Bike Hugger

Puma's Cargo

2010-09-08T20:23:15Z

Photo from Eurobike — see David’s post on the Mopion from last week.

Uploaded by henry in a’dam | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Urban Arrow E-Cargobike

2010-09-08T20:11:06Z

Designed by Wytse van Mansum with a nod to Paper Bicycle. Previewed by Bicycle Design last month. Also see the Cannondale Duchess.

Uploaded by henry in a’dam | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Convertible Cargo with Assist

2010-09-08T16:08:23Z

While searching for more details on the Lunartic, found this Dyson Design Award nominee and it has some promise. A convertible cargo bike with electric assist:

This is a utility pedal-assisted electric bicycle - tricycle that can be ridden like two-wheeler or like a three-wheeler depending on the intended use. When one needs to carry a heavy load, then the rear wheel can be split and transformed into a three-wheeler with a loading surface (up to 150 litres and up to 40 kg). It is bigger than some trunks of small city cars, yet big enough to carry a full load of shopping cart. The BIQUATTRO has a specially built suspension that allows the bike to tilt to the left and to the right for steering. This permits the rear wheels, which are extremely narrow to each other, to tilt independently ensuring a better steering performance and user experience (it feels like a two wheeler, but it is more stable).

Lunartic Hubless

2010-09-08T14:16:51Z

Missed this earlier and it’s sure to annoy Mark V’s — at least it got built. The Lunartic seeks to prove that a reverse penny farthing with hub-less wheel is a better bike.

With Flip Flops

A casual prototyper.

Last year ‘bout this time, we had another iteration of the penny farthing and it was electric. Also see this small-wheel-in-the-front-bike. You’ve probably already figured out if you were to hit a bump on these bikes, a severe head-smashing “endo” would result. In flip flops, your feet would get hurt too.

Redline Cross Racer Ryan Iddings [Flickr]

2010-09-07T20:45:42-07:00

Hugger Industries posted a photo:

Ryan took an early lead at North Seatac and held it to win. He's racing a Conquest Team -- same bike we're on this year.

Photo: Redline.

Yeah Cross Season

2010-09-07T13:45:39Z

After racing Kruger’s Kermesse last weekend, Cross season started in Seattle at North Seatac with a good turnout. Cyclocross is like the United Nations, or the Justice League, of cycling with roadies, mountain bikers, urban, and track all intermingling and racing each other. We see faces we haven’t seen before, families, and tailgate parties. They all come out to participate in the event for fun or race it seriously.

Concentrate

The women’s field all looked very determined on this short, steep, descent section. I told Sandrine McFadden she caught the men with her compression socks.

Race Face

Mahan was there to transition from road to Cross and went into his zone at the starting line.

Skills

Jeff Elston won the 45+ field for Cycling Northwest, a club Bike Hugger sponsors.

Fun

Pam loves Cross. She really does.

Really? Yes. As I wrote last week, you dispense with the roadie head games and just ride the course at your own pace and skill level. For most racers, it’s a technical dirt TT with no lap of shame for those that get dropped. In the beginner categories, racers stop before the barriers or runups, get off and walk, then back on. Some even rest a bit each lap. No deal to the racers around them because they’re doing it as well.

The community isn’t going to question your fitness post race if you get lapped, dropped, or just suck. They’re just glad you’re out there having a good time with them.

Running and Barriers

There is too much emphasis on the runups and barriers. Sure for the elite categories and those who take the sport more serious, that’s where races are won. For the lower-level categories and beginners, that’s all part of the fun. The only way to get good at the technical aspects of the sport is to race and think of it like braking in a crit or knowing how to drop into a trail on your mountain bike.

Skills that likely terrified you at one time will come with practice. Watch Cyclocross DVDs or the World Cup on Universal Sports and notice how the Pros focus on speed. They’ll cowboy, tilt the bike, and run with it. You won’t start out that fast, but it’ll come. Think about it, do they have crit cornering clinics? Nope. You just go race and figure it out.

More Cross

I took this weekend off and will race again at Cycle U Kick-off Cross. Our coverage will extend to the Elite races, Masters, and Single Speed.

For more Cross, see

North Seatac - Traitor Single Speed

2010-09-06T22:39:27Z

Red crank, egg beaters, and ready to race.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Ignite Bikes, Mobile Social Interbike Update

2010-09-06T15:03:18Z

In our 5th year, we’re remixing the Mobile Social Interbike with:

Ignite Bikes — inspired bike talks
Mobile Social — ride the Strip

and, of course, our blog-focused event coverage.

Ignite Bikes takes places after the Ready to Ride Fashion Show at 4:30 in the Urban Lounge on Thursday September 23rd. Then Meet outside the Sands Convention Center — the Bike Valet entrance — for the Mobile Social. Ride the Strip with us at 6:30.

Post ride we’ve got choices of Gold Sprints at Las Palmas, Here Comes the Corn at the Peppermill, and an after Fashion Show party with Kickstand Mag.

Details

Event: Interbike 2010
When: September 23, 2010
Where: Las Vegas, Nevada
Who: Attendees, Industry, Bike Huggers
What time: 4:30 for Ignite Bikes and 6:30 for Mobile Social.

RSVP

We’d like to know if you’re coming to both events on Facebook, RSVP:

Not on Facebook? RSVP on Upcoming: Ignite Bikes and the Mobile Social.

Partners

Our events are brought to you by partners like REI, Dahon, Puma Bikes, Metafilter, Mac Create, Textura Design. The Mobile Social is hosted this year by Kickstand Mag.

Media

Ride the Strip, Really?

We get asked this every year: do you really ride the strip? Yes we do, with cyclists like this … she’s not going to allow no crazy cabbie to bust up into our lane. She looks at them like this while riding a Globe.

It’s a good time with your colleagues.

Camper Trailer

2010-09-05T16:34:54Z

Planning a cross-country bike tour? Considering self-contained with panniers, doing it credit card style at hotels, or this!

Photo: AP via Daylife, from Caravan Salon fair in Duesseldorf, Germany.

So it’s attached to a electric assist comfort bike and you could cover the top of the camper with solar panels to generate electricty. It’s a Digital Bike Nomad’s hotel at SXSW or a Cargonista’s dream vacation. Even a place to stay warm at a cross race.

Likely influenced by the Kevin Cyr concept from last year.

Adiubik Clipless Pedal Adaptor

2010-09-05T15:15:07Z

Design student Christian Breig wrote to tell us about Adiubik

Biking with clipless pedals increases your effective power up to 40%. No Wonder that bikers like to use this system on their daily rides. But the use of clipless shoes and pedals isn´t comfortable in everyday life. Our lifestyles changes daily we won´t be limited to one pair of shoes with a stiff sole. My Design allows to use every clipless systems with nearly all kind of shoes. The product has been awarded with the eurobike award 2010.

and we’re interested, as users of both clipless pedals and old-school PowerGrips.

Images: Christian Breig

Rather than take two sets of pedals with me when I travel on business with a bike, I use the Time Z Downhill because I can clip in and also wear it with regular shoes. With Breig’s design, I could take one set of ATACs and clip this into it for the regular shoes. While appreciating Christian’s design, do wonder about how quick you can get your feet out of his adaptor or clip out and step down on the street in a hurry.

You've Got the Look

2010-09-05T13:53:58Z

A look like this only comes after lots of hard work.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Tommy Bahama Electric Bikes

2010-09-04T17:22:43Z

It’ll take a Tommy Bahamas to sell an safety-vest orange, upright cruiser with discs and electric assist. Queue Lee Iacocca in a Hawaiian Shirt.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

World Caliber Chainring

2010-09-04T16:11:43Z

Our Bro Wes just got a 4th at Masters Track Nationals in the Mens 35 - 39 category on this 47 tooth chainring. His coach Jennie Reed loaned the ring to him. She previously used it to win bronze at the World Championships.

Wes also sent us this photo of his 60 MPH warmup, roller speed with that chainring.

How is that possible? A 97.6” drivetrain, spinning over 200 rpm. The sprints in Wes’ race were topping out at 41 MPH, on a 45 degree banked track with 2-3 Gs pushing you down. No wonder the athletes that win at this level are pushing 200 pounds.

Freight trains.

Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

I awoke to puffy clouds at Kruger's Kermesse

2010-09-03T17:39:52Z

The sky was a swirl of fluffy clouds and blue when I opened my eyes. People were talking to me, their silhouettes blocking the light and I was laying in the dirt and I felt awful. I sat up, and immediately regretted it, as the feeling of nausea swept above the pain like storm surge flooding a levee. I was in a farm field, but other than that, the only thing I was sure about was that I wasn’t in Florida….well, pretty sure I wasn’t in Florida. Clattering past my bed of dust and gravel were lycra-clad cyclists and in the distance too. I thought those are bike people…I’m bike people…I think I’m here for the same reason that they are…what was that reason? The silhouettes kept a steady interrogation, and I realized that they were asking me if I was all right. After a while I was beginning to think that they might know something that I didn’t, but I told them I was ok. Still they kept asking…asking if I was sure. And I thought well, you got me there.

The clouded sky still seemed obscenely bright…probably because my prized Rudy Project Tayo glasses were broken…and my LAS helmet nearly split in two. Okay, I’ve seen this sort of thing before. This is a bike race; I do these sorts of things. My clothes are ripped, I’m covered in dirt, I’m bleeding, my head’s in a state…I’m pretty sure I crashed, and I think I’m not racing anymore today.

There was a repeated suggestion of a ride to the hospital, and I could only think,”No thank you, I’m poor!” I understood the scenario: I better not say anything freaky, or I’m gonna end up in an ambulance whether I want to or not. Any moment now they are gonna start asking questions, and I better have some answers…..quick!…what day is it?…shit!…I have no idea…I’m not working today…is it Thursday?

Concerned faces were asking me how I got here, and I had to stretch a little to come up with an answer. A snatch of memory leapt to the surface…. a car ride involving frantic GPS usage to get to the race…iPhones and Volvos and bikes on the roof…

“I came with Byron…”

“Byron who?”

“I came with Byron and his wife Pam…”

Apparently that answer was enough to allay their concerns. Later, I would contemplate the concept that a man’s entire identity can be summed up by his choice of spouse, and whether that was a good or bad thing, and for whom….but at the time I was thinking, whew…they bought it. Regardless, I would have had problems articulating other details like where the car was parked, phone numbers, blood type, etc.

As a woman walked me back to the first-aid tent, I began piecing the jigsaw puzzle together. This was Kruger’s Kermesse at Sauvie Island, just a little outside Portland. More or less, Kruger’s could be described as a cyclocross race without any need to dismount. I still believe I would have placed well, had I not crashed. I was picking riders off one by one, though I would have needed to be quite lucky to finish higher than 10th. Somehow I crashed pretty hard on the slight downhill, but I’m not sure how. Several people said I hit a divot in the gravel road, but I don’t think that would have been enough to put me down. After all, the course was full of patches, and I was feeling pretty comfortable with the roughness. Though my bike was mostly unscathed from the crash, my handlebars had rotated down quite a bit; still I cannot verify whether the rotation was cause or collateral to the crash.

The first-aid tent had perhaps a little too much empathy when they were cleaning the wounds…even in my hazed-out headspace, I knew that the hamburger on my legs needed to be scrubbed hard…it’s just I couldn’t really articulate it at the time.

Pam finished her race, and then we got some food while we waited for Byron to finish the single-speed race. It’s a pity that I crashed out, as I really was enjoying the race up until the point I don’t remember anything. There’s this crazy section where the racers hit a dirt road, kicking up a thick cloud of dust and you can barely see the riders’ helmets floating up ahead…bikes and road totally obscured. I had been remembering the fast lines on the course, conserving energy when possible and moving up when I could. But instead of finishing, people were asking me if I was “the one in the big crash”.”

The car ride back to Seattle was 3hrs of discomfort….which I luckily don’t remember too well. With the imploring of many voices to go to the hospital still ringing in my ears, I called an ex-girlfriend to inform her that she was babysitting me that night in case something bad happened. She asked how bad off I was; I said that I was a little hazy but I still remembered that she owed me 20 bucks.

Immediately after putting my bike into my apartment, I walked to the grocery store around the corner…still clad in lycra, dirt, and blood…and bought some more sterile pads and rice wine. I started the shower, peeled clothing out of the wounds, and downed half the bottle. Then I spent 20min scrubbing every little bit of dirt out of the 7hr old wounds. It had been a long time since I had had that much roadrash, but I remembered how to bandage the damage. I got a text message from another girl asking how bad the injuries were. Rather than try to describe it, I simply sent her a phone photo of me in nothing but boxer shorts in a full-length mirror…gauze and tape all up my leg and my face.

She responded,”That’s a sexy picture!”

And I said,”Uh yeah….I feel real sexy right now.”

Later I fell asleep while my ex-girlfriend read Japanese manga translated into Mandarin online…periodically checking to make sure I was alive.

So as you can surmise, the start of my CX season was a little dodgy….

Testing, Testing, 1 2 3

2010-09-03T15:54:57Z

Elite athletes get tested in the off season so they and other elite athletes can become more elite. Russell is at a lab in Premanon

After the jet lag passed I’ve found the groove in this place. We eat at certain times as a group, all 25+ of us including staff. Each day thus far we have been tested in a lab about 14 miles away. So far it’s one of three tests; CO2 re-breathing (yes, CO2 like what comes out of a car’s tail pipe), VO2 max test, and a 30k Time Trail on a trainer that includes a wind gate test. So far none are super tough although I haven’t done the TT yet. We will do 6 VO tests and 8 TT’s so i’m sure we’l be well drilled soon. Just today some of us get our first of two muscle biopsy’s. I can hear the rumblings in the hall ways right now, not good. Some folks are in serous pain. Some not so much. I get mine tomorrow. Not stoked on that…

I’ve done two Vo2 max tests and both were the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The second one was worse because Nurse Ratchet delivered the test and started texting her nurse homies 1/2 way through it. She ignored my bulged eyes when I glared at her trying to indicate a bonk was imminent. Her attention snapped back to the task at hand, when my eyes rolled back in my head, Undertaker style, and I did my best Linda Blair-exorcist grimace. She finally turned the torturous Vo2 contraption off after I slapped at the phone in her hand. Never went back to that lab, but hope they’ve got new, “no texting while testing rules” in place after my experience.

Even without a disinterested nurse attending you, the test is uncomfortable because the air is dry and seers your lungs. To simulate the test on your commute next week, do this:

Ride as hard as you can on the bike path
Return home
Rush into the bathroom
Turn hair dryer on low
Put the nuzzle it in your mouth and breathe deep until you get dizzy.

You won’t get the numbers to determine how fit you are for the next big Bike to Work effort, but you will better understand that Pro athletes are genetically qualified to go fast. They also suffer far more. This is their day job.

Worn Wheels Get Replaced

2010-09-03T15:35:02Z

Along with building up Cross bikes this week, Mark V took an inventory of the rain bike wheels that needed replacing and/or rebuilding. None looked as bad at this one, which by all accounts is legendary. Like how did it not explode and cause a bad crash. And yes disc brake fanbois, your wheels don’t need replacing. Check your pads though as I’ve seen you lose control when they wear.

Uploaded by Cycling Northwest | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.

Links for 2010-04-28 [del.icio.us]

2010-04-29T00:00:00-07:00

FreMo: India’s First Bicycle Sharing Program | The Better India

Links for 2010-01-14 [del.icio.us]

2010-01-15T00:00:00-08:00

Bike Geek: From cotton mills to Mona Lisa
The Times very own bike geek.
This is India - rivertext's gallery
Of all the places we've traveled, India had the biggest impact on our perspective of bikes in the world. See the gallery for more photos.

Links for 2010-01-13 [del.icio.us]

2010-01-14T00:00:00-08:00

Bicyclist shot and killed while riding on Vegas Valley Drive
early reports are of a random act

Links for 2010-01-12 [del.icio.us]

2010-01-13T00:00:00-08:00

Movement seeks to establish pedestrian, bicycle lanes - DominicanToday.com

Links for 2010-01-08 [del.icio.us]

2010-01-09T00:00:00-08:00

Cycling hits top gear as Aussie riders help propel economic cycle | The Courier-Mail

Links for 2010-01-04 [del.icio.us]

2010-01-05T00:00:00-08:00

Minivan's Driver Forces Bicyclist Off Highway
Likely a texting driver

Links for 2009-12-31 [del.icio.us]

2010-01-01T00:00:00-08:00

Back in Racing Form After Dropping the Fork
Talk about being genetically qualified! Quit pro racing get fat then come back.