Shop Bike Tourings for Bicycle Touring and Commuting products that we currently use or have used in the past that are of proven quality, affordable for the type of item that it is and often times providing free shipping.  As we kick off the new year we want to shout out a Thank You for all the folks who found our product reviews helpful enough to give our readers an opportunity to make  more knowledgeable purchases.  We put those funds toward getting some much needed BPA free food storage buckets for our over stock of dry goods at the Natural Living Country Store.  Something we know our customers appreciate and we just wanted to say Thank You for our readership support.

After several years of having worked in the bike industry both in retail and shop service I have come to know what to expect and how to find the best quality items for the price.  I list items that I currently use or that I would very much like to try, sort of "wish list" items based on other's recommendation of a product or item.

At the Shop Bike Tourings page you will find convenient categories to conveniently find the bike touring or commuting items you are searching for.  Whether it's racks and bags, comfortable handlebars or recommended tire selection, all hand picked items come from years of experience with working on and riding bicycles for touring and commuting including a wide range of products for your bike camping and touring needs.  Including nutrition suggestions, bike camper's kitchen stoves, shelters and sleeping gear we are getting it covered.  We will be adding to and making changes to products as we discover and try new things to share with our readers.      

For more information and to see what items we have featured at our store visit the Shop Bike Tourings Page using the tab in main navigation menu or by using the links in this posting.  We are looking forward to a Healthy and Happy New 2014 with practical optimism for ourselves, friends and family.  When asked about putting out a newsletter for subscribers, we are currently too busy for that but will look at that possibility in the spring.

We enjoy hearing comments or suggestions of our site's pages or perhaps topics you would like to read more about in the coming year.  We have been very busy with expanding our store facility for Natural Living as well, so don't forget to visit shopnaturalliving.com to see what kind of fun and rewarding information we share.  

There is one more item to install on my custom built "Rigmarole" turned "Mumbo Jumbo". After all the hard work and effort that went into finding parts, both used and new, after a little over a year I find myself one day away from New Year's Eve. And what bike gadget or cycling accessory do you think I'm going to install on this beast of beauty? Why a bike bell of course!

One of my favorites pictured at left has its' vintage appeal in utter simplicity of style and function a bit like the bike I built. While today's techno gadgetry seems to find itself into everyone's lives these days they still haven't invented a bike bell app.  

"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine"...what a beautifully simple song that has meaning to many folks and is why it has become a classic. So, this New Year's Eve bike bells will be ringing around the world welcoming the New Year. And you can join in the fun by putting a bell on your bike, ringing it with distinction and singing along "this little bell of mine I'm gonna let it ring", and so on and so forth into the New Year of 2014.

This New Year's Eve if you plan on going out and partying with friends as most folks will be doing this time tomorrow night, let folks know you're riding with your buzz on by ringing your bell. Most folks will recognize that you are a drunkard and get out of your way making for a safe and happy holiday. Isn't that what we're talking about here? Not the drunk part but the Safety part, ok got it here at Bike Tourings we have both.

Bells have been used for signaling and communicating a sense of alarm and or celebration for centuries. It's an ancient remedy for warding off disaster, demons, the monsters you see on Squidoo duck and run when they here me ringing my bell. Oh yes, it's somewhat of a cure all, probably better than Google. If you can't Google it, ring your bell and it's all good.

This is all silly banter of course, like my "Rigmarole" commuter or my "Mumbo Jumbo" for whatever else I want to do. In all seriousness though folks, we understand how important it is to protect ourselves and others while bike commuting on busy noisy city streets or share path ways with pedestrians. While living in Portland a child was killed on one such type of multiple use path by a hit and run cyclist. Shame on him, a simple device such as a bike bell would have prevented not only the child from being killed but causing a good deal of contention between bike commuters and the city of Portland, Oregon.

Bicycle Bells can also be of good use while camping to ward off pesky racoons, opossums and other critters that you'd rather not share your tent or campsite with. Let's consider the bike bell as one of the most important accessory items for any avid bike commuter as no special training is necessary to operate this simple but elegant item and have a safe and happy New Year.
Cheers!

Annoyed is one thing, anger is another, rage is simply lost, so a good old fashioned rant here is called for as I let go of a '93 Scott Adventure Peak vintage mountain bike.  

If there is one thing all bike folks agree with it's that bicycle thieves deserve an ass kicking.  Some bike shop owners have made it a mission to help retrieve lost or stolen bicycles and who could blame?  It's less about being a hero and more of personal retribution for healing a sense of having been wronged.  It always hurts when we feel betrayed or blatantly disrespected whether it's by someone close to us or a complete stranger.

With a complete stranger forgiveness is less likely to occur as "it's not personal".  Well shit, if it isn't personal then a good thumping on a bike thief isn't personal either.  So, when I loaned this bike out for a homeless eighteen year old girl to ride to work as she was a friend of an employee at the time and this particular bike was stolen I was indeed angry.  Not only about her blatant irresponsible behavior of leaving the bike unattended outside of a McDonald's unlocked for several hours on a Friday night, but that she had some stupidly absurd comments in her defense.  For example "it's good for the environment that the bike is out there".  Bull shit, I have no idea what the hell that was supposed to mean so upon realizing how delusional she was I kicked her and the employee off the property.  

At least I had the where with all to loan out the least expensive bike from the herd, in fact when selecting a bike for our Arizona vacation I wouldn't have minded so much if it had fallen off the back of a pretty jicky rear car carrier. I chose this old Scott mountain bike to bungee on to the cheap and flimsy bike carrier.  So, no worries , just pissed off and isn't it better to be pissed off than pissed on?  I suppose, thing is for folks who know me and have an idea of the type of substantial loss experienced when I owned my bike shop and it was robbed, certain things can trigger my anger.  Not uncontrollable rage, but not simply annoyed, I suppose it is anger.  So, why dwell on it?

I'm sure whoever stole that bike is going to have a rocky way ahead of them, that seems to be the part of karma we put to work for ourselves when we feel wronged or slighted.  It' on them is probably more accurate as they are responsible for their own behavior.  If you're a kind person in this life, if someone has ever described you as a loving, kind person then know you will never have to worry about "being wrong" and all this comes round to the idea of integrity, one of the things I appreciate most about bike folks.  

Something that plays a significant role in my ability to let this go is that some people just don't have the spiritual or common sense intelligence to value something like personal integrity.  For this reason I am grateful for my innate sense of right and wrong and realize I'm not as stupid as I might think for having loaned the bike out in the first place.  

One thing I have come to know about myself is importance of releasing the pent of frustrations, anger or whatever inner turbulence that is best to be released in a healthy way that doesn't hurt myself or others.  Hence my avid bike travels whether that be in the form of bicycle touring, commuintg or pounding out stress on the mountain bike trails.  I recognize this need when I catch myself blurting out things like "crush, smash" in boisterous loud exclamations.  I also start recollecting past hurts that may have little or nothing to do with what's really the cause of being angry.  Like my step father trying to convince me that my dad doesn't know who his father was.  Hmm, ya like an inglorious bastard and mother fucker "I want my scalps!"
Ya, that feels better.  Now, understand that about a year ago someone broke into our back yard and stole our girls two folding bikes off our back porch while we were out of town and the entire yard is fenced and locked. So, shame me once, twice, third time, oh what's the saying?  At times like these who gives a shit, not me.
Links Provided Here for Information on Bike Theft Prevention, Recovery and places to register your bike.
Bicycle Law.com    Bike Theft Prevention Checklist  Bike Shepherd   Bike Index

Accessories and gear for bikes often seem to be excessive or expensive. Here is one item that can be purchased very inexpensively of good quality and is both fun and practical.  Ever heard of a bike bell?  Sure, most have and might think of them as silly kinda like putting streamers on the handlebars.  However, bicycle bells are a very practical accessory especially for bicycle commuting on shared use paths and to alert fellow bike travelers of your presence.  

Bike bells are fun, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes with different simple mechanical methods of creating the renowned sound which everyone recognizes as the presence of a bike.  It's a friendly sound, not at all like a car horn, though air horns are available but are prone to wearing out and are not as dependable as the simplicity of a bike bell. 

Here's some information on the Symbolism of bells: "Bells are also ancient symbols of protection and ringing them have long been considered a way to ward off negativity".  And that is precisely the intention of using a bell on one's bike.

Some of today's bike bells are a bit more sophisticated with "ratcheting" type of action used by pulling the tab or lever with index finger.  Bells pictured at right though they use this same type of mechanism sound very different with some being louder than others due to the shape and size of the bell and the washers which roll around inside the metal casing a strike upon a small ridge in the bell housing's casing.  There are also methods for making those types of bells louder if necessary.  I won't get into all that, our friend has already looked into that at Majster Kowo site. 

Here's a quote from "how to make a bike bell louder" article.  

"I can’t imagine getting around the city on a bike without a bell.
I tried using a rather loud bike horn for almost a year, but it didn’t quite work out, unfortunately. Yes, it was much louder than any bell, but pedestrians wouldn’t move away upon hearing it, instead choosing to stop and look back to check what all the noise was about. ;)  The bell sound is indeed rooted deeply in peoples’ minds, and there doesn’t seem to be a better warning signal around for a cyclist to use. Moreover, the bell sound is relatively high-pitched, so it’s much better heard amidst the city buzz than the horn, the sound of which gets lost within the noise of passing cars".

Check your local  bke shop for a their discount goody bin of inexpensive bells and see if they ave others to compare and find the right bell for you to ring in the New Year. Or I have provided a couple for consideration.  Have a safe and happy New Year.  Cheers.

Canada's Gerald Lauzon has offered this simple yet concise free e book for download.  Filled with simple information for the DIY'er or for those just wanting to understand basic bike nomenclature or ability to speak some bike lingo at the local bike shop.  Here is the quote from his blog where this handy little manual is available at http://howtofixbikes.ca/

"Well, here it is. The bike book for the average Joe and Jane who doesn't know squat about bike repair or maintenance. 40 pages of instructions and tips written with the novice in mind, you won't lose yourself in technical terms with this one and I have added some detailed images to help you along.

This book is my first written document following 16 years of experience as a rogue bike mechanic and 3 years of publishing my knowledge of bike care on the web at howtofixbikes.ca.

Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice".

Here is a fun collection of Poems from S Conant Foster from 1884.  Although the language and vernacular of the times is very dated, it's a fun little book that includes 80 pages of poems all having to do with bicycle commuting or touring.

A fun gift idea, for the family bike enthusiast.

Here'slink for free download when file opens simply click on arrow in upper right to download or icon to left of arrow to share.

The Indispensable Bicyclist's Handbook by Henry Sturmey from 1887 is a fun read. Even though most of the technology of today's bikes is of course antiquated many of the principles and ideas remain the same.  Seeing and recognizing the timelessness of a bicycle makes this book very interesting.


Click on cover photo at left of here's alink for free download.  Click on arrow in upper right to download after file opens.  This is a large file 17 mb so once it is done loading indicated by blue bar on bottom of screen then download or use the icon to left of arrow to share.
Enjoy.

An 1890 classic with a chapter on bicycle touring discussed touring on a Safety Bicycle with instructions on how to attach and load panniers at that time period which was written in 1890.  Fun and inspiring for appreciating the ease of use for today's advancements in bicycle commuting and touring accessories.

Here is a link for free download in PDF format or click on cover photo at left.

Enjoy.

I have been searching hither and yawn for a disc compatible front rack for a recent mountain bike build.  Here's link to an earlier post regarding a mountain bike for trekking, touring and commuting build project. A process of building a new mountain bike for trekking and touring has been a bit frustrating searching for a front rack that would suit the build.

I kept looking at Old Man Mountain products but I had a goal of keeping the build project as reasonably priced as possible without compromising on quality. For this reason I couldn't justify spending $150 on a front rack, or more after shipping and mounting brackets.  

After a few months of searching, looking, perusing and most all forms of asking "where is the rack I'm looking for?" I began to become a bit discouraged.  Knowing the proper rack exists to meet the following criteria:

1. Mount to canti bosses on fork
2. Disc brake compatible
3. Fits 26" wheels
4. Top plate for an aerodynamic camera bag instead of a wind block handlebar bag.
5. Steel construction 

I posted a disc compatible front rack primer this past September, so I was on the look out for a rack probably a month or so prior to that article.  I really like the Kona Project 2 fork but was disappointed when the 440 cm length didn't include threaded eyelets for midway fork mounting.  Now I'm happy with the design as the Minoura MT-4000SFFront Pannier Rack looks like the sweetest front rack for this build.  Not only does it meet all the criteria listed above, but it is very reasonably priced at under $60.  I have not found any reviews of the rack on line. My only experience with any product from Minoura has been the Workman Pro portable wheel truing stand and is an excellent product.  So, I've order their front rack to see how it is. So far it appears to be extremely versatile for suspension fork mounting with clamps or to canti brake bosses and can fit both 26" and 29" wheel sizes.  Mounting hardware included with price, nice.

Girls here keep asking "what do you want for your birthday or Christmas?"  I just didn't have an answer, couldn't think of anything, really and thought "oh let's get some beer and pizza and watch a movie".  Yep, that's just what it feels like to have found this front rack, everybody's happy.  Yep, I feel we are building a pretty nice "all rounder".  
Cheers! 

At some point I may change out my current front rack to another model from Minoura on my road touring bike.  Will wait to see how happy I am with the mountain bike model and will definitely give it a "blog about" for product review.

However, the price, apparent quality and steel construction of the Minoura FRP-3000 is a bit pricey.  It's worth the investment if you're in the market for a quality Front Pannier Rack for Bicycle Touring.

Links related to this article:
Versatile Front Touring Rack, Minoura FRP 3000
Steel Front Rack Provides Mountain Bike for Bicycle Touring

Here at Bike Tourings we refurbished an old '98 Dahon Mariner and we have developed such a fondness for this bike as over the past few years it has provided so many fond memories.  When our girls were little it was the bike they learned to ride on.  With handlebar basket it has been used for many a beer errand and has been crashed a couple of times getting to and from the pub, with the only consequent bruising being to my own ego, not really.

This time of year we usually find ourselves on long road trips to visit family with the Dahon folded and tucked in our minivan beneath suitcases and bags of mostly women's clothing, food and gifts.  Good times, good memories, that's one of the perks of having bikes in one's life.  Besides, it's that time of year to be a bit sentimental anyhow. 

It's a tough little old bike with plenty of life left, particularly now that we have some new components to add, will blog that later.  While surfing the internet today I came upon this link at Dahon for their Green Awards and their Turn a New Leaf pledge similar to People for Bikes pledge to develop more bike commuting habits as a method of improving our environment.  

I nominated Lisa Piper of Natural Living who founded an area organic food co-op, implemented bikes for food delivery before the business grew much larger than bike deliveries can now handle.  Since those early start up days she has brought community area leaders and folks together to establish a food co-op garden.  Lisa also teaches organic cooking and food knowledge to kids and hosts an annual kid's cooking camp out. She also invested in alternative energy resources by installing a solar powered geodesic dome in cooperation with Pacific Domes of Oregon.  Since the kid's camp out is for both boys and girls, everyone pitches in to help set up a tent for the boys and the girls get to sleep in the solar powered dome, also Bike Tourings' work shop.  


Most of us bike folk appreciate green practices, healthy food, alternative energy all of which align with the various grass roots bike organizations that promote bicycle commuting and bicycle touring.  I'm one such person and have been wanting to find a good "excuse", not that I needed one to help promote the kind, generous and thoughtful efforts of Lisa's team of women who help keep the Natural Living efforts prosperous and smooth.  Oh ya, did I mention she enjoys bike commuting?  Of course she does.

Hey Dahon, give this woman some strong consideration for your Green Award, she (and women she works with) certainly deserve it.

Lots of bikes passed through the Bike Tourings' workshop this year.  Friends who (in one form or another) crashed their bikes pretty hard required cold setting of frames, handle bars and derailleur hangers.  It was a fun, busy year and looking back we certainly got through some challenging times.  It's a good time of year to take stock and reflect on the things we are grateful for, even if it's a reminder to do so more often.

Some of the bikes here proved to be very challenging, each with its own unique scenario, for example completely stripping the rusted and corroded copper and paint from the poor old Puch Bergmeister.  Trying to get a a brushed and polished steel frame clear coated to prevent rusting proved to be a chore.  Bent fork and steer tube wow, looking back I can hardly believe that worked out so well.  Notice the raked out fork, beautiful for a touring bike wheel base, even if it is a bit silly.
    
Lost but not forgotten vintage Motobecane Prestige left at our property in Colorado for several years with original roller generator and spoke lock, another one of a kind find that while I had listed it for sale I hoped it wouldn't sell.  I enjoy the silly thing not only for it's unique steel lugged classic design with unique Sachs Huret components and steel rack, fender accessories but also the silly integrated chain guard on the crankset that permits me to ride it with any work pants and not tear up the pant leg or cover with grease stains. A true commuter's bike with roller generator lights works very well with Scwalbe Marathon tires. Chrome rear rack and even has anti theft spoke lock, tiny braze ons for routing the light wires from generator to lights, very well thought out design for bicycle commuting and touring. Even with the 58cm frame size being a bit tall for me, I still enjoy it.  

Each bike shown here with exception of Razesa and the Diamond Back were in such a state of disrepair that our local bike shops either wouldn't want to mess with having to come up with creative solutions for the repairs and upgrades or they would have charged a huge sum in repair cost.  That having been said these bikes serve as analogies of having been beaten down and here they are back on the road, looking good as dependable, safe, enjoyable rides. A reminder that patience with ourselves and hard work are worth the effort and though I cussed quite a bit through some of the painstaking efforts and mistakes, I am grateful for these simple things in life.  Here's a link to Vimeo video that lends a bit of a sentimental touch to refurbishing vintage bikes.  Reminds me that Lisa suggests I get before and after photos of these projects.  Guess I haven't figured that out, not that it's necessary.  At least I had the where with all to thank her for putting up with my grumbling efforts.  Enjoy.

Just wanted to update my post by adding this link affirming what this blog post implies, what was all the fuss in the first place? Nothing.

MUST READ, FUJI OWNER SAYS SPECIALIZED OVERSTEPPED.

Fuji produces one of the nicest road bikes on the market IMHO.  Built from Reynolds 853 steel frame material it is a bike that is built to last.  

Carbon fork helps reduce some of the bike's weight but who cares, this bike is beautiful.  Here's a list of the specifications for this bike available from Bikes Direct for only $895 with a suggested retail price of $1595.  No, I don't get a commission, I'm not affiliated with Bikes Direct in any way.

If anything, it's surprising that I would suggest bikes listed on their site since they played a small part in the difficulty of keeping my shop open.  Customers began ordering bikes from Bikes Direct rather than purchasing directly from my shop as I simply could not compete with the prices which always include free shipping.  So, I would suggest to my customer that they go ahead and order the bike from the site and they would pay me to build the bike for them.  Most if not all savvy business folk will tell you that you don't own a bike shop to "make money".  It's one of the toughest businesses to succeed at and when you do you most likely are happy to keep the doors open and show any kind of a profit.  Particularly when the bike shop is located in an area that has harsh winters as the necessity of making hay while the sun shines is crucial.  Most often bike shops offer other winter products and services alongside their bikes, such as skiing or snow boarding equipment and rentals.  In our case we had a small coffee shop with snack food items like muffins and energy bars.  Later we added a line of teas and a computer for a bit of an internet cafe appeal.  

Yes, of course our customers appreciated the clean, unique atmosphere provided by the combination of bikes and coffee.Hmm maybe I should have called it the Roubaix Cafe?  Named after the Fuji Roubaix of course, as this model of Roubaix is much more in keeping with the long standing tradition of the French classic bicycle race then is the carbon fiber model from Specialized.

There, enough said, just wanted to get my two cents in on the Roubaix nonsense, I figure that's all it's worth.
Cheers!

I discovered this article from Green Packs discussing Toyota's efforts to build an electric bike in cooperation with Parlee Cycles. This is amazing stuff, very "futuristic" and really not my "cup of tea" but is nonetheless a very interesting read for folks interested in alternative fuel sources and green energy.

From my experience of working with electric bike projects at our shop, if anyone knows how to build a fast, efficient bicycle that can take a beating it's the companies who have teamed up on that project.  For some more personal examples of electric bike posts visit this page at The Hub Blogs. 

This past summer while traveling through Arizona I wanted to see the solar powered bus station and hybrid electric buses in Flagstaff, AZ.  With ample bike rack parking and bicycle carriers, Flagstaff is obviously in keeping with alternative energy and meeting the needs of their avid bicycle commuters.  

This raises the question "is this the direction bicycles are taking for meeting demands of everyday bicycle commuters?"  Electric and pedal driven bikes that remind me of the old Honda gas powered mopeds?  

Several years ago we built up an electric tricycle with extra batteries and had that thing humming along at 40 mph with a kit from Wilderness Energy.  (Reviews of that kit at amazon aren't very good and I haven't seen the hub motor kit available with disc brake).   Later the new owner of that bike was going to try rigging up some solar kit for riding across New Mexico.  Haven't heard from him since but knowing we had some success with the project  and after reading the article mentioned previously and seeing the photo at right has got me recollecting the challenges of building something stout enough to handle the speed, braking and bumps that routinely going 25 to 30 mph does to a bike.

Disc brake is an absolute necessity when considering not only the speeds some electric motors are capable of but also the weight of motor and batteries requires more stopping power, particularly when bicycle commuting in traffic. Another issue when we experimented with our electric bike was tire wear.  Having a long wearing tire of high quality puncture resistant design and that offers some vibration damping from harsh or rough road conditions.

Bicycling Magazine has an excellent article of Four e bikes they tested and reviewed.  A retailer of some of those bikes reviewed are at NYCE Wheels.  At their site they also have high quality electric motor kits and lots of information for researching an electric bike purchase.  So far the kits and bikes from Currie Technologies is getting good reviews and there is a kit from OEM that comes with a rear wheel and disc brake.  Here is a bit of advice I received from a reviewer.

I like the bikes from Prodeco Technologies, not only because these bikes are built in the USA it has some good components including Avid Elixir hydraulic disc brakes, Sram eight speed shifter and derailleur.  

Perhaps the most well reviewed e bike I found and is available as a folding bike as well.  

• SRAM X9 8 Speed Mid Derailleur
• SRAM XO Twist 8 Speed Shifter and Avid Elixir 5 Hydraulic Disc Brakes
• Rear Direct Drive 48V 750 Watt Motor
• 51.2V 9 Ah LiFePO4 32 Cell Battery
• 20 MPH and 25-30 Mile Distance

E bikes aren't just catching on with bicycle commuters, there are quite a few folks using electric assist, solar panels and other gadgetry for bicycle touring.  Evelo bikes were used at a Trans American Electric Bike Tour.  Click on logo for more information at their site.  There you find links to other electric bicycle touring information.  I really don't have much interest in complicating my life further with a bunch of techno gadgetry for touring.  Extra weight, mores mechanical and technical stuff to maintain and that could break down.  Perhaps it's like my friend Gilbert says " maybe I'm just an old retro grouch".   View our flickr set for our End of the Year Round Up, vintage refurbished bikes for touring and commuting from the Bike Tourings' Work Shop.