A couple of weeks ago I posted about pedals and how they’re the most likely culprit if your bike is making little clicks and creaks. Here’s an excerpt:

Being the aficionado of fine bike parts that he is, this bit about cheap transpo pedals caught the eye of my friend Bob over at The Bike Biz. So, to school me in the ways of high-quality platform pedals, he sent me a pair of super sweet White Industries Urban Pedals to try out for a couple of weeks.

I’m a bit of a Luddite when it comes to pedals — I’ve been using some variant of the old rat trap for many years — but I have to admit, these White Ind. pedals are something else. With their machined platforms, tapered stainless steel spindle, bronze acorn nuts, and sealed cartridge bearings, they’re really more like jewelry or a high-end fly reel than the cheap-o pedals that I’m used to.

I’m a fan of double-sided platforms; I like the fact that I can just step on a bike in anything from flip flops to hiking boots and not have to fumble with my feet. The White Ind. pedals are single-sided platforms, and while they can be used without clips, it’s clear they were designed for use with clips and straps. I found myself hunting for the top side of the pedal and skating around a bit, both issues that would be resolved with the addition of clips. Since they’re on loan, I didn’t want to mount clips for fear of marring the finish, but if I was to use these myself, I’d definitely set them up with clips and straps.

These are just about the smoothest running and most beautiful pedals I’ve ever experienced. I can’t honestly say they’d be worth the $220 price tag for me, but if you’re wanting a set of made-in-U.S.A. lifetime pedals designed specifically for city riding, you won’t do better than these beauties; they’ll certainly add some major bling to any bike that’s up to it.

[Bob is the manager of The Bicycle Business in Sacramento, CA. The Bicycle Business is a sponsor of this website and provided the pedals for this article.]

Just a Couple of Mods

I’ve never been able to bring a new bike home and just ride it as is. I always feel compelled to change at least some little detail to make it my own. It could be something as simple as changing the color of the bar tape, to a full blown rebuild with new bars, cranks, saddle and the whole deal. Some bikes closely fit the picture in my mind of how they should look; these tend to get left alone. Others may have a “problem” such as a mismatched set of racks, or a roadie saddle on a utility bike; these don’t make it very long before they go under the knife. Off-the-shelf bikes such as my Surly tend to get more seriously worked over, whereas bikes that are built to order like my Rivendell require less fussing and finessing.

I’m guessing this compulsion goes back to my childhood. I can remember being as young as 6 or 7 years old and rebuilding my bike in the garage with my older brother. He helped me take a scratched up, ugly old Schwinn Stingray, and rebuild it into a kid’s dream bike with purple sparkle paint, motorcycle handlebars, and a racing seat. That bike was so cool, and I was so proud that we built it together, that it left a mark on me. Perhaps going through that process is what set me up for a lifetime of tinkering and tweaking on bicycles.

What about you? Can you leave well enough alone or are you compelled to modify your bikes whether they need it or not? Would you rather search for that perfect bike and buy it ready to roll, or do you gain more satisfaction starting with an ugly duckling and turning it into a swan? Share your story; we’d love to hear it!

The “Nation’s Largest Bike Sharing System” launched yesterday in Minneapolis. Nice Ride Minnesota was developed by Public Bike System Co., the same group that developed Montreal’s Bixi and Denver’s B-Cycle systems. This new system features 700 bikes and 65 stations, and like other such programs, the fees consist of a subscription plus a trip fee.

Minneapolis will need to stay on its toes if it wants to hold on to the “Nation’s Largest Bike Sharing System” moniker; Washington D.C. has plans to implement a Bixi-style 1,100 bike, 114 station system this Fall.

Nice Ride Minnesota →

A Different Kind of Bike Map

The little town of Black Hawk, Colorado didn’t know what it was bargaining for when it banned bicycles from many of its streets; the decision is making waves throughout the bicycle blogosphere, and reportedly the city is being deluged with e-mails from bike advocates around the country. The rationale for the ban? “Safety”. Here’s how City Manager Mike Copp put it:

We all know that riding in automobiles is far more dangerous than bicycling; perhaps they could have banned cars instead (fat chance). If you happen to be riding through that part of Colorado, beware; the fine for bicycling in Black Hawk is $68.

If you’d like to voice your opinion on this matter, contact City Manager Mike Copp at CityManager@CityofBlackHawk.org

More at Cyclelicious →
More at Austin on Two Wheels →
More at Bicycle Colorado →
More at Biking Bis →
More at LAB →
More at Biking Toronto →
More at Road.cc →
More at The Denver Channel →
City of Black Hawk →

On Sunday, June 27th, Oakland, CA is getting in on the Ciclovía fun with “Oaklavía”, their first ever street closure event. From the Oaklavia website:

Visit the Oaklavía website for more information →

Sometime over the past few years, almost imperceptibly and without fanfare, bicycle headlights and tail lights came down in price while improving in quality to the point where buying a lighting system for a commuter bicycle is now a no-brainer. This is a big deal to someone like myself who has been on the quest for the ultimate lighting system for decades.

Until recently, battery-powered systems that had sufficiently long run times and enough power to be safe on a nighttime commute were heavy, expensive, and unreliable. But now, lights that would have been considered high performance just a few years ago are compact, lightweight, reliable, and can be had for well under $100. We owe this revolution in lighting to the efficiency of tiny LED light emitters that are able to squeeze an incredible amount of light and good run times out of just a pair of AA or AAA batteries.

In years past, I was an advocate for dynamo-powered lighting systems; the convenience of having instant-on, always-available light on a bike used for transportation is a real plus. But now, as the “head mechanic” charged with maintaining a bevy of bikes for a family of five — most of which don’t have dynamos and probably never will — I’ve become a huge fan of tiny LED headlights and tail lights. I keep a pile of them around to hand out to whomever might need one in a pinch, and I have a bag of rechargeable AA and AAA batteries that I keep topped off with a nice 8-slot battery charger. Most of these bikes won’t be ridden after dark more than a half-dozen times a year, so having the option of swapping lights around is a real boon. And certainly, investing in a dedicated dynamo lighting system for every bike that comes through our stable is no longer necessary or reasonable.

At some point it would be fun to drill down and take a look at the subtle differences between the leading LED commuter headlights and tail lights on the market. Until then, I can safely say that any of the headlights in the $50-$100 price range from the majors will do a remarkable job. I’m particularly fond of the Planet Bike Blaze 2W, the Princeton Tec EOS Bike, and the Fenix L2D. This last one is actually a high performance flashlight that, when combined with a TwoFish Block, makes an excellent bike light. I particularly like the construction of its water-resistant, machined alloy casing. [Note: The L2D is an older model that has been replaced by the LD20]. As for tail lights, get yourself one or two Planet Bike Superflashes or Princeton-Tec Swerves and call it good.

The only downside to this golden age of bike lights is that for us light geeks, the quest is essentially over. With so many excellent, inexpensive lights to choose from, it’s not much of a challenge to come up with a headlight/tail light combo that is more than adequate for commuting. The good news is that these lights are now within financial reach of most people, so there’s no longer any excuse to ride a bike after dark without sufficient lighting.