Bakfiets en Meer
Fixed Gears at Workcycles?
April 18th, 2011 by henry
I #8217;ll admit to finding the current worldwide rage for #8220;fixies #8221; rather amusing but then again I was stripping my friends #8217; and colleagues #8217; bikes down to minimalist, fixed-wheel, rat bikes fifteen years ago. So I do understand the aesthetic and beauty of simplicity. And I raced on the track for years and still #8220;train #8221; (for what goal I forget) weekly at the indoor Amsterdam Velodrome during the winter.
Besides I #8217;d much rather see a million pretentious or wanna-be fixed-gear bikes than a million horrid, generic, silver hybrids with suspension forks #8230; even last year #8217;s ugly hybrids dressed up this year as considerably cuter #8220;city bikes #8221; with too short, plastic fenders, cosmetic racks and painted some apparently politically correct color like #8220;sand #8221; or teal green. Indeed if that #8217;s the bike industry #8217;s idea of a utilitarian bike I #8217;d rather just ride a flat black, 20 year old steel Bianchi road bike stripped down to one gear and one brake #8230; which in fact was my daily ride for a decade in California. I still have that bike but now it #8217;s an extra bike since we live on the fourth floor, it #8217;s not built for outdoor life and it #8217;s also not a particularly practical way to carry little kids.
But I digress. Though Workcycles #8217; focus is heavy duty city and transport bicycles our workshops repair and modify all types of bikes. Even fixed gear bikes sometimes, and not just giant Dutch cargo trikes which also happen to have fixed wheels. We weren #8217;t voted #8220;Best Bike Shops in Amsterdam #8221; (out of about 250) for nothin #8217;. This particular fixed-gear modification I found to be interesting in a very typically Dutch (i.e. practical) way.
#8220;Dave #8221; visits us periodically for parts and service, almost always with dog in tow. Last week he came in with a broken chain as a result of his dog #8217;s leash getting caught between chain and chainring. Bummer. We discussed the repair and Dave asked whether it would be possible to move the drivetrain over to the left side of the bike since his dog runs on the right side. He #8217;d get more #8220;fred marks #8221; on his left leg but he and dog would be safer. I looked the bike over. It had a proper fixed-gear hub with a reverse thread lockring and a symmetrical bottom bracket axle so sure, it should work just fine assuming he #8217;s not going to be cranking away like a track sprinter. It did turn out that the bottom bracket was trashed and had to be replaced with something shorter than what we normally use on city bikes but we found a perfect fit in my personal collection of random parts. A few hours later Dave was back on the road with a strange looking but more practical bike. I find it a down to earth example in the current rarified a-fixie-nado atmosphere of NJS track parts, collectors item keirin frames, precious colorway coordination curation and stupid wheel combinations.
Thanks for the use of your photo Dave.
Posted in Bikes in use, Cool amp; Interesting bikes, Technical Stuff | 3 Comments #187;
Bakfiets Touring with Baby and Toddler
April 11th, 2011 by henry
There are few things more fun than cycling with your kids, especially when they #8217;re in front of you so you can talk as you ride. A baby giggles, gurgles and squeals at all of the sights and probably the dynamics of cycling as well. With a toddler the communication is obviously more intellectually stimulating. P1 (2.5 yrs old): #8220;Papa, papa #8230; Taxi, blue Land Rover jeep winch, two motorcycle! Thaaaat #8217;s funny. No helmet racing bicycle! Playground! Slide. Go to plaaaayyyyy ground!!! Plaaaaaayyyyy ground!!!! #8221; Still, nowhere is P1 more motivated to articulate complete concepts than on the bike. I expect the same will be true for P2, except probably with girl topics instead of our current mini gearhead talk.
Both P1 and P2 began riding in the Cargobike at about a month old (in a Maxi Cosi secured in the box) and then moved to sitting on the bench at about nine months old. P1 absolutely loved watching the world go by from the Maxi-Cosi and even at just a few months old was happy (or sleeping) for rides up to a couple hours long. P2 on the other hand, just didn #8217;t like riding until she could sit up. Of course she still went in the bike almost daily for errands, to the daycare, to friends etc but we didn #8217;t even bother to try a longer ride with her. It was clear it would just be too frustrating.
P2 (10mo old) began to enjoy cycling about a month ago when she began to sit either in the child seat behind the handlebars of our Fr8, or on the bench of the Cargobike. She sits in the same support seat we used for P1 (the shell of a Bobike Mini), mounted on the right side of the bench. Now, she #8217;s clearly enjoying herself, smiling, squealing and waving her arms as we ride. It #8217;s also a lot more convenient not having to bring the Maxi-Cosi along and it #8217;s freed up lots of room in the box for other stuff: P1 #8242;s tiny bicycle, picnic gear, or perhaps everything the family needs for a few days on the road.
With P2 now enjoying the ride and the spring weather appearing it #8217;s time to get back to the long bike rides through the countryside we so enjoy. Last year we did a number of quite long rides with P1, even bike touring a hilly area of France with him between my arms. But having two kids makes everything more complicated so first a little mini-tour to refine what we need to bring along, figure out how far we can ride and how much we have to stop and just plain old see whether it #8217;s still fun. So last weekend I escaped my usual Saturday shop duties for a weekend family bike tour.
We figured 50km to be a reasonable distance and there are fortunately interesting routes and destinations in practically every direction. The weather in these parts is notoriously fickle at this time of year so going much further would be akin to asking the gods for a day of force 5 headwinds blowing a steady rain into our faces for the return trip. A bakfiets is probably only marginally more aerodynamic than a barn door and it doesn #8217;t fit in the train for a shortcut home so we played it safe. Lage Vuursche, a village in the #8220;Utrechtse Heuvelrug #8221; (a wooded area with some small hills in the middle of the Netherlands) was chosen as destination, a hotel reservation for Saturday night made and the bikes checked over thoroughly. I would ride the Cargobike with the two kids and most of our stuff. Kyoko would ride our Fr8 city bike with just the snacks (lots of them!) in the bin on the front carrier. Coincidentally I found a clean sheet of eggcrate foam just big enough to line the floor of the bakfiets box. A little trimming and it fit perfectly. P1 was on hand to test our #8220;instant bed #8221; and approved #8230; immediately taking a nap in the box.
Read the rest of this entry #34;
Posted in Bikes in use, Child and family transport, Henry and his family, Practical cycling | 9 Comments #187;
Safety First! Hong Kong Style
April 5th, 2011 by henry
Workcycles rider Matt Ransford sent this photo from Hong Kong. He added that there aren #8217;t many bikes to be seen in Hong Kong but those you see look like they #8217;ve been around for a long time and they all have rod operated brakes. Thanks for passing that along Matt!
I seem to recall Hong Kong being David Byrne #8217;s pick for World #8217;s Worst Cycling City.
This delivery bike, with its big basket type front carrier affixed to the frame is just like old English delivery bikes. This, of course, was way back when it was still commonplace for tradespeople and delivery boys in the UK to move their goods about by bicycle. This connection is no great surprise given that Hong Kong was a British colony until recently.
Read the rest of this entry #34;
Posted in Antique/old bikes and history, Bike Friendly Cities, Bikes in use, Cargo trikes / Bakfietsen, Elsewhere in the world..., Funny stuff, Workbike / Transportfiets | No Comments #187;
Inspirations and Hypocrites
March 31st, 2011 by henry
The other day Tom called me from our Veemarkt shop to ask about paying the import duty for a mysterious package. It was a tube marked from #8220;The Bird Machine #8221; and clearly addressed to Workcycles. I also knew nothing about it so I asked Tom to have the TNT hold it until we could figure out what it was. A quick search found the website of, no great surprise #8230; The Bird Machine. And right there on the home page was the above poster (called #8220;Portable #8221;) of a bakfiets with a tree in the bak. OK, we might not know anything about it but it #8217;s clearly intended for us, and it #8217;s most probably not a letter bomb or anthrax from a Bullitt or Metrofiet owner still angry about Josh #8217;s Guest Post or some of the 154 following comments.
Anyhow, with the tube now in our possession we opened it up and found indeed a half dozen beautifully hand printed posters as seen above. One #8217;s going up in my office, another in the Veemarkt shop and I #8217;m not sure where the others will go. It would seem rather wrong to sell what #8217;s basically a gift so probably they #8217;ll get through-gifted, perhaps as lottery prizes in our famous annual Oktoberfietsfeest (which we sadly just didn #8217;t have time for in 2010). So if you want a #8220;Portable #8221; you #8217;ll just have to come to our party and cross your fingers for good luck, or go to The Bird Machine #8217;s website and pay twenty buck for one. In the meantime, thank you very much Bird Machine for your cool posters!
Do you also have something cool and Workcycles related you #8217;d like to see featured on this illustrious blog? Well, then by all means send us some of them for free! Please, though, low-ball the stated value so we don #8217;t go broke paying the import duties on the flood of incoming goods!
And why on earth did Bird Machine send us these posters? My guess is that it #8217;s a recognition of the image that inspired the design, or at least provided the basic template. See my photo below:
Oh what a better world it would be if everybody were so honest and forthright about the things that inspire them. Here though is a classic example of how NOT to do it. Supposed do-gooder company Baisikeli in Copenhagen purchased a number of Workcycles Fr8 #8242;s, promising to distribute them in Scandinavia. Several months later, with no explanation or discussion they stopped ordering bikes. A few months further we found that Baisikeli was representing our Fr8 as their own design. To add insult to injury they began producing a (very crudely made) copy of our pride and joy. The unique geometry, structural elements and essential features of their copy are all directly lifted from the Fr8 to the millimeter. About a dozen mostly cosmetic elements were changed to dodge intellectual property protections, and indeed they #8217;ll probably be successful in this regard.
Baisikeli #8217;s copy of the Workcycles Fr8 bike.
A real Workcycles Fr8 in action.
It #8217;s frustrating but also unfortunately just something to be accepted about doing business. Do something well and others will be inspired. That inspiration can be taken in many directions, most of them perfectly ethical. The Bird Machine included a little #8220;apology to bakfiets-en-meer #8221; (and to CETMA Cargo as well) but it was totally unnecessary. For the record I think it #8217;s just great that a silly photo I took prompted him (I think it #8217;s a #8220;him #8221; based on their bio) to create a poster loosely based on it. Similarly I #8217;m frequently inspired by technical and aesthetic elements I see in other products, occasionally but usually not bikes. The monotube frame of the Fr8 probably has its roots in the 1960 #8242;s Moulton suspension bikes; I wasn #8217;t thinking of that bike when I drew the first Fr8 plans, but I certainly knew of and admired it. The connection only occurred to me while unpacking the Series 1 Moulton I bought last year. On the other hand the Adaptive Seat Tube geometry (seat tube angle and top tube length follow median biomechanical ideals) is purely my own conception. Without a shadow of a doubt others have considered it, probably sketched it, maybe even made such a bike #8230; but in my 30+ years around the bike industry I #8217;ve never seen or heard of it before.
Workcycles Adaptive Seat Tube automatically follows the biomechanical needs of a wide range of rider sizes.
We #8217;ve come to expect that good ideas and products will be copied, sometimes quite effectively and sometimes laughably. Amongst soulless corporations it seems to be standard practice. But Baisikeli #8217;s entire business model (or perhaps just their marketing?) is centered around ethical practices. The bikes (the Fr8 copy they call #8220;Chimoio #8221; that is) are apparently leased to companies for three years with the pitch that they #8217;ll be sent to Africa afterwards. But how can one trust a firm that claims to be philanthropic with one hand while ripping off their colleagues with the other hand?
Meanwhile Mike Flanigan of A.N.T. in the US took the honest, and perhaps more practical route. He simply licenses the use of the Adaptive Seat Tube in some of his beautifully crafted bikes. Mind you, I #8217;m realistic about the monetary value of such an innovation to other bike companies; If we ask too much others will simply alter it enough to evade its protection, confusing people in the process. So we essentially keep the costs low enough to make it a no-brainer: For a modest sum we can share knowledge and perhaps enjoy some marketing symbiosis, or we can save a few euros and fight about it. The same would have been true for Baisikeli, perhaps even more so given their supposed philanthropic goals #8230; but they never asked.
A.N.T. #8217;s very pretty and handy Basket Bike with Workcycles Adaptive Seat Tube
One last thought: The Bakfiets Cargobike with skinny tree above was apparently inspired by a considerably more robust project we #8217;d done a couple years earlier:
Posted in Bicycles and Art / Fiets and Kunst, Cargo trikes / Bakfietsen, Cool amp; Interesting bikes, Elsewhere in the world..., Funny stuff | 11 Comments #187;
Scooters and a Daycare Center Terrorizing the Bike Paths
March 21st, 2011 by henry
Kids Lodge golf cart kiddy bus train. Photo from Algemene Dagblad.
All is not perfect in the land of bicycles, tulips, cheese and more bicycles. In the middle of hyper bicycle friendly Netherlands sits Houten which was actually planned and built as the ideal bicycling town. Amongst probably many other honors Houten was as recently as 2008 awarded the prize of Best Bicycling City. In Houten auto traffic is directed all the way around the city on a ring road with limited access to the interior city. Bicyclists, on the other hand, enjoy a network of wide bike paths throughout the town.
Meanwhile #8220;Kids Lodge #8221; after school daycare center in Houten has introduced a novel concept: They bought ten old golf carts to ferry the kids from their elementary schools to the daycare. Behind the golf carts they #8217;re towing trailers, also loaded with kids. Their explanation: It takes too long to drive the kids all the way around the city in buses so instead they ride directly through the city on the bike paths with their golf cart trains. Why not use special bikes such as the KDV Workcycles sells to dozens of other daycare centers in the Netherlands? #8220;We #8217;d rather cycle but that #8217;s not possible with so many kids. Too dangerous. #8221; Dangerous? We #8217;ve hundreds of KDV #8217;s in daily service throughout the country and have yet to hear of even a blister or pinched finger. Too many kids? The KDV carries eight kids, about as many as each golf cart plus trailer rig. Maybe #8220;We got a great deal on the decommissioned golf carts. #8221; and #8220;We #8217;re too lazy to pedal. #8221; are more likely explanations?
Kids being silly in a KDV in Delft, NL. Photo by me.
Now, in all fairness, I suppose the golf cart trains are at least more eco friendly than driving the kids around in buses but c #8217;mon folks #8230; you #8217;re in Houten of all places! Houten is a whopping 4km from edge to edge and Kids Lodge is approximately in the middle of it. You can #8217;t ride a flat loop of a couple kilometers to pick up the kids?
What #8217;s ruffling some feathers though is that they #8217;re driving these golf cart kiddy trains on the bike paths. Not surprisingly the Fietsersbond (Dutch cyclists #8217; union) isn #8217;t happy with Kids Lodge #8217;s creativity. See this article in the Algemene Dagblad for the story in Dutch. Perhaps you #8217;re thinking that it #8217;s strange that these motorized vehicles much bigger than bikes would even be allowed on the bike paths. But actually Dutch #8220;fietspaden #8221; (bike paths and lanes) are not exclusively for the use of bicyclists. Also allowed are vehicles legally classified as #8220;snorfietsen #8221; (in principle slow, motor-assisted bicycles limited to 25km/hr), as well as several types of small vehicles for disabled and elderly people. At least that was the original intention when the laws were created. It seems that nobody could imagine that anybody but an old lady would wan to ride a moped without a helmet and be able to ride and park it anywhere.
Recently this loophole in the law has been exploited, primarily by the scooter manufacturers who make supposed reduced speed models that are registered as #8220;snorfietsen #8221; and may be ridden without helmets on the bike paths. They #8217;re called #8220;snorscooters #8221; Unlike the snorfietsen the laws are based on these are much bigger and have no (even vestigial) pedals. In fact, aside from a little, blue registration plate they #8217;re indistinguishable from the normal, fast scooters that are driven on the roads. Once in the hands of their new (mostly young) owner the speed limiter is quickly removed and the motor often hot-rodded to increase the maximum speed to several times the legal limit. The police, apparently preoccupied with evicting squatters and harassing various ethnic groups, don #8217;t enforce either the speed limits on the bike paths or the specifications of scooters. As a result snorscooters have exploded in popularity and generic, franchise-looking scooter stores are popping up throughout the city.
Yet another speeding scooter. Image by Flickr user #8220;Aardewerk #8221;.
At least in Amsterdam these #8220;snorscooters #8221; have come to be almost unanimously hated by bicyclists #8230; so much so that it #8217;s drowned out the occasional badmouthing of bohemian/yuppie/self-righteous/name your stereotype bakfiets moms. Not only are scooters noisy and polluting (most still have two-stroke engines), many of their riders behave amazingly badly. Practically every cyclist will complain about the incessant horn tooting and close calls of scooter riders weaving their way through bicycle traffic. Many, including myself, have numerous stories of actually getting cut off, screamed at or bumped off the road by scooter riders. I #8217;ve actually had this happen while riding my baby and toddler to the daycare center.
Women who ride bicycles are cooler anyway. Photo by Flickr user #8220;Mishari Alreshaid #8221;.
Recent research by the Fietsersbond demonstrated that 94% of the snorfietsen on Amsterdam bike paths are exceeding the 25km/hr speed limit. Amazingly the AVERAGE speed of snorfietsen on the bike paths was 37km/hr, 50% higher than the legal speed limit. Snorscooters with their little, blue plates were measured at almost 60km/hr. Now that #8217;s a little strange for a vehicle governed to 25km/hr in a city with no hills. My own seat of the pants feeling is that it doesn #8217;t seem far from what I see daily.
There are so many complaints that a debate is currently raging about what vehicles should be allowed to ride on the bike paths here. The cyclist #8217;s collective perspective is clear: Kill the #8220;snorfiets #8221; category or at least redefine it so that it #8217;s really only for motorized vehicles that can #8217;t go faster than 25km/hr. I heartily agree. I doubt many cyclists have an issue with elderly folks in their electric scootmobiles or the few tiny #8220;Canta #8221; cars that putt-putt and park wherever their owners wish to point them. Scooter riders, though, must put helmets on and go back to the road where they belong!
And if Kids Lodge insists upon transporting kids with their ridiculous golf car trains, please have them at least do so on the roads so that they slow some motorists down instead of making a farce of the bicycle lanes.
Posted in Bike Friendly Cities, Child and family transport, Uncategorized | 10 Comments #187;
The Cuddlebike (i.e. Valentine #8217;s Day Special)
February 14th, 2011 by henry
A proposal for this bike design showed up in my email a while back and I let it hang around, figuring it #8217;d somehow fit into a post, eventually. Just to be clear I periodically receive concepts and proposals for all sorts of bike-related stuff. Actually I get proposals for other things too but I won #8217;t bore you with the details of how I #8217;m going to get rich by helping out the heir of a certain deceased African despot.
Some of the bike proposals that have landed in my mail:
alternative drive systems since we all know how awful pedaling is
systems to charge all of one #8217;s mobile devices by bike on the way to the office since electrical plugs can be so scarce at the workplace
Chinese made bakfietsen sold by the container-load, flatpacked. They cost about $100/bakfiets in case you #8217;re wondering.
But after seeing the #8220;Cuddlebike #8221; a few times the idea began to grow on me. Admittedly one does have to first be able to look past the miniature size and crude construction of the yellow prototype. Wouldn #8217;t that actually be fun to ride though (in a normal size of course)? With a long enough seat and treadles perhaps three of four people could ride it together. Perhaps it would be handy for blind or mobility challenged riders.
Then I found the little mpeg video in the mail showing a much more developed looking version of the Cuddlebike. Kinda neat.
Interested? Then contact its inventor who claims, incidentally, that the Cuddlebike is patented. He #8217;s looking for a manufacturer to take the product further.
Kristian Brömme
ak [DOT] broemme [AT ]hotmail [DOT] com
Posted in Cool amp; Interesting bikes, Elsewhere in the world..., Funny stuff | 8 Comments #187;
Guest Post: Cargo Bikes and the Information Revolution.
February 8th, 2011 by henry
An introduction to the introduction from editor Henry:
About a week has passed since this post first went online and as of this moment there are 109 comments, quite a few of them rather extensive, a couple mildly angry or at least indignant. A few people have expressed dismay that I would publish such a piece, even if I didn #8217;t write it myself. Another has requested that I add something to the introduction to further qualify the post below. That last request seems the most appropriate approach and what I #8217;ll try to do now.
Interestingly though the post is widely criticized and has even apparently sparked offline discussions in coffee shops (both flattering and a little scary) nobody has suggested that I remove it. This is good since that would be quite a disappointment to all those who #8217;ve invested time in writing, editing, commenting, discussing and even writing their own blog posts about this post. So now I have to actually figure out what it is that really needs to be said to further qualify this post.
That the post is, in retrospect, a grand faux pas is an understatement. But every now and then I just do that: I make a weird misjudgment and stick my foot deeply in my mouth. As one miffed commenter noted it doesn #8217;t matter so much that it #8217;s a guest post; It is my blog and I determine its content. Fair enough.
But what is exactly the problem? I #8217;ve reread the post and slogged through the comments several times. I see two basic issues:
1. Several commenters dispute Josh #8217;s experiences and opinions about two of the bikes discussed: the Bullitt and the Metrofiets. The Metrofiets I #8217;ve only seen in photos so for the sake of discussing the post I #8217;ll focus on the Bullitt which I #8217;m familiar with.
Concerning the Bullitt I had already added from the beginning an editor #8217;s comment that Josh #8217;s opinion about aluminium being an unsuitable frame material was unsubstantiated and probably unjustified. Nonetheless a discussion raged about whether aluminium is a suitable material for such a bike, something I found rather silly.
Yet for all the defense it #8217;s received here the Bullitt IS, in all fairness, a quirky bike. I #8217;ve ridden several of them, loaded and unloaded (as well as being a noted bike designer who #8217;s ridden a LOT of bikes) so I #8217;m not in the dark here. Aside from the still underground CETMA the Bullitt really has no competitors in the world of light, sporty Long John type bikes. Structurally and conceptually it #8217;s brilliant: light and apparently quite tough. But come on folks, please accept that it #8217;s got its quirks too: The steering geometry is far from ideal and the ergonomics are strange. By no means is either factor a deal killer; After a little while you get used to the handing and forget it was ever a problem. You either adapt to the bike #8217;s sitting position or swap out a few parts to make it fit better. My own bike designs have their own quirks and I really don #8217;t mind hearing about them either.
I suspect that any criticism of a bike with such a cult following as the Bullitt will deliver some angry fans to your doorstep but Josh unfortunately digressed too far into opinion instead of more objectively addressing the bike #8217;s virtues, faults and eccentricities. Interestingly, Josh #8217;s Metrofiets critique stuck more closely to his own experiences but was also met with resistance.
2. Interesting material but in the wrong place: I believe the crux of the issue is that posting critical reviews on the forum of a person or company playing in that very field is just tricky business. It isn #8217;t impossible: I do it regularly and somehow seem to find shelter in a steadily more developed mix of obvious irony, humor, absurdity, self-reflection and hard-core objective criticism that #8217;s just difficult to argue with honestly. And, yep, sometimes I just plain old shoot myself in the foot. That I accept as a necessary consequence of keeping Bakfiets en Meer, and by extension Workcycles honest and real. There #8217;s no fluff here folks and I #8217;m not a professional writer.
But that #8217;s all much more difficult to keep straight in a guest post. Josh has a lot of experience and insights and a lot to say. I was game to let him take a crack at a post and I take full responsibility for the results. But then as he notes in one of the now 110 comments below, he #8217;s more comfortable working with metal than with words. And I have only so many hours for blogging. I do also run a company, have a wife and two little kids and like to ride my racing bike fast with my friends when possible.
We #8217;ve discussed this experience offline and Josh seems game for another try #8230; ahem yes, with a somewhat different approach. We #8217;ll see how it goes.
Regards,
Henry
An introduction from editor Henry (the original introduction that is):
Over the years I #8217;ve offered several colleagues the opportunity to do a #8220;guest post #8221; but maybe only once before has somebody gone for it. I #8217;ll begin this one with an introduction and preface:
I didn #8217;t write the post below nor do I necessarily even agree with some of the things Josh wrote. It #8217;s an opinion piece. Nonetheless I found it an interesting and discussion provoking read and after somewhat too many hours editing chose to publish it. Even though it #8217;s written by somebody completely independent of Workcycles, I founded Workcycles and this is my blog. So no, I can #8217;t really avoid taking some heat for the criticism of colleagues #8217; bikes but I can live with that.
I #8217;ve known Josh Boisclair for six or seven years now. He #8217;s worked for two of our dealers, visited us in Amsterdam a couple times and spent a week or two #8220;learning #8221; in the Workcycles workshops. Realistically he was learning much more about Dutch culture and cycling than about building Dutch bikes because he #8217;s one of those few, gifted mechanic types who doesn #8217;t really need to be shown how something as simple as a bike works. With a couple hints about what to be looking for he #8217;ll figure out the rest. Josh has spotted and solved a couple of our production irregularities from afar.
Such characters don #8217;t generally come without their eccentricities and Josh is no exception. Perhaps Josh #8217;s tick is that he #8217;s brutally, sometimes painfully honest. If he sees that something #8217;s been poorly designed or made #8230; he #8217;ll say it regardless of the political ramifications. If he digs something you #8217;ll hear that too. He doesn #8217;t kiss ass and that makes a great barometer for the thick-skinned. And I suppose that #8217;s why you get to enjoy Josh #8217;s take on cargo bikes ca. 2011; If he didn #8217;t like my own bikes he #8217;d have explained exactly why and then there wouldn #8217;t really be any point in me publishing such unflattering stuff on my own blog.
The other tick is a rather humorous tendency toward conspiracy theory or at least a belief rooted in the misconception that everybody has innate technical understanding. Thus one who sells something that #8217;s less than #8220;as good as they can be reasonably expected to produce #8221; is quickly categorized as dishonest, rather than possibly naive or disinterested.
So my dear colleagues apologies in advance for any bruised egos that result from the report below. I didn #8217;t write it but I do trust both the technical understanding and honesty of its source. Put your hardhats on and have a fun ride!
Regards,
Henry
Read the rest of this entry #34;
Posted in Cool amp; Interesting bikes, Elsewhere in the world..., Product reviews and rants, Technical Stuff | 154 Comments #187;
The Latest Dutch Bike Innovations
January 12th, 2011 by henry
A couple weeks ago I wrote about a pedal powered snow plow from the USA. Now I #8217;ll make it clear that, as stodgy as they can be, the Dutch will not be outdone in the area of bike innovation.
Let #8217;s begin with the Monsterfiets. That #8217;s #8220;Monsterbike #8221; for those of you who haven #8217;t yet noticed that #8220;fiets #8221; = #8220;bike #8221; in Dutch and that the Dutch have absolutely no problem with appropriating words from other languages, especially mighty, media-friendly Engels.
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Now I #8217;ll be the first to admit that every Burning Man and Kinetic Sculpture race features two dozen #8220;bikes #8221; more amazing than this one. However the Monsterfiets seems to have piqued the interest of the Dutch and the above YouTube video has been watched almost a million times. I suppose, a la South Park, builder Wouter van den Bosch must be headed to Canada to collect his You Tube popularity paycheck.
I suppose the most remarkable thing about the video is that nobody seems to find the Monsterbike remarkable. #8220;Sure, whatever. I see a billion bikes every day. So what if yours looks like a kid #8217;s tricycle with a bigger front wheel. #8221; I guess we call that #8220;nonplussed #8221;.
Read the rest of this entry #34;
Posted in Bicycles and Art / Fiets and Kunst, Child and family transport, Cool amp; Interesting bikes, Funny stuff | 6 Comments #187;
Dutch Bike Parking: There #8217;s Never Ever Enough
January 5th, 2011 by henry
Somehow it just warms my heart to see thousands of city bikes lined up in endless rows. That requires about as much space as a supermarket or a small office building. Sometimes I wonder how big a parking facility for that many cars would be. I suppose the answer is that it would look rather like the vast sea of asphalt and cars that surrounds a big shopping mall: Occasionally full but usually mostly empty blackness #8230; what a waste of space.
A Dutch bike parking facility, on the other hand, tends to remain remarkably full. Only after business hours does it thin out considerably. When I used to park my bike daily at the Amsterdam Fietsflat I almost always ended up walking all the way up to the upper level since I came in toward the end of the #8220;rush hour #8221;. The lowest level was perpetually crammed with crappy student bikes, often two or three per #8220;official #8221; space.
Of course there #8217;s bike parking all over the city but most of the really big units are at train stations since lots of people ride their bikes to take a train to another town. That might be to #8220;commute #8221; to a job in another town, but it #8217;s often also students who move back and forth between the university in one town and #8220;home-home #8221; in another. They might even keep an old bike at each end. I suppose one could say that this is a misuse of public space, but it could be easily argued that it #8217;s really very, very little space. Any other means of transport also requires some use of public space and resources as well.
Read the rest of this entry #34;
Posted in Bicycle parking and storage, Bike Friendly Cities, Bikes in use | 26 Comments #187;
Pedal Powered Snow Plow
December 31st, 2010 by henry
embed
While we #8217;re on the topic of snow, here #8217;s a rather nicely executed home-brew snowplow #8211; pedal powered of course. I generally find such inventions rather silly but this one looks semi-useful, even in it #8217;s simple, cobbled together in the garage state. Probably it would have a tough time with very wet snow or certainly a deep pile of any snow but then it could also be developed further. Even this prototype looks pretty good for somebody who regularly has to clear a fairly long driveway of light snowfalls #8230; like most of rural northern Europe.
Maybe the city of Amsterdam should have a bunch made since they really aren #8217;t doing crap to clear the streets, bike roads or sidewalks this year. Many smaller streets are still slowly melting sheets of dirty ice from the snowfall of a couple weeks ago.
Thanks to Todd Edelman for the head #8217;s up on this one.
Posted in Bikes in use, Cool amp; Interesting bikes, Elsewhere in the world... | 3 Comments #187;
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