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The Perfect Number of Bikes?
X+1, whereas "X" represents the number of bikes you own currently.I found this lovely Mercian track bike, offered up from a seller in Britain. 1988 Professional model with original paint. And even...
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How "High Tech" is Too "High Tech"?
There was a story in the New York Times last week about how electronic gimmickry has made cars "too smart" for our own good. With the death of young actor Anton Yelcin, who was pinned by his 2015 Jeep...
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There's a Big Bicycle Race Going On in France
Did you know there's a big bicycle race going on over in France right now?Did we mention it's French?Yep -- It was a big deal once, and they apparently still do it. Who knew?Last I heard, this guy was...
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Retrogrouch Reads: Paul Smith's Cycling Scrapbook
"Cycling has always been the sport for me," writes noted fashion designer Paul Smith in the Prologue of his new book Paul Smith's Cycling Scrapbook -- an aptly named exhibition of all things cycling...
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The Perfect Number of Bikes? Update
As promised, I have an update with some photos of the Mercian Professional Track bike I picked up recently from Britain. The frame is from 1988 and has, as far as I can tell, original paint. I built it...
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Tour de France Coverage, Retrogrouch-Style: 1986
Since I'm only just barely paying attention to this year's Tour de France, I thought now would be a good time to drop back in the pack by 30 years and take a look at one of the most drama-filled races...
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Designed in America: Part One
So meaningful.The other day I found an old mountain bike in the trash at the curb. It was rusty and looked like it had spent most of its life parked outside. It was a low-end Specialized -- a cheap...
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Designed in America: Part Two
The Rise of the ImportersThere's an interesting anecdote in Frank Berto's bicycle history, The Dancing Chain, that rivals some of the industry's best creation and innovation legends.A 1970s Raleigh...
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Designed in America: Part Three
The Fall of SchwinnIn parts One and Two of the Designed in America series, I began looking into the factors that led to the shift of the American bicycle industry from "Made in America" to "Designed in...
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Designed in America: Part Four
The Rise of ShimanoWhen IBM was developing its groundbreaking personal computer, the IBM PC, it turned to a relative newcomer in the business, Microsoft, to provide the PC's operating system. In the...
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Cleveland, The RNC, Bicycles, Books, and More
I know that all the other bike blogs today will likely be full of news about the Big French Bicycle Race in France. Let me dispense with that right away - defending champion Chris Froome won, despite...
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The "Totally Different" Bike
Totally?"There are products that help you solve problems and products that help you enjoy life. . . LFN bike does both."Who on Earth has problems that would be solved by this contraption?The LFN...
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What Keeps A Bike Upright?
I've been seeing and hearing a lot lately about a recent article from Nature: The Bicycle Problem That Nearly Broke Mathematics.The article mainly focuses on Jim Papadopoulos, an engineer who has spent...
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Retro Pashley 90th Anniversary Models
Established in 1926, Pashley is said to be England's longest-running bicycle company. The brand is mainly known for some very retro style bikes, like upright roadsters and delivery bikes - some that...
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Pokémon DON'T
I was with my kids last week in a popular local park. We had gotten some ice cream and walked to the park to enjoy it. It was a gorgeous day and there were lots of other people in the park. We sat in...
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An Old Overlooked Gem From Campagnolo
As a self-described packrat, I have a tendency to keep a lot of things I don't really need on the pretense that they may come in handy someday, or out of the fear that as soon as I get rid of something...
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Bike Safety 101: Bicycles Are Beautiful
There hasn't been an entry in the Bike Safety 101 series for many months now, but today's entry is a neat little blast from the past, Bicycles Are Beautiful from 1974, featuring one of the best-known...
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Olympic Cycling News
The midwest is currently trapped in some kind of tropic-like heat and humidity bubble right now, making any kind of outdoor activity a miserable nightmare. About the best thing right now is to stay...
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Kickstand Cyclery - Reopened
If you haven't visited the Kickstand Cyclery lately, there's been a lot to catch up with. The webcomic took a hiatus of several years starting in 2013, but for the better part of a year now, Yehuda...
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Bikes in Cinema - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
"Meet the future."With those words, Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) takes Etta Place (Katharine Ross) for a ride on his new bicycle in one of the most memorable scenes from the classic film Butch Cassidy...
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