one less car news

Either way, t-shirts are on sale!!! That's right- only $15.00 each!!! Not sure how long it's gonna last- Cole and I were thinking through the upcoming holiday, so that gives you a week!

While you're deciding on what shirts & stuff to get, you might notice that I made a new catalog to make shopping with us a little easier!

Also, the next 20 people that place an order of $30 or more will receive a free pack of Topeak's Flypaper- it's their glueless patch kit that includes 6 patches in a nice & small plastic carrying case! For more info on Topeak's flypaper, check out our reviews...

Thanks for sticking with us! Check back in a couple days for this week's reviews!

See you soon!

-Brandon

...and the winner of the Bianchi San Jose Pro is (insert drum roll here) Rob Milton from London England. Rob actually got really lucky- We forgot to put "only open to residents of the US" (due to shipping costs) on the page- But fair is fair, so as soon as we can, we'll be shipping it off to him soon...so congrats to Rob and thanks to everyone that entered!

We have more good stuff happening in the weeks and months ahead!!!

So review wise this week, I was planning on reviewing the Aerospoke wheels this week- Derek was in town from chicago and brought a lock ring wrench with him...and I stripped it on the first try- also inserting a spoke into my finger...talk about torque! I've been using Sportique's Road Rash Remedy on it- similar to Neosporin, but way better- so if we didn't review that particular Sportique product in the past, it comes in a little tube small enough to carry around and works wonders on cuts/scrapes/burns...check it out.

Cole reviews Bianchi's San Jose Pro one last time before sending it off, and I got a nice package from Profile Design/Bellwether the other day, so this week I'm reviewing Bellwether's Screaming Meemie Rain Jacket.

We're going to try and update the blog more than once a week, and if you haven't noticed we've got our facebook link up and for a good time Cole and I both have our twitter links up- follow either or hell- both of us! and then we still have that myspace that we probably need to check more frequently, and the flikr widget on the left over there is for you to show off...so show 'em whatchya gots!

So here's the reviews for the week, and we'll be back soon!
-Brandon

Bianchi San Jose Pro

Bianchi was very kind to send us a San Jose Pro to review. From the very first ride I knew this was a great bike to ride around the city. While this bike is a cross bike set up to go racing it really works well in the city.

The first thing you will notice is the smooth as butter ride, between the carbon fork, carbon seat post and steel frame. This bike is built to take the abuse of cyclecross, so it’s well suited for the “streets” of Chicago. The rims are burly enough to take the potholes and railroad tracks, and with the cyclocross geometry the occasional bunny hop is not out of the question. Read More...

Bellwether Screamin' Meemie Rain Jacket

I got this baby just in time- the very next day a storm came through and it rained all day- perfect time for a ride to test this out!
The Screaming Meemie is a well built, translucent, polyurethane rain jacket. Zip front with a hidden zipper, elastic waist and cuffs, a mock neck, and a beefy drop tail in the back- plenty long enough to keep your tail dry! Read More...

iwas browsing chicago's chainlink and came across this.

http://www.thechainlink.org/forum/topics/one-less-car

i only have so much time a day to internet

cole

If you're a regular reader/follower of our blog, awhile back you may
have seen a few posts about porter crates that I built for my bike. I
built those few and blogged about them thinking someone might be
interested in maybe buying one, but it was more about building
something for me. So awhile ago I got an email from Trek (yes- the
largest bike manufacturer in the world- THAT Trek) and they said they
were making a bike for 2010 and thought one of my crates would look
great on the front and wondered if I could build them a couple. After
a bit of celebration, I got to work. I built two crates for them and
sent them off.

A few months passed and I heard nothing. Then out of the blue I got an
email saying they used my crates for the catalog and that they’re on
the cover! I’m still in shock I can't believe it- I got the catalog,
and sure enough...my crates are all over Trek's catalog!!!

So I have a new business. I'm working on the site and looking into
what I need to make this work. Keep in touch with the blog and if
you're interested in getting a crate you can always email me ( cole at
1lesscar dot com ) and we can talk about it.

-Cole

sorry to the people that have been wondering about the contest- yes- it is over and a winner has been picked- however, cole is out of town at the moment, and i'm waiting on the word to post the winner...but the winner has been picked and notified, so you know who you are!!! we'll let everyone know soon who it is, but i have to keep it a secret this week. thanks for entering, and congrats to the winner who again, will be posted shortly!!!

there were also no reviews this week, but a pair of Aerospoke wheels showed up- I wanted to review them this week, but i don't have a lockring wrench and can't get access to one until this upcoming weekend, so hopefully next week.

we also got a huge box of stuff from the folks at tri-flow lubricants, so we'll be talking a lot about those in the weeks to come!


again, thanks for entering the contest and thanks for reading! check back next week for the reviews... we've also got a folding bike coming from Dahon, and a few more surprises up our sleeves!

so cole's still on the train to portland, and i'm back with reviews as promised! don't forget- there's only 2 days left to enter to win the Bianchi San Jose Pro!!!

first up is the Dream 21, a semi-recumbent from Day 6 Comfort Bicycles and Derek reviews some rad new tires from Fyxation. I also got my wheels from Aerospoke- straight from the paint shop and they're soooo HOTT!!! i'm getting a cog this weekend & slapping some tires on, so hopefully those will be up next week!

without further a do...

Day 6 Comfort Bicycles: Dream 21 Semi-Recumbent Bicycle

I'm always on the lookout for new and interesting things to review, and one day I came across Day 6- after a few emails and a phone call, we decided that the Dream would be the bike for me to test.

Day 6 makes two versions of their semi-recumbent bike- a 7 speed with an internal hub (Journey), and the Dream 21 speed. Optional components include backrest, fenders, and a rear rack. They were kind enough to send everything but the fenders!
Read More...

Fyxation Session 700 tires

The guys at Fyxation sent us some of the session 700 tires to test out and I gave them to Derek to test being that he rides his bike into the ground every time he goes out. He put the tires on and a few hours later I got this text: Read More...

cole is on amtrak on his way to portland- i told him to take the day off- don't worry about nothin'- i'll take care of it! well, i took the day off too. everybody needs a day off here & there, right?

come back tomorrow for reviews & more!
see ya then- brandon

so i found this today!


On the item that Detroit radio station WCSX had an anti-bike segment on one
of their shows, it is true. It was on the morning of August 5 on the
Deminski and Doyle "show". My favorite is how they are encouraging people to
"Lob something at their (bicyclists) heads".

The "show" can be downloaded at
http://greatermedia.cachefly.net/WCSX/DD/2009_08bicycliststhrowat.mp3. You
can also go to the WCSX webpage and try the podcast link at
http://dd.wcsx.com/?feed=podcast and look for the bicyclists item.

FYI - I am forwarding this to the League of Michigan Bicyclists and League
of American Bicyclists.

Bob Krzewinski
Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition

PS - If you want to email WCSX management, use theboss@wcsx. If you want to
call them, try 248-398-9470.

To copy in their radio chain top management, email i...@greatermedia.com.
WCSX likes for people think they are a local "family" station, but they part
of a chain owned by Greater Media Inc. out of Massachusetts. The corporate
number is 781-348-8600.

This weekend The Fixed Gear Gallery is hosting their 4th Symposium in Traverse City, MI- I'm going to try and hit it up and possibly volunteer if i'm not too late. we’re not going to have a booth there this year...sorry! but if you see me, come & say hi, ask me for stickers...you never know what goodies i might have on me! that actually starts today and goes through sunday...

This week in reviews we've got some gloves from Spenco and a BAD ASS knife from Gerber...hmmm... I also just got a comfort bike from Day 6 Bicycles the other day and I'll tell you about that next week...we also got a ton of product from Tri-Flow, so you'll be hearing about that too... and i just wanna mention that all of my darn tough socks are dirty and my feet don't feel right without 'em. check those guys out- the padded sole is to die for...all day comfort- i'm tellin' ya!!! I'd be a grumpy dick if I hadn't discovered these...We've also got a pair of Aerospoke wheels on the way...oh boy!!! i know there's more i'm forgetting... it's just an exciting week!!! oh- I also fixed the Cycleogical Chopspokes review too! sorry about that. Thanks to those of you that wrote in!!!

Oh yeah- time is running out to enter the contest to win the Bianchi San Jose Pro...all you have to do is sign up for the newsletter!!!

Spenco MTB Series Heat Wave 2.0 Cycling Gloves

For some reason I've never been a big fan of fingerless gloves. Well, that's not entirely true- I did go through a serious metal phase around 12-13 & i thought fingerless gloves with spikes were the sweetest thing EVER. So I was pretty stoked when these came Cole's way, being gloveless, and he was swimming in gloves at the moment and hooked me up- and right in time for our tour! So with the Heat Wave 2.0's on, I was ready to go in all of my full fingered happiness. Read more...

Gerber LMF 2 Knife

So what does a big ass survival knife have to do with bikes? I'm sure some of you picture a guy riding in traffic wielding a huge knife and threatening all the cars, but its not about that.

Having a good knife on a tour is very important. I wanted a knife I know can do the job- wether its splitting wood, or striking a magnesium stick to start a fire, or stir noodles over the stove as on the last tour... Read more...

to all of our loyal customers,

Most of you know One Less Car is a small business. It was started with
$300 dollars I borrowed from my brother and a lot of hard work and
help from some truly good friends.

Things have gotten pretty tough in the last year. I don’t know if it's
the economy or the other 10 companies making shirts, or maybe our
shirts are just lame- I don't know. Over the last few months I have
been financing the business with money from pedicabbing and Brandon
has been doing our website for free. We can't keep operating like
this- its not fair to myself or Brandon (I don't mind -B!), so some
changes have to made.

On the upside, our traffic is as high as ever and more and more
companies are sending stuff for us to review. So what might happen is
One Less Car will just become a blog with product reviews and stories
about bikes and the people who ride them.

It's not over yet! We are still fighting!!! I love this company (me
too! -B)- I have put so much myself into it. I owe it one last go, so
stay tuned and see what we come up with...who knows- things just might
turn around!