I made a little video to show of the lights we’re stocking now that daylight savings is over. Sorry for the rather abrupt ending – ran out of room on the memory card.

We have dynamo lights from Shimano, Schmidt and Busch and Muller. Dynamo are THE best commuting lights. A front hub generates the power to run a super bright LED front and rear light. They put out enough light (up to 60 lumens)to see where you are going and to make you very visible. No need to recharge batteries, lights are fixed onto the bike ready to go at all times. Some lights even turn themselves on when it’s dark. Also very hard to nick. $400+

Rechargable front lights from NiteFlux and NiteRider (includiing one that charges via USB on your computer) put out heaps of light. If you need to really light up the road, these are the go. The tiny Niterider MiNewt (110 Lumens) charges a very small Lithium battery which mounts on your stem and can recharge via USB or wall outlets. Very useful. Or The Niteflux Commuter 4 (270 Lumens) is a bit bigger and clunkier, but cheaper and brighter. $200 plus

Everyone needs at least a front white and a rear red blinky light. We have tiny little baby ones, rack mounted rear, helmet mounted, basket mounted , valve cap and super bright ones for handlebar and seatposts. $50 for a pair

Jennifer’s white bike has an IQ fly schmicko Dynamo light. Antonette’s blue Gofa has a front basket mounted flasher.

And we have stick-on reflective tape, refelctive anklets and vests by Ron D Swan and Netti.

please contact us if you would like any more light advice..

These are cool new Helmets from Netti – the Transit! Kind of like those skatie helmets, but with more vents and nicer pads and straps. ie more comfortable, especially in Summer. Also available with a visor, but I reckon they look cooler without. $50. What an absolute bargain.

We have just started stocking Vaude panniers (more on these in a touring post). One of their excellent products is this briefcase/laptop bag that attatches (maybe it’s an attache case, heh, heh) to your rear rack. The rack attatchments zip away so they don’t scrape you when you are carrying it by the shoulder strap. The Cambridge is $100 and a few customers have said they are awesome.

Comfy handlebar grips. It amazes me that people use narrow hard grips. Why would you when you can have nice soft comfy ones? My favourites are the new ones with a bit of a flat section out the back. We have them from $20 by BBB, Dufva and the original Ergons that bolt on.

Puncture proof tyres! Well as near to as possible, the Schwalbe Marathon Plus come in all sizes and have a gel layer, which has proved to be bloody fantastic for not getting punctures. And they have a highly effective reflective sidewall. $60 a tyre.

It is so annoying when you fit a rack to your bike, instantly making it more useful, but then can’t fit your rear light to it. We have found a great little light/reflector that actually mounts to the rear of your rack (nice and solid) so people can see you from behind even when you have stuff on your rack. $25 including the rack bracket.

Lots of people get their bikes stolen, or are afraid to ride a nice bike around because they think it might get stolen. But all you need to do is to get a decent lock. Steer clear of those cable locks. Get a d-lock of appropriate quality. Team it up with some wheel and seatpost locks ($35-$110) and you won’t get your bike nicked. Make sure you lock it to some immovable object. These Kryptonite Evo lock fit in your back pocket.

Big money, yep , but so convenient and environmentally friendly. The Schmidt dynamo hub generates power to run the Band M LED front light, which pumps out the light. It even has a sensor, so it turns itself on when you go thru tunnels etc. No, you can’t feel it when you are riding. About $500.  MOre info at our online catalogue

Highrise handlebars. Cheap ($20), makes riding around town a whole lot more pleasant. You can see easier. People can see you, your hands don’t hurt as much, and there’s less stress on your back. Like they do in Amsterdam!

a little extra brightness and reflectivity in your life,

this new reflective tape has just landed from outer space

probably best to put it on your  bike or bag or helmet and not all over your face like our  featured bikini model. it has a self adhesive back , comes in red, white or stripey and it’s only $5 a metre . we also have sew-on.

even newer trouser clips with LEDs !

My first chance to take stock this week. Except i have a busy saturday ahead of me!

This week I had the good fortune of building andrew's rohloff equipped birdy this week. Mudguards, racks and the sweetest battery operated commuting light i have ever seen; the light and motion vega. It is a seriously cool bike, it oozes practicalility in a very shmick form. Look out for photos.

Welding at tafe is going pretty well. On monday we did some oxy cutting and gouging, on thursday we were doing outside corners on 1.6 stainless steel, then some fillet brazing. I have to get practicing so as not to let all this learning go to waste. Finding the correct equipment for torches and tips for bicycle specific brazing is proving quite difficult.

Tomorrow i will be off to sydney pitt st vegetarian restaurant for a dose of vegan yum-cha, sunday ritual.mmmmm. greasy.
later
david

We did not stay to party, the bubby had to get to bed. We did see a great tandem with a babyseat which was ridden very skillfully by a couple who looked like they were enjoying themselves. I hope to make critical mass a regular family/friend activity.

Race for Jase July 31 Penrose

was a huge success.$5000 raised for the cancer council, 95 riders on a sweet trail. Nice speech by Stevo to remember Jase by.

Photos are here

Davy's framebuiding adventure.

I have just begun my journey to framebuilding fame and am learning Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW or TIG) at tafe. I had wanted to learn ox-acetylene but it is no longer offered. I wanted to get some experience with welding and brazing before i shelled out more silly amounts to do the UBI lugged framebuilding course.

It is pretty cool to be learning how bicycle frames are put together, reading descriptions on the internet can not provide the practical experience of the assembling equipment, striking the arc and heating the metal.

 So, this week we actually did some welding. Pretty scary first up to be handling a 6000 degree arc dabbing your filler rod uncoordinatedly into the edge of the molten pool trying to avoid the tungsten tip lest you contaminate it. People who are good at this must have very steady hands. We also did some oxy-acetylene welding on Monday night which was fun. Basic stuff but it is all complicated to me so takes a while to get the hang of heating the base metal enough, applying flux to your filler rod, tapping filler rod onto metal and then heating up the metal so the filler flows all the way through between the two plates.

I am intending to focus on City bikes, Holland style bikes, and touring bikes whatever else i have the ability to create will be a bonus. I think custom framebuilding has largely been priced out of contention in the consumer's consideration of a new bike. I am refusing to believe that quality cannot be offered at a reasonable price. Maybe i will eat my words when i realise the cost of setting up a workshop, insurance and the return on hours worked doesn't stand up. However, i feel like i have to find out. Offering quality products to enable cycling as transport to a broad range of people appeals as a job description to me.

We have just received some new shimano dynamo hubs, (lighter and more efficient) well priced at $150 (hub only) and the schmidt's are going strong for the ultimate dynamo solution.

The new B and M LED supravision light from lumotec was recently installed and tested and absolutely blew the oval plus i had been using out of the water. This light is incredibly bright, when angled correctly it gave me a broad light with a great beam directly in front. They are pricey and at the moment require a bit of modification to use with dual pivot brakes but i was very impressed. They reach maximum brightness somewhere around 5km/h which is great when climbing. It is on my commuting bike so you can check it out at the shop.

Cool new items in stock: Nitto bars (moustache, track and touring)

Calendar of cool events is UPDATED

Cool folding bike display care of paddy

Fuji touring with deore cranks and euro trekking bars

We've got some mad surly's in stock: steamroller, long haul trucker and 29er frame and fork the karate monkey.

We are also fully equipped for fork and rear shock servicing.

We can also service shocks.

Marzocchi and Manitou will be soon to follow.

How cool is this event ?

You can  now buy folding bikes and accesories online !!!

click here to go to our new site

 foldingbikes.com.au

 Got a new shipment of Dahon folding bikes recently

including my new favourite, the Speed 8

8 Speed, nice light frame, big cushy fat tyres, adjustable stem with comfort grips, and only $800.

This is going to be a very popular bike I think.

Also arrived are the new Boardwalk 7, Impulse 7, and Vitesse 7.

and of course, we are the exclusive distributors for 

Racks for front suspension,

 rear suspensionand roadbikes with no mounts

Our good friend Laszlo has got some great PR in the Sydney Morning Herald today (Tuesday) in the Eco section. Laszlo picks up all our used tyres and makes belts out of them and then sells them back to us.

Dave and I have discovered these great new Ergon grips. Yep, they look Kooky, and yep they are pricey but boy do they feel sweet! There are mens and womens models with or without barends, and they bolt on.

On a brighter note, here are some nice bikes we have built recently

has a new updated cool website

The next wave in Lighting has begun !

Just in, is The Light and Motion Vega for $300, with an LED light which can run for up to 8 hours , up to 12 watts equivalent light, with a 2 hour  charge time. The battery is in the light unit and it also has a flashing mode !

Here is a little report from Dave's trip to Colorado's Barnett's Bicycle Institute to become a Certified Advanced Bicycle Technician

Here are a couple of photos of Ben Wilson who kicked ass at the Singlespeed Worlds earlier this year in VIC, beating many faster riders due to his excellence in beer drinking

messenger bags, little handbag type bags, pouches, strap pads, tshirts. This stuff is so damn cool. AND WATERPROOF tarp lined like all work bags should be

Courier section updated with some cool links and info on Sydney's successful bid for the Cycle Messenger World Champs in 2006. Before this years worlds there is a messenger stage race from Boston to NY with 3 alleycats, 3 road stages and a timetrial.

 Excellent Cycling proficiency and commuter courses are run by the Sydney Community College

Exciting news! There is a new distributor for BOB trailers, which means that there will be excellent availability, and the prices have dropped dramatically.

They were $850, but the YAK, at a special introductory price is $500 and the Ibex suspension model is $650

I'm gonna get one myself !

and this fantastic  gift

It's that time of year when everybody is coming in stocking up, nor for Xmas, but for panniers and racks and touring supplies, making me jealous with their plans.

We have heaps of Ortlieb handlebar bags and panniers

Dave has also been getting into Dynamo lights, and we now stock B and M lights, Schmidt and Shimano Dynamo systems.

And we have heaps of flashers and rechargables.

Imagine having this on your handlebars.

Dennis is back from riding around Australia over a year on beautiful Fuji Touring bike now $1600. British racing green, racked up. Lucky Bastard.

Singlespeeds are ticking along, and there is a fantastic new hub from White Bros called the ENO which allows you to put a single cog or freewheel hub into a normal bike with vertical tips. No chaintensioners ! Awesome. And pretty too.

Check this out for an adventure ( read some of the reports)