Haters Gonna Hate!

Can't buy bike, just build one. Just check out the brakes..awesome!

Source: Reddit.com

Bicycle

Source: Reddit

The Power of Bicycle

Source: Johan Bruyneel Facebook

Touring Bike

Despite the fact that Steel Bike is more suitable for a touring bike compared to Titanium because steel is stiffer & easier to repair, we should not look at the material of the frame when looking for a comfortable ride.

Remember, Comfort & Durability is more important than Speed & Weight.

Therefore, we should focus on:

1. Frame Geometry- the more upright, the less aerodynamic but the more comfortable. Consider frame with longer wheelbase like my specialized sequoia or Surly LHT.

2. A good saddle give you comfort. Im happy with my brooks saddle. Other 'high-tech' saddle like Topeak also give you comfortable ride but less comfort when paying $$$ for it.

3. Fat tires like the Big Apple give you more smooth & comfortable ride. Make sure the air inflation is right by considering the load that you are carrying.

4. The right bike like LHT or my folding bike, allows me to fix the fenders. this give me comfort when riding on wet roads

5. Proper gears like the granny allows you to climb with heavy load with ease. Butterfly handlebar also give your more space to hold on during long rides.

6. Correct Riding position especially when the bike fits you, will prevent body pain. Comfort = No Pain.

So, there you go. In order to get a comfortable touring bike, make sure the bike and its equipment is suitable for touring. Enjoy your ride!

Source: Sheldon Brown

Make All Your Child's Football Dreams Come True

Dedicated to all Liverpool FC..'The Mighty Reds' Fans... I'm sure that this will make a great present for Wayne Rooney! Thanks for the 'pep talk' dude.

"You'll Never Walk Alone"

Visit vivastreet.co.uk

'He risked our lives for a bike'

WHEN fire breaks out, what do you try to save first?

For one office worker, it was his bicycle. Which was fine, except that he was fleeing from the 30th storey of a downtown building.

While hundreds of his fellow office workers were evacuating the building after a fire alarm went off at 11.40am yesterday, the man slowed them down by carrying his bicycle in the fire escape stairway.

There was a fire in the basement at 6 Battery Road, and lawyer Stefanie Yuen Thio was upset by this man's inconsiderate actions.

Mrs Thio, 38, the corporate and joint managing director of TSMP Law Corporation, said: 'Lives were at stake, and yet he was willing to risk them for a bicycle.

'We were lucky that it was a small fire, or it could have been so dangerous. By carrying such a bulky item, he made the jam in the stairway even worse,' she added.

'Every few steps, we would have to turn, so people had to give him a very wide berth. There were old people and a heavily pregnant lady walking behind him.

'If he didn't want to wait until everyone walked down, he could at least have let them pass,' said Mrs Thio who took a picture of the man and his bicycle when they reached the ground floor.

The pregnant woman, who wanted to be known only as Ms Teo, said the man may have entered the fire escape around the 30th storey.

Worried

The lawyer, who's in her 30s, said: 'I was concerned, because if there was a stampede, the bike would have been an obstacle, and people might have tripped over it.

'I was also worried about his safety, because people may have shoved him aside if they started to panic. Thankfully, it was not chaotic, although I didn't know whether it would have been safer walking in front of or behind him.'

Mrs Thio said she told the man, who looked to be in his late 20s, that it was not right for him to carry a bicycle with him.

But he replied that he could walk faster than anyone else despite carrying his bicycle.

She said: 'I could have shouted at him, but I chose to show him some respect and went up to him to tell him that he was holding everyone up. At one point, the bicycle almost hit my head too.

'If it had been me, I would have been humble enough to apologise and let everyone else pass.'

Mrs Thio said there had been several fire drills and people working in the building would have been aware of what they should or should not do in such emergencies.

'What's more, this was not a fire drill, this was the real thing!' she added.

When they reached the ground, a security guard told the man that he should not have brought his bicycle down.

Again, his response was that he could walk faster than anyone else, said Mrs Thio.

Exasperated by the man's attitude, Mrs Thio said she would write to the building management to make sure that all tenants will brief their staff about the right evacuation procedures.

By the time The New Paper arrived at the scene, the man was no longer there.

Other office workers said they smelled burning plastic on their way down, but everyone moved in an orderly manner. There was no pushing and no panic despite the jam on the stairs.

Human resources executive Taufik Taib, 29, said: 'Everyone knew what to do because we just had a fire drill three months ago.'

The building management had evacuated the occupants before the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) arrived.

SCDF public affairs director LTC N Subhas said in a news release that it received a call at 11.41am yesterday about smoke coming out of the building.

Fire-fighters found that a store room in the basement three carpark was on fire and put it out within five minutes using an internal hose reel.

A woman, 44, was sent to Singapore General Hospital due to smoke inhalation. Occupants were allowed back into the building at around 1pm.

SCDF is investigating the cause of the fire.

A spokesman for CapitaCommercial Trust Management, which manages the building, said there was no physical damage to the building.

Smoke was visible from the 5th storey as the smoke from the basement was channelled there through the ventilation shaft.

Source: The Electric New Paper

A Brief History Of The Bicycle

The evolution of the bicycle is fascinating from a social as well as technological point of view. In fact, most of the technical innovations were made before the start of the last century, when the basic form of the bicycle that we know today was created. In the modern era, advances in materials science have been the driving force behind developments.

In 1817 the 'Hobby Horse' was invented by Karl von Drais. Made of wood, this was basically like a bicycle with the pedals, gears and chain removed - you pushed it along with your feet, but was faster than walking. To read more..

Source: Bicycle Association of Great Britain

Underground Bicycle Parking

Source : YouTube

Street Surfer

When browsing the Net today, I found this 'funny' looking bike and wonder whether we would see it on Malaysia roads soon. (Bet, we will coz Malaysian cyclists are 'kiasu' too!) After watching the video (below), it seems to be more an 'X-treme' kinda biking rather than the 'normal' on-road or off-road cycling. Due to its 'free-styling' ability similar to the bmx, i think it will be big one day and who knows, may be we will see it in the Olympics or at least the X-Games.



Visit the website here

Source: Tasty Adventure

Classic Bikes

To view more vintage bicycles, click here.

Source: Bicycle Quarterly.

The Doctor

Check out a custom-made Kuota bike by a fan to honor Valentino Rossi aka 'The Doctor' the 7-times MotoGP champions. MotoGP fan might recognize the #46 on the head tube.

Actually, I accidently found this photo on the net while googling for VR. In fact, the colour scheme made the bike looking not bad at all. Well, Im not sure whether he rides bicycle (he do play football!) but after all he is an Italian...no?

Source: PezCycling News

Seinfeld

The green Klein hanging on the wall by the bathroom is not Jerry's. It is actually Michael Richards' (Kramer) bike. Jerry doesn't ride.

Source: Blue Collar Mountain Biking.

Recumbent Bike

recumbentMain Entry: re·cum·bent
Pronunciation: -b&nt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin recumbent-, recumbens, present participle of recumbere to lie down, from re- + -cumbere to lie down; akin to Latin cubare to lie
1 a : suggestive of repose : LEANING, RESTING b : lying down
2 : representing a person lying down recumbent statue >

Pls visit our friend 'Mr Recumbent' Terence Foo website at MyBent for more information about this interesting looking bike.

Source: Definition from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionery & picture from Wikipedia 'Recumbent'.

Fly MAS...the cycling-friendly airlines!

Bicycle

Non-motorised touring or racing bicycles with single seats for carriage are accepted as checked baggage with certain limitations.

Any bicycle presented for carriage must be packaged in one of the following ways:

• Handlebars are fixed sideways and pedals removed and enclosed in a cardboard container
• Pedals and handlebars encased in plastic, styrofoam, or other similar material

Any bicycle presented in a box with overall dimensions not exceeding 62" and checked in lieu of one bag is accepted. In addition, 2 baggage systems with 2 conditions each, will apply accordingly:

1. Weight System for passengers travelling between Europe & Asia

Bicycle will be accepted as free checked baggage provided that handlebars are fixed sideways and the pedals are removed. It will be treated as any other piece of baggage, subject to excess baggage charge if weight exceeds free baggage allowance.

2. Piece System for passengers travelling across the Atlantic or Pacific

Bicycle will be accepted as 2 pieces of free baggage at 32kgs each. It will be treated as any other piece of baggage of up to 32kgs each and are charged an excess baggage rate of USD100 per piece.

Note: Some connection carriers and aircraft may not accept bicycles as checked baggage, and may have different limitations.

Source: MAS Website- Baggage Information

Bicycle chosen as best invention

The humble bicycle has won a UK national survey of people's favourite inventions.

Listeners to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme were invited to vote in an online poll looking at the most significant innovations since 1800.

It was an easy victory for the bicycle which won more than half of the vote.

The transistor came second with 8% of the vote, and the electro-magnetic induction ring - the means to harness electricity - came third.

Interplanetary travel

Despite their ubiquity, computers gained just 6% of the vote and the internet trailed behind with only 4% of all votes cast. There were more than 4,500 votes cast in total.

People chose the bicycle for its simplicity of design, universal use, and because it is an ecologically sound means of transport.

Alas, plans to ship long-suffering commuters to distant planets may need to be put on hold with only 15% voting for an interplanetary commuting transport system.

Half voted water treatment and supply systems as the technology to bring most benefit to society.

Another 23% thought that vaccinations deserved the honour.

Each of the technologies were nominated by a different expert, including writer Arthur C Clarke, cloning expert Professor Ian Wilmut, and Professor Heinz Wolf.

Prof Wolff's praise of the bicycle held the most sway with voters which will come as a disappointment to Lord Alec Broers, this year's Reith lecturer.

His series of lectures - Triumph of Technology - prompted the vote.

In the first of his talks, he expressed surprise at the results of a similar survey.

It too ranked the bicycle above scientific breakthroughs such as electricity generation, the jet engine, the discovery of DNA and the invention of vaccinations.

Source: BBC News/ Technology May 05, 2005

Diana's bicycle sells for £1,200

A bicycle which was ridden by Princess Diana when she was a child has been sold for £1,200 at auction.

The Tracker bike was used by the Princess of Wales when she lived in Althorp, Northants, in the 1970s.

The bike was sold at Keys auctioneers in Aylsham, Norfolk, to Alan Goldsmith, of The House On The Hill Toy Museum in Stansted, Essex.

"We decided it should be saved for the nation and also kept in East Anglia," said Mr Goldsmith.

"I would have been prepared to go up to £10,000 because I believe Diana was the biggest celebrity icon of the last century."

Keys said the bike had originally been bought for £20 by Maudie Pendry, a housekeeper employed by Diana's family.

When the housekeeper died her family decided to sell the bike, it said.

The lot, which sold for a total of £1,350 including the buyer's premium, also included a letter written in 1982 and a Christmas card from 1994, both signed by Diana, who died 10 years ago.

Source: BBC- UK News May 18, 2007

You Are My Bicycle

If other men are cars
You are my bicycle.
Eccentric individualist
tweed jacket and tie.
Some women might mock
yesterday's Englishman
I am enchanted.

Cars aren't always fast:
traffic snarled, fume choked
while bicycles slip past
in nonchalant freedom.
Your independent mind
leaves lesser man baffled.
I am impressed.

But like a bicycle
our relationship's hard work.
As I still struggle up hills
I wonder if before long
I'll leave you rusting
while I look for a car.
I am exhausted.

Source: BBC- h2g2 / The Underguide / Poetry

Bicycling in Doha

It's hard to find the likes of Trek, Giant or Specialized bikes in Doha. The common one is 'Philips' brand...a MTB. However, one fine day I saw this brand new 'Goldline-Atlas' bike parked in front of a grocery store..check out the still wrapped fork, shinny chrome parts, a dynamo for the front lights, rear rack, 'Export Quality' word on the top tube and probably an emblem a la 'cadillac' on top of the front fender... priceless!!

Fast Riding on a "Slow" Bike

When it comes to riding fast, touring bikes get a bad rap. I'm sure you have often heard someone say, "That thing weighs so much," or "The frame angles aren't right for hard cornering," or similar epistemological rubbish.

The true differences between a go fast bike and a touring bike are much exaggerated. Do you want to have a one unit bike collection and still go fast? Buy a touring bike. Put skinny tires on it for your go-fast days. Your misinformed riding companions will marvel at your moose-like muscles, but you and I will know that you really aren't overcoming a huge mechanical disadvantage.

Here's the weight difference: a go-fast bike's frame weighs two to four pounds. A touring bike's frame weighs four to five pounds. There's another half pound weight difference in the fork, and a sprinkling of ounces here and there in other components. The most important of these differences is in the wheels and tires, and you can minimize that by using the lightest tires your touring rims will allow.

Your touring bike's rims will be a bit wider than a go-fast bike's rims. The touring bikes I've tested in the past few years have rim widths of 22 to 24mm, and a typical go-fast rim is 18mm. This means you can't fit the narrowest tires on your touring bike. Depending on your bike, the narrowest tire that works well may be in the 23C to 26C range.

But is this a disadvantage? I don't think so. A 20C tire may look cool, but a 26C tire handles better.

The Surly Long Haul Trucker I recently road tested weighed 24.16 pounds with its fat tires. I used to ride USCF races on 23-pound bikes. SO I think Long Haul Trucker is pretty good. Sure, today's carbon wonders routinely trounce the 20-pound barrier, but so what? You can go plenty fast on a 24-pound bike. The "additional" weight hampers your acceleration, but you won't notice that unless you're doing exhaustive sprint workouts. The weight doesn't hamper your top speed. It hampers your hill climbing, but only as much as the weight of a few more water bottles.

Finally, an anecdote: decades ago, I held a USCF racing license and I trained daily on exotic racing bikes. Each morning, I would time my commute to work. This commute was six miles long, it had 68o vertical feet of climbing, and it had 1,030 feet of descending. It had hard cornering, washboard pavement, and one memorable switchback climb. My stopwatch and I rode many a world championship racing machine over those hills, and yet my fastest time on that commute was on my Cannondale touring bike with fenders, a rear rack, and 27 x 1 1/8 inch touring tires.

So if you want to go fast, it ain't the bike that's holding you back.

Source: John Schubert, "What Kind of Bike Should You Buy?", Adventure Cyclist Magazine, Feb 2007.

Bike Stolen Poster

Source: Flickr