Versatility at its Finest

Posted on Apr 21st 2009 | Blog,

Another recent addition to the Planet Bike line is the Versa Rack. We racked our brains and came up with a rear rack that fits 97% of all mountain, road, and hybrid bikes. Now I’m no statistician, but I’d say that’s a pretty solid percentage! Available in any color, as long as it’s black. […] read more...

Bike Walk Madison goes live

Posted on Apr 17th 2009 | Advocacy, Blog, News,

Planet Bike’s hometown, Madison, WI, has a new grassroots advocacy group looking out for bicyclists. Bike Walk Madison had our launch party on Wednesday, April 15. About 65 people met at the stunning new Atwood, er I mean , Goodman Community Center off the Isthmus Bike Path. Many thanks to the Underground Food Collec […] read more...

The New Backpack

Posted on Apr 15th 2009 | Blog, Product,

Cargo isn’t just for ships and eighteen-wheelers anymore. Yesterday we stocked up a large portion of our warehouse with the new Escape Pod. Works great for hauling a change of clothes, lunch, or your various prized possessions. The tight seal and keyed lock keep the riff raff out.

Green Machine

Posted on Mar 17th 2009 | Better World, Bike Life, Blog,

Temperatures are hitting near 70 degrees today, and Planet Bike took full advantage with 100% of the staff using pedal power to arrive at work. We’ve been gearing up for the warm temperatures and outfitting the garage with space saving bike parking. A wall full of bikes, what a beautiful sight. […] read more...

Twist and Shout

Posted on Mar 12th 2009 | Bike Life, Blog,

Internet social networks seem to be all the rage these days. They’re hardly new but the masses continue to flock to them. Planet Bike is jumping on the cool kid train at Facebook and Twitter. So we’re not that lonely kid in the corner at the prom, come on world, dance with us! […] read more...

The purple is dead. Long live the purple.

Posted on Mar 5th 2009 | Advocacy, Blog,

This week, Planet Bike’s favorite bike advocacy group, the Thunderhead Alliance, re-branded itself as the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The original name came from the Thunderhead Ranch in Wyoming at which the first Thunderhead retreat was held in 1992. “As the movement has grown more sophisticated and stronger w […] read more...

Stimulating Biking

Posted on Feb 18th 2009 | Blog, News,

The $787 billion economic stimulus package signed into law yesterday (2/17/09) has some serious dollars set aside for bike projects. At first reading, there seems to be a minimum of $825 million available for bike projects, up to $1.5 billion. How the money will be spent will be largely up to individual states, so sta […] read more...

See the Light (and be seen)

Posted on Feb 4th 2009 | Blog, Product,

We want you to be safe when you’re out pedaling around town. That’s why we developed that fantastically intense POW! POW! blink blink burst of the Superflash tail light. Did you know that we also employ that same eye-catching strobe in our Blaze 1w headlight? We do, and people are really starting to take notice. Se […] read more...

Inaugural Presence

Posted on Jan 29th 2009 | Bike Life, Blog,

Last week, as the world’s attention focused in on the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States, we wanted to play at least a small role in the historic occasion.In an attempt to support the pro self-propelled platform, we worked with our friends at National Pedicab and Austin-based Triciclo Pedicabs, to […] read more...

And the nominees are…

Posted on Jan 22nd 2009 | Blog, News,

Planet Bike has been selected as a finalist for REI’s 2008 Vendor Partner of the Year Award for their Actionsports Division. It is a tremendous honor for us to receive one of only five nominations from a list of several hundred top companies. We were nominated based on several criteria: -Emphasis on product quality, […] read more...

New kid on the block

Posted on Jan 21st 2009 | Blog, News,

Our pals (and former PB employees) Erik and Dan have hit the ground pedaling with the recent launch of their brainchild, Portland Design Works. I guess it’s true that the nuts don’t fall far from the tree. Gentlemen, from balmy Wisconsin we send our congratulations. […] read more...

oh the weather outside is frightful…

Posted on Jan 19th 2009 | Bike Life, Blog,

As the snow falls and the temperatures dip many of us cyclists have to make a tough decision: break out the trainer and stay fit or indulge in a little “rest and recovery” over at the local watering hole. The crew down in Chicago figured out an alternative for the best of both worlds. Planet Bike helped support the IR […] read more...

Riding (and breathing) at -13° Fahrenheit

Posted on Jan 15th 2009 | Bike Life, Blog,

Chris just rolled into the office and it’s -13° Fahrenheit. Hanging from his face mask was a 4″ snotsicle. He’s also sporting a sweet Wig bag. […] read more...

Madison-Madison, the long way

Posted on Jan 6th 2009 | Bike Life, Blog,

You may or may not recall our mention of Planet Bike pal Charlie Brigham IV back in August. The short of it is that Charlie is on a mission to cycle around the world. He set off on September 15, 2007 towards the east coast. He secured a spot on a sailboat across the Atlantic. Charlie got into a bit of a wreck over in I […] read more...

Spread the Holiday Cheer!

Posted on Dec 30th 2008 | Blog, Product,

We know you’ve spoiled your friends and family with love and gifts over the Holiday season. Isn’t it about time that you spoiled yourself? There’s no better way than treating yourself to the most awesome light sets on the planet, the Blaze 1W & Superflash light set. We’ve paired up the uber-bright Blaze 1W LED […] read more...

New Blood

Posted on Oct 30th 2008 | Blog, News,

2008 has been a heck of a year for us. As soon as gas hit $4 a gallon, things really got rolling for us. (Not that they weren’t already!) We’ve been a small company since we started, but lately, we’ve had to add a few new folks. About two months ago, we hired Heath Fossen to step in to hand the development of new prod […] read more...

Team Planet Bike Blog

Posted on Oct 27th 2008 | Bike Life, Blog,

One of Planet Bike’s newest employees, Kristin Wentworth, is also representing Planet Bike between the tape on the National cross scene this fall. Following a couple of road trips with the Anna Young and the Brothers Lalonde, Kristin has started keeping track of stuff on the Cross Team’s very own blog. You can follow a […] read more...

Page Second in Belgium

Posted on Oct 17th 2008 | Blog,

Page returned recently to Europe to begin his quest for his first World Championship. Just like last year’s Ardooie, Belgian Neils Albert rode away with the victory, but Page hung tough for a second place finish, besting reigning World Champion Lars Boom, Erwin Vervecken and Klaas Vantornout. Page will spend the bulk […] read more...

Interbike Wrap Up

Posted on Oct 15th 2008 | Blog, Product,

Every year it’s a big job packing up all of our stuff and moving it to the desert for a few days. It’s worth it to visit with dealers, and see our other friends in the industry. Most of the time we’re pretty happy to just run the company from the shadows, but this year a couple of us ended up making it on some film, […] read more...

Vote For Follmer

Posted on Oct 3rd 2008 | Bike Life, Blog,

Not for president or anything substantial, the Austin Bike Blog has been running a contest called “what’s the biggest thing you’ve carried on a bike?” It sounds like they had quite a few pictures submitted, and they narrowed them down to the final 10. Well I got in, so the more votes I can get, the better! For what it […] read more...

Page Wins Cheq 40

Posted on Sep 15th 2008 | Blog, News,

Racing aboard a rigid Ridley that was assemble just a few days before the event, Planet Bike’s Jonathan Page held off hard charging Jeff Hall by seven seconds to win his first Chequamegon Fat Tire 40. Page will switch to the cross bike this week and race this weekend in Michigan at the Tailwinds UCI cross event, and t […] read more...

Lighting up the Velorution

Posted on Aug 28th 2008 | Advocacy, Bike Life, Blog,

The Ripon College Velorution Project got rolling a few days ago. Ripon College, in our home state of Wisconsin, has given 180 bikes to incoming freshman who pledge to leave their car at home for the school year. Ric Damm, the project’s coordinator, and I connected at the National Bike Summit back in March. To help k […] read more...

Use it, but don’t lose it

Posted on Aug 21st 2008 | Bike Life, Blog, Learn, Product,

I currently live about 12 miles from the office; past the edge of town, through the country and into the next town. If, for what ever reason, I’m riding back after dark, it is VERY dark. I permanently installed a prototype Blaze Dynamo light on the front rack of my bike, and since I always ride with the same Chrome ba […] read more...

Get Some!

Posted on Aug 19th 2008 | Blog, Product,

We’ve had a lot of interest in our Blaze 1 Watt light since it was reviewed a couple of times this past spring. Well, we finally have some in stock. If you are looking for one, act now, ’cause they’re going to go quick! A large chunk of this shipment has already been sent to our distributors as well, so your local sh […] read more...

A toast to Charlie

Posted on Aug 12th 2008 | Bike Life, Blog,

Charlie was, up until last September, one of the local bike shop employees here in Madison. On Sept. 15th of 2007 he set off for home, the long way around the earth. He’s been on the road for almost a year at this point, and has under his belt a ride down the length of the eastern seaboard of the US, a tras-Atlantic v […] read more...

Editors Choice For Super Set

Posted on Aug 5th 2008 | Blog, Product,

We were delighted this week when the September 2008 issue of Bicycling Magazine showed up and our Blaze/Superflash light set had been bestowed with an Editors Choice award for light sets. We like to think we are doing a good job with our products, and sales have been pretty good this year, but getting a nod from a pr […] read more...

What Would A Tree Do?

Posted on Jul 29th 2008 | Bike Life, Blog,

As one of the marketing guys here at Planet Bike, I tend to take long hard looks at what others in the industry are doing with regards to marketing cycling. During my search today I came across this image. It is compelling if nothing else. […] read more...

Thunderhead Coast to Coast

Posted on Jun 16th 2008 | Advocacy, Blog,

Our favorite, obscurely named grass roots bike coalition, the Thunderhead Alliance, has a new supreme leader. Jeff Miller, former Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, has been named President and CEO for the Thunderhead Alliance.I got to know Jeff during his regular calls to Planet Bike HQ to hustle fr […] read more...

A time for fenders

Posted on Jun 13th 2008 | Bike Life, Blog,

If ever there was a good time to have a decent set of fenders, it would be this last week. Since last Friday, old Ma Nature has savagely dumped several inches of rain on the Madison area, and I gotta say, we’re getting off easy compared to others in Wisconsin and Iowa. Other than a little water in all of our basemen […] read more...

Spring 2008 Super Commuter – Billy Knudson

Posted on May 18th 2008 | Super Commuters,

MADISON, WI – A number of years ago, the now defunct Bike Culture Magazine partnered up with us to honor a bicycle “Super commuter” in each issue. We, at Planet Bike, always loved reading about the dedicated commuters who rode through every season, in all weather. As a result, we decided that it was high time we r […] read more...