30 Days of Biking in April

Posted on Mar 29th 2018 | Bike Life,

The month of April is almost here and with it comes the 30 Days of Biking Challenge and Pledge. Now in its 8th year, the challenge is a way to encourage people to try to get out and ride their bike every day in April. Even the shortest of rides counts – a quick spin around the block, a ride to the nearest coffee […] read more...

Fat Tire Enlightenment

Posted on Feb 22nd 2018 | bike commute, fat tire bikes, Winter commute,

I’ve not been drawn to fat tire bikes since they have become a popular choice for winter bike riding. I prefer my studded tires that work great on ice and the narrow tires cut through new snow like a hot knife. The last few weeks Madison has produced bitter cold with light snow fall whi […] read more...

Local Bike Advocacy

Posted on Feb 7th 2018 | Advocacy,

What does bicycle advocacy look like? There are thousands of answers to that question. Each month the Downtown Madison, Inc. (DMI) Bicycle Committee meets to receive updates on what’s happening in the Madison bicycling world. The goal is to communicate what needs to happen to move bicycling related projects […] read more...

Free Bikes 4 Kids Madison Receives Community Grant

Posted on Jan 4th 2018 | Advocacy, Events, News,

The Madison Community Foundation has recently announced their Mad About Bikes community grants. These grants celebrate Madison’s bicycle culture and focus on increasing bicycle access for everyone in the community. Free Bikes 4 Kids Madison has been awarded a portion of this years grant that will see the program […] read more...

New Gear for the New Year

Posted on Dec 20th 2017 | News, Product,

As we come to the end of the year we’ve got a handful of new products to ring in 2018 with. Without further ado . . . Be kind and alert fellow cyclists and pedestrians of your approach with one of our new easy to mount bells. Our Courtesy Flexi Bell uses a rubber stretch strap to fit bars from 16-42mm and the di […] read more...

Announcing the Superflash 65!

Posted on Nov 14th 2017 | News, Product,

In 2007 we released our iconic Superflash tail light. With its highly visible sporadic flash pattern and super long battery life, this light transformed the bicycle light category and helped keep cyclists safer on their rides. As the years have gone by, we’ve added to the Superflash family of lights with the even […] read more...

New Fork Mount Headlight Bracket

Posted on Nov 9th 2017 | Product,

Do you ever feel like your bike accessories are fighting for the valuable real estate on your handlebars? Our new Fork Mount headlight bracket provides a solution for mounting your bike headlight without taking up any space on your bars. The bracket mounts above the front wheel through the fork crown and centers your […] read more...

Support Your Shop

Posted on Nov 2nd 2017 | Bike Life,

We rolled out a new website several weeks ago which has made it even easier to find our products at bike shops in your area. All the product pages offer a “Buy Local” button which will prompt you to enter your zip code or city/state. […] read more...

Badger Rock Middle School Launches Riding for Focus Program

Posted on Oct 23rd 2017 | Advocacy, Bike Life, Blog,

Last week Badger Rock Middle school in our home town of Madison, WI was one of 20 middle schools across the country to receive a Biking for Focus grant from The Specialized Foundation. The grant provided 20 bikes, helmets through the Specialized Foundation and curriculum that was developed with Stanford University. […] read more...

Youth Bike Summit Recap

Posted on Oct 19th 2017 | Advocacy, Bike Life, Blog,

A few weeks ago we posted a blog about the 7th annual Youth Bike Summit (YBS) that took place on October 6th – 8th in Arlington, VA. Planet Bike has been a long-time supporter of the YBS and we are always excited to see the results and growth of the summit each year. Keynote presentation session […] read more...

New Bike Lights for Autumn

Posted on Oct 13th 2017 | Blog, Product,

Autumn is officially upon us and we have introduced a few new lights. Making sure you’re visible on local paths and roadways has never been more important. We’re excited that this season’s new bike lights will shine a light on your next adventure whether it’s during the day or at night! Autumn […] read more...

Transportation – The Future is Now

Posted on Oct 11th 2017 | Advocacy, Bike Life, Blog,

I had the pleasure to attend and present at 1000 Friends of Wisconsin’s recent Transportation: The Future Is Now conference in Madison, WI. In a nutshell, I spoke to how Autonomous Vehicles will slowly create a bump and then a tidal wave of biking and walking in our communities. Once a person replaces their old […] read more...

Light Brigade Initiative

Posted on Oct 5th 2017 | Advocacy, Blog,

This past weekend Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) launched the month-long Light Brigade Initiative. Massbike has a fundraising goal of $10,000 over the month of October to provide at least 1,000 Planet Bike lights to bicycle riders in need. This initiative helps raise awareness about steps that bicycle ri […] read more...

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

Posted on Oct 3rd 2017 | Bike Life, Events,

My family recently took a trip up to Marquette, Michigan with some other biking families to explore and ride some of the amazing mountain bike trails the area is well known for. We brought the kids to the trail head one day to rip around on the pump track and ride some of the shorter loops through the woods. B […] read more...

Youth Bike Summit 2017

Posted on Sep 29th 2017 | Advocacy, Blog, Events,

Planet Bike is once again a lead sponsor of the 7th annual Youth Bike Summit (YBS).  The Summit takes place from October 6th-8th in Arlington, VA. Over 500 young people and adults will gather to learn and share ways to transform our communities by empowering and developing youth bicycle leaders. Photo Cred […] read more...

Welcome to our New Internet Home!

Posted on Sep 18th 2017 | bike inflator, bike lock, bike pump, bike tail light, Planet Bike,

We have been working hard to bring a new website to you and we’re excited that day is finally here! Our mantra here at Planet Bike is that we love the balance the bicycle brings to the world and its power to make people, communities and the planet healthier. Our goal is that our new site helps spread that message […] read more...

40,000 Miles and Counting

Posted on Aug 18th 2017 | Bike Life,

  We recently heard from a loyal customer in Texas who swears by our Protégé computers and we just had to share his story. Gary Files was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in February 2008 and vowed to take control of his health through diet and exercise. In May of that year he made a commitment to ride […] read more...

Life in the Bike Lane

Posted on Aug 11th 2017 | Better World, Bike Life,

New York City, known as the melting pot of the world, has seen the number of bicycle commuters increase rapidly over the past five years. Although still a fraction of the total transportation population, bicycling has outpaced both population and employment growth within the city. New York now has more bicycle c […] read more...

Learning to Ride

Posted on May 17th 2017 | Bike Life,

Learning to ride a bike is a big deal. The experience has a sort of monumental and mythical quality to it. It’s one of those classic experiences you’re supposed to remember forever, symbolizing a sense of independence and accomplishment. We can probably all envision the scene – a parent running behind a child an […] read more...

National Park Week

Posted on Apr 17th 2017 | Bike Life,

At Planet Bike, we obviously love riding our bikes. We use the bicycle for multiple reasons – transportation, recreation, racing, urban exploring, and family outings just to name a few. Aside from our daily use of the bicycle, we are always on the lookout for unique experiences to enjoy on our favorite two-wheel […] read more...

400 bikes, 70 locks, thousands of smiles

Posted on Apr 7th 2017 | Advocacy, Bike Life,

March 29, 2017 was the culmination of six month’s hard work by Andy Quandt to bring Free Bikes 4 Kidz to Madison, WI. We gave away 400 bikes and helmets, 70 Planet Bike locks, and thousands of smiles. Turning run down bikes into gold feels good. Nigel Hayes of the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team wa […] read more...

More kids on bikes

Posted on Mar 29th 2017 | Advocacy, News,

Planet Bike has been a long-time supporter of youth cycling initiatives. We are thrilled to be a sponsor of the National Youth Cycling Research Initiative. Read below to find out more information on this exciting new project:The Youth Cycling Alliance (YCA) announces the National Youth Cycling Research Initiativ […] read more...

Neuroscience, Bikes, and Kids

Posted on Mar 24th 2017 | Bike Life,

At the 2017 National Bike Summit in Washington, DC earlier this month I learned about many new and innovative bike programs happening around the United States. One of the programs that caught my attention dealt with the intersection of neuroscience, bikes, and kids. Mike Sinyard, founder of Specialized Bike […] read more...

Rebuild your gear, shipping is free!

Posted on Mar 23rd 2017 | Learn, Product,

All of us here at Planet Bike try to be conscious of our impact on the earth and we design our products to be easily rebuildable. We offer loads of small parts on our website (132 to be exact!) so that one missing bit doesn’t mean you have to throw something away and start over with a new product. The best p […] read more...

2017 Wisconsin Ride Guide

Posted on Mar 16th 2017 | Bike Life, Events,

Bicycling plays a prominent role in our home state of Wisconsin. From the many rail trails and other paths that are prevalent through much of the state, to the numerous bicycle related industries that call Wisconsin home; we take bicycling seriously here in Wisconsin. We also have a terrific advocacy organization in th […] read more...

It’s the Little Things

Posted on Mar 6th 2017 | Bike Life, Blog, Video,

We all know the genius of the Dutch transportation engineers that have created a people-focused transportation system beloved by bicyclists, pedestrians and car drivers. It’s not just separated bike lanes and low car speeds that make cycling safe and fun in the Netherlands, it’s the little things too. Today […] read more...

Planet Bike Helps Launch Youth Cycling Alliance

Posted on Dec 21st 2016 |

Over the last 20 years, Planet Bike has been committed to supporting organizations working for sustainable transportation solutions. An importation part of that mission has been to encourage youth cycling. Over the years we have partnered with organizations such as Trips for Kids, the Youth Bike Summit, BikeWorks, and […] read more...

Superflash USB Update

Posted on Nov 29th 2016 | Product,

The legendary Pow! Blink, blink, blink of Planet Bike’s Superflash tail light has been keeping cyclists safer and more visible for over a decade. Since its inception, we have worked to continually improve the tail light’s function and durability and a couple of years back we introduced a rechargeable versi […] read more...

Fat Bike Fenders and Tire Gauge

Posted on Oct 25th 2016 | Product,

We’ve come out with quite a few new products this fall. I’ll be highlighting them in the coming days/weeks. First up is our fat bike specific gear. For the last three years (maybe more!) we’ve been getting questions from shops and customers about when we were going to make fat bike fenders. We spent […] read more...

Double Wrapped Handlebars

Posted on Jun 10th 2016 | Bike Life, Blog, Learn, Product,

My name is Heath and I’m a double taper. It all started when I saw an old timer (yep, I’m talking about you Larry) cover his bars with foam tubes (think 10 speeds of the 1980’s) and a layer of leather tape overtop. A secret layer of comfort, genius! Over the years I have refined my system to produce […] read more...