Last day of the month, time to round up some frugal bicycling links!
- Ben Woodall gives us instructions for making a cheap and simple DIY Bike Camera Mount: “I’m way too cheap (and intelligent) to spend $50 on a store bought camera mount, so I figure I might as well just make my own.” Ben’s design really is quite simple and elegant. Not sure if it’ll handle the pounding of mountain biking, but it should work great for capturing road and path rides.
- Over at the Dornob blog, the Modified Bike Trailer Doubles as DIY Mobile Camper Home post describes “The ultimate in eco-friendly mobile living, this ingenious residential bike trailer idea from Tiny House Design is perhaps not as far fetched as it might first appear.” More concept drawing than actual plans, but it’s certainly an interesting concept — essentially a (very) lightweight mobile home built on a bicycle trailer chassis.
- In Sharing to Save Money, The Washington Post highlights “Bike Share, a new city program in which riders borrow bikes from the city for $40 a year. Sharing programs like Bike Share have recently increased in popularity as Americans adopt a kindergarten mantra: Share and share alike.” I think programs like these are going to grow in the coming years, and the more ubiquitous they become, the more useful they’ll be.
- Here’s an interesting post from an unexpected source: “Ski Bike Junkie” has written The frugal cyclist’s guide to upgrading your road bike: “Since I have a limited budget for upgrades, pretty good spreadsheet skills, and a warped sense of what constitutes “entertainment” on a Sunday morning, I decided to figure out exactly how to best spend upgrade dollars on my bike.” Some really good strategies here.
- Mark Stosberg offers up a simple yet effective DIY hanging recumbent bike repair stand. Basically just a ceiling hook and a tie-down strap, it’s certainly a minimalist approach. I’ve tried this myself, and there’s rather too much swaying for my taste, but it’ll certainly work in a pinch.
- Jesse Hammond at Active.com gives us a list of 7 Bike-Friendly Coastal Campgrounds. With sites in California, Oregon, Florida, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Virginia, and New York, there’s certainly a variety of locales to choose from. (Note: This list is hardly comprehensive, but it’s a nice eye-opener for those who don’t realize what opportunities await in unexpected places.)
- Here are photos and text describing a DIY pick-up bike rack that you can build for for less than $30. It doesn’t look terribly rugged or secure, but it’s definitely inexpensive and would be adequate for short trips.
- Matt at BikeHacks ponders possible bicycle-related uses for the infamous Shamwow, a chamois/towel made famous by the ubiquitous television infomercial. Interesting…
These tips are expanded versions of the items posted regularly on the Frugal Cyclist Twitter Feed. To get up-to-the minute tips, news, and deals, follow @frugalcyclist on Twitter.
Image courtesy RichardBH.
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The Frugal Cyclist web site is dedicated to the concept of the bicycle as a central feature of a frugal lifestyle. The site's tagline sums it up pretty well: Ride More, Spend Less. The Frugal Cyclist will help you save money by bicycling, and save money on bicycling. 
