The Archives
MapQuest and OpenStreetMap: Is there a Bike Under the Hood?
The MapQuest Dev Blog has announced that MapQuest can map a bike route using data from OpenStreetMap. Before you get too excited, there’s no place yet on MapQuest where you can search for bike directions, but it may mean that they are one step closer a user-friendly way to map a bike route using real-world…
Urban Bad Weather Commuting
Josh King lives in Seattle, where he commutes by bike every day, rain or shine. Earlier this year he switched to full-time single speed commuting; you can read his thoughts on going gearless at www.singlespeedseattle.com Start commuting year-round, and youre going to have to make some adjustment for crappy weather. When I first…
Pedaling Revolution: A Review
“Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities,” written by Jeff Mapes, has been read and reviewed for well over a year, but it is still worth a read and a mention more than eighteen months after its publication. This book is wonkiness at its finest. Mapes, whose professional credentials are primarily in political reporting,…
RackTime Barit ' Zinger & Quick Review
For the next week (thru Nov. 15th), we’ve marked the Racktime Barit down from $65 down to $55. I’ve been testing out one of these handlebar bags on my tandem for the past 6 months. Overall, it’s been a very nice handlebar bag with high end features at a reasonable price. For connecting to the…
E Lee's Extrawheel Sized for Bike Friday
We were excited to see this Extrawheel Voyager bike trailer set up for use with a Bike Friday. These photos demonstrate the Extrawheel setup with a 20″ rear wheel. This setup allows for the same 20″ wheel, 20″ tire and 20″ tube on the trailer as on the bike. This is quite convenient when it…
A Thought Experiment on Bike Commuting Safety
Josh King’s guest post, “10 Rules for Urban Commuting” sparked a lively debate, not just in our comments, but across the blogosphere. Well, the bike-commuter corner of the blogosphere anyway. If you missed it, the essence of the article (if I should hazard a summary) is this: If safety and survival are paramount to an…
Ortlieb Downtown ' Zinger & Quick Review
My wife just wrapped up testing the Ortlieb Downtown and had a hard time giving it back when the we sold her demo model. This bag is just a great mix of looks and usable features making it an ideal bike commuting pannier for may situations. We currently have a Zinger sale running on it,…
Glenn's BOB n Solo Bonanza
Here’s Glenn on his rig:”In preparation for the Tour de Fat, Tour de Tempe, and Halloween trick-or-treat transport I attched the BOB trailer along with a Burly Solo for a little bike train. Not necessarily intended for two (rather monsterchild in Burly and his bike rides on the BOB) but his friends at school really…
Teach Your Children Well: Safe Routes to School
In my first post, The Great Debate: Vehicular vs. Segregated Cycling, education for cyclists came up as a critical issue both in my research and in the response. Whether you ride on the road among four-wheeled gas-powered vehicles, or you prefer riding in a space designated for human-powered vehicles as an adult, creating a community…
Bspot: A Good Solution to a Good Problem
Anyone who uses a car lock remote knows that it’s as useful for finding your car in an asphalt sea as it is for, y’know… locking it. Now close your eyes and imagine a world where bike commuting was so common that it created the same sort of where-did-I-park-the-damn-thing challenge. On second thought, Don’t close…
Cycling and the Election Cycle of 2010
Here’s a roundup of several articles on the 2010 midterm elections, and how the outcome may effect cycling advocacy, and transportation infrastructure. “Bicycle Retailer and Industry News” takes an agnostic view, and speculates that Democrats, if relieved of their chairs, might actually become more effective advocates for cycling projects: Cycling’s two biggest supporters-Rep. Earl Blumenauer…
Fixing the Great Mistake Series
Fixing the Great Mistake Series
Commute by Bike
The folks here at UtilityCycling.org are very excited to announce our recent partnership with Commute by Bike. If you don’t already follow Commute by Bike, it is a blog and resource dedicated to providing tips, advice, reviews, and other great information for bike commuting. Commute by Bike focuses entirely on bicycle transportation, and it contains…
A Suitcase/Bike Trailer Solution
Maurice writes the following about his setup:
Ortlieb Office Bag Large Classic ' Zinger & Quick Review
Today’s Zinger is the Ortlieb Office Bag Large Classic. I just sold the Vaude Wright Tarp Commuter Pannier that I was testing through our Demo Page and decided to pull this interesting pannier off of the shelf. Two things struck me right away, 1. this is a big pannier and 2. where do I put…
The Epic Commute & The Tale Of Two Folding Bikes
Katie Mattison lives in Nyack, New York. Follow her on Twitter @kweenkmatt or for snarky commuting comments, @SnarkyTrainGirl I’m a young working professional from the suburbs trying to make it in the big city. I’ve lived in the NYC metro area since 1996, and I’m currently revisiting my passion for cycling that began as a…
Bicycle Delivery Helps Solve Local Hunger
Bicycle Delivery Helps Solve Local Hunger
Chrome Backbone Backpack ' Zinger & Quick Review
Today’s Zinger, running through the next week, is the Chrome Backbone Cycling Backpack. We’ve marked it down from $179 to $165 while we feature it over the next week. This is a great full size backpack for taking on life’s challenges on the go. While this bag was designed with the demands of cycling at…
Kenneth's BOB Trailer/LHT Combo
Kenneth sent us this image of his Surly Long Haul Trucker decked out for some long hauls with panniers and a BOB Yak Trailer. Kenneth is planning out a trip to Bangor Maine in 2011 and looks like he should be all set to go to carry everything he’ll need.
Three Mobile Apps That Cyclists Need To Know About
When you head out cycling you usually take a few of the essentials with you. Pump, tire levers, spare inner tube, keys, and mobile phone. The final one can double up to offer a ton of useful functionality. Here are three apps that may be of use. 1/ Bike Doctor [Disclosure: This is my app!]…
10 Rules For Urban Commuting
Josh King lives in Seattle, where he commutes by bike every day, rain or shine. Earlier this year he switched to full-time single speed commuting; you can read his thoughts on going gearless at www.singlespeedseattle.com My commute through Seattle’s Capitol Hill and into the heart of downtown takes me through a maze of cars, pedestrians,…
State of the Hub: CommuteByBike.com!
This weekend, we are announcing some big news. The stewardship of CommuteByBike.com is being handed over to us. The previous owner, editor and primary blogger, Arleigh, passed it on to us, in part due to the stress and issues surrounding a bike commuting accident. Given these circumstances, the transfer of the blog to us were…
The Great Debate: Vehicular vs. Segregated Cycling
One of the most contended points in bicycle advocacy is how cyclists fit into the overall transportation picture and what course of action best benefits individual riders and cyclists as a group. Two distinctly different schools of thought exist: vehicular cycling and segregated cycling. While the vast majority of cyclists fall somewhere in between the…
Racktime Addit Rack – Zinger & Quick Review
The Zinger of the day is the RackTime AddIt Rear Rack!!! The RackTime AddIt Rear Rack is a great rack designed with multi-purpose use in mind. RackTime is a new brand, developed by Tubus. Tubus wanted to offer up more economically priced racks and bags for bike commuters and weekend bike tourists. They’ve put together…