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Tag Archives: bicycle equipment

Utility Cycling: There’s an App for That

Disclaimer: If you’re an iPhone user of long standing, this entry may be very boring for you. But do leave a comment if you have suggestions. Thanks! I’m a fairly recent convert to the iPhone. I bought my 3GS about two weeks before the new one hit the market (which saved me $$$). The app [...]

Posted 26 August 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (9) ° Also tagged: , ,

Branding For Success?

Check out this report of a new branding campaign by Bikes Belong called  People for Bikes. The designs all look happy and unhipsterish, which Suzanne Labarre at Co.Design thinks is a good thing. I agree. But the photo below, promoting bicycle commuting and Bike to Work Week, goes off the rails. OK, I get it [...]

Posted 11 July 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (13) ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Fender Love

While I do own and play a Telecaster Deluxe, the love I speak of today involves those slabs of plastic around my bicycle wheels that will keep me dry on my ride downtown this morning. I’m loathe to make too many generalizations about what bicycle equipment you should have (although I do it anyway), but I’m [...]

Posted 09 July 2010 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment ‡ Comments (5) ° Also tagged:

Review: Organic Bikes’ Cage and Pannier

The following is a review of products I received from Organic Bikes (see my review policy). A big part of utility bicycling is carrying stuff — the more the better. When I go to the grocery these days, I use a front basket, panniers, and a trailer. Add a daypack, and I can carry a [...]

Posted 07 May 2010 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged:

Helmet Ethics

Somehow, a few people hereabouts missed the two posts I wrote in November about my new attitude toward bicycle helmets. Betting My Brains My Helmet-Wearing Criteria Two things: I am not engaging in a helmet “boycott,” nor am I suggesting that anyone adopt my criteria for his own. I had a phone conversation yesterday with [...]

Posted 28 April 2010 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle safety § ecology ‡ Comments (5) ° Also tagged: , , ,

Stuff

Ya gotta carry stuff to be a utility bicyclist. Now that I have a Burley Nomad, I can carry a lot more stuff — like groceries and such. And when the farmer’s market opens, well, just look out. I’ll be buyin’ some food. It’s attached to my Marin Pioneer Trails here. And I’ll soon be [...]

Posted 04 March 2010 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (7) ° Also tagged: ,

Bike 2.0

How high-tech do we need to go? What problems do we have as bicyclists that can/could be fixed with high-tech solutions? MIT is working on a kinetic wheel that captures energy from braking and then allows the rider to apply it to accelerating. This solves no problem for me. Does it solve a problem for [...]

Posted 15 December 2009 † Andy Cline § ecology § news ‡ Comments (6) ° Also tagged: ,

My New Messenger-Pannier

Well, here it is — my new messenger-pannier. Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions. You’ll notice that I did not go with the one most people suggested. That’s not to say that I didn’t take your suggestion seriously. I did. In fact, checking out the Ortlieb helped me make my decision to go with [...]

Posted 21 November 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (5) ° Also tagged: , ,

My Helmet-Wearing Criteria

Disclaimer: While I definitely have opinions about bicycle riding, everything I write on Carbon Trace should be read as my telling you about what I do and not my telling you what you should do. Further, this site is about utility bicycling (including short-distance commuting), not sport bicycling. I am most concerned with promoting the [...]

Posted 14 November 2009 † Andy Cline § advocacy § bicycle equipment § bicycle safety § ecology ‡ Comments (14) ° Also tagged: , , , ,

Pedicabs Becoming More Popular?

An article in today’s USAToday says that pedicab businesses are growing and prompting municipalities to pass safety regulations. We have some pedicabs in Springfield, but I don’t know much about them. I’m thinking I need to change that. The article isn’t very specific about what safety regulations are necessary — mostly the article mentions only [...]

Posted 11 November 2009 † Andy Cline § ecology § news ‡ Comments (8) ° Also tagged: ,

The Ol’ Daypack

Daypacks have been the popular choice for carrying one’s stuff on college campuses for decades. There’s good reason for this. Packs are, for the most part, convenient and hold a lot of stuff. Mine is a simple, inexpensive model made of rip-stop nylon. It’s light, roomy, and very easy to carry. It’s my trunk and [...]

Posted 06 November 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (2) ° Also tagged: ,

Messenger Pannier?

My daypack is my constant companion. But I’m getting a little sick of it. It’s been great for carrying all my stuff — from work-related items to bicycle tools to rain rain gear — as needed for the past five years. I am, however, ready for something different — something that I can carry on [...]

Posted 05 November 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (11) ° Also tagged: ,

Sport Cycling Hegemony

Here’s what I wrote about the Oregon Manifest Constructor’s Design Challenge back in July: Prediction (and I hope I’m wrong): The winning design will be a mountain bike hybrid of some sort with an aggressive seating posture. No fenders. No chain case. And difficult to ride dressed like the young woman pictured above. Here are [...]

Posted 10 October 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology § news ‡ Comments (11) ° Also tagged: , , , , ,

Weather Or Not

There’s never no weather. That, BTW, is an appropriate use of the double negative in English. The S – V- O word-order structure of English demands a subject or a place holder. We say: “It is raining.” What is “it”? It is nothing at all. Well, OK, it’s a pronoun, but it “stands” for nothing [...]

Posted 02 October 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology § weather ‡ Comments (1) ° Also tagged: , ,

Interbike 2008 This Week

The Interbike trade show begins this week. I had thought about going. But I’m really booked solid now, so maybe next year. Plus, there’s the fact that I’ve spent very little time discussing equipment on Carbon Trace. I may add a little more equipment coverage in the future — perhaps I’ll begin with some comments [...]

Posted 21 September 2009 † Andy Cline § bicycle equipment § ecology ‡ Comments (6) ° Also tagged: ,