Curious Fuji Mixte

Encountered this Fuji Mixte, and the flowing third tube in the rear triangle and the way it extends from the seat tube to the down tube seemed unusual and effective - presenting a hand-hold affordance to a person carrying the bike inside, etc.

1964 Sears Bike

Oldest bike I've ever worked on. The customer who brought it in was the original owner, she'd received it for her 13th birthday in 1964 and it's spent decades in her barn's rafters. Beautiful bike. Single speed, coaster brakes.

Seen: Skirt Guard

Saw this Giant manufactured Liv bike, the model is called Suede. It's a Dutch wannabee. I love skirt guards. They virtue-signal for the whole bike: upright position, chain guard, fenders, rear rack, usually a front basket but the owner took it off.

Lite Beer, Fat Bike

I think this must have been a marketing bike, maybe an award in a sales challenge. Low-end components.

Inside a Bafang drive wheel

CAVEAT: Do not try this at home because it will invalidate your warranty and they'll never talk with you again.

This is a photo of the interior of a Bafang ebike drive unit. The diameter is about 10 inches. Spokes come out of this unit and lace to a wheel rim.

To me it's somewhat reminiscent of a radial engine that you'd see on a 1940 aircraft.

Hybrid Tandem Ebike - Pino by Hase

This is a tandem. It's a traditional bike. It's a recumbent. It's an ebike.

It's a Pino by Hase Bikes.

EZ Tri Classic with Bafang E-Bike Kit

This is Maureen's new bike, an EZ Tri Classic with a Bafang e-assist kit installed by Confluence Cyclery.. A long-time rider, a stroke left her with left-side weakness and balance issues but the e-bike kit got her back out on the trail and riding again.

Pittsburgh Ghost Bike for Tom Haykins on Route 28

Tom Haykin was a frequent, proficient cyclist who often rode to work along Route 28. On the morning of Aug.29th, per press reports, Tom Haykin was riding in the right lane. A van who was attempting to pass him hit Tom in the head with his passenger-side, rear-view mirror. Tom was knocked off the bike and onto the pavement, where he was run over by a second van.

It bears mentioning that of the 17 recent cyclist fatalities, 13 were on roads owned by PennDot. As we see in many of these deaths, this was not a joy ride or an exercise routine, this was a local person riding to work - which is the purpose of public roads.

Pittsburgh Ghost Bikes have evolved a tradition that we support if (and only if) it's consistent with the family's preferences. First we start with a Ghost Bike. Tom Haykin's ghost bike was prepared by David Work and his children, and we thank them very much.

Then at the Funeral Home, grievants are asked to write a message, a hope, a prayer, or a thought for David's ghost bike on a brightly colored ribbon. This is a sample of message-ribbons from a January 2019 ghost bike:

This is Tom Haykins' ghost bike at the funeral home, along with the ribbons from his loved ones and from area cyclists.

The concept has a few layers. The grieving loved ones get to write their thoughts down and their message is attached to a public artifact of the deceased. That's pretty powerful. Then the bike and messages are put on public display very close to the scene of the crime. This is a visual reminder that local drivers will see for years. Finally, in about two years, some of the ribbons will fuse together in the hot summer months, and the ink will fade and be blown by the wind to the four corners of the world, in a manner similar to Tibetan prayer flags.

This is the ghost bike installed on Route 28. Major thanks to Jim Logan and Jon A. Webb for rising to the occasion and making this happen.

Mark the date: on Sept.29th at 1 pm there's a memorial ride along Route 28 and the scene of the crime.

Burley Coho Bike Trailer

While camping at Paddler's Lane Campground (highly recommended) in Confluence, PA, came across this Burley Coho XC bike trailer.

Key point: it's a single-wheel trailer which is essential for the C&O Canal Towpath.

Bike Trailer for Who's A Good Boy?

Saw this Good Boy in a SolvIt HoundABout Trailer and he looked pretty happy. The trail was a bit wet but he seemed fine in the trailer.

Pita's EBike Transcon

At Confluence Cyclery I met Pita, a transcontinental cyclist riding a Riese & Moller ebike from Propel. Propel has locations in Long Beach, CA and Brooklyn, NY which is where Pita is starting and finishing her ride. She's had a very good experience on the bike.

The trailer is the Mule, by Tout Terrain

Since Propel is providing the bike, they made a pre-departure video:

BakFiets CargoBike Cruiser E-bike: Dad of the Year

Seen in Confluence, PA, riding out to the Great Allegheny Passage: a BakFiets with an ebike conversion (see the battery over the rear wheel?) hauling the kids' bikes on a trailer. This is a BakFiets CargoBike Cruiser Long-Steps.

This is also the Dad of the Year