Freewheeller

The €100 Gravel /Cyclo Cross Conversion. Cheap, Good, Light, Pick any 2.

Humble beginnings This is how I found her. Neglected, rusty, abandoned. And my size. I couldn’t resist those puppy eyes. Wrong colour.  I’m not picky but that was really the wrong colour.  Wrong size.  I could have adjusted it with parts to make it work but it’d never feel ‘right’.  I’m not in a rush.  My growing stable of bikes and parts is getting used plenty. I’m always on the lookout for a…

The Nobel Prize and Bikes, the Highest Common Denominator

I heard about these brave Afghan ladies a few years ago and I applaud their bravery in the face of Taliban extremism and misogyny to do what we in the West take for granted. Now I’ve learned they have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Even if they don’t win the prize itself, it’s a testament to how their daily struggle has touched a chord with the rest of the world.  It’s already a…

I don’t like the word ‘cyclist’.  Nor ‘driver’ nor ‘pedestrian’. It objectifies and isolates a ‘separate’ group of people. Oscar Wilde once said ‘to define is to limit’ and in this case he is so right. I have clocked up over 2,000 kilometres of cycling in the last 12 months. And over 33,000 kilometres of driving in the same period. How would you categorize me? Cyclist? Driver? Father? I am all of…

Last summer a friend inherited a long abandoned bike shop/garage/carpentry/metals shop/blacksmith and invited my father-in-law and myself to take what we wanted before he dumped the lot.

Main workshop view 1

The place was huge.  No electricity.  No safety warnings.  Piles of tools, canisters, toolboxes brimming with hardware and unknown treasures perhaps?

Main workshop view 2

Main workshop view 3

We’re doing some great work for Probike

We’re doing some great work for Probikeshop! +50% in revenue thanks to emailing!

Keep Calm

Beauty is…an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your…

Last Chance to Grab a 2013 Canyon

Are you still hankering for the best bang for your buck 29er from this year ? Well here’s your…

La Rétro 1903 - Celebrating the 100th Tour de France Old School Style

Raymond Poulidor leads out the peloton in style (photo credit Bertrand Béchard) There’s a video of…

Anjou Vélo Vintage Courses for Garmin

These are next weekend’s Anjou Vélo Vintage GPS courses for your garmin devices. You can view them…

Vintage Bikes and Wine Tasting

The route for La Rétro 1903 22 June 2013 from Angers to Saumur to celebrate the 100th Tour de…

The Radon ZR Race 29er 5.0, First Impressions

Gary’s 29er Ride – A brand new Radon Race ZR 5.0, Recon fork, XT Rear Mech, SLX Front Mech, Avid 1…

20 Essentials to Pack for Mountain-biking - or Drink Eggs at Your Own Risk

Yours truly during one of the rare sunny days this Spring. Notice the tiny backpack size.

What to…

Yellowstone AL 6.9 29er Wins BIKE Magazine Benchmark

Many of readers arrive on my blog looking for pictures and tests in the Canyon Yellowstone AL 6.9…

Vintage Carl Zeiss on Micro4/3

This is another of my vintage hacks. I’ve been a fan of Carl Zeiss glass ever since I first tried…

Want to Shoot Full Frame?

My OM4Ti – arguably the best film SLR ever made along with the legendary Zuiko 85mm f2

No menus…