Share the road, part II…

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, I got an e-mail from a bike industry friend of mine. He mentioned another thing cyclists can do that really goes a long way in the driver vs. cyclist relationship. At most intersections, the bike lane stripe becomes dashed. It is within this dashed section that the bike lane […]

Filed under: Rant


Share the road…

We have quite a few “SHARE THE ROAD” signs out here in West Marin. There seems to be some confusion as to who that sign is directed. Is it a request for cars to share the road with cyclists or is it a request for cyclists to share the road with cars? Hopefully, it is […]

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File this under WTH?…

So I need some more P-clamps. You know, those clamps that fit on bike frames with no rack braze-ons that allow a rack to be attached to the stay. They are common at auto part stores because they are also used to secure wiring harnesses to fender wells and firewalls. However, that means a 1/2 […]

Filed under: Industry commentary, Rant


Jumbo shrimp…

Oxymorons are pretty fun(ny). Jumbo Shrimp, freezer burn, tragic comedy, found missing… So it is ironic that another can be added to the list – Fixie Inc. Chip Race. Let me explain. Fixie Inc. is a German company who’s name also tells you what they do. They make fixies or fixed gear road bikes. Or […]

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How does your bag hang…

Sorry, this is about seat bags and how they attach to seats. Why is it that some folks can’t figure out how to install a seat bag? When the bag is purchased, the straps are pretty much in place according to how the strap should wrap around the bag. But yet, the new bag owner […]

Filed under: Rant, Things I dislike


Only one year?…

Emanuele Sella received his punishment for doping at this year’s Giro ‘d Italia. One year? That’s a slap on the wrist. Maybe it’s just me but if you dope with EPO/CERA, which is a clear form of instant go-juice, and win a race or stage as dominantly as Sella did, the ban should be life-time. […]

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A “Glimpse” of things to come?…

Under the heading of model names that raise an eyebrow (and to show that it’s not just Tim I’ll poke fun at), is the new made in Taiwan, sorry, “sourced overseas” model from Ellsworth. For a company who has put a lot into the “we make it ourselves” basket, it’s uncharacteristic to go to Asia […]

Filed under: Industry commentary, Rant


Turn off, tune out – part 2…

Instead of lengthy comments on a comment, I figured this could be its own post. Rich Kelly, from Interbike, commented on the previous post. First, thanks for reading, Rich. Second, as I was writing the original post, I was thinking “well, really how different is my blogging from twittering?” I would say it’s quite a […]

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Turn off, tune out, go ride your bike…

As a twist on the famous quote by Timoty Leary, I propose turning off, tuning out, and going for a bike ride. I recently had an e-mail exchange with another bike shop owner in Texas. He had generously sent me some brake cable housing of a color I could not find through any of my […]

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Focus and the bike industry…

I probably really should be finishing up the Fox fork rebuild and disc brake piston replacement, but this’ll only take a few minutes. I read two pieces this morning that prompted this impromptu diatribe on focus in the bike industry. The first one was a bit about the Trek dealer launch of their ’09 bikes. […]

Filed under: Industry commentary, Rant


Uh, thanks for that clarification…

Do sportswriters actually think the people who read their columns are idiots? As I was perusing Olympics coverage on CNN/SportsIllustrated, I came across this piece of brilliance by a reporter who says he normally covers track and field, but, by his tone, must have drawn the short straw to cover cycling, swimming, and horseback riding. […]

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Cables and wires, wires and cables…

I almost skipped over this bit in cyclingnews.com, but read on because of an interesting looking thumbnail photo. As I clicked through the photos in the gallery, I came across this shot of the head tube area on a CSC Cervelo bike. Okay, let me understand, the gist of this story is about the aero […]

Filed under: Rant