As long as I’ve been dealing with 650B bicycles customers have been asking for a 650B version of the Panaracer Pasela. Courtesy of Soma, here it is. The casing is the same as the standard Pasela. Soma is also making two versions of this tire. The other has the “Hypertex” casing of Soma’s New Express tires. I am not stocking this version. The Hypertex casing is less supple than the B-Side casing (bad), which prevents the Hypertex casing from expanding to a full 38mm (bad) and a slower ride (bad).

I’ve added a new dynamo powered headlight to my stock, the Busch & Muller Lyt.  The Lyt represents a trickle down of the significant advances in LED emitters and optics found in higher priced dynamo lighting. At $47 the Lyt outperforms similarly priced dynamo lights by a wide margin. I am stocking the N Plus model, which features a standlight and an on/off switch.

I’m stocking a new 650B rim. The Dyad is rugged, suitable for large tires, and relatively lightweight. Because of the Dyad has a higher profile and is wider than the Synergy it appears heavier to the eye. In fact, I always assumed it was significantly heavier, but is less than an ounce heavier than the Synergy. A good choice for those looking for something a little more robust than the Synergy or those who prefer a rim with contemporary aesthetics.

Silver machined sidewall 32H only.

Prices for Schmidt dynohubs and lights as well as all Bush & Muller lighting have gone down. From what I read, a weakening Euro doesn’t bode well for the long-term health of the world economy, but in the short term it means I pay less for European made products, which means you pay less. Prices for individual items and complete wheels have been changed in the webstore. For instance–

• SON 28 polished 32H hub was $262, now $245
• SON 20R/SONdelux polished 32H hub was $286, now $265
• Son Edelux Headlight was $200, now $185
• B&M IQ Cyo’s were $113, now $104

Getting harassed or even threatened by motorists happens far too often to everyday cyclists. In my line of work I hear these stories often. Its sad and frustrating that people will harass and use heavy machinery to intimidate people who are–like them–just trying to get around. More frustrating is that it seems these louts can bully with impunity. I wrote to Joshua Mello, who works hard at the Wilmington Planning Department to make the city bike friendly, about this today and found some info local cyclists might be interested in. Unfortunately, their is no law in NC on the books about harassing cyclists, though evidently there was one recently proposed (anyone have more info on that?) Fortunately, Wilmington cyclists have a friend at the police department in Lt. Perkins, who has taken it upon himself to follow up on cases of cyclist harassment by sending the driver a letter reminding them of applicable bicycle road law. The cynic might say, so what? Well, people don’t like to get letters from the police. I would think it might make them think twice about doing it again, and it is heartening to know someone in the department is willing to do this work and has the institutional support of the chief and city attorney, who have both approved the program.

I don’t think many cyclists are aware of this effort to make riding a bike in the city enjoyable and jerk-free. If you’re harassed by a motorist, send an e-mail to Lt. Perkins with the date and time of incident, plate number, vehicle description, location and a summary of the event. A log of these incidents is kept and letters are sent to the owners of the vehicles if the incident occurred withing the city limits.

**A note for those thinking of visiting or moving to Wilmington (or to anyone who might get the wrong impression). I have only experienced one such incident in the two and half years I’ve lived here. I rarely get too far out of downtown, where pedestrians and cyclists are common and traffic slower, so I likely get less stick than someone who travels on the outer edges of the city (big surprise: drivers are more idiotic as the infrastructure become more car-centric).

Every year the city organizes a ride that follows the River to Sea Bikeway from downtown Wilmington to Wrightsville Beach. Its a fun social ride for people of all ages and riding abilitsie. The River to Sea bike route needs improvement near the beach, but for this ride its deficiencies are remedied with traffic cones that provide a bike lane on the nasty sections of the main arterial roads. Ride starts at the Bailey Theatre Park downtown (across the street from Port City Java on Front between Market and Princess) and heads 11 miles to Wrightsville Beach, where everyone regroups, food is served, and the local bike shops give away schwag. After about a half hour groups start riding back downtown. On the way back, the police don’t cork the intersections (which the do on the way out) but the groups are large enough that the dicey bits on roads with fast traffic (confined to the three miles in between Greenville Ave. and the beach) won’t be scary, even for families with children.

If you don’t feel up to riding back downtown, there are shuttle buses that will bring riders back, but you’ll have to lock up your bike at the beach and get it another time. Doesn’t sound like a good time to me (not the bus ride, but having to pick up my bike later), but I think the good intention is to help out those who hardly every ride and will certainly be gassed after 11 miles. I’ve assisted as a pre-ride mechanic every year since we moved to Wilmington and the ride is always a good time. There are groups going at different speeds leaving between 8:30 and 9am (leave earlier the slower you ride) and the whole thing is like big city-sponsored Critical Mass with the cops controlling the intersections. Its always fun to see so many people on bikes, and plenty of people who rarely ride on the roads participate.

I’ll be at the ride starting point at 8am with a workstand and basic repair items for last minute mechanical fixes. Usually I end up repairing a couple of flat tires and mostly stand around, drink coffee, and talk. Come out if you can. Riders are asked to register, but registration is free.

The first bicycle boulevard in the Southeast officially opens Saturday with an opening celebration at the Martin Luther King Center at 10am. The Ann St. Bicycle Boulevard terminates at the riverfront, and the grand opening celebration is timed to coincide with the Spring opening of the riverfront farmer’s market. I’m sure many of my local readers plan to walk or ride to the farmer’s market, boulevard, fanfare or not, but attendance at the opening of the boulevard will impress upon the mayor and others in attendance that bicycle facilities in the city are needed and welcome.  After the celebration (I have an inside tip that some bike locks and complete bicycles will be given away) their will be the shortest group ride in history to the farmer’s market.  The eastern end of the boulevard doesn’t extend out of downtown, but is  a part of the the  River to Sea Bikeway that will be improved in the next few years to eliminate the harrowing sections (on Oleander across Bradley’s Creek, Wrightsville Ave, etc) and provide a worry free route from downtown to the beach, and vice versa.

Our hubs have quick release axles rather than the solid axle pictured here. Quick release skewer included.

I recieved a shipment of Sanyo dynoubs last week and had a chance to build a wheel with one yesterday. My highly scientific drag test consists of building a wheel with a hub and noticing how much the wheel rotates when I give a spin. The verdict–on par with the Novatec dynohub we sell. The Shimano and Schmidt hubs are in another league, but considering the huge price differences they should. Since the Sanyo is $10 less, prettier than the Novatec, and comes in a variety of drillings (28, 32, and 36 instead of  36 only) I don’t plan to order more Novatecs when my stock is depleted. Hubs a la carte are $40 and include a quick release.

My guess is that people will buy these hubs for bikes they would like to have dynamo lights on, but haven’t converted because of the cost. I can build the hubs up with any rim and spoke combination you’d like, but I’ve listed wheels with economic components below since I suspect they’ll be ordered most frequently. Paired with a Lumotec N2 Plus and Toplight Flat Plus a Sanyo wheel could be part of a battery-less lighting system that costs less than $170.

Sample Complete Wheels with Sanyo Dynohub (all components silver and handbuilt by me) Choose your wheel diameter in the drop down menu

Sun CR-18 32H and Wheelsmith SS14 stainless steel spokes

Weinmann ZAC 19 32H and Wheelsmith SS14 stainless steel spokes

Velocity Twin Hollow 35H and Wheelsmith SS14 stainless steel spokes

Front wheels with dynohubs and track wheelsets are my most commonly requested custom wheels, so I’ve tried to simplify ordering for them. 90% or more of my track wheelsets are ordered with Velocity Deep-V or B43 rims and sealed bearing Formula/Origin8 hubs, so I’ve set up an easy order page where you can customize these wheels all the way down to the spoke and nipple color.

Wheels with dynohubs are another big seller, and I’ve added a section to my more commonly ordered dynohubs’ pages so that the most requested wheelbuilds can be put into the cart with a click of the mouse. You’ll find these sections on the respective pages for the Shimano DH-3N72, SON 28, and SON 20R (now called the SONdelux) hubs.

I should have new dynohubs from Sanyo in the next couple of weeks. This hubs are very affordable $40 and I’m excited to test the quality.

If none of these combinations suits your needs, custom wheels can still be ordered by placing individual components in your cart, or calling me at the shop.

Someone called recently asking for suggestions about what to do with the Cyo tailight wiring connectors if you’re not using a tailight. Unlike other dynamo headlights the tailight connectors for the Cyo are not connected to the headlight body, but attached to a few inches of wire. If you’re not using a tailight the stray wires look a little ragged.

One fix is the take a piece of heat shrink tubing and sleeve the connectors with the main headlight wire. Apply a little heat and you’re finished. The wires are tidied up and you can cut the heat shrink off with a razor to connect a tailight in the future.