Grid schedule coming soon
Seminars
Pedaling Into Community: Engaging Locally on Bikepacking Journeys
Saturday March 8th, 3:00 PM
Seminar room: 125 (Atrium Level)
Presented by David Landis, V2V Trails
Bikepacking isn’t just about ticking routes off a bucket list—it’s about connecting with the people, stories, and culture that make each place special. This session invites cyclists to go beyond the map, discovering how local communities shape the routes you love and how you can become part of their story. From Grand Departs to local events to social media, learn how to make your rides more meaningful and leave a positive impact.
Trading Silver-Braze for Sawdust
Saturday March 8th, 4:30 PM
Seminar room: 124 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Jay Kinsinger, Sojourn Cyclery
I have been a frame builder and woodworker for four decades. Fifteen years ago, I married these two passions and created my first wooden bicycle. Over the next few years, field testing as well as laboratory testing by my students, validated the efficacity of this transition. Come and learn why wooden bikes are not only rideable art, but are the gold standard for a smooth ride. Also see a wooden bike building workshop in progress.
Micro Manufacturing: Taking Advantage of International Supply Chain without Losing your Soul
Sunday March 9th, 12:00 PM
Seminar room: 124 (Atrium Level)
Presented by David Gnaw, Brook & Breeze founder
Over the past 10 years, David Gnaw has been designing and fabricating bikes and bike stuff using his hands, power tools, and desktop digital fabrication equipment (i.e. lasers and 3d printing). There’s A LOT of joy in doing this, but it’s crazy hard to balance the “time cost” of making your own products with “market price” that allows us to sustain as small businesses.
Tapping into a global supply chain traditionally has allowed big brands to cut costs and lose control over the production of their products. But, there (might) be a middle roady enabled by changes in technology, logistics, and media.
David kicked-off his bike career making by building bicycles out of bamboo and teaching others to do it. This material is super fun, but requires a high amount of hands-on attention making outsourcing the production near impossible (and a lot less fun). Over the past 10 years, David has travelled across China, Taiwan, Japan, Mexico, and the United States figuring out how to weave together a supply chain that allows him (and his team) to continuing to make their own designs while lowering costs to market competive levels. This has meant a transition from 95% making to 60% making, but it has also unlocked a sustainable future for everyone who loves to build. Come hear the story and make some friends!
“Plan B” Training for Cyclists Sidelined by Injury or Illness
Saturday March 8th, 1:30 PM
Seminar room: 125 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Linda A. McGrane, MS, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist and Gerontologist
Owner, Bike Tours by Linda, LLC
When a cyclist experiences an illness or injury, it may be necessary to temporarily suspend or modify his/her riding schedule and training program, in order to facilitate timely and complete healing. For many active cyclists, this recuperation period can be frustrating and discouraging. However, continuing some type of physical exercise and activity remains vital to maintaining fitness, promoting healthy circulation and healing, and supporting mood and emotional well-being. This presentation will include alternative forms of exercise/activity, as well as lifestyle adjustments, in order to maintain physical fitness and positive mood, social connections with cycling friends, and to promote healing after illness or injury.
Grassroots Bicycle Advocacy in Philadelphia
Saturday March 8th, 10:30 AM
Seminar Room, 125
Presented by Caleb Holtmeyer, Philly Bike Action
This seminar is about grassroots advocacy for better bike infrastructure in the City of Philadelphia. We will discuss what good bike infrastructure looks like, how our organization works at the hyperlocal level to speed its implementation, and how you can get involved.
Advocacy Through Data: How Pittsburgh is using 311 data to improve bicycling safety
Saturday March 8th, 12:00 PM
Seminar room: 125 (Atrium Level)
Armin Samii, dashcam.bike
Riders in Pittsburgh have reported thousands of bicycling hazards to 311, including cars parked in bike lanes, near-misses, close-calls, and dangerous road conditions. Riders record video footage of their entire commute using dashcam.bike, and when they’re safely at their destination, they can label all the hazards they encountered and rapidly submit video evidence to the city’s non-emergency 311 line.
This advocacy has sparked meaningful change. Learn how Pittsburgh has used 311 data to harden bike lanes with concrete, create automated enforcement for bike lane parking, and redesign dangerous intersections. We’ll discuss the successes and limitations of 311 reporting, and what it takes to bring dashcam.bike’s hazard reporting system to your city.
How much of a cyclist’s power (Watts) is associated with frame flex while pedaling?
Sunday March 9th, 12:00 PM
Seminar room: 123 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Bob Rose
Assuming a more flexible frame is more comfortable, is there a meaningful ‘power penalty’ associated with a more flexible frame? After discussing that the power penalty (i.e., Watts) of a cyclist flexing a frame while pedaling is very small, join in a conversation of what these findings mean going forward. As a bonus, does the bicycle community actually understand how the frame (just the frame in this case) impacts comfort? Thoughts on this will be presented as well.
Safety First Cycling & Riding in Groups
Sunday March 9th, 1:30 PM
Seminar room: 124 (Atrium Level)
Presented by George Yarnell, Bicycle Club of Philadelphia
Putting “Safety First!” when cycling should be a matter of habit for all cyclists. This seminar highlights some of the important and basic things we can each do to cycle more safely. Through presentations and demonstrations from several long-time cyclists, we’ll look at conspicuity (The art of being seen by motorists and other cyclists), basic safe cycling behavior when alone and in groups, and safe cycling equipment. This is a good seminar for novice cyclists and a nice refresher for experienced cyclists. Those who love you will want you to put safety first when cycling.
Cycling with a group of people can be fun and enjoyable, but it’s a little different from cycling alone. A group of trained and experienced ride leaders from the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia will highlight some of the most important aspects of riding with a group, including safety and riding etiquette, planning a group ride, leading a group ride, and how and where to find or publicize group rides.
The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World
Sunday March 9th, 10:30 AM
Seminar room: 123 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Cyrille Vincent
More than a hundred years ago, when bicycle races drew crowds that filled Madison Square Garden, the biggest draw of all was Marshall W. Major Taylor. As a superstar athlete in the most popular sport of his era, 1899 world bicycling champion Major Taylor saw his racing victories well chronicled in mainstream newspapers as well as cycling publications right as the bicycling industry was starting to boom.
In a post-Civil War era governed by Jim Crow laws in the South and overt racism nationwide, Major Taylor managed to be the first Black champion of the world in cycling and one of the first black world champions in any sport. His fame grew not only in America but in Europe and Australia as newspapers around the world reported his triumphs. The Boston Globe labeled him ‘‘The World Beater’’ in a headline in August 1899.
The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World is an engaging presentation that traces cyclist Major Taylor’s meteoric rise to become the first Black international athlete super-star. Dubbed the “Black Cyclone,’’ Taylor’s legacy lives on as an inspiration to both aspiring and professional athletes and more broadly to anybody facing unfair barriers erected by society.
This presentation is the by-product of four years of research by documentary filmmaker Cyrille Vincent who is producing a groundbreaking documentary film about Major Taylor and the men who helped him achieve worldwide fame. The presentation blends rare unpublished archives, contemporary imagery, compelling commentaries and behind the scenes of Whirlwind, the Major Taylor upcoming documentary he is producing.
Ky Plaskon, 2023 President of the Truckee Meadow Bicycle Alliance said of the presentation that:
”The audience for Cyrille’s presentation was delighted to not only be entertained but also provided valuable feedback for his upcoming and much-needed documentary film on Major Taylor. Bike and historical groups nationwide and around the world should be scrambling to support this important story and the passionate producer behind it.”
The Jersey Devil Hunt: Bikepacking in the New Jersey Pine Barrens
Saturday March 8th, 1:30 PM
Seminar room: 124 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Julian Bender
The Pine Barrens is a sprawling wilderness right in Philadelphia’s back yard. Last year, I created the region’s first bikepacking route, the Jersey Devil Hunt. The route makes it easy to discover these vast woods, avoiding all the deep sand and swamps that make biking in the Pines so difficult.
In this casual talk with Q&A, I’ll share about bikepacking in the Pine Barrens and how the route was created.
Bike Fit Unplugged
Saturday March 8th, 12:00 PM
Seminar room: 123 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Happy Freedman, The Center for Bike Fit
The science of bike fitting without a computer. Determining the proper positions on a bike through the use of gait evaluation, postural corrections, and exercise recommendations for a more stable, comfortable, and efficient ride.
Hill Climbing Tips and Tricks
Saturday March 8th, 12:00 PM
Seminar room: 124 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Brian Williams, Major Taylor
Techniques to help you ascend those dreaded hills properly, climb efficiently with minimum wasted effort and boost confidence.
Principles of Bicycle Wheel Aerodynamics
Sunday March 9th, 1:30 PM
Seminar room: 123 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Bill Mould
The key to understanding speed in bicycle riding lies in a comprehensive understanding of aerodynamics, at least at a conceptual level. In this in-depth seminar, Bill will provide a scientific overview of aerodynamic principles to include: aero carbon rims, weight and drag considerations, drag and power, aerodynamic spokes, the sailing effect, and more. If you are trying to promote aero wheels, an understanding of the science behind them is key to your credibility.
Facts and Fiction about Wheel Building
Saturday March 8th, 1:30 PM
Seminar room: 123 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Bill Mould
Many aspects of wheel building science are counterintuitive, i.e., things that would seem to be true but aren’t. Wheel building at the expert level requires a deep understanding about topics such as these that Bill will explain in depth: optimal spoke length, rhythmic tension changes in wheels under load, impact of weaving spokes in a lacing pattern, tensile strength, spoke elasticity, and fracture modes of aluminum and carbon rims.
University Handmade Bicycle Curriculum
Saturday March 8th, 10:30 AM
Seminar room: 123 (Atrium Level)
Presented by Steve McGuire, Professor
Over the last 13 years, the Design, Build, Ride curriculum – part of 3D Design and Jewelry and Metal Arts – in the School of Art, Art History & Design at the University of Iowa has become a top handmade bicycle curriculum nationally and internationally, with over 300 art and engineering students having designed and built a handmade bicycle, attracting internship opportunities for students and international acclaim. The curriculum, comprised of four courses, is the place for art and engineering majors to meet as makers.
The proposed seminar will present, in a discussion format, curriculum and facilities considerations, and initiatives occurring now at other universities.
The proposed exhibition (2027), Let’s Build a Bicycle, will showcase 30 of the finest bicycles in the world. The exhibition’s goal is to bring to attention the aesthetics and craft of science and engineering in handmade bicycles. The exhibition will be comprised of independent framebuilders.