Category: Mountain Biking

National Bicycle Dealers Association To Address E-Bike Fire Risks In Webinar Series UPDATED

jimmymac

The National Bicycle Dealers Association (NBDA) just announced four webinars dealing with e-bike fire potential. The series will be aimed at retailers but I would imagine that any e-bike owner could benefit from the disseminated information. The first webinar took place on May 24th and addressed e-bike explosions, fire safety and product third-party certification. Comments from a New York City Fire Department official were very enlightening as were all the topics covered by the panel members. You can watch this webinar by clicking here. The second webinar takes place on…

Bike Library Offers Free Transportation (And Recreation) To Everyone

jimmymac

While on a recent vacation in Scotland, I spotted the Bike Library of Fort William. Like the name implies, a person can check out a bike and see how it fits into their world. The library has a number of e-bikes to loan also. The Library hopes that by lending a bike for a few days or a few weeks, the rider may find that they reduce car usage and get some health benefits at the same time. If the borrower likes the bike, the Library can assist in its…

Recall: Santa Cruz Heckler 9 E-Bike Dropping Its Battery Like A Bomb

jimmymac

Santa Cruz Bicycles has recalled their Heckler 9 e-bike after customers report of the battery falling out of the bike’s frame, creating both fall and fire hazards. Santa Cruz explains that, “The latch mechanism that holds the battery in place can malfunction, causing the battery to dislodge from the frame and fall to the ground, posing a fall hazard to the rider.  Additionally, the latch spring can cause additional wear on the battery housing over time, posing a fire hazard.” Riders should stop riding the recalled bicycle and should remove…

Just How Many E-Bike Companies Are There Anyway? We just Hit 161 – UPDATED

jimmymac

It was after viewing endless advertisements from obscure e-bike companies that I began to wonder: Just how many e-bike companies are there anyway? The answer is shocking. And ever expanding. I went down the rabbit hole and haven’t hit the den yet. I skipped the obvious, big-name players. You should already know that every major bicycle company (like Specialized, Trek, Giant and Cannondale) offers e-bikes. There is also an ever-increasing number of motorcycle and automobile companies jumping into the e-bike game. I haven’t counted them either. The e-bikes being pitched…

Mountain Bikers Robbed At Gunpoint On The Trail

jimmymac

I estimate that 80% of my mountain biking has been done solo. There are dangers of riding solo. An injury, animal attack or a mechanical far from the trailhead could all put the solo rider in jeopardy of a safe return. I accept the risk because it builds confidence in one’s skills and sure, it adds a little sense of danger (and that keeps you young if it doesn’t kill you). But now there is a new threat to the solo trail rider that I never imagined in my 30-plus…

Why Bicycle Friendly States Ranking Probably Doesn’t Matter To You

jimmymac

The League of American Bicyclists releases a ranking every year of how well states treat bicyclists. My state (California) ranks number 4 and that’s depressing.  If California is the 4th best state to ride a bicycle, then drivers in Wyoming (last place) must be running over cyclists on purpose or picking them off with shotguns. California coming in 4th shows the weakness in the league’s rankings. Somis, California, where I live, is not a great place to ride a bicycle. There are roads that go from nowhere to not much…

Coming Events: The One Motorcycle Show 2022

jimmymac

Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels followers already know this is our favorite motorcycle show of the year. You need to squeeze it into your busy calendar. You will not be disappointed. Tickets are on sale now for the 13th annual One Motorcycle Show, where riders, non-riders and motorcycle-enthusiasts will roll into town Friday, April 29th through Sunday, May 1st for a full weekend of immersive motorcycle fun. The historic Zidell Barge Building, was chosen for this year’s venue. The Ridell is a rustic, open-air building along Portland’s Southwest Waterfront. “When…

E-Bike Riders Unfairly Targeted By Carlsbad City Council

jimmymac

After watching this report a couple of times, I have the following observations: 1. There may have been 186 collisions last year (combined bikes and e-bikes) but how many of those were caused by distracted automobile drivers? An injury still hurts no matter who was at fault but it is likely that the Carlsbad City Council needs to tell automobile drivers to slow down, drive at least near the posted speed limits, get off the phone and pay attention to cyclists and pedestrians. 2. Bikes and e-bikes reduce traffic congestion…

Roadies Catch On To A Product Mountain Bikers Have Been Using For 19 Years

jimmymac

The roadie world is going bonkers because pro rider Matej Mohoric recently won the Milan-San Rimo race using a…wait for it…dropper seatpost! The rider credits the seatpost for an advantage over his competition on the notorious descent of the course. It only took the roadie world 19 years to catch up to what mountain bikers have known and been using since the GravityDropper was introduced in 2003. Joe Breeze’s Hite-Rite, a seatpost with a return spring, started this revolution around 1980 but it got lost along the trail. The GravityDropper,…

Tour de France Winner Spotted Outside Phoenix, Arizona

jimmymac

While on a road trip in February and holed up for the night in a campsite shared by equestrians, mountain bikers, hikers and motorcycle riders, Jimmy Mac On Two Wheels spotted who we feel was none other than the 1984 Tour de France winner, American Marianne Martin. The encounter was brief and we only had seconds to grab a camera and shoot a few photos before the rider noticed the paparazzi and, with cat-like reflexes, changed directions to evade our camera. Guess she is used to stalker photographers. You be…