Bikes

In the summer of 2002 I started riding my bike again regularly. That fall I rode in the BNB Bike-a-Thon, which totally changed my vision of what can be done on a bike. I bought a folding Airnimal for travel and on the second time out on it, rode it around Lake Washington. I rode all winter on a strangely-equipped fixed gear built by BNB, and then stayed on it the summer as well. These references are a big part of that story.

As part of that experience, I tried a few bike lights.

Bicycle links

Local

• Bikes Not Bombs. Addressing needs for affordable transportation, environment, education, and more.
• Broadway Bicycle School. Tools, space, and knowledge rentable by the five-minute increment.
• 80gritArt. "Even the weld wire is from used stainless bicycle spokes!"
• A.N.T. Bike. My dream commuter.
• Seven Cycles. I'm sure I could find a use for a titanium bike. I'm positive. Really.
• Independent Fabrication. I.F. bikes always make me smile. There's something pure about them. Or maybe I'm reminded of the disc-equipped fixed gear, or dream of their paint. I definitely dream of their paint.
• Harris Cyclery. My local bike shop, they carry everything.
• Frank's Spoke-n-Wheel. My other local bike shop, Frank is the nicest, and the person who pushed me to do the 100km BNB Bike-a-Thon.
• Massbike. Real bicycle people.
• Charles River Wheelmen. Too much spandex for my tastes, but good, serious cyclists in my experience.
• Ferris Wheels in Jamaica Plain. Jeff Ferris impresses me with his interest in the community.
• Cambridge Bicycle. Good hours, good service, nice.
• Wheelworks. There's a reason their sticker is on half the bikes in Boston--they are really helpful with sales.

Commuting

• IceBike. Equipment reviews and recommendations.
• Vulpine Adaptive. IceBike gloves, and a neat company to boot.
• Peter White Cycles has equipment and advice for commuting, including lighting systems.

Touring bikes

• Robert Beckman Designs. The touring bike I'd get if I were serious.
• Rivendell.
• Co-Motion Americano. Another stunning touring bike.

How to tour

• Ken Kifer's Bike Pages
• Thomas Schleicher's packing list
• Seattle International Randonneurs' Randonneuring Tip Sheet.
• Pamela Blalock's ideal bike for randonnees.

Routes

• Adventure Cycling. Cross-country maps. Someday soon!
• MassBike trails
• The East Coast Greenway
• Bike Vermont bicycle tours, inn-to-inn. I think I've got a friend who works there....
• CRW Spring Century
• San Francisco Grand Prix snapshots. I turned down the use of a bike map when I was there, and faced hills like this. Cannot describe...

Folding

• BIKEsutra.com listing of folding bikes
• Airnimal. IMO, the most elegant, real roadbike that strictly meets airline requirements.
• Strida. The bike I'd get if I were commuting by train.
• Calhoun Cycle in Minneapolis has a great selection of recumbents and folders.
• So does Mount Airy Bicycles.

Groups

• The Village Bicycle Project in Ghana. Look at their budget--they do amazing things with nothing--and give Dave Peckham some money.
• Maya Pedal. Bicimaquinas to grind grain, pump water, shell coffee beans, wash clothes, and make roofing tiles, all made from donated bicycle parts.
• Bikeworks. My substitute for Bikes Not Bombs when I'm in Seattle.
• Working Bikes in Chicago. Interesting model: no voc. ed. like BNB--sales are cheap and all profit goes into shipping--and they buy some bikes from the scrap metal dealer.
• SCUL
• Massbike
• Charles River Wheelmen
• Community Bike: resources. Links to yellow-bike projects and other urban cycling advocacy and projects.
• SCAB

Style

• SCUL
• Vanilla Bicycles. The most beautiful, hand-carved lugged steel bikes I've come across on the web.
• 63xc. Fixed-gear off-roading.
• Mt. Airy Bicycles. If you're near Mount Airy, MD., visit them. Neatest bike shop I've ever seen. A hand-carved lugged steel tadpole trike, a Chub Hub, skip-tooth, carbon-fiber, folding.... A room full of trikes and tandems. They warned me about staying too long looking at the ceiling.
• kickasstrackbikes.com
• BikeRod-n-Kustom. Who knew they painted these things?

Unique

• The BEHEMOTH. Self-sufficient touring with high-wattage, high-tech stuff.
• Aviroute Rowing Bike. Check out that steering linkage; view the videos!
• Railbike Adventure
• Ron's Riders railbike wheels!
• Amis Chainless Bikes. Shaft drive. Clean but less efficient, except if your chain's dirty....
• Greenspeed Tadpole Trikes. Think "Pacific Coast Highway"
• Cyclevision. The IHPVA national event. Full fairings, recumbents, and the like.

Equipment

• Arkel Overdesigns. Beautiful panniers, good company, stunning mounting hardware.
• Branford Bike. No experience with these folks, but seem to have a generally good selection.
• LanceRushing's review of panniers
• Rivendell's Online Catalog. I want everything.
• Universal Cycles. Where I went when I couldn't find studded Nokians locally.
• Core Rat, another little company, has well-reviewed body armor.

Courier bags. Surprisingly waterproof, and more comfortable on the bike than off, since there's less weight on the shoulders when you're on the bars.

• Chrome Bags. By far my favorite, the big ones are incredibly comfortable. Mine has a nylon clasp, but the seatbelt-buckle is really wonderful.
• BaileyWorks. The workhouse of the Boston courier. Local. Very stylish.
• CourierWare. Someone I talked to said they once had a store in the Boston area, and was delighted to hear they're still around. Vermont. Very stylish, especially with the upholstery flap options. Not quite as well adapted to the bike as the bags above, but Courierware has some really nice non-bike adaptations (a walking bag, for example).
• PAC Designs. Not sure I've seen one of these bags in person, but folks who have rave about them. Clearly serious like the Chrome bags. And really beautiful custom flaps. Definitely worth a look.

Trailers

• Bikes At Work. Truly high-capacity trailers, should you need to move some heavy appliances, say.
• Leggero Trailers. Very stylish German trailers.
• Useful trailer review from electric-bikes.com who seem to be in the EV consulting business.

Cargo bikes

• Bikefix makes a freight bike where the load is carried in the rear.
• A.N.T. makes my favorite: the Frontaloadontome. Employed by bike-friendly Redbones BBQ in their delivery service.
• The Center for Appropriate Transport also makes innovative cargo bikes and trikes.

Manufacturers

There are lots of folks who make stunning bicycles. This is only a handful. Many already mentioned here.

• A.N.T. Bike
• Seven Cycles
• Independent Fabrication
• Rivendell.
• Vanilla Bicycles. For that I.P.O. celebration.
• Rocky Mountain Bicycles. After ducking stones kicked up by Jeff Bayard at 30 MPH, I gave up on my no-suspension Trek and....
• Greenspeed Tadpole Trikes. Low, fast. Perfect GT, I'd expect.
• Davinci. Tandems with independent coasting.
• Airnimal
• Strida
• The Center for Appropriate Transport

Electric bicycles

Thought provoking, but I think these just don't work. Why? Because they weigh too much to carry into your apartment, or their speed/range is a fraction of a regular bike's, or both.

• CHARGER electric bicycle FAQS

Other

• John Forester's bicycling articles cover policy and safety. Impressive.
• Bicycling Life's road safety. I bookmarked this page because it's just good.