The Most Sought After Commuter Bikes

By Rob Sutter


It seems like the number of people that travel by bikes is growing exponentially in comparison to those that ride via car or bus. Biking is a more economical form of travel, aside from simply walking, and it's easy to see why people opted for this sort of travel method. These commuter bikes are especially common if you travel to or reside in a city and many people choose this way. The question to ask, though, is which of these bikes are best suited to your needs?

Tourer commuter bikes are practical in terms of getting your location and they offer the most straight-forward mechanics to do so. Not only do these come with racks in order to store small amounts of luggage but they have thick wheels in order to traverse rougher terrain. There's no doubt that bicycle authorities like Linus would be supportive of these. For those that don't want the bells and whistles, only a way to travel quickly, this might just be the choice for you.

There's an amount of skill that is required with fixed gear commuter bikes but the payoff is worth it for strong riders. There's no freewheel for these bikes, which is the most prominent to take into account. In essence, a rider is responsible for perpetually pedaling if they want to keep control, a degree of practice being required. You cannot coast like you can with other bikes and there's a level of dedication required, but the lightning fast results can't be denied.

For those that have more than a little bit of pocket money in their possession, electric bicycles should be given a look. Each of these bikes comes with 250W motors in order to make traveling up hills and riding across distances a less daunting task. Being powered with a motor comes at a price, though, since these bikes are not only heavier than typical rides but more costly in comparison. If you don't mind keeping your bike's battery charged overnight and shelling out a good degree of money, the comfort and ease of use with electric bikes should be looked at.

There are all kinds of bikes that are meant to be commuted with but it's undeniable that different needs have to be taken into account. Some riders have simpler needs and, as a result, bare essentials are truly all that will be desired. Others may need more, sacrificing ease for challenge, as some bikes can be ridden strongly despite their less user-friendly approaches. Some others have great technological advances to them and even those who can't afford them won't be ashamed to take a look.




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Vintage Bicycles are Back In Style

By Amanda Basso


It seems that everything that was in fashion on the fifty's, sixties, and possibly seventies, are coming back into fashion in a big way. From platform shoes, this still shocks me, to psychedelic colors. They all seem to be making a comeback and not just in the clothing fashion world either. Vintage bicycles, like the cool Schwinn bikes, are coming back in a big way as well.

Bicycles have been around for over a hundred years but really hit their popularity in the 1950's when the newer vintage bicycles hit the scene. Ironically, these design styles are coming back. When bicycles were invented in 1833, they were these big, clumsy looking pieces of machinery that has one big wheel up front and two tiny ones in the back. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could ride these things.

However, the design of the bicycle did improve slowly over the years. In the 1950's however, was when bicycles started to look like the bikes we know and love today. These new deigns called "classics" today were introduced just after the First World War by several manufacturers, such as Mead, Sears Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and later Schwinn to revitalize the bike industry.

Now these vintage city bikes may have the look that we are re-introducing today; however, those kids bikes were not the ones' were used to at all. These bikes evolved into the most glamorous, fabulous, ostentatious, heavy designs ever. Today it is unbelievable that 14-year-old kids could do the tricks that we did on these 65-pound machines. I mean can you imagine riding a bike that weighted 65-pounds? I know I can't.

However, by the '60s, these deigns were becoming leaner and simpler, not to mention a lot more like the ones we see today. It still amazes me sometimes that these designs are finally coming back; I know that if I lived closer to my school that I would want one to ride every day. As long as it didn't weigh 65-pound.




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Which Vintage Bicycles Are Desired Most?

By Rob Sutter


Vintage bicycles are great in that they are highly viewed. They have name value that anyone even remotely interested in biking would know and, just like the Ferrari in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," these are cared for in the right hands. Which bikes are seen as the top rated, though? Which ones will gain the highest out of a person's dollar? There are a lot of bikes out there and while these machines may not ride as well as those that are modern, they value in at far more.

If you want to talk expensive bicycles, you would want to look to no other name than Aurumania. With regards to this company, they once released a model priced at $144,464. The only way that a bike could boast such a price tag is to be coated in goal, hence the Gold Bike Crystal Edition. This company produces bikes at a controlled run and this particular model is considered to be a chore to find. For those who can get their hands on it, provided funds are not an issue, there is a lot of bike to be had.

The Gold Bike Crystal Edition from Aurumania can best be described as "the head honcho of rides." What I mean by that is that, from head to toe, it looks like something that all other vintage bicycles want to be. With a brown leather saddle and handlebars, these two qualities come together as only the peak of the iceberg. The Gold Bike Crystal Edition is coated with 24 karat gold, making it look like something that Scrooge McDuck would ride on his off time. However, specs have been unreleased, so it's best to keep this masterpiece affixed in your office as a display piece, nothing more.

It's not hard to understand why such bikes such as city bikes are released, even more so at such limited runs. Bike collecting, so I've heard, is a committed hobby and people want to find the most pristine versions of all bicycles that they can find. In this sense, it's no particular than trading cards. When you throw invaluable materials into the mix, such as gold, and add other bells and whistles, you have something that everyone will want to view.

When you want to talk about collector's items, you need search no further than Aurumania's line of bicycles. Expensive on the surface but precious in terms of value, such makes as the Gold Bike Crystal Edition demand only top dollar in exchange for its quality. It's a limited model but considering the build materials and attention to detail, the shortage should come as no surprise. While there might be those few who have the disposable income to buy one, I think I'm best left a spectator.




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What a Commuter Bike Truly Means

By Rob Sutter


One has to admit that there's something to behold about a person who is so heavily interested in an interest that their live can be staked upon it. Meet Caycee Cullen, a UCSF research assistant, who habitually rides her bike, from home to work. This isn't a new show of effort on her part, either, since Cullen has been doing this for the past 17 years. It's a way of moving about that she very much adores. There's no question that a commuter bike has great power and there are reasons for it.

Akin to any other sport imaginable, putting a commuter bike to use can ultimately translate into an adrenaline rush that no one wants to have disappear. No able person is going to detest riding a bike for several minutes while going down a street, winds and turns on said street, without any stopping in sight. The sense of flow has to be taken into account for any avid biker. However, the sense of enjoyment is heightened for many bikers when you factor in the possibility of car or pedestrian-heavy areas, the sense of risk producing said heightening.

There's a sense of eco-friendliness that comes with utilizing a commuter bike as well. Linus, a company that specializes in vintage and European-style bicycles, also has a very green message to convey with the line of work they're in. The company has spoken out on stories that heavily encourage biking, such as Copenhagen, Denmark's development of an extensive superhighway, purely for cycling use. This will, without question, help people see that biking is a healthy alternative to more popular forms of travel like bus or taxi.

One would be lying if they said that Copenhagen is the only area where bicycling is heavily promoted. Cullen resides in San Francisco and it is here that welcome mats possessing bicycle-related imagery have been set on surfaces. Market Street specifically has become witness to a great amount of these mats being placed and due to these, there has been a great spike in cyclists. The Municipal Transportation Authority showed survey results, claiming that the amount of bicyclists has grown by 71% over the course of five years to this day.

A strong degree of influence in tandem with a proactive approach may help the aforementioned 71% cyclist rate spike to an even greater level. Cycling is a popular activity for many people and thanks to the amount of health benefits that it offers, more and more people seem to understand and take part in it. Forms of exercise will most likely be taken up if they are as fun to do as they are beneficial; bike riding fits the bill quite nicely. An adult can enjoy this form of sport as much as a child can, so there's truly no excuse for any able person not to take part in climbing upon the seat.




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