bike-plan fans

SAN FRANCISCO (Map, News) - San Francisco’s bike plan, hobbled by a court injunction for more than two years, is now facing further delays due to poor project management by city officials, cyclists charge.
Nearly 60 projects — including the installation of bike racks, additional lane striping and a city bike-share program — have been on hold since Superior Court Judge James Warren issued a preliminary injunction in June 2006.
The order came at the request of two groups, 99 Percent and Coalition for Adequate Review, which sought greater public review of The City’s bike plan. The groups’ lawsuit claimed that The City acted hastily in approving a plan to add 34 miles of bike lanes within city limits.
Warren ordered a freeze on any implementation of the bike plan until a new environmental impact report was completed. City officials must complete both a draft and final EIR before the injunction can be lifted.

New Ti frame ordered

After a year of research I finally broke down and ordered a custom Ti frame. I was torn between a Spectrum and a Strong and after seeing Carl's 20% off sale last month the decision was made. Carl has been great to work with so far and has fielded numerous answers to my questions. I sent my measurements to him last week and Carl should begin the design within the next month. I'm going with a traditional frame, no compact, and Carl recommended either the Alpha Q or Columbus muscle for the fork. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what the benefits of each fork would be? Currently I'm planning on building the bike up with either 2004 Chorus or Record with Mavic Open Pro silver wheels, Thompson masterpiece silver seat post, and probably an ITM The Stem to round it off. The bike is going to be powder coated in Team Red with 3/4 paint and 1/4 Ti with white decals. I'm getting excited about getting the bike and building it up and riding it for the first time. I've been riding Cannondales for the past 11 years and I'm curious to see how Carl's geometry will differ from my Cannondales stock geometry. The only specific request that I have put on the new bike is to have my bars raised up quite a bit closer to my saddle height.

New Strong ride report

I was finally able to get in a few miles on my new bike after having to sit and look at it for 4 days due to snow. The ride of the is in a nutshell superb. Carl was able to dial in everything that I asked for and then some surprising new things also. The bike corners like its on rails and is super stable. I can feel the road quite well through the frame so the ride isn't muted and dead. The saddle to bar drop and reach is spot on. With the bars raised up I am able to ride comfortably on both the hoods and the drops. I asked Carl to give me a bike that will be as comfortable at 100 miles as it was at 25 and he has met that request easily. For surprises it seems that the faster I go the smoother and better the ride gets. Also, with the geometry that Carl designed it feels that I have don't have to work nearly as hard to go faster on this bike as compared to my Cannondale. Does anyone have an idea as to why this would be the truth?Overall Carl has designed an awesome frame that I am looking forward to riding for many years. Carl was great to work with and is definitely talented when it comes to talking to a person about what they want and expect and then building it for the

How To Build Your Own Chopper Bike

Custom bicycles have become a cult phenomena, with enthusiasts forming clubs all over the world. Custom bike fans ride their homemade pieces of art, which are often put together using spare parts from several spare bikes. Some custom bicycle fans find their bike parts in dumpsters or at flea markets, while others purchase parts from high-end custom bike shops. Highly polished chrome and elaborate paint jobs are typical on custom bikes, while the wilder ones include electronic features and more off-beat decorations.
The basic custom bicycle is usually a 揷hopper.?Chopper bicycles feature a front tire that extends from the front of the bike at a low angle. These bikes also sometimes have taller handlebars and longer seats to imitate the popular chopper style motorcycles. Building a chopper bicycle is a fun and easy way to enter the world of modified bicycles. You don抰 have to be a mechanic to alter a regular bicycle and turn it into a unique masterpiece. You may need to weld, however, so if you don抰 know how to use a blow-torch, you may want to enlist the help of someone who does.
To build a chopper bicycle, you抣l need two bikes: your future chopper plus a donor bike for parts. You抣l also need a small bike tire. You抣l be extending the front fork of the bike, so a smaller front tire will be necessary to keep the bike riding low. First, remove the front tire of both bikes and saw the tubes off of each bike抯 fork. The fork is part of the bike that the front tire attaches to. Saw the tubes off just below the point where they join the fork. Next, saw the bottom part off of the donor tubes. Weld the two sets of tubes together and make sure they are the same length before welding them back onto the fork of your chopper bicycle. For extra support, weld an additional bar across the tubes, perpendicular to the fork. If you don抰 know how to weld and don抰 know anyone else who can, you can buy pre-made chopper forks at custom bike shops. In lieu of using the fork of a donor bike, you can use metal tubing bought at a local hardware store. The area of the fork above where the tubes split off has to withstand a lot of pressure, so it抯 important for beginners to extend the fork below where the tubes meet. Extending the fork above this point can weaken the frame considerably and cause serious injury if it breaks while you抮e riding it. Finally, attach the small tire to the front of your chopper.
Riding your creation will take some practice, though. With the longer frame and smaller front tire, steering will be especially difficult. But after putting all that effort into building the bike, you should have no problem learning to ride it. And since custom bicycle enthusiasts almost always name their creations, don抰 forget to think of a fancy moniker for new toy before taking it out for a spin.

Old bicycle fans

NOWHERE TO GO: A taxi sits motionless as bikers gather on Car Free Day, which saw motorists prohibited from entering main thoroughfares Jl. Jend. Sudirman and Jl. MH Thamrin as well as parts of Kota for several hours. (JP/Thomas Backer)