850 grams
$6,000
R3-approved

This is the lightest production wheelset in the world. (Also appears to be the most expensive.) Designer Paul Lew works for the Department of Defense, building composite UAVs — this is a SIDE PROJECT.

Jesus.

The 46-mm V-section rims are BONDED to carbon-fiber spokes.

Surprisingly, however, in testing, these wheels apparently feel squirrely as a result of their insane lightness, which comes in at almost a POUND under traditional ultralights.

Still.

Dope.

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Crashes!!

http://www.yourmtb.com/mountain-biking-crashes.html

oooooooo that’s gotta hurt

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In the past, and for most cyclists, stopping at reds and stop signs are the single greatest frustration, from an energy-consumption standpoint. No research needed. Very simple. Slow to a stop at every intersection signed/controlled for CAR safety, and lose tremendous amounts of energy ramping back up again. And what about when there are no other vehicles at the intersection? Or it’s a controlled corner? Or the cyclist has a clear route through the intersection? This is probably the one law I break on the greatest basis. Sure, it’s theoretically always going to be safer to be stopped at light/stopsign, simply because you aren’t moving THROUGH the intersection when a car may be there. However, we take so much longer to get through the intersection FROM a stop, that I often feel MORE vulnerable int he intersection at that point than had I rolled up to the corner, saw my path clear and rolled through, moving faster, with greater agility, and better visibility, than anyone else out there.

This does not excuse asshole cyclists who blow through reds and CAUSE dangerous circumstances for themselves, other traffic, and pedestrians, or asshole cyclists who noodle THROUGH opposing traffic, or the like. I’m talking about intelligent riders.

This study confirms that not only is it better energy conservation for the cyclist to roll up to an intersection, not stop, but it shows how it can be safer for the rider, AND the cars, if riders can move through the intersection as if it was a YELLOW blinker (proceed with caution) as opposed to a red.

:::

"It is no secret that bicyclists hate to stop at stop signs. Many do not stop. Some even run red lights. Stopping at every stop sign is just plain a lot harder than rolling through the intersection. Joel Fajans at the University of California, Berkeley has looked into this a bit seriously as a physicist. In an article he coauthored in Access, the official magazine of the University of California Transportation Center, he writes:

One way cyclists conserve their energy at stop signs is to slow down, but not stop. A cyclist who rolls through a stop at 5 mph needs 25 percent less energy to get back to 10 mph than does a cyclist who comes to a complete stop. Blasting through a stop sign is a bit dangerous (though less dangerous than it seems because visibility at most intersections is good from a bicycle, and if the cyclist has slowed to some reasonable speed, there is typically plenty of time to stop.) Of course a sensible cyclist will always slow substantially at a stop sign if there is a car anywhere nearby. But the car-bike protocol at stop signs is not clear. Drivers (and bicyclists) are unpredictable. Will drivers take turns with bikes in an orderly way as they do with other cars? Will they start to go, notice the bicyclist, and suddenly stop again to wait, whether the cyclist is stopped or not? Will they roll through the stop without seeing the bicyclist? Will they roll through the stop even though they see the bike? An experienced cyclist knows anything is possible. For example, if she guesses correctly that the car will wait for her, she’ll want to start pedaling again as soon as possible, preferably without having slowed much, thereby conserving energy and inertia. Indeed, traffic flow is improved where cyclists do not come to a complete stop, for drivers need not wait long for the bikes to clear the intersection.

They propose making it legal for cyclists to treat stop signs as yeild signs (as it is in some states, apparently). This would improve traffic flow and make life a lot easier for people like us."

http://www.senfamily.info/locales/2006/ … signs.html
:::

Caveat: these issues are dampered immensely by IronLung’s newfound skill of ‘trackstanding’, or hovering balanced without putting a foot down. It’s not saving energy, but it’s generating fun!

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Look, for awhile last fall, i was scheming on a good wood bike FRAME design, just for fun.

But this guy! Follow the link for a gallery that shows how he handled the gearing and such. AMAZING.

all wood, plus glue. That’s it!

http://gizmodo.com/348866/high-school-s … ooden-bike

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I posted that beautiful, haunting image of a ghost bike in the previous post about the cyclist killed.

In case you were wondering, a ghost bike is a memorial to a fallen rider: a blank, all white bike locked to the scene of the accident.

Read about them here, if interested:

http://www.ghostbikes.org/

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Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that rain is occurring, revitalizing our greenscapes, refilling our reservoirs, and washing away murder chalk. But the one drag about multiple days of rain (applying to snow and white outs and mud slides and freezing temperatures elsewhere, certainly) is that it keeps me off the bike for days at a time, which i loathe. I TRY to be on my bike(s) every day, at the very least for a quick jaunt. In the winter, when it’s gnarly and inhospitable for both commuting and lunch riding, i at least take my work bike out for a coffee run. On fini-days, when my task is all-day drawing, I try and take the fixed gear out for a break at some point. And the rest of the year it’s either commute rides or lunch rides.

But long rain periods, not so much. Unlike mountain bikes and general bombers, I really don’t like getting my bikes cruddy. I mean, during the majority of the year, I mash and am not the type to sit at home and detail the bike after each ride, the way Muadib does. A drivetrain cleanup every week or so is sufficient. But rain riding coats the thing in mud, road grit and yuck, and frankly, you can’t leave that on the bike for long. So that sucks. It makes it not very fun to take the bike out for a short jaunt: you want to make it count, with a long ride or an event or whatever, that makes the follow-up cleaning effort (and the getting wet part) worthwhile.

So MEH! to the rain! At least until next Wednesday, when the hills will be green and the skies clear!

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This information really is only gonna be viewed by me, WR, and Muadib, but fuck it.

From The Examiner … "The number of San Francisco bicycle riders rose by 15 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to a report by The City’s bicycle program."

Other statistics of note…
~> Busiest intersection – 11th/Market (duh — it’s the center of The City).
~> Percent of cyclists wearing helmets – 65% in 2006, 72% in 2007!
~> Largest decrease of cyclists – Embarcadero and the Ferry Building – 35% (cause it’s fucking DANGEROUS).

SF’s always been a cyclist’s town, and is, in fact, the 8th most bicycle-friendly city in the WORLD, so while this news is rockin for those of us tryin to make our way in the world today, it’s not really that surprising.

Keep the rubber side down, SF!

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Do you ride a bike in traffic?
Do you signal?
Do you hold your arm up for longer than 200ms?

This may be of benefit.

http://www.gearfuse.com/safe-turn-gives-bikers-a-blink/

Or, it might serve as a TARGET.

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I’ve been enjoying this guy’s paintings for a week or so now, and just realized i hadn’t posted the link. He has several prints currently for sale, though I’ve been admiring the beauty of the bikes, and the compositions, in his archive. See it here:
http://www.bicyclepaintings.com/archive/index.html

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Shameless plug here, don’t read on if you’re not interested…

This year, from 1 to 7 June, I’m participating in the AIDS LifeCycle charity fundraiser. This is a fundraiser as any other, gathering monetary pledges towards a cause, and then participating in some bigtime event. The event? A 7-day, 545-mile bicycle ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

I have a little HOMEPAGE at the LifeCycle site, where folks can read my blog, donate if they choose, or just leave a message of support.

I’ve quit smoking AGAIN, and started building up my road bike. I’ll be training on my fixed-gear for the next month, and then heading off on some major road bike rides, in order to build my stamina for 7 80-plus-mile days in a row. I’ve done a 60-mile day followed by a 40-mile day, but that’s the extent of my long-distance riding, so I REALLY need the training.

Anyway, please forward my HOMEPAGE to anyone you want, and wish me luck. I’m gonna need it!

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