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You said it, not me.

Originally uploaded by Rock The Bike

Seen on my way to work yesterday.

Mundo waiting faithfully at the parking.
Originally uploaded by Rock The Bike

All I got to say is it's been a long time since I've had a bright red bicycle and it rocks! This Mundo is a cheerful little guy. Kind of a cross between a monarch butterfly, a gazelle, and a hippo.

The single speed is great. On Wednesday I carried 100 pounds 1.4 miles up a gradual hill to town, and the ratio felt good to me. Not too hard, not too easy.

Then I rode to town today with about 60 pounds. Same solid feeling. Gear felt right. Then after dropping off the goods at FEDEX I was riding it down the hill unloaded, and it feels basically just as stiff and solid as when it was loaded down. The frame doesn't budge. It's kind of like riding a tree trunk. But as much as this bike doesn't feel zippy, due to its weight, it's reassuringly strong. Today I sprinted for a yellow light with the 60-pound load, and it felt really good. It had pickup. And the drivetrain is so positive that I know I can put 100% into each pedal stroke.

It's our new townie. And we invite you to take a test ride. We'll be at the Maker's Faire this weekend running the Pedal Powered stage. Come take a ride, and pedal power a few songs while you're at it!

Jay's only been riding the new dragon bike for a few days now, and I had the pleasure of cruising with him last night as we dropped off some homemade apple pie (a la mode, of course) from our pot luck dinner to a friend who was tending bar at the Lone Palm on the other side of the Mission.

Check out the full description of Olli Erkkilã at Bike Rod 'N Kustom.

Thanks to Bike Rod N Kustom for posting this amazing cruiser, Elliot Norris' Full Tilt. If you've never read BR&K before, it's highly recommended. Great community site for the custom chopper and cruiser scene. A new 'edition' of this web magazine comes out, roughly, three times a year. And the editors host a cool series of events in Louisiana and New York.

In the new Mattias Johansson video for the Rubies song "I Feel Electric", the three members of the group first appear standing over cruiser bikes tricked out with the Down Low Glow.

See also: http://www.rockthebike.com/node/1211

So I've been thinking about the elements of a great cruiser ride. I won't go into the obvious ones right now, but I want to share one of the ones that's not so obvious.

Getting a lot of people into a small area.

What's up SF Cruisers,

Have you heard about the Maker's Faire happening this weekend? It's a big event at the San Mateo fairgrounds, featuring inventors, crafters, and interactive artists from around the Bay Area. This is Rock the Bike's second year at Maker's Faire and this year we are producing the Pedal Powered Stage. With three human power generating bikes, we'll have enough power to get 200 people dancing. We have a great location at the Faire at it's been well promoted. Come down and enjoy it.

Here's the Saturday Night Lineup:

5:30-6:15 SHAKE YOUR PEACE! Sustainable Rock n' Roll.
6:30-7:30 Yacouba and the Spirit Gatherers. West African dance music.
Sunset 8:00-8:45 Fossil Fool, the Bike Rapper.

Here's the full line up:

Dave's new Bionx installation. Looks like it was made for it, huh?
Originally uploaded by Rock The Bike Dave gave me a chance to test the Bionx on his Jai Bike prototype. It has four assist settings. Even on the lowest one, "1", I felt a very solid boost.

"4" just made me laugh. It was so different from regular bicycling, I didn't know what to make of it. But Dave's analysis (and Todd's from Clever Cycles) is that the electric assist is more for carrying heavy loads up hills than 'cheating' on the flats.

The problem is that once you have the 18 pound Bionx system installed on your rig, it will feel, well, 18 pounds slower unless you use the boost. So you'll probably end up boosting all the time. The battery is easy to remove, but not the hub motor, obviously.