The upgrade to drop bars We were in the process of finding a 24″ bike to upgrade from a 20″ to a 24″ bike and stumbled across a bike with drop bars. I had been looking for a bike that was fairly lightweight and with a higher quality and performance than some of the “standard” offerings out there. I had found a few brands that make higher quality 24″ bikes for kids: Woom, Cleary, Prevelo, Pello, Frog, Islabikes, Diamondback, Fuji, Specialized (Jett), Spawn, Trailcraft, Kona, and Redline. There might be more, but those are the brands that I remember seeing during my search. I wanted to buy a used bike in order to keep things budget friendly, and I knew I could probably do minor repairs without much issue. Drop bar bikes for kids I think we would have been […]
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The Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll is fantastic even if your kid has a hard time
https://youtu.be/48J_lMO9VlQ Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll ** 2025 UPDATE ** According to David Haubert from District 1 of the Alameda Board of Supervisors, there will be no Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll in 2025. Here is their letter. It sounds like it is the victim of uncertainty around federal funding and there are concerns about the costs of the event. They are considering holding the event again in 2027. The Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll is a biennial event (every OTHER year) on Niles Canyon Road aka Highway 84. (This means there is no Niles Canyon Stroll and Roll 2024. The next one will probably be in 2025 but there’s no confirmation yet as of this writing. The Niles Canyon ride and roll is attended well enough that it looks like it’s been around for a long time, but it turns out […]
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How to carry your tri-fold science fair board home on your bike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m89XiWCBdRE Science Fair display Tips: by bike! Tri-fold boards for science fair projects are bulky, but light and don’t take up that much volume. But they’re awkward to carry around and sort of fragile since they’re made of thin cardboard. Some people had to drive their kids to school because these tri-fold boards were too bulky. We didn’t drive and instead I carried it with a makeshift cargo net. The cargo net is just webbing sewn together with a couple of carabiners holding it to my rack. Other carbiners allow it to open and close to secure cargo, in this case the tri-fold board. I usually roll up the cargo net when I’m not carrying anything. Everything made it to the destination just fine after carrying it this way. Or follow along for updates:
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Our 20″ Bike Recommendations for Kids
Hey all, this is my quick list of my favorite 20″ bikes for kids. How I picked these 20″ bikes for kids We run regular kids bike buses to school and bike parades, and our own kid has since moved up to a 24″ bike. I had set up a running feed of used 20″ bikes to help set up my own kid as well as others who we ride with. Who are 20″ bikes for? Generally I think 20″ bikes fit kids who are about 5-8 years old. Our kid is of average height, and they used a 20″ bike from age 6 to age 8. There’s a bit of overlap between sizes – they rode a 16″ bike from age 5-6, and I imagine will ride a 24″ wheeled bike from age 8-11 or so. There are exceptions […]
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3D printed bike spoke protector 15 months in
Almost a year and a half ago, the spoke protector on my rear bike wheel finished breaking I write “finished breaking” because it probably cracked a while back, and started to fall apart way earlier. After a while, I noticed a rattling sound on my 20″ wheel and noticed that it had cracked. The crack turned to a fracture, and eventually it was rattling a lot more and I decided to take it off. Made of clear plastic, they clip onto the spokes of your rear wheel behind the cassette (or they clip onto the flange of your rear hub), and it looks like the tabs had first broken, and then all the extra movement quickened its downfall. The UV light from the sun probably made it brittle too. Why did I think I needed another spoke guard? The spoke […]
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Designing a 105 / Ultegra ST-6510 and 5510 name plate to replace the one that cracked
My Shimano Ultegra ST-6510 shifter name plate broke and then fell off. The other one was cracked as well but didn’t fall all the way off. The rest of the left STI shifter was fine – I don’t use the front derailleur too much. The right one had some funny issues where you have to hold one of the levers as you shift, but I made it work. Anyway, regarding that name plate: I couldn’t easily find a replacement online or in local shops because Shimano doesn’t make them anymore. So I decided to 3D print a custom name plate. I wanted one for cosmetic reasons and to prevent dirt and water and so on from getting in there as I was already having some issues with shifting. Also, an Etsy customer was having a similar issue and helpfully nudged […]
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I 3D printed a surprisingly effective bike mudflap
I’ve been having a problem with my bike in the rain for the last number of months. Some time ago I lost both of the mudflaps that were attached to my bike fenders. I don’t know when it happened. I didn’t expect to find easy replacements, and I didn’t think I’d really need them because I eventually forgot about their utility. Until it started to rain a lot again this season. I kept on getting a bunch of water spray my backside; it was the dreaded “stripe” or skunk stripe. I was surprised that this was happening because it hadn’t been an issue before, and I thought my fenders had me covered. I was getting a ton of road grit all over my panniers and rack, and it was making a mess inside when I brought my bags in. […]
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How do you store a cargo bike in New York in the winter? And other things we learned from looking at bikes in New York
We spent a couple of days in New York this winter, more specifically Brooklyn, mostly in Park Slope. I checked out every bike that we walked by (as one does) and thought about how different riding a cycle is in New York compared to in California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXLorSvKziQ Winters in the Bay Area are much milder, as it rarely gets below freezing during the winter months. We get winter rain, but rarely any snow or ice. In contrast, it’s much colder in New York, there’s more snow, slush, road salt, and other stuff that’s tougher to ride a bike in, and tougher to store a bike in. Some had a lot of rust As you can see on this “Goffa bike”, the rims, brakes, kickstand, stem, spokes, chain, nuts are all rusted. This bike has been left out for a long […]
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The 2nd Annual Emeryville Tree Lighting and Car-Free Holiday Lights Parade was a blast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYpkpmOiRgM The 2nd Annual Emeryville tree lighting and holiday lights parade was a blast, just like last year. We met at city hall and though we thought we got there “early”, there were already about 100 people milling about, checking out the Pixar booth and picking up some LED lights. We saw a bunch of people on cargo bikes, regular bikes, and kids bikes. As it got a little darker, Mayor John Bauters made some announcements and thanked Xtracycle and Blue Heron for having cargo bikes ready for Santa and the reindeer. The Emery dance team did an fantastic performance, and then the Mayor led the kids in some cheers to light the city hall tree. Someone who had just bought a Bike Beam LED flagpole light said hi, it was good to see him and his kid as well […]
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Bay Area Family Bike Events in December 2023
Here are some December family friendly bike events in the Bay Area! Friday, December 1st, 5:00pm – Emeryville, CA (City Hall) – Emeryville Tree Lighting and Car-Free Holiday Parade – A beautiful walking and rolling parade over the bike/ped bridge with a Christmas tree lighting and ride to Emeryville Bay Street. Free valet bike parking, giveaways from Pixar. Probable costumes, light giveaways, bike demos. Last year there was fake snow and cargo bike test rides also. It was so much fun. More info from the City of Emeryville. Thursday, December 7th, 5:00-7:30pm – San Leandro, CA (Drake’s Brewing) – Bike Community Happy Hour – Casual event – chat with bikey friends and make new ones! https://bikeeastbay.org/events/community-happy-hour/ Tuesday. December 19th, 6:00pm – Alameda, CA (City Hall) – Alameda Holiday Lights Ride! – ‘TIS THE SEASON: Join us Tuesday, 12/19 for […]
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