By Iām riding up a tiny, Swiss road that has 27% gradient and it keeps going up at this rate for 3 kilometres. For a couple of months of the year, itās impassable due to snow. Itās only a very narrow road with rough tarmac and itās not used enough for
The Beach. On Any Sunday.
Thereās a certain sense of freedom on a beach. Itās locked like a border between the land and the powerful sea. The beach can provide tranquility, interest in washed-up sea shells, dead fish, international litter and wood that has travelled the oceans, only to be finally deposited with a smooth,
Life as a Projecteer
I must admit that Iām a bit of a āProjecteerā. This is a new term that Iāve dreamed up to illustrate people like me who always have a project on the go, have a few in the pipeline and at the same time, on the look out for another suitable
The 1981 Cilo (alternativeš¤Ŗ) road test and review
All bicycle road test and reviews are stereotypically the same, and have been since Robert (known as Bob from here on) Lillywand, first thought of a new and innovative way to market and sell his bikes back in 1807. Bob reckoned that by using the villageās local key opinion leader,
Itās the best thing since sliced bread! Really?
One of the very well used sayings that was quoted when I was a kid was āitās the best thing since sliced bread!ā, and it was always in reference to a new innovation or product. The first automatically sliced commercial bread loaves were produced on July 6, 1928, in Chillicothe,
The Carbon Raven
When did you last see or hear a Raven? Iām not talking about seeing or hearing the 1970s-80s British Heavy Metal band, Raven. This was the band set up by the two Gallagher brothers, and not Noel and Liam from Manchester, UK, who also started the globally successful band, Oasis,
Testing round, prototype, rubber products…..The RIDER T1
I wouldnāt be telling the utmost truth if I said that I get regular offers to go testing prototype mountain bike (MTB from now on) tyres. However, I have had just this type of offer recently. Whilst most MTB riders in Switzerland are ordering studded ice tyres or oiling their
The case for The Special Tool
Special tools are designed to do one thing, really well. How many special tools do you have in your toolbox? How much have you spent on special tools that youāve only ever used once, or twice or….? How many times have you not used the correct special tool on a
The fascinating world and psychology of āThe bicycle Collectorā
A common dictionary definition of the word ācollectorāā is; a person who collects things of a specified type, professionally or as a hobby. This is obviously a broad definition, and after looking around my bike shed, and after a quick look in the mirror to see if I looked like
The future of vintage bicycle sales and a spoof āBack to Blackā 1990s MTB review
Total new bicycle sales are increasing every year and in 2018, global sales were approximately $50bn, and the forecast for 2025 shows sales hitting $75.5bn. In addition, and over the last few years, about 100 million bikes have been produced every year. This means that there are a quite a
