a bicycle built a long time ago for two

My friend Jen recently spotted this old tandem bicycle outside an apartment building in the West End. She snapped a pic and sent it along to me.


I've seen vintage/old bikes and tandem bikes but never the two in one! I wonder what it would be like to ride? (Once, um, the chain is returned to its rightful position.)

Certainly adds some flair to the neighbourhood. That is one loooooooooong chaingaurd!

a gentleman's ride

In the heart of the business district, in the plaza where countless office workers eat their lunch and soak up a few minutes of lucious early September sunshine, was parked a sturdy black steed.



His double top tubes were notable in their uniqueness... but then again, he already stood out against a sea of hybrids and road bikes without even trying.



I imagine his owner (and humour my baseless flight of fancy, here) would be wearing business attire to ride to work in one the tower hives above and certainly not changing when he arrived.

This is as much a bicycle for a modern man as it is for one with admiration for classic design. Gentlemen, can you see yourself suited up on this?

just bikes: classy raleigh

A few weekends ago I rolled up to lock my bike outside a store and discovered this beauty already parked there.



A vintage Raleigh in green. Classic Raleighs seem to come in such elegant colours! Modern manufacturers, please take note. Lime green should be left in the 80s.

The Brooks saddle (and I'm very tempted to put a sprung version similar to this one on my shock-less, at-the-complete-mercy-of-potholes bicycle) looked new.



Much to my delight, as I returned from shopping to unlock and leave, her owner turned up! You know how people and their dogs/partners/cars seem to "match"? I could say the same for this bicycle and her owner. Classy (but not 'vintage'-- probably late 20s/early 30s) and --ahem -- probably British. Apparently the bicycle had been in mint condition 2 years ago when she had aquired it, including with a skirt guard, but regular use (regular use? a good sign!) had left it less than pristine. To my eyes, that hardly mattered: this was one seriously good looking bike.

just bikes: step over for ladies

Occasionally, among the bike blogs and comments and forums and articles I read regularly, someone will imply that step-throughs are basically mandatory for wearing a skirt. It does make mounting easier and narrow skirts needn't be hiked up quite so far (though a certain segment of the population may consider that a positive, no?), but there's nothing stopping a true diamond frame from being a lady's bike.

Mine is a compact diamond frame, purchased because I didn't like the alternative presented by the bike shop at the time (one of those extra-low step-throughs where there's only one thick, curved piece instead of top and bottom tubes) and didn't know that anything else existed. Now I wish that I'd done more research and bought something a tad easier to mount, but in the end: it's an annoyance, not a deal-breaker, and it's not going to stop me.

Exhibit A:


Isn't that lovely? (No, this is not mine. Spotted outside the YWCA.) The flowers on the basket and the Nutcase helmet and that retro green of the bike even coordinate well together. The sad thing is that you'll rarely see this colour on step-through bikes because so many manufacturers don't consider it a "women's" colour. (Bah, humbug: like "mint" is? My brain associates 'mint' with little-old-ladies and/or hospital scrubs, not classy urban fashion.)

I have to regularly remind myself to obsess less about having the 'right' bike and focus more on just doing it. In nice clothes. For the right reasons. Whenever possible.

just bikes: red with white polka dots

Oh, my! A custom paint job -- including handlebars -- that matches the saddle cover. With red cable housing and a flag on the rack. If this isn't expressing your personality, I don't know what is.

just bikes: yellow banana (seat)

Spotted outside an eyeglass shop downtown: a magnificent yellow-framed, yellow-gripped, yellow-banana-seated (apropos, no?) bicycle, locked to a...



...garbage can?

That's a new one.

just bikes: danzante

There’s a stunning bicycle locked up regularly in a place I often pass by. It says “Danzante”. Possibly Italian, guessing from the number of Italian links that pop up when I search Google. Little bicycle-related, unfortunately; just wines and travel reviews.

The chain guard is artistically decorated (though whether that’s customization or stock, I can’t tell), the brake levers are the straight, non-formed kind (is there a technical name for them?), and the gear system is unusual (can be sort of seen in the second shot).



It’s not cables but a thin metal shaft that runs along the bottom tube. What does it do…turn? I’m not very up on my bicycle mechanics yet, let alone exotic (and stylish) tech.



What a beauty! I love that style of rack, matched to the bike as if (because) they were made for each other.