Bike Tel Aviv Blog: News, Updates & More

Updates, Browser Fixes and a Broken Frame

September 12, 2008 – 6:42 pm
First the good news.  Bike Tel Aviv should be displayed properly in all modern browsers.  I cleaned up the code and it's been validated by the W3; hence the two certification icons on the sidebar.  So all browser issues should be taken care of unless you're using Lynx; in that case, you're on your own. I updated the contact form so it no longer requires an email client to send the mail.   Just fill in the comment, press submit and it's sent.  Please comment freely about site design, suggestions, and any bike-related questions. And the bad news. So my bike frame is finally kaput.  My Cannondale Track frame has gone from merely being a frame with an increasingly large crack in it to a frame whose top tube is severed at one end.  And to make things worse, my replacement track frame was supposed to be in my hands on September 8.  Clearly ...

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Tall Bikes: Mutant Bike Culture Not Yet in Tel Aviv

September 9, 2008 – 2:17 pm
This is old but funny. First, some background: For those who don't know, tall bikes are part of the nebulous bike culture and residing somewhere in the subculture scene bordering the hipster and fixie lifestyles. Part of the philosophy of the tall bike movement is to recycle and reuse old bikes and parts and recapitulate them as useful, if unreliable and totally impractical, bikes. The philosophy borders on the preachy when the corporate culture tries to incorporate the insular tall bike culture.  Tall bike riders form clubs and drink a lot and talk about individuality and yada yada but if you want to join their clubs - Black Label or C.H.U.N.K. 666 to name a couple - you must pass a vetting process and conform to their norms.  Sounds great. Listening to the Best Show on WFMU's archives, the host Tom Scharpling read a Village Voice article about vandalism in the ...

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Update & Browser Issues

September 9, 2008 – 8:23 am
I'm aware of the fact that on IE7, the blog page appears either as a tiny box with a scroll bar or squishes the footer into the top post.  And on IE6 (if anyone, for some reason, still uses it...), the navigation bar at the top bleeds all the way through the entire blog coloring the background gray and rendering reading difficult. I'm working on fixing that. But in the meantime, perhaps it would be worthwhile to check out one of the browsers that actually render code correctly:  Firefox 3, Opera, or even IE8 (still in beta but much better than IE7). Next update will be the maps section which I can hopefully get through at least part of this weekend.

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Cannondale Capo 2009: It’s Much Worse

September 5, 2008 – 9:41 pm
The ever-vigilant Bike Snob NYC has unofficially unveiled the 2009 Cannondale Capo; it can only be described as an affront to nature and all that is good and decent about cycling. According to the ad blurb under the Capo 2009, "with the grit and mettle for counterculture acceptance, the Capo...bleeds the fixed-gear lifestyle."   I'm not really sure how the track bike became a symbol of the counterculture and I don't really know what the so-called "fixed-gear (shouldn't that be fixie?) lifestyle is, but this bike screams desperation and cookie-cutter fad more than any counterculture rebel cry.

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Bike Tel Aviv Redesign and Update

September 5, 2008 – 11:14 am
I updated the design of the site a bit.  It looks a bit crisper to me and is easier to view.  Most everything, with the exception of the blog, is viewable on one screen so there's need to scroll or search for information.  It's all there or it's not there at all. I also rewrote the site from html to php; there isn't too much functionality yet but the php should make the web pages load slighlty faster and provides for greater functionality in the future. Let me know what you think of the design. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.

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Cracked Cannondale Track Frame

August 30, 2008 – 11:04 pm
My bike frame cracked a few months ago and I've been unable to ride because of it.  Cannondale has - as they are required to do - agreed to replace my bike frame since it is under a lifetime warranty.  Considering I live in Israel, it's quite nice of them to ship it over as the shipping costs would be half the cost of the frame itself.  I guess this is one of the advantages of working through the Tel Aviv Cannondale dealer, DAA. DAA has been great and extremely helpful.  My new frame should arrive on September 9.  I'm not sure if they'll be sending the exact track frame that I have or if it will be another model.  The new track frame from Cannondale is the poorly monikered Cannondale Capo.  It's an attractive enough and simple enough design but the name leaves something to be desired. For the curious, here ...

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At Least It’s Not the Cannondale Kapo

August 30, 2008 – 10:59 pm
As I wait with anticipation to see if my new Cannondale Track frame is the same model that I've been riding for years, I'm left wondering which bike frame it will be.  Cannondale hasn't made many track bikes over the years.  In fact, they've only made essentially the same frame that has been repainted and rebranded over and over.  And the name has, until its present incarnation, always been Track.  For some unknown reason, probably to appeal to a hipper crowd or to the faux-messenger scene, Cannondale has inexplicably chosen to brand its newest track bike as the Capo. ...

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Throwing Rocks at Bikes

August 25, 2008 – 7:46 pm
I really enjoy riding in Israel.  The center of the country is mostly flat and aside from the aggressive drivers and sometimes shoddy roads, it's a generally peaceful ride. So, I'm riding to work this morning and passing through Yafo down the main street that that leads to Tel Aviv.  I'm coming into work late and despite the construction, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the roads were clear and there little traffic to contend with. Pleased with the empty lanes, the next instant something crashes against the front of my bike.  I thought I'd hit a pothole (not uncommon in Israel) but hear this cackle of laughter from the left.  This is when I notice the baseball-sized rock in the road and this demonic kid of 10 or so years laughing.  Realizing that he had thrown a large rock at me was frustrating and I let loose a string of ...

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El Al Offers Bike Rental Discount

August 18, 2008 – 3:32 pm
El-Al now offers a 10% discount for bike rental from O-Fun. According to El Al's website, you get a 10% discount with valid El Al ticket. I'm not really sure what "valid" ticket means but it's a cheaper way to see Tel Aviv by bike. You can check out Bike Tel Aviv maps for some pleasant cycling routes through the city. I'm trying to add new content as quickly as possible so check back often.  Suggestions are always welcome.

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Bike Tel Aviv Update

August 7, 2008 – 10:45 pm
Slight upgrade of the site.  I added some of the popular bike stores in Tel Aviv on the store page.  I'm still in the process of trying to add the maps page; since google maps doesn't work in israel yet and there's no API to use with ymap I'm not sure how to add the maps section yet. Look for more updates coming soon.... My bike frame cracked; Cannondale is supposed to ship a replacement (hoo-ray lifetime warranty) to Israel in September.  It's been a bit depressing to work on a bike site sans a bike.  Nevertheless, things are slowly coming together.

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