We briefly had a Frog 55 kids bike (20″ wheels) to try out for a bit and so I wanted to share some thoughts about it. Frog Bikes is a UK-based company that designs and makes lightweight children’s bikes. Like other bike brands (Islabike comes to mind) they were founded by parents looking for nicer bike options for their kids. Their goals are to make riding easy, comfortable and enjoyable for kids. The Frog 55 is a slightly larger 20″ bike than the Frog 52, where the “52” and “55” correspond to the child’s minimum inside leg measurement to ride that bike. Slightly aggressive geometry My kid currently rides a bike that is the same size (20″ wheels). She said that the Frog 55 bike feels more stretched out than her other bike, but she didn’t mind too much. On […]
Continue readingMore TagCategory: nice bikes
A 15-minute stop in Blue Heron Bikes in Berkeley
Blue Heron Bikes is a fun bike shop to visit I went to Blue Heron Bikes to buy a new spoke and checked out their bike selection. I saw a bunch of Urban Arrows, a Velo Orange Minivelo, and the new Tern Short Haul. Not pictured is the Yuba Fastrack, which looks really good. Blue Heron Bikes has a ton of cargo bikes, folding bikes, and e-bikes, and is perfectly situated in North Berkeley along the Ohlone Greenway bike path. A note about the Ohlone Greenway: It’s a commuting route as well as a recreational route for people who walk, bike, run, and roll. It mostly follows the BART tracks and probably exists because it was formerly a railroad right of way. It’s 4.5 miles long (wish it were longer). It is punctuated by a decent number of cross streets, […]
Continue readingMore TagNice Bikes: A Lemond Prolog spotted in Oakland (An attractive, stealthy e-bike)
The Lemond Prolog is an e-bike that doesn’t look like an ebike. I spotted this Lemond Prolog last month in North Oakland, parked on the sidewalk. It is an attractive, good looking bike, launched last fall, that I had only see photos of online. Lemond has done a remarkable job of designing the Prolog so that you have to look very hard to find clues that it’s an ebike. The motor is a small rear hub motor that is only a bit larger than a traditional hub. The other clues are the integrated rear lights in the seat stays and the power button on the top tube. It’s on the pricier end of a single person eBike at $4500. It doesn’t weigh as much as an eBike either Lemond also managed to keep the weight extremely low, at 26 […]
Continue readingMore TagNice bikes: A Rivendell Susie W. Longbolts with a childrens bike trailer
Riding in style in Berkeley’s Elmwood District I came across this beautiful Susie W. Longbolts bike made by Rivendell Bike Works in Berkeley the other day. The Susie W. Longbolts is a lighter duty “Hillibike”, which Rivendell describes as their steel-framed bikes, with longer chainstays and wheelbases made to absorb bumps better for trail riding and road touring. The bikes also feature room for big tires and higher handlebars. The name “Susie W. Longbolts” is an anagram of Gus Boots-Willsen, a similar but slightly heavier-duty bike of theirs. They look way more stable on bumpy surfaces than a road bike would be. The parents had set it up with chunky tires and a child bike trailer to tow their kid and scooter around in style. Or follow along for updates:
Continue readingMore TagA beautiful two-toned Klein Quantum
On the way home after school dropoff a little while ago I saw a sharp-looking two-tone Klein Quantum. I can’t help having a soft spot for now-vintage bikes like these. My heart always beats a little faster when I see nicely-restored (or well-kept!) vintage bikes. The USA-made Kleins were known for having meticulous attention to detail, fantastic paint jobs, and impressive frame stiffness. Or follow along for updates:
Continue readingMore Tag