March 2024

Paris to showcase what a real bicycle city looks like during Summer Olympics

From MomentumMag.com

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The Paris Olympics presents a unique opportunity to inspire not only athletes but people worldwide by showcasing a sustainable city.

The Olympic Games inspires young athletes around the world. But, this year is different. This year, with the Summer Olympics arriving in Paris from July 26 to Aug. 11, it’s an opportunity to show a city that has decided with some serious authority to put people and the planet first. And an opportunity to inspire cities around the world to do to same.

Embracing a vision to become a cycling city of unparalleled excellence, Paris has embarked on a transformative journey that is already resonating far beyond its borders. As the world’s attention turns to the spectacle of the Olympic Games, Paris’s steadfast commitment to promoting sustainable mobility could spark a global movement.

In the lead-up to the Games, at least 415km of cycle routes are due to be added and available for locals and visitors in time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and as a legacy for the city following the completion.

A major feature of Paris 2024’s legacy has moved closer to its realization. Leading up to the games in 2023, the Ministry of Transport unveiled the map of the 415-kilometer cycling network set to be completed for the Games.

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Many Cities Get Free Bike and Bus Upgrades from New Development

From LA.Streetsblog.org

L.A. City could shift current resources that today go to widening streets – and instead upgrade sidewalks, bus stops, and bike lanes – especially when new development pays for it

By Joe Linton

L..A. City voters just passed Measure HLA, which city officials assert will cost billions to add bikeways, bus lanes, and sidewalks. One way for L.A. to get a jump on these improvements would be to learn from adjacent cities that are getting bike and bus improvements implemented for free – alongside new development. This practice won’t do everything – but it’s one inexpensive way to move toward multimodal streets.

At new development sites, L.A. could shift current resources that today go to widening streets – and instead upgrade for walkability, transit, and bikeability.

When a developer builds something, L.A. city typically requires that the project widen streets, adding new car lanes and/or new parking. The city’s multimodal Mobility Plan (approved 2015) and new mitigation metrics (approved 2019) and a new no-widening ordinance (any day now) were supposed to curb the city’s practice of requiring new development widen streets.

But widening never ended. The city continues widening alongside new development – from the Valley to downtown L.A. Metro stations to, right now in 2024, Hollywood to Historic Filipinotown.

Photo by Andrew Gook on Unsplash

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How To Easily Clean A FILTHY Chain

Is your bike chain absolutely filthy? Isn’t it time you gave it a deep clean? Don’t know how to clean your bike chain properly? We’re here with all the equipment you’ll need, and a step-by-step guide to making your chain sparkly and new again!

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Blood, sweat and dirt: New documentary highlights mountain biking on the Navajo Nation

From AZDailySun.com

By MATTHEW HAYDEN

Somewhere on the Navajo Nation, a line of mountain bikers coast over burnt dirt and stone. The branches of juniper trees whip their arms and the clear sky warms their backs, but they pay no mind.

Cool air passes through the straps of their helmets and gives them life. They pedal faster and faster down the trail, across the land and toward the end. With each click of their gears, each beat of their hearts, they come closer together—a family, a tribe, a culture. In moments like these, in both speed and silence, they feel free.

This experience is common and unmatched among mountain bikers, but for many years it was hard to attain for those who lived on the reservation.

Navajo Nation is 27,000 square miles large, and there’s not a single bike shop on it. That doesn’t mean people don’t ride, but if someone’s on a remote trail and their tire pops, they’re out a bike. In spite of this lack of resources, there is a group of Diné riders that is providing services and creating new mountain biking programs to help young people get in touch with the land and their heritage in unexpected ways.

Photo by Tobias Bjerknes on Unsplash

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Bike Lanes Are Good For Business, Actually, And Everyone Who Says Otherwise Is Wrong

From Jalopnik.com

By Collin Woodard

Bike lanes are obviously good for cyclists, as they make it safer to ride and encourage people to make more trips on two wheels. More people riding instead of driving is also better for the environment and cuts down on noise pollutionfrom cars. Still, since bike lanes often replace street parking, it’s understandable that business owners would be wary that the city putting in bike lanes will drive customers away. As Business Insider reports, though, the research actually shows that those fears are unfounded.

Take, for example, a study from 2012 that looked at two shopping districts in Seattle that got new bike lanes. One replaced three parking spots, while the other replaced 12. Sales tax data showed that spending at the former generally tracked with other areas that didn’t have bike lanes, while the latter saw sales quadruple. It’s probably going too far to say the bike lanes in the second district caused the increase in sales, but clearly, adding bike lanes and removing parking spaces didn’t hurt sales.

That’s not the only study that came to the same conclusion. A study in New York City the next year found that business also increased in pedestrianized areas relative to the rest of each borough. Manhattan saw sales increase by nine percentage points in one bike-friendly neighborhood, while one in the Bronx was up 32 percentage points. In Brooklyn, the jump in sales was even more drastic, climbing by 84 percentage points.

Photo by Dário Gomes on Unsplash

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Heart Rate vs Power | Which Is Best?

Heart rate or power? Power meters are pretty expensive compared to heart rate straps, but is it worth paying a little extra to gauge your cycling efforts with greater accuracy? Alex and Ollie investigate the consistency and reliability of both devices up the Rocacorbra climb, so you can decide which tech will work for you.

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Wide tyres take over Strade Bianche: Gallery

From CyclingNews.com

By Josh Croxton

A look at the men’s and women’s tyre setups at the Italian one day classic

Every year around Strade Bianche, the conversation in the Cyclingnews tech team follows a trend: One of us will ask what clever tech we expect riders to use to overcome the difficult terrain of the dusty white roads, then we’ll all watch in earnest hoping for something crazy to leave us speechless, and eventually we’ll all conclude that the only thing mechanics have changed is a swap to wider tyres. Of course, somewhere along the way someone will suggest it should be a monument.

This year, as Lotte Kopecky beat out Elisa Longo Borghini, and Tadej Pogacar went solo from 81km out, the theme was no different.

As my esteemed colleague, Will Jones, pointed out in his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad tech gallery, the two pelotons’ bikes are really capable, and generally very good, so there’s no need for bonkers tech hacks, nifty suspension solutions, or Allen keys taped to seatposts.

Despite this, with the real Monuments still yet to come, tyre choice and bike setup is something riders and their teams will be toying with.

 

Image courtesy of Vittoria

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In praise of the humble beater bike for city commuting

From MomentumMag.com

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In bustling bicycle-friendly cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam and many other cities worldwide, cycling is not just a mode of transportation; it’s a way of life. However, with the convenience, quality of life and health benefits of cycling come unique challenges, chief among them being the prevalence of theft, wear and tear, and inadequate bike parking facilities. In such environments, investing in an inexpensive “beater” bike for commuting emerges as a pragmatic solution to safeguarding against potential losses and inconveniences. And, really, seems a natural to help people from stressing too much about their bicycles while at work or play.

The Peril of Theft

One of the foremost concerns for cyclists in urban areas is the rampant theft of bicycles. Amsterdam, often hailed as a cycling paradise, like many urban centres around the world, also grapples with a high rate of bike theft. Despite the presence of large bike parking facilities that leave cyclists around the world in awe, security measures are just as lax as other areas, leaving bikes vulnerable to theft. The sad truth is that even the most robust locks cannot guarantee the safety of a valuable bike in such environments.

But that’s just the thing that Amsterdam and Copenhagen residents know but North Americans for the most part are still figuring out, many commuters opt for inexpensive “beater” bikes – sturdy, functional bicycles that serve their purpose without breaking the bank.

The whole idea of the “Dutch bike” isn’t something fancy and made special for Dutch bicyclists. It’s the idea of it being a simple utilitarian bicycles that looks like every other bicycle, is easy to operate and makes thieves basically keep on walking when they see it.

These bikes are less attractive targets for thieves due to their lower resale value, providing cyclists with a degree of peace of mind on two levels as they navigate the city streets. First, it is unlikely to get stolen compared to other more expensive models, and, second, if it does it is easily replaced.

Perhaps the name “beater bike” needs to change? Certainly, Dutch bike has a nicer ring to it.
Photo by Dovile Ramoskaite on Unsplash

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