Gear Ratio App. for iPhone

In the endless pursuit to turn all modern devices into tools for the bike community, our North Eastern Bureau Chief came across this gem.
The Bicycle Gear Calculator application for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. It is capable of calculating gear ratios, gain ratios and gear inches. It features a Skid-Patch visualizer which is extremely telling of the amount of nerdiness one may contain. For more info and details clicky on the linky Bike Gear App.

You've had your meat now eat your veggies.

We have been "biking it" quite a bit lately. We have had a good run, Sea Otter certainly gave us some oodles of drool content. But you know here at the TractionMag HQ we are constantly trying to bring you information that we feel is pertinent to the progressive cycling culture lifestyle we boast about.
So we bring you some goodies of a different flavor, consider it mental nutrition.


MUSIC-If you have been looking to reinvigorate that suicide playlist on your iPod, your prayers have been heard. Portishead has a new album soon to be released, titled "Third." Now do not misunderstand me, I love this band and own the first two albums and some non-album tracks. They are not in the habit of squeezing out record after record. Digging on the net will drum up some samples of the new album and it is to be released in the states today. If you are slightly depressed or have a cabinet full of prescription pills you may want to skip over this gem until the cloud passes...


FILM-Yeah I'm a movie guy. Me and reality have not been getting along since Indiana first graced the screen and my love affair with celluloid has subjected my eyes to some great films and a whole lot of garbage. The latest film to really catch my radar is an offering from Barry Jenkins entitled "Medicine for Melancholy." Two hipsters in San Fran trying to find their own identity in a relatively wealthy city with a very clicky underground. Takes the one-night-stand to a whole other level.


700c-In all of the Sea Otter manure that came across our desk one of the more impressive items was only compatible with my track bike. I have been cruising around on a track bike now for about 8 years and still find it pretty damn exciting. The spin definitely helps out on the big bike and negotiating with side views at high speed, help with the mental game when it comes to the holes on Mount Snow. A company by the name of Hive decided to use the annual event to come out of the closet to the bike world. They make some big ass track hubs and very smart SS cranks.

Health and Happiness 4 $ale by owner

109.72

That is the going rate for the current barrel of oil. That is the highest on record. Since November when the price broke the 97-dollar mark everyday has been a record. The US dollar continues to plummet and the pump prices continue to climb, reminds me of the yodeler game on “The Price is Right” just steadily climbing and singing his tune.

So the streets should be filled with cyclists, right? Well not so much, although the numbers support an ever-growing number of Americans commuting to work, it could certainly be a lot higher. China has the highest number of reported bicycle commuters, 77% of the population. The Netherlands reports 50% of residents use pedal power to get to work. Japan squeezes out 15% and the US can only brag about 1.6% of the population.
Yes, that is quite a bit smaller than the others and smaller than most of us would like.

So if and when gas reaches $5.35 a gallon, anger and frustration will create awareness and solutions. The streets will overflow with cyclists and bicycle racks will ooze with the very vehicle that can produce a healthier lifestyle. We will see a mild reduction in the obesity rate; bicycle shops will be as plentiful as keno machines and liquor stores. You will awake to the alarm clock and the morning traffic report. “…a 3 bike pile up on the express path has got traffic tied up in both directions, a detour has been setup on the Westside sidewalk…” Work will be so much more productive all your co-workers will smile and the boss will surprisingly not have that chip on his shoulder that you got so accustomed to. You will leave work and have to fetch your ride out of the multi-floor parking garage adjacent to your building. Trying to remember where you parked you will eyeball your fellow co-workers new handlebars and fork. The ride home will be filled with riders yapping on cell phones and not looking when they change lanes. Advertisements of families riding new fangled bicycle models will clog our primetime airwaves and ESPN will air the entire World Cup circuit. Leaving ESPN 2 and 3 to merely show the highlights of all the stick and ball sports that took place the week before. As you rest your weary eyes your face will be washed in the warmth of happiness, a future of health, wealth and fulfillment will etch vivid dreams in to your subconscious.

When you awake cold-blooded reality will greet you, gas will be 6 bucks a gallon, traffic will make you late for work and you will get a parking ticket around noon for not catching the meter in time.

Park the car and pedal the bike, give it a shot. It will suck in the beginning but after the first week or two, you will smile, I guarantee you will smile.

bikecommutetips.blogspot
bikecommuters.com
commutebybike.com
bicyclesource.com

Sheldon Brown

Some sad news brought to our attention. Sheldon Brown passed away on February 3rd of a heart attack brought on by his fight with multiple sclerosis. Sheldon Brown was a proficient mechanic a collector of bicycle data and all around bicycle guru.

Fixed Gear and BMX craziness!