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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Thinking About Cities 7 months, 3 weeks ago · View
Though I’ve lived in many different places over the course of my life, they have been mostly in Europe. Within the US my travels have been limited to the East Coast, and my trip to Las Vegas for Interbike was the first time I’d ventured west of Pennsylvania. Popular culture is saturated with images of Vegas, and [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Vintage French Redux 7 months, 3 weeks ago · View
Here is a bike tinkerer’s parlour game for you: Assemble a complete bicycle using whatever wayward frame and spare parts happen to be in your possession at the moment. You can’t go out and buy anything – not even cables or bolts. And you have exactly one evening. What would you come up with? The Co-Habitant [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Copenhagen, City of Bicycles: the Book 7 months, 3 weeks ago · View
When the Bicycle Quarterly Press asked me to review Copenhagen, City of Bicycles , I could not help but wonder what this book could offer that the world of bicycle blogs has not already familiarised us with. In 2007 a certain Mr. Colville Andersen flung open a virtual window into the pedaling soul of the small Scandinavian city with Copenhagenize [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Cross-Pollination 7 months, 3 weeks ago · View
There has been an increasing trend for “cross-pollination” lately between bicycle makers that specialise in transportation vs sport. Every mainstream manufacturer at Interbike seemed to have a step-through city bike on display , and custom builders known for catering to the racing crowd have come out with commuter models as well (the Independent Fabrications Caffeine Racer being one extreme example worth [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: The Weight Sneaks Up on You 7 months, 3 weeks ago · View
Cycling along the Charles River last week, I stopped to enjoy the scenery and eat an apple, when a smiling couple approached me. They had seen a bike like mine at Harris Cyclery and the woman was considering getting one. She asked to have a closer look and examined it with admiration.But her smile quickly fell when [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: On Bicycle Reviews 8 months, 2 weeks ago · View
Once in a while I get an email from someone who bought a bicycle after reading positive things about it on this blog, only to discover that I also had other, more critical posts about the very same bike. When this happens it is only natural that the reader feels some degree of betrayal, and that [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: What’s the Difference? 8 months, 3 weeks ago · View
When the Randonneur collaboration bike was in my possession (it has now been shipped to its owner), for about a month I alternated between riding it and my own Rivendell in attempts to compare them . When I mention the very idea of comparing these bikes I tend to get completely polarised reactions. To some they look identical: lugged frames, [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Going to Interbike 8 months, 3 weeks ago · View
So, it’s official: I will be at Interbike Tuesday through Thursday this week, courtesy of BoxCycles and the Nordic Bike Project (booth #1136). The Bella Ciao Superba will be there as well, which is probably the only time she will be displayed outside Boston. The idea of Interbike is completely surreal to me. I have never been to a large-scale trade show [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: In the Raw 8 months, 3 weeks ago · View
During a recent visit to Harris Cyclery I had a rather emotional encounter with a creature I had not seen in some time – a Brompton bicycle in raw lacquer. The raw lacquer finish was offered as a standard choice when we were first considering Bromptons several years ago. And then – bang, it was suddenly unavailable. I forget [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Frames of Mind: Why Did We Not Cycle? 8 months, 3 weeks ago · View
There has been a great deal of talk about the recent English study that urges policy makers to ignore the views of experienced cyclists and bicycle activists when designing infrastructure, and to focus instead on the views of those who don’t cycle. The idea is that answering the question “Why don’t they?” will provide greater insight into what [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Embracing Wrinkles 8 months, 3 weeks ago · View
One question I am often asked about cycling to work, is how to avoid wrinkles on business and formal attire. I don’t have many pictures of myself dressed up, but I do cycle in suits and dresses that fall into the business/ formal category. And rather than avoid wrinkles, I tend to choose clothing that either [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Reunited 8 months, 3 weeks ago · View
After what seems like ages, beloved Patrizia has finally returned to me. This is my personal Bella Ciao bicycle that has undergone many customisations and served as the “Superba” prototype guineapig. Having spent months in various states of disassembly, she then endured a long stay at the rack-maker’s workshop – all without a word of complaint. And now [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: The Art of the Ride Report: a Touring Bicycle Give-Away 9 months ago · View
Thinking about the best way to give away the refurbished vintage touring bike “for women who fear roadbikes,” I kept coming back to the connection between cycling and the Ride Report. If you’ve spent any time browsing blogs and websites about bicycles, you are no doubt familiar with the genre. While at its most basic level, a [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: If a Branch Falls in a Forest… 9 months ago · View
On the day after Irene we had beautiful weather and I went for a 40 mile ride on the Seven roadbike that I scandalously still have on loan (and will soon be reviewing). Though a preliminary cleanup of the roads had already taken place, branches and other debris were still scattered in some areas and I thought the [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Gritty to Pretty: the Lovely Donation Bike! 9 months ago · View
I am pleased to report that the refurbished vintage donation touring bike – also known as “the roadbike for women who fear roadbikes” – is ready! As often happens with these things, the project took longer than I anticipated. In the end we did not have time to put the bicycle together ourselves, and I entrusted [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: A Ride with Irene 9 months ago · View
And so we have weathered the storm. Here in Boston, the general attitude toward Hurricane/ Tropical Storm Irene has mostly been one of sarcasm. Sure, there was some anxiety – stocking up on water and that sort of thing. But for the most part it’s been a collective rolling of the eyes, a general feeling that [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: C’est un… Hurricane? 9 months ago · View
image via arteauto Apparently there is a hurricane scheduled for this weekend on the East Coast! I hope everybody is safe and prepared. Despite the weather, the D2R2 is on and happening right now as I understand. Sadly I am not there, but I wish the best of luck to all who went and I eagerly await their accounts of [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Side Street or Main Street? 9 months, 1 week ago · View
Cycling in greater Boston, I alternate between routes that take me along busy roads and routes that take me through quiet side streets. Each option leaves something to be desired. The busy roads are, well, busy – lots of car traffic, lots of action, lots of chaos. But they do seem to have enough room for [...] -
Lovely Bicycle post a new link: Bella Ciao Superba: Ready and Available! 9 months, 1 week ago · View
Fashionably late and appropriately glamorous, the Bella Ciao Superba is here! I was nervous up till the moment I saw it, but the bicycle is perfect. The pre-ordered bikes should be off to their owners very soon.
To recap for new readers, this is the result of a collaboration between myself and Bella Ciao , and you can read about [...]
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Lovely Bicycle post a new link: In the Swing of Things 9 months, 1 week ago · View
I am still trying to get back into the swing of things since having returned to the city . I expected to have a good internet connection while I was away, but this turned out not to be the case. So I now have a backlog of work to deal with and it’s a bit overwhelming. Also overwhelming – [...]
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