David's Bicycling Blog

The Motobecane Outcast is an intriguing bike. It's a single-speed mountain bike with 29-inch wheels and a flip-flop hub to allow you to run as a fixed gear if that's your thing. And at a low price right around $400 including shipping, you won't be able to get into this type of bike any cheaper. But are there any liabilities that come with that low price point? Find out by reading our whole review.

Review: Motobecane Outcast 29er Mountain Bike

Have you ridden the Outcast? Comment on your impression below.

There's at least one bright spot to be found in all of the churn coming out of Washington, D.C. Buried deep in the 450-page bailout bill is an provision that employers may now include bike commuters in with the group of employees who receive tax-free reimbursement for expenses previously limited to those traveling to work via car/vanpool or mass transit.

To be eligible for the qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement (up to $240 per year for buying a bike and things like bike maintenance, repair and storage) first of all, your employer has to actually offer this fringe benefit. Second, you have to use your bike "regularly" to travel between home and work. Riding your bike for commuting is necessary provision to qualify.

I'm not a tax advisor so find out for yourself if you are eligible for this. But this is certainly great news for a good many people, myself included, who ride their bikes to work, and a true victory for a number of bike advocacy groups, who have been lobbying for this for a while.

You might not like to hear it, but it's getting to be fender weather before too long. If you've considered adding fenders to your bike, there are a lot of good reasons to do so. They are relatively, inexpensive, easy to install, low maintenance, and best of all, allow you to ride in any weather and help keep the wet and yucky stuff off you and your bike.

We recently took a look at the Paceline Deluxe Reflex fenders by Axiom. They have a really cool reflective strip in them that looks to be charcoal gray by day, but turns a dazzling white at night when lit up. This is one great feature, but how did the fenders measure up overall?

Read the whole review: Paceline Deluxe Reflex fenders

Click on the photo to check out a full-sized view of what recent flooding on the Mississippi did to the Riverfront Trail, a bike path that follows the river in St. Louis, Missouri.

Full-sized view of the damage

Photo: Dennis McGlasson

A while back I took an old Raleigh ten-speed and stripped off all the gears, making it into a single-speed bike with freewheel that I'd been using to buzz around town, go back and forth to work, check in with my parole officer, etc. Well, since that first phase of the project, I've taken the grand experiment a step farther, and did some more tinkering to set-up the bike as a full-blown fixie.

If you're not familiar with the concept, a fixed-gear bike is one that has no freewheel. That means the chain, your pedals and the rear wheel are all directly connected at all times. You cannot coast. If the wheels are turning, so are your feet. It's the purest form of machine and a heck of a lot of fun.

If you're interested in following my descent into this madness, I've put together a photo gallery that documents the transformation of a rather ordinary 80's-era ten-speed bike into something pretty excellent, if I do say so myself.

Photo Gallery: Converting a Ten-Speed into a Single-Speed/Fixed Gear Bike

Photo: Dave Fiedler

Looking for a pair of bike gloves? Check out our review of the Air Gel XR bike gloves by Louis Garneau. Available in both men's and women's fit, these gloves seem both durable and attractive, and at a reasonable price. But will they really hold up?

• Read the whole review of the Air Gel XR bike gloves by Louis Garneau.
  
• More Reviews of Bike Clothes and Accessories
  

"Those who wish to control their own lives and move beyond existence as mere clients and consumers - those people ride a bike."

- Wolfgang Sachs, of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy and the former Chairman of Greenpeace, Germany.

They mean business in Holliston, Massachusetts. Police there, frustrated by kids ignoring state helmet laws, have said they plan to confiscate bikes from youngsters who repeatedly ignore the directive.

"We're not looking to take bikes away from the kids who forget their helmets," School Resource Officer David Gatchell told the Boston Globe. "This isn't something where we're looking to collect a hundred bikes. We don't want to seize bikes, but for the kids who repeatedly ignore the warnings, it will happen."

The police department already offers free helmets to those who need one, and will be conducting an education and awareness campaign about the law and the strategy they plan to use in its enforcement.

Question -- is confiscating bikes from kids who ignore the helmet law going too far? Comment below.

Image: Photodisc/Getty

American Christian Vande Velde of Team Garmin-Chipotle preserved the 21-second lead he secured in a dominating third-stage time trial performance through four more legs of the Tour of Missouri to claim the yellow jersey following Sunday's conclusion in St. Louis. Michael Rogers (AUS) of Team Columbia finished second overall and Svein Tuft (CAN) of Symmetrics took third.

“It’s been a really great race from day one,” said Vande Velde, who finished fifth in the 2008 Tour de France. “I didn’t expect to win the time trial, but from then on, it was game on with everyone throwing everything at us, trying to take away the 21-second gap I had from the time trial. In the end, I was happy that everyone gave us such a fight because the win means that much more to us.”

Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish (UK) was a dominant force in the race, winning three stages and coming in second in the finale on Sunday, and taking home the the green jersey as the top sprinter of the race. Dominique Rollin (CAN) of Toyota-United won the King of the Mountain title with Roman Kreuziger (CZE) of Liquigas winning the best young rider award. Jeffry Louder (USA) of BMC was selected as the most aggressive rider of the Tour of Missouri.

Photos from the Tour of Missouri podium:

• Christian Vande Velde
  
• Mark Cavendish - top sprinter
  
• Dominque Rollin - king of the mountain
  
• Final winner's circle for the 2008 Tour of Missouri- Cavendish, Kreuziger, Vande Velde, Rollin and Louder
  

Image of Christian Vande Velde - David Fiedler

Okay, so it's official - Lance Armstrong, the most dominant rider in the history of professional cycling is coming out of retirement! What was just rumor earlier is the week is now fact, according to statements on Lance's website and in an article in Vanity Fair. Lance has acknowledged his plans to return to the pro circuit in 2009, trying for his eighth Tour de France crown and success in a number of other races, all to promote cancer awareness.

"After long talks with my kids, the rest of my family and a close group of friends, I will be returning to professional cycling in 2009," said Armstrong. "The reason for this is to launch a global cancer strategy, because we lose more than eight million people a year to cancer, more than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined."

I am still stunned by this development and to be honest with you am not quite sure how I feel about it. While it will be an awesome thing for professional cycling -- imagine the crowds he'll draw, especially to the U.S. races, which have suffered from anemic coporate support in recent years -- and a thrill to watch Lance race again, I just don't think a person can come back from a three-year layoff at his age (he'll be 37 soon) and still compete at the level he once did. (And no, sorry, but doing the NYC marathon a couple of times and some mountain bike racing isn't quite the same.)

I just hope we don't see Lance add his name to a long list of former athletes who tried retirement but just couldn't stay away, struggling in vain to recapture the former glory and injuring or embarassing themselves in the process. Unfortunately I think that is a very real prospect here.

Related Links

• View Lance's annoucement about his return to professional cycling
  
• Lance Armstrong profile
  
• Books about Lance
  

Is it a good idea for Lance to come back? Comment below.