Bicycle trailers

My brother just clued me in to a fun link for a variety of bicycle trailers:
http://www.sfbike.org/?racks

I'm especially a fan of the idea of a "camper" bike trailer (like the Midget Bicycle Camper pictured to the left here).  Not that I want to drag one behind me, I just think they are a fun idea.  I'd like you to drag one and I'll sleep in it.  How about that?

I've always had this sort of crazy dream to build a mini-brewery or a coffee roaster on a bicycle trailer and then bicycle it around town makin' beer or coffee. Though, actually, as I think about it, I'm not really sure where I would bike it... other than to my pal's houses, and frankly, it's a lot less work to have them come to me.

I like the link to an instructable for building your own paniers.  I've seen this instructable before (perhaps it's one of the more popular ones?), and I might try and take this on at some point.  Mostly just because I'm drawn to projects like this, and if it can be done for cheap, then all the better!

I already have a BOB trailer, so I can't say that I have any need for another trailer, though "need" has never really gotten in the way of my desire for new bike gear in the past.  I've been watching craigslist and curbs on trash day for a cheap kiddie trailer that I can turn into an inexpensive cargo trailer (the start to the brewery?!?), but have not found one yet that fits into this project budget (that budget is about $10 for those that are curious). 

Anyway, truth be told, I'd rather just get one of these.

My kind of racing.

My friends mmeiser and Todd of AllYearGear posted a great video.



I've always wanted to try and ride one of these, though I think the hardest part would be actually getting up on them. But if I can get on it, then I'm in for a race.

It seems like that big front wheel would be great for off-road. You'd roll over everything. And if folks can unicycle on trails, why not a penny farthing?



That looks to be somewhat customized penny farthing (probably a 36" mtn bike wheel?). Of course trying to ride the larger bike, the downsides would be pretty major... not the least of which is the header I'd be likely take with all that forward weight. Then there's the branches that would probably knock me off the bike before you even get to the first hill.

Could be fun to try though...

Handmade Bicycle Show - Part 2

Ok, so it took me a little bit longer than a day or two to write part 2... But no worries, I haven't forgotten.

I'm going to kick off this post with a review of an oft overlooked part from many mainstream bikes: fenders. Wood fenders were all the rage at the Handmade Bicycle Show this year, and its easy to see why. They are beautiful and stylish


These photos are of Inglis Cycles (from Napa, CA), Keith Anderson Cycles (from Grants Pass, OR), and DeSalvo Custom Cycles (from Ashland, OR), respectively. All have a slightly different style to their wood with graphic designs, inlays and custom stains. There were several others as well, including from Naked Bicycles and Design and Rich Adams.

Continuing down the component path, I talked last time about the slick new electronic shifter from Shimano. Well, SRAM's not about to be outdone by Shimano and they were showing off a slick new HammerSchmidt internal front gear from their Truvativ group. There's only one chainring on the front and the internal gears give you the feel of a higher gear. On the lower gear, the gear spins with a ratio of 1:1, shift it and the gear spins 1:1.6 (you pedal around once and the gear goes around 1.6 times). They had a demo bike set up and I can tell you, this was a really smooth gear and it would be GREAT in muddy or snowy environs.

The rep was explaining that once a year you do have to take the thing apart and regrease the gears (depending on how much much your ride through, I'm guessing), which seems like a lot of maintenance to me. But I suppose your shop could probably do this for you without too much of an extra charge. I'd hope, anyway. At about $700, this won't be cheap, but it was so slick that for a tour or race where flawless operation was required, I think this definitely could be worth the money.

Another cool bike/component combo (note the sequey back to bikes...) comes from Kimori from Japan, with their very unusual suspension system.


The bikes themselves don't have 26" wheels, so they look a little, um, delicate for someone of my, um, stature (I'm not a diminutive guy). But they are definitely interesting.



Finally, let's get back to those bikes with a few of my other favorites from the show:



Bilenky Bicycles who does a lot of tandems and tandem recumbents was showing a very slick long-wheel base utility bicycles. I'm partial to these to begin with, so its no surprised I liked it. KirkLee had a road bike that they had incorporated hand painted canvas onto the top layer of the carbon fiber. Up close it was easy to tell that it was canvas and it made for a very unusual and stylish appearance on the bike. It was really not like anything else at the show (in a very good way). And finally on the track bike side of things, Vanilla Bicycles was showing a couple of very cool Speedvagen track bikes that were so light, you would think they were carbon (but they weren't).

Again, lots more to see from show on my flickr.

2009 Handmade Bicycle Show - Part 1

I enjoyed the Handmade Bicycle Show in Indianapolis this past weekend. I was relieved to hear from almost everyone that the recession has only been a minor blip in the world of cycling. Most builders that I talked to were positive about their year so far and were looking forward to the spring. As Lon Kennedy's wife at Nova Bicycle Supply said, "This spring will be our stimulus package."

I was unable to connect to WIFI at the convention center (didn't feel like paying the extra charge for it). So, here's a rundown on the highlights, post event...

Mark Nobilette of Nobilette Bicycles used to live here in Ann Arbor, MI, but now resides and builds in Longmont, CO. He has been building for about 30 years. His bikes were very well put together. He was showing steel bikes, mostly road/racing bikes.



I spent a lot of time talking with the production manager, Lloyd, of Independent Fabricators from Boston. IF has been building since the mid 90's They were showing a wide range of bikes including this very stylish “Year of the Ox" Track Bike.


IF was showing the only stainless steel mountain bike that I saw at the show with some very cool etchings. There were several titanium bikes that were polished with no paint so they had a similar appearance, but this was the only stainless steel that I saw. Lloyd told me that one of the great features of stainless steel is its durability. It won't rust and it won't dent in a crash.

My next visit was to Alchemy Bicycles from Austin.

I spoke at length with builder James about his bikes and learned that he launched Alchemy about 3 months ago and he’s been have some pretty good success. You can see why, his design is well thought out with some very small but important unique touches - like how he has inverted the stabilizing bars using “holes” on the chainstays instead.

I was looking forward to talking to Calfee Designs about his bikes. I was not disappointed. He has developed a program of building bamboo bikes in Africa and selling them here to fund more bike building education in Africa. A very ambitious program to improve the conditions in the third world. The program is called "Bamboosero". The bike he was showing was built in Ghana (buyers will eventually be able to request which country their bikes come from).
One of my favorites (who also won a People's Choice award at the show) was Naked Bicycles and Design from Guadra Isl, BC Canada (north of Vancouver). Builder Sam Whittingham talked for quite a while about how successful he's been. He said that he's facing a happy problem - his sales have grown to the point where he's needing to expand, but expansion at his level is big and expensive. He wants to make sure he's still able to build, and doesn't want to be relagated to "managing" other builders. That's a problem that a lot of entrepreneurs would love to have. But unfortunately for Sam, it's a real problem too. Hopefully he can get that balancing act worked out, because his bikes are very creative and interesting. One touch that I found particularly brilliant is that he uses headsets (where your handlebars attach to your bike) as the hinges on the rear suspension. Makes them easy to maintain/replace, and they are durable. Pretty ingenious.


Serotta had a huge display at the show. Ben Serotta has been building since the 1970's and has built a successful business through contract frame building. Currently, Serotta is partnered with the Carmichael Training Systems to provide carbon fiber bikes for their training program. Serotta was showing several carbon fiber and steel racing bikes.




ANT (Alternative Needs Transportation) builds bikes for urban riding and commuting. Their bikes featured built in racks and generator hubs for powering lights. The philosophy behind how Mike builds his bikes is fantastic (again a builder since the 70's), but I found the designs to be a little too utilitarian for my taste. Don't get me wrong, utility is great, but if I'm going to spend that much on a bike I want it to stand out... dramatically. But that's just me.












I also got my opportunity to try out the newest tech from Shimano and SRAM. Shimano's new Dura Ace Di2 is basically an electronic shifter for road biking. It is very quick shifting and requires almost no effort to make the shift. It's basically like pushing a button, rather than pushing/pulling a lever that pulls a cable. I got to test it out and for me, it was good, but not worth the extra $750 or so extra that it will add to the price. I suppose if I were racing I'd be more interested.




There's plenty more to see on my flickr set from the show. I'll have more details on the show tomorrow as well.

ThisWay

I've neglected to mention my new favorite blog for funtime reading (not that it's a new blog, I'm just new to the party). Bicycle Design is essentially exactly what it sounds like - a blog about Bicycle Design. It is written by James T, "an industrial designer who has a slight (but I think healthy) obsession with bicycling and cycling." It's entertaining in part because of his clear passion for the bicycle, but also because there are so many others that share that passion, but not necessarily his opinions about bicycles and their design.

Anyway, he held a design competition recently for a "commuter bicycle for the masses" that concluded in late January crowning the "ThisWay" bike design by Torkel Dohmer the winner.

©Bicycle Design

It was considered controversial by several who left comments in the blog because they felt that not only will the roof make it heavy, expensive, and difficult to use with public transit, but also because of the recumbant (sitting back, not on) positioning. However, there were many who liked it and felt it was more likely to draw interest from non-cyclists for its more car-like shape, style, seating, and roof. But as with all things, it's often difficult to project yourself into someone else's shoes.

As James said:

"Many of the people who work in the bike industry are in those positions because they are really passionate about bicycles. They absolutely love cycling, and that is great, but it also means that sometimes they have a hard time looking at the product line that they offer from the point of view of an average person. "

My personal thoughts are that it's a beautiful design and would be fun to own, but I don't see it as driving masses of people to give up their cars for it (not as I sit here in a 14 degree, windy, February in Detroit, anyway). However, I do think there's a niche for it. And that's where our marketing thoughts for today come in...

As someone who has dealt with automobile manufacturer vehicle teams in the past, I've seen a wide variety of vehicle designs, good and bad (um, some very bad), that get marketed and sold. How? It almost always comes down to finding the niche. A lot of the complaints about the design from the comments seemed to be focused on the bike not being "right" for all commuters (which may be justified since that was goal of the original competition). As James said, the bike industry needs to think about "reaching the people who currently have no interest in the products that they already make." Big manufacturers have got this (literally) down to a science. Identify a niche, develop a complex profile of that niche, and develop products that fit that niche or answer issues raised by the research.

In this case (and this is just off the top of my head without any real research into the niche at all and no mechanical background at all), I could see ThisWay being a great start to the development of a design for new parents. Some tweaking and I could see a child's car seat fitting in front of mom or dad, facing them. Add the storage on the back, and you have a fun little run-about for neighborhood errands with very easy access to babies (which parent's need), with the added security of a child's seat.

Ok, so that's not really the point of James original competition (and sure the width of the child seat may offer some additional design problems) but the point is to think about the niche first, then develop a bike to fit it. There is an outstanding video of Trek Bikes development of the Lime bike using this process: http://www.solidworksmedia.com/Trek/screencast/trek-screencast.html (click on the "Non-expert" video for an example of how to develop a bike to fit a niche).