BKLYNBIKES

RED HOOK CRIT !

2011-02-14T07:03:00.000-08:00

Awesome news. Official info for the 2011 red hook criterium is here. So glad we partnered with Dave for this again. We are going to be running a wheel pit for in race flat fixes.

Press Release:

2011 Red Hook Criterium to be powered by Eastern Mountain Sports

Trimble Racing is proud to announce Eastern Mountain Sports as the presenting

sponsor of the 4th annual Red Hook Criterium to be held on March 26th, 2011.

"Each year has seen the race double the number of participants, spectators, and

media coverage. The partnership with Eastern Mountain Sports will allow the

race to continue growing while retaining the original atmosphere and appeal of

the Red Hook Criterium," says organizer David Trimble.

This unsanctioned bicycle race is held on a short technical circuit in Red Hook,

Brooklyn and has attracted semi-professional 'roadies', bike messengers, and

urban cyclists. As in the past, track bikes are mandatory for all riders. The first

person to cross the finish line at the completion of 20 laps will take home the

famed cobblestone trophy. "This race is fast, dangerous and requires an equal

combination of strength, bike handling skills, and bravery," says Trimble.

Keeping with race tradition, the after party will immediately follow the race where

the top finishers will be showered with champagne, prizes, and cash.

"Eastern Mountain Sports is fully committed to supporting cycling every chance

we get, so how can we say “no” to a race that starts at 11PM and showcases

athletes racing track bikes over cobblestoned streets" says Eastern Mountain

Sports Executive Vice President Ted Manning, “Coupled with our amplified focus

on New York City this year, Red Hook Crit gives us a chance to not only openly

support cycling, but to be a part of a unique New York-based event.”

Eastern Mountain Sports is at the top of a deep sponsor list that includes Cinelli,

La Colombe, Vici Velo, Brooklyn Brewery, Giro, 9th Street Cycles, Gage +

Desoto, Teamscreen, Rapha, and Roo Design.

The race is held at night and starts at 11:00 pm sharp. More information at

www.redhookcrit.com

Tiny Terry on Lafayette

2011-01-14T12:14:00.000-08:00

Adorable 650b front wheel and all

Time off in Portland

2010-12-29T14:26:00.000-08:00

As usual, Portland OR is full of crafty and inventive bike art. I guess the endless gloom and rain leaves you with a lot of time on your hands.

I was always curious how portlanders consistently bike through a constant cold and rainy winter even with the best fenders and rainy winter gear. Over the past week that I've been here, the temp has been in the 30's and 40's; downright tropical coming from New York which is apparently under two feet of snow.

If the temperature stayed like this all winter, I'd have no problem dealing with constant wet pants.

Happy Pumpkintime!

2010-10-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

Go death star!

On a Steel Horse I Ride

2010-09-30T10:12:00.000-07:00

Thomas Callahan of Horse Cycles has been building me a beautiful track frame for a little while now and I thought I'd throw up some teaser photos as it is nearly done. I am so pumped to get this thing running. Its off to the plater in a few days for a genuine nickel finish. Thomas plans to show it at the Philly bike expo at the end of October. Enough Chatter I'll let the pics speak for themselves.

NJTransit to Trenton, Tow Path to Camping

2010-09-18T12:43:00.001-07:00

headed to Bull's Island State Park 25 miles north of Trenton,

-from my phone-

Sunny Folding Bike on the West Side Hwy

2010-08-27T12:48:00.001-07:00

Rode past this guy on a retrofuturistic folding bike and ran into him again later for a photo op.

The brand is If Mode. The wheels caught my eye first, but my friend summed it up best. It looks like a Storm Trooper.

Way to go Toby!

2010-08-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Race Winner and Ninth Street Cycles rider Toby Smith. Toby won the Cat 5 race in prospect park this morning. The race was 8 laps instead of the usual 5 allowing Toby and a few other riders to make a successful break from the peleton. The race finished in a two man sprint with Toby enjoying a 60 foot gap on his nearest competitor. This is Toby's first race win and the first win for the shop.

Out of Istanbul - Tiny Photo Roundup #2

2010-08-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Suburbs Photo Day

2010-08-09T14:46:00.000-07:00

A bit of a Cliff's Notes of a day out shooting in the suburbs. Figured out that taking the commuter train out there saved some serious energy.

Chocolate Bar w Pistachios

2010-08-08T10:08:00.001-07:00

Turkey is one of those countries where pistachios are so plentiful that they have to send them away to other countries. They often hide them in snacks. Very sneaky. Very appreciated.

Also picked up a half kilo of Turkish coffee. Good day.

Istanbul - Tiny Photo Roundup

2010-08-07T04:43:00.001-07:00

Busted Nipple and Bent Sidewall

2010-08-05T04:36:00.000-07:00

I didn't mention this earlier, but on my first big ride out of town on the oceanside road, my bike sustained two minor injuries.

One of the 32 nipples that screw into the 32 spokes of my front wheel sheared in two. Presumably this happened because I have a 20ish pound camera bag on the front of my bike and I've found that the nipples of my front wheel like to break when I fly a lot with the bike. (Wheelbuilding classes are either hilarious or horrifyingly awkward with all the talk of adjusting, tweaking, and twisting nipples in order to achieve the optimal tension in each spoke)

While replacing the suspect spoke and nipple with one of the spare sets that I have learned to fly with, I checked the status of my rear wheel. On my previous ride I had felt a curious slight rhythmic tugging related to my rear wheel .

Turns out there was a small dent or bend in my rear rim. Not the traditional love-mark of a sudden curb or pothole, but definitely a relative. About a two inch section of the right sidewall of the rim was slightly bent outward by a few milimeters; the left sidewall was not noticeably bent in any way. The bend in the rim was small enough to ignore for a week and loosen my brake adjustment, especially given the fact that I don't have a lot of confidence in the strength of aluminum that has been bent back into shape. Steel, sure, Aluminum, not so much.

In the end, I decided 'what the heck' I might as well fix it now. Fortunately the wonderful apartment I have been renting for the last couple of weeks supplied me with sturdy pliers from under the kitchen sink. After some slow, slight bends to the rim with as much care as a clunky pair of pliers affords, I was satisfied with the shape and pulled out a small metal file and evened out the rim's surface that I had scratched up with the pliers. I don't remember why the metal file made its way into my travel tool bag, but it definitely earned its keep.

The bend in the rear wheel wore away at my right rear brake pad extra fast, so I used the extended pit stop to put on some new pads I picked up from Henry and Tony at the shop. Cobblestones, hills, loaded bike, and maybe some hills: Kool Stop Supra 2's is what they handed over. We'll see how they work out.

All in all, riding along a semi highway, you can't always swerve to avoid potholes or drainage grates, so your tires and wheels have to absorb what they can. I wouldn't want to imagine riding somewhat loaded down on tires any smaller than the 700x35's that I have.

Konya - The Bikble Belt of Turkey

2010-08-04T05:50:00.001-07:00

Traveled through Konya briefly last week when I was on the road, and as soon as I bussed into town my bike radar perked up and took notice of all the sweet bikes being put to use.

One of the most common styles is the dutch style bike with all sorts of kickstands, racks, baskets, and other doodads (double top tubes included!)

As my post title tried to emphasize, Konya is a major city in Turkey's equivalent of the Bible Belt. A much higher percentage of practicing and somewhat more conservative Muslims relative to Istanbul's mix of non-practicing, somewhat-practicing, and very-practicing Muslims.

Not to be impolite, but for example: in Konya it is much harder to find someone who knows where the nearest corner-store is that sells beer or rakı. Rakı, pronounced [raˈkɯ] is Turkey's wonderfully flavorful version of ouzo or pastis. Add ice and up to half water, and the clear licorice flavored alcohol turns a milk white and maintains a pleasantly strong flavor.

On a related note, I had some friends walk around to try to have a night on the town (beer included), and they found several bars full of Turkish men hanging out drinking and having popcorn. Upon sitting down the group was served four ice cold mugs of apple juice. It wasn't exactly what they had in mind, but they politely had some apple juice and and popcorn before continuing their search.

I just enjoyed the image of a bunch of Turkish dudes having a great time, hanging out, and getting rowdy without the necessity of beer. You can't keep people from wanting to hang out with friends and have a good time.

Lunch

2010-08-03T03:09:00.000-07:00

Had a great lunch with my mom the other day in the old city. We cobbled our way downhill past the hotelly area and found a nice spot that was recommended to us. "Where the workers go" we were told.

Rice with butter, smoky greens with a side of yogurt, and a half portion of sliced döner kebap. Plus a sugary cherry fruit soda mixed with plain soda. All followed up by a nice afterlunch turkish tea to stave off a nap. A nice ten dollar lunch for two.

My mother lived in Istanbul for two years working at a Turkish university back around 2007-2008. I was able to schedule a nice month long visit back in 2008, which was when I was first inspired with the idea to come back with my 4x5 camera and explore a project.

This time around, my mother created a summer study abroad program for an American university and brought an excellent group of students and faculty to make a go of the first summer in Istanbul.

Miniature Turkey!

2010-08-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

A photographer buddy of mine who lives here in Istanbul ventured out with me yesterday to go see MINIATURK! I can't make those letters any more capslock, but i would if I could.

This place was awesome, so many turks and other tourists walking around as giants and children occasionally Gozilla-ing into the minature worlds. We took loads of photos.

Well, I took 5 photos, but they're really big, so it still counts as a lot.

Fwd: New Yorkli Fotorafci Istanbulda

2010-08-01T05:11:00.001-07:00

here is a fine example of the turkish i can or cant put together given time and spellcheck.

the translation is humoroous, but not an accurate representation of how literate i sound.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Blaine
Date: 2010/7/31
Subject: New Yorkli Fotorafci Istanbulda
To: redacted

Merhaba Bora Burak ve Halil.

İki Yıl gecen size Beşiktaşda buluştum, ve fotoğraflar çektim.

Simdi İstanbul'dayım bir hafta, ve başka buluşmak istiyorum. Bisikletim var burada.

Blaine

0531 206 XX XX

dikkat: türkçeyim telefondan iyi değil

--------------------google translation----------------

Hi and Halil Burak Bora.

The night I met you Beşiktaşda two years, and the photos I took.

'm In Istanbul a month now, and I want to meet other. I have a bicycle here.

Blaine

0531 206 XX XX

Note: I am Turkish from the phone is not good

Bike and 4x5 Photos Day 1

2010-07-31T07:12:00.000-07:00

Finally got a good day out on the bike with my 4x5 camera. My goal is to focus on the suburbs. Landscape, Architecture, Portraits.

I spent half an hour trying to get my bike on to two different double decker commuter buses, but both drivers were not having a bike on board plenty of room or not. Crunched on time and out of options or the energy to keep fiddling around, I just rode downhill and across a small bridge over to the western part of the city and took the oceanside road out towards the airport and the suburbs.

It was somewhere around 20 or 30k, so it didn't take forever and I was able to finally get started on my project.

The ride home was a bit darker and slower, but I made it home exhausted and happy to have some pictures under my belt.

Sunset Spot on the Bosphorus

2010-07-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

After a day of walking or riding around I've found the best spot to sit, watch the light drop over the city and the water, plus watch some Turkish dudes fish, and have a beer next to a bunch of other Turkish guys doing exactly the same thing.

Its not a secret spot by any means, but its an exceptional place to unwind after a long day.

Göreme, Cappadocia, Turkey - Desert Ewok Village

2010-07-28T03:28:00.000-07:00

Ever since the last time I visited Turkey in 2008, I have wanted to visit the region of Cappadocia. Mostly because the landscape looks like you're on another planet.

I always made the illustration that it looks like the Moon multiplied by Mars. After finally visiting the area, I would have to say that my favorite part is the villages sprinkled throughout the area. They look like little Ewok desert villages that have grown out of the terrain.

I overheard a tour guide mention that this area was used to film parts of Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine.

#1 - I really hope that's true.

#2 - That's why this place looks so familiar.

I was only in Cappadocia for a day and a night, so I spent the last 4 hours of daylight motoring around the dirt backroads and highways of the area on a rented scooter to really soak up the epic views. I carried my 4x5 film camera and my tripod in my backpack for the quick tour, so I don't have any digital proof of the aforementioned vistas, but I did make a nice analogue portrait of two older gentlemen who I met at a small village-old-man-tea-hangout-spot. We haltingly conversed in a mix of Turkish and French for about half an hour and two rounds of tea.

The 12 hour busride plus two camera bags prevented me from bringing my bike along this quick touristic jaunt, but I must say Cappadocia is definitely the place to tour a bit, long or short. Its hilly, but that makes the views better.

The attached pictures are what i could grab with 30 minutes to run out of the hotel and back before my bus left. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

A few minutes ago, I showed these pictures to a friend who remarked that the city looks like The Flintstones multiplied by the 70's.

Spot on.

Istanbul - Early Photo Roundup

2010-07-12T06:27:00.001-07:00

I've been doing more exploring and hanging out than photographing while settling in this first week. Sorry to leave you in the dark. It happens. Here are a few consolation prizes.

Istanbul - First Outing on the Bike

2010-07-07T07:06:00.000-07:00

So, as you might have already imagined, riding a bike in Istanbul is crazy. When I was here last time in 2008 and since, I have visualized many times what it would be like to get around on my bike, and what the ideal bike would be.

In 2008 I'm pretty sure i just had a track bike, so I was probably like "oh I just need to get some hella fat tires, brakes, and a nice low gear ratio! problem solved."

I'm glad I've had plenty of time to think and change in the interim. While there is a small fixed gear population in Istanbul (I've heard talk), the guys I met and hung out with a bit all rode mountain bikes and did urban freestyle trick riding in city parks.

Still life with Maramara Sea and Pellet Gun Range

Luckily, now I have big tires, serious brakes, and 8 speeds geared very low; turns out to be just right for getting up winding cobblestone hilly streets. As for the 5 minutes of slow descending around blind corners I have to do to get out of Cihangir, my neighborhood, onto a main thoroughfare, I have to say that I really glad I brought extra brake pads with me.

The one thing I didn't accurately previsualize about riding in Istanbul, was the drivers.

I mean, even if you are just walking, the drivers already have the mentality of "either this pedestrian is going to get out of my way at the last minute, or I am going to hit them. And really, I'm okay with either outcome."

So thus far I'm riding really defensively, but i can't yet stick to small streets because those are often steep and indirect enough to get me lost. I am however glad i have been trained on the adrenaline level of racing through New York because this definitely takes it to the next level.

On top of all that, many streets are hardly wide enough to allow a car to pass with able space, but they're okay with that. They just pass anyway.

If you worry about close-talkers in other cultures, I now worry about close-drivers.

Well stocked pellet gun range. I swear the sights on that gun on the right
are way off. The guy running it was impressed when I told him I'm from
Texas, less impressed when I failed at shooting a cigarette in half, more
impressed when I wielded the BB Pistol for a while. A good day.

Istanbul Day 4 - Bike is Built!

2010-07-06T08:03:00.001-07:00

And the camera bag fits like a glove. Gonna go test it out on the hills and cobblestones and traffic (sans camera for good measure).

Nitto M-12 rack for my camera bag

2010-07-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

Henry helped me out with a few last minute purchases for my trip, including this sweet rack. I didn't order the special Paul rack adapter bolts in time, but after a complicated trip to Lowe's with my brother, we worked it out!

Let's see how the cobblestones in Istanbul treat it.

-from my phone-

Definitely Back in Texas

2010-07-01T20:49:00.001-07:00

even if just for one day

1 Bike, 2 Cameras, 1 Bag o Clothes

2010-07-01T09:42:00.001-07:00

Step 1 : Houston.
Step 2: Istanbul.

Ride down Bedford all the way to the beach!

2010-05-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Photo Van

2010-05-29T08:30:00.001-07:00

On my way to a quick photoshoot in Long Island City. Packing light this time!

Horse Cycles Sneak Peak

2010-05-19T15:42:00.001-07:00

Stopped by Horse Cycles today to see some of Thomas Callahan's new custom frames. This beauty is a super light race frame with Zona tubing, a carbon fiber fork and integrated carbon fiber seat stays.

Thomas will have a nice range of frames to show off at Bike Fetish this Saturday.

Mobile Photo Studio

2010-05-17T05:16:00.001-07:00

I'm getting better and better at carrying a silly amount of photo gear by bikes.

2010-05-13T11:19:00.000-07:00

Our good Buddy and 9th st. Cycles team member Jeff P. just built up his new Bianchi Infinito. Slotting somewhere between classic road race and modern compact geometry the Infinito is supposed to be all day comfortable without sacrificing preformance. You can check out the rest of Jeff's shots here.

Fun Photos from the Archive

2010-05-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

tiny track

party bike

Portland, OR

gotta love the banana seat

my favorite road sign ever - Portland, OR

filing cabinet

Carrying Big Stuff

2010-04-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had to pick up a spare bike box for shipping my friend's bike.
Thus far, this is the largest object I have moved on my CETMA rack. Fortunately it was empty, so steering was a breeze until the crosswinds hit me at every intersection.

Spring Cleaning

2010-04-07T10:24:00.001-07:00

Just did some work on my bikes for once on my day off, couldn't resist some bike porn snaps. Re-cabled the TCR and Merckx, and the Bareknuckle got an overhaul and clipless now that my feet won't freeze. Yummo! Tomorrow's 2011 MTB Demo Day at work, get to ride to the C&O Canal and test bikes all day, so a redeeming day after 11 hours and 10 overhauls at work yesterday.

And we're back...

2010-04-04T14:35:00.001-07:00

Excuse my longtime hiatus from posting, I got caught up in a whirlwind of bureaucracy and visa red-tape cutting that had me tied up for longer than I'd care to think about. Anyway, the application for public school teaching positions in Seoul opened April 1st, and due to my cross-country intercontinental hustling I got my app in with the first batch. We'll see what happens... hoping to get a contract offer soon for the Fall so I can move on with my life and plan a little bit (or something...)

I've been back in Maryland for a month now, and it's been alright. Not too much going on here, but some buddies from high school are around so there's people to kick it with when time comes. Rolling hills out near the Potomac River and Great Falls have my legs getting in better shape than they've been for awhile - 30 miles doesn't sound like much but when it's out on my track bike geared 48x17 I'm super tuckered afterwards.

I've been wrenching at a suburban shop that will henceforth remain nameless, it's super wack and gives me a great perspective on how cool the bike scene in NYC/BK is. Here, people all ride hardtail MTBs (not that there's anything wrong with that) on the sidewalk with their kids once a month. Work is super busy as people are dusting off their neglected bikes and finding that leaving them dirty for half a year is not the greatest thing for moving parts. I'm learning a lot, and am pretty good at fixing problems, but interestingly the shop I work at chooses to operate with near nothing in stock in terms of replacement parts. You want a BB cause yours is shot? Gotta leave your bike, cause I'm gonna have to order that UN-54 for you. Pretty stupid way of doing things, but we're rarely dealing with commuters, people that are on their bikes every day. It's a big change from Gotham and then Brooklyn.

I'm having some pretty interesting ethical conflicts working at the shop, as a cyclist, bikes have influenced my life in such a positive way, introduced me to some of my favorite people, got me paid, and helped me stay healthy and happy. The shop I work at is the kind of place that sells $9 tubes. I'm not talking pre-talc'd super light tubes either, just your run of the mill Cheng-Shin 26" Schraeder tube - it's 9 bucks. I feel as though instead of perpetuating the positive influence that cycling has had on my life I am alienating people and creating an image of cycling as an exclusive, expensive club that only guys in spandex have any business in.

Alas, I gotta get paid. Six months of vacation has my bank account looking pretty sad, and I owe the government more money than I think is right from my contracting job last year. So I'll be around wrenching here, but all the while giving honest advice at least, and hooking it up when I can.

I'll be in BK April 19th - 22nd, you can catch me around 9th St. Cycles bothering Henry and Tone. Excuse the lack of pics, they'll come in time now that the weather's getting to be pretty fantastic.

Mountain Biking in Queens - Part3

2010-03-28T11:45:00.001-07:00

Luke loses a lot of water when he rides.

How to clean your Travelers Check after mountain biking. Looks like the Alfine is holding up well so far.

Another happy customer.

2010-03-26T16:13:00.001-07:00

Thanks Isaac. The bike looks great.

Red Hook Crit 2010 - Photo Followup - Race Shots

2010-03-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Joshua “Robot” Wright

Kacey Manderfield

Grace Hunt followed by BrittLee Bowman

John “K-Tel” Kniesley

Dan Chabanov followed by Chris Thormann

Pavel Marosin followed by a police car (just kidding)

Joshua “Robot” Wright (center)

BrittLee Bowman

Izumi Kuremoto

Al Barouh

Pavel Marosin

Red Hook Crit 2010 - Photo Followup - Portraits

2010-03-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

Dan Chabanov 1st Place

John “K-Tel” Kniesley 2nd Place

Al Barouh 3rd Place

Chris Thormann 4th Place (even after a flat)

Pavel Marosin 5th Place

Kacey Manderfield 1st Place

Grace Hunt 2nd Place

BrittLee Bowman 3rd Place

Race photos on the way. Amazing race everyone!

Red Hook Crit 2010 - Photo Teaser

2010-03-21T14:10:00.000-07:00

More photos of the race and portraits of the racers coming soon.
Get excited!

Dursley Pederson

2010-03-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

A customer stopped by this morning and let me have a go on his Pederson. So much fun. I like the hammock style saddle.

Mountain Biking in Queens - Part2

2010-03-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

If you look hard enough, there's an old bike in that tree.

Mountain Biking in Queens - Part1

2010-03-13T14:26:00.000-08:00

A few months ago a group of us took the F train to the end of the line in Queens and rode the extra mile to Cunningham Park. A muddy blast was had by all.

You gotta make use of those freak warm weather days in Winter.

Disco Monster Bike

2010-03-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

Came across this disco ball of a monster bike in Brooklyn last week.

I'm glad that even though it couldn't be flashier, it still has the common sense to have a bottle cage. Disco Bike also seems to pay no heed to traditional locking methods, such as locking your bike to a fixed object.
I can't recall if the age of Disco was one of free love, it obviously was an age of free locking.

Monstertrack XI 2010 Photo Followup

2010-03-07T13:54:00.000-08:00

pre registration funfest across the street from Affinity

Alfred (race winner) at the 73st and 5th ave checkpoint

first crash at 73rd & 5th checkpoint

Heather (women's race winner) at at 73rd & 5th

First basket, first t-shirt, and first thank you

Biggest Gauge

Best Dressed

Flat at 73rd & 5th checkpoint

Finish line hangout

Only jug o milk

Congratulations Heather!

Heather's Squarebuilt

Go Party!

Monstertrack Just Started!

2010-03-06T14:22:00.001-08:00

1st Checkpoint
Austin
Alfred
Some Guy
Izumi

Bike Parking in LA

2010-03-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

When I first flew into LAX I came across this bike rack. Quite impressive, quite empty.

A few days later around Venice Beach I locked up to this little guy, possibly the easiest bike parking for a city to install. Take the head off of an old school coin-fed parking meter and then slide a new bike rack over the existing pole. If your city is getting rid of its old parking meters, this is a great way to lobby for more bike parking. NYCDOT finally got on board with this method in the past few months.

Murder Mystery

2010-03-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

I have no idea where the other half of that bike is. There wasn't nearly enough snow to hide it completely. The only other possible explanation is that the snow on the Lower East Side is so acidic that it can dissolve low grade steel.

Vanilla Bicycles Booth at NAHBS

2010-03-01T16:00:00.001-08:00

The Vanilla Bicycles booth was incredible. They recreated what appears to be the pinnacle of retro bike/rec rooms plus a bit of the outdoors, literally. Dirt and woodchips on the floor. Vanilla's relentless attention to detail and quality mixed with a fashionable vintage flair really made their "booth" a showstopper. I find their visual marketing to be pretty damn enticing, but maybe that's just because I already like their style. Can someone else add their take to this?

A buddy of mine made the connection that both Rapha and Vanilla have a pretty amazing and intense marketing approach, but that to him even if Vanilla didn't have the amazing marketing that it does, its products would still speak for themselves. I definitely agree that if Vanilla didn't have the same aesthetically perfect hype machine, that its bicycles would still have no problem selling. You can't take a nice long look at the Speedvagen and tell me it's not sexy.

North American Handmade Bicycle Show!

2010-02-28T14:17:00.000-08:00

A bunch of us took a little trip down to Richmond and spent a day of beautiful geekiness checking out some incredible design details from some of the best frame builders in the country and beyond.

Pictured above is the Best In Show bike made by Cherubim from Japan. The shiniest bike ever!

Dirt Mulholland

2010-02-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

Taking a last ride before I fly out of LA back to Brooklyn tonight.
If you follow Mulholland Dr, it eventually turns into a dirt and gravel fire road that's a pretty awesome dirt ride in the middle of LA. We only had two hours to ride out and back, but according to the Epicurean Cyclist, you can camp if you ride far enough.

on the road to LA

2010-02-16T16:34:00.001-08:00

San Francisco Plus Archery

2010-02-15T15:12:00.000-08:00

Golden Gate Park. Ridin' bikes to the range!

Traveling With Your Bike

2010-02-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Surly Travelers Check and vintage Trek 520

My girlfriend and I braved a terrible day for travel on Thursday, arriving at Laguardia at 5am only to find out that our flight and hundreds of others had been cancelled across the country. About 14 to 17 hours later we finally arrived in LA, lucky us.
The real bonus out of the whole debacle is that the wonderful ticket agents only charged my girlfriend $35 to check her bike instead of the standard $100, a rare exception I'm sure.
My Travelers Check breaks down just small enough so that I don't have to pay extra for my bike on pretty much any airline.
Double bonus.

2010 Red Hook Criterium

2010-02-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

From the man himself, Daveaugust:

March 20th, 2010

The Red Hook Criterium enters it’s 3rd year in 2010.

As my birthday tradition this race is “fixed” and brakeless only. The format remains the same. 20 fast laps around a tight, twisty, and dangerous circuit through the desolate Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn.

The racing circuit follows last year’s route including the now infamous “Otsego Chicane” and the “Beard Street Cobbles”.

Race Information:

Date: Saturday, March 20th
Registration: 9:00pm-10:45pm
Start Time: 11:00 pm
Race Length: 20 Laps (approx 35 minutes)
Equipment: 1. Fixed-gear brakeless required
2. Helmets required
3. 49x15 recommend gearing
4. Puncture resistant tires highly recommended

Entry Fee: $15

Primes: 1. End of the first lap
2. End of the halfway point lap.

Last year's winner Neil Bezdek is now Cat 1, so take that as an indicator of the level of competition - come correct if you want to make an appearance on the podium! Check out those sponsors!! This race has been getting bigger every year and is fast becoming an annual Brooklyn tradition. Wish I could be there, but I'll have to watch from Vancouver...

Snow Day!

2010-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Fresh Riding Photos Teaser

2010-02-06T16:44:00.000-08:00

Just processed about six rolls from my ride camera. Its been a while since I've shot 35mm, but I'm really excited to start scanning.

click to view full size

11 Speed Internal Geared Hub from Shimano

2010-02-03T21:55:00.000-08:00

This just in!

From the wonderful hub geeks over at Hubstripping.com:

"Shimano announces a 11 gear hub. The range will be 409% (Alfine 8 gear 307%). The hub runs in a oil bath like the Rohloff Speddhub. This should result a higher efficiency and longer lifetime. The price will be 300,- Euro release data is September 2010."

Can't afford a Rohloff? This is as close as you're gonna get.

I've had the Alfine 8 speed since July and I love it. Hopefully the 11 will be another step in the right direction.

Fingers crossed that it will be beefy enough for mountain biking.

Be Advised

2010-01-31T17:59:00.000-08:00

Track Porteur

2010-01-28T20:20:00.000-08:00

Saw this on Broadway yesterday. I'm a big fan of CETMA racks and porteur style bikes.
This one uses stitched leather grips with Velo Orange/Nitto Montmartre handlebars and an inverse brake lever to tie in the porteur look.

Sweet 1983 Stumpjumper Remixed

2010-01-25T19:40:00.000-08:00

I just came across this slick Stumpjumper brought back from the dead.
(old Stumpjumpers are probably the undead since they're so rad and still around)

According to the SOMA blog
"Bryan over at Renaissance Bicycles built up this gorgeous '83 Stumpjumper with a great modern spec. He kept it classy with timeless parts, and the bars seem to fit the theme of the bike's heritage. It is also cool that it is a 650b conversion, which when you consider what the Stumpjumper was in its time, gives it the chance to be on forefront of unique and cutting-edge cycling trends once again. If you haven't seen the work that they do, check out the Renaissance site. All of their builds are of this quality and very well-thought-out."

Good eyes SOMA.

Every part on the bike is classy, both the modern and the retro. I'd definitely like to check out a 650b conversion as well as those Direct Curve 5 brakes from Cane Creek.

2010 Pro Peloton Whips

2010-01-25T06:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Sasha E., we've got a nice sneak peak from roadbikeaction.com at some of the 2010 Pro Peloton's rides. Team name listed above the pic of their team bike.

AG2R La Mondiale

Astana

BMC

Caisse D'Epargne

HTC-Columbia

Euskaltel Euskadi

Footon-Servetto-Fuji

Française des Jeux

Garmin-Transitions

Katusha

Liguigas

Milram

Omega Pharma-Lotto

Quickstep

Rabobank

Radioshack

Saxobank

Sky

Here's some interesting stats...

Out of 19 team bikes,

7 are equipped with Campy SR11

6 with SRAM Red

4 with Shimano Di2 7950

2 with Shimano DA 7900

Note some big changes of sponsorship, Quickstep will no longer be on Specialized Bikes, instead Belgium's Spring Classics favorite Tom Boonen will be on a Belgian bike, and Specialized now sponsors Kazakhstan's team Astana as they are no longer with Trek. Obviously Lance and team Radioshack will be on Trek Madones. I do believe that BMC painted in US colors is Big George Hincapie's new ride, and I think the BMC with WC stripes is Cadel's - don't quote me on that though. Cadel was riding a Canyon.com Omega Pharma-Lotto team bike at his victory at the Road World Championships, but now he is with BMC. Lots of big names making some waves, we'll see what this season brings!

New Blogger, New to Blogging

2010-01-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hey All, I'm Blaine, the newest addition to Tony and Henry's blogger slaves (friends).

I'm a photographer by trade, but I'd have to list bikes as my number two obsession.
I love riding bikes, but I also love not waiting for the subway, so I've been mostly commuting by bike for the last 3 years.

Within the last year or two I've quickly transitioned from minimalist fixed gear rider to a total racks and fenders OCD Fred.

Exhibit A, Iro Mark V with round Dedaccai tubing: The first bike I ever got to build up nicely from the frameset; built the wheels myself, etc. Nicest bike I'd ever owned.

Exhibit B, 1975 Raleigh Gran Sport: Great touring bike modified into a wonderful all purpose townie bike.

Over the next few weeks I'll see if I can cobble together a visual timeline of how I got from A to B.

So, I'll be in touch, and I'll likely post random bike pictures along the way.

LSD Bike Shop, Seoul

2010-01-15T01:37:00.000-08:00

A internet search for Seoul fixed gear bike shops will bring up LSD Bike, and they come recommended as the only exclusively track/fixed shop around town by other shops. One of my favorite things to do in foreign countries is check out bike shops, especially if they're track or fixed related, and I decided to drop by on this balmy (27*F) Friday afternoon.

LSD Bike is located a few blocks away from Yaksu station off lines 6 or 3 of the Seoul subway. I just kind of got off the train and wandered around, it's pretty easy to find and immediately recognizable with its distinct sign and a track bike in the window.

The amount of space they have is great - and they pack a bunch of stuff in there. Immediately when you enter there's a bunch of complete builds and all sorts of wheels hanging from the ceiling - everything from carbon tri and 4 spokes to various bolt on track wheels and everything in between.

There's a cake refrigerator that's been appropriated as a components display, it's got all the goodies you could want from NJS goodies to LSD's own house-branded components.

And finally, a wall of frames - if you're in the market for a track frame they've got everything from Korean Keirin frames from Interpro, Cello, and Corex, to Vintage Pogliaghis and even the new Leader trick track frames.

The people are super friendly, and down to hang out and have a chat with an American. I met the owner Lee and Johnny, who happens to have lived right by the shop in Park Slope, BK - small world! They speak great English, which was welcome after having stepped into a few nice shops that were unable to answer any of my questions due to the language barrier. Lee and Johnny say that there's a large growing number of trick riders in Seoul especially, and their bikes are mirror images of some of the top trick guys from North America - 32c and up tires, beefy unicrown forks, bmx style platforms with velcro foot retention a la Holdfast FRS. I like to experiment at track shops in foreign countries and name-drop Prolly and see if they know who I'm talking about, and I was't disappointed.

Johnny's on the left, Lee the owner in the middle, and some goofy dude on the right.

Anyway, the shop's got a couch in the back, the people are friendly, and they're stocked to get you rolling again if you happen to need some service, they've got pretty much any tool I could think of, plus a few more - my favorite being this wheelbuilding tool.

Seems to be based on a slide hammer, it's like an automatic mechanical screwdriver that's perfect for lacing wheels - their mechanic laced a wheel in about 4 minutes while I was asking what the tool was - apparently it's Japanese, go figure.

Drop by if you're ever in Seoul, or check them out here on the interwebs. Lee was kind enough to hook me up with a sick LSD shirt, you can snag one at the site.

Craft

2010-01-14T20:39:00.000-08:00

So it's super cold here in Seoul, pretty much prohibitively so. Today it's a balmy 27* F, but usually it hovers around 12* F for most of the day, dipping lower at night when the sun takes a trip over to you guys in the West. This means that I've been spending a lot of time indoors, that is to say in my girlfriend's tiny shoebox cubby of an apartment on the computer. But when I do muster up enough cojones or stir-craziness to venture out into the tundra, it's with some Craft gear.

Last winter I was commuting in Manhattan in a pair of jeans and some Vans canvas shoes, a skateboard helmet, and a snowboard shell. Most of the time I was okay, my commute was only like 15 minutes from the East Village down to Tribeca, but when it got really cold my lower half was angry with me. Tony hooked it up for my birthday with some Craft proZERO long underwear and man it changed everything.

When the mercury dips below the 40* F mark, you'll find me sporting these under whatever the pants d'jour I'm sporting. Craft has a few different lines, proZERO Extreme targeted at 35-65* Windy weather, proZERO being for 30-60* F weather layering, and proWARM for when it gets really cold.

Craft is good quality stuff, designed for comfort and durability as I think all products should be, and they have a full lineup of gear for layering all the way to outerwear and bike specific gear - you've seen team Saxobank riding their stuff in the Pro Tours. I liked the proZERO long underwear so much that I picked up some Craft Gore Windstopper Boxers for when it's not cold enough to wear long johns, but it's windy.

That windstopper protected area happens to be completely exposed to the wind, and believe me those undies will make your ride a LOT more comfortable.

Anyway, I've been loving the Craft gear since Tony turned me on to them a year ago, it's top notch stuff and really worth checking out, especially if you're commuting by bike. I layer up with my stuff whenever I'm planning on being outside and active - it's all designed with comfort and breathability in mind on top of keeping you warm. Idea for biking, snowsports, running, hanging out in the cold, what have you. Check em out at craft-usa.com. If you see something you like, drop by the shop - we've got a good stock of craft layers, and if we don't have it we can always order it for you.

Stay warm!

Korean Keirin

2010-01-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I spent the day with my girl at Gwangmyeong Speedom Velodrome just outside Seoul. It was a gnarly snowy day, so it was a good one for indoors. Accessible via Line 7 of Seoul's extensive subway system, exit 4 puts you out on the main street that the velodrome is on. 5 minutes on a bus or in a taxi will have you there, or it's about a 15-20 minute walk, no turns.

(Pic via flickr)

Korean Keirin is very similar to Japanese Keirin, which has its own rules slightly different than UCI's rules for Keirin. There are 7 racers on the track, and they are paced by a pacer for several laps, during which the racers jockey for position behind the pacer. Just before the final lap, the pacer drops below the cote d'azure and into the infield where he awaits the race finish. Just before the racers pass turn 3 going into their final lap, a gong sounds sounds, and is struck increasingly fast until the racers begin the final lap, or the "bell lap." This is where the real action begins.

The Speedom Velodrome is a 333.3m track with some pretty steep banks. One of the stats given for each racers is his 200m sprint time, which is usually around 11-12 seconds, so the bell lap is quite quick. During the bell lap each of the 7 riders attemps to be the first to cross the finish line, resulting in some very tactical sprinting and usually a dramatic last few meters after turn 4. For the finish, the lights illuminate the finish line like a concert venue stage. Lots of excitement during the bell lap with ajoshi's (Old Korean Men) urging the racers they bet on to the finish in various amusing NSFW ways.

All the while 80s sports video game music is playing, and tons of old men (It's 99% the boys club) are betting all day. It's a pretty fun atmosphere if you're into track racing, everyone there is excited about what's going on on the track. There's about 3 races an hour all day Saturday and Sunday starting at around noon and finishing around 7pm. 400 won, a bit less than 40 cents gets you into the 'drome to watch.

The racers are all riding beautiful steel handmade track bikes from one of three Korean frame builders - Corex (the Specialized of Korea), Interpro (my personal favorite - using Nagasawa lugs), or Cello. Otherwise, the builds are identical to NJS certified Japanese Keirin race rigs - NItto this and that, Dura Ace here and there, box section tubulars, and super narrow saddles, oh and of course they all use slotted cleats with clips and straps.

La Legenda di Celeste

2010-01-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

If you're used to the classic geometries of steel road frames a la "Breaking Away," today's race machines may look very strange to you indeed. Massive down tubes, huge bottom bracket areas, and fluid shapes mimicking today's automobile designs are all but the norm, all geared towards creating a platform that transfers the energy input from the rider as efficiently as possible to turning the wheels, made as light as possible.

Before cycling's governing body UCI created a stringent set of rules in the hopes of leveling the field in terms of performance advantages afforded to the cyclist by his or her machine, many companies, especially and most visibly frame builders were experimenting with designs that would make the hallmark innovations of today's bikes seem tame. Fairings, funny bikes, frames with no triangles were all tried in an attempt to make the most aerodynamic time trial bike possible. Aerodynamics are especially important in a TT as there is no peloton or other riders to share the job of pulling at the front, the rider must fight the wind on his or her own and race against the clock.

Recently on the NYCfixed forum, Ethan Laek discovered a treasure trove of some of Bianchi's TT bikes from before UCI sanctions limited the designs to the types of bikes we see in the TT today. Check him out over at Laek House when you get a chance and support a local NYC/BK business. He does some really cool stuff, most notably applications of ELVS which you can grab on some Velocity Deep-Vs.

So, just for comparison, here is Bianchi's 2010 Team Flaminia TT bike, the Pico Chrono.

And here are some of the pre-UCI sanction Bianchi designs... wild stuff!

One of Pantani's TT bikes

This one is CRAZY...

Note the bottom bracket shell, which is apparently integrated into the downtube, and also the DISC brakes!? and the aero bar extensions from the fork, too.

Here's a quick comparison of Pantani's bike from earlier in the decade (2002?) with a 2010 Flaminia 928 SL.

Pretty wild, no? Cycling is continually progressing as companies try to innovate and push the limits of design while following the rules (for the most part...), and that makes it such an appealing, exciting sport to follow. The fact that there is a market for equipment that facilitates maximizing human performance simultaneously existing with a market for established technology that will allow for a fun ride makes cycling accessible to a vast spectrum of demographics. Fun stuff!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Hope you had a nice holiday, for most of y'all it'll be back to the daily grind I suppose, meanwhile I'm out here in Seoul still. Hopefully going to Pusan to check out some Korean Keirin racing next week or the week after, and maybe some PRIDE fighting in between? Pretty crazy here, the whole country drinks like a first year university student. Anyway, it's still brutal cold here, not much in the way of eye candy to report. Most of the bikes here seem to be of the crappy variety, from strange dual suspension 20" folders to freak bikes with a 16" rear and a 26" front, and oddly enough, plenty of huge cruisers. Going fast here in the streets is waaaay sketchy, even moreso than midtown in rush hour; no one is paying any semblance of attention and half the cab drivers are watching TV on their GPS's, no joke. Otherwise, the food is great and booze is cheap. Velodrome pics to come (hopefully).

HAPPY 2k10!

Meanwhile, some great pics have popped up on the NYCfixed forums recently, here's a few of my fav's...

Cipo!

Before & After: 9th street style

2009-12-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas has passed (hopefully everyone had a good one) and as we approach new years, we reflect upon what may change in the coming year. Resolutions are on most peoples minds and partying it up on others. Here at the shop we've got some changes of our own that we're taking with us into new years.
we're excited to present to you a new series entitled 'Before & After'. Its pretty straightforward in that we get a bike in for a restoration and show you the resulted product.
For our first documented case we had a customer bring in an old Ross bike that belonged to his girlfriend (lots of sentimental value) and as a gift he wanted to restore it and make it look brand new. Below is the result of the before and after brooklyn style

BEFORE

As you can tell its been pretty well used and being a vintage year, its done well to last this long under use. The customer wanted to restore it to a color akin to that of the original but not quite as plain. So we ended up with a great result with a fantastic clear coat that hearkened back to the original scheme

AFTER

gorgeous eh?

So if you have any basement bikes that really mean alot to you or just a clunker you'd like to breathe life into, give us a shout and we'll work out the best possible options for you. Makes for a fantastic gift!

Well im off...

2009-12-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Im heading back to the desolate ice fields of Massachusetts tomorrow so posting will be delayed on my part until next week. Posts may still show up either from Chris or Henry but if you dont hear from us dont cry. You can always visit Tony and crew at the shop to get your fill of brooklyn-bicycles-flavored cocoa knowledge. Happy holidays everyone!
~Ross

Bianchi super pista

2009-12-21T14:11:00.001-08:00

Just got them in. And. One of the only57cm frames IN THE COUNTRY is in our possession. The frame is actually quite gorgeous at that. Upon arrival, we noticed that theres a few differences with this frame than the prototype. The welds look excellent- all smooth and not rippled like the proto was. The underside of the bottom bracket also has a small gusset from where the cutout meets the chain stays. Its pretty awesome. Stop by and check them out before theyre all gone.

Shawn rides like a pro

2009-12-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

Last night me, Shawn and Tony went into the park with our mountain bikes to take full advantage of the snow and sled-made slopes. We had some great riding and even though alot of it was powder, the bikes held up great. Eventually we found some snow/ice covered stairs and found it was the best spot to do some runs. It all went smooth and it was nice and fast. Tony and i went first without a hitch but then Shawn came up and showed us his skills. Hilarity ensues

Dont be fooled though. Under normal circumstances, Shawn rides...well...ok

Spotlight: Miriam Weiskind

2009-12-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

Miriam, a good friend of ours, has on ongoing series of shots she does entitled 'bikes of NYC' which captures the beauty of bikes in their natural habitat against the raw backdrop of New York City.
Shes got some great shots. Below are the framed shots we've got here at the shop.

my crummy phone camera does these shots no justice

If you dig her work or want to see how great these shots and presentation really are, stop by the shop or if you wish contact Miriam directly through her website. Or we can sort it out for you. Either way they make for great art and would be a fantastic christmas present.

Christmas is approaching

2009-12-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

For christmas this year i figured id do something special for my girlfriend. She has a heavy clunker bike from a brand called columbia and it is horrendous. It weighs a good solid 50 pounds, is caked with rust and is stuck in one gear. Aside from it being close to inoperable, its a big pain for when i have to lug it up my third floor apartment. Not fun at all.
So since i work here at Brooklyn Bicycles i figured now would be the perfect time to give her something a little more functional. It took alot of searching but i found something that suit her quite well. I ended up ordering a Pake track frame in limited edition purple. When it finally came in i was pleasantly surprised by the paint job.
Brilliant color (ignore the terrible picture quality). So with some help from our head mechanic Pete and the boss man Henry, we got this beauty built up in one day and it came out great. Put some NOS parts on it (we can get you most of these parts from EAI) for sheer class, white cloth tape, mks gr-9 pedals, some alex track wheels with formula hubs and shimano 105 brake levers. Also decked it out with a Kryptonite Evolution Lock and cable (i dont want my work to be for naught)So it looks gorgeous and the lady loves it. We're Pake dealers so if you like what you see, we can easily build one up for you. Pake makes great tange frames and theyre super reasonably priced. Stop by the shop for a consultation and we'll set you up.
Remember, keep warm, keep your bike in good shape, and most importantly, ride the thing!
~Ross

Chris King Swift Road Racing Hubs

2009-12-17T16:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I heard about these when they were debuted at Interbike this year, and seems like they should be available soonish. Some discussion on the fixed.gr/nyc boards renewed my interest and I was curious as to what the difference is between the Swift Road Racing hubs and the Classic Road or CX hubs, and after digging around on the interweb a bit I think I've got the gist.

Anyway, I've got a wheelset that I got straight from Chris King, it just so happened that they are in on the know and spec handbuilt wheelsets built to take a beating, and I was actually going to build myself the exact same wheels, believe it or not. We can get our hands on DT swiss rr1.1 double eyeletted rims laced 3x with DT swiss double butted spokes to King Classic road or CX (higher flanges) straight from King. I've been super happy with my wheels, and sadly they are awaiting my return to Vancouver where they might find themselves moving from my TCR to a... CX bike?? Hmmm...

The King Classic hubs are renowned for their 72 point of engagement (yes, 72. That's almost 3x the standard 24 tooth pawl-type freehub body in your run o the mill road hubs) and the resulting whine, as well as their super burly sealed cartridge bearings.

Ring Drive

The new Swift road hubs use a Titanium Ring Drive system which is new, and it's now 45 tooth engagement. A pair should clock in at about ~320g, which is about 50g less than a pair of Classic Roads. They're available in lower drillings, 20 to 32 hole and will pair nicely with anything from a classic semi aero rim to a deep section carbon jobby, and King says they're designed to allow for radial lacing now to boot.

via bikerumor.com

Kinda bummed that they switched to a different (see:lamer) font for the Swifts, but I guess they wanted something new. Someone convince Tony that he needs these and get them in the shop! Still no Powdercoated White or Purple options (you'll have to stick with Phil for that), but all the usual crazy King colors will be available. As usual, we can snag any of these goodies that catch you eye from a single hub or hub set to building you up the wheels of your dreams.

Meanwhile, I'm in Seoul, South Korea freezing my... well, it's really, really cold here. I'll throw some pics up when I get around to thawing my trigger finger.

Check our new fan page out on the FACEBOOK, or as our good friend Gerard calls it, "Face-head." BECOME A FAN! You know you love us.

<3 Chris

We've got a facebook fan page

2009-12-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

We just put up a fan page for the shop so if you will, head on over here and join the fun

represent your favorite bike shop!

2009-12-15T09:56:00.001-08:00

Here's the scoop guys: we've got house t-shirts now. Both come in all sizes and all genders- including robot.

Sizes for the whole family

get one for that special robot in your life

Now folks keep in mind these shirts are screen printed in our very own Brooklyn. Support local business and pick one up today!

Wheels

2009-12-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

You know, the moment that rolf released the new vigor this year i admittedly just sighed and said 'ehh its just another wheel.' Personally, i thought the low spoke count and deep v section was pretty scary. I had heard horror stories from a few buddies of mine about the ride being super stiff and unforgiving. However, they didnt ride Rolfs and i gotta tell you these things are awesome. theyre super light, stiff where it really counts and come built standard with american made white industries hubs. Awesome.

Rain instead of snow

2009-12-13T13:26:00.000-08:00

Man, its on days like this where we here at brooklyn bicycles get to thinking about how we can add stuff to the store. Exciting stuff (Or at least what's exciting to us). So today Pete decided to showcase Tony's bike. It looks prettyyyyy nice.

Shawn absorbed by the beauty

Henry and Pete basking in the Masi's glory

It was really quite interesting watching pete rig this up. He used the same methods we use to secure bicycle saddles to frames to keep thieves from snatching posts. Great idea pete. You know what they say; 'idle hands spend time rigging things' er...or something like that.

On another note, we got our first shipment of via brera's here at the shop. Really a cool bike. stop by and check em out.

2009-12-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the excellent cookies Jonathon and Co.

2009-12-13T08:39:00.000-08:00

My good friend Ben is building a bike. You can check it out here

Rocky Mountain Bicycles

2009-12-12T11:02:00.000-08:00

So. We have some awesome bikes from the folks at Rocky Mountain Bicycles and we are so stoked to be carrying them. These guys do alot of the hands-on work required in building bikes which is what alot of companies cant say.
The newest model we've got our hands on is the Altitude 10 and i must say, this thing rocks. You get 140mm of travel in the front and rear shocks making this bike more than perfect for those heavy duty, less traveled paths out there. Shimano SLX, RockShox, rmb stuff galore. Check their site for full specs and if you'd like to test it out, come on down and dont be shy. ps- they build their own wheels and stress them three times. they even sign off on each set with the initials of the builder. Cool eh?

Winter riding- part 2 prepping that bike

2009-12-11T14:25:00.000-08:00

Alright so we've gotten your body all sealed up and protected before old man winter can touch you with his creepy old man hands. Now we'll do the same for your bike...just minus the clothing (or put clothes on your bike if it pleases you). First we touch the chain. easiest to do.

This stuff is it. Stops that crappy urine/snow/salt/nyc vomit from destroying your bicycle transmission. Shoot some on sparingly, forget about it, then in a week or two or six, put some more on. Always opt for a 'wet' lube such as this for adverse or wet (get the meaning now?) weather. Theyre a tad messy but worth it.

Next water proof that frame with this:
Spray it on your frame directly, rub it around and keep away from fire for a little while unless youre one of those people who like to ride flaming bikes or something. You'll definitely need to do a few applications here and there but it'll do a great job of keeping water and salt from messing your bike. As the name implies, this stuff is used on Boeing airplanes. Thats gotta tell you something right?

Now bare in mind, the road is going to spray alot of stuff at your loved one. Its mostly going to be salt. as long as you keep wiping down after each ride, you'll be golden. Otherwise your ride will look like this:

(Via BikeSnobNYC)
Not pretty huh. That corrossion will run deep over time and then your frame will belong to a dump.

If you ride with brakes, these pads are the way to go:
All weather v-type brake pads. Theyll handle snow, water, venomous acid...maybe not acid but everything otherwise. Stop by the shop and pete will slap em right on there for ya. you'll need linear pull or v brakes in order to run these. cyclocross bikes and mountain bikes typically have these.

and lastly you'll need tires. bigger the better when snow hits the ground. get these:
Maxxis Larsens or any thick tread tire will do. i personally prefer these. They grip real well and there isnt a loss in traction even on the city streets. gooooood times.

Right. I'll cover more soon and we'll finish off this subject with how to handle your bike in adverse conditions next. Theres a few more maintenance things you should know so stop by the shop and i'll give you a free lesson. See ya soon peoples.
~Ross

Bike Check: Chris' Couplered Bare Knuckle

2009-12-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

I just recently had some work done to one of my favorite bikes, and it's almost like New Bike Day for me. So, I'm going to take the time to show it off on the internet, which is of course solely what the military and universities collabo'd with Al Gore to create it for.

I started off with a 54cm EAI Bare Knuckle track frame. This is a great mid-level steel track frame, the tubeset is double butted Deda 12.5 COM. It's got a super high bottom bracket which makes it size a little funny, but it makes it an ideal frame for the track or street. 1-1/8" steerer is much more convenient than a 1", and it's of course "laterally stiff and vertically compliant".

Bilenky Cycle Works did a fantastic job with a S&S Machine BTC (Bicycle Torque Coupler) retrofit, and they did a dent repair and repaint at a really reasonable cost. S&S BTCs are growing in popularity as an alternative to a folding bike when traveling is a concern. I'm about to be bouncing around the world, and after driving 3 bikes to Vancouver from Maryland, and then hauling 2 back on the plane, I really wanted an option that would allow me to fit my bicycle into a 62 linear inch case, which is under airline regulation sizing for check-in luggage.

You can see that the frame has 2 lugs near the seat tube on the top and down tubes - those are the BTCs, and that's where the frame breaks in half. The limit is the size of your wheel, in my case a 700c track wheel.

I've spec'd my frame with some top notch stuff from Chris King, Nitto, SRAM, Phil Wood, MKS, KMC, and Selle Italia. When choosing parts for this build (which has admittedly appeared in several iterations of varying practicality and utility), this time I went for comfort and durability. All the bearings are high quality sealed cartridge type - from the headset to the outboard bearing bottom bracket, which is crucial for Vancouver weather (see: rain, rain, and more rain) in the winter. Risers make for a comfortable ride and keeps my head up for good visibility when negotiating city traffic.

A few other options come straight from the factory spec'd with couplers - Surly's Traveler's Check is a Cross Check that's had BTCs installed,

and the Ritchey Breakaway frame is a road frame with Ritchey's proprietary Breakaway system, and comes with a Ritchey bag. One thing I've read on the interwebz is that the Ritchey bag is actually 64 linear inches, which makes it 2 inches oversize, so you may or may not run into trouble with that. Packing your bag so it's definitely underweight should mitigate any snobby airline worker's wrath, but who knows - that's always been a toss of the dice for me. Cool frame though.

At BKLYN Bicycles, we're Euro-Asia Imports dealers, as well as Chris King, Phil Wood, and all your favorite companies, and we can spec your bike exactly like mine if you're into that. We can also easily get our hands on a Traveler's Check or a Ritchey Breakaway frameset and build it up for you. It's super convenient for me to be able to haul my favorite bike along with me when traveling, and I don't have to pay oversize or bike charges to the airlines. FIGHT THE POWER

New Phil Wood Goodies...

2009-12-09T14:51:00.000-08:00

So, dunno if you all have heard, but Phil Wood is bringing a few new variations of their super burly hubs to the market. Seems like they're going after the Chris King crowd, bringing in new colors and a new rear cassette hub, perfect for your training wheels or your cross tubies. As usual, the hubs are a bit on the heavier side, with the cassette rear weighing in at about 511g, but they're spec'd with Phil stuff, and they'll survive the apocalypse so you can escape zombies on your sweet bike.

Phil also have a new ISO fixed hub, it's got an even higher flange than their high flange fixed hubs, and has a six-bolt ISO bolt pattern for a bolt on rear cog, no threading involved, so the idea is no threads or lockrings to strip. I've seen a Chris King ISO Disc front hub respaced to 120mm for a rear track wheel used with a bolt on cog, and Lyle Vallie of Vallie Components has been refining his version of a street fixed hub out in Vancouver, BC, and of course Level components has had their proprietary bolt on fixed hub around for a few years now, but this seems to be the most refined version I've seen yet.

via prollyisnotprobably.com

We're tight with Phil Wood, so we can snag any of that stuff for ya if you're so inclined, and Pete does a fine job of wheelbuilding for anything from Single Speed or Fixed to Road wheels, and of course Mountain wheels. Someone get Pete to finagle a King hub into a bolt on fixed, plz.

RUMOR HAS IT THAT PHIL IS BRINGING BACK THE PURPLE ANO, SO KEEP YOUR EYES OUT!!

Tony's Masi Coltello

2009-12-09T14:48:00.001-08:00

Tony's Masi Coltello was half-stolen awhile back - the front end was taken while he was parked in midtown. After sitting around in the basement he decided to get it polished to a mirror finish, and threw some sweet vintage Masi decals on there. It's built up now, but no way is he finished... this frame needs CAMPY, duh.

BKLYN BICYCLES KITS!

2009-12-09T12:41:00.001-08:00

Ross, Tony, and Henry have been putting this together for awhile, they sent me an early draft. A few things to work out, but the Kits are lookin sharp - I can't wait to swoop mine when they're ready. Get one and show the old dudes in the park who's the boss.

Winter riding- part 1 Clothing

2009-12-09T12:24:00.002-08:00

Hey Ross here folks

As it gets colder and the grey mess that is winter approches, many people ask themselves one thing:

"how do i make it through this?...again"

Where im from, a harsh winter full of un-plowed streets and ice covered trees is the norm and because i grew up in that kind of climate, im well prepared for what that winter brings. Now, there are many things i do to prepare for what this weather brings whether it be prepping for my bikes or my home but by far the most important preparation of all is that of dressing accordingly. Sure i love my bikes, as im sure you do, but what good is the bike if the engine fails because it froze up? (that engine is you by the way). We'll talk about bikes later but first and foremost is Clothing...

lets start from the head down:

Its a known fact that you loose a great deal of heat through your head and its even more true during exercise. Thats why its extremely important to cover up your skull during the winter. You need warmth of course but also something that will be comfortable under a helmet and wick sweat away from your melon. I cant stress that enough. Excess sweat gets really cold and if theres enough of it, can lead to hypothermia if you happen to stop running or cycling. I know. Ive experienced it.
Something that covers these areas perfectly is the merino 6-panel beanie by swobo (top) and the Descente Coldout Balaclava (bottom).

Swobo's cycling beanie is great. Plain and simple. Its made of merino wool which is light, itch-free, and wicks away sweat but by far its best property is that it keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer (Theres a reason theyve been making cycling gear out of this stuff for ages). It covers up your ears perfectly and the short cycling bill keeps falling snow out of your eyes.

For slightly harsher conditions (and general purpose use) Descentes Coldout Balaclava is a great grab. made of water/wind resistant material and lined with a light fleece, it not only wicks away sweat, it keeps your nose, mouth, cheeks, ears and head warm. Double up on them for added warm (yes i said double). I personally love balaclavas for their multi-funtional use. If you want a demonstration on how many macgyver-like ways it can be used, stop by the shop.

Next, for the torso, my preferred shell of choice, the Endura Gridlock. Its a mid-weight waterproof and totally breathable jacket that really lasts you through the miles out in the cold winter air. Even if you chose to ride fender-less (people do) youd still be golden. Did i mention they come in super visible colors?
Lets not forget gloves now. For me, id be done with a ride in january after about 15 feet without a pair of gloves on. As would any of us. My weapon of choice here is the Pearl Izumi Cyclone

Its got everything a cyclist needs. Rubberized finger grips for no-miss flicking those brake or shifter levers, strategically placed padding in the palm (which i am especially fond of) and super warm material. Padding is so important. Have you ever fallen from a bike while riding on ice? No brainer. Get some or prepare to have icicles for fingers.

Next we need pants. Its the law. Otherwise you'd not only be freezing but youd be in jail. Not so much fun. So in order to get out of the cells and onto the streets, you need not only a lawyer but some Craft Bullet Pants.
Anyone can make an argument here. It usual goes something like "Cant i just ride with snow pants?" or perhaps "bah i already have some winter running pants. that'll be good enough on the bike".
True, you could wear other gear but it wouldnt be as comfortable, windproof, waterproof and lightweight. Even if they had all of those properties, they still wouldnt have articulated knees and 3M relfective striping. Perfect attributes for this city full of wind-tunnel effects and unknown puddles.

Lastly before i get, in the words of Henry Carter, 'thirsty mouth', we're going to get on with the only affordable, comfortable and durable option for protecting your toes from that creepy old man winter-
Booties and toe covers by our pals descente
The major difference between the two is that booties cover your whole foot and ankle, providing total weather protection whereas toe covers do just what they are: cover your toe.

the Element Shoe Cover or bootie (top), is made of neoprene, is kevlar enforced to enhance durability in walking areas, is wind-blocking and water repellent. It also features openings on the bottom for clipless pedals and the shoe's heel. The Element toe cover (right) is made from the same great neoprene and is wind-blocking and water repellent. Easier to deal with and convenient to slip on.

Ok folks i hope that helps you on your quest for winter survival and like always, if you have any questions, stop by the shop any time or shoot us a line. I'll be back Friday to talk about prepping your bike for the winter and how to handle your bike in adverse conditions. See ya then!

Get geared up for the rain!

2009-12-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

I started to use my bike as my main means of getting around when I was at University in Vancouver, BC. The Pacific Northwest is known for its relentless rainy winters, and I've gone through my fair share of bike related rain gear. here are a few of my picks for fenders...

Fenders - That's "mudguards" to you UK dwellers - a must have for any commuter, fenders will keep you dryer than without, and hopefully you can avoid the dreaded skunk-tail commuter syndrome. With fenders, I've always found that the closer you can get to the tire, the more splash will be deflected.

My favorite fenders are the Raceblades by SKS out of Germany. Good quality fenders, with a design that makes them usable with virtually any 700c bike. I usually reach for my track bike which doesn't have fender mounts, so this was a no-brainer. The fenders hug the curve of the wheels, blocking most splash and debris. Integrated mud flaps keep surprises from flying up to meet you. The front fender does a great deal towards keeping your feet dry. Available in 2 sizes for super narrow road race tires and wider "XL" version for commuter style tires, and a few different color options keep it fresh.

If you're not into the full fender look, I still like SKS for quick release rear fenders. The SKS X-tra Dry has a great non-slip mechanism that will adjust to fit snugly around any diameter seatpost. There's an allen key bolt to adjust the angle and prevent the dreaded floppy fender that won't leave your tire alone. Combine this with the Race Blades and you're totally golden.

If you've got fender mounts, the Civia Hyland Fenders are a great looking alternative. Subtle details make this a great looking functional option for full fenders.

All of these options and more available at BKLYN BIKES! If you don't see something you like, drop by and we help you find something that works for you.

Stay dry - ride longer...

New/Old Faces

2009-12-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

This is Chris here, from across the blogosphere in Suburbia-Nowhere, MD. I used to work with Tone and Henry at a bike shop in Manhattan that will remain nameless, and after harassment and nagging they let me into the family that is Brooklyn Bicycles. These days I'm enjoying willful unemployment until work visa paperwork is done for me to work in Vancouver, BC.

Being a total gear nerd, I figure I can contribute to the BKLYN blog with a few pertinent product recommendations, and of course plenty of eye candy in the way of pics, both of the appropriated and original variety.

2009-12-02T10:01:00.001-08:00

The Bullet. We got em, and just in time for werewolf season.

2009-11-30T15:59:00.000-08:00

We got new seat bags in stock white and black. Selling like hot cakes. Thanks to Keiko Niwa and Harry Schwartzman for the awesome photos.

Rainy Days

2009-10-18T09:49:00.000-07:00

Fenders
Lights
Tights
Arm Warmers
Leg Warmers
Gloves
Base Layers
Shells
Booties
Fat Tires
Frame
Saver
Lube
Grease
Hats
Balaclava
Clear Lens
Glasses
Hot Chocolate

Flat Fix Workshop

2009-10-15T10:07:00.000-07:00

Thursdays at 7:00pm throughout October we are teaching flat fix basics. Learn to efficiently and confidently tackle one of cycling's most essential skills. We will discuss different tire and tube types followed by hands on flat fixing and patching. If you have a flat tire bring it with you so you can get yourself back on the road.

2009-10-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Shop Ride. Come one come all.

2009-10-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

Hello BKLYN