Back to Sch**l Sale, End of Summer Sale, It’s-a-Rainy-Day Sale, whatever.

We have some great deals on in the shop while quantities last. Lots of stuff is 10-50% off, and here are some examples:

Brooks leather Barbican Messenger Bags for $420, down from $630. That’s over 33% off, and these are amazing bags.

Jamis Quest complete bikes (51cm, 55cm) for $1400, down from nearly $2000. Reynolds steel, Mavic wheels, full Shimano 105, etc. etc…

Lots more deals on locks, saddles, wheels, etc.; just mention this post when you’re in.

This was the perfect solution for photographing Louise and Dean’s Wedding, who got married at the Stanley Park Chapel and then spent a little over an hour going around Stanley Park in a horse and carriage. The idea was to stop at a few places on the horse and carriage ride and take some photos of the two of them. So while they were in the horse and carriage I pedaled the bike, all our gear, and Steff nearby… (read the rest of the article here)

Justin Eckersall, a Vancouver based wedding photographer just sent through a blog he wrote about shooting a wedding using a Bakfiets. Some of the shots are just great; I really like the one where he’s shooting a photo of the couple, and the Bakfiets is in the background. You can see it with the rest of his article here. We’re really glad he enjoyed using it, and we’d love to see more businesses do this sort of thing to reduce their environmental impact.

We’ve recently received several Biomega shaft-drive bikes, and I thought it would be helpful to talk a bit about shaft-drive specifically.

First of all, shaft drive bikes wouldn’t be possible without internally geared hubs, which use a system of planetary gears within the hub, much like in a car. A Nexus 8 speed hub, like the one that comes on the Biomega Copenhage, has almost the same gear range as a 21spd bike (over 300%), allows you to shift while you’re stopped, and simplifies the whole system by eliminating the derailleurs and cassette. There are many advantages to this system, but it is especially helpful to the shaft-drive system because this simplicity allows a single, stationary shaft to power a wide range of gears.

At first glance, the advantages of a shaft-driven bike are apparent: no moving parts exposed to the elements, no greasy pant-legs, virtually no maintenance, no more sharp chainrings to “bite” you, and no chain to fall off or get stuck. The clean look is just a bonus.

picture from modliving

There are two minor drawbacks to the shaft-drive system. One is a small weight penalty, but these bikes were designed for everyday use rather than for Lance Armstrong. The other is the inability to easily change the 1:1 gear ratios; in other words, it would be difficult to make the easiest gear any easier. I am quite happy with the gear ratio they come with, and if you are as well, and don’t mind drinking one less beer over the weekend to compensate for the slight added weight, then a shaft-driven bike might be something to consider. Come down and try one out.

This is just a rumour, but we may also be carrying a shaft-driven folding bike in the near future!

Our latest shipment of Skuuts has arrived!

The Skuut is a wooden bike for children ages 2 - 5. It has no pedals and no training wheels. Children kick off the ground as if running, thus pushing or “skuut-ing” themselves and the bike forward. The Skuut is perfect for learning balance, steering, coordination and independence. Having mastered balance on the Skuut, the transition to a traditional two wheeler bike is easy.

Get them while quantities last!

“It is a very robust bicycle and the front rack can carry a 40 liter canister of flamethrower fuel should you choose to use your flamethrower in urban traffic situations, cycling to work and so on.”

David Cambon put up a great review of the Monark he bought from us. You can check the rest out here.

It’s winter time, you’re riding to work, late as it is, when, while shifting gears, your chain pops of the drive and you’re out another 10 minutes to stop, get the bike off the road and fix it properly. Yes, an all too common problem that can quite easily be solved by one simple step.

Remove all the gears on your bike save one.  Call me crazy, call me stupid, call me a luddite, whatever, I won’t have to deal with losing my chain.  As a cyclist I have always been a big fan of the single speed. Whether it comes from a fixie, road, BMX or mtb background. They are a wonder that only requires a small amount of explaining to have the average person on the kick. Let’s begin, shall we? We’ll start with the benefits.

Riding single speed offers several benefits over a multi-geared bike, one of which we have already addressed, the chain loss that can come from riding heavily. By removing several of the moving parts on a bike, we have made our mode of transportation a lot less clumsy and prone to breakdown. By removing those parts, we’ve saved several pounds in weight on the bike as well, and we all know how a heavy bike feels compared to a lighter one.  Thinking on those same lines, we have made the bike a lot easier for the average person to work on and maintain themselves. No more taking the bike to the shop for a tune up, just line up the the rear wheel and ride! Keep a little oil on there for good measure as well. A bike with a single speed is also a lot more efficient at commuting, due to it’s single geared ratio, our body is inclined to ride at the top level all the time as if you slow down the ride gets a lot harder.  Aesthetically there is the look as well. A much cleaner looking ride over all with less parts, cables and all that in the way. In the end, just less to worry about on your bike.

With all those positive reasons aside, many people will still ask, why do the majority of bikes bought and sold come with gears? Simple economics and consumerism. More is better and if you’re trying to sell a hard product to people who may not use their bike all that often, more gears, more shocks, more brakes has got to be better! Even if none of them work properly in the long run and cost you more in shop fees fixing the bike that you paid to start…. [Ed. Note: Gears are great for people going long distances, and for people who need some help getting up Vancouver’s hills. And come now, more brakes is generally good.]

Being a single speed rider of the bmx origin, a sport that has it’s back ground in racing and holds the record for most single speed gearing sizes and easily the smallest drivetrain of any bicycle sport, you reader, if you are interested in a single speed bike may not be aware of many issues surrounding a single speed.

A single speed bike is something that can easily be tailored to your ride. Depending on if you’re riding the flats in Strathcona or English bay or the hilly sections of Kits and the south side, you’re going to potentially want a different gear ratio for each situation. To begin, most single speed bikes will have a gear ratio of 2.75. You can easily find this number by taking the larger front gear/sprocket on your bike and dividing it by the rear cog or cassette. This is an average ratio across the board from fixie, to bmx to mtb and considered by many to be the perfect ratio. I myself have a 25 tooth sprocket in the front with a 9 tooth driver in the rear. This equals out to being that ratio. Now, for the flat rider coming from English bay, they may find that they can go faster because they don’t have nearly as many hills to deal with so easily moving up to a larger Sprocket or gear in the front will allow for that. Traditionally, single speed road bikes offer a 44 to 16 tooth ratio which is also 2.75. By adding say 2 teeth to the front, we’ve increase the top speed of your bike while reducing the speed of acceleration.

Now, at this point we’re going to get into too many off topics for this entry to be any worthwhile for you, let’s just end at this. Take a look at your bike if it still has gears. Remember where you find your gears most of the time when you ride and then count the teeth on the front and the rear. Chances are, you’re probably using one quick gear to accelerate and then keeping it in one higher gear for speed. If you can find a middle ground between those, you might as well just get rid of the gears altogether and save yourself the continual hassle that is the commuter bike drivetrain.

Even better, would be to come into our shop and try out one of our single speed SE lagers or brews and have us tell you more about why we love single speeds.

Cheers,

Raincity Bikes.

Here at RainCityBikes, we specialize in great bikes for in and around the city.  Often you will find a Brooks saddle on one of our bikes or on the bikes of our customers.  Most people look at our rack full of leather saddles and say “wow! they look beautiful, but they cant be comfortable,”  but trust us when we say,  these saddles are both beautiful and comfortable.  Like a great jacket or pair of quality shoes, when you use leather it forms to your body and is breathable.  When treated properly a Brooks leather saddle will last an incredibly long time.  (often longer than the life of your bike, or your arse!)  For example, on our last trip to Holland we saw bikes that were 40 and 50 years old with leather saddles that were still going strong.  I doubt anyone can say the same for vinyl or gel saddles.

Brooks makes many different models and all of them are made by hand.  There are wide saddles for comfort bikes and there are narrow saddles for more racier butt types.  Depending on your anatomical needs there are saddles with long noses and there saddles with short noses.  If your the racier type Brooks makes a beautiful saddle with titanium rails.  If you have a touch of the nostalgic air about youself, you may want a saddle with antique brown leather and hand placed copper rivets.  The most popular and most all around Brooks is the B17.  But following in a close second would have to be the B67 and B66 comfort style saddles.  The “hammock” section of the B67 and B66 saddles is a little softer than the B17 and double springs in the rear add to the level of comfort.  A typical Brooks saddle will run you $98-$150.  A “special” Brooks saddle will cost about $175-$340.

We carry a large selection of the Brooks saddles and accessories.  Saddle bags, mud guards, and leather bar tape are a few.  Lately we have been testing out the new Brooks Barbican Messenger bag and it is incredible!   It has a very classic look and comfortable leather pads in the back to soften any load against your back.  If you have shoulder or neck problems but still enjoy a messenger bag the Barbican is great due to its innovative wrap around the waist design.  When pulled snug around the waist it takes the load off of your shoulder.  It has pockets in the all right areas and uses hidden magnets to hold the overflap in place.  The price tag of $630 is more than a bit rich but if you have back, neck or shoulder problems then this bag is perfect for you.  Dont forget that like all Brooks products it is also handsome and practical.

Please also read the late great Sheldon Brown’s comments on leather saddles in order to know how to better care for you new leather saddle.

-Victor Cuevas

Here’s a letter that was passed on to us from Lisa Stanley:

You’re welcome Lisa, glad that Bike to Work Week is getting more people out on bikes.

The shop is back to full steam in our new location (Manitoba and Broadway), and we’re having a sale to celebrate.

From May 24th to May 29th:

$50 off all bikes over $500.

10% off all bikes under $500.

Free lock or helmet with the purchase of any bike.

Come on in and check it out.

How to lighten your bike: cut some stuff off it.