The need for bicycle rack

Cycling is one of life’s little pleasures – at least, it can be if you are in the right setting with the right conditions. But most cyclists would admit, some quite cheerfully, that you simply cannot cycle everywhere. As enjoyable as a good bike ride is, sometimes you have to drive to get somewhere that allows you to enjoy cycling to its fullest. Some might call that a Catch 22 situation, but if you buy a good bicycle rack for your car you can take your bike with you in the car and then park up and pedal away to your heart’s content.
Cycling accessory manufacturers are well aware of the enjoyment that many cyclists get from cycling in places which may not themselves be easily accessible by bike. Therefore, sometimes it is necessary to strap the bike to your car or 4×4, and drive there. Equally important to this is that you need to have the right kind of rack to fit your vehicle and your bike. Most commonly, people used to fix their bikes to a roof rack on their car, but while this is still a popular way of doing things, just as many people are now using different ways of attaching their bike.
If your car has a tow bar on the back, it is easy enough to fit a rack to that, and this leaves the bike less exposed than it would be on a roof rack. Equally, it can fit perfectly well on a rack that you fit to the tail of your boot. Either way, it gives you the chance to transport your bike around with you – using the car for the hard yards and the bike for the free running.

Bike trailer

There are certainly a lot of people who have the impression that traveling back and forth, to and from shops, precludes the use of their bicycle. The theory goes that if you are cycling, you will not have the wherewithal to bring back whatever you buy. But this is not strictly true. You just need to consider alternative solutions, and one possible solution which too few people consider is a bike trailer. You may be sitting there and laughing at the concept, but you would be surprised how well they work.
It is not a difficult concept to get your head around. A car can take a trailer with it by means of attaching it to the back axle. In the same way, you can hook a trailer on to your bike and load it up with your shopping (as long as it’s not too fragile – you wouldn’t throw a box of bone china into your car boot, either) and, although it will take a little bit more pedal power, you can take things home without needing to add to the amount of pollution in the atmosphere.

Naturally, there are limitations to what you can load on to a bike trailer and where you can ride it. Going over a certain speed leaves you with the concern that the trailer might become detached, as it does with a car. You don’t want to be riding on a freeway with a trailer on your bike, either. However, in the right circumstances and with the right bike (ideally a sturdy one), the bike trailer can be a wise investment, of that there is no doubt whatsoever.

The Beach Cruiser Bike - Retro bike

We can all think of a few things from the past that we are only too happy to make a part of our modern life. Fashion, technology, music and more, they all end up being part of one of the human race’s endless obsession with retro. One of the major elements of our retro obsession is the unending love of the Sixties, but going a little bit further back it is easy to find one of the most classic bicycles of all time, the beach cruiser bicycle. Designed to be easy to ride on a beach – unsurprisingly – the cruiser with its wide tires and single-gear mechanism is one of those things that is built to last.

The beach cruiser is modeled after the traditional bikes seen all over America from the 1930`s until the 1950`s, and has become a trend in recent years, though the modern version is more lightweight than the bikes of the early days. The first beach cruiser was made by the Schwinn bicycle brand, which still sells many cruisers today, along with a wide range of mountain bikes.

The interesting thing about the beach cruiser bike is that it pretty much went away entirely for some time. If you think about classic retro developments, there is usually a line going through time which shows you how they have been popular and continued to be so throughout time. The Beatles would be a good example. The beach cruiser bike appeared in the 30s, dropped off in popularity in the 60s, and suddenly appeared in people’s estimations again towards the end of the last century. Our human utilitarian instincts mean that we like things that are built to last.

In bringing back the beach cruiser bicycle, people have shown that quality will always have its day. It should be noted that you do not need to be on a beach to ride a beach cruiser bicycle – although it is quite an experience when you do – but just appreciate it for what it is.

Shopping by bike

As we all take account of the message of environmentalism, it is not uncommon for individuals to think about what small impact we can make on our own carbon footprint. We want to reduce it, and taking our cars everywhere is one way we can be sure of increasing it. So if you have a bit of light shopping to do, it is worth considering taking your bike to the shop or supermarket. The big question is in how we get the shopping home. Although it seems like a quaint idea, many people consider bicycle baskets to be a good idea.

Sometimes you will see a person hooking the shopping bag over the handlebars of their bike. This is a terrible idea. It stops you from being able to react as quickly if you need to brake suddenly or take evasive action. The bag can get caught up in the front wheel of your bicycle. It can bang against your hand, and it can split and spill its content in the road in front of you. There are so many things that can so easily go wrong. A bicycle basket avoids this happening because it sits in the center of your handlebars, secured above the wheel, and will not affect your ability to control the bicycle.

Of course, it depends on the quality of your chosen bicycle basket. It needs to be fixed very well to the front of the handlebars, and it needs to be both narrow enough to be out of the way of your hands and shallow enough to not get in the way of the front wheel. Cycling requires an element of control, and the right bicycle basket prevents you from having problems of control.