• About Me

Cycle Seattle

~ Posts on bikes

Cycle Seattle

Tag Archives: bike writers

Bike Writers

07 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Stonehog in Cycling

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

bike writers, cycling, Grant Petersen, jan heine, randonneur


Jan and Seattle Randonneurs

There has been a lot of debate in the steel bike internets about Grant Petersen and Jan Heine, which one is “right” about bike design, and various merits of their writings.  I have been following both since 2008, when I moved back to Seattle and started commuting again in earnest.  Now I should express full disclosure that I’m a Rivendell owner (obvious from my posts), but I have also ridden a few low trail bikes like the Rawland rSogn and VO Polyvalent with and without front loads.  OK – not an expert by any means, and I certainly won’t try to resolve this debate here…

I see Grant and Jan as modern writers akin to sports/hobby guys such as those I read as a youth growing up in the Midwest.  Back in my formative days, I was very interested in hunting and voraciously read all there was to read in the journals of the time.  I still hunting as a romantic, meditative soul-soup activity that recharges me from time in the rat race, but I also get this from bike riding, randonneuring, and build/mechanic work.

Grant is sort of a Jack O’Connor (writer for Outdoor Life) who has great stories, and likes classic bikes that are designed in a certain way.  His bikes use steel, lugs, oversized tubing, mid-trail geometry, large tires, leather saddles, and upright bars and riding positions.  He likes bikes that are fun to ride everyday, and useful for a wide range of folks.  He especially fits those that are on the larger or smaller size physically, and really tries to keep his designs consistent for his riders whether they are 6’6″ or 4’10”.  He puts a lot of character (and characters) in his writing, and talks about other loves like cameras, fitness, and camping overnights.

Jan does a great job of appealing to the more technical or race oriented riders, and his love of the romance of the randonneur and the long rides fuel his efforts in soulful stories that inspire people like me to try endurance cycling (whether we should or not).  Kind of an Elmer Keith who comes at things from a different angle but goes into it a bit more heavy on the “science”.  He designs components, like Keith (who designed bullets and magnum handgun cartridges).  His style is, in my opinion, more authoritative or perhaps parental which can put folks off when he pisses on someone’s dream bike, but I believe he tries to be fair, and just has an opinion he really believes to be true.

What I really like about both of these guys is that they work hard to put out a lot of interesting content, they both run successful businesses that rely on the reputation of their word, and they aren’t afraid to express themselves.  I hope they continue to inspire bikers for a long time to come!

Flickr Photos

BH-19.jpgBH-18.jpgBH-17.jpgBH-16.jpgBH-15.jpgBH-14.jpgBH-13.jpgBH-12.jpgBH-11.jpgBH-10.jpg
More Photos

Archive

  • August 2020 (1)
  • March 2018 (1)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (1)
  • May 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • December 2016 (1)
  • November 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (6)
  • December 2015 (2)
  • November 2015 (1)
  • June 2015 (5)
  • May 2015 (1)
  • April 2015 (1)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • January 2015 (2)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (2)
  • October 2014 (2)
  • September 2014 (2)
  • August 2014 (1)
  • July 2014 (1)
  • June 2014 (1)
  • May 2014 (2)
  • April 2014 (5)
  • March 2014 (4)
  • February 2014 (4)
  • January 2014 (6)
  • December 2013 (1)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (2)
  • September 2013 (1)
  • August 2013 (1)
  • July 2013 (2)
  • May 2013 (6)
  • April 2013 (1)
  • March 2013 (6)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (7)
  • December 2012 (5)
  • November 2012 (2)
  • October 2012 (2)
  • September 2012 (3)
  • August 2012 (3)
  • July 2012 (1)
  • June 2012 (4)
  • May 2012 (7)
  • April 2012 (1)
  • March 2012 (1)
  • February 2012 (4)
  • January 2012 (5)
  • December 2011 (6)
  • November 2011 (4)
  • June 2011 (2)
  • May 2011 (4)
  • March 2011 (2)
  • February 2011 (4)

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 95 other subscribers

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • Cycle Seattle
    • Join 95 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Cycle Seattle
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar