Dirtscrolls

For those not paying attention, 650B is a tire size between the two standards out there now; 26 and 29″. Quick history-650B is a French wheel size,often used on older touring and camping bikes. It never completely disappeared, with contingents in France and the US continuing to use and talk about the wheel size (see ...

Today over at NameWire — a corporate branding company — they’re discussing a new South African mountain bike called the “Silverback.” A Silverback is an adult male gorilla. This got them thinking about other bikes named after animals, but the only one additional ones they came up with were Kestrel (bought last fall by Fuji, ...

One of the first things you see as you walk through Ray’s Indoor MTB Park doors are the words, If You Build It, They Will Come formed in lengths of chain on a rough piece of plywood. I think Ray’s borrowed philosophy can apply to Dirt Rag’s First Annual Women’s Weekend at Ray’s (Feb. 22-24th). ...

Ahh, I know much of the riding world here in the Northeast is waiting for, well, actually chomping at the bit for dirt. Dry dirt. Under the wheels, hanging in the air, the sweet moist smell of spring. With each warming day I shake my head a little with dread, however. I like snow and ...

  Up in Alaska, they run a winter race called the Litte Su. It’s not nearly as ambitious as, say, the Iditarod. But the 31K backcountry trek is unique in that you can race it apparently any way you please — with dog sleds, skis, snowshoes, bikes. Or maybe any combination thereof. And according to ...

R.I.P., Myron Cope “The Terrible Towel transcends all sports.” – a commentator (probably Paul Steigerwald) on the Pittsburgh local hockey station, FSN, about the tribute to Myron Cope at today’s Penguins game. The Terrible Towel will likely be seen at hockey games now through the Pens’ run through the playoffs. Thanks for the 2-point head ...

The NorCal High School Mountain Bike League has decided to ban caffeine. In its updated 2008 rulebook, Guarana Root, Taurine, and Creatine have also been banned.   While these substances are obviously less harmful than, say EPO, coaches and officials have been watching as some members of the 40-school league have been “strategically” using these ...

I’m sure most of you saw my World Tour report from the 24 Hours of the Old Pueblo (OP), but if not check it out here. As I mentioned in the report, Kona hooked both Shannon and myself up with bikes for the race. Shannon rode Kona’s newest addition to their Kula 2-9 lineup––the Kula ...

As everyone knows, Americans and Europeans have widely divergent tastes. France Them: Speedos. Us: Baggy Nauticas. Bavaria Them: Lemonade & beer Us: Whiskey & beer Sweden Them: Scorpions Us: Black Flag England Them: Bangers & Mash Us: Hot Dogs & Fries So, I’m curious about this: With the growing popularity of “utility bikes,” rides like ...

I remembered I needed to post on the blog today as the in-house schedule has rotated back to me. Most times my rides to and from work are full of interesting thoughts (at least to me), but of course my mind was pretty blank today, except I needed to hurry to work with the coffee ...

Shimano reported this week that their sales for 2007 were up a whopping 40 percent. That would be a natural result of setting a new record for sales revenue. The world’s largest manufacturer of quality bike parts had $1.9 billion in sales. (To be sure, there’s got to be a few million in fishing reels ...

Those clever Brits have invented the world’s fastest portable bike pump. It’s called the Cyclaire, and it uses an ingenious zip cord — sort of like a lawn mower. You can watch a viddy of it in action here. (Flat tyre? Stiff upper lip, mate!) Not sure if this dingus will be available in bike ...

William F. Buckley Jr., the great conservative patrician and champion of the überclasses, died this morning.Whatever you might think of the man (personally, I’m a sucker for his Brahmin-in-Paradise trilogy about bluewater sailing), you gotta give him credit: Way back in 1965, he proposed bike lanes —bike lanes! — in Manhattan to ease congestion, a ...

We just received the following access alert from the fine folks at IMBA. Now it’s up to you to make a difference: IMBA urges all mountain bikers to support new singletrack at Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park. As part of their Comprehensive Trail Plan update, the park has included an option to build 6 miles ...

Here in Houghton, Michigan (in the upper peninsula) we get an average of about 200 inches of snow per year–basically it snows from November into April. As you may imagine, it’s rare around here to see dry pavement here in the heart of winter. Even so, there are a core group of people, mostly college ...

Anyone who’s ever worked in bike salvage knows that bike junkyards are often flush with one particular component: wheels. (Crappy aluminum frames are often good dough at the scrapyard, so they get stripped and flipped. Why? Because of all the canned beer you drink, young cyclist. That’s what you’d call an efficient ecological loop!) I’ve ...

Granny is typically the mild mannered, conservative type, but her recent press release is out of this world: Galactic Championship of 24 Hour Mountain Bike Racing Set For Moab, Utah, USA, EarthPioneer of the Sport Goes Large To Create the Greatest Eventin The History of 24-hour Mountain Bike RacingDavis, WV, USA, Earth – Granny Gear ...

The world of endurance racing. This world that I placed myself in has a lot of interesting experiences to offer, the idea of winning a race for example. On paper that sounds wonderful, and in reality it is. But the energy and effort that goes into making it happen is pretty huge. By choice I ...

Does your favorite LBS rate nationally? Find out right now! Each year Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, an industry magazine, identifies the “Top 100” bike shops in the nation. What’s the criteria? Well, unfortiunately it has less to do with “buddy deals” and  brews in the fridge. BRAIN’s three main criteria are “market share, community ...

I’ve been known to make a lot of wisecracks about “clownbikes,” and the ineffable human compulsion to try to reinvent the wheels, over and over again — when there is no way, frankly, to improve upon the design of the simple safety bicycle, circa 1885. But one type of clownbike is beyond reproach, and that ...

Apropos of the news from Cuba today, I recalled an article last year that explained how that communist country adapted to the collapse of the Soviet Union and its subsidies for oil: It dramatically shifted to become a bike-centric culture. I’m no fan of dictatorships of any kind, but if I could have one wish ...

Ever wondered about “Bicycle” playing cards? They’ve been made by the U.S. Playing Card Company in Ohio since 1885, and they’re the world’s bestselling decks by a long shot. You can read all about the history — including some very interesting WWII and Vietnam War cloak and dagger stuff — at USPC’s website here. For ...

A Scottish man has set a new world record for cycling around the planet. Mark Beaumont left Paris and returned in 195 days and 6 hours. In spite of crossing through such lawless lands as Pakistan and Thailand on his 18,000 mile trek, it was the US that almost killed him: Beaumont was mugged in ...

In Austin, Texas, Lance Armstrong is getting ready to cut the ribbons on his very own bike shop, cafe, and “commuter center.” For a long time, I thought “CyclePaths” and “Behind Bars” were the best names for a bike shop, but Lance has come up with a pretty good one: Mellow Johnny’s (an Americanization of ...

Ripon College, a small liberal arts joint in Southern Wisconsin, is giving away a bike, helmet, and lock to every incoming freshman next fall. In exchange, students only have to agree not to bring a car to campus. For your reading pleasure we offer the following FAQ: What’s the free ride going to be? A ...

The baddest executive-branch shredder may be the Prez. But the bikingest mayor in the nation appears to be Chicago’s Richard Daley. Last summer, he was in Paris checking out the Velib program, and proposing a similar free-bike scheme for the Windy City. Now he’s announced legislation that would fine car drivers up to $500 for ...

Bikes are hip these days, anyone can tell you that. So it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise that DKNY rolled out a bunch of bikes on the streets of Manhattan for Fashion Week. Bikes are cool, right? So companies that celebrate bikes are cool too, right? Problem is, DKNY bought a bunch ...

The Hoya, Georgetown University’s student newspaper, has a nice interview with Santiago Gonzalez — President Bush’s bike mechanic. And although “Pinkey” has never actually ridden with the Prez (there’s a little unpleasant business having to do with Pinkey’s immigration status), he assures the Good People of the United States: My partner has gone with him ...