Thursday, April 29, 2010

Friday, April 23, 2010

CETMA Racks


This is Morgan. He hooked me and my buddy G-Rad up with 1/4 oz of recreation herbs couple summers ago at the Cycle Messenger World Championships in Toronto. See that rack on the front of his bike, its CETMA rack, they're rad. I recently got one (after 6 months of waiting). Expect a full, detailed, review soon.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Velospace Super Users

If you haven't heard of velospace, its a popular social networking site for bicycle (mostly fixed-gear) enthusiasts (your bikes myspace page). Velospace should not be confused with FixedGearGallery or Crappy old 10 speed gallery. The difference between them is somewhat significant and usually boils down to build quality.

Most fixedgeargallery submissions look something like this:

Whereas velospace is a place where you see bikes like this


Anyways, I thought I'd make a list of my favorite velospace users, dudes who have huge collections of wild bikes.

Ceya, a dude from NYC with a lot of track bikes with huge saddle-handlebar drop. I remember there being more bikes on his page at one point but velospace servers are notoriously bad at keeping/organizing/storing photos.

Ceya's Gianni Motta:


Hrrundel, a guy with more C-record equipped track bikes than an Italian velodrome in the 80's.
Some of Hrrundels bikes:





campafreak, a serious collector specializing in East German bikes from the 80's; campafreak.com
Some of campafreak's bikes:





kdh747, a guy from Japan with some crazy bikes; owner of PedalMafia.
Pretty much defines Tokyo tarckx bike style






dustin, a guy who owns a used camera store and tarcks out lots of old pursuit & time trial frames. Also, the owner of a gold plated Cinelli.
Some of Dustin's bikes:





Insomnia, another serious collector, specializing in late 80's/early 90's time trial bikes.
Some of Insomnia's bikes:





Finally, as an added bonus for making it this far, The failest BMC evar

Zipp Wheelset on Boulder Craigslist

If you're into carbon fiber, live in the Boulder area, and have some disposable income, you may be in luck.

Some guy is selling a set of Zipp 404 track wheels on craigslist for a modest $500.



Remember, you can buy speed.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Trick Video

I don't usually post trick videos here, mostly because I assume that most of the people who come by here probably visit more than one fixed gear related blog regularly, and most other fixed gear blogs post videos all the time.

That said, I think this one makes the cut, its just a quick clip of popular Seattle based fixed gear rider Keo Curry being steezy as fuck.


And if for some reason that got you thinking of the olden days of smooth tricks on track bikes rather than the current FGFS phase of jumping leader bikes with 26" wheels off of ledges, I suggest you watch the following:
Cadence Introduces Keo
Macaframa - Keo
MASH Extra Footage - Mike Martin
MASH Extra Footage - Gabe Morford

Phil Wood Factory

Cycling photographer VeloDramatic posted a few teaser photos of the Phil Wood machine shop. The feature will be in Embrocation issue 4, due out late summer.




Check out his site and portfolio for more road and racing-related photography.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Wheels and Rain

A few awesome photos by David R Munson. Lots more on his "Cycling" Flickr set.









Saturday, April 10, 2010

Bicycles: 150 Years of Gears

Looks like the Longmont Museum (yes, Longmont...) is having an exhibition of bikes through the years. The museum site doesn't say much, but we have some pamphlets at University Bikes and its looks like it could be pretty neat.

The show is up from April 24th to July 3rd, and they have a couple free days listed, otherwise the cost is $5. Check it out if you're in the area and want to see some classic bikes.


photo via the Longmont Museum

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Seattle

2/5 of Boulder Fixed took a little trip to Seattle over spring break to visit some friends. Thought I'd share a few of our riding-related photos....unfortunately the ones involving Extra Gold haven't been developed and I forgot to take any at Marymoor Velodrome.


I borrowed Josie's tiny IRO Heidi. Same size as my own bike but with with 650s


beach shoes, duh

photos by me


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Bike Snob

I hope everyone is as excited as I am about the upcoming Bike Snob book.



RTD Drivers Kill 4 People this Week


Photo by Zak Wood (Hey! I used to work with that guy)
Daily Camera Story

Steel is Real



Left to right/Back to front: Colnago Superissimo, Liberati Strada, Mercian Super Vigorelli, Rossin Pista, Colnago Mexico, EAI Bareknuckle



Wish I had a better camera so I could do these frames some photographic justice.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Reynold 531


"Reynolds 531 give you lightness where you need it most"
If a baby can lift it, does that mean its lighter than milk?

via Mercian Blog

Monday, April 5, 2010

Shimano Has Lost Their Mind

I was browsing the website for the popular mail order bike shop Excel Sports earlier today and happened across this $129 chain.

Yumeya stands for 'dream shop' in Japanese. Meaning a place where the best Shimano components receive the ultimate upgrades to make the best even better.

The 7900 Yumeya is the most advanced chain Shimano produces. Asymmetrical profiled outer links are connected with Titanium-nitride coated inner links for added durability. Almost 20% more stretch resistant. Best chain Shimano makes for 10 speed drivetrains.

Features

Increased oil retention
Hollow pins
Asymmetrical outer links
Made in Japan
261 grams actual weight


This is the new Dura-Ace: Yumeya

Presumably Yumeya is Shimano's Marketing Department's answer to the re-introduced Campagnolo Super Record, but this is ridiculous, $130 for a chain? Even the new Record 11 speed chains retail for $90 (though they require a $200 tool to install). The thing that appeals most to roadies is "grams," this chain weighs 261 grams. High tech? The chain on my 30 year old Colnago weighs in at a modest 240 grams.


And if just a chain doesn't satisfy your compulsive upgrading, the Shimano Dura Ace Yumeya 7900 5-piece Kit surely will


The 5-piece kit replaces steel hardware with premium gold-anodized titanium hardware, includes a titanium nitride chain and derailleur housing made with aluminum instead of steel. In addition to a dose of exotics looks, the kit saves 30 grams. The chain features Titanium Nitride plated inner links that increase durability and resistance to stretch 18% while also allowing increased oil retention.

Kit includes

Rear derailleur bolt
Titanium nitride chain
4 machined brake shoe holders
Aluminum hybrid shift cable housing
9 Titanium bolts for derailleurs, crank, and brake shoes
List Price:$549.95


At first I thought maybe Excel misplaced a decimal but they're for real. $549.95 for 30g weight savings and some gold bolts.

I thought upgrading bikes with TI bolts was a 90's thing, but I can't be sure since I didn't cycle in the 90's. What I do know is that TI bolt superstore SRP sells a $150 TI/Al bolt kit that reportedly lightens your bike by up to 150 grams.


I wonder if Shimano Yumeya will go the way of Ultegra SL.