TTR Blogs.

Bike Love

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:03:17 +0100

Road Work Advisory

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:13:32 +0100

Both our front parking lot and the lot adjacent to the building are closed, probably until Friday. The crew is pouring the new Hudson Street sidewalk in front of our little corner as I type. On-street parking is legal and available on both sides of Oscar Street.

Looks like the sidewalks will be in place when the new AJ Whittenberg school opens down the street.

Share the Vest

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 16:55:45 +0100

Come to the shop and score a new high-visibility Share the Road vest, now featuring the Bikeville logo, as pictured below. Stay visible and support your local bike advocates at the same time. Speaking of local bike advocates, you can rRead More...

Stuff we use. Stuff we like.

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:47:54 +0100

Tires from Germany.

A tough and compact lock with the same point of origin.

A relatively budget-priced waterproof backpack from Portland, via China.

The ABCs

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 06:16:08 +0100

Always Be Closing? Nope. Sorry, Alec Baldwin fans. Today's ABCs are an Awesome Beer Carrier and an Ageless Bike Champ.

That marvelous beast is the Pub Bike, built by Metrofiets for Portland brewer Hopworks. It's featured in a nice beginners' round-up of cargo bikes found in Grist magazine this week. I ran across the PuRead More...

How Much?

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:40:40 +0100

How much baby will fit in a Detours Teeco Too Grassy pannier?

About this much. That's about six months' worth, if you were wondering.

Measuring bags this way is tougher than measuring them in SBUs (Standard Beer Units), by the way.

Go more a-roving.

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:24:03 +0100

"TTR" does not stand for TerraTrike Rover, but you'd never know it from the number of calls we've gotten about it while the trike enthusiasts out there awaited its launch. It's here now, in the 8-speed flavor, which retails for $999. The 3-speed version will sell for $799. The rover sits considerably higher than the average tadpoRead More...

Our parking lot is closed . . .

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:06:25 +0100

. . . but our minds are open.

The City is putting in new sidewalks on Hudson Street, which will be safer for the kids at the new AJ Whittenberg school and all the prospective users of the Kroc Center, which looks like it's proceeding full steam. The immediate implication for us is that the parking lot aRead More...

First Ride: Musashi

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 15:03:07 +0100

I used up my only good Musashi joke on the first post. But the new Catrike—er, CatBIKE—is here

and it has been for a little while. I just hadn't had a chance to ride it until a couple of days ago.

In a nutshell: it's definitely light, stiff, and streamlined. Those characteristics add up to "fast," just as advertised. Read More...

New: The Burley Travoy

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:14:33 +0100

The Burley Travoy urban utility trailer has been making the rounds since early this year (see here), but now we have them in stock to check out for ourselves. Burley has an established track record making trailers, but this one is something altogether different, and it looks like a winner.

That light you see it is the heavenly auRead More...

The Earl of West Greenville

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Mon, 31 May 2010 15:48:20 +0100

I was going to post about the Critical Mass ride, but BradO did it better—check his out instead. Awesome post title, btw. I was happy to share the road—and the rad—with everyone there. Who needs royalty? We had cold beer, hot bikes, and good conversation. Thanks to Brad & Upstate SORBA, Meeker & Bikeville, Barley's, and everyone who showed up. See you next time!

Active Transportation

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Sat, 29 May 2010 04:09:55 +0100

Bike Month is winding down, and this year it's been a fun opportunity to raise awareness and gain momentum for the future, particularly since we celebrated here by opening the Swamp Rabbit Trail and—thanks to some forward-thinking city council members—by keeping some bike infrastructure projects in the city's 2010 budget. There was even a Critical Mass ride this evening, which was a great chance to get out there and see a nice mix of faces both familiar and new (picturesRead More...

Inappropriate Bike Crush

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:46:36 +0100

Ever had a silly crush on a bike? A bike that's impractical or redundant or somehow unsuited to you . . . that you still can't stop thinking about. A bike that makes you say things like:

Well, I could probably put a longer stem on it . . .

I could use a dedicated good-weather fast commuter . . .

Maybe if I had an x I would do more y . . .

On the other hand, it may make your spouse say things like:

Didn't you just get a bike? Do I get one?

CoBi love around the world

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Fri, 21 May 2010 21:19:02 +0100

Our friends Marshall and Jeannette took their S&S-coupled Surly Traveler's Checks on a recent trip through Germany and the Czech Republic. While in Prague, they saw a familiar profile . . . a Conference Bike!

You don't need to go to Eastern Europe to see it—you can just rent ours!

"Breaking Away" @ Moonlight Movies

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Wed, 19 May 2010 17:25:55 +0100

Bicyclist? Movie buff? Big Quaid fan? In honor of Bike Month, the Moonlight Movie series is presenting Breaking Away at the Peace Center Amphitheatre. Show starts around 8:00. The weather looks good, and Bikeville volunteers will be providing bike valet service, so crank it downtown and let them keep it for you.

Two Questions

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 18:45:36 +0100

Spend some time in a bike shop and there are a few questions that you hear routinely. And I'm not talking about:

"So when are you going to get a real job?"

"How do you like not having health insurance?"

"Can you make me a deal on that?"

because those are pretty common, too. I'm talkinRead More...

Local advocacy and the Bike of the Week

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Sun, 09 May 2010 02:32:23 +0100

I've been wanting to do a Bike of the Week feature for a while, so I thought that Bike Month would be a good time to start. Sometimes it will be a bike that we sell or build, sometimes it will be a customer's bike, and sometimes it will be just whatever shiny object catches my attention that day. Here's the first one:

This is Donald's Read More...

Bike Month '10

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Sat, 01 May 2010 04:38:24 +0100

Friday morning Scott and I left the shop in capable, er, hands . . .

. . . and headed down Washington Street to the press conference announcing the events that willRead More...

Breezer wins again, again

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:19:14 +0100

For the third consecutive year, a bike from Breezer's City series was named Bicycling Magazine's Editors' Choice for best commuter. Two years ago it was the Villager, this year, like last year, it's the Uptown 8.

These bikes are real sleepers. They don't use eycatching baubles and bling. They don't use aggRead More...

It's coming . . .

nathaniel@ttrbikes.com — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 05:00:16 +0100

21 days until opening weekend.

When you're out enjoying the trail, look out for these colorful folks. They sponsor laid-back, nobody-left-behind, stop-and-photograph-the-flowers rides on the greenway.

Speaking of group rides, the monthly Bikeville Greenways Ride is Friday, April 16. Friday's ride starts at noon—this time it kicks off aRead More...