a Carry-On
Bike After a day of rest, it was time to
tackle the streets. Anytime New york is mentioned, the
stereotype is of clogged streets with mad cab drivers. Just
to make sure I was ready, a helmet was mandatory. With such
a new bike I'm unaccustomed to, I opted to use regular
pedals and hiking boots just in case I had to eject
fast. New York is a city designed with
one way direction for most of the major streets. The
uptown/downtown avenues are at least 3 to 4 lanes. They have
a wide "bus only" lane which I feel is safe to use. There
are also bike lanes for most of 5th and 6th Avenue. Compared
to the streets of San Francisco (2 way and hilly), New
York's one way flat streets are easier to ride. You can
focus more attention on the direction of traffic you are
flowing with. Their signal lights are on a
delayed sytem. When your light turns red, the light on the
perpendicular direction does not instantaneously turn green.
It stays red a few seconds more, avoiding accidents from red
light runners. Local cyclists are in a habit of going on red
lights when no perpendicular one way traffic is present. I
suggest following the light till you get the hang of
things. Cyclists are not a rarity on the
streets of New York, Aside from the typical messengers, I
saw a lot more commuters than on a previous visit. Nor did I
experience the dreaded reckless cabs. Not once was I forced
out of the road by either a cab or a bus (thank god
!). My first appointment was to meet a
cycling buddy who worked on 44th st and 5th Ave. Being
early, I decided to explore Central Park. The road in the
park is a refuge from the bustle of the city streets. Wide
lanes with a dedicated bike path. Most buildings do not allow bikes
inside their building. Since I had a lunch apointment and
did not have a lock, there was no way for my friend to store
my bike up in his office. It was a good thing he knew a
building supervisor a few buildings down who was a cycling
team mate as well. Bike locks used in NY are sized to
the extreme. Instead of U locks, they use chains as big as
the ones used by tow trucks. Together with fist sized locks,
they secure the frame and rear wheel to anything immovable.
As a backup, they use a smaller cable to secure the front
wheel to the frame. Remember that most bikes locked on the
streets are the unattractive clunker types. Even with the
biggest lock, a fancy bike left on the streets doesn't stand
a chance. For a big city, the streets of
Manhattan are in decent shape. An occasional pothole here
and there. I suggest keeping an eye for manhole covers and
metal grates. As for sidewalk riding, I've heard that they
are discouraged. I se a lot more sidewalk riders in San
Francisco. The next day, I woke up real early
to watch a 6:00 AM road race in Central Park. I had some
friends on the Cat B series. Sponsored by the Century
Cycling Club, these races are well organized. The park is
closed to vehicular traffic and course marhalls man most of
the intersections. They also have motorcycles leading the
pack as they take loops on the 6 mile circuit. Riding New York early in the
morning is a good way to see the city without the crowd and
cars. It also gives you a good chance to take pictures. The
neighborhood sidestreets are interesting. You go from
transitional neighborhoods to the artsy streets lined with
cafes and art galleries. Would I bring a bike again to NY ?
Certainly yes !. Packing a portable bike like this is almost
no bother. Used as an exporatory tool, I was able to see
most of the neighborhoods like SOHO, NOHO, the Villge,
Little Italy, Chinatown, Battery Park, etc. On foot, it
would have taken me a few days to cover the same area. Next
time, I can venture further. Maybe to Harlem, Staten Island
or the Bronx. See you next time New York ! After 4 days of pondering, welding and building, we had
the bike a reality. Just like life, there were some
compromises. Only the frame fits into the hand carry
rollaway case. We had to put the wheels in a hand carry hand
bag. Thank god they were only 16" wheels. Both wheels fit in
a small shopping bag. The original plan was for a road type
bar. With such a limited time, I had to compromise for a
flat bar. How does the bike ride ? With a road bike wheelbase, it
rides surprising stable. Using a triple front ring and a 7
speed cluster, gearing is from a low 18 gear inches to a
decent 75. Wide enough for its intended use. On a ride
around Central Park with my racing friends, the bike
performed flawlessly keeping up with the road bikes on a
cool down lap. How easy is the break down ? First let's make sure that everybody understands this is
not a folding bike. It is a travel bike that disassembles.
Assembly takes about 5 minutes. However you have a bike with
21 speed , a stiff frame and folds into a package smaller
than what is possible on a 16" wheeled folder. Remove both wheels by opening quick releases. Remove
pedal on the crankside. Remove crankarm on the non driive
side. Using a product called Crankeez, we're able to remove
the crankarm using only an allen wrench. Crankeez is a
special bolt and dust cap that replaces the traditional
crankarm bolt. When the Crankeez bolt is loosened, it pushes
into the metal dustcap which in turn pushes the crankarm.
This thing really works ! To prevent damage to the derailleur, remove rear
derailleur (leave cable attached). Remove seapost. Remove
bar from stem clamp. Then release all quick releases on the
frame. This would separate the rear triangle, head tube and
fork unit, down tube, seat tube supports and top tube. To pack into the case, lay rear triangle first. Followed
by fork, and all remaining tubes and parts. On this NY trip,
I was able to insert all my clothes into the case by putting
them in plastic bags and cramming them in all crevisces. It
prevents the tubes from rattling. So what's the future of the bike ? With only a hundred
miles on the bike, we've still got a lot more testing (and a
lot more miles) to perfect the design. I've started with
designs for a folding rack. The goal is to carry a limited
load on top of the rack. An expandable trunk pack can sit on
the rack and still hold about one pannier load. With a lower
center of gravity, the bag will be stable. I'll also be
trying a backpack type rollaway carry on bag instead of the
hardshell we used. Then it would possible to ride away with
the case you carry the bike in. If things work right, I can use the bike maybe as an air
courier. Just imagine being able to travel on peanuts and
still be able to bike at your destination. I think we're on
the right track so sit back and wait ! For any
questions, you can call, fax or email us
at Gaerlan Custom
Cycles 838 Grant Ave.
Suite 410 San Francisco,
CA 94108 (415)
362-3866 (415) 677-8943
fax JFreewheel@aol.com
email
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