Goldstream Sports Fairbanks Alaska

From Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage

{Anchorage} is considering changing a law – Title 9 of the Anchorage Municipal Code – to make cyclists liable for accidents if they are hit while crossing a roadway. No other place in the country gives the right of way to a motorist over a bicyclist. Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage (BCA) is teaming up with citizens to make sure Anchorage, Alaska, will not become the first.

Full Article

Please ride carefuly, folks. CAreless drivers who are not aware of other road users hit and kill cyclists every day. This week, several high-profiles of these tragedies have hit us here in Fairbanks and around the country.

In Fairbanks, a number of people on bikes have already been injured or killed. Most recently, a girl on a bike was struck by a care running a red light.

Former Admiral Leroy Collins JJJr hit and killed by left-turning vehichle

And Anchorage is looking at legislation that would hold cyclists responsible if they are hit while crossing a roadway.

Please ride safely, obey traffic rule, and be aware that not every driver on the road is fully compoetent to operate the machine they are driving.

Fisher Collection Rumblefish Reviewed by TwentyNine Inches

I would recommend the Rumblefish highly to anyone looking for a trail bike with big wheels that gobbles up rough terrain, rails corners, and feels solid underneath you. Huckers and extreme chunk riders will probably still want more rear wheel travel, so this probably won’t fit your bill. Everyone else looking for a great performing trail bike should put the Fisher Collective* Rumblefish on their short list for 2011.

Full review at TwentyNine Inches

Dirt Rag Magazine has a few folks  out riding Trek bikes in France for the 2011 Trek Product Launch. Here’s an article by Justin Steiner about shiny new bikes and how much he likes them

In my one long and grueling (at times) ride aboard the Fuel EX 9.9—top of the line model with SRAM XX parts—I came away pretty darn impressed with both the efficient pedaling and technical capability of the EX. I haven’t ridden a bike this light—something like 23 lbs. with pedals—in ages and had forgotten just how wonderful they to pedal.

When the trail turned technical and/or pointed downhill the EX continued to be an eager player. The combination of the DRCV rear shock and the new fork tuning certainly seems to play well together, though I hesitate to base too much of my opinion on a fork that really hadn’t even had a chance to break in yet. Full Article

from Bicycle Retailer & Industry News:

The United States Senate has passed the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010, better known as the miscellaneous tariff bill, or MTB (H.R. 4380).

Bicycle companies will benefit from lower tariffs on tubing, speedometers, road and hydraulic disc brakes and certain rims and cranks.

“This bill will make it cheaper and easier for American small businesses and manufacturers to make their products here at home and compete around the world,” said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) “This legislation is exactly the kind of smart, targeted relief U.S. companies need to create and maintain good-paying American jobs.”

As reported, the bill restores duty relief for a cornucopia of sporting goods, including bicycle parts, outdoor footwear, snow sports equipment, volleyballs, rubber basketballs, leather basketballs, synthetic basketballs, and golf bags that expired on Jan. 1, 2010. The bill also included several duty suspensions on waterproof breathable footwear, ski and snowboard equipment and footwear.

Read Full Article

The Anchorage Daily News published an article today about the necessity for winter bikers to be seen.

BILL ROTH / Anchorage Daily News Kristi Wood wears an IllumiNITE coat, has a headlamp and tail light on both her helmet and bike, reflective and flashing arm bands, and blinking handlebar plugs in an effort to be seen while riding her bike at night. She says making eye contact with drivers is crucial to safe riding.

Go Whitehorse! The other northern city is ahead of us in terms of a diversity of places to ride bikes. We’ve got some catching up to do, and it’s really encouraging to see it happening. Here’s their latest development, a bike park and skillz development playground. Have a look at that sweet sweet dirt. And start asking your friends to help you make one, too!

City Ian Stewart/Yukon News

After about five years of talk and planning, Whitehorse will soon be the first in the territory to have a professionally designed and developed bike-skills park.

There’s still much to do, with no name chosen and wooden structures yet to be built, but BMX and mountain bike riders may be enjoying the new facilities as soon as this week.

And it was a big community effort that got the whole thing together:

Construction on the park, located on Mount McIntyre off Sumanik Drive, began last week with the arrival of Jay Hoots, owner of the BC-based company Hoots Inc., a mountain-bike clothing and safety equipment manufacturer that has designed more than 30 skills parks throughout BC, as well as in Alberta and the US.

Although his arrival is recent, finalized plans for the park were developed almost a year ago in conjunction with the Contagious Club.

“What’s on the ground is awfully close to what we had in the design,” said Hoots.

“It actually turned out to be better!”

As you pull up to the skills park, it may look a little intimidating, but despite an usually steep incline under much of the ramps, the park offers something for riders of all levels, said Hoots.

“This grade is pretty steep; it’s about the limit to what I would normally build on,” he said. “What we started at is one, one-and-a-half foot high jumps and then we have two-and-a-half foot, four-foot and five-foot jumps.

“The hill itself has been adjusted to give you the exact speed you need to be able to do the jumps. When you show up, you don’t have to be afraid that you don’t know anything about jumping; this place really holds your hand through it.

“With the beginner jumps, the platform for the jump only allows you to go so far up, so you can only go so fast getting into the jump—you can’t get into too much trouble. To get the speed for the big jumps you have to go through the trees and take the tree-line to get into them.”

Normally a project of this size could come with a price tag in the area of $150,000 to $200,000, but about 80 per cent of costs have been eliminated through volunteer hours, plus material and excavation tools donated by local businesses, said Hoots and McDiarmid.

“This wouldn’t have happened without the support of the city’s Park and Recreation Department—they were huge—Icycle Sports and the people who have donated the machines, the dirt, the volunteer time and things like that,” said McDiarmid.

There’s more to the article here http://www.yukon-news.com/sports/14077/

roscoe!! my bike!

Originally uploaded by Lorien!

Have been trying to put as many miles on the Roscoe as possible before old man winter steals my riding season away from me. I am very satisfied with this bike, and can see how it will only push the riding in bigger and more – uh – swoopy directions. Really cool bike. Wow.

Fat Cyclist and the superfly singlespeed

Fat Cyclist’s summer camp continues to entertain us, as Fatty gets a chance to ride the 2010 Fisher 29er lineup. Read his blog, be entertained, and come buy a 29er from us and watch your life transform into the party on wheels you dreamed of ever since Jr. high.