This past week the weather in Boston took a winter turn and I had to dig around for some of my winter gear. I somewhat subscribe to an expression I heard from a native of Norway – “There is no such thing as bad weather, there is just bad clothing.” As long as I have the right gear, I don’t mind riding in cold weather. My toes and fingers definitely need protection in cold temps, but I have never had an issue with my face. When I have tried to wear face covers of some sort, I have found breathing through them to be annoying.

Reader Dave (website here) rides in the cold and contacted us about posting his way of protecting his face from cold winter temperatures. This is reminiscent of a previous post. Are these hacks a pathway to the dark side or light side?  Take it away Dave . . . 

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I ride mountain bike throughout the winter months in Southeast Michigan. Goggles and face wraps just weren’t working for me as I’d end up coming home with red, wind-burned facial skin from the exhaled condensed air freezing on my face. In addition, lung burn was common from inhaling oncoming incident cold air through my mouth and nose. An extensive online market survey was conducted to determine product alternatives to improve the comfort when biking in cold weather. As there were no reasonably-priced alternatives that I found in the market survey, I developed the Face Comfort Shield for Cold Weather Bicycle Riding and I’m very pleased with the performance of this product after using it during the previous 4 winter riding seasons (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018).

In my opinion, the Face Comfort Shields provide cold weather bikers with a more comfortable alternative for cold weather biking than goggles and face wraps. After the biker properly dons the safety helmet, the face comfort shield carrier (yellow component) is fitted on the forehead below the front of the helmet and secured with an adjustable elastic strap that wraps over the helmet and onto the back of the head.

The shield and strap do not affect position of the safety helmet fitting to the biker’s head. The face shield improves comfort in cold weather riding when compared to the comfort level offered by eye goggles or a cloth material face wrap. The shape and angle of the shield provides an optimum combination of clear vision for the biker with minimum peripheral visual distortion. The forward angle of the shield allows for an efficient mixing of inhaled and exhaled air reducing cold strain on sinus and lungs while minimizing the propensity for fogging. If fogging becomes an issue in very cold weather, the use of a non-toxic anti-fogging spray can be used. The shorter shield offers comfort for moderately cold weather (35-45F) biking while the longer shield offers comfort for the bitter cold winter rides (below 35F).

It’s pretty heartbreaking when you drop a bunch of money on a cool bicycle or motorbike, just to have it stolen days or weeks later. So, if you really want to protect your bike, it’s worth investing in the best bike lock you can afford.

And honestly, given how much money it’s guarding, you might even consider buying an extra lock or two for added security.

Of course, there are tons of really good locks to pick from, so I’ve done the heavy lifting and included a variety of different options, quite a few of which you can combine with each other for that extra level of security.

So, what are the best bike locks?

Best Choice: SIGTUNA Bike locks – 16mm Heavy Duty U Lock

Key Features:

• 16mm steel
• Mounting bracket
• Included flex cable
• Double bolt for better securing to the crossbar

Pros:

• No need to memorize passcodes
• Vinyl coating is excellent
• Keyhole cover helps protect the lock

Cons:

• Lock can be finicky sometimes from whether
• Not completely impenetrable

SIGTUNA Bike locks – 16mm Heavy Duty U Lock Review

Obviously the most important aspect of a bike lock is its ability to deter bike thieves. Well, with the Sigtuna bike lock, you get 16mm of ‘Viking Steel’, Sigunta’s own proprietary formula) which should certainly make life difficult for any potential thief with a power tool. The body itself is also pretty hefty, so you’re getting protection all around this U-bolt.

What’s cool is that this lock comes with a 1200 woven steel flex cable that affords you an extra little bit of protection. It’s also long enough that you can easily fit this around two bikes, so it’s great for couples or if you have kids. Similarly, it’s easy to carry around and you should certainly be able to secure it around and to pretty much anything you want.

Honestly, one big part of any lock is deterrence, and the Sigtuna bike lock’s 16mm steel and sleek, black look means that even if somebody thinks of stealing your bike, they’ll move on as soon as they see it. 

Opening and closing the lock is smooth and simple, so you don’t have to worry about struggling with getting it open. That being said, you will struggle with the fact that it’s not weather-proof, so it can get a bit tough to open. Thankfully, with a little bit of WD-40 or other lubricants, you can get it back to full working order without much fuss. 

Finally, one nice feature I’d like to mention is the locking bracket, which really makes the whole deal incredibly handy. It’s just a matter of a quick push of the little red button, and you can angle the bike lock in any direction you need to secure it. I really wish more bike locks did this.

Overall, the Sigtuna Bike Lock is an all-around excellent bike lock that isn’t going to break the bank. It’s stylish, strong and comes with a pretty great cable that increases its usability twofold. If you’re looking for a great middle-ground option, this is a great one.

Amazon

Premium Pick: Kryptonite New York LS Heavy Duty Bicycle U Lock

Key Features:

• Double deadbolt
• Keyway protects from leverage attacks
• Protective dustcover to extend life
• Comes with 3 stainless steel keys

Pros:

• Is well secured
• Mounts to bike and is large
• Lots of anti-tampering protection

Cons:

• Big and bulky, so it’s hard to carry around

Kryptonite New York LS Heavy Duty Bicycle U Lock Review

If you’ve been looking for a big massive lock that secures around your whole bike, then I have the lock for you!

The Kryptonite New York LS is not only a pretty heavy-duty bike lock, but it’s also pretty massive, with an interior locking dimension of 4″ x 10.25″. Much like the Sigtuna, it’s also made of 16mm heavy steel, so it can withstand from some pretty intense attacks. Of course, that’s on par for what you should expect from Kryptonite and their brand quality.

The double-deadbolt construction means that the lock secures at two points, so you don’t have to worry about a single failure causing the loss of your bike or other property. Similarly, the disc cylinder works well against any lockpicking or drilling attempts, so it keeps you secure for much longer. It also has a keyway that makes it difficult for potential thieves to leverage something against it and break it open.

Unfortunately, the big downside here is that because it’s a big ‘ole lock with tons of protection, it’s actually surprisingly heavy and a bit difficult to carry around. That being said, it’s actually pretty perfect if you’re in a high-risk or high-crime area, as the combination of anti-theft techniques offers an equal level of protection. On the other hand, if you live in a remote area without much crime, it might not be as useful, although still very much worth the purchase.

Finally, and while this might not matter much, it’s actually a pretty cool looking lock, with the yellow/black color theme being pretty simple while being minimal and sort-of mean looking. Hopefully, that should also help to act as a deterrent

The Kryptonite New York is a top-notch lock and probably one of the best you’ll find in terms of the security it provides you and the features it has. Yes, it’s certainly on the pricier side, but when you consider that it’s protecting several hundred, if not several thousands, of dollars of gear, the cost doesn’t seem too bad.

Amazon

Best Value: Via Velo Heavy Duty Bicycle U-Lock

Specifications:

• Mounting Bracket
• Included flex cable for extra security
• Double bolt crossbar mount

Pros:

• Corrosion resistance
• PVC outer coating
• Extra key
• Cover to protect keyhole from dust

Cons:

• Might not be long enough for the whole bike

Via Velo Heavy Duty Bicycle U-Lock Review

While not as expensive or fancy as the Kryptonite, the Via Velo is still a pretty good bike lock if you don’t want to make a big hole in your wallet.

At 14mm, the shackle is more than durable to handle all types of stresses, and it should still present a difficult situation for anybody who wants to break it open with bolt cutters. Adding to that is the overall PVC casing around the shackle, so there’s some extra protection there. Similarly, the lock is designed in such a way as to make it lockpick resistant, which is pretty good for a lock this cheap. 

You also get yourself a nice 180mm steel cable which will help to secure your bike, whether you wrap it around both wheels, or to a fixed point. There’s also a super-handy mount, much can fit crossbars between 20 – 42mm in diameter. You’ll also certainly appreciate the keyhole cover which should help with resisting a variety of different weather. 

Honestly, there’s not much more to say about the Via Velo except that it’s a consistent and good quality lock for a pretty amazing price. If you put all the security features together, you get a sturdy lock that can take quite a beating before it gives, and hopefully, past any point a bike thief would be willing to invest. The added cable and two keys also make this an attractive package, so you should check it out if you don’t want to drop $100 on a bike lock.

Amazon

Best Mini Lock for Bikes: Kryptonite Evolution Series 4

Specifications:

• Cover to protect the cylinder
• Double deadbolt
• 3 keys, one with an integrated LED

Pros:

• Small and portable
• Great price
• Sturdy construction

Cons:

• Needs a chain or flex cable to work

Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 Review

If you don’t necessarily want a big U lock and would prefer to go with a chain, the Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 is a great option for locking up your bike. Plus you can always lock it into your brake disk directly if it’s motorized, so you might not even need a chain.

Being a smaller bike lock, the shackle is only 14mm, although that’s still quite thick and great for deterrence, especially considering it will likely be mounted in a difficult spot. While there’s no external coating such as PVC on the shackle, the cylinder itself is disc-style, and so it has some protection against drilling and leverage attacks, which is great. There’s also a dust cover for the keyhole which should help prevent rust or wear and tear on the cylinder. 

Unfortunately, it is possible to lockpick by a very skilled lockpicker, although, given the price, that’s to be expected, and even so, don’t let it put you off the Series 4, it’s still not easy. Also, the cylinder can lock up from time to time, but some WD-40 should fix that right up, just like with the Sigtuna. I also particularly like that this has a double deadbolt, even though it’s a somewhat smaller lock.

On a little side note, when I was doing some research on the lock, I found out that somebody used it to lock their guitars by placing it on the neck, and apparently it worked great as a deterrent. So, if you have guitars that you also want to keep secure, this might actually be a good option!

All in all, the Kryptonite Evolution Series 4 is a great lock in a small package. Yes, the use-cases aren’t as many as larger locks, since you’d need a chain or to place it on a disc brake, but for those applications, it’s awesome. The anti-drill and anti-pull safety is super useful, although it gets some marks knocked off for being slightly easier to lockpick.

Amazon

Best Bicycle Chain Lock: XZSUN Bike Lock Bicycle Lock Chain

Specifications:

• PVC coating helps prevent weather damage
• 120cm long 
• 5-digit combination lock
• Cylinder made of zinc alloy and has ABS rotating discs

Pros:

• Offers a lot of protection for the price
• Flex cable is long
• Has a lot of use-cases beyond just bikes

Cons:

• Not as secure as other options
• Flex cable diameter is not that thick

XZSUN Bike Lock Bicycle Lock Chain Review

All the bike locks we’ve looked at so far have been key-based and essentially U-locks, but maybe that’s not necessarily what you want. With the XZSUN you get a tumbler-style lock with a flex cable, which makes it easier to carry.

In terms of the cable itself, its 120cm long, made of braided steel wire so while not super thick, it’s still thick enough and will be quite difficult to easily cut through. Helping with the anti-tampering is the external vinyl coating of the cable itself, which will offer at least a little bit of extra security, plus it helps avoid scratching your gear. Finally, the cable is self-coiling, so you don’t have to worry about manhandling it into a small size for storage. 

One thing I will say though is that the cable might be just long enough to cover two wheels, although if you have more than one, it might not work that well. It also probably won’t be long enough to hook up two bikes to a rack or some other fixed point. That being said, you can use this bike for a bunch of different stuff, not just your bikes, so there’s a silver lining there.

Much like the other bikes on the list, this comes with an easy to use mount so you don’t have to worry about carrying it around in a pouch or basket. 

Probably the nicest thing is the 5-number tumbler lock, with 5 numbers being pretty good to safeguard against somebody trying to brute-force it. The combination is pretty easy to change, and the tumblers themselves are easy to turn and pretty smooth. On top of that, the whole thing is covered in PVC, which helps a lot with weatherproofing and tampering. 

The XZSUN bike lock is probably one of the best you can find on the market if you’re looking for a tumbler-style flex cable lock. True, it’s not as thick as some of the other options here, but it does offer great protection in a light and easy-to-carry product. The only real downside might be the length of the cable, so you should take a couple of measurements to make sure it will be enough for you.

Amazon

Bike Lock Buying Guide

While there may be tons of different designs and choices to pick from, their pros and cons are pretty clear cut. That means you can get a pretty good idea of what bike lock you should be aiming for, rather than having to do more and more research. 

D-Locks vs. Cable Locks vs. Chain Locks

D-Locks, also known as U-Locks, are probably one of the most secure types of locks out there. 

One of the main ways that thieves try and get through bike locks is using bolt cutters, and these can be anywhere from 18” all the way up to massive 42” ones (the latter tends to be hard to hide). With D-Locks, you tend to get shackles that come in 16mm to 18mm diameter sizes and those are pretty much impossible to break with manual bolt cutters, even the 42” variety. The downside though, is that these D-locks tend to be really heavy compared to the other lock types.

As such, you should mainly go for D-Locks if you live in a high-crime area where you need as much protection as you can get.

Chain Locks are the next step down, and they’re slightly easier to cut through using bolt cutters or other techniques.

Cable Locks are probably the easiest to cut through and should, therefore, be mostly used for deterrence and for areas where crime isn’t very high, or where there are lots of crimes of opportunity (since a simple lock should suffice putting off a potential thief).

Bike Lock Keys vs. Combinations

A lot of this depends on your use case and how you feel about things. In a super-general sense, keys tend to be safer than combination locks, but you will always find good and bad quality locks of each. 

For the most part, combination locks are pretty useful because you don’t have to carry around keys with you that you might potentially lose or forget somewhere. That being said, you will have to remember a combination, although that should be relatively simple.

So which one you go for should be based first on your budget (if you have a small one, go for keys), and secondly on whether you prefer having a key or a combination.

Bike Lock Materials

The majority of bike lots tend to be made out of steel or hardened steel, with some of them either including titanium or made out of titanium. There’s also a few lighter bike locks that are made out of kevlar. 

For the most part, I’d tell you not to worry about the material so much since most locks are made out of the same thing.

FAQs

Are U Locks Better than Cable Locks?

Yes, absolutely. A U lock is usually pretty thick, whereas a cable lock is thinner and easier to cut through. That being said, they each have their advantages. While the cable lock is thinner, it’s also lighter and easier to carry around, as opposed to a U-lock which is usually quite big and heavy.

Is There a Bike Lock That Cannot Be Cut?

Pretty much anything can be cut through, the real question is how much effort it takes. For example, cutting a cable lock is easier than cutting a U lock and cutting a thin U lock is easier than cutting a heavy U lock. 

At the end of the day, you want to go with the option that takes the most effort and therefore acts as the biggest deterrent. Similarly, locks are only as strong as whatever they are secured to.

Are U Locks Easy to Break?

No, they usually require a lot of effort and work. Most of the time you’d probably have to use an angle grinder or some other drilling or heavy-duty tool to cut through it. Since those tend to be noisy, they’re likely to tip off people nearby, so thieves are not likely to chance it.

Can You Pick a Bike Lock?

Absolutely, but again, it’s all about the amount of effort it takes. Tools will always be made to pick locks, but newer locks have newer security measures, and so they tend to be harder to pick. Similarly, it’s not easy to pick a lock in general, especially on a higher-end lock, so if you’re worried about this, I’d suggest you go for something on the more expensive side.

Final Verdict:

As you can see, there are absolutely tons of options in terms of bike locks and budget. As I said at the beginning, I would totally suggest buying two locks if you’re in a high-crime area. I know it’s a bit on the expensive side, but it’s totally worth it if your bike is worth several hundred dollars.

Either way, I hope you found at least one bike lock that’s piqued your interest, and I hope you the best of luck!

There are many certainties in life, and one is, if you want to get a raging debate started, post your opinion about whether helmet use increases or decreases the danger posed to cyclists. There are logical arguments on each side, and emotions generally run very high on the issue. 

This entry focuses on one thing that is not debatable – helmets can be disgusting. Although I do choose to wear a helmet each time I ride, I have not let a helmet touch my head in over 20 years. Think about it, would you wear the same piece of clothing day in and day out and not wash it? Those sweat filled pads touching my head every day? No thanks.

If you were to ask the average cyclist who wears their helmet every day if they protect their head from their sweat caked helmet,  I hazard a guess that they would look at you with a blank stare.  I wear either a bandanna or hat depending on the weather, and then put my helmet on. This keeps a barrier between the germ bucket and my head.

However, another part of the helmet can be equally as disgusting – the strap. Recently I noticed some irritation on my skin around my cheeks and neck. It puzzled me for a while, but then as I reached for my helmet one day it became quite clear what the issue might be – the strap on my helmet was quite dirty. 

You can’t quite throw your entire helmet in the wash so I put some laundry detergent in a glass, filled it with warm water, took an old tooth brush and proceeded to scrub the strap for a few minutes and then ran the straps under water to rinse out the soap. I let the helmet dry over night and I now feel much better about putting it on. You can see the before and after below. This practice is now going to become a non-debatable ritual for me. 

Helmet stories or advice? Feel free to comment or hit us up.

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A truly awesome display of zip tie greatness. 

Reader Chris is embarking on a two year bike trip from Alaska to Argentina. Think on that for a moment . . . don’t know about you, but I’m jealous. He sent along the following post and will likely contribute more during his journey.

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One of the best parts about planning for a two year bike tour is revamping your gear.  Tents, shoes, bags, electronics; you need it all.  I have a reputation for envisioning a very specific piece of gear that I want and painstakingly scouring the bowels of the internet only to find that it exists nowhere but in the depths of my mind.  One of the more recent examples of this is a set of clamp on drop bar adapters.  I have always had drops on my bikes, so when my Surly Troll showed up with mustache bars I felt a bit out of place.  Eventually I came to enjoy the more relaxed feel, but still found myself wanting to get low when firing down a hill or schlepping into the wind. 

Origin8 actually makes a pair of these.  I ordered a set from Amazon with cautious optimism.  I would have to describe them as ill-conceived but well executed.  The quality is top notch, but they missed a detail in the design stage.  It is tough to tell from the shot below, but the radius of the bend is so small that I could not fit my hand into them.  I’m only 5’11”, so I have average sized paws.

I really liked the idea of these, but this particular product just wasn’t right for me.  Unable to find another pair, I decided to make my own.  I hit the St. George Bicycle Collective and raided their parts bin.  My plan was to take a pair of clamp on bull horns and marry them with a set of drop bars.

Above we see the drops and bullhorns that I settled on.  The bullhorns are exactly the same style despite being different colors.

The next step was to cut them down to size.  This was a pain, and sort of dangerous.   The bull horns were designed to come off at an angle.  This meant that they had to be cut at an angle in order for the drops to come off perpendicular to the mustache bars.  Because of the shape, neither fit into a chop saw.  I decided to try cutting them with an angle grinder….. (Please note that the trailing periods after that last sentence are meant to foreshadow a very bad idea).

I’ve had some close calls with power tools.  But this may have been the closest.  I was in a hurry to get these things cut and as a result did not take all the precautions that I should have.  The result?  The bars got yanked into the grinder with my hand not too far behind.  It would be much harder to type this had I not been wearing thick leather gloves.  Check out the picture below.  The nick on the glove is from where it got pulled into the angle grinder.  That would have been my finger tip.

Unphased from nearly losing my pointer finger I decided I needed to find a way to make this work on the chop saw.  This proved to be only slightly less awkward than the angle grinder.  The drops got pulled into the saw and completely destroyed the blade.

Third time is a charm right?  I might be a slow learner, but as Churchill said, “Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”    I built a jig to hold the pieces so at least my fingers were out of harm’s way.

The final cuts came out alright. 

The next step was to find somebody to weld everything together.    At this point it is worth noting a few things about St. George, Utah.  First of all, the locals are a people of unmatchable self-pride.  They’re cowboys and their ancestors were pioneers.  They settled one of the most don’t give a fuck places on earth.  Hot, dry, and dead.  Being isolated in the middle of the desert, they had to be incredibly resourceful.  I appreciate this trait, but sometimes they take it a bit too far; I recently noticed that somebody did a plumbing repair on our house with duct tape…..

I’ve had mixed results with skilled trades here.  And by mixed I mean ranging from abysmal to atrocious.  Seamstress, boot repair, carpentry, knife sharpening, and now welding.  In all cases people have limitless confidence in themselves and are happy to take a stab at repairs, but more often than not this results in me wondering what the hell went wrong and how this person is still in business.  I tried three different weld shops.  One of the reasons I had to do all the cutting was because nobody seemed to know how to use a protractor and I wasn’t confident that they could get them cut at the proper angle to mount the way I wanted.  I tried to explain to one guy how important it was that these things be bomb proof and he cut me off saying, “I just have to be clear, I can weld them, but they will break.” 

Nobody inspired confidence.  Not willing to risk it, I called a friend and explained what I was looking to do.

“There has to be some old buzzard in this town with a missing finger that would be willing to do this for a case of beer,” I said.

Enter a mysterious character named Ron.  I never met Ron.  Apparently he builds hotrods in his garage.  All I know is that I dropped my parts off with a twenty dollar bill and a twelve pack of High life and two days later I picked up a package from an unnamed woman behind a resale shop that contained my makeshift drop bars. 

The welds are solid.  Ron made an aluminum plug to fit between each piece for reinforcement.  I took them for a test ride; applying only light pressure at first.  After a few minutes though I could tell that they would hold up.

Next step; paint.  It would have been nice to powder coat them, but in reality they’re getting wrapped with bar tape and they’re just going to get scuffed up.  So an old bottle of Krylon would do.

They ended up having a few drip marks.  But as I said before, this isn’t really a concern.

Originally I had planned on putting a set of road brakes on the drops and putting interrupters on the mustache bars.  This would have made a mess of the cable routing though.  After some playing around, I realized that the best solution was to keep the mountain bike style levers on the mustache bars and mount the interrupters on the drops.  This provided a relatively clean finish and leaves a few inches of cable to spare on the rear brake.

Not having to wrap a complete set of bars left me with enough tape to double wrap the drops.  I decided to go with some cheap pleather tape because it will tatter sooner and need to be held together with electrical tape.  This will give the bike a nice poor man’s look and make my wife’s Disc Trucker more attractive to any would be thieves.  I’ve been riding on them for a few weeks now.  People seem to love them or hate them.  Hardcore tourers that realize that there comes a point where you stop worrying about weight seem to get it.  They rich guys driving their carbon fiber race bikes to the ride laps up and down the hill think I’m crazy.  Personally I’m stoked to have these on my rig for the next two years.

Chris Haag is from Detroit, Michigan, although he currently resides in St. George, Utah.  He manages the site www.theplacesipee.com and will be riding with his wife, Sophie George, from Alaska to Argentina beginning in July of 2018.

When last I posted on the iGS60 computer I was given to review, I asked readers to guess where I ultimately chose to mount the computer. Likely the safest place to mount the computer is on the handlebar stem. 

However, I ultimately decided to go for the more risky extra space on the end of the PVC pipe I installed for my lights.

Out on the end of the PVC makes the computer easier to see while riding as I do not need to shift my eyes as much as I would if it were mounted on my stem. It’s a bit risky in that if I were to take a tumble or run into something, the computer would likely be subject to an impact of some sort. Also on the subject of viewing, the computer does have nifty backlighting which make the display easy to read at night. During the day you don’t need the backlight feature which can conserve batter power. 

The computer does come with multiple mounts which is nice for transfer between bikes, however one would have to purchase extra sensors for each bike. While mounting the computer itself is super easy, just stretching a round rubber fastener around the stem or PVC pipe, mounting the sensor on the hub of the wheel was a bit more of a challenge. More on that in a future entry.

Theme music is back . . . crank it.

The sighting that brought this song to mind . . .

Forward and rear reflectors both on bar ends? I’m so confused . . . 

I passed this bike the other day and something seemed odd.

I got closer and yes, this did seem odd at first.

But my feeble brain then kicked into gear and I realized that this “floating” chainring was a brilliant form of chain tensioner. Simple, a bit elegant in my mind – and yet there is that feeling of unease at having something solely held in place by tension. Reader reaction welcome in comments. 

Reader Clyde contacted us and wrote about a 10 wheeled bike he had created . . .

I built it for fun… I wanted to see if I could make all 10 wheels turn and function properly. 

More information on Clyde and some of his creations, including the interactive art piece found below, can be found at intuitiveiron.com. 

I was intrigued when I recently received an email with an interest in a cycle computer review. The computer in question is the iGS60, which the email proclaimed is . . . “similar to the Garmin Edge 520 but at about half the price.” I was partially intrigued because this is my point of reference for a cycle computer –

I think I got my Vetta C-15 in . . . perhaps 1997, and it’s still going strong even though it has bounced off the pavement a good many times.  I  will admit, I have not even used it for the past several years – I have been cycle computer free for quite some time. 

Why the Excel picture? Well I used to utilize Excel to track my mileage. However, the last time I had an interest in tracking my mileage was about 10 years ago. I used to engage in quite a bit of recreational cycling, however I am very much a “utility” cyclist now. A deep dive into my riding history, if I kept one, would show that my routes take me to and from home/work, with stops at take out restaurants, grocery stores, and liquor stores mixed in.  

I am not really a “gadget guy” per say. I certainly have gadgets, but I don’t geek out on them and seek to upgrade as soon as new stuff comes out (duh, I have a Vetta C-15). I know the name Garmin, mostly from rental cars, and I hear people talk about Strava and get the gist of what it’s about, but don’t see tracking my movements as beneficial to my life or even remotely interesting to others. The whole fitness band trend has been lost on me mostly because I will confess to being blessed with the metabolism of a humming bird. Weight loss is not my issue, I try hard to gain weight and fail consistently (I know, poor me). 

Anyway, I thought that interacting with a modern cycling gadget might be interesting so I took the plunge, and I have to admit I was immediately intimidated – look what came out of the box that was sent to me!

One product came with three boxes and one of those plastic wrap packages that sends multitudes to emergency rooms when people cut themselves trying to open the product. I think my Vetta came in a box you could fit a small mouse in. My first thought was, “How many beers is it going to take me to unpack, study, and install this thing!?” I will go through all of the stuff in a future post, but here is the “feature” product, staged next to the light for size reference.

The first thing that I noticed was that the device breaks one rule I try to live by – I try to buy products with replaceable batteries. This is one of those devices that has the battery locked in and you charge it like you would your phone. You can connect it to your computer or to a wall socket. I plan on running multiple posts on this thing and will have to comment on battery life as I use it. 

I must admit I was also intrigued because one of my first thoughts was where I was going to put the thing. Take a look at my cockpit.

My front basket does not exactly make my cockpit conducive to gadget mounting, thus the lights on the PVC pipe. This post is already running a little long and I will try to build some suspense. Readers, where do you think I ultimately chose to mount this modern marvel of computer engineering? Thoughts welcome in comments.

More images from a recent trip to NYC. This definitely took some thought, and I have my own ideas about the intended purpose.

If it is what I think it is for, carrying a dog, I would be worried. There is an electrical cord that runs from the seat post to the front of the bike which may well be a leash. 

 If it is for a dog, I hope the dog is very well behaved.

I spotted this in NYC and the only practical thought that came to my mind was that maybe this would be a good hack for someone who wanted to ride in bare feet. Then the thought of walking around bare footed in NYC sent a chill down my spine. Thoughts from readers on this hack are welcome in comments. 

A motto of BikeHacks.com could well be, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” I certainly do not take credit for coming up with this light mounting hack on my own –

But when I posted it, reader Craig sent along his own version, which definitely is high on the style factor. 

Craig wrote – I built this bike with a specialized rockhopper I picked up for $5 at a garage sale and mostly spare parts.

Imitation is welcome on BikeHacks.com. If you are proud of something you have done, contact us for posting. 

Thank you to all of the readers who submitted Haiku for our Aster Backpack Giveaway Haiku Palooza. We had a lot of entries and as noted in the original post, I used random number selection to select the winner. We had 47 entries submitted, and as chance would have it, the random number generator landed on 47. 

The 47th Haiku was submitted by Don – 

The Aster will ship to Don and Don will put the backpack through its paces and post a review here on BikeHacks.com. Going into the contest I only had one winner in my mind, however one entry was so awesome that I am going to think of a bonus prize of some sort. To get in the mood, rock out like it’s 1978 . . . crank it!

I had noted in the announcement entry that being a fan of Van Halen was not a requirement to enter this contest, but Jay submitted this perfect blend of the theme of the contest and the verse from a rockin’ Van Halen song off of their original album. 

I don’t know if Jay is a victim of the science age, but he could be the ruler of these nether Haiku worlds =)

We often feature theme music to go with posts, today it’s a movie line . . .

On my commute this morning I encountered America’s decaying infrastructure.

I, as an American people, want this to stop right here and right now =)

The story behind this is pretty simple, but for those not familiar with winter behavior in the Northeastern United States, let me enlighten thee. When it snows here, the Department of Transportation dumps salt all over everything.  I’ll go out a limb and say that I think it’s likely that the impact this practice is likely to have on ground water, animals, and plant life was not a high priority in the decision making process. 

This mixed use path sits right next to a major road in Boston, that is heavily salted in the winter. The cars splash the salt onto the path, the light post is metal, salt corrodes metal, winter storm with high winds comes through and here you have the result. I certainly hope no one was near this thing when it went down, and it’s actually quite lucky it did not tip into the road as I’m quite sure speeding cars might not have had time to react and there might have been deadly consequences. 

If you have death defying commuter stories, please feel free to sound off in comments. 

Mass customization is all the rage these days, and perhaps someone should start a business that will turn any object into a bottle opener. We have featured many a bike part repurposed into a bottle opener and when we recently posted Eric’s rim bottle openers, reader Dan sent along the following hack – which he says he made close to 25 years ago. Dan can not only hack a bike part, he can tell a funny. If you have hacked a bike part into a bottle opener, or if this post inspires you to do so, let us know. 

* * * * * * * * * * * 

Back in 1991 I was a bicycle mechanic, and had a spare SunTour thumb shifter lying around (I don’t recall what model SunTour shifter it was). I figured it’d make a great bottle opener. I took it apart, and cut an opening with a hack saw, then filed it to shape it into an opener. It took a while to get it finished. It doesn’t quite open a bottle on the first pull, but only needs a slight adjustment and second try to get it open, just like a SunTour shifter.

Theme music makes a return for this post. We had our first major snow event of the season in Boston this past weekend, and I stumbled upon the poor bike picture below. To set the tone, here is the chorus from Metallica’s song, Trapped Under Ice. Pretty heartwarming stuff . . . crank it yo. 

Freezing
Can’t move at all
Screaming
Can’t hear my call
I am dying to live
Cry out
I’m trapped under ice

The bike was hanging over the curb and an SUV was approaching and ready to park. Part of me wanted to see if the driver would get out, or simply just run over the bike. Sympathy got the best of me and I righted the bike on the pole.

We are happy to announce our first product giveaway/review of the year. Even better news, the review will be completed by a reader of the blog rather than by us.

Occasionally companies will ask us to review a product and said product might not necessarily be a good match with our, well my, riding style. In this case, the makers of a new backpack want a review completed, but I do not ride with a backpack as I want to avoid SBS. However, for those who do ride with a backpack, the Aster claims to be the “World’s safest cycling backpack.” From their website . . . 

Aster improves visibility, reduces accidents and saves lives! Aster’s rear and profile lights make you visible to motorists from all sides, front lights signal your presence in rear-view mirrors and automatic brake lights help you avoid getting rear-ended. Integrated turn signals make sure that drivers around you know when you’re making a turn.

The backpack is built with all sorts of features meant to be commuter friendly –

 We are bringing back the ever popular Haiku contest to give this bad boy to a reader to review. Here’s what to do if you want to enter the contest:

1. Ask yourself if you live on planet earth. If the answer is “yes”, your entry or entries will be entered into the contest for the backpack. The kind folks giving away the backpack will ship the backpack world wide, but not to space stations or other planets in our solar system (the backpack will ship to anywhere DHL can deliver). 
2. Compose your Haiku – see examples of the 5-7-5 pattern below. If you wish to use the traditional Haiku pattern of 5-7-5 with syllables that is fine, but as this site states, “In foreign languages, there exist NO consensus in how to write Haiku-poems.”  Thus simply using 5 words, 7 words, and 5 words is fine. Haiku purists, this is bikehacks.com and following rules is not our specialty.
3. The Haiku should be inspired by the usage of the backpack. “Aster” does not need to appear in the Haiku, but we would like the Haiku to relate to usage of the backpack and/or play on the theme. A title for your Haiku can be used but is not necessary.
    

4. Leave your Haiku as a comment to this post.  Enter the country and city you live in after your name in the name field. For example, if your name is Eddie Van Halen you could enter any of the following:
   1.    Eddie Van Halen – Los Angeles, USA
   2.    Eddie  – L.A., USA
   3.    Eddie the Guitar Shredder – Los Angeles, USA
   4.    Eddie, my guitar solos will melt your brain – L.A., USA
   5.    Eddie, I can’t get along with lead singers – L.A., USA

5. Submit as many Haiku as you like and yes we need your email address in the appropriate comment field too so we can contact you if you win. If you want inspiration for submitting multiple entries, please watch the totally tubular movie Real Genius – why this movie did not win an Academy Award is beyond me.  
6. The deadline to submit is Thursday, January 26, 2017 (Eddie Van Halen was born on January 26 – how cool is that?!) 
7. The winner will be chosen by random number selection and will be announced soon after the deadline passes.  
8. The winner must post their review of the backpack to BikeHacks.com after putting the backpack through the paces.
9. Being a fan of Van Halen is not a requirement to enter this contest, but if you are not you should start listening to Van Halen I as it may change your life.   
10. Because of spam I approve individual comments so your submissions may not post immediately but I will get to them.

Aster Backpack Haiku Example 1

Aster has lights and stuff

Keeps away those hurtling autos and trucks

I want to arrive safely

Aster Backpack Haiku Example 2

Blink, Blink, Glow, Glow, Reflect

I want to reflect at ride’s end

Aster helps keep me upright

 Aster Backpack Haiku Example 3

Listening to Eddie play Eruption

Makes me light up like the Aster

Light up your life yo

On a recent errand I spotted something that I found perplexing. Does anyone know what this handlebar mount is for? Is this something sold, or something hacked? Please chime in with comments. If it helps, it is hollow . . . 

One thing that constantly frustrates me is not being able to find a tool I need. I live in cramped quarters (no garage and no work area) and don’t really have a “good” place for organizing my tools. All my tools are either in my standard sized toolbox (read small), or in varied boxes that I try, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep organized in a way that will help me remember what tools are where. I am jealous of people like reader Ben, who does have space and sent us this great tutorial on how he organized his tools on the cheap. Take it away Ben . . .   

INTRODUCTION

Recently I started on a job right at the bottom of my ‘to do’ list, sorting out my garage. I consider myself a pretty organized guy but if you’d taken a look at the state of my INSERT WORD you would have taken a lot of convincing!

When it came to sorting out my cycling tools I decided that getting them all hanging up on a kind of shadowboard would be the best way to make them easily accessible.

So off I headed to my local branch of Homebase to set my plan into motion.

MATERIALS/TOOLS

Purchased:

• Chipboard. 1220mm x 610mm x 18mm (2 sheets). £23.92
• ‘Lost Head Nails’. 65mm. £2.94
• 75mm Screws. £3.92
• Washers. £1.39

TOTAL COST: £32.17

Tools Needed:

• Drill
• 10mm drill bit
• 10mm wall plugs
• Spirit level & pencil
• Screwdriver
• Pencil
• Hammer

CONSTRUCTION

1. Drill holes in wood. Ensure you clear off the excess chipboard from the back so it will go flat to the wall.

2. Mark the holes through the wood onto the wall using the spirit level and pencil. I found 6 holes to be best for keeping the chipboard secure.

3. Drill the holes into the wall. Use a piece of electrical tape or similar to mark the depth of the wall plug so you don’t drill too deep.

4. Put the washer on the screws and put the bottom piece of chipboard up. You may need some help to hold this in place whilst you screw it in.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for the top piece of chipboard.

HANGING UP THE TOOLS

Now you have the Chipboard in place on the wall it is time to start hanging up the tools. This is where the headless nails come into play. If you have anything slightly heavier or that needs a lip to stop it falling forward then use the screws.

You can be as creative as you want with this, but I worked on two principles:

1. Try and group similar tool types together
2. Put the most used tools in the most accessible positions

My finished shadowboard looks like this:

Most of the tools hung up fairly easily. Most have holes built into them for exactly this reason, though in future I will now be ensuring I buy tools that are easy to fit on the board!

There were a couple of unique items that were harder to fit.

The first was the hex key set. Thankfully I bought a set by Silverline which came with a stand. I mounted this onto a small piece of wood and used brackets to attach it to the board. Whilst these are not the sturdiest hex keys in the world for £7 they are worth it for the stand alone. Even if you are planning to upgrade most other sets would not fit this easily onto a shadowboard, so I would certainly recommend these.

The second unique tool to fit was the hex bits for my torque wrench.

Luckily I had kept hold of the box they came in and managed to glue this to the board to make it easy to access them.

They are very snug so do not fall out. If you are interested they are by a company called Bergen and available on Amazon.

CLOSE

I hope you have found this useful. If you have any questions or would like any advice feel free to drop me an e-mail to Ben@CyclingTipsHQ.com and you can check out my web presence here – www.CyclingTipsHQ.com