Bike Tel Aviv Blog: News, Updates & More

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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The Perils of Carbon Forks & Shitty Mechanics

May 19, 2008 – 4:20 pm
So, I'm riding home last night from work and I hear a strange sound coming from the front wheel of my bike.  I'm used to the noises of my bike, as every rider is, but this was something different. I slowed down a little bit and hopped a bit to see if I could duplicate the sound.  No such luck.  I put it out of my mind and start to speed up again.  I reach down and pull up on the handlebars to accelerate. To my shock and horror, the handlebars and stem rip themselves from the fork head.  I'm riding relatively fast without any way to steer.  And because this is Israel someone is immediately honking repeatedly behind me because I'm swerving a wee bit. At this moment, three simultaneous thoughts are swirling around my head: oh shit, this is going hurt when I fall on my face; I can't fathom how ...

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Tel Aviv Track Bike

March 18, 2008 – 2:09 pm
I was a bike messenger in New York City for about four years. I started out riding a stripped mountain bike with slicks in '99. One of the dispatchers was riding a Bianchi track bike - that is, a single speed with no freewheel and horizontal dropouts. I'll skip the "why I like riding a track bike" nonsense as it was already a cliche in 2002. Needless to say, I got one and have been riding one ever since. In '99 there were only a handful of messengers riding them and people would give you a sideways glance and ask "how do you stop?" By the time I left New York, track bikes were ubiquitous hipster gear and all too often you'd see some idiot flying down the Williamsburg Bridge, fear-stricken, trying to figure out how to stop. All good things come to an end I ...

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