The world's worst bike lanes according to readers of the Guardian. [more inside]
posted by Toekneesan on Nov 5, 2009 - 43 comments

Car-free cities: an idea with legs
Car-free neighbourhoods are no unrealistic utopia – they exist all over Europe.
posted by kliuless on Nov 4, 2009 - 101 comments

Ride the City maps the best or safest urban bicycle route from point A to B. Presently featuring multi-lingual maps from New York, Chicago, Austin, Louisville, San Diego, and Seattle. Their blog posts updates about new cities added to the grid, or other topics relating to urban bicycling.
posted by netbros on Oct 29, 2009 - 16 comments

A better way to get kids to learn to ride - a single training wheel. The folks at bikecommuters.com liked it too. Available December 1.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan on Oct 8, 2009 - 46 comments

David Byrne has just published a new book about bicycles called Bicycle Diaries. A long time rider, Byrne muses on how the world looks and works from the vantage point of a cyclist. It's getting pretty good reviews. To launch the book, Byrne is touring the US and arranging public forums. Each event features a civic leader, an urban theorist, a bicycle advocate, and Byrne himself speaking about bikes in cities. Here’s a schedule of the upcoming events. He’s also designed some bike racks for his hometown of New York City. [more inside]
posted by Toekneesan on Sep 27, 2009 - 28 comments

In part because a gender gap persists in urban cycling, women are considered an “indicator species” for bike-friendly cities. [more inside]
posted by lunit on Sep 25, 2009 - 106 comments

David Byrne's Perfect City Osaka's robot-run parking lots mixed with the Minneapolis lakefront; a musician's fantasy metropolis [more inside]
posted by kliuless on Sep 13, 2009 - 18 comments

Ride a Bike through an Architectural Drawing: no, really.
posted by leotrotsky on Sep 10, 2009 - 33 comments

Putting heart and muscle into the term "bespoke," Josh Hadar creates hand-crafted metal sculptures that double as functional bikes. He describes his process in a recent interview with RocketBoom. Intrigued? A bicycle custom built to your whims could run from $12-$35k, or if you live in NYC, you can try your hand at welding and metal sculpting at his Burn Clinic. (via bioephemera)
posted by madamjujujive on Sep 4, 2009 - 14 comments

In light of the recent tragic death of a cyclist in Toronto, even normally well-balanced MeFites have polarized in the bikes vs. cars “war”. But according to Guillermo Penalosa, the fight is really about better urban design. He helped to radically reinvent the transit and parks infrastructure of Bogata, making it of the best cycling cities in the world. The recent changes to Broadway in New York were influenced by Bogota's success. Gil now advises the Project for Public Spaces and is Executive Director of Walk & Bike for Life. Their solution to the pedestrians vs. cars vs. bikes battle is simple: better urban planning (previously on MeFi) that gives everyone their own safe space. Not sure if your city's infrastructure is up-to-snuff? Apply the 8/80 rule. In the meantime, keep safe out there.
posted by nometa on Sep 3, 2009 - 175 comments

The Big Africa Cycle. Peter Gostelow is cycling from Dorset, England to Cape Town to raise funds for The Against Malaria Foundation. And it's not his first big adventure. [more inside]
posted by fire&wings on Aug 28, 2009 - 2 comments

Two girls, one bike. SLYT, SFW. One bike starts at 2'25".
posted by unSane on Aug 18, 2009 - 71 comments

Bicycle Inflation in Paradise? Freakanomics looks at used bike prices in Portland. Interesting reading.
posted by fixedgear on Aug 17, 2009 - 135 comments

Bicycle Snobbery - whether "mustache handlebars", silly tattoos, "mankinis" or other male cycling fashion statements, brass knuckle bicycle grips or celebrity brokeback pie-plates, NYC's Bike Snob casts judgment on all he surveys from one high gear
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Jul 6, 2009 - 43 comments

Lightlane builds lasers that shoot out from your bike onto the road, displaying a bike lane wherever you ride. Written about here and here.
posted by erikvan on Jun 24, 2009 - 92 comments

The Vélocouture flickr pool. Over 1600 photos of stylish (and, uh, "differently-styled") bike fashion, from the hipster to the formal, the casual, the young, the old old-timey, the new old-timey, and much, much more. There's also a blog.
posted by dersins on Apr 23, 2009 - 37 comments

We've had quite a few lovely posts over the years about people on bikes and skateboards and all these fine new sports that those crazy kids are in to these days, whether it's charging it, huckin' or riding in all its myriad of forms. New, yeah? Here's your great-great-granddad showing you what for with some barspins and suchlike novelties on a heavy old fixie. Stick around for the full-pipe attempt at the end. Directed and filmed by Thomas Edison.
posted by loquacious on Apr 20, 2009 - 64 comments

Bike Parkour. Exactly what it says on the tin.
posted by By The Grace of God on Apr 20, 2009 - 91 comments

Bike fanatic Didi Senft, who's been building crazy cycles for years, shows off his latest "angular" bikes.
posted by rageagainsttherobots on Mar 27, 2009 - 19 comments

someonestolemybike.com Videos of folks who have had bikes stolen. Kristy chased the thief down and got hers back.
posted by fixedgear on Feb 12, 2009 - 30 comments

"I was the 2000 Women's World Champion Mountain Bike Bog Snorkeller. The what? you ask. Well, it goes like this..." [previously]
posted by not_on_display on Dec 15, 2008 - 5 comments

Portland's got white ones, Austin has yellow ones, Vassar has them in pink. What are they? Community bikes. Colleges, universities, even whole cities are seeing the benefits of offering their students and citizens an alternative to cars, fossil fuels, and parking lots. Want to start a shared bike program in your community? Here's how. (previously)
posted by Toekneesan on Oct 21, 2008 - 42 comments

Last year, Michael Mooney attempted to break the world record for riding the tallest bike. Instead he broke his knee. This year he tried again. Like any good biker, he got up and tried again (1:33 for the good stuff). He may not have broken the record, but he sure is awesome.
posted by rikschell on Sep 8, 2008 - 16 comments

Waffle Bike is a fully weaponized waffle-making machine. (SLYT)
posted by photoslob on Aug 27, 2008 - 49 comments

62 year old emergency physician John Hall and his wife Jane took off on a Bike Ride Around America to promote cancer awareness. They started on April Fool's Day, and completed their 12,000 mile journey around the perimeter of the country just today. Along the way they encountered hundreds of towns and thousands of friendly people, and a few not so nice. All in all, a pretty amazing accomplishment in my book.
posted by netbros on Jul 31, 2008 - 21 comments

Igor Kenk was arrested for bicycle theft in Toronto on July 17. Here's an audio documentary that includes an interview with the man himself: Steal This Bike (be warned, a lot of profanity, and a little pretentious). [more inside]
posted by Chuckles on Jul 29, 2008 - 46 comments

Steampunk recumbent. That is all. I'm speechless but awed.
posted by fixedgear on Jun 16, 2008 - 92 comments

If Wile E. Coyote entered the Tour de France, this would be his ride. Brought to you by some guy who always wanted to be a human missile. No word if he's going to move from eBay to Acme one day. (The bike running briefly at ear-shredding volume. The slightly more elegant European version. And, of course, Jeremy Clarkson on a jet-powered bike with a pretty basket in front.)
posted by maudlin on May 28, 2008 - 25 comments

Cope pipe without a jig. Enter a few parameters and get a pdf that will give you a printable pattern that will allow you to notch tubing for welding or brazing to another pipe.
posted by Mitheral on Mar 15, 2008 - 35 comments

I Finally own a Zipp Wheel… A little story of how a bike racing fan came to own a fancy, schmancy carbon race wheel during the recently concluded Tour of California. [more inside]
posted by turbodog on Feb 28, 2008 - 48 comments

The '...is your new bicycle' meme is your new bicycle. I like bikes.
posted by fixedgear on Feb 21, 2008 - 44 comments

BikeIcons isn't the best site, but it has the best bikes! [more inside]
posted by snsranch on Nov 27, 2007 - 17 comments

“Our intentions are to be as sustainable a city as possible,” said Mr. Adams, Portland's city commissioner in charge of transportation. “That means socially, that means environmentally and that means economically. The bike is great on all three of those factors. You just can’t get a better transportation return on your investment than you get with promoting bicycling.” Many city planners agree that bikes make sense, but after two riders recently lost their lives in Portland one must wonder, is there a better way?
posted by Toekneesan on Nov 5, 2007 - 69 comments

Suddenly, a man in a vintage hat rides up, hip-hop blaring from a glowing Plexiglas container shaped like a tropical fish set above the back wheel of his bicycle, control lights flashing. Fossil Fool, a rolling rapper from San Francisco who rides the college circuit preaching the benefits of peddling, grabs his microphone, cranks up the volume and starts to rap. Paul Freedman, aka Fossil Fool, is one of the founders of Rock the Bike, which makes Soul Cycles -- bicycle-based, often human-powered hi-fi and PA systems -- for "playing clean, powerful, uplifting music at street festivals and off-grid parties." RTB recently made a mobile DJ booth for Austin's DJ Manny; here's how. Attention, party-throwers: In 2008, you may well be able to rent or borrow a Soul Cycle for your own shindig.
posted by GrammarMoses on Oct 28, 2007 - 9 comments

Bike Hacks! Bored with your generic two-wheeler? Check out this collection of funky bicycle modifications. My favorite is the grocery cart.
posted by brain_drain on Oct 18, 2007 - 17 comments

David McCallum's Warbike, which chimes away as it passes by (and detects) stray wifi signals. Torontonians can ride the Warbike for free until the beginning of December as part of Interaccess. [more inside]
posted by myopicman on Oct 10, 2007 - 18 comments

"A Ghostbike is a junker bike that has been painted stark white and afixed to the site where a cyclist has been hit or killed by a car driver." [more inside]
posted by ardgedee on Oct 7, 2007 - 74 comments

Fueled by Rice - Five recent grads from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's Unviersity recently set off from Beijing to bike across Asia and Europe. The goal of their bike trip is to spread international good will on the local level and advocate reducing carbon emissions and living slower-paced, more enjoyable lives. Along the way they will bike through rural areas and play music in villages. As they travel, the group is posting photos, a blog, and will attempt to get a podcast up and running. They've even got the site up in Chinese, though the site seems to be blocked for most folks in China.
posted by pithy comment on Sep 17, 2007 - 11 comments

Amsterdam's bike culture is jarringly different than the U.S. A photo essay.
posted by craniac on Aug 26, 2007 - 148 comments

Miniature motorcycles, made from watch parts. [via It's Knuttz]
posted by mediareport on Jun 28, 2007 - 17 comments

There goes an a**hole. Brooklyn neighborhood security camera set to music.
posted by eddydamascene on Jun 15, 2007 - 34 comments

Pedicabs are a common sight all over. In the pedicab business, there can be success, personal enlightment, and failure. Pedicabs come in countless styles. This style is sleek and modern, and this man is trying to bring them to Detroit (warning, only the sparse main page is finished). Here is the mandatory YouTube video.
posted by The Deej on May 19, 2007 - 13 comments

Nearly 700 cyclists are killed on U.S. roads every year, and more than 540,000 are sent to the emergency room. The annual Ride of Silence was started in 2003 to honor and raise awareness for those tragically killed and injured on the road, and has grown into a worldwide event, with more than 270 confirmed rides planned to start tonight, at 7 p.m. Ride along on YouTube or grab a black armband and join a group near you. [Previously on MeFi]
posted by dead_ on May 16, 2007 - 59 comments

Two wheels, no brakes, no gears... Unstoppable. They're fixed-gear bicycles, and they're an environmentally friendly mode of transportation for those with a sense of style (or a death wish).
posted by buriednexttoyou on Apr 30, 2007 - 171 comments

NYPD Intelligence Op Targets Dot-Matrix Graffiti Bike. More details on the premeditated arrest of Joshua Kinberg by the NYPD just before the 2004 Republican National Convention. Kinberg, now the CEO of FireAnt, was targeted by the "R.N.C. Intelligence Squad" for his Bikes Against Bush project. The police lost his Xtracycle. [Via BB.]
posted by homunculus on Apr 10, 2007 - 66 comments

Ultimate Hippie Commute Unit The Xtracycle has been around since the mid-90's. The concept is meant to eliminate the need for panniers , handlebar packs, and traditional trailers, and is currently being sold by a company by the same name. treehugger loves it, this guy built one out of spare parts, and the bicycle company Surly wants to build some themselves. Go ahead, ditch your car!
posted by andythebean on Mar 30, 2007 - 48 comments

A wee bit of a problem More mistakes come to light in the French lab that screwed Floyd out of his Tour win
posted by cccorlew on Mar 15, 2007 - 23 comments

Hailed as the first major development in bicycle design for 150 years, ladies and gentlemen, it's the Sideways Bike.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Feb 19, 2007 - 41 comments

Fixing a Flat Tire without Hands
A series of photos of a man, who cannot use his hands, patching, repairing and reseating a bicycle inner tube. Why? Apparently its his job.
Somehow my little problems don't seem so insurmountable anymore.
posted by fenriq on Dec 22, 2006 - 27 comments

The KTrak Snowcycle Conversion Kit takes your mountain bike and turns it into a tracked, human-powered snow (or sand) machine, complete with a front ski. Other snow bikes are great at going downhill, like the Hanson Ski-MX Kit or the Winter X Bike Kit, but the KTrak goes up, down and all around.
posted by fenriq on Dec 13, 2006 - 21 comments