For those in the Bay Area I highly recommend the Marin Museum of Bicycling. They have an absolutely incredible collection and walking through it you can actually see the bicycle evolve from the direct pedal to today's designs. Truly wild to see some of the dead end evolutionary branches. Steering mechanisms, gearing, early chains, brakes -- people tried so many crazy approaches.
It was founded by a lot of the original mountain bikers so it has a lot of the evolution of mountain bikes as well.
Also we have some partnership with a similar MTB museum in Arnhem (NL), definitely recommend paying them a visit, they have a big collection, I found the first Marin Madrone Trail 1986.
I visited the Shimano Bicycle Museum two years ago and it was a delight. Their new museum is even better than the one they had about a decade ago (smaller building inside the large Daisen Park nearby).
When I purchased the ticket I was offered an English version of the history of bikes presentation in the main hall. I politely declined, but was later politely approached with a piece of paper handwritten with a time the English version would play. I attended and was so glad I did. It was a beautifully presented showcase of bikes across history (with individual bikes in the room being thoughtfully-timely lit up as the video described them).
Really worth going. And I super love Japan and the way I've been treated wherever I went. I've been to Japan about a dozen times now over the last 20 years - it's my favorite place to be.
Love that this is on Hacker News! INRNG has some of the best commentary about professional cycling online, as well as book reviews and travel pieces around famous climbs and races. If you are a fan of professional cycling, it’s a must-read.
I like the concept of pooling news together with the rankings. Everything is in dutch so I cannot comment on the content, but I think it is a good idea.
However, what I think is missing in online cycling is something better than pcs for live races. At the moment, there is no central place when you can follow all races (not only WT) understanding what is currently happening. At most you get a feeling of the groups there are and the distances, but even that is many times not accurate (e.g. in PCS they say "peloton" when it is a group of 30 people).
Of course, doing this is not easy and time consuming...
the daily digests on the "HUBS" section are already in English, and you can sign-up for automatic message (per e-mail or push notification). I'm considering translating all news headlines into English using AI. working on that.
And yes, proper live races would be great with content from people along side the road as well. Currently i think sporza.be is best in this (live race report), but it is all in Dutch.
hey I am building this! check it out and let me know what you think. Still in the early days and lots to improve on, but we are trying to improve the experience for cycling fans!
I understand there's probably just not the data in API you're pulling from, but it'd be cool if smaller races like the Philly Classic could also be tracked in your app. When you're at the race, it's a little hard to find where the peloton is at a given time so I was using your app to try to find it, but no such luck.
On top of that, when catching up it's great to have an indication of _when_ to start watching a race. For that I've been using the info provided on the HowFarOut[1] Twitter account.
We are looking at ways to indicate ahead of time when you should start watching (and sign up for push notifications) as well as ways to do this based on what is happening in the race (crosswinds alarm!)
We have that! It is not perfect but is improving. By next season we will have catch-up mode too so you can tune in when you can and get caught up on the major events that got the race to where it is
I grew up in Idaho, so I know well the pains of trying to follow the sport from another timezone
We will be labeling spoilers from bluesky as well before next season starts so they stay hidden. Work in progress but it should be getting better at a pretty quick pace!
Wanted to say thanks for making this app, makes following races so much easier rather than looking at estimated finish time and setting alarms every day of a tour lol.
So happy to hear that! There is a lot more I plan to do to make it better. I feel like what we have now is just the bare minimum. Looking forward to next season!
infra, for now, is relatively cheap. Eventually i hope the community will contribute to maintain the website. Moderation will be interesting, hopefully partial automated, partially by the community, partially my own time.
it is truly my intend to keep it ad free and true platform for the cycling fans.
I registered a non-profit company to make sure those believes are captured and part of the website.
This is kind of underselling some important details:
For those who don't recognize the name, he is the brother of a top professional cyclist, Matteo Jorgenson, who just last weekend played a key role in the US winning the world cycling championship road race.
Second this - I've been reading it for years, and it goes beyond "who won" and has a lot more in-depth analysis, including the business side of cycling.
Spa World in Osaka is also worth a visit if you're in the area. For reasons beyond my understanding, Osaka happens to have _several_ bars serving ridiculously good absinthe cocktails.
Shimano make great fishing tackle especially reels, from applying their expert gear-engineering skills from bicycle manufacturing, plus is an outdoor sport.
1x11 is a fairly recent thing. Came out in the last ~8 years, really. I was hesitant about going 1x, but did on my gravel bike (1x12) and it's a nice way to cut complexity, weight, and improve maintainability. That's not to say the era of the front derailleur is over -- I think they've still got their place on road bikes.
I like the Shimano MTB stuff, usually I'm all in on the XT level stuff. I did have some XTR cranks back in the day, but they had this cool dark grey color. I especially like the XT disk brakes and their clipless XT trail pedals.
I do too -- on the road, I've migrated over to SRAM, but my hardtail MTB still runs a mix of SLX/XT/XTR. When I buy a new MTB next year, I may or may not stick with Shimano. We'll see.
There is a dedicated museum in Sakai as well apparently:
"Shimano Reel Museum (Sakai, Japan): Situated in Sakai, Japan, the Shimano Reel Museum offers a unique look at the history of fishing reels, with a particular focus on the innovations of Shimano, one of the world’s leading tackle manufacturers. "
https://oldfishingluresandtackle.com/fishing-tackle-museums-...
As a cyclist, the first time I saw Shimano fishing rods took me by surprise too, although it makes (some) sense. Lightweight tubes, smooth bearings, mechanical spinning things are common in both industries. Also amuses me in the same way when I see a Suzuki outboard motor or a Honda lawnmower.
Honda started as a motorcycle. Making excellent tiny engines, it made sense to sell them as components to those who need portable combustion power. I used to work in a factory building pressure washers that used Honda.
Branching out from there in to tiny automobiles came later. It likely helped them be experts at high RPM low displacement, which ultimately won out vs what the American engine makers were doing at the time.
Just scored a 1992 RB-1 earlier this year. Had to order some parts to restore it to factory-correct, but it'll be rebuilt this weekend. Great, great bikes. Lusted after one for a long time.
I hope there's an exhibit on the first generation ten-speed dura ace group set, which was a legitimate jump ahead in capability and precision when it was introduced in 2004. Everything since then has been refining some of the same.
I'm going to Japan in a few weeks and was contemplating visiting this. I'm an avid cyclist and bicycle activist. However, not a big gearhead. What kinds of cyclists is it aimed for? Is it worth a detour?
I was there two days ago - I'm not the most museumy person, but it's worth it if you're already in Osaka for other things or really want to see a wide range of bike history in the flesh. We were the only people there, so it was a serene experience.
I actually wish they would cover more of Shimano's history - they were too neutral imo
Sorry for an unprompted response, but if you’re enjoying cycling and willing to do detours, I’d suggest to check out cycling routes themselves. There are some amazing designated roads that are insanely nice and fun to ride when the weather is around 15-25c.
Although, fun fact, there are complete bikes badged Shimano. The neutral support bikes in the TdF are Canyon Ultimates from 10 years back with Shimano branding. The TdF is full of such truth-bending in the name of sponsorship, see also Lance climbing on a Litespeed with Trek branding.
I had a Shimano bike as a teenager and it was great, the breaks were amazing and I loved riding it until it got stolen right in front of a bank security guard. I still think about the bike.
You probably owned one of these retail store bikes who were often plastered with various shimano stickers for being equipped with their cheapest tourney transmission.
I'm a fairly enthusiastic road rider, and while I'd never trade the tech on my modern bike there's a beauty to those early derailleurs that is lost in modernity.
It was founded by a lot of the original mountain bikers so it has a lot of the evolution of mountain bikes as well.
PS: running https://www.vintagemtb.org retro mtb event
https://mountainbikemuseum.nl/
When I purchased the ticket I was offered an English version of the history of bikes presentation in the main hall. I politely declined, but was later politely approached with a piece of paper handwritten with a time the English version would play. I attended and was so glad I did. It was a beautifully presented showcase of bikes across history (with individual bikes in the room being thoughtfully-timely lit up as the video described them).
Really worth going. And I super love Japan and the way I've been treated wherever I went. I've been to Japan about a dozen times now over the last 20 years - it's my favorite place to be.
It is still in the early stages. i want to gather news from across all channels and make a place for cycling fans, without all the ads.
Also check out my dad’s biography at https://championwillpower.com
Great to see cyclist fans on here!
However, what I think is missing in online cycling is something better than pcs for live races. At the moment, there is no central place when you can follow all races (not only WT) understanding what is currently happening. At most you get a feeling of the groups there are and the distances, but even that is many times not accurate (e.g. in PCS they say "peloton" when it is a group of 30 people).
Of course, doing this is not easy and time consuming...
And yes, proper live races would be great with content from people along side the road as well. Currently i think sporza.be is best in this (live race report), but it is all in Dutch.
Thank you for your feedback!
https://radial.racing/
I can watch a race on catch-up, but if I'm doing that then I can't open PCS to check profiles or standings/time-gaps until I'm fully caught up
On top of that, when catching up it's great to have an indication of _when_ to start watching a race. For that I've been using the info provided on the HowFarOut[1] Twitter account.
[1] https://nitter.click/HowFarOut
I grew up in Idaho, so I know well the pains of trying to follow the sport from another timezone
It's a shame Lucas' cycling blog isn't on that platform, that's a great source for news and updates
it is truly my intend to keep it ad free and true platform for the cycling fans.
I registered a non-profit company to make sure those believes are captured and part of the website.
kristo at radial dot racing : )
edit: I'm also in NL too
For those who don't recognize the name, he is the brother of a top professional cyclist, Matteo Jorgenson, who just last weekend played a key role in the US winning the world cycling championship road race.
I love their group sets and a 1x11 blew my mind during covid. I was always used to 3x setups and I don’t think 1x’s were around when I was a kid.
Also everyone should try di2.
"Shimano Reel Museum (Sakai, Japan): Situated in Sakai, Japan, the Shimano Reel Museum offers a unique look at the history of fishing reels, with a particular focus on the innovations of Shimano, one of the world’s leading tackle manufacturers. " https://oldfishingluresandtackle.com/fishing-tackle-museums-...
Branching out from there in to tiny automobiles came later. It likely helped them be experts at high RPM low displacement, which ultimately won out vs what the American engine makers were doing at the time.
Maker of electronic keyboards, outboard motors, jetskis, motorcycles, pianos, drums and guitars.
The logo appears to be 3 tuning forks.
Before that you had to watch gears all the time.
I remember tinkering with my Ukrainian gears to make them more loose in "Shimano style".
https://uk-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/%D0%A5%D0%B0%D1...
I actually wish they would cover more of Shimano's history - they were too neutral imo
https://uk-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/%D0%A5%D0%B0%D1...
Praiseworthy because "Timo Noko" is mentioned as a customer. Those bicycles were good but dirt cheap, maybe even 1/10 of Raleigh or Shimano.
You probably owned one of these retail store bikes who were often plastered with various shimano stickers for being equipped with their cheapest tourney transmission.