Need A Chain Watcher?

Do you often find yourself watching the race pass you by because of mechanical problems?

Maybe you need a chain catcher.

A chain catcher's job is pretty self explanatory - it catches your chain if you force a shift and drop it. If you've ever slammed your chain from the big ring into the small to attack at the bottom of a climb, at the pivotal moment of a race, and heard that sickening crunch of your chain digging itself between your chainrings and BB, you know how important this can be.

There is a dizzying array of options for you to choose from - some attach to the downtube, others to the front derailleur. but all of them will save you from potential disaster.

1. Deda Dogfang
Probably the best-known of all chain watchers, it's also cheap and easy to install. You see them on pro bikes all the time. Basically, a hunk of plastic attaches to your downtube and pushes the chain back into place. It's easy, it only costs 12 bucks, and it looks nice. What's not to love?

Well, it doesn't fit on not-circular downtubes. Which includes ovalized or aero-shaped tubes, which describes most carbon bikes out there. As a general rule - if you have a braze-on front derailleur, you probably can't use this.

2. K-Edge Chain Catcher
So what do the aero-tube-shape loving cyclists of the world do? They turn to Kristin Armstrong's elegant solution. Armstrong's dropped chain in the 2006 World Time Trial championships almost cost her a gold medal, and she vowed to never let that happen again. So she and her mechanics developed a machined aluminum arm to catch the chain before it makes a break for freedom - and the best part is, it attaches to your front derailleur. If you have a front shifter, you can use this.

Armstrong and Co. haven't decided on a price yet, but it will most likely be less than 20 bucks. It will be available May 1st at your LBS.


3. Do it Yourself
In this economy, not everyone has the cash to spend on fancy bike parts, especially ones that are not strictly necessary. You can always make one yourself out of whatever you've got around the house. Like this guy did.



AP Photo/Roberto Bettini, VeloNews/Zach Vestal

Rad Light Cameras Will Bust You

The Chicago Tribune ran an article today about red light cameras in Chicago. It had some very interesting information about how the cameras work, but lacked info about the revenue these cameras pull in - which is what I wanted to know about in the first place.

As it turns out, the cameras are very sophisticated - a series of magnetic sensors leading up to the intersection senses whether or not you're running the red light, then takes a photo and a 12-second video if you run the red. There are no sensors in the intersection, however, so if you are already past the line when the light turns (say, waiting to make a left turn), you won't be ticketed.

Weekends are the busiest for the cameras, particularly Saturdays. On an average weekend, there are about 30,000 violations collected, according to RedSpeed, one of the two operators of Chicago's cameras. In Illinois, however, unlike some other states, these violations don't end up affecting your license or insurance. But if you speed up every time that light turns yellow, you still need to be careful - just like with parking tickets, the city can move to suspend your license with too many unpaid violations.

And most intersections see a 40 percent decline in red light citations within 90 days of a camera's activation. As a result, they move cameras around when their rate of return decreases.

But the Tribune article doesn't really address what I actually wanted to know, which is how much of the revenue from tickets actually goes to the city. Redflex, one of Chicago's red-light enforcers, charges a flat fee of $24,500 for installing and maintaining each unit. RedSpeed, however, charges a monthly fee of $1,500 per camera as well as a percentage of each ticket issued. That fee ranges from 12 bucks to almost $36, "depending on the customer support the company provides." And RedSpeed gets more if you call to discuss of contest the citation.

The reason I mention this is because cities generally don't make much money on red light cameras. Part of this is because the cameras deter infractions and, as a result, they become less effective over time. But part is because in general, companies like Redflex or RedSpeed get more money per ticket than the city does. In California, where violations can cost you as much as $435 (seriously - my friend got a ticket that big for running a red), the state auditor reports that "red light cameras were not generating large amounts of revenue." In addition, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported in 2003 that red light camera installations only broke even in 40 percent of jurisdictions, while the cameras cost more than they gained in revenues in 60 percent of their locations.

Just think about that the next time you get a red light and curse the City of Chicago - they're not really making any money on you. Curse RedSpeed instead.

AP Photo/Jim Mone

No More Boring Burials

Bill Bramanti loves a cold beer. His favorite? Pabst Blue Ribbon. And he wants everyone to know it.

That’s why he crafted a custom coffin for himself – a giant can of Pabst.

The 67-year-old Bramanti doesn’t plan on climbing in anytime soon – except to try it out (“I actually fit, I got in there”) – but he is getting his money’s worth. He likes to throw parties, invite a few buddies, and fill the coffin with ice and – what else – Pabst Blue Ribbon.

The Pabst coffin might raise a few eyebrows, but it’s part of a growing trend in Chicago. People don’t want staid, conservative burials anymore. They want something that shows their own personality, something that reflects the way they lived. And sometimes that personality is a bit eclectic.

Sports Fans, Represent

Dennis Mascari isn’t your typical Cubs fan. A typical fan wears a Fukudome jersey for a day, or slaps on a bumper sticker, maybe does some face painting. But even among the Cubs fanatics, Mascari stands out.

That’s because he’s building a Cubs-themed mausoleum.

“Beyond the Vines” is an outdoor, Cubbie-themed wall of cremation niches at Bohemian National Cemetery on the North Side. The wall, a brick mock-up of the centerfield backstop complete with a “400" in the middle, will hold 280 official Cubs urns. It’s got authentic ivy clippings from the field, a W flag, and a replica of the scoreboard . . . rendered in stained glass. Mascari has a larger goal in all this: to change to process of bereavement.

Mascari, a Chicago native and lifelong Cubs fan, hatched the idea nearly two years ago, after the death of his father. At first, he visited the cemetery often. But seeing “row after row of headstones, with names and numbers” eventually depressed him, and the number of visits fell off.

Mascari felt his father’s nondescript granite mausoleum didn’t communicate his personality. It was his father who brought Mascari to his first Cubs game at the age of five, when grandstand seats cost 60 cents.

“I think people should celebrate life, but also celebrate one’s passing . . . so when you go to a cemetery, you feel a lot less gloomy and depressed. You remember all the good times you shared together.”

Mascari’s monument opens April 14^th (coincidentally, the start of the baseball season), and he’s already got orders piling up.

So Maybe It's Not a New Concept . . .

Some people might remember the story of Willy the Wimp and the Stevie Ray Vaughn song it inspired:

Willie the Wimp was buried today,
They laid him to rest in a special way.
Sent him off in the finest style
That casket-mobile really drove 'em wild
Southside Chicago will think of him often
Talkin' 'bout Willie the Wimp and his Cadillac coffin . . .

Willy’s coffin was a sight to see – with flowers for wheels and a distinctive Cadillac grille in the front, Willy the Wimp’s burial is probably the most famous “weird” Chicago burial. And arguably, it was Willy the Wimp’s burial almost 25 years ago that gave rise to this growing trend.

. . .But It Sure Is Gaining in Popularity

Statistics for the number of offbeat burials happening in Chicago are hard to come by, because numbers aren’t kept for this sort of thing and people generally keep their own funerals private. But Rob Plumber, a caretaker at Bohemian National Cemetery, agrees that they are on the rise.

“Between the Cubs mausoleum and the [Pabst] coffin, there’s been a lot of interest lately,” he says. He says the number of “funny” burials at Bohemian has risen steadily in the past few years, citing people getting “more creative” with their funeral arrangements.

More Bang For Your Buck

One reason may be the sky-high prices of funeral services. Bob Kuenster, of Thompson & Kuenster Funeral Home in Oak Lawn, says a typical interment service costs a little under $5,000 - not covering the casket, vault, flowers, or other merchandise. A casket can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 – add in a headstone and a vault, and a burial can easily cost as much as a new car.

For this kind of money, people don’t want a cookie-cutter burial. They want to stand out. They want something special. And in increasing numbers, people want to stamp their own personality on their headstones.

But Mascari says there are limits. Many people have suggested that he build a White Sox-themed wall next to “Beyond the Vines.” Mascari draws the line there.

“I want Cub fans to rest in peace,” he jokes.

(AP Photo/Mary Compton)