Fenders.

[sara]

The NYT has a photo slideshow of different bike fenders they tested up today; I have to admit, I don't really understand their criteria for evaluation. Why does it matter how fast they go on and off? It's not like most people want to remove their fenders all that often. If ever.

I got a set from Soma for my birthday last year and have been pretty happy with them. Also, they are shiny and red. I am the sort of shallow person for whom "shiny and red" is a selling point. *GRIN*

Comments

[aedifica]

That is odd. Maybe it's for those cyclists who are consumed with desire for the lightest possible bike?

[sara]

I was confused by the whole idea of an inflatable fender that "rolls away when not in use." If it rolls away, presumably one doesn't lose any weight when it's, er, deactivated. So why roll it away?

[aedifica]

I have no idea! And the maker's web site isn't helping either.

[sara]

"When it stops raining, I'll detach it, roll it up, and stick it in my bag, which will...make no change whatsoever to the weight of my equipment! It'll be awesome! Also it has a little valve that I can totally clog up with mud!"

ETA: I am also bemused, poking around their web site, to find this tent...which is certainly interesting from a design standpoint, but which weighs nearly as much as our two-person four-season backpacking tent and can only accommodate one person.

[aedifica]

Ah, but the benefit of the tent is that your bike is incorporated into the structure so nobody can steal your bike during the night without you noticing!

[sara]

Heh. I have a bigass lock and a cable, so nobody can steal my bike at night whether I notice or not. *GRIN*

Actually, I think the more serious problem with that as a tent plan is that you apparently use the front wheel to hold up the end that's not being held up by the seat, and frankly, after I've had a full day on my bike, my front wheel is sufficiently filthy that I wouldn't want to attach it to a tent.

[ironed_orchid]

Maybe they were asking the sorts of people who work in bike shops, for whom the time it takes to put them on is a factor.

[sara]

The guy they mention in the article is from some sort of commuter advocacy group up in Seattle. Which is bemusing, because I'm sure they have just as much mud in Seattle as we have here.