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Are you looking for a gently used bike? If you are and you are in the south Twin City Metro on Saturday, June 18th, you may be in luck. For the fourteenth year, Rick’s annual used bike sale benefits a kid’s youth program and you can find a deal on a used bike. This year Rick Anderson has over 500 bicycles primed and ready for that #NextBikeAdventure.
Rick Anderson working in his garage so a wide assortment of gently used bikes are ready for the sale
Rick’s used bike sale details
The public bike sale will be held June 18, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Superior Service Center, 14580 Glenda Drive, Apple Valley, MN (Just off Cedar Ave, near the Red Line’s 147th Street bus stop.)
There are models for all ages and skill levels, including some top-quality cycles from Trek,
Specialized, Cannondale, Schwinn, Raleigh, Giant, and Fuji. There will be road bikes, mountain
bikes, cross bikes, city bikes, cruisers, hybrids, BMX, vintage, classics, and even a recumbent tandem. With many bikes for sale, they will range in price from $50 to $500 dollars. Much more
information and a map of the sale are at www.ricksbikesale.com.
Used Bike Sale Benefits Youth Program
The bikes generally sell fast. Anderson recommends arriving promptly at 9 a.m. Monetary
donations to Kids ‘n Kinship and DARTS will be accepted on-site. For additional information about the Kids ‘n Kinship mentoring program, visit www.Kidsnkinship.org.
The Dakota County Kids ‘n Kinship is a private non-profit organization that matches children who have a need for an additional supportive relationship with carefully screened adult volunteers. Once a match is made, volunteers spend 1-4 hours per week with the child. Typical activities might include picnicking, attending sporting events, sharing interests, or going to the movies.
Are you looking for a gently used bike? If you are and you are in the south Twin City Metro on Saturday May 12th, you may be in luck. For his tenth annual used bike sale, that benefits a kid’s you program, Rick Anderson has over 400 bicycles primed and ready for that #NextBikeAdventure.
Rick Anderson with a wide assortment of gently used bikes ready for the sale in Apple Valley, this Saturday.
Bike sale details
The public bike sale will be held Saturday May 12, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at
Goodyear Superior Service Center, at 14580 Glenda Drive, Apple Valley, MN (Located at the Red Line’s 147th Street bus stop.)
There are models for all ages and skill levels, including some top-quality cycles from Trek,
Specialized, Cannondale, Schwinn, Raleigh, Giant, and Fuji. There will be road bikes, mountain
bikes, cross bikes, city bikes, cruisers, hybrids, BMX, vintage, classics and even a recumbent tandem. With 400 bikes for sale, they will range in price from $30 to $500 dollars. Much more
information and a map to the sale are at www.ricksbikesale.com.
Used Bike Sale Benefits Youth Program
The bikes generally sell fast. Anderson recommends arriving promptly at 9 a.m.. Monetary
donations to Kids ‘n Kinship and DARTS will be accepted on site. Anyone who purchases a bike
can register to win one of two $25 gift certificates for Famous Dave’s BBQ restaurant in Apple
Valley.
The Dakota County Kids ‘n Kinship is a private non-profit organization that matches children who have a need for an additional supportive relationship with carefully screened adult volunteers. Once a match is made, volunteers spend 1-4 hours per week with the child. Typical activities might include picnicking, attending sporting events, sharing interests or going to the movies.
Road bikes have been popular in cycling for longer than any other type of bicycle. For example, many would remember the iconic dark green colored Schwinn Varsity, as the bike that hung in the garage 50 years ago. As time went on Schwinn road bikes made way for the lighter European and Japanese bikes. Furthermore, thanks to celebrity involvement and exceptional product, road cycling has seen a resurgence in the last quarter century. Read on to wade through a century of history and countless products for the right road bike for you.
What’s New In Road Bikes
A professional bike fitter dials in the position for a rider (left). The typical aggressive position in this vintage image on the right.
For too long, road bikes were designed with tradition in mind rather than riders needs. Regrettably, it was the job of the rider to conform to the bike rather than the other way around. Thanks to a lot of market requests and a lot of work by manufacturers, we now have road bikes with drop bars thatfit all types of riders.
SMOOTH AND COMFORTABLE
Newer road bikes are far more efficient and comfortable than ever before. Newer road bikes have more lateral stiffness than older bikes and transfer more force into forward motion. They do this through intelligent design and updated materials. Additionally, while being laterally stiff, newer bikes are also vertically compliant. This vertical compliance limits the amount of vibration that is transferred from the road into you. So a new bike will go faster and be more comfortable than anything from even 10 years ago.
MORE POSSIBILITIES
As bicycles have become more efficient and comfortable, people are seeking new and more difficult terrain. Wider tires are being used to add traction as these new territories are being explored. Additionally, braking systems have become more powerful to aid in control. No longer are you confined to paved roads, now all those amazing dirt and gravel roads are available to you as well.
Materials
Steel tubes have been used for making bicycles since the late 1800’s. Steel was an ideal material because of its strength and cost. Currently, steel frames are usually found on high end frames built by custom builders. As a matter of fact, steel frames today use high quality tubes that are very strong and light. With that in mind, the benefits to steel frames are that they are very strong and naturally flex to absorb vibration. This makes steel bikes incredibly durable and comfortable.
Aluminum has gained prominence in frame construction because it is light and stiff. Being light helps the bike accelerate under the rider and being stiff transfers your energy efficiently. The downside of aluminum is that it can transfer vibration effectively from the road into the rider. Happily, bicycle designers have found ways to manipulate the tube shapes to offer a more compliant ride with current aluminum than bikes made in the past.
The newest material used in bicycle frames is carbon fiber. Carbon fiber frames can be laterally stiff, very efficient, vertically compliant, comfortable, and incredibly light. These characteristics make carbon an ideal material for bicycle frame designs. The only downside to carbon fiber bike frames is that they are more expensive than steel or aluminum bikes, and less durable to impact.
Types of Road Bikes
Competition road bicycles position the rider in the most efficient orientation possible. The rider’s position on these bikes is focused on aerodynamics and bio mechanical efficiency. Typically positioned with the hands and back low, this position is an effort to cheat the wind. Competition bikes also incorporate design features that transfer as much of the riders effort to forward motion as possible.
Endurance road bikes are designed for long miles and maximum comfort. To that end, they use all the same efficiency designs as the competition road bicycles, but incorporate a higher bar position to be more comfortable. In addition to efficiency features, endurance road bikes use design features to increase the comfort of the rider. These designs absorb exceptional amounts of road vibration, leaving the rider feeling better after a day in the saddle.
Adventure and touring bicycles are a growing category rooted in the most traditional aspects of cycling. With that in mind, these bicycles are ridden through terrains not possible for competition or endurance road bikes. Some are equipped with tires typically found on mountain bikes, creating greater traction and stability. These bikes are capable of long rides well past the end of the pavement. If you plan an overnight adventure, these bikes are capable of being loaded with racks to ensure you can bring everything you need to enjoy your adventure.
How Do I Figure Out What’s the Right Bike for Me?
Try them out. Test ride as many bikes as possible by going to your local bike shop ready to ride. If you have them, bring your helmet, shoes, pedals, and wear your cycling clothes. The difference in road bikes can be very subtle, so only by riding many bikes can you discern the difference.
Start off with a bike that is your correct size. In brief, take a 10-15 minute test ride to get a very good feeling of how the bike handles. A good course for a test ride will include some hills, a long flat section, and some turns that can be taken at speed. Focus on how the bike accelerates, climbs, descends, and turns. After you ride enough bikes, the right choice should present itself to you.
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Show season is at hand in the cycling industry and HaveFunBiking.com will be on the show floor. We are excited to try the newest product and deliver to our readers the most curated list of new products over the next couple months. On Monday September 18th , before dawn, we embark to Las Vegas to try countless bikes at Interbike’s Dirt Demo. Following that, on Wednesday the 20th, the doors open to the last Interbike in sin city. Stay tuned to our Blog to see all the newest products and news from the show floor at HaveFunBiking.
Interbikes’s Dirt Demo is a great way to try new product.
HaveFunBiking goes to Interbike in Las Vegas
Don’t worry, the fun doesn’t stop when we leave Vegas. Following the show we will be reviewing product we will see over the course of next week, so stay tuned.
Here the manufactures from Tern Bicycles is showing and demonstrating the latest from their line of folding bikes out at the Interbike’s Canyon Demo location.
Here a bike shop representative takes a fat bike out for a test ride so she can share the highlights with her customers.
On Wednesdays Interbike official begins with several thousand exhibitors showing off their latest products in bike wear and fad.
Miles of product at Interbike 2017!
Here the manufactures of Alter Bicycles is showing and demonstrating the latest line from their their line of bikes at Interbike.
This manufactures rep is demonstrating their colorful line of helmet mirrors at Interbike
Feel free to let us know what new products you want to hear about and what topics you need more info on.
Riding and maintaining your road bike can be easy with some basic maintenance and by practicing the right skills. Plus, while you ride your bike, you should do everything you can to feel comfortable. That includes the right fit, the right clothes, and above all else, the right touch points. Touch points on a bike are anywhere your body touches the bike (specifically hands, feet, and saddle). The easiest touch point to freshen up on your road bike is the bar tape. Read below for a step by step instruction on installing bar tape.
How to Start Installing New Bar Tape
The first choice you have when wrapping your bars is, will you wrap from inside out, or outside in? Either choice is fine as long as you start from the bottom of the bar rather than the top. Wrapping from the top down, will position the edge of the bar tape so it easily unravels with normal use.
The bars on the left are being taped from inside to outside, while the ones on the right are going outside to inside.
To begin. position the end of the bar tape about 50% off the end of the bar. While holding the end of the tape tightly, begin stretching the tape and winding it around the bar. When winding it, make sure that each section of tape, covers 25% of the previous wrap. It is important to stretch the tape. While most bar tapes have an adhesive backing to help hold itself in place, stretched tape will constrict around the bar as you wrap it, and stay in place better.
From left to right you can see how to start, how to wrap the tape, and the hood clamp detail
Wrapping levers
While winding the tape up the bar, the only real difficulty is the brake hoods. First thing you want to do is flip the back of the brake hood forward, exposing the hood clamp band and a portion of the hood body.
The soft rubber hoods flip forward to tape bars, or replace cables
The most common ways to wrap around the hood are either, maintain the standard, spiral, winding pattern, or wrap the lever in a figure 8 pattern. For a standard wrap, first place a small piece of bar tape to cover the clamp band, then continue wrapping up the bar. For the figure 8 pattern, start winding as normal, once the tape gets over the hood, wrap the tape back down the side of the hood winding it around the bottom of the hood and crossing the tape in a figure 8 pattern across the back of the hood strap. You have done it correctly if no bar is showing once you flip the brake hoods back into place.
On the left, the tape is being wrapped in a helical fashion while the bar on the right is using a figure 8 pattern
Finishing Your Bar Tape
Once you have taped up the bar, past the hood, and are about 2” from the stem clamp, it is time to finish the tape. Most bar tapes come with vinyl finishing tape to hold the tape in place. Whereas bar tape is quite flexible finishing tape is a lot more ridged. When cutting the bar tape, cut it on an angle so that when wrapped, it leaves a sharp flat edge. Before using the finishing tape, I find it helpful to use a vinyl electrical tape to secure the bar tape, then wrap the supplied finishing tape on top in the opposite direction. When you have finished taping, go back to the open end of the bar, tuck any spare tape into it, and tap the bar plug into place.
An easy sign of a good tape job is a clean finish and bar plugs that face upright. It’s O.K. to sweat the small stuff!
Tips and Tricks
Before you begin taping the bar, be sure to have scissors, electrical tape, a small section of bar tape, and the bar plug within reach. There is nothing more annoying than getting to the top of the bar and having to let it go (unraveling the bar) and go get scissors or tape. If you want a little more cush, take some spare bar tape and run it length wise along the top of the bar all the way to the hood and wrap over it. This method gives you added padding without increasing the bar diameter too much. If you want to change the profile of the bar you can use some spare brake housing under the tape to give the bar more of a wing profile. Simply secure it in place with liberal amounts of electrical tape.
Simple things like additional tape (above) and a section of spare brake housing (below) can customize your bar shape
Hopefully by following the above instructions your new bar tape will go on quickly and neatly. However, if you don’t have the time or feel uncomfortable visit your favorite bike shop and they can get the feel your looking for.
Cycling shoes can help you ride longer, faster and in greater comfort but only if you get ones that fit well. Read on to see what makes cycling shoes unique and how to find the right ones for you.
Benefits of Cycling Shoes, Clipless or Not
Cycling shoes have a very stiff sole to disperse pedaling pressures along the entire length of your foot. In contrast, normal sneakers have flexible soles that centralize most of your pedaling efforts onto the sesamoid bones, causing a lot of discomfort. Therefore, a cycling shoe is also a great option for riders who don’t plan to use a clipless pedal. Once you add the benefits of a clipless pedal, cycling shoes will make riding easier and more comfortable.
Types of Soles for Cycling Shoes
What makes a cycling shoe stiff is the materials used in the sole. The most common materials are nylon and carbon fiber. Nylon is a great choice for cycling shoes because it is strong, relatively light, very durable and highly resistant to cracking. Additionally, nylon is inexpensive, so it can be used to make low cost cycling shoes. The downside of nylon is in its stiffness over time. In my experience, Nylon will generate a flex point over time, making the shoes more flexible through the years. Carbon is very similar to Nylon in that it is strong, and light. Where carbon differs is that it is far stiffer than nylon, never generates flex, and is very expensive to produce. Carbon soles are only found on high cost shoes, but offer a much longer lifespan.
Types of Cycling Shoes
Cycling shoes can help you ride longer, faster and in greater comfort and there is a large selection to choose from.
Cycling shoes can most easily be categorized into three categories – Road, Mountain, Recreation.
Road Cycling Shoes
Road shoes are easy to spot because the sole is almost entirely smooth with only a small bit of tread on the heel. They are the only shoes capable of accepting a large road cleat, and are typically highly ventilated. Thanks to the lack of tread, it is easy to see what the sole material is.
Mountain Cycling Shoes
A Mountain shoe will look like a road shoe above the sole. Often time the closures, ventilation and appearance are the same as it’s road sibling. Where these shoes differ is the sole design. Mountain shoes have deep treads built into the sole to offer traction in loose and steep conditions. Because the sole is covered in rubber treads it is more difficult to conclude if it is made of carbon or nylon.
Recreation Cycling Shoes
Not everyone needs a road specific shoe or the aggressive treads that come with a mountain shoe. For that reason, most companies make a recreational cycling shoe. These shoes use a soft rubber for the tread that offers tons of grip when used on a flat pedal, they also use a nylon sole for stiffness and clipless compatibility. Mostly, these shoes look like a casual sneaker even though they hide cycling specific benefits inside. Some even use a hinged sole that can flex upward when you walk, but will not flex under pedaling forces.
Insoles in Cycling Shoes
Your foot is designed to work like a leaf spring when walking or running. Your arch collapses to absorb impact and rebounds to help you propel forward. Although, when cycling, having your arches collapse can cause alignment issues in your knees, ankles, and hips. To combat arch collapse, most cycling shoes use insoles designed to support your arch. If your shoes don’t offer insoles with enough support, there are plenty of options available for custom insoles.
Trying them on
Now that you understand what you’re looking at, let’s talk about how to try the shoes on. First thing to remember about cycling shoes is that they are nothing like sneakers. Cycling shoes are often sized in European sizing and while most brands offer a conversion chart, only use it as a starting point.
When you try a Cycling shoe on for the first time, it should fit tighter than a sneaker. You want a tight fit because your foot is attempting to pull out of the shoe during a pedal stroke. In contrast, while running your foot is being slammed into the shoe so sneakers need to be more roomy. Additionally, most cycling shoes are made of synthetic materials that stretch and conform to your foot over time. Therefore, a shoe will be far more snug when you try it on than a year later. If the shoe is snug all the way around, that is good fit even if you can feather your toe off the front of the shoe. If you feel any specific point of contact, that usually is an indicator that the shoe is the wrong fit.
Installing Cleats in Cycling Shoes
If you go to your local bike shop to get your shoes, they will typically install the cleat for you. If you are doing it on your own, try to position the cleat just behind the ball of your foot and straight on the shoe. I find it helpful to grease the threads of the cleat bolts before installation.
Hopefully, you feel comfortable going to try cycling shoes on after reading this. If you do have any more questions, either leave them in the comments, or visit your local bike shop.
With hundreds of custom bike builders in the US, and hundreds more spread across globe, how do you pick the right builder? Start with shows like Minnecycle, and when possible and have a conversation.
Minnecycle enjoyed its fifth year this past weekend in the world headquarters of Peacock Groove. Peacock Groove, in Minneapolis, is home to one of Minnesota’s most prolific bike builders, Eric Noren. Minnecycle displayed handmade bicycles from over a dozen other custom builders. Although the location is not a showroom, but rather a basement workshop, the setup created a gallery feel while still being welcoming. A location like this would be a hindrance for many groups but those who run Minnecycle are not your typical group. The workshop displayed bikes in every state of assembly, as a visual lesson on how a custom bike is built. Minnecycle can only be described as an unmitigated success. The attending builders were friendly, the feel was casual, and the work was outstanding. With a show this good, the only question left is “why buy a custom bike”?
Great Space, Cool custom bikes, and even Eric in mid-build
In Custom Bike Considerations, Size and Specificity
Custom bikes are great for riders that need something custom. I realize that statement sounds redundant and silly, but it really is the best way to define it. For instance, riders who have unique body types don’t fall into standard sizes bikes. As an example, it’s common for some riders to have a longer torso than the prototypical body type. These riders need a bicycle with a longer top tube than what is available on a standard bike. However, a custom bike built with a longer top tube gives them the proper reach. Additionally, if a rider has unique needs, custom builders can make a bike to fit those needs. Many custom builders focus specifically on bicycle types not available through mass production. Great examples of these bikes are Cargo bikes, Adventure bikes, and utility tricycles, Hand Trikes, and Recumbent bicycles.
Quality and Craftsmanship
Being a professional custom builder is as much a calling as it is a profession. Although builders come from widely varying backgrounds, a few traits seem to be universal. Most builders are mechanically inclined, problem solvers, and are exceedingly detail oriented. Outside of those traits, a professional builder has the experience of building hundreds of bikes. So, when buying a custom bicycle, you are getting the cumulative experience and natural talents of a builder. Additionally, through every step of construction, your bike will be painstakingly reviewed for quality and alignment. That level of quality is not possible at a mass-produced level. While massed produced bikes are great, the attention to detail, quality control, and experience of a custom builder adds up to a truly uniquely riding bicycle.
Appleman builds custom bikes by positioning each piece of carbon fiber by hand to ensure the best possible ride quality.
Finding the right builder for you
Like Minnecycle, try reaching out to them digitally if you can’t meet them in person. Most builders are very accessible through email and social media. Find builders who are already making bikes similar to what you want. Ultimately, you are looking for a builder that you can get along with.
