicycle is not like some avant garde Danish chair: a chair can be uncomfortable but people still seem to like it but a bike is a vehicle for which design has consequences.
image: christophe robillard
This “Victor Bike” is the current target of my ire. Two different design blogs vomited their irrational accolades on the bike design, followed by a wave of blissed out design posers. The gist of the design is that instead of having a traditional diamond frame, the Victor Bike has large diameter tubing manipulated in such a way to suggest a single continuous line that winds from the left rear axle to the bottom bracket up around the steerer, then aft under the saddle before finally diving down to the right rear axle.
image: christophe robillard
I was stunned when I read one of the blogs state: “The various bends allow it to use less metal, and less welds. Ergo, the bike frame is green, in a way.”
I can’t believe someone who has any claim to knowledge of “design” could say this.
... Read more »On Fridays I like to ride my Fixie in different Seattle neighborhoods. Yesterday was Phinney Ridge, where a nice bike lane passes by the local pubs and shops.
I spotted some interesting bikes.
Outside a burrito joint.
Saw this ride by earlier and the dude was like 250 pounds.
That’s a Workcycles Kruisframe Step-through, from Dutch Bike Seattle with all sorts of options and noseup saddle.
Also noticed:
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Tried to take some time off this week at Hugga HQ, but the news kept happening, as I tweeted:
Weird day. Tour of CO announced & a politician says bikeshare is a plot. Levi is implicated in a book & Tour of UT announces he’s riding.
According to the media, Lance has relocated to Aspen and brought a stage race with him; meanwhile the PR message from his attorney is that dopers are liars and get sweetheart deals. Prosecutor responds with, “we’ve got more than Landis.”
Same day that Levi is implicated in a new book (Guaranteed Positive) from a former Directeur Sportif of Gerstoleiner, the Tour of Utah announces he’s riding. Levi has had no formal response, but was spotted changing his RoadID tag from: “‘whatever, man’ to ‘lean ‘n’ clean’”
ABC World News reports on a cyclist who got lost and injured during a triathlon and tweeted for help. We wondered why she had her phone with her during a race? Glad you got saved, but disconnect sometimes or leave the location services check in until after the bike leg.
... Read more »New photos from the Recommend a Bike Bag group pool on Flickr include this Chrome Bag from jkaizo
Bilobicles latest
and some Velocouture from Jan Beeldrijk
We’ve accumulated many bags; at least enough to match each bike we own and type of riding. Our fav is the Hugga Bag, of course.
How about you? What’s your fav bag these days?
More from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
This statue is outside of the Metal Shorts building in West Seattle and we can’t figure out what its purpose was — neither can the owners. They’ve got it for sale and will accept a reasonable offer. We went through various scenarios of what we’d do with it, like turn it into a fountain or run with it during a stage of le Tour.
Ideas on what the statue did include:
Not sure, but a clue is that she’s got a speaker in her hip.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Look close, cause that’s a motorcycle bike mount using a crutch . ..
For a less improvised mount, see the 2x2 photo.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.
Sure we’ve got this blog, on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and elsewhere, but our favorite social network is on the bike like this

talking about the weather, riding, commuting, racing, and the upcoming Cyclocross season.
It’s where us cyclists connect with each other and we’d argue this network has more users than Facebook. We’ve ridden with a small portion of them, all over, with more social rides this Fall during Interbike. Then to London, Berlin, and Taiwan.