I am a bike fan of the Monkey Light and the Monkey Light folks. I have both an original Monkey Light and a Mini Monkey. Both have performed well and gotten tons of comments from those on the roads. The Monkey innovators are now trying to take things to a whole new level with the Monkey Light Pro. If you want to support some good folks who have a history of producing durable and fun products, think about getting on board. Continue reading

Maybe once a year I will see a bike on the roads built to be propelled by arm power rather than leg power. Well, reader Scott built a bike that could be propelled by all four appendages. Text and picture credit goes to Scott. If readers are aware of bikes that have a non-traditional propulsion set up, feel free to contact us for posting. * * * * * * * * * * * Built from all dump pick parts, the double top tube frame had the right side removed for clearance of the chain during right hand turns.... Continue reading

Reader Chris, he of horn and spot light hacks, is back for more. This time he explains adding LED light strips to his ride. For another example, see this previous post on the same topic. Continue reading

The folks over at Montague folding bikes came up with a Go Pro camera mount hack and sent along the following guest post. Enjoy a sweet hack and an option for a folder. * * * * * * * * * * * * I'm sure you've all seen the portable Go Pro cameras on the market. They're easy to mount on a helmet or handlebars for riding footage, but we wanted a perspective that would show you the bike as well. For this we put together a homemade bracket to mount our Go Pro on the rear axle.... Continue reading

Last week was the perfect storm of sorts in Boston. The weather was beautiful and there was this whole bike to work stuff going on. Now I'm all for riding to work, I do it all year long, however when you get a bunch of people on the roads/paths who have not ridden in a while, it can be downright dangerous. I am going to start my own lobbying campaign with this post. I am lobbying to change the name of Bike to Work Day/Week/Month to the Most Dangerous Day/Week/Month to Bike to Work. My commute to work is 98%... Continue reading

Reader Jeroen clued us into some pretty cool, or should I say clever, bike accessories featured on the web site Ecal. designboom compiled the accessories into a post as well. Enjoy the still shots as well as the video which shows all of the accessories in action. Thanks to Jeroen, Ecal, and designboom all. ECAL «Bicycle Accessories» from ECAL on Vimeo. Continue reading

Our Fix it Sticks contest attracted the attention of many, including reader Felix who saw some familiarity with the product. He sent along the following - * * * * * * * * * * * * * There's that old saying "What's new is old". The Fix-It-Sticks are a reiteration of a screw driver that Crescent Tools made years ago. I've had mine for about 13 years. I should have bought more... gave out a bunch of them and have only one left. Although it comes with 3 flat/Phillips screw driver bits, these could be replaced with hex... Continue reading

Way back in December I posted this picture when I was ranting about how much I hated glitter. I mentioned that I would eventually run a post on the picture and I finally got around to it. Here is the same picture, but with a nifty red arrow meant to direct your attention. My commute is flat and I pretty much ride in the same gear all the time. The only hills that really confront me are stiff headwinds. Around early December last year my chain started to jump around like kid on Christmas morning each time I leaned into... Continue reading

Repair stands are one of the most searched for hacks on this site and reader Leighton clued us into a space saving ceiling mounted stand to add to the plethora of options we have posted in the past. We have featured a ceiling mounted stand (is it appropriate to call a stand if it is not standing?) previously, but this new one is retractable. The stand comes from the blog Tears for Gears and for all the gory details please jump over to the specific post. * * * * * * * Photos credited to Tears for Gears Continue reading

I have thought up hundreds of bike related product ideas during my lifetime, but not one of them has made it into production. I have to give it to those who actually make a go of getting a concept produced. Reader Gene came up with a novel valve cap hack, check it out - I have lost a few valve caps in my day so I can relate. I had never heard of Quirky.com before, but I guess you vote for things to produce and Gene has his product featured for voting. If you give a thumps up to the... Continue reading

Two hacks for the price of one is always a good deal and reader Karl hacked up a dual purpose mudguard and reflector. He took a retroreflective sleeve fitted for traffic cone, cut it up . . . . . . and attached to his rear fender. For a full write up visit Karl's blog. Continue reading

We all face different parking dilemmas, and although reader Assen had plenty of space, Assen wanted a rain free parking place. The solution is below. If readers have come up with innovative parking ideas feel free to contact us for posting. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I needed a rain-sheltered place for the bike, so I put down a rubberized 4 x 6 rug on the balcony. Lifting the bike way up should do the trick. tet Continue reading

Jack from bikecommuters.com passed along two great hacks. The first hack is a fender made of aluminum strip and an old election yard sign. Sometimes the clearance between brakes and tires can pose problems for fenders and he gives a great description of how he D.I.Y.'d to get around the space issue. Second, he came up with a great double headlight system using PVC pipe because he was running out of room on his handlebars. Pretty dope setup for sure! Turns out Jack does know jack. Check out both hacks via the bikecommuters.com site. Continue reading

Reader Chris, who attached a spot light to his bike, is back again. This time he shows how he attached a car horn to his bike. Whether it be via light waves or sound waves, Chris is capable of making sure drivers are aware of his presence on the roads. If you have hacks or ideas to share about how you make those on the roads aware of your presence, feel free to send our way. Continue reading

It used to be that a college degree was a ticket to gainful professional employment. Many now say that a Masters degree has replaced the college degree and is the new standard for comfortable employment. One thing is for sure, a college degree does not confer street intelligence or common sense. I give you this video as evidence. Some call it a U-Lock, some call it a D-Lock, but it is not called a neck lock for a reason. Shades of Breaking Bad did cross my mind. Happy locking. Continue reading

So I had the chance to test out my DIY attempt at an extended mudguard and learned that the material I ended up using was not quite rigid enough. It worked fine when there was no wind, however on a day with a decent headwind, the guard bent backward due to the wind stress. Rather than start completely over, I had an idea to add rigidity - Yup, I just cut a standard clothing hanger, added some glue, and put some packaging tape over the top. So far so good. If you plan on making your own mudguard do keep... Continue reading

It is smart to ride with enough tools to make simple repairs, but a good set of tools can be expensive and you want to hold on to them. Taking your tools with you can be a pain and reader Neil came up with a way to keep his tools with him and secure at the same time. Take it away Neil. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I wanted a way to store my road repair tools and parts, on my bike, while discouraging theft. Presenting the Tool Canister: I'm... Continue reading

Stopping is an important part of biking, at least my opinion. Reader Tim from Brattleboro, VT seems to agree and shares this brake hack. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * I devised a short reach caliper reverse-pull hack for my girlfriend's mixte frame, so I could mount modern 105 calipers on. It consists of replacing the cable fixing bolt with a barrel adjuster, and replacing the original adjuster with the threaded portion of a slotted barrel adjuster. A V-brake pad fixing nut and washer secure the cable. The hack required no... Continue reading

Reader Jorge contacted us and stated that he likes to write and has a bike. He built his bike from scratch and writes about his rationale in choosing his build and shares some of his hacks. Enjoy! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Hi. This is my bicycle. It rocks. I'll tell you some of the reasons why... and share a handful of my very own bike-hacks. First. Well, it's a bicycle, right? If you are reading this you already know... I hardly need mention that a bike can be an... Continue reading

One issue I have been curious about for quite some time is why bike companies do not paint frames with reflective paint. We have reflectors, reflective tape, and reflective strips on tires, why not reflective paint on frames? It seems like a no brainer to me, but I received one of my lowest grades ever in high school chemistry so I am not the guy to try to figure it out. One common way to increase visibility is to use reflective tape, however I learned of another solution due to networking. Check out this email I received: I was just... Continue reading

Reader Adlar from Stamford, CT submitted the following hack. * * * * * * * * As a person who solely relies on his bikes for transportation, one of the issues I have had is transporting everyday luggage. I currently own a bike trailer that does the job but I did not feel comfortable leaving it locked at the train station with my bike. The challenge was to attach my suitcase without a trailer and have it survive the 2 mile ride. The first picture shows the difference between the D-lock and Kryptonite locks used. It is important to... Continue reading

Reader Florian submitted a self described "No Tech beverage cooler." This is the email we received: Just keep the sponge wet while you ride and the evaporation moisture from your bottle contents will help provide you with an nice chilled drink anytime and anywhere. It works great even during the hottest days. This made me think of a previous hack focused on keeping water from freezing that could possibly be used to instead keep water cold. The hack below is meant to keep cold wind away from the bottle in the winter, but if you filled the space between the... Continue reading

Although I ride my bike to and from work, my bike is not a part of my work. A friend in NYC spotted a gentleman who has integrated his ride into his work - surveying. Check out the sweet hack! I have asked myself many times why the government does not integrate more bikes into public service jobs. After all, look at the smile on that guy's face! I see pickups and other motorized vehicles driving down the bike path I ride on all the time. How about investing in bikes to help clean and maintain . . . bike... Continue reading

Strange handlebar set ups are no stranger to Bike Hacks, and reader Ben spotted this DIY job in the UK. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Whilst walking down a local bakery in (Cardiff, Wales, UK I spotted these badboys, and couldn't resist a quick snap! Unfortunately, the owner was not around for me to inquire, but it appears that the owner of this fine specimen feels that mountain bikes are the new up and coming time trial machines. As your keen eyes can see, someone has added TT bars to a... Continue reading

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