We Gotta Lotta Great Stuff Installed...er...In Store

This is us on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, with the video debut of  BikemanforU.com on our YouTube channel.

Since YouTube was hazy about allowing videos to promote websites back then, we tried to be circumspect with titling.

Even so, our two-minute and 17-second video raised a ruckus. Local fire chiefs let us know they were less than pleased.

It's not like we set up the shot. That's genuine footage of a Westhampton Beach, NY, fire truck rushing through town with sirens blaring.

The footage does appear a few times in this video, sort of like the scene in the movie "Bridget Jones's Diary," where Renee Zellweger's panty-hosed butt slides up and down a fire pole, but not exactly.



The Origin Of Spikeit Dollars

Monohawk?

You can save 10% on any online BikemanforU purchase with the coupon code spikeit, and a paper spikeit dollar is included in every package we ship.

Spikeit was born in this video, released when the guru of bicycle repair was aiming for the world's tallest spiked hair. The future would reveal the Guiness World Record being smashed later that year by Japanese fashion designer Kazuhiro Watanabe, (left photo) for his 44.68-inch high "mohican."  

BikemanforU conceived the video using inspiration from his hometown's Atlantic Ocean coastline, and the movie classic "Jaws." He edited with iMovie, on a Mac the size of a Buick that was so sold even then it would be ancient today. If we still had it.

He dun, dun, dunned the famous theme music without risk of a copyright infringement. 

His dad, the late Mr. Pump, was behind the company's stalwart Flip camcorder. A hugely popular  forerunner of today's internet cameras, the pocket-sized Flip would be shut down abruptly in April, 2011, a few months after this video went public, by Cisco.

We hear Mr. Pump's voice in the background, along with those of more family members, plus a stranger heading into the local 7-11, now the coffee supplier on Bike Shop LIVE.

YouTube's red annotations, encouraging viewers to subscribe and watch more how-to videos, are lavishly splashed through the footage. Endscreens, colorless and more discreet, are the current vogue.

For now, we'll leave this video untouched, its DIY toolmarks intact. After five years on the internet, nearly six, it's practically historical, if not hysterical. 

BikemanforU Website Rejuvenation - Don't Look Back

While we're not sure, yet, where we're headed with our website design, we do know that BikemanforU.com is in for some kind of a make-over.

Henry Bramwell, president of Visionary, the Long Island-based marketing outfit, is on board. He and his team will be helping to bring even more fun to the BikemanforU experience. 

We went online six years ago with a DIY website, featuring about 400 bicycle parts and accessories and a slew of homemade graphics. 

Technology moves forward, however, and, like Bob Dylan's artist girlfriend in the song, it's not looking back. 

Categories are becoming endless as we add more and more new products. Our graphics, cobbled together from video screen grabs and Microsoft Paint, are painfully out of date. Customizing the HTML in our design is increasingly difficult. Now's the perfect time to freshen up. 

The idea of change, is more likely scarier than the actual change itself. First up is our professionally designed logo. While our beloved chainring looks great on a desktop, it's virtually, so to speak, unreadable on a mobile phone.

We're excited as we approach our first logo evolution. Like Starbucks, Proctor & Gamble, and other brands before us, we are ready, if a little trepidatious.

Bicycle Accessories Make Great Gifts

Our new holiday gift guide is packed with thoughtful suggestions from our elf-on-the-shelf that are sure to please your favorite cyclist. Free shipping on top brands.Get inspired with BikemanforU videos.

Free Shipping - Order By Dec. 18 For Christmas and Kwanzaa delivery. Order by Dec. 1 for Hanukkah. 

USPS Priority Mail Express 1-Day - Order by Dec. 22 Fastest domestic service with guaranteed overnight scheduled delivery to most locations. 

Shop now to ensure timely arrival for Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa.

Customizable Rear Trunk Bag Protects Camera Gear

DX Trunk Bag with padded compartments

Giant Bicycles' water-resistant DX trunk bag with adjustable foam-padded compartments protects cameras and equipment while you ride. Besides the customizable storage, we like the built-in rain cover and pannier style side pockets, too.

Secures to your bike's rear rack with velcro straps and comes with a detachable shoulder strap. Measures 14x7.5x7.9 in. Save 10% with coupon code spikeit. Ships free in continental U.S.

A Destination Bicycle Lock Is A Sensible Choice

SureLock Force 1

Keep a high-quality bicycle lock at home and another at work, school, or the gym. It'll be there when you arrive and you'll save yourself the exertion of pedaling with extra weight.

Giant Bicycle's SureLock Force 1 hides a hefty titanium chain inside a black nylon cover. Double-bolt mechanism and three keys help keep thieves at bay.

Save 10% with coupon code spikeit. Ships free in continental U.S. Shop now 

    

Cream Tires Make Your Bike Look Delicious

Kenda's Altair Kream 700x38 Street and Trail K830 combo pack is a complete set of rubber for your bicycle. Free shipping. Save 10% with coupon code spikeit. Shop now.

The all-terrain tread is ideal for the bike path. Kenda's K830 rubber is compounded for durability. 

BikemanforU bundles two Altair Kream tires with matching tubes and rim strips. Select schrader or presta valve. Fits any bike that uses 700x32-40 tires.

Bike Shop LIVE Gears Up For The Holidays

TJ aka Toni Jo

TJ, our new camera operator while SonofA's at college, is learning on the job and the elf-on-the-shelf shows up in Bike Shop LIVE Trick or Treat S3E38

BikemanforU wraps up the episode with a Christmas cactus remembrance of his father, the late Mr. Pump, and an update on the City vs Citi Bike Imposter Series.

Family ties break or bind every week in BikemanforU Channel's unscripted reality show, streaming live Saturdays at 10am eastern.