Author Archives: Rob

About Rob

Bike trail and long distance cyclist and publisher of about-bicycles.com

Good Bike Accessory Sale at Performance (but not everything)

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I was at our local Performance Bike store yesterday and saw that they were having a sale. When I was working on this site and checking prices online, I also saw that the Performance Bike website has huge banners about the sale that is going on now (thru Sunday 6/26) also.  

I always try to find out when the higher end bikes for sale on this site are on sale at Performance, so I checked the prices some of our bikes and found that they were still the same.

So my point here is that there is a good sale going on at Performance Bike right now, but it is not on everything (as the banner says, since most of the bikes are not on sale). There are quite a few Bike Accessories on sale at Performance right now though.

See the Performance Bike links on our Bike Accessories page for more info and to check out this sale.

Note: The Performance Bike site slows down a little, due to all of the additional website traffic when they have  one of these sales, so be patient…

Elliptical Bike Reviews

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We now have a whole new and exciting category of bikes available thanks to a need and some good old fashioned yankee ingenuity!  Elliptigo’s Outdoor Elliptical Bikes are now being manufacured and sold online and at selected retail outlets.

Elliptigo Elliptical Bicycles

These machines can truely be called “bikes” or “bicycles” (they have 2 wheels and are self propelled) but they are really quite different than just about any other bike that has come before them. Elliptical Bikes use the same design as indoor Elliptical Trainers but the pedals are attached to the bike crank, chain, gears and wheel of a bicycle to allow you to get an excellent aerobic Elliptical Trainer/ Running style of workout – outdoors!

I had an opportunity to ride and review the Elliptigo Elliptical Bikes recently and have just posted a couple of reviews on these new machines. See the Elliptigo 8C Review and Elliptigo 3C review for the details.

Overall, these bikes are very easy to ride and provide an excellent, low impact, runner style workout. These bikes are especially well suited for cross training but I can see how some people may even like this kind of bike just for the excitement of trying something completely new and different and/or for casual trips around town. 

I was very impressed with the Elliptigo Elliptical Bikes and I think that we will be starting to see a lot more of these around very soon!

Best Annual Bike Sale, 15% off Bikes at REI

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It’s that time of year again and REI is having what I believe is one of it’s best sales of the year so I am adding a quick post here to get the word out. 

REI is currently having it’s Anniversary sale and offering 15% off on all full price bikes Through May 30th. REI sells bikes from: Cannondale, Raleigh, Electra, Marin and Novara, Burley, Dahon, Ellsworth, GT, K2, Kona, Scott, and more.

See: Our Online Bikes Stores page for a quick, easy link to Bikes at REI. The columns on each side of this page (and all of our bike review pages) have the bikes (including REI bikes) that we have reviewed on this site.

Wireless Bike Computer (speedometer) Information (and tricks)

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I really like my Vetta wireless bike computer that I have had for 6 years now and over the years I have learned a few things about bike computers and specifically about wireless models that I thought I would take a moment to pass along here. 

Bike Computer

Vetta Wireless Bike Computer

If you’ve visited the  Bike Computers page on this site or some of the other related bike electronics pages (like the Bike GPS page, etc.), then you know that I am really into bike electronics and I think these things are fantastic. I can’t imagine riding without one anymore. Actually when I’ve had problems with my cycle computer, I usually end up postponing my ride until I get it working again.

I had a regular wired Vetta for 15 years (when bike computers (cyclocomputers as they are sometimes called) were first coming out as we know them today). This computer still worked after 15 years but the fork mount was a specific size (not the tie wraps that most use these days) and when I got my new bike it would not fit on the fork so I had to replace it.

So 6 years ago I bought my then new wireless bike computer and it is still working but I have had a couple of problems that I thought that I would mention.

First of all, what I like about the wireless models is the installation is even easier than wired models (which aren’t that hard either), the cleaner look (no dangling wires) and no fragile wires to break (and splice back together (which does seem to happen occasionally no matter how careful you are).

What I don’t like about wireless models are that they do take more batteries and more battery power. In addition to the computer battery itself there is the battery in the transmitter on the fork and, if you get the cadence model (which I did) there is the battery on the transmitter on the crank.  Also, the computer itself (the head unit) may still look like it has power because it has enough power for the display and functions but it may not have enough power to pick up the signal. So I have had to replace the head unit battery even though it still looked like it had power.

I started having a problem with my bike computer about a year ago where it would stop working (not receive a signal)  intermittently even after I replaced all of the batteries. I actually thought it was time for a new one when I discovered a little trick that has been working ever since I had this problem.  

Of course, I would check the alignment of the transmitter on the fork and the magnet on the spokes and make sure that they were perfectly lined up and as close to each other as possible but this did not always get it working again. What I discovered is that if I move the transmitter so that it actually hits the magnet on the wheel (you hear a little click each time the magnet passes the transmitter) it would start working again and then I would just lean over and pull it back just enough so it no longer hit as it went by and bam! it kept working!

It just seems like the transmitter might just need to be tapped a little to wake it up or something. Of course, this may not work in all cases, but this has worked for me for well over a year now and it works every time so if you have a similar problem it may be worth a shot (unless you really just want a new bike computer… or better yet GPS unit).

Bike Trails, Photos and Magazine Article in Competitor Magazine

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Competitor Magazine May 2011

Competitor Magazine May 2011 - Cover Photo Competitor Group, Inc.

First off, I want to thank all of you out there that have visited the bike trail pages on this site and have made these pages and photos so popular (Google knows about this stuff, of course). The bike trail pages (Chicago area) get a very large amount of website traffic.

Busse Woods Bike Trail

Busse Woods Photo in May 2011 issue of Competitor magazine

Next, I wanted to mention that I had another bike trail photo posted in another hard copy magazine. I believe that this is a national magazine and it is distributed at sports shops, running stores and cycling stores.

The magazine is called Competitor and the photo from this site was published in the May 2011 issue with an article about Busse Woods on page 68. The Busse Woods Photo that was published is on the right and you can see the Busse Woods Bike Trail page and Photos here.

Unfortunately, I did not have my original digital copies of the photos of this trail when the writer asked for them so I had to send them the smaller versions that I had posted on the website. When they published the article they only included one photo and it was very small. I joked with friends how you would need a magnifying glass to see it. OK, it wasn’t really that small, but I really wish that I had the original digital copy!

After this article I was trying to remember the other bike trail articles and photos that were published in hard copy magazines and decided to put together a list for future reference. Here are the magazine articles published from this site (so far):

  • Competitor Magazine – May 2011 issue, Small photo only of Busse Woods
  • Way of the Wilds – Autumn 2010 Issue, An article about biking the Fox River Trail North – Edited and called “Places to Play” – got us a visit to Bill Kurtis’ House! (There is another blog entry about this one also).
  • Family Time Magazine June 2010 issue An article that I interviewed for for a local freebie magazine. “Bicycling, Just You and Your Family”
  • North Shore Magazine – June 2007 issue, Photo only – Green bay Trail

Oh yea, another fellow cyclist, Dale Kiffel,  who has contributed articles and quite a few photos to this site, has also gotten quite popular on our local weather channel (NBC (channel 5) in Chicago) and has had his 3 nature photos selected and broadcast with the weather segment of the NBC news in Chicago.

So I hope you enjoy the articles out here and even our (getting more popular) photos!

2011 Best Buy Exercise Bike Updates

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Although some of the more serious riders use their exercise bikes and indoor cycles all year long, for many people it’s  the time of year that that they move their exercise routines outdoors and the exercise bike shopping season is slowing down quite a bit.

Fortunately, for those of you who are in the market for an exercise bike now, many of the exercise bikes for sale online are now selling at greatly reduced prices.

OK, so that may not be big news for many of you, what I did want to mention is that I just reviewed the Best Buy Exercise Bikes page on this site and have made some changes to reflect the better prices and more popular exercise bikes for 2011.

Many of the models on the about-bicycles.com Best Buy Exercise Bike Page are still selling at very good prices and are still very popular with the visitors to this site, but there have been some changes that were made for 2011.

Here are the Best Buy changes that have been made for 2011:

  • The Schwinn Active Series 10 upright bike has been replaced by the Schwinn 120 as the Best Upright Exercise Bike for Under $200.
  • I have created a new category for the Best Upright – Indoor Cycle Under $300 and moved the Proform 290 SPX into this category.
  • The Schwinn 230 Recumbent bike has been replaced by the Schwinn 220 Recumbent in the Best Recumbent Exercise Bike $300-$500 category.

With this being the start of prime riding season, I really want to get out there and check out some of the latest bikes that are out there (online and in the stores) but I have also just reviewed a few more exercise bikes, including the Schwinn A20 and Livestrong LS07.0B.

One of my good friends, and an expert in fitness equipment, has offered to set up a meeting for me with his contact at Johnson Fitness in Madison, Wis to visit the plant and personally review the Livestrong LS07.0B, since this is where the Livestrong bikes and exercise equipment is manufactured. I am looking forward to that and will post the updates here after my visit.      

For now, it’s a pretty decent spring day and time to get out for some riding!

Great Springtime Bike Riding Tip

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OK, I have already written about this once before (back in 2009) but I have found this one small thing that you can do before a ride on what looks like a rainy day to be so simple and helpful that I just have to do an update and mention it one more time.

Check your Local Weather Radar before your ride. I have a “favorites” location added in my browser for the online weather radar specifically for my area and I set it to be animated when I go there, but you could also just go to the weather channel on TV for a quick update if you prefer. Weather Radar for Bike rides

This is the most helpful on cloudy days when it looks like it might rain or on days when the forecast is calling for rain. Often times it is just cloudy and there are no major rain clouds in the area or when the forcast says rain it might just be a very small percentage of a chance that it is really going to rain.

There are many days (such as just a few days ago) when it really looked like it was going to rain and I really wanted to get out and ride. Well, I checked the local radar on the internet and  saw that there was no major rain heading my within the last radar updates (usually 1/2 hour to an hour) so even if it sprinkled a little on my ride, I was very confident that I would at least not get soaked (and most of the time it did not even rain at all). If you need to check more time, for a longer ride, just zoom out for a wider view.

There are other times when I saw rain coming on the radar and was able to accurately predict when it would hit the area where I would be riding and adjust my ride to the time that I had available. It’s amazing how well this works and how accurate it is.

Anyway, I hope this helps and it is really quite a simple helpful way to plan your rides.

For some other related bike ride and weather information. Here’s a link to my 2009 post on this subject and a link to some other helpful hints on what to wear for your ride in different weather conditions.

2011 Best Buy Bike Updates

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The About-Bicycles 2011 Best Buy Updates are in (sorry for the delay). Although we do have some changes for 2011, the bikes in some of the categories remained unchanged from 2010 to 2011.  You can see the 2011 Best Buy Bikes Online Updates here. Below is a brief summary of the 2010 to 2011 changes.

The mountain bike categories remained unchanged for both full suspension and hardtail. The GT Zaskar and Jamis Dakar models just can’t be beat in their categories and price ranges.

The GT Series 4  remains in the top road bike category for now although the 2011 GT Series bikes are not yet available online.

Although the Schwinn Voyager GS remains at the top of the Comfort / Hybrid bike best buy category, I have found that quite a few people are looking for more of a “Total Comfort Bike” so I have created the new Total Comfort Bike category. The undeniable best bike for this category is the Electra Townie.  

In the Recommended Hybrid Bike category (true road/mtn cross), the Fuji Absolute has been replaced with the GT Transeo Disc. Although, I still believe the Fuji Absolute to be an excellent hybrid, the online reviews (and sales from this site) show that many riders in this category really like this bike.

I did not really include any direct links to the best selling, low cost, “big box store”  hybrid bikes on the 2011 Best buy Bikes Online page but the top bike in this category is the Schwinn Midmoor Men’s Hybrid.

Well, there you have it. OK, time to go out and hit the trail (or road, hills, track or whatever your preference!)

2010 and 2011 Bikes for up to 70% off 4/12 and 4/13

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I just caught this sale at Performance Bike when I went to the site to do some look-ups and noticed that the site was slower than usual.

This is one of those excellent springtime sales at Performance where they clear out some of their older stock, like 2010 bikes and have some other good bike products on sale too.

If you go to our Online Bike Stores page, there is a quick link to Performance Bike (in addition to some other good other online bike merchants). Just give the Performance Bike site a little extra time right now. You may found out that the wait is well worth it.

This particular sale has up to 70% of on many items, including Bikes! Performance has a great selection of Fuji, Schwinn, Schwinn, Dahon,  K2, Mongoose, GT, Nirve, Diamondback and Performance Brands, Scattante and Dahon.

Normally, I post some banners for these  kinds of sales on my relevant bike review pages but I am late on this one so I’ll just have to settle for this blog post.

If you are looking for a new bike this year, this is really a good time to purchase from Performance online (or even at the store if you have one close to you).

Check out the sale selections with the Performance Bike Link at  Online Bike Stores (before the end of the day tomorrow (Wednesday))!

Paul Douglas and Crabtree Bike Trail Conditions, 2011

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Well, we had a pretty nice day for riding here in Chicagoland today and I just got back from riding the entire Paul Douglas Bike Trail and the connecting Crabtree Bike Trail.

I was about to write how there were no problems at all on either of the trails until I got to the very end (last 1/4 mile) of the Crabtree Trail (the northern end). There is one little section that is under construction and the sign says for 2 weeks. It’s really no big deal and it is passable too if you want to get out to the parking area off of Palatine Road.

Anway, as for the Paul Douglas Bike Trail, the entire trail is open and there are no problems. Even the one section that has flooded occasionally (on the west end of Paul Douglas) was clear and dry.

There were some puddles and wet places and my legs got a light spray of water as I rode by (I didn’t slow down much from average of about 13 mph so if you slowed down more you would stay completely dry).

I was glad to see that there was no flooding on the west side of Paul Douglas like there was in the past (see the Paul Douglas Trail flooding page) even though it is still pretty wet out there. Of course we are supposed to get some big storms tomorrow so we’ll see if it stays clear and dry. I am pretty optimistic.

My favorite part of this trail remains the loop around Paul Douglas (skipping the part along Algonquin Road) but the little strip that goes into the Crabtree preserve (about 1 mile) is very nice too. The Paul Douglas loop is about 7 miles (counting the part along Algonquin Road).

Well, it was great to get out there today and the Paul Douglas Trail is still a great place to ride. If anyone has any updates, please let me know or post a reply if you like.

Later, Rob.