R.I.P. Sheldon Brown
According to a message posted on the Touring e-mail list, Sheldon Brown died of a heart attack last night. Brown is best known for his informative Web site, and I hope someone will continue to host it in his memory (like Ken Kifer's site). A visit to sheldonbrown.com is like sitting down with a friendly mechanic and picking his brain over beers. It's easy to lose track of time and spend hours reading all the material.

Brown was always a welcome presence on the Touring list, whether for his detailed knowledge of bicycles or his sense of humor evident in annual April Fool's Day products such as the Real MAN saddle made of granite. How many bike mechanics are listed on Wikipedia? There might be someone out there who knows more about bicycles, but I doubt there is anyone who has shared so much of that knowledge freely with others.

Labels: bicycles, tributes

- posted by David Johnsen @ 1:46 PM 0 comments

 
Consumer Reports Tests Folding Bikes
The August issue of Consumer Reports includes a brief test of five folding bicycles. Though there are many manufacturers of folders, they test one from each of the most popular brands. Their results and recommendations are incredibly the same as mine would be. And I didn't even get to ride any of the bikes.

They include folders from mainstream brands Trek and Giant in the test, but neither distinguishes itself. That is not surprising; the other manufacturers specialize in this type of bike, while Trek and Giant just added them to their product lines over the past few years. They probably sell a decent number to consumers who don't know about the better options on the market.

The Brompton C-Type C3E is recommended for people who plan to ride flat terrain and fold their bikes often. I concur, as long as you don't mind the $675 price tag for a bike of limited ability. Bromptons have a reputation for easy, compact folding, but their gearing and handling aren't the best. This is the only three-speed tested, but a model with more gears would be more expensive.

Bike Friday's claim to fame is that it rides like a regular bike. Consumer Reports tests the Stock Pocket Tourist (though more expensive than the others, it is Bike Friday's cheapest model) and agrees. Bike Friday's weakness as a folding bike is in the folding itself -- it's not the easiest or quickest to fold, and the result is not as compact as others. Though it is not the ideal commuter bike, it is a great travel bike. This is the only brand tested that could serve as an enthusiast's only bike. Bike Friday caters to that person, offering myriad customization options (at a price, of course).

Ultimately, Consumer Reports recommends the Dahon Speed D7. It is the least expensive bike tested, less than half the cost of a Bike Friday. It folds better than a Bike Friday but not as compactly as a Brompton. It performs a bit better than a Brompton but not as well as a Bike Friday. For a short-haul commuter bike that folds well, the Dahon is the best choice, and I say that despite being a biased Bike Friday owner. However, it is important to remember that just because the bikes all fold doesn't mean they are designed for the same purpose. If you want a bike that you can pack in a suitcase and fly to an out-of-town century ride (with no oversize charges), Bike Friday is one of the best you can buy, certainly the best one tested by Consumer Reports.

Labels: bicycles

- posted by David Johnsen @ 8:03 PM 1 comments

 
Don't Buy a Wal-Mart Bicycle!
In a California court case this week, Wal-Mart and importer Dynacraft BSC defended themselves against a lawsuit accusing them of knowingly distributing bikes with faulty quick-release levers.

The defendants say that any front-wheel failures associated with the bicycles are most likely a result of improper assembly, parental neglect, failure to adjust the quick-release device, or children's neglect or abuse of the bikes.

I know from experience that many people don't know how to operate quick-release levers -- I once showed a new commuter how to take off her front wheel in order to lock it up alongside the frame. It hardly bears mentioning that her bike was a cheap brand such as those sold at Wal-Mart. Any decent bike shop would never let you roll the bike out the front door without explaining how the quick-release mechanism works. Even if you think you know, they'll probably show you again just to be sure. No one at Wal-Mart is going to tell you about important things like properly using and adjusting your front wheel's quick-release.

But this court case offered an even better reason not to buy a Wal-Mart bike. The jury was given a bicycle to examine in order to understand how the quick-release works. About five hours into their deliberations, a juror broke the quick-release lever! Oops. That couldn't have helped Wal-Mart's defense. And according to a press release put out on behalf of the plaintiffs, "The bicycle came straight out of the box and had never been ridden."

Discount store and department store bikes are the Yugos of the bicycle industry. Sure, they are cheap, but you get an unreliable product that should not be trusted. Parents, would you buy your daughter the cheapest "beater" on the used-car lot for her to drive home from work at night? Of course not. Then why do so many people put their kids on these dangerous bikes just to save a few bucks?

As one who writes about cycling on the Web, I get many e-mails asking, "What bike should I buy?" My answer is always the same: always buy from a bike shop (unless you're buying something fancy via mail-order like a Bike Friday) and start out with the cheapest bicycle built by a well-known, well-regarded manufacturer. Companies like Trek, Giant, Cannondale and Specialized cannot afford to have their good reputations destroyed by inferior products. The cheapest Trek mountain bike will be far better than the fanciest full-suspension $100 Wal-Mart bike. And when you consider that the Trek will last as long as several Wal-Mart bikes in succession, it really doesn't cost more money than the cheap bike. You can certainly spend a lot more and get an even better bike, but buying a good brand is the bare minimum. And no, Huffy is not considered a good brand. Go to a bike shop. Trust me on this.

UPDATE - 02/12/2006 - Well, it looks like Wal-Mart won their case despite the broken quick-release. The jury voted 11-1 that it was the fault of the kids and parents. Without knowing the details of the case, I suspect this was an example of one side winning largely because they could afford better lawyers. Ironically, a high-profile Wal-Mart lawyer said in his closing argument, "Theories are a dime a dozen. Where's the proof? Where's the data?" Uh, maybe that broken quick-release in the jury room was the proof? Regardless of the results of this case, their bikes are still junk. If the quick-release doesn't fail, something else will. And don't go crying to the local bike shop when that Wal-Mart bike breaks. It's not their fault you bought a pretty piece of scrap metal instead of a bicycle.

Labels: bicycles, Wal-Mart

- posted by David Johnsen @ 7:16 PM 7 comments