I thought I'd post a few photos that some might find interesting. The first few are from last Sunday's farmer's market in Washington DC. There were some interesting bikes there.
Here is a neat grocery bike:
A Bridgestone with Honjo fenders:
SmartBikes, like the Velibs in Paris, for your senators and congressmen to ride to work:
Gratuitous chicken photo by Alec:
Marty sent some photos of his Bombadil which has a couple of interesting features. Those are VO Zeppelin fenders, which look great over the 40mm tires. And he did a neat job adapting an old Blackburn rack to fit on the front.
John sent this great photo of Zeppelin fenders he polished, 20 minutes per fender with Simichrome. The rest of the bike is pretty nice too.
20 February, 2009
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35 comments:
The Bombadil is over the top but fun. The VO fenders look great on it.
Nice chicken!
I don't like the finish on the chicken. I might be interested if it were highly polished.
Also, the stem is too high.
That's quite the 'kick'stand on the grocery bike.
And I really like the Phil Oil holder on the Bombadil.
What's the black object on the Bridgestone's seat tube?
I like to run a wider chicken.
Check out those nuggets.
The object on the seat tube is a chicken holder. Keeps your new (or old, I suppose) chicken from getting loose on the ride, but positions it within easy reach from the saddle. They're very handy, but you don't often see them on this side of the Pacific.
Is it me, or does the beautiful hen look like it's in too small a cage? And why is she in a cage to begin with at an urban farmers market? I thought the DC farmers markets have rules on only allowing organic cage free hens. Chris- did you report this to the farmers market management? Was the hen bought to be senselessly slaughtered for someones dinner?
There are some very real concerns about the sustainability of meat in our diet, how it impacts our planet, the workers, and the sentient beings we eat.
How horrible, chickens in bondage. Where's PETA when you need them?
jimmythefly - child seat mount. Looks like a Hamax.
it's obvious the hen is Chinese.
The chicken was at the market as part of a program to allow rural chickens to experience the cultural benefits of Washington DC, museums, monuments, theater, etc.
By the way that's an egg laying chicken, not a nugget chicken.
A chick with no helmet? Mon dieu.
jimmythefly said:
"What's the black object on the Bridgestone's seat tube?"
It's for choking the chicken...
If you come again, you'll see my Xtracycle with a spanking-new VO sprung seat. Merry Christmas for my butt.
How's that Velib program working out?
What kind of fender-mounted taillight
is that on the Bridgestone? I like
the looks of it.
Preston
You know, when I first saw the Bombadil on the Riv site, I thought, "That would make a super heavy-duty city bike." Apparently I wasn't alone in this.
I think the stem on the chicken is adjustable. And the finish would probably buff out nicely with a little simichrome and some elbow grease.
> How's that Velib program working out?
I'm more interested in the Pouletlib program they've got going on down there.
The owner of the Bleriot chose a frame size about 4cm too small. Look at that ridiculous stem.
And those Honjos on the Bridgestone - what a waste. You could fit a fist between the rear tyre and the mudguard.
The chicken however, is perfectly proportioned.
Au contraire, mon frere! Observe the puny crest, the pronounced underbite, the too-small feathers. The owner of this chicken has no idea how foolish he looks on it!
I think that's a Jitensha sourced tail light. Two versions, one batter and the other not.
I've been looking for an alloy tailight. Shaped like a chicken, but anodized a really dark greay- not highly polished.
The Bombadil is a pretty bike but the twin top tube is a deal breaker - totally unnecessary and does nothing but add weight and probably makes the ride less lively as well. I know Grant claims this bike was meant for ruff stuff and that's why the dbl tt was spec'd but c'mon... most early steel mtb's are still in service and are nearly indestructible. Just a bit too much form over function for my taste.
cluck,cluck,cluck!
Why did the chicken cross the road? It really wanted to check out those shiny fenders!
Regarding the Bleriot: The bike actually fits my girlfriend fine, with minimal standover height. The reason for the extra-long stem is that she is very used to a city bike with an upright riding position.
I've been slowly lowering the stem so that eventually the handlebars will be just above the seat. I agree that long stems look ridiculous!
I like the Bleriot as it is with high handlebar. What size is it?
On the Bleriot again, what is the size of the tires? I really like how they complement the frame.
The Bleriot is 51 cm; it's a 650B bike, and the tires are Rivendell Nifty-Swifties, 33 mm.
Re the Bleriot, I have Albatross bars on mine with barend shifters. Allows more upright posture with optional hand positions. Your GF might like that as well.
Thanks for the answers on the Bleriot. I hope you don't mind another one. Does it have toe-clip-overlap (TCO)? The reason I am asking is if this 51cm does not have TCO, I will get one. Thanks.
I do not have toe clips on this bike, but it looks like there might be a little overlap. It would be better to ask Dick at Country Bike Shop (where I got the bike) these questions; he has the last few Bleriot frames in stock, if you're set on a Bleriot. You can find them online. Plus they can add VO bits if you request.
I believe, though, that with any reasonable geometry toe clip overlap is inevitable in a frame that small.
The Bleriot definitely has TCO in 51cm size. I know because I own one. And that was with 160mm cranks.
Hi Jimmythefly,
the black object is the bracket for a Hamax child seat. This way you can pop the seat in and out.
And the taillight is the highly recommendable motion and light sensor activated battery light sold by Jitensha Studio.
Re the Bridgestone: I have the little Jitensha taillight on a bike and it's superb. Starts blinking automatically when it gets dark and the bike is moving. The batteries seem to last forever; mine is 2.5 years old and never had a battery change.
The only thing really bad about the design is that when you put your bike on a car rack at night, the light blinks the whole time. There really should be a switch to turn it off. Otherwise, this product would seem to be hands-down winner.
Does anyone know if the Chicken has toe-clip overlap ?
P.S. - The Bleriot looks mighty stupid with the bars that high. Why not just get a pair of Sting-Ray ape hanger bars and be done with it ?
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