To say “thanks for your support”, each Friday for the month of September we’re randomly drawing a name from among our Facebook followers and sending the winner a cool prize. The next drawing will take place on Friday, September 17th and the winner will receive a pair of leather hand grips.

If you’d like to participate in the giveaway but you’re not currently following us on Facebook, just navigate over to our Facebook page and click on the “Like” button near the top of the page. Doing so will automatically enter you in the drawings. And if you have any bike riding friends who might like to participate, by all means, send them our way.

EcoVelo on Facebook →

In an article published in the Eurobike Show Daily (and re-published at BikeBiz), Mark Sanders (designer of the Strida folding bike) makes the case for bicycles designed to place the rider in a perfectly upright posture, not unlike how a person would sit behind the wheel of a car, or in an ergonomic chair at a computer. From the article:

I’ve owned everything from hi-racer recumbents with steeply inclined seats, to diamond frame racing bikes with dramatic drops from the saddle to the bars. On diamond frames, I’ve found handlebar positions that distribute the rider’s weight somewhat equally between the saddle, pedals, and handlebars to be the most comfortable. For short rides, say under 5 miles, the bolt upright position works well (to be fair, at those distances, almost anything works OK). But, for longer rides, carrying all of my weight on my derrier eventually becomes uncomfortable, and I do better with a slightly stretched out position that takes at least some of my weight off of the saddle and places it forward on the bars and pedals.

How about you? Do you prefer to sit perfectly upright, or does a more stretched out position provide more comfort?

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This Morning’s Commute

The “worm” being a gorgeous sunrise to kick off the week.

This is a photo of my LHT shortly after the build was completed in June of 2008. With the honey Brooks saddle, matching mud flap, North Road bars, and shellacked cork grips, the overall look was sort of Dutch city bike meets American tourist.

Here’s the same bike in September of 2011 2010 (Oops, sorry. And no, I’m not a time traveler… LOL). It’s gone through a metamorphosis over the past two-plus years, taking on a more serious urban assault vibe both in looks and functionality. One notable addition that really expanded the capabilities of this bike is the Pass & Stow porteur rack with dual headlight mounts.

Civia recently sent us some handlebars to try out (more here, and more later). These are the 50 degree Aldrich flat bars. I love these bars to death, but they triggered a series of other changes to the bike, starting with clamp-on mountain grips and Paul Thumbie shifters.

The lower bars called for a narrower saddle, hence the Selle Anatomica. You’re probably already noticing a shift in the color scheme.

This is only tangentially related, but I swapped the triple for a 1×9 drivetrain (read about it here). I also added a Paul Chain Keeper and replaced a damaged Pletscher center stand (that’s a story for another day). I ordered both in black to carry on the matchy-matchy theme.

And finally, because I couldn’t have one honey colored accessory while everything else was transitioning to black, I picked up some black leather dye for the Brooks mud flap. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it turned out perfectly.

None of this was planned in any real sense. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, my bike had undergone a fairly dramatic transformation. I must say, I’m quite happy with the results.

With the number of cargo bikes on the market on the rise, and with a number of those bikes having maximum capacities into the multiple hundreds of pounds, it has me wondering how much capacity is really necessary for the typical commuter/utility bicyclist. For those who are 100% car-free or use their bicycles to carry heavy equipment in a work environment, “as much as possible” is probably the right answer. For others—particularly those who only need to carry a commute load or a few days worth of groceries—something far less is probably sufficient.

We’re “car-lite”, which, for the uninitiated, means we use our bicycles as our primary mode of transportation, but we keep a single, small, fuel efficient motor vehicle in the garage for those times when we need it. “Those times” might include transporting a carload of teenagers to a concert or ball game, rushing to the next county to help out an elderly parent in a pinch, or on the rare occasion, hauling something extremely heavy back from the hardware store.

“On the rare occasion” is the operative phrase for us. The fact that we so rarely have the need to move large, heavy objects makes me wonder whether a person should purchase a bike for those rare occasions, or if they should choose a bike based upon their typical daily loads. Certainly, if a person has the regular need and they don’t mind a larger, heavier bike designed for carrying large loads, then a dedicated cargo bike is the clear choice. But, for those like us who rarely need to carry more than 75 lbs., and who also enjoy the ride quality of more lightly built bikes, a more conventional frame and component mix along the lines of what is appropriate for touring might be in order.

A conventional touring or commuting bike with quality racks can carry at least 100 lbs. For example, the popular Tubus Cargo rack is rated for 90 lbs., and the Tubus Duo lowrider front rack is rated for 33 lbs. Substituting a high-quality porteur rack like the Pass & Stow for a lowrider on the front can increase the capacity of a conventional bike to over 150 lbs. — easily double my typical load.

There’s no right or wrong here, but it’s worth pointing out that a full-fledged cargo bike capable of carrying hundreds of pounds is not an absolute necessity for a car-lite or car-free lifestyle. In some circumstances it may be the perfect tool for the job, but in others, a conventional bike outfitted with a pair of quality racks will get the job done well enough.

Surly is showing their 2011 model updates prior to Interbike this year. A few highlights include the Troll (shown above), which they’re describing as “a commuter, tractor, off-roader, tourer, dethmachine”; a new heavy-duty cargo trailer designed to haul up to 300 lbs.; a new color for the Cross-check (Robin’s Egg Blue); and a lower complete-build price for the Big Dummy ($1840). Check out all the details on the Surly Blog.

Surly →

Just about any old place qualifies as Big Sky Country when you’re on a bike.