We've never understood the need for a rear-view mirror while cycling. The occasional glance over the shoulder has always been sufficient. But the style points earned from sporting a wearable mirror made from an attractive bottle cap and a bike spoke may just change our tune. Instructables demonstrates how to Do It Yourself.
Three posts today! I guess we're feeling chatty.
The focus of this site is carfee life and we try to keep posts relevant to getting around Ann Arbor without a car. There are lots of bike junky websites out there. While we often link to them, we don't aim to become one of them.
That said, once in a while something comes along that isn't directly related to our topic but just can't be overlooked. Homeless Dave's DIY human-powered laundry spinner is an obvious example. His set-up uses a bike, indoor trainer, and broken washer to spin the water out of his hand-washed clothes.
Normally we'd argue that stationary bikes are the only bike related thing less practical for getting around than the superhero outfits that are so popular on Huron River Drive on Saturday mornings. For off-season racers and health nuts they may be great, but we find nothing more frustrating than pedaling for an hour only to get off the bike not an inch closer to the grocery store. No fresh air, no cool breeze, no changing scenery, no thanks.
But HD's documentation (like the rest of his site) is a work of art in itself. It is a joy to read his inovative effort to reduce energy consumption and waste, both of which tend to be goals for carfree folks. And while his invention may not get you to work in the morning, at least your laundry is done at the end of the ride.
Think it is too snowy to be riding your bike? Dreading the slippy trip on your downhill commute? Can't decide whether to bike or ski to work? Why not take the best of both and put them together?
Yes, the skibike is the Reeses peanutbutter cup of winter transportation. Certainly there are limits to its usefulness (can only go downhill, no brakes, generally unsafe for rider and onlookers), but for those with no sense of safety and a two-way downhill commute, this may be just the ticket. CommutebyBike pointed us to a dirtrag DIY skibike. The Do-It-Yourself aspect adds that extra sense of danger that off-theshelf models can't satisfy. Build and ride at your own risk.
You are already struggling to lug a 40 pound bag of dog food home from the pet store. Now Old Man Winter is preparing to add extra obstacles to the effort. Or is he?
From another point of view, his generous, frozen hand offers a distinct advantage to heavy hauling. That heavy load that currently hangs off you body could also glide effortlessly over the snowy ground on a sled! The combination of snowy weather, winter recreation plastic technology, and a little DIY rigging to meet your needs makes winter the perfect time to haul heavy loads, and without over-heating in the process.
While we prefer the inexpensive and readily available red plastic sled, Kifaru offers what they claim to be the best sled made in America.
If you usually push a shopping cart home, this patent may someday develop into the solutions to your winter shopping woes.
This write-up on winter sled camping provides good info on building a camping sled. The suggestions are easily transferable to hauling a sled full of groceries, kids, or firewood around town. The best bit is the DIY harness made from an old backpack belt.
Most bikes sold today are based on sport performance designs that eschew the bulk and weight of a kickstand even though 90% of the riders would benefit from having one. This means that parking your bike requires leaning it against another surface and since your bike is on wheels it can be tough to find a position that the bike won't roll out of, especially on inclines or uneven surfaces.
A while back, lifehacker posted a quick-and-easy hack using a wine cork as a parking brake. You have to see the picture at lifehacker to understand, but it is dead simple. You should also check out the comments to find out problems others have had with the hack and some other equally elegant solutions. Our favorite is using your velcro pant leg strap (the one keeping grease of your pant leg). Wrap it around the brake lever and handlebar to tighten the brake and prevent the bike from rolling away.
Winter roads are generally pretty well cleared in Ann Arbor, but if you are riding on trails or the morning after a big snow dump studded tires can help with acceleration, braking, and turning on snow and ice. The problem is that these tires are quite expensive (about $40/tire) and aren’t much use once the studs wear down. To save money, a friend has come up with an easy way to add studs to old or cheap tires to put on a winter beater bike. It works best with knobby mountain bike (26”) tires. It takes some time, but works like a charm.
a. Turn the tire inside-out
b. Using a tiny drill bit, drill a guide hole from the back of the tire through the large knobs on the side of the tire
c. Screw small (38th” length) screws through the guide holes until they are flush with the tire. Make sure they are coming out in the center of the knob to prevent tearing the tire.
d. Line the inside of the tire in a layer of duck tape to prevent the screw heads from poking or pinching the tube
e. Mount the tire and tube on the wheel as normal- just be careful not to poke yourself on the new studs.
f. The studs should be on the outside of the tire, adding traction for turns and reducing surface contact when riding in a straight line.
The new studs will be sharp at first. Obviously you have to be careful and riding on sidewalks and around pedestrians is a big no-no. But the points will wear down to dull bumps quickly. We can get two winters out of a set of these.
If you only have the patience for one tire, I recommend putting it on the front since front tire skids are the most dangerous.
We have also found that an extra-thick tube eliminates the need to line the tire with duck tape.
Contributed by: Scott TenBrink
I came across a bike blog that is part product review and part DIY modification. The recommendation is for the OXO Good Grips Liquiseal Travel Mug. The benefits are
a. it's cheap ($10)
b. easy to find (Linens 'N Things)
c. fits in a bottle holder
d. doesn't leak
Finding a cup that is leak-proof is harder than I had expected. I haven't used this one, but if it works, it's worth the money.
This rider also added extra insulation to the cup by wrapping it with a layer of cork handlebar tape covered by a layer of duct tape. This has the added benefits of reducing the tapered shape to fit the bottle holder better and making the cup more “grippy”. All in all a good tip for those who combine their morning ride and morning coffee.
Link: http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/2006/07/coffee-mug-for-your-bike.html
Contributed by: Scott TenBrink
I used to do this as a student, and I still see people doing it from time to time. Put a rear rack on a bike and bungie or tie a milk crate onto the rack. This allows you to carry up to 50lbs of stuff on the back of the bike. I once managed two full paper bags of groceries this way.
Contributed by: Ken Clark
note: you need to install a rack on the back of your bike first.
