Thursday, May 7, 2009

Bike Setups: Low Brows, High Headtubes

With the Giro d'Italia starting this weekend, the Grand Tour season is officially upon us. If you think of professional cycling in terms of popular entertainment, the Classics are kind of like Neil LaBute plays in that you watch them in one sitting and they're all about suffering, whereas the Grand Tours are more like Lifetime miniseries since they take place over a span of weeks and are full of schmaltz and melodrama. Another hallmark of the Grand Tours is the rumor, speculation, and controversy they always generate. One particularly controversial rider is Alexander Vinokourov, who was suspended for doping but is hoping to return in time to contest the Vuelta a EspaƱa. And in another journalistic coup, a reader has forwarded me a photo of what appears to be Alexander Vinokourov training stateside:



Vino appears to have accumulated some leg hair during his suspension, and he's also clearly grown a foot or two (in height--he always had feet), but he hasn't lost that look of determination:


Nor has he gained any eyebrows:



Speaking of eyebrows, as I predicted on Monday, this is indeed turning out to be a wet, wheelbrowy kind of week. Indeed, the New York City metropolitan area is like a drunk on a bender right now in that there's no way it's going to dry out before the weekend is over. As such, I'm keeping the Peter Gallagher Wheel Eyebrow Advisory (PGWEA) in place through Friday:


For Saturday, I'm replacing the PGWEA with a Noel Gallagher from Oasis Fudguard Warning (NGFOFW). It looks like the rain stops on Sunday, but I'm guessing the roads will still be wet in places, hence the Intermittent Vanilla Icebrow (IVI). The sun finally comes out on Monday, at which point hopefully we will finally experience clear Vinokourov wheelbrowless conditions.

In the meantime, New York City cyclists continue to cope with the dampness in a variety of ways. If you ride a designer track bike or a Dutch city bike, you simply leave your bike at home. (I'd been seeing lots of Dutch city bikes around town until the rain began. I guess the bikes are good for the rain but the cycle-chic wardrobes aren't.) If you ride a more pedestrian track bike, you rock a low-riding beaver tail-style filth prophylactic. And regardless of what you ride, you might even opt for a makeshift saddle-mounted rain bonnet:


This is a common sight on bicycles parked in New York City on rainy days, and it makes sense since nobody likes to sit on a wet saddle. Moreover in New York City it's nearly impossible to purchase even a tiny item without the shop proprietor shoving it in a plastic bag. Pack of gum? Bag. Purple Drank? Bag. Not buying anything but just need a bag for your saddle because it's raining out and you don't have one? Well, they'll give you one, but they'll put it in a bag. (Yes, you can say you don't need a bag, but the bagging process is so deeply ingrained in their muscle memory that they can't stop themselves from doing it.) As such, we've been forced to find uses for all these bags, and making rain bonnets is just one of them.

Obviously, the bodega bag rain bonnet is free (unless you count the price of the Purple Drank), but I'm sure it will only be a matter of time before someone starts making them and trying to sell them to you. After all, Brooks saddles and vintage Turbos are all the rage, and you wouldn't want to sheathe one of those in just anything. Oh, wait, someone already is making them:

Never mind. (Interestingly, of all the things the Brooks owner apparently feels the need to protect his saddle from, his own ass isn't one of them.)

Speaking of contagion, nothing is easier to catch than the upgrade bug. Upgrading is a disease, and once you start upgrading your bike it spreads so quickly and easily that it makes the swine flu seem like ice cold cream cheese. No sooner do you put that fancy Brooks (or vintage Turbo, or Arione crabon) saddle on your bike than you start thinking about how crappy your seatpost is in comparison. Fortunately, giant headtube specialists Seven have finally come to the rescue with a new $325 titanium seatpost:

Price aside, I'm not sure what the point is of a "custom" seatpost that is only available in 27.2. I can certainly understand not being able to find a post in the right diameter for your frame and thus needing something custom, but you can change the length of pretty much any seatpost:

Yes, "customizing" your seatpost really is that simple. Buying this Seven seatpost is like buying a pair of "custom" shoes that only come in size 10 1/2--but you can "customize" the length of the laces.

But you can't really blame Seven for a gambit like this; after all, their tall headtube supremacy has been challenged by Serotta, as you probably noticed on Conan the Vinokourov's bike above, which features a truly monumental headtube:


Maybe if I had a lofty, intimidating headtube like this then "stroller salmon" would be afraid to play chicken with me (pardon the mixed animal metaphors) in the bike lane:



Though I'd also probably be too far away from the road to spot potential hazards:


Yes, glass can obviously damage your tires severely, so should always palp a top-tube serape:


This way, if you encounter glass, oil slicks, or rough pavement, all you need to do is unfurl your serape, lay it down over the obstruction, and then safely pass. Once you're across, simply shake out your serape, roll it up, and continue on your way. It's also especially handy for old-fashioned bike-date chivalry. (Note that you can rub an auxiliary serape on your headtube if yours is sufficently tall.)

Less useful in my opinion than the top-tube serape is the top-tube pad, which amazingly people continue to rock:



Not only that, but apparently they continue to covet Deep-Vs and Aerospokes, too. Frankly, I'd think these trends would be dying off by now, but it looks like they're not. Perhaps I was wrong and the new practicality is still a long way off.

Or is it? I was heartened to come across this entry from a frequent commenter on this very blog:



I enjoyed this entry for a number of reasons. Not only am I a fan of wheelbrows and easy-to-read diagrams, but the bike also appears to have Ortlieb panniers, and if I were a European pro I'd like my name to be Ortlieb Pannier since not only am I full of random crap but I can usually be found hanging off the back. Still, I did find this bike severely lacking in the headtube department:


Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?

131 comments:

Seanywonton said...

first!

Anonymous said...

podium?

Anonymous said...

same time?

Anonymous said...

Tyler!

I'm back...

Seanywonton said...

I am basking in a Euphoric high right now! Damn that was good.

Daddo said...

up there!
Hey all:
I don't have a fancy "meet the Snob" prize but won't you
Please Donate

CommieCanuck said...

meh

Anonymous said...

top ten!

Frank said...

boogledy!

Mad Jack McMad said...

Boom Shanka

rezado said...

Great googly moogly

hillbilly said...

chapeau, seany, all the training certainly paid off.... now pour yourself a nice dogfish and bask away

Astroluc (Find me on Tumblr and Instagram @Astroluc) said...

damn...

CommieCanuck said...

Snob, you seem to have a personal issue with head tube lengths, but remember what they tell you, size doesn't really matter (snicker).

Besides, if you have a shorter head tube, at least hope it's oversized, or if you're of other sexual orientations, tapered.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the Lemond that was "originally a single speed"; I like how his "conversion" and need for "more work" to convert it into a fixie consists of taking the wheel off and putting it back on - since the Lemond Fillmore has a flip flop hub...

ant1 said...

nice bike rantwick.

Other Side of the GW said...

Hey Snob, hang in there. The sun is threatening to come out. It might work it's way over to you soon.

Anonymous said...

"encounter class"? Typo is funny too...

RANTWICK said...

Hey BSNYC, thanks for the alarmingly nice mention of me and my bike! I confess to headtube envy, but I was always told to be happy with who I am...

Thanks to ant1st as well.

Isolation Helmet said...

I saw a guy rockin a custom Seven rolling though my town a few weeks ago. It seem to be a compact geometry frame but the rider seemed to have five foot long legs so the head tube looked longer than my arm. I'm sure he needed to palp acustom Seven seatpost for that baby since he seemed to have three feet of post showing. Too bad I didn't have a camera.

rezado said...

Vanilla icebrow. Haha.

Go white boy, go white boy go.

mander said...

Brooks' official saddle bonnet is completely useless, since it's only about as waterproof as a proofided Brooks. I recommend the Aardvark cover from Velo Orange instead.

Anonymous said...

KARA GOUCHER IS FREAKIN HOTT!!!!! And I am not a cyclist, because i am a Triathlete that thinks Cyclists are Freakin weird!!!

Jim said...

First, it's good to see Vinokourov has benefitted from the Red Cross' donation of extra lengths of head tubing to the impoverished country of Kazakhstan. For far too long, Kazakhs and those on the opposite side of the Himalayas from them have labored on bikes with too-short headtubes. This is why you've never seen a bicycle ascent of K-2: the geometry just isn't comfortable enough. Now, thanks to the Red Cross's yoeman work, every Kazakh can ride a bike that has at least two Yeti (the monster, not the bike brand) hand widths of 1.5" tubing between the downtube, and a pleasantly horizontal top tube. This traditional geometry will provide a comfortable ride and ease the pain of those seeking to traverse northern Asia and ascend Everest by bike. The legendary hairy 9 foot tall Nepalese cycling enthusiast and noted curmudgeon, Granting Petersonzay, will no doubt be pleased.

Second, that titanium seatpost is remarkable. It weighs only 18% more than a comparable Thomson seatpost, has probably 75% of the strength, and costs roughly 300% more. I don't see how it could possibly fail.

Anonymous said...

Great bike, Rantwick. Functional. Functional. Functional.

southpole said...

yeah when i saw that diagram i reckognized the style and in-jokes immediately. just wondered why the arrows are not green and why there is no label on the clipless pedals.
(oh and the AYHSMB rim decal seems hidden by the pannier)

JPB said...

Maybe this is a ridiculous suggestion, but, if your saddle (or any part of your bike) is so expensive and delicate that it requires special protective measures to avoid being damaged by rain, don't leave it outside!

Also, thank you fixters for another generation of "cyclists" that think Brooks saddles are the best ever! "Oh, they are so comfortable once you break them in!"

TheTye said...

I just wanted to report that an excess of "deep-v wheel messages" have finally made it to California. (Sacramento, at least).
Only in the last couple of weeks have I started to see messages on one out of three fixed gears being poorly ridden around my town.
The funny thing is that they all look really old and beat up... and I know that they are pretty new. I would love to be a fly on the wall in some of these apartments while hipster 20-somethings sit around stenciling and then "authenticating" their wheels

grog said...

Excellent idea. Saddle condom. Especially with all this flu virus going around, you just can't be too careful! We should have custom prophylaxum for every component. Repeat: every component.

Anonymous said...

Vino is awesome. His body does a wheelie, his wheels are on the ground. How does he do it?

mander said...

Thanks for the post JPB. Between your post and mine i think this week's unfunny, comments-cluttering debate is off to a fine start.

g said...

I have never seen someone quite as white as Conan the Vinokourov. Looks like he's about to burst into flames with just average sun exposure.

mikeweb said...

This is the best I can do without the EPO

Nice job Seany!

MINGUStheMECHANIC said...

the feds gave my bikes the "stress test" and apparently my bikes need an undisclosed amount of new capital, unfortunately my wife is not as gullible as the public.

Can i be the first to say-
All you haters suck my long ass headtube.

Anonymous said...

In the last images, what is the "what the" pointing to?

Polks said...

I find it funny to see the dog taking a shit in the upper left in the photo of the large head-tubed seven.

worm irks said...

I see from that photo with the broken glass that NYC bikelanes are for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ponce_entree.jpg
matadors.

Are you really worried about a little broken glass.

Anonymous said...

as an owner of a brooks saddle rain cover i can tell you that they do an absolutely terrible job of keeping the saddle dry. don't believe me? try it sometime in a good rain. stick with plastic bags

-joe

Renders Fenders Moot said...

I fly deep dish. I'm talking Brie de Meaux. I'm talking the full wheel.

Anonymous said...

All You Brooks Haters Suck My Bag Loops

RANTWICK said...

Anon 2:17, thanks!
Anon 2:35, that is a kludge I made for mounting a camera on the bars.

mikeweb said...

I rub a plastic bag seat cover every day, whether it's raining or not. I just don't want to have any random spit or other bodily fluids to 'acccidentally' make their way onto my leopard print Bianchi saddle.

I've been using the same bag for over a year and the bag says it's bio-degradable, proudly proclaiming 'back to the Earth', yet the bag hasn't 'degraded' yet. Not even so much as a hole.

Anonymous said...

still recovering from yesterday's win

Jim said...

BTW, what's up with LongHeadtube Vino's rigid arms? Did the bike do something bad to him, and now he's trying to strangle it?

rezado said...

Since you arent using the bag loops to rock a seat bag you can probably hang you distressed calvin klein briefs on them to dry because you have no fenders.

ringcycles said...

Snob: You could use the top tube serape for making toreador like passes of bike salmon. Especially when they are rocking bullhorn bars, or worse, Texas longhorn steer like bar ends. Ole'

random guy said...

Rantwick's blog is fun to read too.

Anonymous said...

Quickly grasping the market for the return of chivalry with top tube serapes, Raleigh has introduces the 'Sir Walter' cyclocross bike that lays itself down in mud puddles to let others pass unsoiled.

Surly Bastard said...

Jim - I was just going to comment on Vinny's straight arms vs. the tall-ass-head-tube.

There's some sort of bio-mechanical-ergonomic cycle-fitting-malpractice going on here but I'm not sure what it is since I never gave those fuckers at the LBS the 100 bucks they wanted for a fitting.

Test Tickle said...

Nice call on the plastic bag obsession. I see so many dipshits buying a friggin' bottle of soda or cat litter or soap ... carrying the item out in a plastic bag! WTF? Do you think I need a BAG to carry my BAG of kitty litter? Or my BAR of SOAP? That's what HANDS are for. That's why we have THUMBS and FINGERS.

I know that baggers need something to do and it's store policy, but WE NEED TO STOP IT. Tell your clerk that you don't want a bag.

Plastic bags are destroying ecosystems, birds, fish (bike salmon even) ... stop using them people.

Sorry I got off the subject of bicycles but BSNYC brought it up and I feel the need to vent.

Done now.

liz said...

"This rain cover will protect your saddle from the rain, as well as the ground when you have the bike upside down."

whew, that's a load off my mind.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations, Rantwick, way to make London, Ontario history. First time and American has ever refered to my sad city. Way to represent...

Anonymous said...

Damn Snobby, why'd you have to go and mention Robert Van Winkle? He's so washed up he probably spends all day googling himself. Finding your Vanilla icebrow reference will probably make his whole day. Don't encourage him.

Other Side of the GW said...

Snob, I retract my former statement about the sun. I thought the sun was out but apparently I was deceived. That bright, round shining object in the sky was probably someone throwing a pie plate. It's now thundering and raining. Everyone's eyebrows are getting wet here whether they have them or not.

CommieCanuck said...

anon 3:43, London makes Hamilton look like, ..uh..London.

CommieCanuck said...

Testy...some people with short head tubes don't need bags, they can carry the items in their pants.

Since the dawn of free porn on the internet, hands are being used elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:11-

Your Kara Goucher's agent. We get it, already.

Can we have our comments section back now?

mikeweb said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
RANTWICK said...

Random Guy 3:14 - thanks very much!
Anon 3:43 - If I 'represent' London, I think I will have to move somewhere much better.

mikeweb said...

I also agree on the plastic bag menace rant. I think things are getting a little better - I see more and more people refusing bags or using their own 're-palpable' bags.

This is purely subjective, but I seem to see less of the things blowing around like so many urban tumbleweeds than I did 5 years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDXjnW3nIWg&feature=PlayList&p=BFD17AB6D726764F

marcj said...

London Ont in the house, woot woot!

(Commie, you really trying to suggest my fair city doesn't measure up to the Hammer? Sad. Just sad.)

b said...

I ain't that smart, but maybe them titanium seatposts ain't so easy to cut...

Anonymous said...

This end of the blog is far more interesting than the top

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCl25RJQPbA

amsterdamize said...

Forget the NYT, Cycle Chic is just a fancy label, it's actually: normal people in normal clothes on normal bikes. No fuss. If even New Yorkers can't handle a little rain, then yeah, all hope is lost ;)

(PS: the Dutch would say: "You're not made of sugar, are ya?". Which means we ride no matter what.)

Paul Bowen said...

@Rantwick: I too admire that bike; anyone who's been commuter cycling for a while will immediately recognise it for what it is - distilled experience in bike form. (How good are Ortlieb panniers?! My Mrs has had a pair for years and they're solid as. Germans just make stuff properly.) Must ask though why you've got a rear brake cowl but no lever, or indeed rear brake. Just couldn't be arsed to take it off I'd guess?

Also have to say that though I generally have a blind spot for the fixter aesthetic, that Lemon D is really quite pretty.

Luck E. Seven said...

I thought that POS rubbing the serape was rocking a Rapha cravat. Very matchy-matchy betwixt cycle and rider, like when people dress their dogs to match their outfits. Barf.


A

Luck E. Seven said...

69th!


A

Test Tickle said...

mikeweb - nice link. great movie. ok, bags can be cool ... everything in moderation, eh!?

for everyone:

http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/rap_pledge

not trying to get all political and soapbox-y, just educated, as most of us here are (well maybe not Red or Jolene ;-)

cp said...

Oh COME ON Snob. I sent you those pics of the Cannondales with hormonal imbalances like four days ago and they didn't even make the cut! I feel dejected. Ok now I don't. http://i40.tinypic.com/20k6hjm.png

Typenschild Delete said...

FYI, that headtube is about 270mm, or 10.5" tall (based on the rims being 622mm diameter).


Bring me your finest meats and cheeses.

RANTWICK said...

Paul Bowen - I had nothing on that side at first, but I like to ride on the brake hoods (cowls) a lot of the time, and missed it badly. You can buy purpose-built "dummy" hoods (they amke them for stokers on tandems), but they cost a lot. So, I just put back only the bits I needed from my old lever.

Paul Bowen said...

Ah yes of course I should have been able to work that out - my mate rides on the cowls all the time. Cheers.

Typenschild Delete said...

Rantwick -are you going to rig a remote shutter release for your camera to it?

Anonymous said...

Holy crap, how many Londoners hang out here, I thought I was the only sad fool who lived in this hell hole...

Anonymous said...

Come to London, Ontario (not the real London 'cause that would be cool), we have lots to see and do here, we have, uh, hold on, ummmmm... nope can't think of anything.

Wes said...

So that's two no namers, one from Canadia, one from who knows where.

Sad Fool

By hell hole, do you mean London, either one or Snobby's comments section?

Anonymous said...

Zzzzzzzzz ... *snrrk* *chomp chomp* zzzzzzzzz. Whu? Wait ... uh. Zzzzzzzz.

Anonymous said...

London, Ontario, Canada, the sad place in Canadia, where there is nothing ever good to do so you ride your bike.

Anonymous said...

save me...

mander said...

@Rantwick: If you rig it so your unused brake lever activates your camera's shutter, then you will be the man.

Javier said...

Sweet post Snob as usual.
Thought you might be interested in other sweet posts such as this one:
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/bik/1159248668.html
Sweet quotes: "Brand new wheels - with putrid color combinations that only an artiste would love."
"High end carbon road bikes are for yuppy shmegs.
Cool people ride tricked-out fixie !! "

Peter said...

How about this Headtube. Never seen anything like it ever.

http://tinyurl.com/cg4u9o

RANTWICK said...

Typenschild and mander: I use the camera for video. I just hit "go" and forget about it... I don't like bothering with anything like that while riding at my kind blazing fast speeds. You should hear those fenders howl...

jolene said...

fuck that shit with the oh my god i needs some pizza combos i have a craving fer those and mebbe some tater skins with bacon or maybe some eggos damn is huggrey i think i needs some fewd dammit red get me some cans so i gets me some snacks down here so i can get some later

oh shit i here that oreo vanilla ice is a need of some id do it to it but thoes eye pubes is a little gay if you ask me i dont want no gay cancer or no swine flew if you no what happens i think that neel dimond is a real classy guy more than him at least

Anonymous said...

I like that if you read the Lemond's fixgeargallery post it says he's looking to do some more "work" on it like buying a aerospoke or deep-v. ...fgg posters, single-handedly likening handing money over to the cashier to repacking bearings.

innerlighter said...

The picture of Vino is actually a spy shot of him doing some weapons testing for Kazakhstan. The head tube on that "Serotta" actually houses clever miniature nuclear missles, which launch, then blow up. Which, contrary to "Ortlieb Pannier" is what I usually do when racing.

meh.

Canada Tour Guide said...

London, Ontario, has the only velodrome in Ontario.

It's wood, built inside an old hockey arena.

Home also to University of Western Ontario, a famed institution for its parties and clueless undergraduates.

Wes said...

I have a step uncle who lives in Burlington, Ontario. Had a fierce moustache. Not sure of his bike fangling skills though.

Fierce Panties said...

Fierce moustache. Sweet.

innerlighter said...

Geez Snobbie, I wish I just had a camera, and your lightning fast photo-taking reaction time for when I got doored just about 5 minutes ago. No place to go, with parked cars on my right, and the offending door opening on my left.
Maybe a picture of my torn up finger if and when it stops liberating me of a healthy volume of my own blood.

Ah, the indignities!


meh.

innerlighter said...

On the upside, I put some nasty dent,scratches in the front and rear passenger doors as I bounced off.

heh.

Anonymous said...

Anyone else notice the gray dog relieving itself in the background of the "giant headtube specialists Seven" link?

Wes said...

Anonymous 8:52

Polks did at 2:36.

And innerlighter, you okay? Nobody has camera reactions quick as the Snob - you need a mounting (not a'mounting) like Rantwick to track every move.

Wes said...

Fierce Panties.

Sweet indeed, verging on Burt Reynolds.

Bobbo said...

lantern rouge

Anonymous said...

Rantwick, do you think your bike experiences "phantom lever syndrome"?

hillbilly said...

sucks, sorry to hear that innerlighter

hillbilly said...

and 100

Anonymous said...

Dalmations

RANTWICK said...

Anon 10:30 - No, I don't, although for a short while I did at first.

RANTWICK said...

That previous comment made little sense, what I meant was

Anon 10:30 - No, I don't think my bike did, although for a short while I did at first.

Anonymous said...

cyclist dies in queens rode round the world for charity seeing eye dogs nyc was the highlight of his trip hes dead no charges for the driver and not one word from you cunts

Anonymous said...

BGW come home all is forgiven and miss your rants

Wes said...

Anon 12:16

A while back, Snobby covered the death of a cyclist with compassion, common sense and humour.

Maybe the comments about how all drivers are murdering scum will come in time.

I'm going by car today.

innerlighter said...

Wes & Bill,
Thanks.
The aftermath, 6 stitches and a painful index finger. 2 days off work, which the driver will be paying for of course.
Could have been much worse.
Wonder if I could get Frilly to kiss it and make it better?

eh?

innerlighter said...

oh, and Daddo,
I would be more than happy to contribute!
S'pose you might visit Wheels North.org and find the butcher on the riders page...

We're doing Santa Rosa,CA to Seattle in July.

Ghost Comment said...

Anon 12:16-
What would you like to say?


CYCLIST DIES IN QUEENS ACCIDENT

By Tom Raftery

Thursday, June 29th 2000, 2:13AM

A bicyclist died when he stopped short, flipped over his handlebars and hit a stopped city bus early yesterday, police said.

The unidentified man was declared dead at the scene of the 5 a.m. accident in Elmhurst, Queens. No charges were filed. The bus was stopped at a light at 126th St. and Roosevelt Ave. outside a bus depot when the cyclist braked and catapulted to his death.

Ghost Comment said...

Anon 12:16-
What would you like to say?

Cyclist Killed In Hit-and-Run Accident

By MICHELLE O'DONNELL (NYT); COMPILED BY JOHN HARNEY
Published: October 18, 2004

A 45-year-old man riding his bicycle in Corona last evening was struck by a van and later died of his injuries, the police said. The man, whose identity was not released by the authorities, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center after the 7:20 p.m. accident on 108th Street near 48th Avenue. He died shortly after 8 p.m. The driver of the van, a 1996 white GMC, fled.

Ghost Comment said...

Anon 12:16-
What would you like to say?

Cyclist Killed In Queens Collision
By Special to the Sun
February 28, 2007

A cyclist was killed yesterday after colliding with a car in the Elmhurst section of Queens, police officials said.

The cyclist was struck by a man driving a grey sedan as both were traveling east on Roosevelt Avenue, police said.

After police arrived at the scene at 2:30 p.m., the cyclist was rushed to New York Booth Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

The driver, who remained at the scene of the accident, isn't suspected of causing the collision, police said.

Ghost Comment said...

Anon 12:16-
What would you like to say?

Ghost Bike Memorial Ride 2009 Honors NYC Cyclists, Pedestrians

By John Del Signore in News on January 5, 2009 10:02 AM

The fourth annual memorial ride and walk for cyclists and pedestrians killed in New York City took place yesterday (Jan 4). Groups of cyclists met with families of the deceased at the sites of 14 fatal bike accidents in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan. Memorials were held at each accident scene, and new "Ghost Bikes"—painted white with small plaques—were put in place as detailed reminders of the fatalities. The DOT has yet to release official numbers on fatalities in 2008, but according to last year's report, 23 cyclists were killed in 2007, up from 18 in 2006.

The Village Voice's Roy Edroso was in downtown Manhattan yesterday, where the memorial rides through the boroughs converged. At Delancey and Bowery, approximately 80 activists joined with the family of Rasha Shamoon of Greenpoint, who was struck by an SUV on August 5th, 2008 and died several days later. The driver was not charged with any wrongdoing, and Shamoon's family says that not only was it "really hard to get answers" about the accident, but police only took statements from the driver and two of his friends.

Leah Todd, a volunteer for the NYC Street Memorial Project, says, "We have to ban the word accident from our vocabulary. All crashes are preventable through better design and changing the culture of our streets to foster mutual respect among all who travel on them." Lizi Rahman, whose 22-year-old son Asif was killed earlier this year, is campaigning for a bike lane on Queens Boulevard. In a statement, she says, "I hope the ride will remind New Yorkers about the senseless and careless deaths of many innocent bicyclists, which cause a permanent scar in the hearts of their parents, siblings, relatives and friends."

Ghost Comment said...

Anon 12:16-
What would you like to say?

British tourist in NY for charity dies in Queens bicycle accident

BY Edgar Sandoval and Simone Weichselbaum
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Friday, May 8th 2009, 8:53 AM

An Avid Irish bicyclist - who traveled the globe raising money for charities - was killed by a truck in Queens Wednesday.

Stephen Hodnett, 40, who left his native Dublin to live in London, was pedaling along Jamaica Ave. and Lefferts Blvd. in Richmond Hill when he collided with a 10-wheeler truck, police sources said.

Hodnett was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital minutes after the 2:20 p.m. crash, police said..

"He loved cycling. That bike he was killed on - it has been all over the world," said Gavin White, of Newfoundland, Canada, who rode alongside Hodnett in Paris, Moscow, Tokyo, and a slew of other world cities.

The pair would pick a charity and bike along subway routes to promote it, White said.

"Nobody has ever done this," said the distraught Wright after talking to cops in the 102nd Precinct stationhouse. "We just wanted to see parts of cities no tourists will ever go to."

They purposely put off visiting New York, seeing the Big Apple as their prized bike tour, White said.

White and Hodnett had signed up sponsors among friends and family who donated money based on how many subway stops the duo made. The funds supported the Lions Foundation of Canada, an organization that pairs seeing-eye dogs with the blind.

"I see this guy trapped under one of the wheels. The truck was too big. He did not stand a chance," said witness Maribel Martinez, 20.

Cops said the driver will not face charges.

BunE said...

Are we sure that's not Conan O'Brien both on training and winning action shots?

Seanywonton said...

Ghost Comment, wow that's some sad shit. After reading all that I was starting to get the feeling that we have a lot in common with possums. (Except that we are usually looking where we are going and understand the physics of what happens when you get hit by a 100+ pound moving object.)

Seanywonton said...

Sorry, that was supposed to be "1000+ pound" moiving object.

Seanywonton said...

OK, I give up. Need to cut down on the coffee. Fuck yeah, it's Friday!

Renders Fenders Moot said...

Forest City Velodrome is the shit!

I live somewhere even better, but went to London ON to ride those boards. First fixed ride! Freaked out and wanted to get off! Almost went off the wrong way, flying into the seats like some hockey puck in the former arena, but saved myself last minute.

(Awesome bike-handling skills)

Ten months later my daughter was born. Was it the near-death in London or was it Tony's Tacos in Leamington?

hillbilly said...

renders fenders - that is quite possibly the funniest and most touching comment i've ever seen on a board, and should be a movie. who do you want to play you?

CommieCanuck said...

Well, if I have my way and all the planets align, Hamilton may have a Manchester-style velodrome in two years @$20M.

Forest City is the shit...you will not meet a more enthusiastic group of cyclists who don't spend more than $800 on a bike, and don't give a shit if you do.

and riding the plywood there is f-ing scary.

CommieCanuck said...

that's right..I said f-ing on the internet.

Renders Fenders Moot said...

Thanks Bill!

Johnny Depp.

Forest City Velodrome is a centrifuge mindbender. I'm going back to watch.

Anonymous said...

i like how his lemond "was originally a single speed." it still is god damn it. "backwards" is not a different speed. your bike is now multi-directional not multi geared.

Scott said...

"f you ride a designer track bike or a Dutch city bike, you simply leave your bike at home. (I'd been seeing lots of Dutch city bikes around town until the rain began. I guess the bikes are good for the rain but the cycle-chic wardrobes aren't.)"

Oh is that so? People are leaving the most suitable bad weather bikes at home in favor of fenderless track bikes? Guess they don't know about the super dutch bike riding equestrian rain slicker: http://www.sheplers.com/mens/his_and_her_matching/080119.html?Source=Froogle&color=10&CS_003=2113742&CS_010=080119

Anonymous said...

its a serotta head tube, they are to thank, not seven you stupid fuck

The Real Lantern Rouge said...

lantern rouge

Catsundermytire said...

Last!

Anonymous said...

Look out, they are coming...

David Schmidt's Dutch Bike Co. has expanded from a shop in Ballard to Chicago and, soon, New York City. "Many of our customers are people who maybe haven't ridden a bike since they were 20 years old, and they want a simpler way to get around," says Schmidt.

Anonymous said...

"I did find this bike severely lacking in the headtube department"

Feel a need to compensate?

Anonymous said...

Bike PADDING fucking rocks, and so do aerospoke's and deep v's. btw this is my fucking bike u prick.

Anonymous said...

http://www.psycrithm.com/archives_psycrithm/IMG_2452.JPG this is what the lemond fillmore used to look like, so i feel this guy has actually made quite a nice 'conversion' snobby a holes

Anonymous said...

you're an asshole.

Anonymous said...

Bikesnob, please choke to death on cox.

Sincerely yours, in Christ,

The Hipster