Kick Scooter DreamsKickbike, footbike, scooter, Xootr, or Trikke it!

Urban Kick Scooter Comparison Chart

Here’s a very useful “Adult Urban Kick Scooter Comparison” chart posted by one of the members of the NYC Kick Scooters group. It’s limited to the folding type scooters, like the Xootr, but includes all of the key data requested by most newbe’s along with links to the manufacturer’s websites.

By the way, the NYC kick scooters group is a great source of information and inspiration, even if you aren’t lucky enough to live in the Big Apple. We highly recommend joining it.

Making Footbike Progress!

We were puzzling over how to assemble the front brake cable linkage, especially since the documentation provided with our Footbike was pretty limted.

Footbike Adjustments

Definitely need to adjust the handlebar angle, as soon as I can figure out out to loosen the screws. . .

New Footbike: A Work in Progress

It’s “on the way” and probably won’t get completely assembled until this coming weekend given my current schedule.

A Slight Assembly Hiccup...

We expected to have our brand new Footbike assembled and be happily kicking by now, but unfortunately there have been a few slight hiccups.

Electric Foot Bike??? (Video)

Adding an electric motor to a foot bike really defeats the whole purpose!

 

What's the Best Time of Day for Exercise?

Writing on the New York Times website, Anahad O’Connor questions “The Claim: Morning is the Best Time to Exercise.”

Of course, exercising no matter what time of day is obviously better than no exercise at all, but what is your own personal experience?

Eco-Friendly UFO Solar Car (Video)

Footbikers aren’t the only ones that become totally obsessive about their preoccupation. Marcelo da Luz is so over the top about his UFO shaped solar car that he lost his girlfriend and his job pursuing the dream.

New York to Close Broadway to Cars

According to a Gothamist.com article, Broadway will be closed to cars and other motor vehicles for seven blocks starting on Memorial Day. If the experts predictions are correct, this will actually result in a significant improvement in Manhattan traffic.

New Toy in Town!

We were just coming back to the house from walking the dogs early this morning when our local neighborhood postman pulled up in his truck and asked if we would be around for a while….

24 Hour Foot Bike World Record (Video)

We consider ourselves lucky to foot bike for more than 30 minutes continously without a break, and we would be ashamed to admit how little distance we manage to cover in that time. The idea that way back in 1979 some Czechoslovakian foot scooter enthusiasts managed to set a world record by kicking continously for 24 hours with out a break, and covered 325.156 km in the process is purely astounding. Luckily, there is video evidence of the record setting performance.

National Footbike Day - March 28, 2009

While most countries have yet to discover the wonders and tremendous health effects of exercising with a footbike, the Dutch are way ahead of the game, and no doubt much healthier.

They have declared March 28 as “opstapdag” and are staging official footbike events at over 40 locations.

Gonzo Foot Biker (Video)

We love foot biking, and we love to explore. But, the gonzo foot biker in the video below definitely has more guts than us by a long shot.

Dealing Safely With Curbs (Video)

Curbs, and other similar road obstacles, can be extremely dangerous. Yet, with some attention to technique, and a little practice, they are easy to handle safely.

Here’s a great video clip, with slow motion, put together by Ben on the NYCKickScooters group, showing how he deals with curbs without missing a beat.

81 year old cyclist catches 29 year old thief

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An 81-year-old Dutchman who saw a shoplifter flee a supermarket in The Hague chased after the thief on his bike and crashed into the man to stop him, police said Tuesday.

Officers said the 81-year-old had observed the shoplifter 29, run from the supermarket with two employees in pursuit.

"The man did not hesitate a moment, followed the fleeing suspect on his bike, rode into his legs, whereupon both fell," police said in a statement.

The cyclist injured his hand and shin in the fall and had to undergo treatment.

The shoplifter was arrested and found to be carrying 122 euros ($162) worth of cosmetics, police said.

Cycling is very popular in the Netherlands. The famously flat country has more bikes than people with each resident riding an average of more than 900 km (560 miles) a year.

Scientific Proof That Kickbiking Makes You Smarter

US based medical researchers have discovered that exercise actually boosts brainpower.

According to a recent report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center studied the ability of mice to grow new brain cells in the dentate gyrus portion of the hippocampus when subjected to a regular exercise regime. Using MRI scans to document the changes in the mouse brains, they were able to establish a positive link between exercise, improved blood flow, and the corresponding increase in brain cells.

Extrapolating their findings from mice to humans, they were able to confirm similar MRI scan patterns in the same areas of human subjects following sustained exercise.

Therefore, we are finally able to clearly state, without fear of contradiction, that not only is it "smart to kick" but it is also "kick to be smart!"

Let's all get out there on our scooters and kick our brains into high gear!

Gary Schmitt's Records Written Up In The IndyStar

Gary Schmitt's kickbiking accomplishments were recently featured an a special IndyStar newspaper and website article. Gary,a 54 year old graphic designer, took up kickbiking a few years ago, and rapidly became top competitor. This past summer he made the trek to Finland, the home of kickbiking. Competing against a field of the best riders (kickers) from all over the world, Gary managed to come away with two gold metals in the over-45 masters division, one in the 1,200 meter race and another in the marathon.

Just as an example of how tough the competition actually was, Gary finished the marathon just 6 seconds ahead of the Matti Pessala, the Finnish champion, covering the whole course in just over 1 hour and 37 minutes.

Do Not Try This At Home...

 

 

Bicycle Signals

20060619_055338.JPG
Originally uploaded by tknr.

Germany...

Handy Toolkit Packaging - Perfect for a Kickbike

 Via Makezine - Original article