Bike Month: Bringing out the Bikeyness in Everyone

With May as Bike Month now being recognized in more and more places, I'm starting to see more companies and people doing little things here and there to celebrate it.  I have to admit, it's pretty awesome that all of the places that I frequently visit are now in bike mode, and even if it's only for a short while it at least gets people aware and might even get a few more out riding.  Here's some of what I've seen recently!

Mint, a fairly popular budgeting website, has finally caught on that biking can (surprise) save you money.  If you log in, you're given a financial tip about biking that will take you to an infographic, which you can check out here.  They talk about the cost of a bike vs. a car, and even though many of us still own vehicles, the cost of filling up multiple times a month compared to filling up every other month or so does add up.  And with all of the money you save using your bike instead of a car, you can spend it on more bike stuff!  

The health benefits of cycling are also mentioned, and with cyclists taking less sick days, getting exercise, and other benefits overall, it sure beats sitting in a gym on a spin bike!

Modcloth, a vintage themed clothing site, is also celebrating bike month with a whole section of cycling-inspired clothing and accessories.  Modcloth mostly caters to women (sorry guys), but looking at their featured bike gear shows a lot of fun stuff with even a few mens t-shirts included in the mix.  It might seem like a small thing, but I'm glad that Modcloth has chosen to promote cycling, especially in such a casual, welcoming way.  People don't need to be intimidated and think that you need a full kit and a bike that costs more than your soul to ride, and the more people feel comfortable riding casually on whatever bike they love, the better!  

Timbuk2 is also celebrating with some nifty new commuter bags, and they've started a Bikeshare program.  Plus they have a whole slew of bike related products all made in SF.  They're also having a Facebook giveaway - enter here!

And what better way to get people to ride by having them compete against each other?  Team Bike Challenege is a Bay Area competition where your company and your team can compete for points against others.  Points are based on miles and trips, with more rewarded for trips that would replace a car and frequency of riding.  There are some prizes from REI for the winners, though it looks like Apple is in the lead and is going to beat everyone...again.

REI of course is celebrating bike month with classes and events, depending on your area.  REI has always been a big advocate of cycling anyway, and also supports Bike to Work Day/Month in the Bay Area with incentives for those that pledge to ride (and do) for the first time.  Last year they sent me a $40 gift card just because I rode every day!  They have also expanded their commuter line quite a bit, so if you've been looking for good clothing to use on your rides to and from work, check them out.  

And, surprisingly, Walmart - yes, Walmart is having a Bike Month sale, with their bikes and bike accessories all marked down.  Now, I don't support box store bikes, but if it makes their customer base aware that Bike Month is a thing, and maybe gets a few more people out riding...then I might allow it.  

Anyway, I hope everyone has a great (and bike-full) Memorial Day Weekend!  Get out there and ride!

The Bikes (And Bike People) of Maker Faire

Maker Faire has been described as many things, and it's tagline "The greatest show and tell on earth" is pretty accurate.  Today I also heard it as a "Burning Man for tech people," which is also spot on.  

What surprised me about Maker Faire was the prevalence of bicycles, bike powered objects, and bike related exhibits.  I tried to grab as many photos as I could, starting with the valet bike parking that was almost completely full when I arrived.  There were thousands of bikes!

Big thank you to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition for organizing this!

This was organized and managed by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, an excellent organization that I've worked with before.  The fair was located along a bike route and bike parking was free, so people of all ages were riding in.

Parked and ready for the fun!

Parking was a short walk away from the entrance to Maker Faire, where a fire breathing octopus greeted everyone, and many bicycle related contraptions were being demonstrated.  This guy below was using this machine to do really cool geometric chalk drawings.

Many contraptions and robots had bike parts.

Next I met the awesome folks of V-Lock, who showed me their prototype lock and bicycle storage device.  It's beautiful, efficient, really well made, and I'm excited to get in on their Kickstarter when it launches!  I also got to speak with one of the designers who also builds frames - check out how beautiful they are.  It wasn't until after that I realized I was so excited talking about the V Lock that I didn't manage to get any of my own photos, so here's one from their site!  

Bike lock and bike rack - how cool is this?!  Via VLock's site.

Another booth was displaying frames made locally and advertising a summer course to build your own.  Hopefully I can have my frames at a booth next year too! 

Student made frames.

Right then, I found the Whiskeydrome: a mini velodrome where you ride single speed cruiser type bikes.  What a blast!

Everyone was curious to either watch or ride.

Inside the drome!

Now that's a steep bank.

We're rooting for you, Larry.

There were a few bikes, races, and events being put on by the Fun Bike Unicorn Club.

I would very much like to join this club.

These were some of the bikes that they had on display.  I'm not sure how functional these particular bikes were because they weren't being ridden, but there were many that were much more ridiculous that were being ridden.  

Wandering into a nearby building, I ran into the MonkeyLectric booth!  They were having a deal on one of their models and had many others on display, including an activity where you could draw something and transfer it to one of their wheels.  I really want to get one of these eventually.

Here's what they look like off the bike.

These thing are bright!  And they're becoming more affordable.

Impossible to miss this on the street at night.

And everyone knows that a VR exhibition wouldn't be complete without a bicycle simulator.  There was a demo of a bike controlled sim/video game that I watched for a bit.  It reminded me a lot of Mario Kart!

It was a single speed, but the brakes did interact with the game, which was pretty cool.

Riding the streets of Italy in your living room.

Bicycles were also *powering* some of the exhibits - there was a smoothie booth where you had to bicycle-blend your own drink, and of course the pedal powered stage, where the audience rides bikes to power the instruments!

Bikes of all kinds - even a cargo bike!

I wandered around a bit more looking at all of the bikes and contraptions.  There were so many, with bikes made of wood, electric bikes, burning man bikes, and sometimes things that were completely different, like this interesting take on a spokeless wheel:

Never seen anything like this before!

A close-up.

On my way out, I found a few of the electric bikes were grouped in the electric vehicle section, like these two!  I was really hoping to get a demo, but things were winding down and I had to leave.  

That wheelbase...

If you're in the Bay Area, Maker Fair is going on through this weekend, so I highly recommend you bike over and check it out!  There is way, way more than what I was able to feature here, and many interactive exhibits.  They have robots, 3D printing, mech battles, Game of Drones, and an agricultural exhibit where they were giving out baby plants.

Made it home in one piece!

Thanks to everyone who made Maker Faire possible - I'll update with any bike related Kickstarters as they launch in the next coming months.

Trek District Discontinued

Looks like the legendary belt driven district will no longer be offered by Trek.  The chain based District S is still offered, but without the split frame to upgrade to a belt.  Since I know quite a few people that own (and love the crap out of) these bikes, and many more who had a hard time finding a shop that had them in stock when they were searching for one to buy, I'm wondering why the District was discontinued...along with what looks like all of Trek's belt driven bikes.  Not to mention all of Specialized's belt driven bikes as well - while, like Trek, all the chain version of the models are still offered, the belt driven bikes no longer are.

Perhaps Gates had a deal and has some future plans?  

There are still many belt driven bikes to choose from, so don't fret.  Plus, Districts pop up on Craigslist and eBay every now and then, but if you're searching for one and see one stocked in a store...might be a good idea to pick it up sooner rather than later.  

For anyone searching for a good belt compatible frame to build up, check out Speedhound.

Love the matching stem and cranks.

These lovely frames are made with interchangeable dropouts.  You can go vertical, horizontal, have a derailleur hanger, etc.  The geometry is CX specific, so if you want a slightly more aggressive build, these guys are your go-to.  Lots of colors, absolutely beautiful steel frames, and a versatile frame that can change as fast as your mind can.  Pretty cool - I'd love to build one of these into a SSCX belt driven machine.  

I wonder if we'll see any new belt driven bikes or belt components this coming year.  I'd love to see more companies offer a dedicated belt driven fixed gear at a decent price!

Edit:  According to Trek the District is being "shelved for a while."  Perhaps it's not the end for these bikes.

Moots Demo at Palo Alto Bicycles

Unfortunately I'm all but useless today stuck in bed with some sort of weird bug and a high fever, so there's not too much I can do other than watch cartoons and sniffle while dosing in and out of fever dreams.

Speaking of dreaming...

However, while I have a moment of consciousness, I wanted to write about a pretty cool event hosted last night at Palo Alto Bicycles: a demo and presentation from Moots of titanium bicycle fame.  One of my cycling crazed coworkers was kind enough to invite me along to what turned out to be a pretty exclusive event (I almost didn't get in, but thankfully for me there was a last minute cancellation) and we oogled over the titanium lovlies on display.

Looks like we're in the right place!

For those of you not familiar with Moots, they make custom titanium bikes for just about any cycling appetite - road, cross, mountain, touring, even fat bikes. They'll actually make just about whatever you can imagine, and they're constantly trying out new designs and techniques, such as this trail bike they demoed at NAHBS and had on display last night.

Chainsaw AND a six pack rack?  I'm sold.

The presentation itself featured photos of the Moots facility and frame building process, along with a Q and A session.  Moots itself is a very small company that takes great pride in their people and their work.  Titanium is not an easy material to work with, so their welders have to have quite a bit of experience before they start work on actual bikes.  The process of welding Ti involved filling the tubes with argon, since oxygen can't be present in the welding environment - but let me back up a bit.  

One of the display bikes.  Stronger than steel and almost as light at carbon, these bikes are stunning in person.

Each Moots frame is made exactly to the specification of the rider, and therefore they are very picky about who their dealers are, as shops such as Palo Alto Bicycles have to have someone on hand who is proficient at taking fit measurements and figuring out what sort of frame a rider needs.  As such, each Moots is unique and all of their bikes and components are just about guaranteed for life.  

Moots itself began using titanium when they were looking for a solution to steel weakening when used in a full suspension frame.  They tried titanium...and haven't looked back sense.  It's nearly impossible to break, light, strong, and when finished with Moots' signature bead blasting, looks classy and stands up to the elements.  They also make seat posts, stems, and a few other components, all titanium.  Aside from making cool frames, they do a lot for their employees and community - that trail bike on display is getting donated for use in trail maintenance, and their employees get a dollar for each day they commute to work by bike.  Pretty cool!

Apologies for the photo quality!  I only had my phone with me.  This is the fork on the Moots CX bike.

The main event of the night was a raffle - there were quite a few Palo Alto Bicycles and Moots goodies, including shirts, kits, bottle openers, and olive oil (which Moots also makes...who knew?) But the prize that everyone was there for was the chance to win a fully custom Moots frame!  And while neither I nor my coworker won a fully custom Moots frame, I have to give a shout out to the lucky guy who did, and had to chuckle when he asked the audience "So...who wants to buy a Serotta?"  

Such nice welds...

Palo Alto Bicycles does a lot of cool events like this, and the shop itself is run by pretty cool people who just want to share their passion for bikes.  There's a ride next Thursday with a Giro demonstration afterwards, and I highly recommend checking it out!

Apologies if parts of this post are feverish and incoherent.  I honestly can't remember when I started writing it.  I'll come back later and edit any weird parts, if I remember.  

Evernote Bikes!

I kept seeing this bike around town - around Caltrain, my commute, riding around the peninsula on the weekends, I saw this bike everywhere.  First I just thought that the guy riding it just must be extremely dedicated, and then I happened to board the train with him one day, and I learned the truth: his bike was part of a fleet of bikes that were given to employees that needed them, by a company called Evernote. 

It's impossible to get my phone to focus on a moving train.

As it turns out, Evernote commissioned Republic Bikes for a fleet of their own personalized SS/Fixed Gear rides, available to employees that expressed a need for them to commute.  There's this nifty black and white mixte that I see the most, as well as another traditional model that I found a photo of here.  All of the bikes have a basket, lights, and a flip-flop hub.  According to the guy that I spoke who worked for Evernote, there was so much demand that they ran out of bikes.  No news on whether or not they will be making more.

I love seeing companies do things like this, whether it's offering bikes to employees or giving them incentives to ride, or local businesses that reward cycling customers. 

Rain tomorrow, so it looks like I'm steering clear of the velodrome and regluing some tubulars.