<
Devan Mickell is a 20-year-old cyclist from Nashville. And she rides wheelies better than I do.
Check out her blog at sortalikeadream.blogspot.com.
Monthly Archive for October, 2009
Mission Workshop is a new company from people who used to be involved with Chrome. Their bags are unique and made in Colorado, featuring some interesting material choices. The bags on display at Interbike were all prototypes and only one size was being shown. After some small tweaks, they’ll have three or four sizes available and even more features. Visit the Mission Workshop website, or check out this blog post on Superb Bicycle for more info and a video demonstration of the bag’s features.
Here we see Tim Jackson, aka The Masi Guy, showing off Masi’s new component line, Brev. Highlights include V-section wheelsets in 32 or 36 hole varieties, available in an array of limited-edition colors for roughly $130 per wheel. 
They’re also offering colorful, quality parts like riser bars, track drops, saddles, grips and tires—all at affordable prices.
Stan Ridge Bicycles is a new builder from Columbus Ohio, a town with a surprising vivid bicycle culture to anyone who has not personally visited. Owner and builder Adam is pictured in the shop with his dad, creating some of his first custom bicycles for customers. He has partnered with a painter working out of Seagull Bags, and has big plans to eventually start a Columbus collective at some point down the road.
Booby traps on cycling paths and trails are nothing new—mountain bikers dealt with such cowardly attacks as trail riding was gaining in popularity, and occasionally mainstream bike paths come under attack from locals with some sort of grudge against cyclists. No joking matter, trip wires strung across trails can cause serious injury by either causing a crash and/or striking flesh and causing deep lacerations. As reported by KOB.com, Albuquerque cyclists are the latest to have to keep this threat in the back of their minds.
The most recent landed an Albuquerque man in the emergency room after he was knocked unconscious.
The traps target unsuspecting bicyclists cruising along the path. The next thing they know, they’re caught up in trip wire. Not a funny joke when you ask cyclists.
Jennifer Buntz with Bike ABQ has heard of at least three cases in the past month where someone set up trip wire along a bike path.
Who doesn’t lust after highly polished bicycle parts? When done right the shine from a set of cranks or a stem can be stunning, really capping off a new or classic build. Friend and Urban Velo contributor John Prolly has just posted a tutorial on the method he uses to polish parts, showing step by step how it’s done and the substances used to give it that sheen. It’s a simple procedure, but a quick walk-through from someone with some experience can be a huge help in getting started.
Halloween is a favorite time of the year for alleycats, with another popping up in Indianapolis. Monster Mash, Monopoly style where the person with the most “money” at the end of the event wins. Earn cash through deliveries, pull cards just like the board game and potentially get sent to jail without passing go.
The cycling scene in Chile is vibrant and growing, by all reports it is a leader in the South American cycling culture and a great destination for cyclotourists. This weekend Chile will host it’s first ever hardcourt bike polo tournament in Santiago. Maybe next year we will see some Chilean players at the World Championships, it would be awesome to have some of our southern hemisphere neighbors to trade stories with.
The city of Grand Rapids, Michigan recently received a bronze designation from the League of American Bicyclists as a bicycle friendly community on the rise.
From mlive.com:
League officials said they were impressed by the 255 miles of shared-use bicycle paths found in Kent and eastern Ottawa counties during a visit earlier this year. They also liked the 207 miles of Kent County roads with four-foot paved shoulders to accommodate bicyclists.
“Grand Rapids is a standout community in Michigan for its initiative and progress to become more bicycle friendly,” said League President Andy Clarke.
For a number of years, Suzue track hubs were “standard” equipment for people. Before the fixed gear boom Suzue made some of the only entry level hubs with a reverse thread lockring, along with a few higher end versions that were heralded for their value and bearing quality, like the pictured Pro Max version. Back in the summer of ‘06 Suzue disappeared in a flurry of rumors about the untimely demise of the owner, destroyed tooling and more. I’m not sure what the real story is, but I am sure that Suzue hubs are now available once again. Seemingly identical to the hubs of old, the Pro Max versions have the same smooth bearing feel and hologram decals and are priced at about $220 per pair. Time will tell if the basic or carbon shelled versions also reappear on the market.
Here’s a look at some of the I Love Riding in the City contributors for issue #16.
We want you to represent your city. Click here, and don’t forget to attach a high-res photo. A “high-res” photo, for those who don’t know, is typically 300dpi or greater at print size. If you’re not sure, try sending the unedited photo file that comes from a modern digital camera.
The Soma Rush track frame has been around for some time now, an early offering in the current fixed gear wave. It has always featured a quality Tange Prestige steel tubeset and steep geometry, and has a number of fans out there putting the miles on. For 2010 the Rush frameset is seeing some updates beyond new paint colors, but keeping the same roughly $525 price for frame and fork. 
The most striking changes are with the fork and track ends—the fork has been updated to feature straight blades and a lugged drop crown, and the new cast track ends lend a much higher-end look to the frame, similar to the ends featured on custom bicycles. The frame is now completely free from braze-ons, no cable guides, fender bosses or water bottle mounts to see here. Look for this frameset to be available relatively soon, though there is no word on absolute arrival dates.
Urban Velo #16 is at the printer, and the new issue will be available online before the ghouls and goblins go home on Halloween night. Subscribe to the print edition and we’ll mail your copy as soon as they’re available. And remember, you can subscribe to the Podcast version and iTunes will download the new PDF automatically.
Recent Comments