city

DANA POINT, CA (BRAIN) Feb 2, 16:40 MT —In preparation for a potential relocation, Revo Cycles has begun liquidating its 2010 and 2011 inventory and consolidating 2012 product into its newer and larger store in Lake Forest.

CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN) Jan 27, 14:03 MT — Emphasizing locally made transportation bikes, cycling accessories and food, combination bike shop/café Heritage Bicycles General Store will hold its grand opening Saturday, Jan.

McHENRY, IL (BRAIN) Jan 25 —Mike Mrachek hasn’t been in the bike business since his college days helping run a shop in Bloomington, Illinois—which is why last week found him at the Barnett Bicycle Institute in Colorado Springs getting a wrenching refresher and boning up on the latest technology. “You learn a lot of shortcuts that mechanics get from years of experience,” he said

Editor’s note: Former BRAIN managing editor Jill Janov happened to be vacationing in Seattle last weekend and, homesick for journalism and the bike industry, volunteered to check in with some of the city’s bike retailers to see how they were dealing with the snow storm. SEATTLE, WA (BRAIN) Jan 23, 14:47 MT — Kirk Robinson, sales manager at Gregg’s Cycles in Bellevue, tried every means possible to get to work during the snow and ice storm that shut down the Seattle area last week.

SEATTLE, WA (BRAIN) Jan 20, 17:04 MT — A huge snow-rain-and-ice storm that hit the Seattle area this week, leaving as many as 250,000 people without power, has brought bike retail sales to a near halt. Gregg’s Cycle, an 80-year-old shop with three locations, closed early Tuesday and has not re-opened as of Friday afternoon

Thanks Ron for sending me the link to this Boston Globe story, interesting stuff.

Thousands of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists converge each day at the intersection near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, where crowds of students on Vassar Street meet traffic on Massachusetts Avenue. Police say it’s a hazard.

“For the amount of volume that goes through that intersection … I would say it is one of our highest accident locations in the city,’’ said Police Deputy Superintendent Jack Albert.

Since 2007, Cambridge police responded to 55 accidents at the intersection, 24 of them involving cars and bikes, according to police reports. Many resulted in minor injuries, the records show, but last month one was fatal. MIT graduate Phyo N. Kyaw of Cambridge was riding a bicycle when he collided with a truck.

What stood out to me about this story is that its the first one in a long time that took my point of view about traffic. Its not that there is a cyclists, or motorist, or pedestrian “law breaking problem” its that there is a “law breaking problem.” I have said many times to anyone who would listen that the real problem in Boston is a culture of disregard for traffic laws, by all user groups. I felt the article gave a fairly reasonable treatment to all user groups, and helped to inform people about some of the dangers faced by cyclists and pedestrians. Because while it is true that all user groups are breaking the law in similar amounts, the consequences for different user groups are very different. If you are walking, or on a bike and get hit by a car its very different than if you are in a car and get hit by a car.

According to the police accident reports, blame was not confined to a single group. Motorists ran red lights, cyclists followed vehicles too closely, and many ignored traffic signals. Of the 55 accidents since 2007, 26 involved vehicle-only accidents and three involved pedestrians, the reports show.

Most of the accidents involved drivers making right turns colliding with bicyclists because they did not see them.

I think that the future of this city will depend on designing it for people, not automobiles. That means making it as easy as possible for human beings to get around, not for cars to get around. Cycling and walking are not particularly dangerous, in the sense that you have a high chance of being killed or injured while doing them. But if cities are designed in a “car first” mentality that can make it more dangerous to walk or bike than it is to drive. I can only hope that it doesn’t take a cyclist or pedestrian death at every intersection in the city to get this kind of attention.

Got this in the email today (thanks Ron!)

————————————–

The Boston Transportation Department, working with the National Park Service, has launched an initiative to connect certain transit hubs in Boston with new pedestrian and bicycle paths.

The effort, called Connect Historic Boston, will join MBTA transit stations and National Park Service sites in downtown Boston, including North Station, the Aquarium and State Street, and visitors’ centers at Faneuil Hall, the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the Harbor Islands Pavilion on the Greenway.

The goal is to create safe paths that allow visitors easy access between sites, according to Sean Hennessy, public affairs officer for the National Park Service.

“The mayor has made a substantial commitment with the bike-sharing programs and bike lanes, and this project blends in beautifully with that,” Hennessy said. “Connect Historic Boston is an effort to identify and remedy the need for safe bike and pedestrian paths in Boston.”

Funding for the design project will come from a $400,000 grant from the National Park Service — the “Paul Sarbanes Transit in Parks” grant — to the city of Boston. (read more here)

I used to work downtown, and still ride through there on a regular basis, and every single time I think to myself, “man this place would be a whole lot more pleasant if we got rid of most of these cars.” While that wont ever happy, making it easier to bike and walk between these highly visited sites will go a long way to making the downtown area more friendly and useful, not only for tourists but for everyone that lives and works in the area as well. The added draw of these locations will also spur more local business opporotunities, and help to keep and expand the vitality of the region. People driving through that area in their car never stop to buy anything, because there is a lack of parking, pedestrians and cyclists however will stop and visit local shops.

Got this in the email today (thanks Ron!)

————————————–

The Boston Transportation Department, working with the National Park Service, has launched an initiative to connect certain transit hubs in Boston with new pedestrian and bicycle paths.

The effort, called Connect Historic Boston, will join MBTA transit stations and National Park Service sites in downtown Boston, including North Station, the Aquarium and State Street, and visitors’ centers at Faneuil Hall, the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the Harbor Islands Pavilion on the Greenway.

The goal is to create safe paths that allow visitors easy access between sites, according to Sean Hennessy, public affairs officer for the National Park Service.

“The mayor has made a substantial commitment with the bike-sharing programs and bike lanes, and this project blends in beautifully with that,” Hennessy said. “Connect Historic Boston is an effort to identify and remedy the need for safe bike and pedestrian paths in Boston.”

Funding for the design project will come from a $400,000 grant from the National Park Service — the “Paul Sarbanes Transit in Parks” grant — to the city of Boston. (read more here)

I used to work downtown, and still ride through there on a regular basis, and every single time I think to myself, “man this place would be a whole lot more pleasant if we got rid of most of these cars.” While that wont ever happy, making it easier to bike and walk between these highly visited sites will go a long way to making the downtown area more friendly and useful, not only for tourists but for everyone that lives and works in the area as well. The added draw of these locations will also spur more local business opporotunities, and help to keep and expand the vitality of the region. People driving through that area in their car never stop to buy anything, because there is a lack of parking, pedestrians and cyclists however will stop and visit local shops.

This distinctive tough roadster from the Evans Cycles house brand certainly has urban appeal, but it doesn’t shine as brightly once you ride outside the city limits.

Ride & handling: Durable rather than delicate

If we’re blunt, the discount price is probably the natural home of the Dolomite’s ride quality rather than just a reflection of running last year’s kit. As a reasonably heavy bike with big, heavy 26c Kenda tyres, it takes a fair dollop of power to get it going. There’s definitely some loss of potential speed as it goes through the separate crank arms and square taper bottom bracket. This puts acceleration on the eventual rather than effervescent side of the line, and on more cut-and-thrust group rides whoever was on the Pinnacle was soon at the back of the pack.

While the frame tubes are double butted and the fatter, thicker tyres can be run at lower pressure without increasing puncture or pothole-flat risk, the overall ride character is definitely durable rather than delicate. This allows for confident complacency on less than good road surfaces in terms of mechanical survival, but the parts of you that meet the bars and saddle are going to get some serious tenderising if you ride on the rough stuff for too long.

The ride position and handling take some getting used to as well. The head angle is only a relatively slack 72 degrees, but the straight-line-prone steering effect is very obvious. This is great for when you need to fish things out of your back pocket while you’re riding along and for when you are plummeting down descents. While sticking a short stem on a slacker head angle is the current fashion in mountain bike terms, the mix of fast hand reactions with stable, self-correcting wheel feels weird on a road bike – not least because you’re dealing with less grip and much less margin for error when it comes to sticking or sliding a tyre.

That meant it took a while for us to trust the Pinnacle on greasy, leafy corners. Obviously if you’re riding it regularly, rather than switching bikes all the time like us, that’ll be much less of an issue, but if you try one and it feels odd, that’s why. At the end of the day the Dolomite is a steady, enhanced survival performer that’ll last well on daily commuting duties, and if you buy at the discounted price it’s a bargain. It’s definitely more of a nippy donkey than a real thoroughbred though, which can be frustating at times.

Frame: Classic, simple style

If you’re into classic, simple style then the steel grey Dolomite will get your attention straight away. The only modern twist to the average height, standard gauge head tube is a slight flare to accommodate internal bearings. There’s only slight tapering on the main tubes but the big ‘fish-scale’ welds are nice and even, which points to a quality build despite the simple tubeset.

The D-to-round chainstays and straight gauge round seatstays continue the simple trend at the back end and with a frame weight of over 1.8kg, it should have strength to spare. Commuting credentials are completed with mudguard and rack mounts on the rear and mudguard mounts on the fork tips. The carbon-legged Kinesis forks echo the understated looks of the rest of the bike, even if the big graphic panel on the down tube seems at odds with the rest of the aesthetic.

Equipment: Continues the simple retro statement

Pinnacle has continued the simple retro statement through the bike components, with naked bright or brushed metal everywhere from rims to headset spacers. The short silver Kalloy stem produces distinctive steering as well as stand-out looks, and the deep drop, dual-pivot brakes get cartridge pads for a bit more bite while still giving full mudguard clearance for dry-bum commuting. There are even wear grooves on the rims so you know when they’ve had enough riding. In testing, the front wheel creaked and pinged for longer than expected until it settled. Even the back wheel creaked a bit at first.

While the deep siping (tiny cuts in the tread blocks to aid water dispersal) through the thick tread layer of the fat 26c Kenda tyres suggest enhanced wet-weather grip, they felt slippery and untrustworthy. They’re robust enough to shrug off rough road use on a regular basis though, and should last for years. On the subject of years, Pinnacle run a different annual schedule to most brands which means you’re still looking at the 2011 not the 2012 Tiagra here.

In practice you’ll rarely notice you’re running a 9-speed (rather than 10) rear block, but if you do decide to upgrade in the future you’ll need to replace the whole running gear. The FSA Vero chainset also suffers from an upgrade obstacle in the shape of its separate arms and square taper internal bottom bracket format. On the bright side, the Dolomite is currently available for significantly less than its £799 list price.

This article was originally published in Triathlon Plus