I thought folding bikes were the most epic city bike due to it’s small, transportable size.  Could this new concept bike from J.Ruiter be the next major trend in dense cities, crowded trains or even airplanes?

Upon first glance, there are any number of elements that make this bike “sick”.  The look is sleek, simple and artistic.  It has a single disc brake and a suspension fork in the front.  It appears to run on 29″ rims with city tires.  Platform pedals mean you can roll your Chuck Taylor’s or your Hush Puppies.

Once all of the coolness wears off, I can’t help get to the functional elements of this bike.   In all fairness, this is purely a concept bike, but I think that the seat might be uncomfortable to men and women riding further than a few blocks at a time.  Additionally, the cranks are strangely similar to a unicycle; short.  The pedaling of such short cranks would make any city dweller sweat through their business or hipster outfits.  That’s a lot of work to look cool.

One of the great things about this bike is that commuters that don’t want to do a cab, need to ride a train or want to carry a smaller lock will be super happy with a bike like this.  What’s more, I could see this bike being easily stored in the smallest of apartments in Mahattan, San Francisco or Tokyo.

The makers of this bike are a design firm based in Michigan called J.Ruiter. Apparently they specialize in all things cool.  They like to push the boundaries of design, manufacturing and prototyping.  And you thought Michigan was filled with hunters, ice and flannel shirts.  Firms like J.Ruiter are here to show us their other, creative side.

What pros and cons do you see?  How would you improve it?

Now that the original hipsters are nearly extinct, neo-hipsters are rejoicing after learning that Urban Outfitters is now a distributor of Republic custom fixed gear bikes.  Now every teenager can complete their uniform and ride a colorful bike to match their neon Nike high-tops.

Urban Outfitters has been known for bringing urban trends to the mainstream for over a decade.  They’ve made a wise business decision to begin selling custom fixed gear bikes made by Republic bikes.  Not only are they making the trendy fixed gear bike available to the public, they are pricing it to sell at $399.  That is a steal.

The Urban Outfitter fixed gear is available in many bright colors and comes complete with a fixed/free flip flop hub and a front brake.  The bike is called the Aristotle and is available in 3 sizes:  52cm, 54cm and 59cm.  What does that mean?  Well, it means that if you are under 5′3″ and over 6′3″ you are screwed.  Here are the parts of the bike that can customize:

• seat/saddle
• hand grips
• rims
• chain
• frame

Like purchasing clothing online, the site displays a sizing chart.  I think that one of the sweetest things about this whole debacle is that the shipping is so cheap.  At $34 per bike, veteran bike shippers are picking up their jaws from the ground.  Nobody can ship a bike that cheaply.  Another important note is that you’ll have to do some minor assembly after you receive the bike.  Currently the wait time for bikes is approximately 7 days.

Germany makes tasty beer.  The people are great and love David Hasslehoff.  Overall, they are direct, receive tons of vacation time and create sweet ideas like the bike carrier for commuter trains.  USA cities, like Los Angeles, better get out their notes pads.

Commuting via train with a bike is probably one of the most difficult things to do in Los Angeles when riding the MTA lines.  Between waiting to get your cell phone stolen from a bunch of gangsters that didn’t even purchase train tickets and watching a girl try and stab a boy with a steak knife on the platform of Wilmington Rosa Parks Station, it very difficult to balance a bike in tighlty packed cars.  The space where one can position a bike is the very space that all of the moms with strollers compete for positioning.  It’s tough going.

If the MTA slapped one of these big metal platforms onto their trains, commuter life in LA would be so much easier and we’d most likely see more people riding the train with their bikes.  That means more cash for the MTA.  Are you hearing this, MTA?

People that ride bikes know that that riding through the ports to get to and from the South Bay from Long Beach is a death sentence.  Others that want to ride from downtown LA to Long Beach or Norwalk know all too well that their loved ones would never see them again.  That leaves cars or dodgey trains.

It would be great if a city like Los Angeles and the MTA organization considered adding a few of these to trains.  What are your thoughts?  Would you like to see one of these on a train in LA?  I know I would.

If you’ve been paying attention to discussion boards, conversations in coffee shops and Craigslist you’ll know that the theft of fixed gear bikes (and other bikes, for that matter) has skyrocketed.  Jackings are on the rise.  You want to prevent bike theft; especially your ride?  Here’s how.

Let’s get this out of the way first, however.  I’m no Colombo or official authority.  If your sick-ass one-of-a-kind keirin frameset that was 1 of 30 made on  the international space station gets included on that tried and true 5 finger discount, I shall not take responsibility.

Step 1

Get a decent U-lock and 7” cable from Kryptonite (or some other company).  Recently, I’ve noticed that some companies are selling combos that include both.  I shove the U-Lock in my back pocket and wrap the uncoiled cable around my torso like Pancho Villa.

Step 2

Get a bike.  Ride it.  Place it next to a pole or bike rack so that you can lock it up.  If the pole is too fat, your small U-lock may not fit around it.  I use poles narrower than a parking meter pole.  If you have a bigger U-Lock you’ll have more pole options than a stripper.

Step 3

Run the cable around your rim AND around your frame.  Then run one end of the cable through the other end’s loop.  I always run the cable through the  “10 o’clock” position of the wheel.

Step 4

Wrap that cable around pole and through the “3 o’clock” position of your rear rim.  There are a few ways to do this.  I keep it simple and do it this way.  (NOTE:  if you don’t follow Step 5 (below) exactly how it is photographed, then doing step 4 this way may get your bike stolen…especially if you are using a parking meter pole.)

Step 5

Open the U-lock and ensure that it is wrapped around the pole, your seat tube AND through the loop of your cable.  All 3 are key.

Step 6

Come back to find that your bike is still there after you’ve sucked down 4 coffees at your local spot.

It sucks that so many people are getting their bikes stolen.  Fixed gear bikes are getting stolen by the ton.    Fixed riders are more at risk than other riders.  Think about it.  Road and triathlon riders never lock their bikes up when running errands.  They keep bikes in living room or garage and only ride to do training rides.

Protect yourselves and encourage your local police force to add a “Track Frame” or “Fixed Gear”  category to their stolen bike questionnaire when people have to file a report.

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