Bicycling on the increase

Bicycling is on the up!
Halfords, a large retail chain that sells cycles and cycling accessories as well as autombile parts and accessories, has reported a rise in sales in the last three months.
halfords claims to be the biggest cycle retailer in the UK, with sales of one million cycles a year.
The BBC attributes the rise in Halfords' sales to the interest generated by having a Britain win the Tour de France and the success of British cyclists at the recent London Olympics.

sources:
BBC
Halfords

Time to get the lights out

Summer is pretty much over, with the darker mornings and evenings of Autumn upon us.
Last Saturday I went for an evening trip to my local supermarket for a few groceries, finishing at about 8 p.m.
It was, of course, dark outside (the "official" sunset time here was about half-past seven).
So time to switch the lights on for the cycle home.

One of the many things I like about my little bike is that it has a dynamo and fixed lights.

Lance Armstrong - the greatest cyclist who never was?

With the shock news that Lance Armstrong will no longer contest doping charges, where does this leave his record?
It should be pointed out that he has admitted nothing, and that he states that the anti-doping agency USADA has no jurisdiction over his titles as they didn't award them.

The main evidence against Mr Armstrong is circumstantial.

1. Several of his team mates have been caught doping (with blood transfusions and/or EPO and/or steroids, detectable or otherwise)
2. Many (perhaps even most) of the riders in the earlier part of his period of success (the early 2000s) were doping (with blood transfusions and/or EPO and/or steroids, detectable or otherwise)

So the logic goes like this:
if Lance Armstrong was so successful in a period where "cheating" was commonplace, how could he win so many times without also "cheating"?

The best bike I never bought (yet!)

I saw a Gazelle the last time I was in Oxford - no, not a fast moving animal in a zoo park, but a Dutch bike locked to some railings!

Look at the simple, practical, features it has:

• a three-speed hub gear
• a nice sturdy carrier
• "proper" full-length mudguards
• a built in stand (at the back of the carrier)
• a full chainguard to keep the grot off your trousers/skirt/legs
• a front hub dynamo and built in lights (although the front light is missing from the bike pictured!)
• a relaxed sit-up-and-beg riding position

Bit of shopping

Last night, after work, I popped into one of the supermarkets in town.
Just got a few bits in my front basket.
Then home again.

Today's shop - a half a gallon (imperial) of milk (2.2 litres), potatoes, cartons of orange juice, and (underneath the juice - out of sight) a can of baked beans and a can of peas.

This is what a bike is ideal for - those trips when you just want a few bits

Pictures: our BikeBins after two years of use

We've had our BikeBins hard-sided pannier boxes (read our original review of them here) for a little over two years now.
So here's some pictures of how they are getting on:

The Cycle Caravan

I came across this recently, and I thought I'd share it with you.


It's a Pathe news clip from 1939, and it shows two people pulling a small caravan by bike. Then after that I will describe what "modern" options exist.

Angling for a ride ...

surely one of the best ideas for a "custom" bicycle is:
the Anglerfish art bike by Group D Creative Collective in Australia, recently seen in the Sydney VIVID 2012 festival.

The bikes are clothed in a tub-like structure, then wrapped in cloth, then illuminated from within - giving the effect of a lighted giant fish moving along as the cycle is pedaled.

See their work here:

Bikebins on sale!

Those of you who have read this blog before will know we are fans of Bike Bins pannier boxes (my review of them is here).

They are now on sale at Evans Cycles -

Not cycling to school

Today, we visited a school.
An all-girls school.
We got a nice tour round it from a couple of students (c. 14 years old).
We saw a bike rack on the tour, and I asked where the other bike racks were (the rack we saw would have held about 12 bikes - maybe, just maybe, a few more than that).
I was shocked to hear the reply that we were looking at the only bike rack in the school!

Kona's new utility bike - the MinUte

Kona have released a new utility bike.

You may already be familiar with the Kona Ute (look here if you are not), and now there is another utility bike from Kona, too!

Moving a family by bike ...

What you can do if you put your mind to it, and try a bit ...Josie Dew

Bobbin along

Saw a couple of Bobbin Shoppers for sale outside a bike shop in Oxford today.

Multi-modal in Oxford

Today, my wife and I went multi-modal in Oxford, city of dreaming spires.

Pointer update

I saw that Pointer Glorie again today - the same bike with the same panniers.
From the time and the place, I would guess it was returning from the station after a day's work in the capital.

Talking Italian

As I have mentioned before, I ride an Italian bike.
It's a Cinzia pieghevole (Italian for folding bike!).
It is a "real" Italian bike, not just some generic model produced in the Far East with a few Italian stickers on it.
Here it is in all its beauty:

You can read more about my bike here.

Being a "real" Italian bike, it has the problems of a "real" Italian bike.

Utilitaires (practical fun)

Utilitaires.
Bet you've never heard of them.

Mostly in the USA, amongst (from what I can make out) mostly women, "utilitaires" have a modest but dedicated following.
Think of them as "utility cycling".
You get a list of jobs, and try and do them using a bike.
Then you mark them off on the list, with details, when you have done them.
A typical Utilitaire list looks

Where have all the cotters gone?

What is it with cotter pins?

I went to my local bike shop to get a pair for my Cinzia folding bike, only to be told that they are out of stock,

Fixing a broken spoke

The picture tutorial below covers the "non-drive" side on a hub gear.
As most folks seem to ride derailleur-equipped bikes, and apparently like to break spokes on the "drive" side, the additional step of removing the set of rear gears will usually be required.
I have covered selecting the right tool for YOUR gearset elsewhere.
You may also have trouble finding short enough spokes for a little folder like my Cinzi shown here.
I got the new spoke shown in the pictures from SJS.

Oh dear. A broken spoke.

How I know my bike is really Italian

I have a Cinzia folding bike ...
How do I know it is really an Italian bike, not just a badge-engineered mass-manufactured Far Eastern bike?
Because I took the bottom bracket apart today ...

Going Dutch

A box arrived for me from Holland last week.
A big box.
It contained three tyres, a saddle, and a rear luggage rack.

"Bit far to come for just that!", you might think.

Thinking about safety ...

Here is a little report into the types of accidents that occur between motorists and cyclists.
It is the Ken Cross study from 1974. I know that is some time ago, but just read it through and you will see that the issues covered are pretty much the same as today.

Plus ca change - the story of a Raleigh Lenton Clubman

My father has a Raleigh Lenton Clubman, which he has owned since 1950.

He thinks it is a 1947 model (Raleigh introduced the Lenton Clubman in late 1947 as a "1948" model), and when it came into his possession it had a flip-flop hub with a fixed gear on one side and a "Cyclo" three-speed derailleur on the other, with 15, 18 and 23 tooth gears.

In 1955, the bike was modernised somewhat, with the colour being changed from the original green

Smallwheel Sitings

What a month February has been.
Just in the past week, I've seen a couple of small wheelers.
The first was a Raleigh RSW

Small steps

Where I live, the provision for cyclists is a bit patchy.

But let me say loud and clear that it is a lot better than it was when I moved here just under twelve years ago, and it is a lot better than most other towns and cities in the United Kingdom (!)
By the way, I live in an officially designated "Cycle Demonstration Town", for what it's worth :-)

Taking, as an example, the route from our house to the town centre (most of which I travel almost every day by bike), there are four major road crossings:

Boris Bikes - taking the positives

It is easy to list this problem or that problem with the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme (aka Boris Bikes).
In summary, the main issues appear to be:

• expensive to set up and operate
• limited scope of the scheme - there are only docking points in a fairly central area of London, and a few inner surrounding districts, and the hire charges make it prohibitively expensive to do more than cycle from one docking station to another.
• issues about bikes to hire being in the right places
• issues about docks to park bikes being full
• not aimed at the under 14s, and thus making the scheme unattractive to families with children under that age who might travel to London for a day out (like our family, for example!)

However, the scheme also has many good points:

Boris Bikes - a second (and third) opinion

My view of the Boris Bikes (aka the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme) might be misrepresentative.
After all, everyone has different needs, and differing views (and prejudices!)
So here are another couple of views:

Boris Bikes - first observations

I was in the Capital of the World (aka London) yesterday.
I had a quick look at the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme
(also known as the "Boris Bikes" scheme, after the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson)

"Boris Bikes" outside the Natural History Museum, London.
The rack is full, so no more bikes can be "docked" (ending the hire period) here until somebody hires one !!

First thing to think about is eligiblilty.
A quick look at the TfL website reveals a big issue for us ...

Pointing the way to Glorie ...

I was down at the railway station today, and look what I saw ...
... a "Pointer Glorie".

Pointer Glorie spotted at the railway station 

Snow Cycling

We don't get much snow here - just an inch or two (three to five centimetres), usually.
I just keep cycling (with a pair of gloves on!)
Anyway, here are my tips for riding on light snow:

1. lower your saddle a bit so you can get both your feet flat on the ground

The Socialist Plot that is cycle lanes ... Or not ...

As brought to my attention by the "Biking in Heels" blog, some folks with an interesting world view (that is the most polite way I can think of to put it!) seem to think that encouraging cycling is a BAD THING.

February Folders

Popped to the supermarket on the way home from work today.
Locked up my bike in the rack, and next to me was...

...a Di Blasi folding bike.

Fixing up a spare bike

I've been busy today working on Anna's old bike.
The plan was to get it running in some sort of passable condition for use as a spare.

Specifications for the Sinclair C5 Electric Vehicle

The Sinclair C5
Picture from the Sinclair Research website

Read my C5 review here.


Size

• Overall length: 1.744m (5' 9")

Under the Bourg Walk: How to develop a "cycle town"

"The Bourg Walk" pedestrian and cycle bridge - the landmark cycle route showpiece in Aylesbury (a town in England). 

Four of the town's nine cycle routes run across the bridge.

• Build some off-road cycleways (cycle paths)

1. the biggest thing that puts off potential cyclists is having to cycle in the gutter while traffic whizzes past
2. marking a narrow "cycle lane" on a narrow road just isn't the same - especially if most of the vehicles have to overlap the marked-off cycle lane to use the road!

Long Term Test: Park Tool Shop Cone Wrench

Length of test period so far: got it 11 January 2011
Product obtained from: Chain Reaction Cycles via Internet
Product obtained by: personal purchase through "regular" sources
Price paid: approx. £8 sterling (c. $12 US, 10 Euros), including delivery
Second Gear rating (marks out of 10): 8, but only used it for one job

The Cycling Family

multi-modal transport - it's why I own a folding bike!

Today, all three of us have already all used our bikes, and it is not yet 9 a.m.!

I was the first - I folded up my little Cinzia folding bicycle and put it in the boot (trunk) of our car (automobile).
Drove down to the dealers for the annual service on the car.
Unfolded the bike, and cycled home.

Me and my bike

So here we are!