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.

My Cycling Gallery

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.

  • Do-it-yourself bicycle projects.

    Sew your own jerseys, make improved tail lights, adjustable length stems, dashboards, camera mounts, etc.

  • My favorite bicycle tools.

    The best tools I have found for a variety of bicycle repairs and maintenance, in no particular order.

  • Good books for bicycle tinkerers and armchair mechanics.

    Some of my favorite practical and technical books related to cycling.

  • A few bicycle mechanic's tips.

    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.

Bicycle Commuting

I've been bicycle commuting off and on for more than twenty years. Here are a few equipment suggestions to help you commute safely, efficiently, and comfortably, even in wet Seattle winters.

  • Fenders: it's hard to overstate the value of fenders for wet weather bicycle commuting. Not only do your tires throw up a huge volume of water on wet roads, that water is filthy with car drippings, tire and brake dust, dirt, and who knows what else. Rain may be cold water, but it's clean cold water.
  • Mud Flaps: the bottom end of your fenders can't reach too far down or you'll hit them on things. Flexible mud flaps extend your fender protection and widen the base where the spray drips off. You can buy them in rubber or leather, or make your own from plastic milk jugs, cut up conveyor belts, old wetsuits, or anything else that's reasonably flexible and water resistant. Personally, I like Hunt Wilde's old-fashioned rubber mud flaps.
  • A do-it-yourself Waterproof Hard-Sided Pannier for securely carrying your laptop and other commuting supplies.
  • SPD Sandals, made by Lake, Shimano, Keene, and others, may seem like summer footwear only, but they're actually very useful in wet winter weather. The sandals absorb little water and dry much faster than most shoes, so they avoid the clammy sensation of slipping on wet shoes when it's time to go home. I wear sandals down into the low 40s or upper 30s and find them warmer in the rain than most shoes.
  • Aids to Conspicuity: simple additions to your bike that make it easier for motorists to see you, even if they aren't looking for you.
  • Bluetooth Headset: if you cycle with a cell phone, an inexpensive wireless headset will let you keep your phone securely stowed inside your commuting bag, safe and dry.  Why carry a phone while cycling?  I mostly use mine to coordinate commuting details with family, but it's also handy for calling in hazards to the road department or accidents to the police.

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

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.
  • 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.

1963(?) 57cm Peugeot PX-10, unrestored.

Detailed photos of a classic I never found time to fix up. It was in rideable condition as-is, though it could have used new tubes and a thorough overhaul -- for all I can tell, it still had the factory grease in the headset and bottom bracket. After years of owning it without restoring it, I finally sold it to someone who thought he'd be able to find the time.

Other Cycling Pages

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.  And it's probably loaded with outdated links.

This page written by Josh Putnam. Please feel free to email questions, comments, corrections, suggestions, etc.

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