Handlebars for bicycles

Everyone seems to have an opinion about handlebars. Flat, riser, noodle, attack, mustache, and what have you.

I've been using flat bars for the last three years.

The Miyata I bought came with a flat bar, and I still use that bar on the 1x1 I built. The Instigator came with an old Azonic world force riser bar. the Long Haul Trucker we have has had mustache bars, bull horn bars, riser bars and now has nitto noodle bars. My Pugsley came with a Salsa Mo'to flat bar. Angled up slightly it might be the most comfortable bar I've used.

A while back I'd seen a thing about bar end grips being put in the middle of a flat bar, and have mulled this idea over since. I imagined this for riding through the suburbs,--a mockery of the pathletes on their skinny tires in lycra sausage casings.

This afternoon I finally put them on.

Bwahahahahaha!

pictures to follow.

Nite Rider

So the whole bike commuting thing is easy during the summer.  The days are long, the trails are clear of most debris, for the most part the biggest worry is rain.

But then fall and winter arrive and a new obstacle shows up.  It's dark.  What I used to use as a light is the Cat Eye light you see on the right.  It runs on three AAA batteries, and is a fine being seen light.  As far as being able to see though, even the freshest batteries give a dim patch 5 feet away to work with.

A little more than a week ago we picked up the Nite Rider light you see on the left.  It has a USB cable for the rechargable battery pack and it ran a whole week's commuting without significant dimming.  On Saturday I went on the Night Ride with the folks from Hiawatha Cyclery, and with just an hour's charging it went the whole trip.  The Nite Rider light casts a beam about 12 or 15 feet wide and about 20-30 feet down the trail depending on how it is aimed.

I still carry both because the Nite Rider light does not have a blinking function, but for seeing I recommend the Nite Rider.  Also, I think having a backup is always a good idea.

I hope there are more night rides or rides on Sundays because it is a fun group to ride with, and Saturday mornings line up tragically with my work schedule.

yeah, I know, what the hell.  The ISO was set to 200 and I didn't feel like fussing.  this is from the spiral thingy by the Gutherie.

Triple Rock and Midwest Mountaineering.

So yesterday we biked to the Triple Rock Social Club with our friend April.  I had Bertha's Big Ass Breakfast Burrito with sausage, April had a huge pancake and a plate of cheesy potatoes, and Shannon had the Rock Star Eggs and Toast.  I would like to go there after a night of hard drinking, the breakfast menu and the drinks it offers looks like a great way to fight a hangover.  I hear they make a wicked Bloody Mary, but a dog has to bite me first.

We were looking for fall and winter weather gear.  I was looking for a balaclava and Shannon is in the market for a new winter coat.  April had never been to Midwest Mountaineering.  We looked at everything.  We combed through Thrifty Outfitters, tried on half the coats, and didn't get followed around like a bunch of shoplifters.  

Shannon found a long sleeve shirt and I found a silk balaclava, and I had a crazy awesome idea for how to deter people from stealing bike seats. If anyone is looking to spend pile more than necessary on a Big Dummy, the Hub had one for just over two grand with a separate price tag for the basic basic kick stand holding it up.  Shannon's theory is: "Maybe it was put together with wuv, and that's what made it so expensive."

100 posts!

Well, here it is: The middle of October and I'm still biking to work.

There isn't any snow on the ground yet but I'll be trying out the Miyata to see if I can make it home without falling over dead.  If anyone is wondering: 27 pounds without panniers.

Riding around St Paul so far it has been okay, so I don't expect any surprises.

Wolfninja!

So word has it we bought a new car.

And it is a newer car than the van, but not exactly "new."  Not that I wouldn't think of it as being new.  Since it is new to us.

Many things about it are new to us about the car.

like the size. compact.

Wicked cool how much space is left in the parking space with a compact car.

And then there is the driving experience...

The Gimpy the Wonder Taurus always had a smooth ride.  The van also.  But neither gripped the road like this car does.  On curves the van tried to pass itself, and Gimpy couldn't get up to a dangerous speed.

What I would like to tell the car salesmen we didn't buy cars from is this: consistency.  We dragged everything over a couple days and every one of them changed their stories in some horrible inconsistent way.  Like the guy in the Honda dealership.  His wife went from staying home with year and a half old baby and their single car, to 15 months ago he bought an Avalanche for a second vehicle because he just "needed a truck."  Now he might have shared the stories in a way that was confusing.  Perhaps when the baby was born they only had one car and now they have two, but he didn't say that.

I have a few stories that I share with customers, and what I try to do is keep the important details always the same.  Maybe I am more accustomed to seeing a customer more than once?

Learning to drive a stick has been getting easier as I deconstructed the way I was used to driving and inserted my control of the shifting.  I'm still rough; I dumped the clutch with my Grandmother riding shotgun.  But really like driving the car.  Did I mention Frenchie still fits in the trunk of the compact car?

BWAHAHAHAHA  

Will a Honda Fit?

We don't want a new minivan.  Too big, too bad of fuel economy.  

This past week gas has dropped like crazy but I don't see it sticking.  Remember from Econ 101, short run competitive equilibrium.  Since our "free" economy is quickly becoming a sham as yet another industry gets bailed out, I don't see any significant companies leaving the marketplace.   For the moment prices are low, but next week as consumer confidence is restored when Freddie and Franny come out of bankruptcy prices will rise.

But the Honda Fit might fit bikes the way we are used to cramming them in.  Which would be awesome.  If we could have all the characteristics of the van that we liked, without driving 18 feet of boat, or dragging around 3800 pounds; that would be the best.  

In the mean time, we have my parents '98 Taurus.  The car burns gas like there is no tomorrow but it runs.  So we are happy for the opportunity to shop around without renting.

We have managed to be a single car family and plan to keep it this way.  But we did explore the logistics of being a zero car family.  We would save a few thousand dollars a year in gas and maintenance, unless we get sick or something comes up.  It would also make it more awkward to get to some of the campgrounds we want to.

I do plan to bike to work for as long as I can this year.  I just need snow tires.