Kryptonite In Another Top 10

Excuse us while we do a little crowing! Just in time for summer travel season (yes, there's still time despite the fact that Back To School ads have already begun to air) the Kryptonite R4 retractable cable lock received a great plug in a New York Times Frugal Traveler blog. Check it out http://frugaltraveler.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/top-10-travel-gadgets-under-50/

Back to the Future, Antique Chainless Bicycle!

This is a very cool bit of news that I just found on Bicycle Newswire and decided there was too much good stuff not to share the whole announcement with you....

A lone surviving copy of a bicycle from another era, a chainless 3-speed relic manufactured in early 1900, has been recovered and is being restored; called "The Hill-Climber," it was the first multi-speed bicycle to be produced in America. A bicycle believed to be the first production model in America to employ multiple-speed gear ratios has been found and is being restored to original condition. When found, only the patented gear-changing mechanism was still attached to the rusty frame. A nationwide search for replacement parts and information about the company that produced it has been undertaken.

Before this discovery, the first-known production multi-speed bicycle was marketed under the Columbia brand in 1903. It featured a two-speed "kickback" hub, and was also a chainless bicycle. The story of "The Hill-Climber" has recently been published in a book titled "Restoration." It is available on the Amazon-affiliate website Createspace at https://www.createspace.com/3382245

The inventor of this 3-speed bicycle, Peter J. Scharbach, called it "The Hill-Climber." It was originally produced by Scharbach/Hoerth and Company in San Francisco in 1902. Research shows that the company also tried to produce an early automobile. It is not known how many of these bicycles were sold during its production years from 1902-1904. Chainless bicycles are manufactured today by a few companies, but the product form is not widely known to bicyclists.

The surviving Hill-Climber, a frame with a shaft-drive (like an automobile) instead of a chain, has three bevel gears at the rear wheel, and shift linkage to change speed ratios. It was stored in the basement of a retired dairy farmer outside of Pe Ell, WA, after spending most of its life on his farm junk pile. His father, John K. Muller, and many residents of the area invested in a manufacturing company formed with the inventor in late 1903. Assembly operations were moved from San Francisco to Chicago in early 1904. Mysteriously, all their investment was gone by the end of the year, and the company folded.

A descendant of the inventor was found living in Arizona. His great-grandfather was a blacksmith, inventor and entrepreneur whose patent for the chainless bicycle is still being referenced today. Remnants of the bicycle business are a few surviving photographs taken at a product roll-out event in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, c.1902. An advertising flyer, and other surviving documentation, was found in the possession of relatives of John K. Muller.

The bicycle is scheduled to be on display at the 32nd Annual LeMay Auto Collection show August 29, 2009, near Tacoma, WA. For details go to http://www.lemaymuseum.org

More information about the bicycle, its restoration, and its place in history can be found at http://www.fusionstudios.com/hill-climber.

You Say Commuter, I Say Urbanista

Well, this weekend, hubby and I got in a bit of riding and it was absolutely great! He's a happy camper riding his new bike, sporting a Kryptonite lock, bien sur...a beautiful Opus urbanista. If you're not familiar with it, check it out...www.opusbike.com. Sorry, can't find 'em too easily in the States yet, but hopefully our neighbor to the north will decide to change that in the near future because they are lovely bikes to ride!

Warm sun on our faces and a nice breeze at our backs (most of the time!). Of course, today there are a few sore muscles in places that I'd forgotten and a longing for some new cycling gear that I hadn't thought much about in the depths of the soggy month of June. But, I wouldn't trade those things for the world. Happy Days!

Freight Trains of the Atlantic

by Roby Holland (aka the Old Man in the Sea)

For those of you who don't know I have an obsession for fishing. In the last couple of years I have honed my skills targeting Stripers and Bluefish in and around Duxbury MA. This year a friend and I decided to make a go at some Bluefin Tuna on Stellwagon Bank which is about 17 nm from Duxbury Bay.

We headed out at 5:30am towards the grounds with some iffy weather. The total trip took us 35 mins and the seas were between 2 to 3 ft. Once at the location we hooked up the bait and let them swim. It was only about 5 minutes till the first fish took the bait. It was a very large and strong Bluefish, that once brought boat side, broke thru the 80lbs floro leader and took off. Next two fish were Stripers and were both between 25 and 30lbs respectively. We hung around for a while longer with some hits but not the type of hits we were looking for, so we moved into deeper water.

Once we made it to deeper water our luck changed. The bird activity picked up to a frantic pace and the water began to come alive. Baits in the water, it was time to wait for a hook up and we did not have to wait long. My friend's bait disappeared in a wash of white foam and his line began to peel off his reel faster than anything I had ever witnessed before. We had hooked a Tuna!!! I put the boat in gear and began to chase down the fish, with my buddy reeling as fast as he could, but it wasn't long before we realized that this was a large Tuna. Once we were on the Tuna my friend began to try to muscle it in with no luck. The fish pinned him to the rail of the boat and only let him stand up to get some line when it wanted him to. After about 20 minutes of fighting, the rod was passed over to me. It wasn't until I had full control or thought I had full control of the rod that I realized how powerful these fish are. I consider myself to be in fairly good shape and this fish would not let me gain any ground on him at the beginning of the battle. I would try to stand and lean into the rod to get some line only to be pulled back down to the rail with authority. It was thrilling to say the least, until our luck began to change. I noticed that the reel began to move to the side of the rod as I reeled and I tried to tighten up the seat with no luck. The fish had started to break the rod and so the fight became more difficult. We began to gain some ground on the fish and knew we were getting close to getting this fish boat side, or so we thought. The fish began to give me a tour of my boat (literally) pinned to the rail he it went starboard aft, I went starboard aft and then back up to the bow of the boat. It made a quick dart around the bow as I lifted the rod, the line caught on the bow eye and SNAPPED!!!!! That's it….. as fast as it started it was gone. The ride back was a nasty painful hour and half ride into 4ft+ swells. It gave us plenty of time to understand what had just happen. We had hooked on to the freight train of the Atlantic.

Here are three pic from my adventure. First one is where I think I have the upper hand, second is where I know I don't and third is where I'm wondering if it was a wise choice to go after a fish that potentially weighs 1/3 of my boats capacity! Good times had by all…even the tuna.

P.S. Bluefin are a highly fished species. Please do your part to only harvest fish you need and return the rest for another day.
Cheers Roby

15 Bike Friendly Cities

From my Wend Magazine twitter follow....check out 15 bike friendly cities article before you make your summer holiday plans...http://matadortrips.com/the-worlds-15-most-bike-friendly-cities/. Remember both your helmet and your lock, preferrably a Kryptonite lock!

Happy Tax Day!

Oh boy, its been way too long since last post...but appropriate that I break the fast with a comment on civil disobedience. Will be interesting to see how the Teabag demonstrations planned for today will be covered by the media. Sitting in Boston, home of the original Teabag demonstration, this issue is especially poignant. Wonder how things would have turned out if the original civil disobedients had ridden bikes away from the scene of the action? Happy Tax Day, All!

Spring Is Here!

Despite what that furry little Punx, Phil may have wanted us to believe, we've turned the corner to Spring! How do I know? A good friend of Kryptonite, saw his shadow, while taking a ride this weekend. Rejoice! We made in through another winter!!!

(photo courtesy of Neil McDaid)

Gentlemen Start Your...Pedal Stroke??

Was just reading about how Roller Racing is gaining momentum (no pun intended)! For those of us in chilly, clammy climates, more bike shops and riding clubs..and bars looking to sell more beers...are hosting regular roller racing events for good causes (Kryptonite's been there) or good laughs watching some poor individual turn purple going nowhere fast. There are a bunch of software options to give racers choices of ride experiences. So, who needs CO, AZ, CA scenery to enjoy riding?

High Rollin' Weekend

For all you scooter owners/lovers in the vicinity of Las Vegas on weekend of March 19th, join the fun of the 10th Anniversary High Rollers Weekend bash! This promises to be a wild weekend with a scooter build-off and plenty of other ways to show off or get into a little innocent trouble. You might even be one of the lucky folks to go home with a shiny new Kryptonite lock for your scooter, being raffled to support the event.

For more information about

the event check out http://www.highrollersweekend.com/2009/info/index.html

Let the Good Deeds Roll!

Our congrats to Providence, RI based Recycle-A-Bike, for a successful Roller Race benefit which attracted riders from all walks of life last week. Although the Friday the 13th date was a coincidence, you can see from the pictures that some of the roller-racers looked pretty scarey after they finished their turn! The prospect of winning a Kryptonite lock and raising money for such a good cause transformed them into monster riders...>> Check out the pictures.

So much for my bad puns...here are a few words about the event from our friend Maggie who coordinated, along with other tireless volunteers...

Bike riders and advocates, messengers and occasional riders, men and women of all ages converged on the night of Friday the 13th for Providence's first Roller Races, a benefit for Recycle-a-Bike. With upwards of a hundred people cheering, each racer chose his or her opponent and faced off for a 500m sprint, lasting at best 22 seconds. 42 racers, one broken bike, and multiple raffles later, top times in women's and men's raced for the finals. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our community bike collective, thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors, and thanks to all the volunteers who helped make Recycle-a-Bike the true winner of the evening! If you missed this one, don't worry; there will be more in the future. If you'd like to help make this happen, Recycle-a-Bike is always in need of new volunteers. Stay tuned; spring is coming.

A New Meaning for the Phrase Cycle Track

I'm a little behind schedule with posts, as you can see. Just returned from the 2009 Power Sport Dealer Expo in Indianapolis. While it seemed that attendance was a little lighter than in recent years, the people who were there were definitely interested in doing business. The power sport dealers we talked to are trying to focus on the 92% of the people who are still employed rather than the 8% who are not - what a refreshing perspective compared to the gloom and doom too frequently presented by the media!

So, here's a belated tidbit found by Eric Anastasia, National Sales Manager, on a recent trip to Portland, OR... I was out on the Left coast in Portland Oregon last week visiting one of our distributors Cyclone Bicycle Supply. While I was there I picked up the local newspaper (Portland Tribune) to read over breakfast and I came across an interesting article about how they are enhancing their bike paths in the city. The project that they spoke about was appealing because instead of putting in bike lanes they were putting in a raised platform. It seems pretty smart because the ‘cycle track’ as they call it will be on its own level and the cars will be one level lower. Then one level higher than the ‘cycle track” will be the sidewalks that will be separated by planters. Take a look at the image that I scanned from the article and if you want to read for yourself here is the link. http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=123378662118319800

Before signing out, I'd like to congratulate Eric and his wife Cheryl on the birth of their first son and newest Team Kryptonite member yesterday morning! Eric had just arrived home from the trade show when they turned around and left for the hospital. Talk about amazing timing...

Trash to Treasure!

Crash, boom, trashed wheel, bent rim, ouch...here's how to look at that crumpled metal mess and see it repurposed as a thing of beauty! Check out http://www.bikefurniture.com/

Super Sunday, or Why Do They Have to Start Pre-Game Show at 9am??!!?

AAARRRREEEE you ready for some
FFOOOOTTTTBAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL????????????????????
Sorry, couldn't resist...if you're so inclined to be watching "the game" this weekend, hope your team gives you something to cheer about! But, if not, there's always the half-time show and the commercials to look forward to.

Winter Adventure

by R-

Plenty of snow around here; we got almost 2 feet from 2 storms in 2 days. If you can’t have an outdoor adventure, have an indoor one. My great adventure of choice is reading...the best way to exercise the gray matter! I can go back in time or to other worlds. I can walk with famous people of the past, or visit someone’s idea of the future. If the story is scary enough I can get my heart rate up as successfully as any other aerobic workout. Rain, snow, sleet and wind can not keep me from my unbreakable bond with reading.

So, if you can’t get outside for your adventure; pull up a chair, add marshmallows to the hot chocolate and grab a good book.

Wishing all bloggers and readers of the blog a safe, healthy and Happy Holiday Season!

Kids Don't Try This At Home

Those of you who know Rob Z., our Director of Engineering, know that he's a guy who is quite comfortable in the woods, spending his free time expending a lot of energy in very cold temperatures. One of his latest projects is no exception. Rob, and a few other hearty souls, agreed to help a good friend raise a barn on his NH property. This is no prefab wonder - it is the real deal post and beam...complete with pegs the size of a large man's thumbs and constructed from tools you won't find at the local orange or blue big box hardware store. Here are a few shots of the work in progress...it is going to be a thing of beauty when all done. If you wondered where Rob got the strength to maul products the way he does when he's doing destruction testing, this should give you a clue...

Bike2Work

Three cheers for the latest UK/US collaboration! Two cycling mavens written about before in our blog, Carlton Reid and Tim Grahl, have completed their book, Bike to Work, and to borrow their words, it is a page-flippin' beauty! To download a free 50 page sampler , go to http://tinyurl.com/Bike2Work. Once you do, I bet you won't be able to wait for the full 250 page version due out at the end of December.

Look Good, Stay Safe While Riding

I've seen too many cyclists and runners almost become hood ornaments lately because they have earbuds in and aren't paying attention to the sounds of traffic around them. At least they don't have to ill-combine with someone's bumper because they didn't see the car coming up behind them with these cool new Nike Hindsight glasses, spotted in Trend Hunter. The glasses are designed with a lense that gives the wearer 250 degree view versus the standard 180 degree view that most glasses give. And, you don't even have to turn your head...think about it - no need to give away the fact that you're staring at that good-looking person you just went past! Wear them and ride safely!

iThink iCan iThink iCan

Car and Driver reports that Steve Jobs recently met with VW CEO Martin Winterkorn to talk about the possibility of an iCar! How wild would that be?? I wonder if you'd have to send the car back to Apple when it was time to change the battery, like your iPod?

Let's see if there's talk soon of an iBike or iCycle...

Can You Say Road Trip??

Back from my desert vacation (which was wonderful, thank you!) just in time to learn that the US Bicycle Route System project, which has been not much more than a vision for the past four years has become a reality! For more information about this advocacy triumph check out www.adventurecycling.org/usbrs . (Nice to read about something uplifting for a change...) Just think, if this project is fully executed we could have as many as 50,000 miles of an interstate cycling route network. How's that for a road trip?!?

bEautiful!

Take a look at this new E-bike reviewed in the Wired blog....nice!....http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/10/review-a2b-elec.html

Oh, and, nice anti-theft strategy being employed by the owner...:-)