Four weeks. Twenty papers. That's two dollars. Plus tip. (Winter Riding Guide)

Winter is here, and with it comes squishy white stuff that freezes and severely limits the friction coefficient of the asphalt. Most of you, like me, enjoy a healthy combination of slick 20-25mm tires and lack of bike handling skills. Commuting is hard enough when its cold, when the snow hits it can seem impossible. There are a few "alternative" products, however, that can make riding in the snow possible, if not enjoyable.

On a related note, I drove to Denver last Saturday to visit the in-laws. I thought about bringing my road bike, since there are literally hundreds of miles of paved multi-use trails where they live, but the forecast was for heavy snow, so I didn't. Although the snow had mostly melted when we got there, the next day there was a fresh coat of eight inches, then another eight the next day. I did get to ride a ski-bike type contraption similar to the one Johnny-the-demon-spawn-newspaper-boy from Better Off Dead rode though, so it wasn't a total loss. Except for the ski-bike, which apparently wasn't made to handle the impact of a small jump carrying 300 pounds (200=me, 100=my wife) So anyway, in honor of Johnny and his heroic pursuit of his rightful compensation, I present the Winter Riding Guide, with ratings based on a $2.00 scale.


The Ski Bike

There are many incarnations of this concept, each more ridiculous than the last. Some, like the above model, are obviously only suited for downhill use and instilling a healthy fear of God in the rider, while others, like this one:

seem to allow for luxuries like "braking" and "pedaling." While modifying an existing bike seems to be failry cheap and straightforward, the practical applications are limited to sledding hills and providing amusement for passing cars.
Score $.45

The Studded Tire

Nothing is more annoying that having to change tires to suit conditions. Especially when those condition include "riding anywhere that isn't covered with snow." Now I've never actually used these tires, but it seems like they would probably work well in the snow. They probably also weigh about 5 pounds each, aren't made for road bikes and will leave deep gouges in my faux-hardwood floor.
Score $1.10

The Surly Pugsley


The Pugsley has either been reverse-engineered from Megatron, (like most of our technology,) or is just what happens when the people at Surly decided to put motorcycle tires on a mountain bike frame. Again I haven't actually ridden one, but I can imagine myself floating through waist-deep powder on a bluebird day, carving turns on my ugly, purple $1800 bike. The tires look like they weigh about 10 pounds each, however I'm pretty sure you can get studded ones.
Score $1.55 (might have been higher if not for the astronomical price tag.)

So there you go. Next big snowstorm we get, just nail a 2x4 to a ski, bolt it on to your front fork, put your 2.5" studded tire on the rear, then throw the whole thing in the trash and ride your Pugsley to work.

Or take the bus.

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Critical 25º of Mass

9 people turned up for the SLC Critical Mass. We were cold and somehow ended up warming our bodies at the Gateway fires. It was good to let motorist know that bicycles still exist even in the cold weather. My brain. Still frozen. Can't think.

I am thinking of buying a helmet cam for Critical Mass. Other ideas/variations are appreciated.

Anyone else having trouble bicycling this winter?

Some bicyclists manage better than others...

As for me...
I am cold. I am going to go now. When my head is unfrozen, I will write more. Maybe coherent even. This is Round One Father Winter. In Round Two I will ride your snow and maim myself with glee on the ice your produce. You shall not win. Bicycle conquers all.

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Got A Bike Shop Rant?

..well take out the expletives and make it into a review.

The SaltCycle Link List for Bicyclists is looking for Salt Lake City Bicyclists to review some bike shops by adding their experience to Yahoo! Local Reviews.

Simply visit this link, and click [Reviews] next to the bicycle shop you want to review.

So far I only have 6 shops added. (I didn't review Gutherie as I haven't been there since the new Sugar House location) If you want to add more shops feel free to add them on the wiki and link to the Yahoo! Locals review page:

Contender Bicycles - 875 East 900 South. [Reviews]

Cyclesmith - 250 South 1300 East. [Reviews]

Fishers Cyclery - 2175 South 900 East. [Reviews]

Gutherie Bicycling - 803 East 2100 South. [Reviews]

Wasatch Touring - 702 East 100 South. [Reviews]

Wild Rose Mountain Sports - 702 3rd Ave. [Reviews]



(Please no owners of the Bicycle Shops or their employees on these reviews. Lets keep this fair.)

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Les Triplettes de Salt City Sprints

information:

http://www.saltcitysprints.com/

http://myspace.com/bfcsaltlake

Quite akin to those races of Les Triplettes de Belleville, these will be taking place on Kreitler rollers with a big screen showing positions.




I got my costume ready for the event....

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A Holiday Classic Among Bicyclists

Specialized Holiday Card



the info:

"I was recently approached by award winning advertising agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to do a composition for their client, Specialized. Specialized is a bike manufacturer and they needed some Christmas music, but with a twist: They wanted me to create the music from only bike sounds. They didn’t even know if it was possible, so they left the song choice up to me to see what I could come up with. Since Jingle Bells is a little overdone this time of year, I thought Tchaikovsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” would be a great alternative. At first I didn’t think it could be done, but as I recorded sounds from my road bike and mountain bike it started to take shape.

Here’s the instrumentation and score:

Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Glockenspiel & Clarinet melody = spokes.
Cello & Violin pizzicatos = plucked derailleur cables.
Triangle = disc brake hit.
Percussion = shifting, coasting, finger over turning spokes, chain pulls, braking, clipping into pedals, back-spinning, air out of tires.
I recorded hours of bike sounds and edited the best chunks in BIAS Peak. After that, most of the spokes, cables and disc brakes were fed into the EXS24 Sampler within Logic Pro. It was super tricky since most of these metallic sounds have a pretty warped (no pun intended) overtone series. I interpreted the score by ear from a random mp3 I Limewired for reference. From there it was all about re-arranging the score in my head to compensate for the strange overtones. The source sounds were kept pretty raw besides some mild pitch shifting from keymapping & a touch of impulse response reverb to match the acoustical space of the orchestral reference recording. Between the road and mountain bike, there were octaves of difference (maybe I should get my wheels trued?) and they yielded some great sounds, most of which didn’t even get used…although they will end up on something eventually. Other than that, there were some automated volume swells and plenty of panning since you would associate a bike sounds with stereo movement. I hope this exposes my journey from bike to mixdown!

If you dig this, you’d probably love this:
http://johnnyrandom.com/qtp_musicreel/caskey_package.html
The instrument list includes hundreds of everyday object; the familiar into a unfamiliar context for unconventional instrumentation. The film was shot in Brazil, but I can’t share it since it would null & void it from film festivals till it is officially released. Either way, I assure you I fully intend to pursue this vein till I’ve squeezed every last drop of inspiration from it. :)"

---Flip Baber (aka johnnyrandom, pictured) on createdigitalmusic.com

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my neighbor's bike.

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the Dog Sled Express

A man by the name of Captain K, friend, activist, cyclist came to Salt Lake City for a visit. Mister K had a spinal cord injury, so he chooses to travel the city by means of a wheelchair and dog. Since the sidewalks are worthless outside of where great politicians and rich people tread K took it to the streets. His dog, Buddy, is a beast of a wheelchair sledder, getting around 16mph in these cold blistering conditions.

He is a wonder to these parts. Downtown a girl arched her head back as he passed and starred as though she had seen her long lost brother Charlie Anonymous. Had I done the same to this girl, I would end up with a solid pink hand print across my face.

It was not all merry and cheery however, because sometimes while traveling, K would hit a nasty part on the sidewalk (hence the reason to stay to the streets) and take a spill. Laughing, but injured he took the spills well, although one has to wonder how many times he maims himself doing this mode of transportation.

K used to handcycle all the time. He did the Salt Lake Century on a handbike and pushed another handbike uphill in the Salt Lake City 25 Mile Tour:



Doctors told K after getting confined to a wheelchair, that he would have to stay in a wheelchair for the entirety of his life. He proved them wrong. He found handcycling, and put all of his heart and soul into the cycle. Eventually, using the strength, the determination and the dedication he found in handcycling, he can walk now with a cane and even without it for short distances. Without his handbike experience, the Captain may have very well steered in utter destruction.

These days he doesn't handbike much. However, as a Captain of Adventure, I expect K to make it back into the handcycling any day now...

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Map Your Bike Routes In Salt Lake City

Just finished a test run with voloroutes.org and did a route for the ride we took for the first December 15th Blackout (http://www.saltcycle.com/2007/12/black.html).

Here is the result:

http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=6503





As seen on the map, minimum, maximum and last elevation are recorded in addition to the total distance. A map is displayed representing the elevation and its change, total gain and grade. All these tools are excellent for determining a bicycle route for any event, or recording a recent ride that you rode in. This will be a perfect tool for keeping a bicycle log (http://www.saltcycle.com/2007/12/streak.html) of bicycling adventures.


To create a bicycle map is simple. Once you are on the main website http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/ find Salt Lake City by entering "Salt Lake City, Utah" into the box at the top of screen titled, "enter a place to find". Then start by clicking and drawing your route and discovering how it works. I will leave the rest of it up to you to explore. Its pretty simple, and if you get lost you can visit http://veloroutes.org/help/.


This link, along with many others will be located in the slc cyclist resource directory, linked from saltcycle.com on the left hand side of the page.

(additional thanks to Psychenaut for giving me this linkage.)

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Bikes for Cheap! Chapter 1. Fixed Gears R 4 poosies!

The cheapest and fastest bike to build for under $300 is a fixed gear. Of course you can go to Ebay or Bikesdirect.com and get a Windsor "The Hour" track bike for about $300, so if you don't want the fun of building one yourself, this may be the way to go. The components and frame are nothing special, but it'll get you around.

Yawn.

So if you decide to build your own, the first thing you need to find is a frame. This can actually be one of the cheapest parts of your build, if you do some legwork. Check Craigslist and the local DI for the cheapest finds. I've found bikes for $12-$15. The Bike Collective ( http://www.slcbikecollective.org ) is also a great place to find older road bikes, though they are in pretty high demand and go quickly. The Bike Collective is also, of course, the best place to go to find the parts and help you will need. Another option is Ebay, you can find decent old frames for pretty cheap, but there is always a $50-$75 shipping fee tacked on. If you're going a little more upmarket, you can get a track frame from Leader or Fetish on Ebay for $150-$200, or a NYC bike track frame for about that much. If you're looking to stay low-budget though, an old road frame is your best bet.
Things to look for:

*Three-piece crank. (one with removable crankarms) A bike with one-piece cranks (think BMX type) is usually not worth dealing with.

*Horizontal dropouts

This is very important, because it will allow you to move the wheel back and properly tension the chain. Most older road bikes have this style, but there are some that don't.

*700CC wheels. These are the standard road and track size, but there are a lot of bikes out there with 27" wheels. Look at the tire, it will give you a measurement like 700x28. If you do find a good bike with 27" wheels, it can still be used with 700CC wheels, but finding a brake will be more difficult.

*Decent fork- Forks are hard to find, make sure the one you are getting is straight, without much rust.

*Seatpost- Finding the right size seatpost can be a hassle too, try to find one with a good seatpost and bring some allen wrenches and an adjustable wrench to test the binder bolt on the seat tube. If you loosen the bolt and the seatpost won't move, it means that the post has probably seized in the frame, which can be nearly impossible to fix.

Don't worry about the wheels, you'll be replacing those anyway. Handlebars, pedals and seat preferences are very different, you might be able to use what it came with, but you'll probably end up upgrading these things.

Now that you've got your frame, the fun can begin. The first thing to do is to strip the frame down completely, the only exceptions being the bottom bracket and the headset IF they feel smooth and not gritty or clunky when you move them. I won't go into details about doing this, if you need help just go to the Bike Collective on Tuesday or Thursday nights and you'll find all the help and tools you need, you can volunteer your time in trade or pay $25 for a year membership. Pretty sweet deal.
You can also go to Sheldon Brown's website, http://www.sheldonbrown.com and find more information than you will ever use.

Now that you have everything stripped down, you should be left with just a bare frame and fork.


The first thing to do now is decide if you want to paint it or not. I'll assume you don't, since that would take another few pages. Now you need to obtain new wheels. At the Bike Collective, they have track wheels for $100 with a cog and lockring installed. This is the best deal you'll find anywhere. You can also find some reasonably priced at bicyclewheels.com, starting at about $110 without the cog and lockring.

You will now probably find that the spacing of your rear triangle is different than the wheel spacing. if the difference is slight, just throw the wheels on and tighen them down. Steel is flexible. If there is a significant difference, you may have to bend the frame. Ask for help on this one, it can be a little tricky and never try it with an aluminum frame.

They have tires and tubes at the Bike Collective, or you can always find cheap tires at bikenashbar.com, or performancebike.com etc.

Now that you've got the wheels, you need to figure out the crank. If you have a good crankset, you can just remove the chainrings and bolt on a 1/8" style chainring. These are a little harder to come by, but you'll need one to work with the track cog. You can also buy a 3-32" cog that will work with standard road chains and chainrings, it's a little cheaper that way but 1/8" is ideal for fixed gear bikes.

You will need a front brake, unless you plan on colliding with motor vehicles, pedestrians and traffic signs. The easiest and cheapes thing to do is to use the original front brake. You'll just need a new cable, and maybe some pads. You can use your original brake lever, or a cantilever brake lever from an old mountain bike.

Assuming you san still use your original stem and seatpost, you've just got to throw on a handlebar, seat, pedals and grips and you're good to go.


Here's a sample breakdown of prices;

Frame and fork- $50
Wheels- $100
Tires and Tubes- $30
Bar- $5
Brake parts-$10
Chain-$5
Grips-$10
Seat-$30
Chainring-$20-$30

Total-$270

This number might be higher or lower depending on which components you get, but it's a pretty good estimate.

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Streak: damn the slacker, save the cycle.

One of the difficulties in bicycling is to remain competive with myself because I am a qualified slacker. How did I become a qualified slacker? I did nothing, and a lot of it.

So when Psychenaut presented the idea of streaking, erm... keeping track of a streak, I was intrigued and it brought me a sense of self motivation. The slacker in me started to die.

The concept of a streak athlete is old, 1887 old, and according to Jim Langlet at dot net, "A streak cyclist, or a streak athlete for that matter, is someone who rides every day trying to string together as many consecutive days of riding as possible."

It goes on to explain all different streaks you can do citing ideas like century days (days where you ride 100 miles +) and others. But in its most simple form, streak cycling is about setting a goal ranging from simply riding your bike every day to riding your bike a set amount of miles every day.

I hate diet plans. I don't work out. Well sort of.. but its not confined to a little room that goes a whole lot of nowhere. Nonetheless, I think Psychenaut is onto a really solid idea here because while it is about setting goals, its not about eating slimfast and exercising in place on the Ultra Treadmill 3000. Its about bicycling. More.

This also works because the more bicycles we get out on the road, the more strength we have as bicycling community. I didn't run for Mayor, but I am going to do my damndest to make it out more and bring others with me.

Perhaps this all could be worked into a New Years Resolution?

Who is up for starting a bike log of sorts with an intent of a streak? ( I am trying to find a better words than 'streak'and 'bike log' but failed.)

Damn the slacker, save the cycle.

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Opinions (and advice) are like armpits...

everybody has them and most of them stink.

Perusing the bike ads Craigslist this morning, I noticed a sweet Mongoose XR250 for sale. The owner claimed they paid "almost $300," which is fairly ambiguous, although it includes a bike lock at that price! Never mind that the XR250 retails at Wal-Mart for $189.00, after all, if you paid that and bought a lock, you'd probably be looking at well over $200. Like, $210. Not that buying a new XR250 is any safer than a used XR250. Staying far away from the Wal-Mart bike rack is by far the safest thing to do.

(whatever you do, don't sit down)

The point of this ramble though, is that when doing a search for "XR250", I stumbled on a site called socalmtb.com, which seems to be rife with bad advice from all sorts of inexperienced people. Basically like the rest of the internet, only in concentrated form. The post that led me there was this question:

"My husband bought a Mongoose XR250 bike at WalMart today, and it came without a manual. As of yet we can't figure out how to raise the handlebars. Would anyone here know? Any answer or opinion would be appreciated. Thanks! :)"

No manual? Although I've never actually read a bike manual, or any other kind of instruction manual, I find it odd that Mongoose, or its parent company Dorel (which also manufactures baby seats and home furnishing) would fail to include a manual with a bike that has (one) disc brake, front and rear suspension and a threadless headset, things that most Wal-Mart customers have presumably never seen before. Still, the worst thing about this question was the responses. To be fair, the first response was an accurate, articulate description of the threadless headset and stem and the process for "raising the handlebars." The rest were evidently written by Chucky, or the Seed of Chucky, or some other malicious hellspawn with the intent of injuring the aspiring mountain biker.

Response#2
u would prob get a wrench and there is a nut on the bottom of the handle bars and turn that and loosen that and raise them if that doesnt work i dunno.

The first rule I have of internet advice is automatically disregard anyone who substitutes the word "you" with any other combination of letters and/or numbers. I'm assuming this person meant the stem bolts. Loosening them and moving the handlebars will indeed raise them, if they were installed upside down originally, which is actually a better possibility than one would hope.

Respose#3
yes you just take awrench and loosen the bottom of the handlebars nut then shift it by moving it back and forth.thats how i did mine and it works just fine well it didnt brake yet and i race it hard all the time so i kind of know what im doing.

Obviously he knows what he is doing, because he races on a 45 pound bike with 1.5" of travel. Never mind that he also doesn't know the difference between a nut and a bolt, or the difference between "break" and "brake," his sweet rig hasn't "braken" yet, so you should trust him indefinitely.

Response #4
On the top of the handlebar stem(which the handlebar mounts on) you will need to use an allen wrench and loosen the screw on top of the stem up then pull up on the handle bars. Tighten the screw making sure the front tire is level with the handlebars. then it should work wonders. If your husband races, jumps, etc., you might tell him to get some razor scooter foam grips to put on it, they really helped me.

In fairness this reponse was written by a 13 year old and is much more articulate than the previous two, he also recognized that it is not actually a you are working with, although a "screw" isn't accurate either. Still, he offers the same advice, essentially pulling the handlebars up from whatever distorted position they were originally built into what I can only hope is the correct position. He also goes beyond the previous bad avice by suggesting "razor scooter foam grips," if the husband races or jumps. This is a bad idea on many levels, unless Razor Scooter makes lock-on grips, which I somehow doubt.

Response#5
Yes. If you look at the stem where the handlebars are attached to the bike, you will see a little rubber cap. If you remove this cap, you will find the nut that can be used to raise or lower the handlebars. Good luck!

Although it appears to clear and well-written, this response is actually more diabolical than the rest. This is actually the method used for raising and lowering a threaded stem. Unfortunately, there is still a hex bolt on the top of the stem, which can be loosened and tightened. And if the person realized that, they might also realize that the stem bolts could be loosened as well, and if they get that far, well, it's best not to think about.

Speaking of sweet rides, I found this the other day:




Seriously.

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BLACK'dOUT

I can't breathe. I feel dizzy. Blood swarms my mouth. My body is numb. I look like the guy on the flier, a skelleton corpse on wheels. I am BLACK'dOUT.

Initially, I thought this ride might turn into one of those Jock match rites of passages, a hustle that wasn't the proper material for my riding ability.

Once again, the ride, the community has proven me wrong. Way to kick my ego's ass community. Thanks.

After the coffee was drank, and the complimentary bananas were consumed, we realized that it would be a 'threes a crowd'.

We quickly got warmed up doing some laps around Liberty Park witnessing the ultimate act of motorist laziness: Someone was walking their dog in their minivan around Liberty Park. It was wrong in so many different ways.

From the park we went north up 6th East, and hanged a left on 3rd South.

At the turn from 6th East to 3rd South my chain dropped. Now had this been the testostrone driven roadie race, I would have been left to fend for myself. It wasn't. The other two stopped for me, and then we went on together.

After weaving through a few other streets, the walkway ramp at the pierpoint area and other amazing tricks we descended onto Gateway. It was Critical Mass memories all over again, except faster and ten times more crowded.

Out of the Gateway we rode along the North Temple bridge and went to the most insane part of the ride. Automobiles piled up and dragged slowly forward, and being the adventerous bicyclists, we went inbetween automobiles as though we were bicycle messengers on mission of grave importance. It scared the hell out of me initially, and I was definally seeing the BLACK in BLACKOUT.

Then we climbed up 2nd Avenue over to Virgina Street.

It was at this climb when I was tempted to exclaim, "Hey guys, I suck. I am going to go home now."

I didn't. Maybe its because I misheard and thought we were going to ride up Virgina Street, and that seemed like the hill known as hell for me. But we didn't. Imagine the rest of the Core felt it wasn't good to kill off the weak in the first ride. So we went south and climbed up the U of U starting at the President's Circle.

For the final bit we went across 15th East.

We found ourselves soon screaming down the throws of 9th South. I don't think I have ever gone that fast down 9th South. The skin on my face started to peel off and my heart pounded so fast I felt it shake my whole frame. Slowly the speed slowed, the street moved a little more reasonable. Then it was done. My first BLACKOUT.

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Catalogue raisonné (warning, long and nostalgic)

All of my bikes, ever. Since about 1981 I have never been without a bike. Here they are, in chronolgical-ish order.

1980-81 (3 or 4 years old)- Dad builds my first bike, a mini-BMX out of a bunch of old parts. (I inherited my thirst for modifying and creating things from him.) It was the envy of all the other toddlers, black with yellow pads, seat and grips. Training wheels, but they didn't last long.
*Outgrew

1984-My first "big kid" bike, a Team Murray from K-mart. It probably looked about like this, except red.

I remember it said it was "mig-welded" on the frame. Later, when I saw Top Gun I imagined the Mig jets firing lasers out of their nosecones, (where else?) seamlessly fusing the tubes of my bike together.
*Outgrew

1989- Mountain bikes were all the rage, so I begged my parents for one. I got a blaze-orange Huffy 12 speed. Looking back, it's hard to believe that I rode that thing as hard as I did, but 12 year olds don't really think about death, even when flying down a rocky singletrack, trusting their lives to weak caliper brakes and Chinese sweatshop welding. I rode it over every inch of the valley (Goshen Valley)
*Threw it away after the derailleur snapped off and caught in the spokes, sending me flying down aforementioned rocky singletrack without aforementioned bike.

1992- By this time I had a job in the cherry orchards and umpiring baseball games, so I'd saved up $300 for a real mountain bike. I got a beautiful new Fuji Chikara from Gart Bros in Orem and spent hours admiring the iridescent blue-purple paint, the 18 speeds, cantilever brakes and quick-release wheels. This was the first bike I had that smelled like a bike should, (basically like Phil Wood grease.)


(same color even!)
I took it to Moab three times and all over any trail I could find in Payson Canyon and my old favorites around Goshen. When I moved away from home, it was my only source of transportation.
*Stolen

1995- After my Fuji was stolen, I was 18 and living in Provo, attending UVSC. I still didn't have a car, so I went to "the bike shop on Center Street." It's changed names a million times since, but I think at the time it was Swen's Cyclery. I got a Specialized Hardrock, it wasn't really much of an upgrade from the Fuji, but I did get my first suspension fork installed on it, a RockShox Quadra 21 (not R), which effectively doubled the price of the bike.
*Rode it around town for a year, put it in storage, later sold it to the neighbor kid in Goshen.

1996-Went on a mission to Perth, Asutralia. Was told to bring $300US to buy a bike. We didn't get to actually go out and buy one, though, they just took our money an handed us each a Liahona Mission. Embarrassing. They seem to be a little better made now, but we got the prototypes and they were flimsy and cheap cromoly things with alloy parts that snapped or stripped out if you looked at them sideways. Still, I managed to hold it together through two Aussie summers and thousands of miles before it was stolen.
*Replaced it with an Apollo, an Australian brand, which I sold back to the mission when I left.

1999- Home again, I sold my Specialized and used the money to buy my first (and last, so far) "expensive" bike. My friend worked at Taylor's Bike Shop in Provo and built a '98 GT Zaskar LE frame they had in the shop up for me for only $600. It was a beautiful bike, my first with Rapidfire shifters, threadless headset, nice, light wheels, V-Brakes, Judy fork, etc, etc. Flawless, USA made lime green frame with all black components. Sadly, I had a car at this point, and was interested in "dating girls," so my poor GT didn't get as much use as it should have. I still loved it, and it pains me that I was so careless. In 2003 I started commuting by bike, we went down to one car and I lived reasonably close to the U in Salt Lake, so it was great. A week after I started riding it though, somebody clipped the cable lock and walked away with it in broad daylight. Sniff.

(mine looked much cooler than this one)
*Stolen (obviously)

2003- I was only working part time and my wife didn't make much money, so I was forced to buy a cheap bike yet again. I found another GT on ebay for $179, a yellow and black Aggressor that didn't look too bad, threadless headset, RST fork. THe parts looked suspect, but what can you expect for under $200? I got it in the mail and have been constantly upgrading it ever since. Currently, the only original parts are the bottom bracket and headset, both of which I would like to replace. I've built it into a failry decent bike though, it has a 1x8 drivetrain with a mix of LX and Truvativ parts, a Judy SL fork and nice Rhynolite wheels with LX hubs. I'll show you a picture sometime. The original wheels, crankset, fork and other assorted parts are presumably being used to anchor a small boat somewhere.
*Still own

2005- I realized that commuting by mountain bike isn't very efficient, and made plans to build a singlespeed commuter. I found a late '90s Gary Fisher Hoo-Koo at a pawn shop for cheap and bought a rigid fork, drop bars, aero brake levers and skinny tires for it. I stripped off the metallic green paint and sprayed it flat black. I got a Singleator-ripoff chain tensioner and it rode like a dream, even though I didn't really know what I was doing and just guessed about the gear ratio.
*Sold, 2007 on Craigslist.

2006- I decide to build a fixed gear after seeing this bike, which is still one of the most perfect (non-Vanilla) bikes I have ever seen.

Of course I can't afford anything like that, but I did find a nice, lugged Univega at the bike collective and without much trouble was able to covert it into a pretty cool fixie.

I rode it like this from March to July, then deciding that while fixed gears are fun, I needed something that could take me longer distances, converted and modernized it to a 16 speed with Sora/original Suntour drivetrain. Now it's my commuter, despite the excessive gears and it will be my race/century bike next summer.
*Still own

2007- I found an old Schwinn Mesa runner at the DI, took the wheels from the fixie and rattlecanned it new.


I plan on selling this one though, as I need to clear the space for another project, and my future (dream) EAI Bareknuckle, which I can probably get if I just sell my plasma and/or other assorted bodily fluids for six or seven months...

So that's all of my bikes, and quite a bit about me too. I ride because I love it, because it's cheap, it's good exercise, because it makes me feel like a little more of the solution instead of the problem. I ride my mountain bike for the thrill, my road bike for the convenience and speed, my fixie for the discipline and fun. I've been commuting by bike (and trax) for over four years now and I can't imagine ever going back to a car.

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Da Vinci does it again.

Thousands of years later, Da Vinci still is leaving his mark on modern society. No, not the Da Vinci Code - the Da Vinci Bike.

"Simply called ‘The Ride’ this retro styled bicycle actually has an advanced transmission that most riders would drool over. The ‘NuVinci’ transmission uses a ball bearing and metal disc system that can mimic an infinite number of gears and it got its name because it was inspired by a 1490’s sketch made by Leonardo da Vinci himself. Basically, the NuVinci allows the rider to dial in the perfect gear ratio, rather than being limited to just 21 with a standard chain-driven transmission. Here’s how it works:

Twist a dial on the handlebar, and ball bearings in the bike’s NuVinci transmission tilt between two rotating metal discs. (Your pedaling turns one disc; the other transfers power to the rear wheel.) As the balls tilt, they touch the discs at varying angles. This changes how fast the wheel spins relative to your pedaling—slowly for low gear ratios, where pedaling is easy but the wheel doesn’t turn much, and quickly for high ratios. The balls can roll to almost any angle, giving you precise control over the bike’s torque (and your exertion).

‘The Ride’ is currently available in two versions from Ellsworth Handcrafted Bicycles. The standard version sells for $2,995 while a Signature Series is $3,995."
-http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/12/13/the-ride-bicycle-has-an-infinite-number-of-gears-thanks-to-da-vinci/

This is definately a ride that must be riden to truly understand it.

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slc BLACKOUT

a ride inspired by that other LA ride..

flier by mikey.

<-----added to the upcoming events.


"We're still working on a regular time, location, name, etc. But to
get the ball rolling, this Saturday we're meeting at 9th&9th Coffee
Garden at 5pm. I don't know how long we'll ride, where we'll go, or
how fast. Forecast is for a balmy 33 degrees, so wear your most
fashionable swimming trunks and be ready to dive on in."

-Ryan

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Call for Writers for SaltCycle.

SaltCycle is looking for bicyclist that are writers too. The purpose of SaltCycle is to grow the Salt Lake City bicycle culture. Some areas of interest in Salt Lake City to write about: Bicycle Messaging, Freak Bicycles, Fixed Gears, Bicycle Protests, Bicycle Communities, Bicycle Collectives, Alley Cats, Bike Mods, etc., etc.

Basically, if you wanted to contribute you would use a blogger id (the same as gmail) and then post to the blog as a contributer.

While it would be nice to see articles contributed on a regular basis, it would be nice simply to have other individuals points of view on this blog.

Drop me a line if you are interested, or have some input on the matter to bring the community more into this blog.

(p.s. i am giving up on crediting everything on this blog. just figure that half of the images are made by me and the other half are by some other random entity.)

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Crashed.

The website was down for a while. Sorry about that. Was attempting to move my service to wordpress, but it was too complicated and costed too much, so I am back with the blogger service. However, expect a layout change, or at least dramatic modification as the current layout doesn't serve the bicycling community as well as it should....

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Zine'd for the Bike Culture Movement

An amazing, often overlooked source for inspiration in the bicycling community, especially the alternative bicycle community, comes in the form of the zine. While you won't find topics akin to bicycling magazine (and thank the bike Gods) - 'Ride Strong All Day', 'Make Your Bike Faster', 'Floyd Landis Is Getting Screwed Right?' - you will find information on the spirit, and essentially the core of bicycling - community. Discussions on how to raise awareness through bicycling and to be a part of something greater. Warm fuzzies all around.
Get started & Read this:
_______________________________________________________
Bipedal, By Pedal! zine
40 pages, 1/4 size, offset (2 oz)
$1.50
A social history and tactics lesson about the Critical Mass bicycle movement. Initially meant to serve as a lesson for the unaware, this document is a refresher and motivator about the movement. The biggest question - "is Critical Mass a protest or a celebration?" is explored in extensive detail here and in submission pieces by Ted White (early Critical Mass co-founder and director of "We aren't blocking Traffic!" documentary), Ayleen Crotty (co-host of the KBOO bike show), Scott Larkin (Go By Bicycle zine) , and more. There are also extensive reprints from the 1995 Critical Mass zine "Hey! Get Out of Our Way!" that updates the text and ideas. Illustrations (on every page!) by Matt Gauck, Fly, Sparky Taylor, Andy Singer, a clipping from "The Oregonian", and more!
_______________________________________________________



You will also find more zines under the searched topic "bike" @ http://www.microcosmpublishing.com/.


Too cheap, lazy or inconvenient for a $1.50? I originally found this and many other bicycling zines @ the SLC Public Library.

Can't find anything or have something to add for bike culture? You might want to make your own bike culture zine. If you need graphics, drop a line. I am always willing to help throw my efforts to the distribution of bicycle powered ideas.

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Specialized Armadillo Tires

Haven't had a flat tire in over a year. Swear by these tires.

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midnight mass'd out.

i am not going to be riding this week, something has come up.
however, if you are interested in midnight mass tonight visit:
http://www.slccriticalmass.org/component/option,com_fireboard/Itemid,26/func,view/catid,2/id,272/#272

as a few other people were still interested in riding...

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i Mosh on My Bike.

Back in the late nineties Dropkick Murphys stopped by a little city called Pocatello, Idaho in an even littler venue known as the Roche Motel. They played hard, they played good, damn good, all for the price of $8. It was one of those shows where you keep the flier in an attempt to have the chance, the opportunity to attend one like it once again. I still have the flier, but have opted out of the mohawk.

The mosh pits even in their glory days always lacked what I find on my bike: The unrestricted ability to mosh, push hard and flail without being left as the single one man mosh pit amongst the crowd too, too nervous to be free.

So I take Dropkick Murphys with me and ride free. Once those pounding lyrics were screamed directly into my ears at the latest show and now they look to corrode my brain through my right earbud.

One of my fond bike moshing times comes from the simplicities I enjoy. One simple idea is to keep riding as hard as you can for as long as you can, and if a stop light turns red, you turn right and avoid the light. Small ridiculously simply ideas of endless hours of enjoyment. I doubt I am hustle material, but I am not going hard to try out for the team, impress the coach or get a slap on the ass. I ride hard, because when I ride hard I feel free.

It was the same reason I went into the mosh pit back when I was seventeen, but this time.. this time I am not moshing alone. I have the world around me and the bicycle beside beneath me and Slayer beckoning me. I can't wait any longer to step in.

i Mosh on My Bike.




photo credit: saltcycle.com.

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2.75 Pound Bike Frame Technology from BYU Laboratory

BYU Tech makes 2.75 pound bike frame out of Carbon Fibers & hand-wonven Kevlar strings.

While I can't even afford a carbon frame, let alone even dream of a kevlar frame, this technology is simply unbelievable. Car manufactures always drivel on about more horsepower, faster acceleration, and bigger, bigger, bigger. So, it is nice to see something aiming for the other direction - stronger, lighter and still powered by 100% humanpower.

Especially amazing is that the 2.75 pound frame is able to hold 300-pounds.

Now, I just need to wait 10-15 years for the price to be reasonable.. at $11,995, I could buy 11 top end bicycles for the price of this single ultimate power beast.

photograph source: sltrib.com.

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My Bicycle is My Bus.

you have heard the story.
uta changes bus routes, leaves the masses to deal with completely inane routes of spiraling winter destruction. same story here. my route was cut that went straight to the library and was replaced with the early morning surprise defunct bus route. these buses are supposed to be fast, faster, but what is the point of going fast if you aren't going where the people need you to go?
..and then the January 2008 price increase.

i live by liberty park. i work at the slc library. so while i commute on my bike, i can not yet be called a commuting warrior to those that transverse much greater distances. however, despite being reimbursed by my work for $45 of the monthly pass, i have decided that i am not going to buy a bus pass. i am going to commute on bike and by foot when conditions are as such that the mighty bicycle struggles against old man winter are too great.

i will still ride trax from time to time, but as little as possible and mostly for Ubombs and inlaw visits down in Murray.

graphic source: compiled by saltcycle.com, images found @ du.edu, annajoandsuch.blogspot.com.

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Ubomb becomes Snowbomb becomes Ubomb.

The roads destroy bicycles with there cold stares of oblivion. Ice. Not good for the UBomb crew. So we invented the winter novelty known as Snowbomb. Snowbomb, not a replacement for the Ubomb, is sort of the 'your flight is delayed for Ubombing, so what are you gonna do' replacement. So rather than calling the bombing of the U quits, we modify it by bombing down campus on the minis at full speed and blazing into piles upon mounds and piles of snow bliss. The aerodynamics of these little racers and princesses (we look to provide all varieties of children bikes here at the Ubomb) are so that when you go over snow at great speeds, you actually ski over the snow. Quite the effect. Our technical department are looking into getting tire slicks for the kids bikes.

We are first working with our other department, the where the hell is everybody department to get people to show up to try the Snowbomb. Attendance was low this Sunday. Guess people didn't have a suicide wish. Give them until January I figure. You can still repent for lack of bicycling by attending Midnight Mass this Friday, but the child in you is being killed by foregoing the Ubomb.

Ubomb is Eternal Youth.

graphic: saltcycle.com

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Bicycle in Snow Tip 38. Zip Tie Those Tires.

“Before departing, I attached zip-ties around the rear wheel of my trusty fixedgear - one between each spoke, wrapping around the tire and rim. Just like chaining up. It worked great, even on the packed snow.”
- http://bikeportland.org

photo credit: jupiterimages.com

EDIT & NOTE: If you have a back brake, you will have to remove it. Use 8 inch zip ties and make sure the head of the zip tie is on the inside of your tire. Take it for a test run. Its different, but you will notice it is more like riding a mountain bike minus the slowness, than an out of control road bike.

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