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Five Mountain Bikes For Women Under $2,000

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0700

I'm looking to get a new mountain bike, so I've been doing a little research. I already have one I spent only a couple hundred bucks on, and after trying out the more expensive ones, I can really feel the difference. So I'm ready to splurge since a bike is something I'll have for a while. If you're in the market for a new mountain bike, here are five women-specific bikes on my list.

Trek 8000 WSD ($1,979.99): I just love the way this bike looks and feels. It has a sturdy aluminum frame, is lightweight enough to schlep around if I need to, and comes in four sizes to get the right fit.
Specialized Myka FSR ($1,450): Made with an alloy frame, this bike is women specific and uniquely designed to give a smooth ride. It's meant to handle rocky descents or cruise on even surfaces.

To see some more affordable bikes

You Asked: What Gives With Women's Bikes?

FitSugar — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:30:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering . . .

Dear Fit,
I'm in the market for a new bike, but while shopping I've noticed that there are bikes made for guys and then that company will make the same bike but designed for women. The colors are usually very feminine, which I hate. I'm wondering is it OK to go for the guy's model, or is there really a huge benefit to riding a women's specific bike?
—Tomboy Tara

This is a great question since so many of our readers are into cycling. To find out what I think

Love It or Hate It? Tour Table by Gae Aulenti

casasugar — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:00:10 -0700

After you've constructed your bicycle wheel pot rack, you might want to coordinate in your dining room with the Tour Table by Gae Aulenti ($6,258). Maybe Lance Armstrong's Austin home could use one. Could yours?

Love It or Hate It? Tour Table by Gae Aulenti

Love it

Hate it

Undecided

RealRyder — Mountain Bike Without Leaving Home

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0700

I'm big into road biking for exercise and for getting from place to place, but I also love mountain biking because the steep hills and windy trails make riding more exciting and challenging. I realize that not everyone has access to safe places to ride, so stationary bikes are a great option. The only negative thing is that they hardly mimic what it's really like to ride a bike outside. They also only work your lower body so if you want to target your core and upper body more check out the RealRyder ($2,395). I know it seems pricey to buy for your home gym, so maybe your gym has one you can use.

What makes the RealRyder different than a conventional stationery bike? To find out

Towering Tall Bikes

FitSugar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0700

If you've ever seen one riding down the street, then you know that a tall bike is quite a sight to see. These colossal creations are constructed by attaching recycled abandoned bicycles and random spare parts to regular bikes. Usually the frames are stacked one on top of the other, but the designs can be quite complicated. The bike mechanics are reworked so both the top set of petals and the brakes on the upper handlebars can be used.

Even thought they're super tall, these bikes can still be ridden like regular bikes. Riders actually say they feel safer on tall bikes because they are more visible to cars, other cyclists, and pedestrians. There's also the "wow" factor because they're so unique, so cars are more cautious around them. You may wonder how one gets herself onto a tall bike. Check out this video. It's a lot like mounting a horse.

Fit's Tip: If you're interested in building your own tall bike, here are some instructions.

If you want to see some photos of the crazy tall bikes people have concocted then

Does Civil Disobedience Like "Critical Mass" Inspire Change?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:03:45 -0700

If you live in a city, chances are you know to avoid the streets during the last Friday of every month. That's when the event, Critical Mass, takes over with hoards of bicyclers all gathered together to ride the streets, snarling traffic, and calling attention to the plight of the two-wheeled rider. Some call it a social movement, a celebration, some a protest ride, and others, the mildly creative, "Critical Mess." Whatever the nomenclature, it's a happening that inspires passion — like this video taken at last Friday's Critical Mass ride in New York City. In the video — especially in the slow-motion replay — it appears as though the police officer approaches the bicyclist and shoves him over. The officer has since been placed on desk duty pending investigation of the incident, but the video fully encompasses the conflicting viewpoints of mass disobedience as a means to enact change. The riders intend to disrupt order. That's the means by which they make their message heard — the thought is if enough people, a critical mass of people, follow suit and subjugate the norm, the norm will be questioned. However, from those on the other end of the "conversation," the disruption caused by these methods does more to denigrate the cause than to gain followers. To those questioning why the police don't do more to control the event, and perhaps stop events like the one captured in the video, the Seattle Post Intelligencer had this to say yesterday: "police don't exactly have a hands-off policy, but they're not going to devote significant resources to the regular act of civil disobedience."Is Critical Mass the perfect example of change-inspiring civil demonstration, or is the emphasis really on "disobedience?"

Does Civil Disobedience Like "Critical Mass" Inspire Change?

CM is perfect! It's nonviolent, directly related to their message and changes behavior.

It's ridiculous to think that you'll gain sympathy to a cause by bothering everyone.

It's neither. It's just one of those things that happens in cities — not a big changer.

Other. I'll ride on into the comments.

Cool Idea: Bicycle Wheel Pot Rack

casasugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:00:00 -0700

You've probably heard the cliché "When life gives you lemons . . ." applied to all sorts of situations. But, I'd make an honest bet that a pot rack wasn't involved in one of them. So here we are. Handmade Detroit's boyfriend was in a bike accident that left his bike wheel too bent out of shape to function. Instead of sending the sad, sour wheel to a landfill he repurposed it by hanging it from the ceiling of his kitchen, using it as a pot rack. I love the DIY attitude of it and think it's perfect for a bicycle dude's home. It adds a refreshing, subtle touch of personality to something that's not traditionally very interesting.
Source

Casa Verde: Ikea's Going to the Bicycles

casasugar — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:30:12 -0700

Great news: You can now carry your flatpacked Ikea goods home on your bicycle — at least if you live in Denmark.
According to Inhabitat, Ikea has partnered with the Danish bicycle company Velorbis to provide Danish customers with bikes outfitted with special trailers. Ikea decided to do so after discovering that about 20 percent of its Danish customers already ride bikes to Ikea stores. Now, customers can borrow a trailer and bike for a small deposit fee and load up their wool rugs, bookshelves, and other products in the trailer. Since I've been seeing more and more folks in the Bay Area transporting goods on bike trailers, this seems like a logical next step for eco-minded retailers. I would love to have this option at my local Ikea. Would you?

Source

Bike Production Beats Out Cars!

FitSugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:00:00 -0700

Here's a bit of news that will please all of you bike-riding, eco-minded types: bicycle production is on the rise. According to the Earth Policy Institute's Eco-Economy Indicators, 130 million bicycles were produced last year, versus 52 million automobiles. What's even cooler is that bike production is increasing at a faster pace than car manufacturing: it's nearly quadrupled since 1970, while car production has only grown twofold.

Of course, most of the credit for increased bike riding goes to Europe, where cities pour money into bicycle infrastructure projects that encourage people to commute on two wheels instead of four. Colombia, South Korea, and Australia also boast great bike-friendly track records. In the US, bicycling has actually declined 32 percent since the early 1990s, and the number of people who commute via bike is especially low. But American cities are working to change that with increased bike lanes and programs like Bike to Work Day.

What do you think about these stats? Do you ride a bike either for transportation or for exercise? Do you wish that the US would follow the lead of Europe and do more to encourage bicycling?

Source

Not. Okay.

GiggleSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:00:00 -0700

Not only is this chick pedaling in the middle of the road at a snail's pace, she's kindly turned her bicycle into a high-pitched, melodically-challenged neighborhood noise disturbance. Someone needs to cut show-and-tell time short and let girlfriend know that all the big kids are playing with bus passes and ipods nowadays.