April 19th, 2009 by Matt · 1 Comment
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Way back in February 2008 we interviewed bike artist Steve Mitchell. Recently we got a pingback from PG-Blog that posted a link to the interview and I thought some of you new readers out there might enjoy the flashback. Full article here, and below is a picture to whet your appetite.
Filed Under: culture
Tags:
art, cogs, culture, parts, weld
April 19th, 2009 by Matt · No Comments
While my wife was doing a bit of shopping in a store on Magazine Street in New Orleans, I noticed a unique bicycle inspired piece of art on the wall.
And in a little shopping mall there were some offices and this office worker rigged up a nice place for his bike on the wall.
Filed Under: culture
Tags:
art, handlebars, picture
April 18th, 2009 by Andrew · 1 Comment

Photo credit goes to La Petite Reine
UPS isn’t the only company that delivers products by bike. In France, there’s a bike delivery company called La Petite Reine which runs a whole fleet of delivery cycles…around 60 to be exact. The cycles can be hired by anyone for small to medium sized deliveries over distances as far as 30km. Each cargocycle can transport around 180kg’s of goods in its 1400 liter cargo space. These cargocycles are also equipped with a small electric-assist motor to help make it up those big hills. According to La Petite Reine, a delivery made by cargocycle is faster than the conventional carbon-spewing truck…and also costs 10%-20% less. Beyond the obvious cost savings, a bike delivery service like this also helps save the earth and promotes a healthier lifestyle. While this type of delivery wouldn’t work in all areas here in the states, it would certainly be highly effective in densely populated urban areas. Some of La Petite Reine’s current clients include DHL, ColiPoste, and Monoprix.

Photo credit goes to La Petite Reine
Filed Under: admin
Tags:
bicycle, bike, carry, hauling, riding, transportation, utility
April 18th, 2009 by Matt · No Comments
Some more pictures from the Big Easy to share. One woman who had a table set up at a local street market was sporting this wicker wrapped bike. Not sure I would want to deal with the consequences of the wicker breaking (i.e. skin punctures and clothing snags).
I’m not positive, but this silver coated bike just may have belonged to a silver coated mime street performer I saw a few blocks away.
And this rider has a license to ride.
Filed Under: culture
Tags:
license, style, wicker
April 16th, 2009 by Andrew · 5 Comments

Photo credit goes to CyFi
Are you ever embarrassed about what other people might think of the music you are listening too? I’m not…and on some days, you may just catch me rockin out to some Poison. We’ve had postings before about bikes and speakers, but nothing quite like this…and while this won’t pump out 5000 watts of music bliss, it may just make your ride a little more enjoyable (and safer, if you wear headphones/earbuds). New from CyFi comes this tight little package that will easily put sound on your steed. The CyFi is simply this:
Cy•Fi is the world’s first wireless sports speaker for biking, boating, camping or any activity enhanced with a portable speaker. It is available in two models that support almost any music-carrying device: one is the ultimate iPod accessory, and the other supports Bluetooth-A2DP enabled cell phones, PDAs and MP3 players.

Photo credit goes too CyFi
Works great with backpacks too! It is now possible to summit Everest while blasting We Are The Champions.

Photo credit goes too CyFi
The CyFi’s small sleek design make it look great anywhere you decide to mount it. There are two CiFi options available, one is made for Ipod and one is made for Bluetooth. The Bluetooth version is $129, and the Ipod version is $149. Rock on…
Filed Under: admin
Tags:
commute, commuting, culture, cycling, ipod, music, ride, riding, sound, stereo, watts
April 16th, 2009 by Matt · 1 Comment
One of the best parts of the bike culture I witnessed in New Orleans was the fact that bikes were such a part of every day life. In my entire time there I only witnessed one Lycra clad warrior. Most of what I witnessed were every day people going about their normal lives on bikes. This was on Canal Street.
This was near the waterfront.
A couple of bicycle cops were patrolling the waterfront.
Someone was working on a bike outside MikeTheBikeGuy’s work shop on Magazine Street.
Those in the Big Easy did seem to have more of an easy going attitude toward security than those in the Big Apple. A lot of the bikes I saw locked up, like this one, had a simple little cable lock. Most of the bikes in NYC not only have more hefty locks, they incorporate more than one.
And it was double bonus time when we took the street car, it had an advertisement for a bike shop on it!
Filed Under: culture
Tags:
lock, police, public transit, security, shop
April 15th, 2009 by Matt · No Comments
The following comes from the Geeks Craft Web Site:
Cycling is, well, let’s face it, one of the geekiest “sports” out there. Either you’re pedaling around because you don’t have a car, or because you actually want to be a “cyclist” in which case you are wearing really tight, shiny shorts. More importantly than all that, cyclists have mega-pride. And here is the perfect button to show yours off. Spaceoddities posted this massive 3″ Bicycle Love Button on her etsy page. Perfect blend of geek, girly & cyclist pride.
Hmmm . . . me thinks driving a car is pretty geeky and riding a bike is pretty cool (my “mega-pride” coming out I guess).
How cool is it to spend a great deal of money on a gas powered machine that costs thousands of dollars over its lifetime to maintain and repair, who knows how much money to fuel and insure, produces toxic gases, wastes hours of your life waiting in traffic to go to your bland suburban life, and is solely responsible for more human deaths and injuries than anything else is history . . . including warfare? How cool is all that!?
I’ll ride my bike in the city the never sleeps thanks . . . in my knickers, I’m not a Lycra warrior.
Filed Under: culture, gear
Tags:
advocacy, art, button
April 15th, 2009 by Matt · 1 Comment
Seeing tall bikes in cities with lots of cars always makes me wonder. I have never been on a tall bike, but it seems like with the need to stop and start so much while riding in city streets, it might be challenge to ride such a bike. I guess you look for light poles and street signs to grab if you need to come to a stop, or possibly garbage cans to rest your foot on.
Here is one of the tall bikes I saw and tagged with a bikehacks card (end of green arrow).
The rear wheel on this bike was pretty scary. The spokes were covered in rust and one good trip through a pothole and I could not see the rear wheel surviving.
The owner also had a creative place and method of securing his water bottle cage.
Another tall bike had a common New Orleans symbol, the Fleur-de-lis, welded in between the two frames.
Filed Under: culture
Tags:
frame, new oleans, tall bike, water bottle cage, weld
April 14th, 2009 by Matt · 5 Comments
There were tons of bikes everywhere I went in New Orleans and I lost count of how many I tagged in an attempt to spread bikehacks love. I rocked a pair of my wife’s homemade bike knickers for most of the trip.
This bike had a unique Gator horn.
Bike were lined up everywhere - this was in the Garden District but no matter what part of the city I went to, bikes were in abundance.
Filed Under: culture
Tags:
culture, horn, knickers, tag, travel
April 13th, 2009 by Andrew · No Comments

Do you live here? Do you love to cycle? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you could be helping raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Bike MS started as a single event in Minnesota in 1980, and is now the largest organized charity cycling event series in the US. According to the National MS Society, in 2007 more than 100,000 cyclists participated in 100 rides throughout the US raising more than $77 million. In total, Bike MS cyclists have helped to raise more than $600 million. Want to help make it $601 million? If you answered yes to this question, log on too Bikems.org and sign up for a ride in your area. Together we can make a difference…
Filed Under: admin
Tags:
bicycle, culture, Multiple Sclerosis, ride, riding, touring