For a good ride, you’ve got to lay the groundwork! Get your pre-ride prep and routine wrong, and that chill ride in the sun can quickly turn sour. There are a few mistakes that stand out as major no-nos, so in this video, we’re going to list a few so that you don’t make them!
Public Works welcomes you to get involved and provide feedback on your unique experiences biking around unincorporated Los Angeles County. This includes those who commute by bike, families who use bike trails and bike lanes for recreation, avid cyclists, and those who do not currently bike but would like to.
Attend a workshop or take our online survey for a chance to win a bicycle or $200 gift card! Each workshop will cover the same items, so join the workshop that will best fit your schedule. Spanish interpretation will be provided.
From USAToday.com
By George Petras and Janet Loehrke
Looking to dust off your bicycle and get it back on the road after ignoring it all winter? Even for those who prefer riding to wrenching, it’s not that difficult, bike mechanics say.
Assuming you don’t have serious mechanical problems that a bike shop should handle, a few simple tools and some care will have you on two wheels in no time.
And if you’re one of many Americans who rediscovered bicycles during COVID-19, you’ll find that bike parts, and even new models, are much more available now. Things have changed since the pandemic-induced shortages of a few years ago.
“It’s a very different story today,” Stephen Frothingham, editor in chief for Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, told USA TODAY.
“The supply has caught up with the demand for most bikes. There’s an ample supply of just about any kind of bike you’re looking for.”
Bike shop mechanics remain busy, but the pace isn’t as frantic as before. “Right now, we have about 35 or 40 bikes out back for repair,” says Mike Hulett, owner of Broadway Cyclery in Bedford, Ohio. That’s down from about 60 in July 2020.
If you’re looking for a new bicycle, you can probably find one at a nearby dealer. But if you have a bike you want to repair or maintain yourself, you can do it!
From CyclingNews.com
By
Tips, tricks, and tools to increase the resale value of your bike and ensure you get what it’s really worth when you sell it
For most of us, getting a new bike also means getting rid of the old one, and it’s common sense that if you can maximise the money you receive for flogging your old one, and you’ll have more to spend on the next.
But how do you ensure it’s selling for what it’s really worth? We’ve already gone through the basic explanation of how to sell a used bike, but below we’ve collected tips, tricks and general advice on increasing the resale value of your bike, so that you have more to spend on the next one.
Having worked as a bike mechanic, I can tell you that the odds of someone noticing you’ve spent hours rebuilding the internals of some obscure component are minimal. However, everyone notices if you’ve popped some air in the tyres and wiped the frame down.
f you can’t be bothered to do anything else, at least do this. It’ll make any test ride more enjoyable too, and first impressions are key when it comes to the inevitable haggle over price later on.
You’ll feel better if you send your bike on in good order, but there’s a balance to be struck. You’re trying to maximise the amount of cash you have available for your next bike, so unless your bike is particularly posh, investing in a full service is unlikely to be economically efficient.
Instead, tackle jobs you can manage yourself. If you’re a competent mechanic, a complete overhaul would be brilliant. Otherwise, make sure everything is safe and works correctly. Our bike maintenance tips will help you cover off what’s needed, but at the very least, ensure there’s life in the brake pads, the chain has been lubricated, and there’s air in the tyres at least.
Photo by Jan Kopřiva on Unsplash
From Bicycling.com
By Riley Missel
As the summer evening sky turns from orange to purple to navy, traffic in the Los Angeles bike lanes dwindles until just a few riders remain toodling by, their path unaffected by the surrounding darkness thanks to a single bulb mounted to their forks—a Dynamo light.
This bicycle-mounted beacon is powered by its passenger’s energy to illuminate the road ahead—for the rider and everyone following them. Bike mechanic Jimmy Lizama custom-fits these lights for cyclists out of his Koreatown shop called Relámpago Wheelery, where he builds wheels by hand as well. But according to him, those services just help pay the rent for what he’s really doing there.
“Ultimately, Relámpago is social engagement within the bicycle community,” he said. A Dynamo light of a shop, if you will. Fueled by Lizama’s passion and his surrounding community’s enthusiastic response, Relámpago is illuminating the future of energy use, mobility, and human connection in downtown Los Angeles.
One such way the shop fosters human connection is by hosting mobile karaoke nights. Oh yes, mobile—they hook up a bike trailer to two tandems to serve as the stage, complete with speakers and a microphone. As they tow their singer through the streets of Los Angeles, the audience pedals along behind on their own bikes laughing and singing along. Usually, Relámpago teams up to host these events with other community programs raising awareness for a cause like women’s rights, immigration rights, or water rights. People meet each other, make friends, and find ways they can help each other live better in their community.
Lizama’s goal is to energize his community in the most accessible, sustainable way possible—after a bike. “It amplifies its human’s energy,” he said. His favorite way he sees this concept in motion is on a cargo bike: With simply the power of your legs, you can transport yourself as well as another person, or a bikeload of things.
Photo by Wayne Bishop on Unsplash
