Dirtscrolls

It being Christmas time and all, I thought Santa might want some ideas for me: 1-New off road drop bars. I’ve tried everything on the market and I’m still not happy. I know a certain company that has some pictures of what I’ve got in mind, but maybe Santa can send some elves over to ...

When people talk about Giant, they usually save a little breath to mention that the company is the world’s largest producer of bikes — and that virtually any stock steel or aluminum frame, no matter what the brand, is likely produced by the Taiwan-based company. But so how big is big? Last week, Giant announced ...

Racing mountain bikes is frequently compared to time trialling on the road, because drafting doesn’t play a huge role, and racers are often strung out and isolated, racing against their own limitations as much as against their rivals. There are two upsides to this: When you crash, you typically have a soft landing and you ...

There aren’t a lot of celebrities who get around on bicycles just as a matter of transportation. David Byrne is about the only one that comes to mind, although Paris Hilton took a memorable ride on her Stumpjumper a few days before going to the slammer.   But earlier this week, Matthew Modine had a ...

While recreational urban cyclists embrace fixies and messenger bags, rank-and-file racers have a new favorite sport: Singlespeed cyclocross, a sport that arguably combines the roughest and toughest elements of all cycling disciplines. And lest there be any misunderstanding, one gear on a rigid bike with skinny tires can be just as fast as any other ...

This looks like way too much fun:

One of the lowest priorities in my own cycling regimen is riding the trainer. It’s so low, in fact, that I don’t even own a trainer, and I look disapprovingly on those who do. There aren’t many things I don’t like about riding a bike, but riding one without actually going anywhere just isn’t very ...

Whereas skateparks have bloomed like a thousand dandelions in every little burg coast to coast, most big-air mountain biking takes place on private land or unofficial trail. If you’re a fanatical outlaw dirt jumper tired of running from the law, you ought to consider moving to the Great Northwest. A quiet revolution is taking place ...

I’ve watched as my roadie buddies have added all kinds of computerized doohickies to their handlebarsto tell them wattage, speed, cadence, the phase of the moon, and so on. It’s funny that they want all that information right in their line of sight, and yet they’re too proud to even glance back to see if ...

If you’re like me this yuletide, you probably had to sell your watch to buy your spouse hair barrettes (while she was selling her hair to buy you a watchband). So if your cupboards are bare but your heart is still in it, it’s nice to have a few tips for homemade, DIY gifts that ...

If you’re in or around Chicago between September and December check out one of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup series races. I raced at Montrose Park this past weekend to test a Co-Motion Demon (more on that to come) and had a blast. Montrose Park or harbor is on the lake Michigan shore very close to ...

Puma and Biomega have teamed up to create a line of hipster urban folding bikes. The “Boston” is an interesting BMX-inspired ride with a wire downtube that reminds me of the Slingshot mountain bike frame from years back. But Biomega takes the idea one step further by making that cable an integrated lock. In other ...

The rock stars of urban cycling are, of course, bike messengers. Long hours in the saddle, lousy pay without benefits, constant life-threatening hassles from cars and trucks, filthy clothes, gearless brakeless bikes, thankless receptionists, and nifty-looking cargo bags– what’s not to like?   If you secretly wish you could somehow get the “cred” without signing ...

Portland’s annual film festival featuring bike-themed shorts is accepting DVD entries.

Have to admit, I’ve been thinking a lot about automobiles lately. Now, before you jump on my case for desiring to burn fossil fuels, keep in mind that I’ve gone without for roughly 6 years (excluding the motorcycle that followed me home in August). I grew up in a family where internal combustion toys were ...

Park Tool’s headquarters are in wintry Minnesota, so — along with all the good folks at Quality Bike Parts and Island Cycle Supply and World Cycling Productions and Twin Six and Kurt Kinetic and all of their groupies — there are an astonishing number of year-around bike commuters who have no problem riding in a ...

Back in 2005, IMBA signed a memorandum of understanding with the US Forest Park Service. The idea was to create a climate of happy negotiation in an effort to explore the possibility of thinking about talking about maybe proposing more singletrack in National Parklands. The Service has long been prejudiced against mountain bikes, for reasons ...

Velib, the public bike program in Paris, is just the most fashionable superstar of its field. There are actually low- and no-cost bike sharing programs in cities all over the world — including waddayaknow Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now some folks in Canada have put together an online “Public Bicycle Service Inventory,” a nifty tool if you ...

The mountain-biker love for “Hummer” gear continues. Endura, the British company that offers at least one jacket in the elusive but extraordinary fabric eVent (it’s said to be up to 80 percent more breathable than other micromembrane fabs like Gore-Tex, and I think it’s the bee’s knees) is now offering a baggie MTB short called ...

IMBA, the International Mountain Bicycling Association, is sponsoring the 2008 National bike summit in Washington D.C. The party goes down the first week of March, and IMBA members and advocates can get a special discount on the conference fee, by registering at IMBA.com. IMBA also offers some helpful hints about how to come up with ...

After reading Karl’s blog post “2008 Fuel EX9: Post Punk Pondering” I’d like to share my own Punk Bike experience. While Karl was slogging through the Punk Bike trails on his fancy-schmancy 27 gear racing bike, I was on my recently purchased Bianchi Sok singlespeed. And that one speed was just fine with me. Truth ...

Students at Arizona State’s mechanical engineering school have designed a mountain bike that “regenerates” the kinetic energy of braking. (Watch the video here!) In other words, it stores the energy of your momentum while you’re braking, and then allows you to accelerate again, without pedaling — rather like spinning that rubber band on your balsa ...