I had a date a few days ago with Mary, Martha, Sarah, and Susan. The Klein quadruplets. They were a little cold from being ignored for about 15 years, but once they got handled a little, they warmed right up. When Gary Klein began producing his bikes with pressed in bottom bracket bearings and axle […]
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This bike is a hoot to ride to work. It’s truly an Amsterdam bike. I’ve got a 14 year old Jandd Commuter pannier that carries my lunch, laptop, and other assorted requirements for a day on the job. The coaster brake and twist shifter let me also carry my cup of coffee during my 2 […]
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You might remember Dutch from the TV program Soap, years ago. Well, meet Old Dutch, a genuine Dutch city bike. It’s big and it’s a blast to ride to work. It’s interesting, for years, I worked to ensure that bikes arrive at dealers with no damage. We packed the bikes with cardboard, foam, styrofoam, but […]
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As another friend who owns a bike shop mentioned something to the effect of “a collection of bikes is nice to look at, but you’ve got to also sell to keep the doors open.” Or something like that. Well, the interest in bikes here seems to be in something that is comfortable, requires little maintenance, […]
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When Bike Magazine did a feature on the 2006 edition of the North American Handbuilt Bike Show and printed only photographs of the frame builders’ hands, a lot of folks didn’t think too much of the story. They didn’t get it. I thought it was a great story. It’s the “hand” built bike show. The […]
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Good tools are a real pleasure to work with. Makes looking forward to using them kind of like watching cookies bake. You can’t wait until the next batch is ready. Although, that’s not really a problem at my house. I typically polish off the cookie dough before it makes it to the oven. I was […]
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I’m never going to get or maintain a level of fitness with my daily commute.Total distance: 0.38 milesTotal time: 4:28 (including stop at Toby’s for coffee)Cost for the Americano (providing my own mug): $2.00Leaving the car in the driveway: Priceless
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Getting closer to that time of year when lights are needed, I decided to investigate the small, powerful LED lights on my own. I like the Planet Bike stuff. It helps that they are also very advocacy driven. And even better, their lights that require batteries come with batteries! I purchased four lights of various […]
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I have to admit, I’m not a big fan of carbon fiber. Sure I’ve got carbon forks on my high-fallutin’ road bike and cross bike. And okay, so my road bike has carbon seat and chain stays – but the main frame is sweet steel. I placed my first bike orders this week and realized, […]
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I didn’t know whether to turn on the comment feature or leave it off when I started this here blog. I think I’ll now turn the feature off. My initial inkling was to leave it off because it seems like blogs have become more than their intended purpose of a “web log” – a place […]
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This cool old mountain bike came in yesterday. The owner was complaining that the derailleur was “skipping.” Based on the age and condition, my first thought was “stiff link.” So I spin the cranks backwards. No stiff link. Throwing it in the stand, I take a closer look. Uh, you need a new freewheel and […]
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There are certain things in this world that have a universal appeal. Monty Python is one of them. I firmly believe that almost everything can be related in one way or another to something Monty Python did.* Recently, an older British couple who were touring the great Northern California coast came by the shop (actually, […]
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