CONTENTS

DECEMBER 2006

Velo Vision is published quarterly by Velo Vision Ltd. Subscription details, news and updates can be found on www.velovision.com

ISSN 1475-4312

Velo Vision Magazine The Environmental Centre, St Nicholas Fields, York, YO10 3EN, UK Tel/Fax +44 1904 438 224 (from UK, 01904 438 224) Email peter@velovision.com Website www.velovision.com

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER: Peter Eland ART DIRECTOR: Brian Holt WEB PROGRAMMER: Simon Ward PRINTER: Stephens & George Magazines Ltd, Merthyr Tidfil, Wales, UK. Tel 01685 388 888

PUBLISHING SCHEDULE: Issue 25: early March 2007 Issue 26: early June 2007 Issue 27: early September 2007 Issue 28: early December 2007

Velo Vision is a member of INK, trade association of the alternative press in the UK. www.ink.uk.com

VELO VISION AND VELO-VISION We weren’t first with the name. Velo-Vision (note the hyphen) is a progressive HPV-friendly bike shop in Körten, near Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany, who also make their own recumbents. Velo Vision magazine is working in friendly harmony with Velo-Vision in Germany.

Velo Vision is printed on paper produced from sustainable forests to Nordic Swan standards.

COVER PHOTOGRAPH:

A lucky shot – I didn’t see the chap overtaking until after I’d pressed the shutter....

OPPOSITE:Low sun, autumn colours and fallen leaves – November in the UK. Both photos by Peter Eland.

4 News Bike shed winners, Burrows’ latest, recumbents from Pakistan, new velomobiles, events listings and more…

10 Cycle caravanning A dream comes true in a mobile home cycle trailer at the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert...

13 Cycle 2006 All the most interesting products and ideas on show at the London exhibition…

16 Five ways to fold A portable cycling special as we test fi ve folding or travel bikes, with the help of a guest reviewer from the USA: 18 Birdy Touring 20 Dahon Mu XL 22 Pacifi c Reach 24 Brompton P6R-X 26 Bike Friday New World Tourist

28 Short reviews The SmarTube hydration system, Burrows tests the Winsome touring tandem pedalboat, and a bumper crop of books and magazines reviewed.

32 Reader Bikes Real-life reports from Velo Visionreaders:

32 RANS Zenetik: is crank-forward the way forwards? 34 Creating choppers: amazing reader constructions

36 Revolutionary cycle? Ultra-adjustable design from South Africa 37 AZUB 4: wide range gears on this Czech recumbent 38 Touring with the Pino: a Belgian couple tour England’s Lake District

42 Letters Comments, questions and answers

50 Buyer’s Guide: Hub Gears What they’re good for, how they work, how to fi t them, and what’s available.

55 Advertisements The best specialised advertising around! Please support the companies who

TOP STUFF With this issue we have the fi nal show report for 2006. Looking back as the year draws to a close, what – if anything – has really changed in cycling? We’ve reported on hundreds of innovations, representing thousands of hours of work by the most ingenious and dedicated people in the industry. A good few cyclists will be riding new, ‘better’ bikes or trikes, and many of us will be enjoying some nifty accessory which makes cycling life easier. But most of these developments, fi ne as they are, don’t fundamentally change the cycling experience. Just a few products have hinted at technologies with the potential to take cycling signifi cantly beyond its current limits: affordable velomobiles and ever more sophisticated electric-assist spring to mind. And there

have been some technical milestones passed: the Fallbrook continuously-variable transmission looks as if it may have fi nally cracked one of the enduring technical challenges in cycle engineering. But if this year’s crop hasn’t been revolutionary – perhaps an impossibility after a century of cycling – that doesn’t mean the efforts of the industry have been without effect. Each and every product improvement makes cycling a more attractive and realistic urban transport option. Great bikes make it ever easier to persuade non-cyclists to give pedalling a try. What will 2007 bring? We’re certainly looking forward to fi nding out, and wish all of our readers happy cycling in the New Year!

Peter Eland

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