About.com Bicycling

A Folding Bike Helmet?

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:01:35 +0000

French designer Julien Bergignat has some images of a folding bike helmet he created posted here. Somebody remarked that it looks like head sushi. But still pretty cool.

Check out all the images of the folding bike helmet

This helmet needs replacing!
Bike helmet reviews
Do mandatory helmet laws reduce youth cycling?

A Folding Bike Helmet? originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 00:01:35.
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Five Layers of Bike Safety

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:01:16 +0000

The keys to being safe on a bike are almost entirely in your hands. As outlined here, these five layers of bike safety lay out those simple things that make you a more effective, predictable cyclist and that go a long way to ensuring many happy miles on your bike.

Read the five layers of safe riding

Rules for safe riding in traffic
Wildlife encounters: meeting up with dogs and other critters on your bike
Reasons to ride
Guide to getting started in cycling

Five Layers of Bike Safety originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Saturday, February 6th, 2010 at 00:01:16.
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Bikes and Music

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 00:02:11 +0000

I'm not sure which part of this whole deal that I stumbled across is cooler . . . that Lance Armstrong apparently likes British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, or that Iron Maiden's manager, Rod Smallwood, is a cyclist who just completed a century fund-raising ride for charity through Egypt, or that Lance made mention of the ride yesterday in a twitter message, just one of the torrent of tweets he blasts out to his fans about almost anything that crosses his mind.

It makes me think again of the link between bikes and music, and how passionate people can be about it. An earlier blog entry talking about best riding songs -- you know, those tunes that really make your wheels fly -- brought over 45 comments from people listing music that really gets them going.

And other piece discussing the best songs actually about bikes had ever 30 suggestions. That was especially impressive to me, since I could only think of the two obvious ones: "I Want to Ride My Bicycle," by Queen, and "Bicycle Built for Two," a true oldie from 1892. Frankly I planned to be surprised if the list even got over ten songs about bike riding.

With that in mind, it's time for a poll:

And please chime in the Comments below to share your thoughts about the kind of music that inspires you to ride.

Best Bike Riding Songs - what fires you up!
Best Songs about Bikes

Bikes and Music originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010 at 00:02:11.

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Do You Need Those Presta Valve Nuts?

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:01:18 +0000

Shhh. I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Did you know that those little nuts that come on Presta valves are unnecessary for most cyclists? In fact, for many new riders, they cause more problems than they actually solve.

Here's the thing: Presta valves always come with that little nut on them, and for a long time I dutifully screwed the nut on and off whenever I had to change out a tube. But what does the nut actually do? It certainly does not hold the tube in place. The tube is inside the tire and will not go anywhere. And the valve sticking through the hole in the rim does a fine job of staying put right where it is. That nut neither prevents it from coming out or falling back into the tire when you're actually out riding. Some might say that it helps hold the valve in place when inflating, particularly a completely flat tire. If that's true, it's not much of a help and certainly not worth the extra hassle of keeping track of it.

The problems it can cause a primarily related to people cranking it down too tightly. Doing that can pull the valve stem too high into the rim and cause the valve to tear away from the tube, and/or cause a rip or puncture.

Summary: those nuts they include with Presta valve tubes are unnecessary. I've been riding without using them now for a number of years and have had no problems. Feel free to discard them and shed a couple of grams and have one less thing to worry about keeping track of when you're changing a tube.

Inspiration - Cold Weather Dreaming

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 10:14:32 +0000

If it's cold where you are, you maybe spend more time than you should at work or at home dreaming about riding or chasing links on the cycling links on internet than actually being out on the bike. If that's the case, I intend to lead you further into the ditch with these juicy offerings that'll both inspire you and make you long to be out on your own bike, having fun and doing Great Things:

Bret Taylor's view of crossing the US from a fast-moving slideshow of hundreds of pictures taken every few minutes from his bike as a participant in the 2009 Bike the U.S. for MS, which saw them go 4,000 miles and raise $25,000 for Multiple Sclerosis research. Rolled into a six-minute youtube video, these shots will make you want to get on your bike and ride for days.
Photo journal of a John and Annemarie, a pair who rode 3700 miles from St. Louis to Seattle last summer. One part of their collection is pictures they took of themselves every morning before getting started. Another section is comprised of photos of individuals in towns along the way who they asked to describe their town in just three words. Interesting, insightful, often poignant.
Obituary of Anne Mustoe, a remarkable Englishwoman, who started cycling in earnest at age 54 when she decided she was going to ride around the world. Mustoe died in November at age 76 on yet another round-the-world cycling adventure, with over 100,000 miles to her credit in between.

Inspiration - Cold Weather Dreaming originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 10:14:32.

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Busted Another Spoke Today

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 00:02:41 +0000

Well, I broke another spoke today. Actually I should say that I found a broken spoke on my rear wheel, but as to when it exactly happened? Not quite sure, but that's a minor detail.

It's been raining here, so I was riding my old Raleigh beater bike, the one that I converted into a single-speed/fixed gear outfitted with fenders for wet weather. I was wiping down the bike after the ride, and that's when I noticed the spoke hanging loose.

Now, I'm a big guy, so breaking spokes (and other parts for that matter) is unfortunately not all that unusual for me, but it was a reminder that it's a good idea to check the general condition of your spokes and wheels if you haven't done so lately.

Spoke Links

All About Your Spokes
Common Spoke Problems
Spoke Maintenance
30-second safety checks for your bike

Busted Another Spoke Today originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 00:02:41.
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Do Mandatory Helmet Laws Reduce Youth Cycling?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:04:26 +0000

Do mandatory helmet laws reduce the number of kids who ride bikes? The Freakonomics people seem to think so. By tying together research from several different studies, their recent column in the New York Times seems to nail down three things, with some degree of certainty:

Helmet laws reduce youth cycling fatalities by about 19%.
Helmet laws increase the amount of actual helmet wearing that takes place by 29-35%

-- and the perhaps surprising third conclusion --
Where mandatory helmet laws are in place, the number of kids riding bikes drops 4-5%.

Why is this? The authors offer a few possible reasons:

Helmets are an additional expense and can discourage participation.
Wearing helmets can seem uncool, so rather than ride a bike and looking like dork or risk a ticket, some kids forgo cycling altogether.
Requiring helmets makes bike riding seem like a dangerous activity, causing parents to discourage their kids from participating.

I thought this article was pretty interesting. You might too. Accurate? Perhaps. Your comments, welcomed, of course. This discussion among cyclists about wearing or not wearing helmets is like the argument about bike lanes -- it never really goes away.

Read the whole article here: Freakonomics --- Do Mandatory Helmet Laws Reduce Youth Cycling?

Do Mandatory Helmet Laws Reduce Youth Cycling? originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 00:04:26.

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Life is Crap Mountain Bike T-Shirt

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:01:59 +0000

Schadenfreude: joy at someone else's misfortune.

If you're a glass-half-empty type person, you'll appreciate this scene of a cyclist getting bucked over the handlebars in this "Life is Crap" t-shirt. One of a whole series of shirts that parody the ubiquitiuos "Life is Good" line, take your pick of a hiker getting hit by lighting, a skier falling out of the gondola or a kayaker tearing his boat off the top of his car as he drives into the garage.

It'll give you a chuckle for sure each time you wear it, and groans of recognition from your fellow riders when they spot it too. Like someone once said, you've never ridden if you've never crashed!

Read the review: Life is Crap Mountain Bike T-Shirt
More review of cycling apparel: Jerseys, Bike Shorts, Gloves and more
Best gifts for cyclists

Life is Crap Mountain Bike T-Shirt originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 00:01:59.

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Listen in on Pre-Season Press Conferences with Alberto Contador, the Schleck brothers, and more

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:01:34 +0000

This past week, Specialized hosted a couple of very interesting press conferences featuring some of the top pro riders with its sponsored teams. All are starting their training in warm-weather climes.

First came a conversation with riders from Team Saxo Bank, including Frank and Andy Schleck and their coach, Bjarne Riis, connecting from the Canary Islands. Though the moderator struggled a bit with his banter, the insights from the Schlecks and particularly what was delivered by Bjarne Riis about his philosophy in building the team, was fascinating.

Next came an interview with Astana's top rider and last year's Tour de France winner, Alberto Contador, who talked from Calpe, Spain, about what it's like to be a pro; the pressure of riding in the Tour de France; and the fact that he's got a new dog. Most interesting were his comments about new teammate Alexandr Vinokourev, who is returning from a two-year doping suspension, and whether he'll be better off with Lance Armstrong gone from the Astana team or not.

Check 'em out here:

Team Saxo Bank press conference - with the Schleck brothers and Bjarne Riis
Alberto Contador - Team Astana press conference

Listen in on Pre-Season Press Conferences with Alberto Contador, the Schleck brothers, and more originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 00:01:34.

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Book Review - Major Taylor: The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Marshall "Major" Taylor is the greatest cyclist you've never heard of. No, correct that. He was much more than a cyclist. He was a hero in the mold of Jackie Robinson, and his story is the best story I've ever heard of a man who gracefully fought against the injustices of the world while making his way to the pinnacle of his sport.

Major Taylor was an African-American cyclist at the turn of the 20th century, a time when lynchings were still commonplace, and black folks were routinely treated as second-class citizens in a world dominated by whites. However, that oppression couldn't hold Major Taylor down. During the height of his career, he was the world champion cyclist in 1899 and American sprint champion in 1899 and 1900, breaking numerous records along the way. Thousands turned out to see him race, and in 1901 Taylor embarked on a triumphant tour of Europe, where he was showered with adoration and acclaim for his accomplishments on the bike.

Though through his racing, he overcame personal and bureaucratic racism to become a champion, his life after racing was a struggle. You can't live forever on past glory, and in the thick of the Great Depression, a series of personal and professional setbacks brought him down, and he ultimately died broke and alone at age 53.

If you desire to learn more about this fascinating man, you're in luck. The preeminent biography of Taylor, written by Andrew Ritchie and called Major Taylor: The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World, has just been released. Ritchie does a great job of recounting Taylor's life from his birth up to his final days, adding the right historical and cultural context to explain how the world's greatest cyclist could go from fame and riches to nothing, and why Taylor's legacy is worth knowing and celebrating today.

Related Articles

Book Review - Major Taylor: The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World originally appeared on About.com Bicycling on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 00:01:00.

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