Loud Bicycle: not your ordinary bike bell.

We all know how risky it is when cars do not see cyclists or just do not stop where they should: sometimes it looks like bicycles are kind of invisible for car drivers.
When a car driver like also to play loud music while driving, then our chances of being noticed are even lower, as the classic bike bell cannot go through the decibels coming from the car's speakers.
This is the main reason why Jonathan Lansey, an engineer from Boston, invented the "Loud Bicycle" system: basically a car horn that can be conveniently mounted on your bike and gives the same sound of a car honk.
Have a look:

It's true that car drivers tend to stop immediately when they hear someone honking, this is the reason why this system can work wonders.
A big plus, at least for people like me that tend to forget things, is that this horn works on a rechargeable battery, but a single charge will last for one or two months.
The "Loud Bicycle" system will be available in August but at the moment it's possible to preorder it.
For further informations visit LoudBicycle.com.

Specialized recall!

I know it's not fresh news but still I think it's better to share this kind of informations.
If you own one of the following Specialized road bikes
2012 Tarmac SL4
2013 Tarmac SL4
2013 Crux
2013 Secteur Disc
you'd better visit this page as there may be problems with your frame or your fork.
Ride safe!

A snowman riding a bike.

Just seen this on the Daily Mail website and I'd like to share it:

The Daily Mail asked readers to send weather-related pictures as in these days Britain is covered by snow.
The incredible picture of the snowman riding a bike has been taken by Lizzy Eddy, but there are a lot more that deserve to be watched. You can find them here.
Congrats to the photographer and to the sculptor of this incredible riding snowman!

The Eurocup of Bike Thievery.

Yesterday night I watched a very popular TV show called "Le iene". Every week they broadcast a lot of reportages on various subjects.
A reportage got my attention. They did an experiment: an unlocked folding bike was parked in the center of 4 big European cities (Milano, Paris, Barcelona and Berlin) and the troupe filmed what happened. The reportage was made as an Eurocup of bike thievery: in which Country an unlocked bike get stealed first?
Italy won the Gold medal, Spain the Silver medal and France the Bronze medal. In Germany no one touched the bike.
I recommend to watch the video of this reportage even if you don't understand Italian, as it's a lot of fun. You can watch it here.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone!

This morning I've had a long bike ride in the center of my hometown to have a look at the Christmas trees.
A very good way to spend the morning after eating too much seitan&onions yesterday night.

I love Christmas trees and Christmas lights.
Would like the Christmas holidays to be a little longer.

Riding around with a Christmas tree.

I like the idea of dedicating a few posts on Christmas as I really llike this period of the year.
So after the bike-powered Christmas lights, today I'd like to share a video that I found on Youtube where a Christmas tree is taken around for a ride around town.
Have a look:

Now that I've watched this video I'd like to do the same, but I'm afraid that there's too much wind here so the tree would not stand for more than few seconds.

Cycle Messenger World Championship trailer.

I've just watched the trailer for the 2013 edition of the Cycle Messenger World Championship that will take place in Lausanne from July 30 to August 5:
Am I the only one noticing a mountain bike used by a bike messenger?
I thought that bike messengers were allowed to use only fixies!
lol
Joking with the elitists out there, I have always considered hardtail mountain bikes the most versatile type of bike, so obviously they can work great also in an urban environment.
If you're interested in the Cycle Messenger World Championship click here for informations.

Bike-powered Christmas lights.

This year a lot of cities did the same, but the first place was Copenhagen back in 2009.
The Chistmas tree in the center of the town was powered by people pedalling on stationary bikes.
Have a look:

Let's give credit to Danish people to be the first to consider this ecofriendly and bikefriendly version of Christmas lights.
Denmark is the land of bicycles, right?

3icy by Luca Feletti.

It's just a prototype but have a look:
A modular e-bike that can be transformed from a regular bicycle to a cargo bike just changing the front part.
I'm not a fan of e-bikes, but I really think that this type of vehicles will be the future of urban transportation.
This project comes from a young Italian designer, Luca Feletti.
Congratulations, and let's hope to see the 3icy on our streets soon!

A movie on the history of Mongoose bikes.

After the topic about the vintage Skyway promo video, I want to post a similar video.
It's always about vintage BMX bikes, but it's about the brand that probably had the biggest influence in the BMX world, Mongoose.
Here's the video:
But it's better to watch it full screen here.

Fatbikes are the future of mountain biking.

Fatbikes are the future of mountain biking, even if in some ways they are a return to the roots of offroad cycling. A relaxed and especially funny way to explore the environment and to keep an active lifestyle with a spirit of adventure.

This is what I thought after watching the official Global Fatbike Day thread on the MTBR forum.

First of all, I am really amazed to see how many different enviroments and places people are exploring using bikes, it's so cool to see the differences between a sunny ride in Australia and a snowy one in Finland, and both are happening on the same day. Obviously it's natural as it's how our Earth works, but watching all those pictures taken in the same time shows it all very clearly.

I don't know who had the idea of the Global Fatbike Day, but I really want to congratulate with her/him.

A really good idea to promote a whole new philosophy of bicycle riding.

Today's global fatbike day.

Salsa Mukluk

Do you remember my post of few days ago announcing that December the 1st will be the Global Fatbike Day?
Here we are!
As a non-owner of a fatbike but a big fan of everything that is simple and moves on two wheels, I'm looking forward for reading the stories and watching the pictures of the daily rides of fatbikers from all around the globe.
There are dedicated threads on mtbr.com, it's here and pictures are bikers have already started to post pictures!

Skyway: a vintage video about vintage BMX bikes.

I've just found this on youtube and I think many cyclists in their 40s will enjoy.

A promotional video about Skyway coming from the golden age of BMX bikes, 1982.

This is part 1:

This is part 2:

And this is part 3:

Skyway made a lot of promotional videos, on Youtube you can see also another one from 1987, based more on freestyle BMX. I'm not interested in those tricks and skatepark stuff, but if you want to see it here's the links:
Part 1
Part 2
It's interesting to notice how the BMX world changed in the years.

Global Fatbike Day.

The new Salsa fatbike model, BearGrease.

I am not a Fatbike owner but I really appreciate Fatbikes' spirit and concept.
For this reason I am happy to share some news from the Fatbike world: 1st December 2012 will be the first Global Fatbike Day. This means that all Fatbikes enthusiasts will be around on their fat wheels and all the blogs and forum on this subject will report on their rides.
It's always interesting for me to see the type of environment where other people ride their bikes, be it fatbikes or not, so I'm looking forward for a lot of pictures and videos of big wheels on the mud for the next weekend.

The Great American Bicycle Race 1982: an epic movie.

Just find this on Youtube, and I really want to share: the TV broadcast from the first Great American Bicycle Race of 1982 (the race is universally known as Race Across America but the first edition was called just Great American Bicycle Race).
The race was organized by John Marino and had only four competitors: the same John Marino, Lon Haldeman, Michael Shermer and John Howard.
Here there are the videos:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Later the RAAM became a big event with a lot of competitors and divisions, but I think that every passionate cyclist will enjoy the videos from the first edition.

The StreetStrider.

What is a StreetStrider?
It's an elliptical bike that goes around. Have a look:

When I see something like this, I can't help but appreciate the concept and the desire to create new and innovative human-powered vehicles.
I mean, even if I would never buy one of these things for many reasons, I consider it just great that a company invests money and resources in building and selling them.
The mobility of the future will be human powered for sure. Every single project that is based on working out and moving at the same time has to be supported with all means.
The good thing of the StreetStrider is that it's not expensive like a lot of these new projects, the singlespeed version costs about 750$.
If you think that elliptical cycling is your thing and it will make you move, then go for it!
Streetstrider.com.

Cat-on-bike.

Fellow cyclist,
first of all I want to say that your video made me smile.
I am sure you genuinely love your cat MJ and he genuinely loves you too.
But honestly, I wouldn't do that.
I mean, cats are unpredictable and from what I see you ride in the traffic too. There are too many things that can potentially go wrong doing this type of things.
If you want to ride a bike with your cat, wouldn't it be better to put him in one of those baskets that are usually used for dogs?
Or even better, what about going for a ride anticipating the joy of meeting your lovely cat that is waiting for you at home?

The Rockrider 5.29 is now 5.1 BIG 29", and the first comments are good.

Finally the Rockrider 5.29 is available in all Decathlon stores, a friend of mine said there are a few also in Decathlon near where I live so probably tomorrow I'll make a visit.
There is some mess with the name of the bike: in Italy it's called RR 5.1 BIG 29" (link), qualifying it as the 29" version of the Rockrider 5.1 (exactly like the BIG RR 5.3 is the 29" version of the 5.3) as you can see here, in Spain, Germany and UK it's called just Rockrider 5.29 as you can see here, here and here, in France simply 29 pouces 5.1 as you can see here.
Just to add some confusion, in the BTwin website the same bike is presented as the Rockrider 5.3 BIG as you can see here, but I suppose it's a mistake.
Ok, this thing of the different names is not important as long they made clear that it's the 29" version of the 5.1 and not of the 5.2.
It's way more important what you can read in the comments section of the french and of the italian page. A good 90% of the customers are more than satisfied with this bike. That's good!

Designer People and Biomega Brooklin.

First of all I have to say that I'm not that much into art and design, so my views on that matter have to be considered partial.
I had to chance to see a TV program called Designer People which main focus was on Jens Martin Skibsted and Biomega, the design firm known for bicycles and bike accessories (I've found the show on Vimeo too, you can watch it here).
I have to admit that I really appreciate Skibsteb's words about bikes and mobility, and some of the models he introduced during the show looked really interesting.
Being tendentially an off-road type of cyclist my attention was caught especially by the Brooklin model, a mixture between a fatbike and a BMX:

Biomega Brooklin

Looks good and a lot of fun, doesn't it?
So I did a research on this nice little thing and I remember why I don't like design-oriented bike manufacturers.
First of all and most important, a leather seat. I mean, I'm a Vegan and an animal right activist so leather for me is a big NO. But even if it wouldn't be for my ethics, who the hell could consider a leather seat for a bike like this? What's the whole point of it?
Secondly, the price. I know that design-stuff costs a lot, but I mean, that's a bmx frame slightly modified to make room for the big wheels. What's the point of selling it for 2500$? Oh, it's not titanium either.
Ok, I know, you pay for the design.
It's okay, but I doubt that there will be a lot of sales and that's not a good thing because a bike like this could become very popular.
Ok, I suppose it's just me, I'm too rude to understand the whole art/design industry.

A video from Salsa Cycles.

I really love Salsa Cycles. I like both their products and their approach.
Today I've seen they posted a video from the man who took second place in their Reveal your Path video contest.
This video is his daughter's version. The Salsa team is sharing it in their sites, asking others to share it too.
It's a great pleasure for me to add it here on my little blog too.
Here it is, Aurora Pascual's Reveal your Path video:
It's amazing how all the joy of cycling can be revealed in the words of this little girl.
We all should always remember the pure joy of simple things like a riding a bicycle.
Life is a wonderful and simple thing, there's no need to complicate it.