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Author Archives: Jan Heine, Editor, Bicycle Quarterly
Our Own 300 km Brevet
Mark and I were signed up to do the Seattle Randonneur’s 300 km brevet last weekend. A few days before the brevet, it snowed, and the organizers decided to play it safe and cancel the brevet. Mark and I decided … Continue reading
Posted in Rides
17 Comments
Trouble with STI Triples
Triple cranks are a good choice for some riders. The most common shifting system for triple cranks, Shimano’s STI, only works with Shimano chainrings. Unfortunately, Shimano’s chainring combinations are of limited use to most riders. If you want to customize … Continue reading
Posted in Rene Herse cranks, Testing and Tech
61 Comments
The Fleche and Decoding Its Rules
The Flèche 24-hour team ride is my favorite highlight of the early randonneuring season. We are planning our ride right now – the event usually is held around Easter. We hope to inspire you to join a Flèche team as … Continue reading
Posted in Rides
10 Comments
Bicycle Quarterly: Spring Issue
Our readers eagerly anticipate each issue of Bicycle Quarterly. The wait is almost over: The Spring 2013 issue will be mailed this week. Many of us want to know: What makes your bike significantly faster? Perhaps the most influential research … Continue reading
Posted in Bicycle Quarterly Back Issues
24 Comments
Springtime: A Time to Rediscover
Every spring as we head into the mountains again, it is exciting to rediscover the roads that we love. For us, each season has its particular routes. The spring rides are some of our favorites. Heading to Index for the … Continue reading
Posted in Rides
22 Comments
How Wide a Tire Can I Run?
Many cyclists want to ride on wider tires, but are limited by the clearances of their bikes. So they want to use the widest tires their bike can fit. How do you determine your bike’s maximum tire width? You need … Continue reading
Posted in Tires
27 Comments
Damaged Books at a Discount
Occasionally we receive a shipment of books that got damaged in transit. (For some reason, most book publishers have a hard time figuring out how to package books so that they are well-protected.) Usually the damage is slight, like a … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
3 Comments
People Who Have Inspired Us: Redmond Cycling Club
When I interviewed Roger Baumann for the René Herse book, he told me: “In Paris, there was this club of older riders, the Audax-Club Parisien. [...] They did great rides in the mountains [...] They were a leading light in … Continue reading
Posted in People who inspired us
2 Comments
Getting Your Bike Ready for Randonneuring
A number of readers have asked about randonneuring, and more specifically, about which bike is best to get started with randonneuring. I recommend that you gradually ease into long-distance riding, and also incrementally change your equipment as you gain more … Continue reading
Posted in PBP Preparation, Rides
31 Comments
Grant Petersen’s Review of the Rene Herse Book
When somebody says nice things about your work, it’s always a good feeling. When that person is a mentor who has been a great influence, it’s even more meaningful. So when Grant Petersen reviewed our new book so positively and … Continue reading
Posted in books
7 Comments
Fake Metal vs. Honest Plastic
Few taillights available today complement the aesthetics of a classic randonneur bike, where you want to see finely detailed components, typically in metal. Most modern lights are chunky black plastic, but one succeeds in being more understated: Busch & Müller’s … Continue reading
Posted in Lighting
50 Comments
Pricing a Book
In the past few weeks, we have received many e-mails from readers of our new René Herse book. All messages were positive. Many readers wrote that the book greatly exceeded their expectations. I appreciate the feedback, and I am delighted … Continue reading
Posted in books
16 Comments
Grand Bois Extra Leger in All-Black
The black Cyprès Extra Léger 700C x 32 mm tires are in stock now. Our first run of 700C x 32 mm Grand Bois Cyprès Extra Léger tires sold out within a month. The reason is not just higher-than-anticipated demand, but … Continue reading
Posted in Tires
37 Comments
Laws of Physics
In the last issue of Bicycle Quarterly, we compared the performance of a 17-pound titanium racing bike and of a 26-pound steel randonneur bike. We were surprised when both bikes climbed at the same speed in a set of controlled experiments. … Continue reading
No Mudflap: What a Mess!
Just one week of riding without a mudflap, and look at my bike! It’s a mess! I ride my Urban Bike year-round in rainy Seattle, but thanks to its generous fenders, it rarely gets dirty. I clean it only once … Continue reading
Posted in Our Bikes, Testing and Tech
38 Comments
Winter Base Miles
Now that it’s February, our winter rest is over. We are starting to build a base for the coming cycling season. That means riding long distances at a moderate pace. It can be hard to get going for these rides. … Continue reading
Posted in Rides
22 Comments
René Herse édition française
Our new book René Herse • The Bikes • The Builder • The Riders will be available with French text in addition to the English version. Therefore, this update is in French. Notre souscription pour l’édition française du livre René … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
2 Comments
Winter Projects
At this time of year, we plan our rides for the summer. There are so many places we want to explore! We pore over roads and look at event calendars. And we think about changes to our bikes. Some of … Continue reading
Posted in Components, Our Bikes, PBP Preparation
16 Comments
North American Handmade Bicycle Show
This year’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show will take place in Denver, CO, on the weekend of February 22-24. NAHBS is a great place to see many builders showing their craft. The event is a showcase of the vibrant custom … Continue reading
Posted in Testing and Tech
2 Comments
Charity Drive: Thank You!
The Bicycle Quarterly charity drive was a success. We were able to raise almost $ 1500 for three charities. Checks are going out this morning to Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Thank you … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
6 Comments
