Zeit-Bike Tacoma

Mrs. TBR and I went downtown to see the locally-made Zeit-Bike bicycle sculptures on display at the Tacoma Art Museum.  Our timing was perfect and we found the artists riding their artistic contraptions around Tollefson Plaza during a break in the drenching rain showers we've been having all day.

Two of the three artists even offered test-rides to the by-standers.  I rode one with a trailer wheel-powered fan that inflated the large plastic wind sock on the back.  Brilliant.

There's still plenty of Bike Month left.  More Tacoma events here.

Grit City Rides 2

This is part of my series on practical bikes I've seen around Tacoma that are helping people get around without cars.
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photo by Bianchi

What: Bianchi Milano
Where: 5-Mile Drive, Stadium District, UPS campus
Why: The bike has a Nexus 8-speed hub, chain guard, fenders, and some comfy tires. You get a similar gear range to a mountain bike, which means you can tackle most of the tough climbs in town, but while wearing regular clothes, in the rain, and still be comfortable. When asked, a Milano commuter at the top of the St. Helens hill said that she did the climb up from downtown every day, and felt that the gearing was fine.

I'm a sucker for step-through frames, but there's also a regular diamond frame, and both are available in black or polished aluminum. I think the step-through model would be an excellent candidate for and Xtracycle conversion.

The ones I've seen around town are a few years old and are the traditional Bianchi Celeste color. Twice I've seen the same guy racing through Point Defiance on one of these, with clipless pedals and some little grips added near the stem for a more aero position. It's an impressive sight, and one that proves the versatility of this bike.

Grit City Rides

After spotting a few super sweet bikes around town lately, I've decided to start a new segment called Grit City Rides. These will be bikes that I feel are out there pushing the envelope of urban mobility in Tacoma, those that are not your everyday mountain-bike-turned-commuter rig. I'm limited to what I see on my usual routes, but hopefully it will be a representative sample of a greater trend towards utility cycling in T-Town. Here are the two stand-outs from last week:
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photo by Velorbis

What: Velorbis Scrap Deluxe
Where: Being ridden at N 15th and Junette
When: a Wednesday evening
Why: Fat Frank balloon tires for our pot-holed streets, dynamo lights for visibility, full chain case to keep the grit out, and enough bling power to make you leave a Lexus at home. The one I spotted was sporting some yellow Ortlieb panniers on the rack, which are perfect for all four of our damp seasons. Europeans have been riding bikes like this for a century and doing it with style, too.
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photo by Ultra Motor

What: Ultra Motor A2B
Where: Being ridden at N 'K' Street and N 11th
When: a hot weekday afternoon
Why: This is a hybrid electric bicycle, which works great for Tacoma's hilly terrain. I watched this guy climb up one block, then turn and climb another while keeping an easy cadence and looking cool at the same time. Full suspension and 3" wide tires make for a comfy ride, too. This was about the third or fourth hybrid electric bicycle that I'd seen in town, but this one is my favorite. I learned about it at an eco fair in SLC, one of the bike-friendliest cities in the country.