Self-Inflating Tires

Popping up on all the bike blogs lately is a product that really has me excited. There is a company claims to have invented a self-inflating tire. It has a hose built into the tread that forces air into the tire squeezed in by the rider's weight. The final pressure is then limited by a valve that bleeds off extra pressure once the ideal pressure is reached.

Assuming this thing actually works (the tire has yet to be invented), I am excited more for other applications, not just bicycles. I have on numerous occasions told my wife that this country could save millions of gallons of gas every day if people would keep their car tires at (or above) the recommended pressures. Imagine if every car in the US got a tiny one mile per gallon better? My thought was that someone, like our government, who actually cared about lowering gas usage and pollution, could put free-to-use air pressure stations at gas stations. It would really add up quickly. According to Project America, we drove over 260,000 million miles per month in 2008. But I digress.

This new idea could KEEP people's tires properly inflated in summer or winter, with slow leaks or not, trucks, cars, anything that uses gas.

Needless to say, I will be watching this company like a hawk!

UPDATE:
Apparently this company's investors have decided that it is not as exciting as I. They are no longer asking for funding. Oh well.

Weekend Ride with the Boys

The boys of the family headed out for an afternoon ride this weekend in Oak Ridge.

Down the Turnpike to North Boundary trails, we rode to the quarry, skipped rocks for a while, then headed to the other side where we, you guessed it, skipped more rocks.
Along the trip we saw much wildlife. A couple frogs, a deer family, a tiny snake, this huge spider flushed out by our flat-rock hunting:

In the bright green water we spotted this shark-like fish. We believe he is a sauger. He did not seem at all afraid of us:

On the road around the quarry, there were two to three well maintained family graveyards back in the woods. This wrought iron fence in Grave Site 62 (Silvey family - pdf) had obviously been here a while.

After the roughly nine miles, we stopped into the local convenience store for a much deserved Icee. 

This ride has become a family favorite. The hills are not too steep. There are sights every few minutes, and the quarry is entertaining to the boys. It is amazing how long they (we) will throw rocks in.

Craigslist Quotes (#1)

Many of the bikes I currently own were ones I found on Craigslist. I hit the list many times a day looking for a bike that catches my eye in some way or another. But occasionally my eye is caught by things in the listings... ignorance, outlandish claims, or just plain crazy sellers. I dedicate this page (and future ones) to those funny listings that just have to be shared.

The first:
K2 T: Nine Breeze Women's Comfort Bike (26-Inch Wheels) - $100
...this bike has at least 21 speeds...

Reminds me of a line in the movie Mr. Mom. When the main character's wife receives advances from her boss, "Mr. Mom" (played by Michael Keaton) feels the need to impress him with his man skills and tells the boss he plans to rewire the house. When the boss asks him if he will be going with 210, he replies "210, 211. Whatever it takes!"

"Swiss Army" Bike - Dahon Tailwind Bicycle

I was recently given a bike in exchange for cleaning up my sister-in-law's bike. It was the strangest looking thing... almost ugly. But hey, it was free.

After I got it home I immediately hit the internet to do a little research about it. Turns out this Dahon Tailwind is a very famous (and surprisingly expensive) brand of bike. Its strange shape and size is a clever design that allows it to be folded in half with handlebars out of the way creating a compact package. This makes it an ideal bike for city-living or for people doing travels with limited trunk space.

Well in our house there are two constants for new bikes that come in: my son wants to try EVERY one (whether or not it fits) and he wants to keep each and every one. I thought this would be one bike that he would make an exception for because it is so... homely. It is the polar opposite to his other bike: a racy Specialized mountain bike with shiny loud modern paint, large wheels, a suspension fork, and many gears.

But I forgot one thing...as in the "Be Careful What You Wish For" thread, he loves gadgets, especially multi-function tools. And of course he did it to me again. He loves the thing! A bike that can fit into a suitcase and then be "Swiss Army Knifed" out into a fully functioning bike. I should have known.

I know, I know... wearing flip flops and no helmet. Yes, he heard about it from his dad.

Weekend Finds - Parts and A GT Timberline

It was the weekend for bike searches. My son and I planned out each and every promising yard sale in West Knoxville and headed out for six locations.

After being less than fruitful at every one we headed home. But that one pink sign on the way forced us to stop. At our first "non scheduled" stop we found handle bar ends. I talked the teenage girl down to 50 cents.

Entering our neighborhood we decided to stop at another. We spotted two bikes: a Murray and a late-80s (I assume) GT Timberline. Having just purchased another GT Timberline it was easy spotting the unusual seat stay attachments:

 

When I inquired about the price the owner said "Man, are you sure? It's gonna need a LOT of work." When I jokingly said "well then, how about 5 bucks?" he said sure!

So, after about ten yard sales, we spent $5.50 and headed home with a whole bunch of nice stuff.

I originally thought I would be parting out this bike but the signature GT seat stays and out of the box thinking with their brakes have me thinking I might change my mind. I really like the unique details in the GT's design. Even the rad 80s Duran Duran album cover graphics are growing on me.

After a little research, it turns out that the bike was new in 1989 which is a little puzzling to me. As a graphic designer I remember a short lived graphic movement with the styling to these logos (Memphis Style) being earlier by a few years - more like mid 80s.

After riding it a few times, I realized that I had found a diamond in the rough... at least for me. It just rides sooooo well. This old GT is going to live its second life as a hybrid in my stable.

I Love Coffee, I Love Tea...

Needed a bell, came home with a cup of coffee (that was also a bell). I saw this neat bike bell shaped like a coffee cup in a bike shop in Virginia and just had to have it! It is so unlike me to impulse buy, especially something so "fashionable" but hey, I needed a bell.

Be Careful What You Wish For

My son has always been a gadget guy. But surprisingly in a world of electronic do-dads, his favorites are old-school items with lots of function squeezed into small packages. He loves backpacks with pockets, boxes with compartments, but his favorites are tools that do many things. A Swiss Army knife is the ultimate.

Recently we found a rear bike rack in the back of our bedroom closet (a Christmas present to me that never made it under the tree). "Please, please please! I want it for my bike!" His favorite outdoor toy was now a gadget when it included a rack.

After riding around the back yard a few afternoons with all his toys bungied on, I suggested we use the carrier for what it was designed... carrying stuff. We headed out to the local pizza joint. A half hour later we headed home with two larges strapped to his rack. The added weight made the bike feel very different, a concept he never thought about. Needless to say, a little more grumbling was heard toward the end of the trip.

A few weeks later the topic of getting pizza again via bicycle-delivery-boy came up again.

"Daddy, I think you need a rack for your bike too!"