Considered by many bike folks to be one of the best bicycle book authors of all time.  Not simply because of his expert knowledge on the variety of cycling subject matter.  Richard Ballantine has been entertaining cyclists interested in bike travel, bicycle touring, commuting and mountain biking for decades.  

Filled with numerous fun filled illustrations, witty, real and devoted to the world of bikes.  You will find yourself quoting some of his silly banter particularly when it comes to bike advocacy and safe bicycle commuting.

With a no nonsense approach, yet able to make fun of outmoded bicycle uses witnessed during the evolution of the bicycle not only informs us bike folk but keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously.  Something I have always felt to be a good idea with many of my "hard core enthusiast" friends.


Click on the photo to download the free ebook in Adobe Acrobat PDF or click on the link provided below.  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our Bike Family to yours this Holiday Season.

Alessandro Ferrara of the Bicycle Tour Hosting Group "Bikes and Lemons" is promoting their one week tours on the beautiful island of Sicily.  

Their tours offer a variety of accommodations and rides for different skill levels.  Several different bike paths between Palermo and Trapani are given a theme name, which are listed here.

1. City Tour is for entry level riders or anyone who wants to discover the food, culture and history of Palermo, Sicily.
   
2. Mountain Tour is mostly dry roads and single track with hills and is for more skilled endurance riders. A self evaluation form at their website helps those in question whether they would enjoy  that tour.
3. Art Tour around Segesta is a 35km ride for average skilled cyclists around the archaeological site of Segesta, one of the first Greek colonies of Sicily.
4. Wine Tour of famous wines of Sicily through vineyard covered hills and landscapes.  Accommodations can be selected along the route rather than pre planned, fo those wanting to have a spontaneous wine tasting bicycle tour.
5. Sea Tour of Castellammare with two tours offered one for beginner bike tours of 20km along the coast of 45 km for more advanced touring cyclists.

At one of my favorite blogs "Bikes for the Rest of Us" I found some valuable information regarding some commuter bikes that I am not familiar with.

Gran Royale, which seems to be a division of the BMX manufacturer EASTERN Bikes are available for purchase at close out prices.  I came upon this while researching some three speed wheels for building a traveling commuter bike.

Steel frames available as single speeds in cruiser and track bike styles as well as three speeds with coaster brakes.  Several models and colors to choose from with some of the prices reduced by three hundred dollars or more.  Though I cannot write a review as of yet, I have provided a link for information and link to shop for and purchase some of the excellent deals going on for a simple, dependable bike for commuting.

Since connecting with Lisa Piper of Natural Living Organic Food Co-op I have learned to appreciate the benefits of eating natural and organic foods.

Working in bike shops the typical sources of fueling a ride with assorted energy gels, energy drinks and energy bars has proven to be of little benefit when compared to fresh healthy foods.  Three years ago when I met Lisa I offered sustainable delivery as an additional perk to her start up business.  Since that time the business has expanded to the extent that having a very fuel efficient vehicle is necessary for all the deliveries to be made in a timely manner.  

A recent article in Change Magazine published the photo shown of my Nashbar Bike Touring frame and bicycle trailer to feature the Co-op's efforts. Good timing for a Thanksgiving Day "blog about".  I am so grateful to be able to give thanks for the organic, fresh foods we consume on a daily basis and are able to share with others by providing a source of that nourishment for folks who appreciate it. 
It's a beautiful day for riding here along the Texas Gulf Coast and winter weather here is very agreeable for cycling.  We have so much to be grateful for today and it doesn't go unrecognized.    
Happy Thanksgiving! 

In pursuit of the ultimate multiple surface, multiple terrain touring and commuting bicycle?  With the ever expanding market of fat tire and touring expedition bikes, popularity in that style of bike is here to stay.

As I was perusing fat tire mountain bike reviews, forums and the like I read the following statement;  "to me $1,500 is not a lot to spend on a bike".   That quote relates to the low end price of a quality "fat tire bike" as compared to Surly Pugsley, Moonlander, and others. It's a national trend and bike shops are selling them like hot cakes.  Really, in this so called "awful economy" folks are going out to spend well over a thousand dollars on a bicycle.  

As good as that is to hear, I set about to build a bike the way I ride, middle way.  I'm referring to cost as well as tire size.  So far my "like new build" or "new to me build" has cost something around $442. 93.  Yep and I have two rear wheels as I found a WTB Dual Duty 24" disc rear wheel with tube and Kenda Kinetics 2.6" tire all intact at a thrift store for $2.93.  I later found a Mavic Disc Wheelset for $40 that I can select tires for as a more practical commuter bike.
I prefer my brakes and shifters to be separate rather than the popular integrated models.  I also prefer that the inner working mechanics of the shifters not be made of plastic as I have observed them wear out and are expensive to replace, particularly the integrated models.  One of the reasons bar end shifters on drop bars are so popular with today's touring bikes like Surly's Long Haul Trucker.

I found the precise component group I was looking for on a '91 Diamond Back Ascent EX that had hardly been ridden by evidence of no wear on original chain and original tires still had "whiskers".  I considered sticking with that frame but it was too small at 17.5" and I was looking to build a bike for touring with disc brakes..  Deore thumb shifters with index and friction options are still sought after and get a pretty penny in good condition on ebay.  Paul Thumbies were over priced for this build.  So, for $50 I purchased the entire bike, pulled the components which were all of the Shimano LX line including cassette, chain, crankset and rear derailleur.  Of course I kept the DB frame for another build as the frame design is very interesting meeting some of the standards of a touring bike.  Such as three bottle cage mounts with one under the downtube, longer top tube and chainstays.  

 I also wanted to be able to add a rear rack with disc brake without too much hassle. Read Blog Post Here. 

Photo shows compatibility of Kenda Nevegal 26" x 2.1 on front with Kenda Kinetics 24" x 2.6" on rear.  Due to the size of the rear tire it doesn't effect riding position enough to be noticeable and sure makes for a fun trail bike with aggressive tread pattern on rear.

For commuting the Kenda Small Block Eight is used in place of the Kinetics for low rolling resistance on pavement and dry trail surfaces.  Nevegal on front maintains sure handling.

A bicycle that rolls fast for commuting with lots of starts and stops,  ability to take on pot holes, ride across grass, etc.
Oversized 31.8mm Mountain Riser Comfort Bars provide sure handling with loaded commuter panniers and handles changes in riding surface.

Just wanted to update this post regarding the Diamond Back Ascent EX as I recently installed a set Origin8 Gary2 Bars for multiple hand positions.  I really like how the bike looks and feels and the bar end shifters are a nice touch. More information regarding the project is available at highlighted link provided. 

Back when gas was far less expensive I owned a '69 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Station wagon.  
What a cool old ride with the exterior primer grey, moon roof and electric rear window for my dogs to conveniently jump in and out of.  I got to reminiscing about that old car when I found another cool old ride in the form of a '70's Vista Summit steel lugged 4130 cromoly frame.  Found an old promotional ad and the quote of "Pull Over There's a Vista Cruiser Coming By" has me a bit nostalgic of that old car and my dogs, good times, lots of travels and as I lay here kicking it with my current dog, Rooch it's amazing how much my life has changed since those days.  

Speaking of making changes for the better in one's life, this old bike I found while cruising around with and old childhood chum is in keeping with my sentimental feelings.  
We found this retro cruiser style road bike with beach cruiser handlebars, levers and shifters zip tied to the sides of the bike, wobbly hubs, headset and bottom bracket.  Poor old thing was definitely not worthy of riding but I could see the beautiful potential waiting to manifest with a bit of TLC and spare parts I had in my shop.

Bike originally had 27 x 1 1/4 wheels and tires.  Even though I was able to salvage the wheels by overhauling the hubs and truing them up, I nevertheless decided to replace them with 700c wheels and put on some fat 700 x 40c commuting tires adding versatility and performance on varying terrain.  

Here's to keeping and creating good memories this Holiday Season from our bike family to yours, Cheers!, Rideon

Bikes that can be folded for travel and stowed in a carry bag, car trunk or luggage compartment are very convenient to have.  This is the first year I won't be traveling for the holidays and am very relieved that I can stay home, relax and enjoy this time of year. 

That being said, because we have traveled for family gatherings the past three years I think of our good ol' Dahon Mariner.  Even with all the excessive packing of stuff including cold weather clothing, gifts for family members and the kid's "must have with them" bag upon bag of entertainment items and food I have always been able to fold the Dahon and tuck it in without anyone complaining about lack of space for......"stuff".  With its' "one size fits all" design it's a fun bike for the entire family which I suspect helped to quell any complaints about it taking up valuable cargo space.

When not traveling I enjoy the convenient handling and size of the 20" wheels for bike commuting on sidewalks when necessary and when there's an opportunity to stretch its' legs the gear ratios of the '98 Dahon Mariner five speed can get up and go.  I found this bike at a used marine supply shop when I stopped in for a bathroom break.  Bike had obviously been neglected on their porch, rusted solid chain, flat tires and paint had oxidized in the Gulf Coast air.  I haggled out a reasonable price and after getting it to my shop gave it plenty of TLC   With older model Dahons like this one of the complaints is being unable to obtain proprietary replacement parts.  However, most of the common components that require routine service and with normal wear require replacing are not proprietary such as wheels, brakes and the like.  

Some of the less commonly used tools are sure nice to have around, particularly when restoring a very damaged bike that others might toss out.  An overview of frame and threading tools for restoring an otherwise lost cause without sacrifice.

One of the best things about Park Tools is with such good quality a typical product review is unnecessary.  Tools discussed here may only be used a few times a year but I'm sure glad I have them when I need them.

A friend of mine travels the country driving a big rig and carries his bike on top of the rig so he can get some bike riding in while on the road.  Well, he was driving under a tree, which didn't quite clear the bike thereby ripping the handlebars, stem, cables and levers from the bike. It also damaged the rear wheel and bent the rear triangle of the frame along with the derailleur hanger.  Good thing the frame is made of steel as it can be "cold set" (technical term for bending steel) without too much stress and strain to the material with its resiliency.

Another tool that is useful for checking overall frame integrity is the Park Tool FAG-2 Frame Aligning gauge used to ensure proper wheel tracking, etc. 

Another bike put back into working order thanks to innovative designs and quality products from Park Tool Co.  Visit their site for any questions regarding the use of tools discussed in this article or for any how to tips and know how of Park Tool products.



Links below provided for information or purchase of tools used for this repair.