Josh Putnam's Cycling Pages
I have enjoyed cycling and working on bikes
since I was in grade school.
I hope you find this information as interesting and useful as I
have.
A collection of my cycling pictures, in no particular order.
Photography is one of my other passionate interests, and it's hard
to beat a bicycle for touring a landscape at a pace that lets you
really see it. Updated sporadically. Hope you like them.
Also see my discussion of good cameras
for bicycle touring if you're interested.
Do It Yourself
I enjoy working on bicycles almost as much as I enjoy riding them.
Below you'll find a variety of do-it-yourself ideas, from simple things
like improving your conspicuity at night to building your own bicycle
frame. Bicycles are very simple machines, don't be intimidated by them.
Building Bicycle Frames
- An introduction to brazing
your own bicycle frames.
For many years I wanted a custom touring frame with a combination
of geometry and features that I had never seen offered by anyone.
Finally I did something about it: I made it myself. If you are
mechanically inclined, patient, and have bicycle dreams of your own,
here's a quick introduction to designing and building
a lugged, brazed, steel bicycle frame. Includes links to suppliers,
a bibliography of framebuilding references, and links to more framebuilding
sites.
Click here to see my current bike. It's
just an example of what you can do on your own if you want to.
- A photo tour of the late
Match Bicycle Company frame factory in Woodinville, Washington.
This was a public tour arranged by
Rivendell Bicycle Works.
Match is gone, but the tour shows most of the steps in brazing a steel frame
in a modern shop.
- Miscellaneous
frame buidling images, from cheap plywood jigs to professional
equipment.
- The
Bicycle Framebuilding Mailing List, the leading internet forum for amateur
and professional bicycle frame builders, with over 1000 members world-wide.
You don't have to be a builder to join, if you've ever thought of building your
own frame, or just want to know what goes into the design and construction of
that custom frame you want to buy, check it out. Hosted by
bikelist.org, home to many fine
cycling email lists and their archives.
- What is trail, and what does it have to do
with bike handling? How do fork rake, head tube angle, and wheel size matter?
You can calculate the trail of an existing bike, or determine the specs to
give the desired trail on a new frame.
-
Sew your own jerseys, make improved tail lights, adjustable length stems,
dashboards, camera mounts, etc.
-
The best tools I have found for a variety of bicycle repairs and maintenance,
in no particular order.
- Some of my favorite practical and technical
books related to cycling.
-
Some ideas to make working on your bikes easier.
Cycling Safety & Advocacy
- Detection of Bicycles at Traffic Signals.
Many cyclists ride through intersections whose signals do not detect bicycles. It's not
safe, it's not fair, and it's not necessary. Traffic signal sensors can be made bicycle
friendly.
- Dark Bollards, Dangerous Bollards A common design
element of bicycle trails can pose a serious risk to cyclists if implemented poorly. Keeping
motorists off the trail shouldn't put cyclists at risk.
-
Bicycling and the Law from VeloPress, a book everyone who rides on public roads
should read.
Touring Information
Some of My Favorite Rides
- Ireland Tour, 1994 I spent about a month there
but haven't written it all up. This covers the best parts, with links to
pictures, too.
- The North Cascades Highway: From the shores
of Puget Sound through five passes and rolling plains to the Idaho border,
one of the most scenic roads in Washington State.
Useful things to add to your bike
- Aids to conspicutiy for night riding, beyond
a minimal headlight and rear reflector can make you more visible and earn
better treatment from competent motorists.
- Touring accessories aren't as important
as a good bike, but good equipment can help make your tour a pleasant one
despite bad weather, poor roads, or other problems.
Other Touring Information
Bicycling in Washington State
- Washington State Dept of Transportation
bicycling programs, including bicycle maps for various Washington locations, lists of freeways
closed to bicycles, Washington traffic laws, etc.
- Cascade Bicycle Club, headquartered in Seattle, is
the state's largest cycling club, with significant public outreach programs, lobbying, etc., and
home of the famous Seattle-to-Portland ride.
- The Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club
represents mountain bikers throughout Western Washington -- building trails,
teaching skills, fighting to preserve trail access, and hosting rides all over
the region. Whether you join the BBTC or not, check out the
BBTCmembers Mailing List
for local rides, trail information, and cycling advocacy.
-
WSDOT Design Manual Chapter 1020 - Bicycle Facilities
Consumer Information
- Good Mail Order Companies
are no substitute for a competent
bike shop, but they can help you find things local shops
don't stock. Not just bike parts catalogs, but also some
good catalogs for other cycling-related stuff.
This is not a comprehensive list of everyone who
sells stuff, only places I've actually ordered from with
good results.
- Bicycle Insurance FAQ, common
questions and answers about insurance coverage for bicycles and
bicyclists in the U.S.
- Frequently asked questions about
buying on-line. How to buy sensibly
from private sellers on newsgroups and mailing lists, keep from
getting ripped off, and make sure the stuff gets there OK.
- If you're worried about theft, you can register your bike
with the
National Bike Registry,
in hopes that police will recover your bike and try locating its
rightful owner.
Detailed photos of a classic I haven't found time to fix up. It's in
rideable condition as-is, though it could use new tubes and a thorough
overhaul -- for all I can tell, it still has the factory grease in the
headset and bottom bracket. If you're a PX-10 enthusiast and there's something
these photos don't show that you'd like to see, please email me and I'll
try to get a better view.
These are all pages I have personally found interesting. It's
by no means a comprehensive list of bike resources on the net, just
a list of pages I like and use.
This page written by Josh Putnam.
Please feel free to email questions, comments, corrections, suggestions,
etc.
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