Month: August 2008

Rob Anderson says I ride because of political motivations

Richard MasonerAugust 20, 200816 Comments on Rob Anderson says I ride because of political motivations

Rob Anderson made the Wall Street Journal!

Rob Anderson is the guy who successfully challenged San Francisco’s implementation of a bike plan, by claiming in court that the bike plan must undergo an environmental review just like any other transportation plan. According to the Wall Street Journal, Anderson believes I ride my bike for political reasons!

“Regardless of the obvious dangers, some people will ride bikes in San Francisco for the same reason Islamic fanatics will engage in suicide bombings — because they are politically motivated to do so,” he wrote in a May 21 post.

Anderson claims he fights cycling because of our thought crimes of a “holier-than-thou” attitude and because many cyclists ride dangerously on city streets, zipping by dangerously closely to him and other pedestrians. Anderson is car-free, so I’m a little bemused that he doesn’t also criticize motorists for the same attitudes and behaviors. When it comes to entitlement attitudes, dangerous behavior and actual risk, motorists have cyclists beat by a long ways.

Most cyclists in the United States (including myself) are also motorists — the problem of dangerous behavior is not specifically a motorist vs cyclist problem, but a people problem. Some people are jerks, whether they’re on a bike or in a car. Whether you’re driving, cycling or walking, please be nice to those around you.

Posted In san francisco

Ezra’s seatless bicycle

Richard MasonerAugust 18, 20086 Comments on Ezra’s seatless bicycle

This is Ezra Caldwell’s bicycle. You might think it’s a trials bike, but it’s not.

I’ve mentioned Ezra before as the guy who makes Fast Boy wooden fenders, wooden handlebars, and steel bicycles. Ezra, 34, was recently diagnosed with cancer of the nether regions. His doctor told him no more bicycle riding, because sitting on the bike seat can damage those nether regions.

So Ezra built this bike without a saddle, so he can ride his bike to and from his radiation treatments. All I can say is “Wow.”

The bike features big fat Schwalbe Super Moto tires to smooth the ride and swept back handlebars for comfort. Clipless pedals are for safety. “Without a seat to fall back on,” Ezra writes, “I am NOT excited about having one of my feet get kicked off a pedal on a bump.”

Ezra has a blog to chronicle his efforts to teach cancer to cry [adult language]. Yokota Fritz wishes Ezra all the best!

This cancer treatment is expensive for a New York bike builder. Megan set up a PayPal donation page if you want to help Ezra with the expenses of his treatment.

Posted In Uncategorized

Trek introduces belt drive bicycles

Richard MasonerAugust 18, 2008Leave a Comment

Trek World 2008: City bikes, belt drives, singlespeeds, and LeMond replacements

Mark Stevenson is spending the weekend in Madison Wisconsin for Trek World 2008 show, where Trek shows their dealers what they have coming up for the next year. He kindly sent me a lot of photos and information about the show.

Trek District

According to Mark, “commuter oriented really were front and center this year with the star of the show being the Trek District.” The District, a flat bar singlespeed bike featuring the Gates belt drive system, will be available in October for around $900. According to Trek, this aggressive road bike inspired design” produces an edgy ride with color matched Bontrager Inform saddle, orange rims, accents on the stem face plate, and even constrasting colored water bottle cage bolts. The Gates carbon belt drive shaves 280 grams from this urban bike while producing a “ninja quiet ride” with no lubrication.

Trek Soho

Soho is another belt drive bike, which will retail for under $1000 in December. The existing 2008 Soho (chain drive) has an 8 speed Alfine hub. The 2009 model shows at Trek World included matching fenders and a minimal chainguard.

Trek Allant is a new offering that eschews the suspension bits of a common hybrid for a standard rigid steel fork and seatpost. Standard gear includes fenders and rack. The WSD version with a step through frame puts the rack on the front. Allant will be available beginning in November for $540.

Trek Allant men's

Fisher road bikes revealed at the show includes the Presidio CX bicycle and the Triton, a fixed gear city bike. They twins to the LeMond Poprad an Filmore fill holes in Trek’s product line that appeared with LeMond’s vacancy.

According to Trek, the Fisher Simple City bicycles have been hugely successful, and dealers are looking forward to possible refinements and additions to this series in the future.

Thank you to Mark Stevenson and Arleigh Jenkins for the photos and details! See more of Mark’s photos from Trek World 2008 at this photoset. You’ll find more from Trek World 2008 at CommuteByBike and Twenty Nine Inches. I also just noticed that James beat me to posting information from the show at Bicycle Design, where he wrote about the District, Fisher El Ranchero, and the Soho. The El Ranchero is the anticipated longtail bike that will be offered by Trek dealers.

Posted In trek

Bicycle excise tax pays for trail network

Richard MasonerAugust 18, 20086 Comments on Bicycle excise tax pays for trail network

The city of Colorado Springs, CO, charges a $4 excise tax on new bicycles. In 2007, retailers in Colorado Springs sold 32,853 new bicycles, compared against 23,512 cars and trucks sold at car dealerships in all of El Paso County.

This bicycle tax was created 20 years ago to fund construction of bike facilities and has generated about $2 million in income since it started in 1988. According to Colorado Springs transportation planners, the current network of bike paths would not exist today without this tax.

Read more about this excise tax in the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Posted In colorado