Google turned their logo into a barcode to celebrate the 57th anniversary of the patent on any one of them, so I couldn’t resist making my own. You might not know it, but there’s at least a good 50 or so different types of barcodes (you can see a few mentioned on Wikipedia with examples). Apparently the low-cost and appeal to the tinfoil-hat crowd relative to RFID tags keep them pretty popular. I still have a great idea for using RFID to track bike theft, but oh well. Anyways above is pretty much my entire personal contact information done up on a QR Code. So yeah, stay in touch. If you can figure out how to use it.
Ok, first off, a disclaimer: this is what we’re working on. This is not a finished product. You are about to see a prototype. We do not know when they’ll be ready (hopefully taking pre-orders for delivery near the turn of the year, but not certain), we do not know how much they will cost (but hope for something around the $2000 mark), and we do not know exactly how much they will weigh (though our prototype medium was about 37 pounds). Please do not call to make your order tomorrow. When they’re ready, please do not admonish us for not meeting any of the aforementioned metrics nor for having the final product differ from what you’re about to see. Please do not complain that it’s not perfect, because it’s not.. yet.
That being said, I am EXTREMELY excited to say that Bike Friday is on the road to developing an integrated electric tikit. That’s right, unlike some of the other solutions out on the market, like Electric Cyclery aka Bikefold’s self-made electric remixes of our standard Bike Friday models with BionX motors, this will not be an afterthought, but a completely integrated solution. This is not to say that an aftermarket solution won’t be available (we hope), but that that’s not where our focus is. We’re focused on making a whole package that you can simply buy.
We won’t be the first, but if you take a look at the eZee or EcoBike Vatavio folding electric bikes, you can see that we’re dramatically different in a lot of ways. And not just the usual Bike Friday ways, either. Check out the weight. Because we are so grossly different and because the weight is not tremendous and the ride is so great, I’m surprised to say I’m very excited about this. I always figured that electric bikes were sort of a waste: not portable or too heavy or bad riding without the motor or some combination of the above, but this really nips that in the bud.
Don’t believe me? Check it out for yourself. Click on the pic above for some more pics and check out the videos below. One of them is from Power In Motion, who have been really instrumental in helping us with this project. So to Ken and Molly and Andrew, thanks.
Like what you see? Get in touch with me so I can keep you on the list and let you know as soon as they are available.
Incidentially, the major change is that the safety upgrade will be integrated into the seatmast as was previously suggested. Also the seatmast is also going to be one piece rather than the two-piece arrangement consisting of the upper “riser” and the “aardvark” as we liked to call it. For obvious reasons this will affect two tone color schemes. No other changes planned.
For those with older bikes, we will not be replacing the frame members on a warranty basis. The safety upgrade is perfectly functional, but making it this way will make it easier to produce the bikes. If you still want one for your bike, they cost $220 and the labor to install one here is at least that, perhaps much more. They *SHOULD* go on easily to bikes built from January 2008 on. If you had any problems installing the tikit brace, they’ll need to come back home. Anything earlier needs to come here, too. Needless to say, if that’s the route you’re going, it may be more cost-effective to consider a trade in!
These guys should be rolling off the production line October 1st. Since our promise dates are currently beyond that date, now’s the time to order!
My first album has been released. Not for the faint of heart, it’s a rather noisy eighteen-minute manipulation of some very high frequency electromagnetic waves I found floating in the air one day. It can be listened to here and can be downloaded directly here (for free!) along with the fantastic artwork by Timetheory label owner and good friend Jon 7. I named my little project Brownian Motion after the random movement particles in suspension and a little bit of double entendre. The title of the album, “Midnight Vawk In The Park,” you’ll have to figure out for yourself. Let’s just say the mispelling is intentional but doesn’t lead directly to the meaning though the timing is about right. All in all, it’s a little bit serious and a wee bit tongue-in-cheek. Enjoy!
For anyone that’s ever wondered, here’s the very first one Hanz ever built. The pink one. He insists it wasn’t that way originally, but he’s got no proof. Obviously not in ridable shape, but come take a tour and see it for yourself:
Just got an inquiry from an AMAZING artist in Sweden, Anders Jakobsen aka Lagombra, who has built this truly spectacular bicycle rollercoaster in Eindhoven at the MU Art Foundation for an exhibition about the Dutch bicycle. Sadly, it’s long gone, as one can tell by reading between the lines of the exhibitor’s (designhuis) website. However, I was so blown away, I thought I’d share for you all to writhe jealously about. I know I did. Read more here, here, and here.
Well, as aforementioned, the 2009 Big Kahuna Open happened this weekend. We only showed up for Saturday, the day of Sierra’s two events. It was a long hot day and we couldn’t see and we were perched on the side of a hill and there were people everywhere but it was a good time and we had great fun bonding with the rest of the team and their families.
Sierra ran the 25 meter freestyle and the 25 meter backstroke. For the first, she was one of the few (even among older kids) to dive off the blocks, which were significantly higher than the ones at home. For the latter, she thrust off the wall with such velocity (see above), it was really delightful to see.
Most of all, she had fun, even despite the fact she had to do the backstroke twice. There was a long whistle and then a short whistle and then a horn to at last signal the start. This confused one of the girls who took off on the short whistle. I was confused, too, so I yelled “go” and off they went. All of the kids finished the whole event and after 5 more heats, ran again.
Sierra’s coach was very proud of her, as were we. Also, we had a lot of fun and look forward to future events, especially if it ends with a little ocean swim. We had a get together at Sunset Bay State Park where we actually managed to get in and not be cold.
Click on the picture above for the usual shots and please enjoy a movie by clicking on the one below.
I’ve actually been making use out of my Twitter account lately. Mainly, it’s to watch every move of Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman (the illustrator and author respectively of the original BOOK form of Coraline.. P. Craig Russell was the artist for the graphic novel). Just kidding, though those two are Twitter-sluts, I swear!
If you still think I’m nuts, consider this great calculator that can help you really look at the TRUE costs of car ownership.. and what you could do with the money you save. It’s really startling. If it surprises you, think about the majority of your rides. Could you car share or bus instead if you’re not into getting wet or being cold? Are some of your trips within walking distance (many are– to the corner store, for example). Review the National Household Travel Survey and you’l find the car’s value begins to wane a bit.
But hey, if a cool free bike won’t convince you, I certainly won’t. Just wait until we get to Europe’s gas prices. According to one source, out of 141 countries, we were 101 in gas prices which means that 100 were worse. This means the majority of the world is trending towards higher prices. Have we any reason to think this won’t be the case?
It’s official: Sierra’s a ribbon-holding competitive swimmer at the meager age of six. The Emerald Aquatics team (that’s Sierra’s) took on another group at whose name I did not catch because I was too interested in encouraging Sierra and making sure she wasn’t nervous and had a happy experience. The atmosphere was relaxed: no official times, everyone got a ribbon, free food, but to her, it was still her first meet.
Grandma came down from Portland to watch the action took a number of great pics (see more by clicking on that picture above). The weather was warm at Echo Hollow Pool and after a long bike ride (and for Grandma, horrible traffic), we were all looking forward to a dip. Too bad the pool was filled with kids!
After some 150m of warmups (!), Sierra took on the 25m breaststroke and got 6th, then the 25m freestyle and got third. Lastly, there was time for freestyle relays and her team got 2nd (though they got 3rd place ribbons for some odd reason), each of the four of them doing 25m. Sierra was the second of the four in the relay sequence and did great. You can see her launching off in perfect time while the competition stares in stock.
The last relay was with the older age group 2 and it was neck and neck. The crowd, myself included, was really getting into it. I had to ask one of the finishers who actually won because I couldn’t tell!
We had a blast and we’re looking forward to the big meet (the Big Kahuna hosted by the Gold Coast Swim Team) in Coos Bay at Mingus Park Pool August 7-9 if anyone wants to show up! Warm ups start at 8am except at 11:30am on Friday. If I understand the information I find correctly she should be racing in the middle to near the end of the day.
There’s been a thread on the Yak! about headsets and many folks are recommending the Chris King GripNut headset. It adds $120 relative to the standard headset and retails for $149 (buy one by clicking on that picture to your right or contacting us) so you might wonder why.
Well, I will tell you that when I was in customer service, this was one of the most common upgrades I helped people to. Many of them didn’t even know the option existed, blaming the bike for what was ultimately a problem with the headset. Because of this, I have made it my own personal vendetta to ensure that everyone knows about it and why it is valuable.
To absorb the shock from the smaller wheel, we use a larger than normal headset size, a 1.25″.
Chris King (from Portland, Oregon, USA) and First Components (from Taiwan) are the only two options in this size. Chris King makes the best headset money can buy and First’s is among the least expensive options anywhere.
Furthermore, outside of having an awesome warranty (yes, 10 years; the best from Shimano on any component is 5) and having superb sealed cartridge bearings (versus the loose ball bearings on the First), the Chris King has a self-tightening “GripNut” system (the top nut causes a collet to expand against the lower nut) that won’t come loose despite vibration. And since the headset is essentially a shock absorber on our bikes, it’s important to have such a thing in place.
Imagine what a loose headset feels like steering down a big mountainous descent with a fully loaded bike and you can imagine why I would recommend this to ANYONE that’s going to tour on our bikes, not to mention people that are going to use the bike a lot, are going to put a lot of weight on the bike, are going to be on any rough surfaces at all, and so on. Even to the recreational folks, it can’t hurt, though the necessity is certainly less.
Lastly, I’ll say this: you can always tighten a standard headset, but despite how vigilant you may be the headset is going to spend some time loose and during that process that bearings will slowly damage the cups and eventually trash the headset. So you’ll have to replace it anyways. At this point, most people are convinced a King is worth it, but then they have to pay for labor. Why not save yourself the money and the headache and get it right the first time?
Also note that this means that this argument ONLY applies to our bikes– and that means that people who are used to big wheel bikes only will give you advice that doesn’t apply, however well meaning they are.
If you’re in need of one and don’t trust your local mechanic to the job (they might not have the right tools to install the oversized headset), contact our service department and I’m certain that they can set it up so that you can send the bike or some part of the bike in and we can install the headset for you. No problem. Heck, you might have us do a tune-up or an overhaul at the same time as there are some other specialized services that only the factory can offer. Check out the service menu for more information.
edit 20 January 2010: As you can see below, the Chris King headsets aren’t as valuable on the tikits. The tikits use a threadless headset and we have a Problem Solvers locking adjustable headset spacer to adjust it and hold the adjustment in place. This works a wee better than the standard Diatech headset, which simply uses a clamp on top of a conical piece. It should, and does, hold its adjustment pretty well. Frankly, it’s easier to adjust. Still, the King excels in terms of the quality of the bearings. By far. So don’t think I’m saying not to get one. I would recommend it if you’re going to be commuting and/or if you’re in wet, muddy, dirty, or salty conditions.
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