Massing the... Freeway?!??!

So in LA, where 500 people will Spontaneously show up to midnight mass it was only a matter of time until somebody to raised the bar. They did what anyone would do. They massed the freeway. In LA. Without clearing the road.



It was during rush hour traffic, so the bikes were moving much faster than cars. As with everything, a huge discussion of rabid wordslinging has ensued all over the internets. This is by far my favorite comment from The Bryant Park Project blog:

Alas, the last safe haven of thy motored beasts hath been conquered. The freeway, the last mental sanctuary for those refusing to admit their mistake in purchasing an unnecessarily large combustion engine-powered vehicle has been violated. I can only imagine how such a bold stunt could shatter Angelenos' faith in the automobile. Will thy cyclists turn this shenanigan into a staple event? Only time will tell.

posted by Mihai

Wow. Crazy. Boo. Yeah. Nothing is cooler than this though:


here's another youtube video with more tallbike action

here's the group that did it

Lugs

The majority of steel frames are brazed. There are two types of brazing. Fillet brazing welds tubes directly to each other by creating a buildup of the brazing metal at the joint between tubes. It is lighter than lugs, however it is not as strong. Tubes fitted to lugs must be mitered carefully to ensure a proper fit. Silver brazing allows a tighter fit and lower brazing temperature, which requires more control of the flame but lessens the risk of deforming the tubing from overheating. Bronze brazing is more common and less expensive. If a frame is well made, the metal used will not significantly affect the bike's strength or performance.
In the early days of lugs, they were sand cast. This method created bulkier lugs that required a lot of finishing work to get to the right size and to clean up. These early lugs were little more than pipe fittings, with square ends. Although they were adequate for early bikes, the evolution of steel tubing led to lighter, thinner tubes. Suddenly these new bikes built with old lugs would fail at the edges of the lugs. The area where the lug joined to the tube created a 'stress riser,' a place where force was concentrated.
Builders discovered that by creating curving lugs, they could distribute the stress along a larger area of the tube. New methods of creating lugs were in use.
Stamped lugs began as a single sheet of steel which was stamped and formed into a lug, and then welded. The downside to this was that the builder had to work to clean up the weld area to make it presentable. The angles of stamped lugs can be slightly altered by the builder.
Investment casting is a method of lug creation in which lugs are made by pouring metal into a ceramic mold. The resulting lugs are more precise and can be more detailed.
Most builders refine the lugs before they put them on a frame. They may alter the curves of the lug by filing, and generally thin the lug out. New lugs are thicker and heavier than they need to be. If you look on a low-end bike the lugs are typically thicker than on a high end bike. Another thing to examine on a bike's lugs is the quality of the brazing or workmanship around the edge of the lug. Occasionally, I find a bike which has a lug that is coming apart from the tube. I also see lugs were a buildup of bronze has occurred at the edge of the lug. A third indicator of poor quality or workmanship is the presence of bubbles at the edge of the lug. Frames with these problems may be perfectly good to ride for many years to come, despite their flaws, because of the strength of the lugged method as a whole. I have also seen a Trek where the headtube sheared off just above the lug, probably due to poor brazing (overheating?), but the workmanship looks deceptively high quality. Below is a picture of a headtube before paint is applied, with bronze visible.

There are a few styles of lugs which can be easily recognized. The first of these is nervex, which are intricate and easily recognized. They are in the picture to the left.
Also in the museum of lugs, on your right, are the Confente style of lugs - this is a classic Italian style and very common. It was created in the late 1970s.
In America, Henry James was the main supplier of quality cast lugs and the majority of frame builders used him as a supplier. As a result, many American frames looked similar.
One of the most ornate examples of lugs are those of Hetchins. These lugs had so many frills that some of them has steel extensions. in places such as the fork blades, these add-ons increased strength.

Chromed lugs, like those on the Hetchins, require that the entire frame be dipped in a chrome bath. To get the glossy finish of chrome, the bike is first nickel plated to get a smooth finish. The chrome layer is measured in millionths of an inch on this type of 'decorative' plating.

Today! Bike Roll!

Smith's Apology

Hey Everybody,

I'm off to bed, but wanted to make a quick post before I forget. After my experience at Smith's, I sent them a link to my saltcycle post as well as included the post itself in an email. I just received this in reply:

Dear Ms. Merono:

Thank you for contacting Smith's regarding your recent experience at our 876 E 800 S store. I am very sorry to hear that the customer service associate was very rude to you regarding bringing your bike into the store. This is not acceptable as all of our associates are to provide courteous, professional service. I have forwarded the details of your email to the store manager with the expectation that our associates will receive further training in customer service skills.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. I hope you will reconsider shopping at Smith's in the future.

Sincerely,

Nicole Hardesty
Consumer Affairs


It still doesn't explain the supposed health code violation... but I'll admit I shopped at the Smith's on 4th and 6th today (but locked up my bike).

Is Anyone Riding The SLC Century?

http://www.nosack.com/CycleSaltLakeCentury/

Is anyone riding in the Salt Lake Century on Saturday? I wasn't into it, as I don't like to pay to ride my bike 100 miles(thats too akin to having a car), but then realized the proceeds go to fund bicycle trails and bicycle transportation around Salt Lake City.

It cost $48 and the fee includes food (fruit, candy, snacks, etc.) and drink (water and sports drink) at the rest stops, lunch, a goodie bag, and a commemorative short sleeve T-shirt. You can register when we ride the bike roll on Friday, May 16th as we are going to stop by the the Gallivan Plaza Bike Bonanza, where you can register.

The actual Cycle Salt Lake Century event is Saturday, May 17 at Utah State Fair Park, 155 North 1000 West, SLC @ 7:30 AM mass start.

I don't want to ride Caution among the sea of spandex alone. We know we both aren't adequate enough to last all those hours lonely among those masses. Caution 'n me aren't competitive, we are community where everyone is a winner. (insert after school special warm fuzzy message).

I need recruitments, otherwise I don't think I can make it a hundred miles.

Volunteers?

i got a new bike and it happens to be TALL!

yeah, Bo and mark helped me out. we got together and formulated a plan for the next TALL bike in SLC, and it so happens to be mine!! we finally put it together earlier tonight and took it for a night out on the town! i'll post pictures soon and maybe video. i would have done it tonight but i was too stoked about my new TALL bike!

Salt Lake Velodrome and Ralph

-SL County Mayor Peter Corroon is contemplating beating up Ralph Becker and taking his bike, also feeling somewhat underdressed-
(photo by Steve Wasmund)

It's Bike Month, and Wednesdays are Bike to Work Days, or, as most of us reading this refer to it: "when I ride my bike to work like every other Wednesday." Today though, the Mayors Becker and Corroon rode from what looks like Liberty Park with a bunch of people and the media. At least it looks like the media, I could only find a little blurb on KSL.com. Anyway, Mayor Becker, besides looking dapper in his suit and Rivendell-y bike, has a spoke card for the Salt Lake Velodrome Association, which is a group started by Mark Kennedy and some other guys to get a velodrome built here in Salt Lake. There used to be one, on the Great Salt Lake even! So go here to find out more about it and sign the petition, if you haven't already. (website is a little rough)

-Old SLC velodrome-