While having Betty Foy serviced last week, I borrowed a Gouden Leeuw Oma from J.C. Lind Bikes (a sponsor of LGRAB) for a couple of days.
Although the Gouden Leeuw may look a lot like my Workcycles Oma, the two are very different bikes. My Oma is a full luxury brick house, while the GL Oma is relatively diminutive, much lighter and $700 less. Also, the GL Oma is a single speed with coaster brakes.
Aside from those factors, there are many similarities. The GL Oma has a powder coated steel frame and all of...
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Earlier this year, Trisha and I opened a Formspring account and welcomed you all to ask us questions. We've been answering the questions on Formspring individually as they come in. Now we're putting the answers together as a cohesive FAQ section, although some of the questions are not so frequent. :) This is the second half. Read the first half here.
Amsterdam is flat. Chicago is flat. Is Nashville flat? What effect does topology have on how bike-friendly a city is? I suppose Portland is not flat.
I don't...
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Earlier this year, Trisha and I opened a Formspring account and welcomed you all to ask us questions. We've been answering the questions on Formspring individually as they come in. Now we're putting the answers together as a cohesive FAQ section, although some of the questions are not so frequent. :) This is the first half. We'll post the second half soon.
How and when did Dottie and Trisha meet?
Trisha and I met through our mutual friend, Erin, at a group happy hour. The first meeting I really remember w...
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Allow me to introduce you to the Kangaroo, the most sophisticated cargo bike I've met. The Kangaroo is a Danish bike, designed specifically - and wonderfully - to carry children. Although I was initially skeptical of a bike made of such modern materials and with such a narrow purpose, after my test ride the Kangaroo now ranks near the top of my bike list.
The frame is aluminum 6061, the cargo area is impact-resistent and UV-stabalized polyethylene, and the cover is nylon. Good old-fashioned wood and steel ...
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Chances are good that you've already heard of Civia Cycles, the relatively new company in Minnesota making beautiful utilitarian bikes. Civia's motto is: Life's better by bike. We agree!
I recently test rode the Civia Loring. The Loring is the most relaxed of the company's five models. Civia markets the Loring for "tooling around town, cruising campus, or pedaling to the grocer." This seems to limit the Loring more than necessary, as it is a sturdy utility bike and they make it sound like a cruiser.
T...
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I recently test rode the De Fietsfabriek Oma for three days and thirty miles. De Fietsfabriek is a Dutch bike company and the U.S. distributor is a lovely shop along my daily commute route, owned and run by Jon Lind. (A great interview with Jon is here.)
This is the first bicycle I have tested that matches the quality of my WorkCycles Azor Oma and has features that I wish my Oma had. In fact, my Oma has now been slightly altered to incorporate one of the De Fietsfabriek's accessories - more on that later.
I'...
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When my friend Ms. Elle called to ask if I wanted to meet up at Copenhagen Cyclery after work, I was quick to agree. She has been loyal to her vintage bike Cilantro, but decided to explore less "rickety" options.
While she quickly fell in love with the Velorbis Studine (they make a hot couple - see above), I flirted with the Velorbis Scrap Deluxe, a bike I'd never ridden before.
The Scrap Deluxe's stand-out feature is the set of cream Schwalbe Fat Frank tires. Aside from being eye-catching and uniqu...
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It's been several weeks since the Jango Flik T8 arrived at my door. Overall, my time with this fleet, flirty folding bike has been a real pleasure. Cute as a button, the Flik is something of a social butterfly, with the ability to attract stares and start conversations.
This is a ride that's sporty yet practical, with 8 speeds, a rear suspension and an eye-catching design. With an MSRP of $1199, this is no bargain bicycle, but the smoothness of the ride and the ease of the fold demonstrate real quality. My f...
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Today I met a new beauty in town, the Velorbis Studine at Copenhagen Cyclery, a "younger" and more affordable version of the Velorbis Classic bikes (which I reviewed here). The differences are subtle - fewer gears, painted rims and no lights or leather grips.
Designed in Denmark and handmade in Germany, these stylish steel bikes are chic and cheeky at once. The Studine aka Student comes in three colors (red, green, black) and four sizes (51 and 56 cm for step-through, 54 and 59 cm for diamond frame). If cre...
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I suppose it's past time I revealed what the two-wheeled object in the box I was tracking last Tuesday is.
Meet the Jango Flik.
So far we haven't had too much time to get to know each other, but our inaugural ride to the coffee shop caused quite a stir. Peter from Jango told me that these test bikes are the first Fliks to hit the streets in North America.
I'll be riding the Flik for the next month or so around Nashville, to see what it's like to have a folder (and measure how it compares to the Dahon I've ridden...
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