Back in the fall a few friends from the Austin Texas Bike Polo Social Club came through town on their guerrilla polo tour before and left a copy of The Dropout for the library. Since then The Dropout has put out a second issue, and made both issues available online so that people outside of the Austin scene can read along. The first issue featured a front and back cover of vinyl sticker material, with a lot of solid content within including an interview with cover artist Taliah Lempert, words on polo and geeks on bikes, and the zine classics of a crossword and a word find in the back. In terms of local coverage, there is a lot of information for anyone making a visit or making a life in Austin, with that advertisers in the least letting you know what local businesses are bike friendly.
On the same weekend that thousands of cyclists will descend upon Richmond VA for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show, fixed freestyle riders will gather for a trick competition on February 27th. More information as the details come together at RVA Fixed.
As you know, Urban Velo has a Flickr photo group. But not every single reader is a member of the group, so who else has a Flickr photostream we should check out?
Post a link in the comments below. (If you include the entire URL, it will automatically be a hyperlink.)
SRAM introduced their handlebar mounted, road bike twist-shift system in 1988. Dubbed Grip Shift, the system saw immediate success in the competition arena, if not necessarily in the commercial market. But with the release of their mountain bike system, the Chicago upstart company gained a significant foothold in the world bicycle market. With a reputation for innovative products that competed with those of the industry leaders, they continued to grow.
In 2003, SRAM unveiled their own unique version of the mountain bike trigger shifter. Their Impulse Technology shifters (X-7, X-9 and X-0) featured two paddles, but both could be actuated with just a flick of the thumb. Not only did they offer more control by allowing the rider to keep their fingers on the grips, the shifting was noticeably more positive than the competition. SRAM attributes this to their Exact Actuation, which means that the amount of cable pulled by the shifter is equal to the movement at the derailleur (whereas the competition is approximately 2:1). Each shift resulted in a crisp, audible click. SRAM followed up on their success with the introduction of their Force and Rival road bike shifters. The road bike systems featured a new technology called Double Tap, which uses a single paddle shifter mounted behind the brake lever to shift up or down. It moves in one direction only, with the distinction being how far the lever is pressed. Although it sounds confusing on paper, in practice it’s remarkably intuitive.
Continue reading ‘SRAM DoubleTap 10 Flat-Bar Road Shifters’
Last year we posted on Fast Track and their plans for an Olympic level indoor velodrome in Cleveland, OH. Recently the non-profit Fast Track announced more detailed plans for the velodrome project, along with an agreement to purchase some 9.5 acres of vacant land. While there is a lot of fundraising to do and sponsorship deals to be inked before the estimated $6.5 million construction costs are covered, securing a site is a big step in the long march towards what would be only the third indoor velodrome in the USA.
That’s right, as if he didn’t have enough on his plate, Don Walker’s gone and started a new blog. He says it’ll help showcase his framebuilding process better than his old blog did.
Head out with your lovely or in search of at Velociprom in Baltimore on February 13th. Funds benefit the Velocipede Bike Project.
Our friends at PEONFX have just unveiled their WolfPac messenger bag. At just $139 SGD ($98 USD) it’s a great deal, and loaded with features. Not to mention more colorful than a pack of crayons. Stay tuned for a bona-fide product review, but in the meantime check out www.peonfx.com for more info.
Bike Friendly Oak Cliff is promoting their first group ride of the year, the Love Your Lane Valentine’s Day Ride in downtown Dallas TX.
Dress to your heart’s content for this Valentine’s Day ride and bring your sweetie, or come looking for that special cycling someone, as we tour around town at a leisurely pace. Show some love by dressing up (cupid, cherub, love bug, a kissing booth, exactly like your partner, your definition of love, Queen of Hearts, a Care Bear, etc.) and decorating your bike. This is encouraged but NOT REQUIRED to ride. It may be chilly, so be prepared to bundle up.
And for those falling in love with the poster, a limited run of hand screened posters is available for purchase.
Brev.M recently posted a sneak preview of their upcoming pedal design. According to their website:
This isn’t the final version, but it’s getting real close. So far it’s about the same dimensions as an MKS pedal just a lot thinner and a lot lighter. Each pedal only weighs 3.6 oz! That’s half the weight of an MKS pedal and they’re sealed. These pedals are extruded and CNC’d to exact tolerances. We’re pretty excited about them and have been riding them to make sure they work and feel right.
As I said in the issue #17 Publisher’s Statement:
…we need people to continue contributing to our I Love Riding in the City department. These stories are the heart and soul of the magazine, and serve to inspire people around the world. If you’ve been waiting to send yours in, consider this a call to action.
With the move to full color, we need new contributions that include high-resolution color photographs. And while we’re looking for contributions from around the world, we still want them from our own country, our own state, even our own city.
Please take a few minutes to fill out this questionnaire.
Desotorow Gallery in Savannah, GA is putting together the Spoked art show this spring and is looking for submissions. The guidelines are loose—any medium is acceptable, and it just has to have bicycles as an overall theme. Submissions are due Feb 12th, with any proceeds from sales going directly to the artist.
We like bike zines and in the past few weeks another one has made it out to readers, including us. Fast Pace Zine is a fixed freestyle zine in the classic photocopied style featuring a few rider interviews, some short product reviews and all the black and white grainy photos you’ve come to love from zine publishing. Imagine my surprise in picking up the first issue and noticing that there is a picture of me taking a picture on the fourth page, opposite the opening Chris Fonseca interview. Available for a couple of dollars, the first issue is nearly gone with a second one in the works.
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