Today is the last day Panther City bikes will be open, ever. After 6 years, they’re closing. Cheers guys. It was definitely one of the cozier bike shops I’ve visited. There were couches, a keg of Rahr beer, Masi and Indy Fab bikes, and a great location next to the Spiral Diner. What a nice final portrait, gentlemen. Just look at the spirit of adventure in that pose.
Outside the shop I found a beautiful Indy Fab bike with wooden fenders; a nice fit with long-reach Tektro sidepull brakes:
Fort Worth has an increasing number of nice staple racks around town, especially on the south side, as Fortworthology reports.
Magnolia has bike lanes that help encourage riding in the area, and I was pleasantly surprised to see some middle-aged women on bikes. The bike lanes seemed too narrow, though, and they passed right in the parallel parking door zones. From the photo below, you can see Magnolia’s lanes might be wide enough to fit some wider bike lanes and narrower car lanes.
A few miles away, Trinity Bikes seems to be growing quickly. We went there a year ago when Russ and Laura from Path Less Pedaled came to speak about long-distance bike touring. Trinity had so many interesting things in the shop, like this strange labyrinth Alex Moulton small-wheeled bike.
The below beauty is a vintage Raleigh Professional, painted by Brian Baylis of Masi USA fame. Velo Orange hammered fenders.
This is the new 3-speed fixed Sturmey Archer hub, which the Trinity guys said has a little bit of backward play before engaging. Perhaps good for touring, but not so good for freestyle.
Bernie of Trinity rode this pink Surly 1 x 1 fixie (yes, a 26″ mountain bike frame) all the way to Austin earlier this year. If nothing else, it’s got the most mud clearance I’ve ever seen. This bike makes me feel sweaty and weird, and I’m ok with that.
