Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Bike stuff

Happy Hump Day. I left my helmet on the bus this morning and I'm bummed. The bad part: My Planet Bike Superflash was attached to said helmet, and with Daylight Savings over my evening commute is in the dark. I popped into Palo Alto Bicycles this morning to buy another light but they don't open until 10 AM. Rats.

Market Street Cyclist


SF Bay Guardian: SF Bike Injunction Becomes Absurd.

Lifehacker: DIY Hi / Low beam bike headlights from hardware store parts.

Treehugger: Combo bike light and tire pump.

WIRED Gadget Lab FAQ: Six things you should know about Brooks Saddle, with a followup on Selle An-Atomica leather saddles.

An Alex Rider gadget: Smokescreen bike pump.

Instructables: Bicycle Bar End Brake Lights.

5 comments:

Andy R said...

Bummer about the helmet. Here's something I tried out yesterday. I clipped my helmet to my backpack using one of these:

http://www.thehelmetlock.com/

and one of these:

http://www.zbattery.com/Nite-Ize-S-Biner-Clips-Small-2


Nice, in that it doesn't pull the straps all out of whack the way it can when you use the straps to hang it.

Yokota Fritz said...

@Andy thanks for the suggestions!

Adrienne Johnson said...

I think I will just sit in my living room and cry. More time without lanes. More time without sanity. why do I want to live in SF? Can I just wallow in self pity here for a minute before I take to the keyboard about it?

Wirehead said...

Well, here's what I do:

1) I accept that a guy walking around with a helmet on his head looks silly. But... ehrm.. I don't care. If I'm on a bus, I just leave the helmet on.
2) I always have spare lights. Two lights in front, two lights in back. My first pair was performance store-branded and that taught me the value of backups. Whenever I've left my PBSF on the trunk bag and then left it at home, I remember this.
3) One of my rear lights is bolted to the rear rack.

SiouxGeonz said...

I'm prone to having spares, too, tho' it doesn't always pan out. The battery powered strings of 'em on the backpack are also good backup. I've got the Serious Marpac 21-LED magnetically stuck on the back of the Xtra, so when I "just" have the helmet rear blinky I feel all too invisible (and not just to myself; those drivers don't see me as soon, even with the FlashFlag, if it's all dark & rainy).
R U back and lit again?