Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Epic Wheels Come From Epic Wheel Works!

After some riding it became clear that the wheels on the GT3 needed a rebuild. The rims were single wall and just not "doing it" for me. After picking up a set of three CR-18 16" double wall rims, it was time to have the wheels rebuilt, and done up right. Enter Jude from Epic Wheel Works in SE Portland.

I have to give credit where credit is due, and it's due to Jude at Epic. Building small wheels comes with challenges. Two of these GT3 wheels are built around Sturmey Archer drum hubs that have no axles - the axles are a part of the trike kingpin. So the build is definitely different that your typical hub. I had decided with Jude's help to go with some sweet red spokes to set off the black rims and silver hubs. The bonus is that the spokes are a near exact match for the Greenspeed red.

Well, I was immediately impressed upon seeing the new wheels. It was clear that if they rode half as good as they looked I would be very pleased. After an initial test ride I can say they ride GREAT. They look incredible and really have added to the trikes "bling" factor. These are some stiff wheels and I  cannot wait to see them put through the paces.

If you are in the Portland area and in need of a set of wheels - either a rebuild of your old and tired ones or a new custom setup - check out Epic Wheel Works!  Fine work indeed!



Monday, June 14, 2010

Bike Ban in Colorado Town

OK I think I have seen everything now. I had figured from learning me some history way back in elementary school that the Nazi's had been defeated, but I guess I was wrong.

Seems the clowns in charge in Black Hawk, Colorado decided to literally ban bicycles in town. Simply amazing. Will the idiocracy never end? You know - those darned human powered bicycles are just such a nuisance - what with their taking up so much room, and putting so much wear and tear on the roads, and making so much darned racket, and spewing so much icky icky pollution... oh wait...

Get this:

From the FAQ regarding this lunacy:

Q: I read that city leaders said the ban was for safety reasons. Was there a rise in crashes?

A: Black Hawk Police Chief Cole confirmed to Bicycle Colorado that there were no bicycle fatalities that preceded the ban. In fact neither the City Manager nor Police Chief could recall any car/bike crashes. Yet in a media interview, the Manager said that the ban was put in place "...to promote safety."



Attention residents of Black Hawk: Great job establishing the ultimate slippery slope of retard ordinances. Up next on the agenda I would guess are the Black Hawk ordinance to ban you from coming out of your house after sundown (for your own protection, of course) and the ordinance requiring Jewish people to wear a gold star on their chest. "Hello, I am from the City of Black Hawk. I am here to help you." Ugh.


What about kids on their bikes? They going to ticket the parents? Haul the little lawbreaking bike riding third grader thugs off to jail? 


If you want to tell the crapholes in Black Hawk what you think of this send an email to the wonderful folks like Black Hawk Mayor David Spellman that things like this cannot stand.







Friday, June 4, 2010

The hottest trike in existence - is also the hottest tandem!

This last weekend at the Oregon Human Power Challenge, many got to lay their eyes on what could easily be a winner in the "hottest piece of engineering with pedals" award. In the flesh was an ICE back to back tandem trike.

Tandems trikes are a sight to behold on their own, but the honor of seeing this trike is that there are exactly two of these in the world. No more. That is a shame too, as seeing it in person is enough to melt your face - if you are into this sort of thing. :)

Amazingly, the stoker pedals forwards - though some great engineering. If you are wanting to tour the countryside on a tandem - I cannot think of any other way to do it that on something like this. Let the drooling begin!!










Less than 100 days... Cycle Oregon Week Ride

Well, the official timer has now rolled down into the double digits. It is hard to know where the time goes, but as of today it is 98 days until the Cycle Oregon week ride. Whoo Hoo! Once the nice weather hits (at least in Oregon that is) the time really starts to fly. It will be here before we know it!

The weekend ride is even closer than that. Almost cole enough to start rummaging through the gear to get it all ready to go!