Albany Bicycle Coalition

Carl worked on an old Ross 5 speed that had a reverse pull derailleur (which I think is also referred to as a rapid rise?)  Mark worked on an old schwinn 10 speed that had never been ridden.  The tread on the tire was brand new but the sidewall had disintegrated!  Chris B. worked on a Specialized MT bike that required new brake cable and tuning.  We had two people come in as customers.

The winter months are a great time to reinforce our new bike repair skills.  If we work on a couple bikes night, we will have a room full of ride able bikes in no time!

Thanks to all,

Mary Lou

You know Dasher and Dancer
And Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid
And Donner and Blitzen.
But do you recall
You have to by presents for them all?

Weather you forgot to by a present for your special cyclist someone or you are just running a little behind ABC is here to help. Christmas shopping can be a bit daunting, especially when you have a bunch of people to buy for, but if one of those people is a cyclist here are a few sites to help make the shopping a little easier.

According to Treehugger and TheCelebrityCafe IKEA is giving 12,400 bikes to their US employees. The bikes, devoid of the IKEA logo, are “designed specifically for IKEA workers.” Let’s just hope that these bikes stay together better then my IKEA shelves. IKEA did send out some interesting facts with their press release.

• Bicycling is an excellent cardio-vascular exercise, which promotes heart health. Just like in any other aerobic workout, bicycling makes your heart pump harder. Also blood circulation increases and eventually, your resting heart rate will decrease. (Helium.com; Benefits of Bicycling by Erich Rosenberger M.D.)• On average, commuting 10 miles a day by bike in 30 minutes, instead of driving a car burns 110,250 calories (keeping off 30 pounds of fat each year). (Sources: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, RailstoTrails.org, Fitsugar.com, Adultbicycling.com

• Cycling just 20 miles a week can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50%. (Sources: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, RailstoTrails.org, Fitsugar.com, Adultbicycling.com

• Countries with the highest levels of cycling and walking generally have the lowest obesity rates. (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)
For Sustainable living, bicycling also has many benefits.

• Bicycling reduces polluting emissions. A short, four mile round trip by a bike keeps about 15 pounds of pollutants out of the air we breathe. (WorldWatch Institute, www.bicyclinginfo.org)

• In 2001 walking and bicycling accounted for 23 billion miles traveled, worth billions of dollars in fuel savings alone. (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)

• In one year, riding a bike versus owning and driving a car will save an individual $8,000 in gasoline and general car maintenance and insurance costs. (Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia)

Sources: thecelebritycafe.com and treehugger.com

Written by Chris Belsole

Expensive road bikes? carbon frames? Is it worth spending upwards of 1500 dollars on a bike just for getting around? What does it mean to the average commuter? Apparently not a whole lot.

In a new study by Dr. Jeremy Groves, an “anaesthetist at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and self-confessed cycling fan,” he asserts that the commuting time between a commute with a carbon fiber bicycle verses the commuting time with a steel frame is about the same. The big part of this was that he spent 1000 euro, about 1326.70 US Dollars, and only 50 euro, about 66.33 US Dollars, on the steel framed bike.

The best part is the conclusion that he comes up with, “A lighter bicycle did not lead to a detectable difference in commuting time. Cyclists may find it more cost effective to reduce their own weight rather than to purchase a lighter bicycle.”

You can find the study link here [via: BBC News]

Written by Chris Belsole