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GUESTS: HERBIE HELM, CHRIS MILLS
Isn’t it funny how good form can sneak up on you? For those of us who don’t actively and purposefully train (I already have a job, thanks) at some point in the season, we realize we’re riding a mile or two per hour faster than usual without being winded. Or we ascend a tough climb in a slightly taller gear than before. I hope you’re finding some “accidental form” about now, and that you will enjoy longer and stronger rides in the cool days of autumn that lie ahead.
As we pedal towards those falling leaves, we have two great guests on The Outspoken Cyclist this week:
Herbie Helm is a Michigan-based framebuilder (but we won’t hold his home state against him) who learned the craft from none other than Doug Fattic. In addition to being the force behind Helm Cycles, Herbie participated in Doug’s Bike Project in Ukraine, which endeavors to build bikes for church pastors who typically can’t afford to own and operate a car in order to serve their congregants. Herbie has a great sense of the form and function of a bicycle, and Helm bikes feature uncommon elements like SON dynamo-specific dropouts and internal wiring for lights.
To helmet or not to helmet? If you leave your house on or with your bike, you probably don’t think twice about grabbing your helmet on the way out the door. But what if you’re hopping on a bike share bike for a one or two mile ride in the city? Unless Inspector Gadget is hanging out by the bike share dock, you’re probably riding lidless. Chris Mills has a better idea: Helmet Hub. It’s a solar-powered machine that will dispense a helmet that is designed to be returned after use, sanitized, inspected, and re-used. Boston’s bike share is rolling them out, and they may be popping up in other cities as well.