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Welcome to Velo Vision, the practical cycling magazine.Print edition: Subscribe and/or order sample copies, back issues, PDFs, T-shirts etc...here! Digital edition: details or subscribe! The current issue is Issue 36. The next issue is out in March 2010.
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Contributors' collectionTrailers great and small, if Cadillac made bikes, riding in style, old-style foot protection and the latest frame material? Sue Archer writes: We get a lot of interesting links sent in by readers, so here's a selection from this week's inbox: All trailers great and small Mark Sanders spotted this article on the Treehugger blog, which provides a fairly comprehensive review of the many types of bike trailer available, including some we've reviewed in Velo Vision and some that were new to us. Treehugger have also looked at the options for carrying loads on your bike in racks and bags, proving that with the right equipment you can shift anything from a pint of milk to a sofa. DIY load lugging While there are now many comercially produced trailers available, lots of people like to have a go at building their own. Michael Asberry let us know about this BikeHack.com story about a trailer built from two old walkers - better known in the UK as Zimmer frames. The ready bent tubing of the two frames nestles together with some odds and ends of scrap aluminium to provide the body of the trailer, currently being towed behind a recumbent trike. Well done to the builder for spotting the potential of the Zimmers! Is it a bike, is it a car? Of course it's a bike, this is Velo Vision. Jason Patient sent us the link to this feature on the Environmental Transport Association website. Looking rather like a Cadillac that tried to squeeze between two steamrollers, the recumbent bike is certainly eye-catching, if not all that fast. If you fancy something just a little less noticable and more practical, but still shiny, why not get a quote from ETA for cycle insurance and enter the draw for a Gold Plated Brompton. ETA don't mention how much it'll cost to insure this bike, which you'd probably want to keep handcuffed to yourself at all times... Lycra, who needs it? While some people like to get all togged up in lycra just to go to the shops, here at Velo Vision we tend to just ride in whatever we happen to have on. Jason also higlighted this story on CNN about Lan Yin Tsai, an eighty four year old lady who has ridden in the same 150 mile annual charity ride for the last 26 years, wearing a dress and high heels. Tsai reasons that since she'd dress up to go to church on her bike, that's her biking outfit. Often the last to finish, she has become a celebrity on the ride, and has no plans to give up soon. Chic feet Spats - coverings to protect the top of a shoe from dirt and prevent water getting in through the laces - are rarely seen these days, conjouring up images of Victorian gentlemen or dress uniform. But Jonty Semper noticed that Cycle Chic have resurrected the spat, with a design that is both waterproof and reflective, and more stylish than most neoprene cycling overshoes... Could this be the next big frame material? First we had steel, then aluminium, then carbon. Could the next generation of frames be made from bone, with a fleshy coating? They will if the inventor of Be the Bike, spotted by Dave Godden on Totally Absurd Inventions, has his way. With no means of propulsion it's a downhill-only ride, and one suspects that the rear brake, activated by squeezing the knees together, takes advantage of the natural tendency to clench everything at moments of terror. If you don't fancy bcoming quite so at one with your bike, how about the useful Tricycle Lawnmower to keep your little ones entertained? Posted on 13 November 2009 Your comments ...
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