The illustrations for this section are among my favorites because I love the concept that bicycles make it possible to pedal the earth. But the artist who did such a fine job fitting globes on the bike in the top ad also made an interesting mistake. Look closely and you’ll see that the crankset is on the left side of the bike and that it’s encircling the chainstay, which locks it, preventing it from rotating. A crank that won’t turn is useless. But it’s probably too much to expect this mythical bike to be fully functional.

Referring to more modern machines, my former boss, Bruce Anderson, the owner of Andy’s Cycle Shop in Keene, New Hampshire calls the crank “the heart of a bicycle.” I like that. The frame is essential; the wheels are crucial and the crank is what gets the rider involved pumping the thing and getting it going. And cranking a bike gets the rider going, too: heart, blood, lungs, mind.

But, this section isn’t called “Crank” due to the illustration. And I didn’t use the word “crank” because they’re so important. I named this space “Crank” because to crank means to push the pace. And here, you can have some fun and pick up some useful information in a big hurry by consuming the many bite-size bicycle tips and tricks. The links with white wings take you to a bicycle tips section; the ones with yellow wings take you to full-length stories. You can skim and scan, read just what you want and learn plenty. Be sure to check my ever-growing faq page by clicking the icon below, too.

Click on a title below to go to that page