Preferred Mode
Sam Polcer is a New York City cyclist and recently gave us a heads up about his photo project, Preferred Mode. Updated more or less daily with a new portrait of a New York cyclist he stops on the street, he aims to document the diverse style of the riders he sees on his travels. Look for a book in early 2014, until then enjoy www.preferredmode.com
ABUS Factory Tour Image Gallery
Since 1924 ABUS has staked their reputation on making the best locks possible, pioneering and perfecting many of the designs now ubiquitous in bike shops and hardware stores. ABUS makes all manner of locks, from simple padlocks to window and door locks, and onto a number of locks for securing boats, motorcycles, and of course bikes. If it can be broken into or stolen, ABUS likely has a way to lock it down. One may not guess it from the size of the operation, but to this day ABUS remains a family owned company based in the small town of Wetter, Germany. The stereotype of German manufacturing holds true with spotless facilities and precision machinery throughout, a mix of state of the art computer controlled production and ancient factory machinery humming along. ABUS creates much of its own tooling, maintains tight control of the metal alloys used throughout, and keeps a well stocked test facility to ensure their locks live up to their own standards, and the various metrics set forth by countries throughout Europe and around the world.
Beyond the ABUS Lock test lab we featured in Urban Velo #36, I got an inside look at the entire manufacturing facility. It’s an impressive place employing a couple of hundred people creating all manner of locks for a worldwide market.
Click through for a gallery of 50+ images of the factory operations.
Cycle Underground Rings
Fyxomatosis has taken over the full distribution of Cycle Underground chainrings, some of the better ones on the market from what I hear. Made in Australia out of 4 mm thick work hardended alumnium, the rings are individually CNC’d and are guaranteed to be perfectly round. 130 or 144 BCD rings are available for $60 each, with full custom rings (with choice of 12 chainring designs) available for $90. Black anodizing is $10 more. There are some oddball bolt patterns available, think of them for restoration projects or as a solution to those vintage cranks you got a great deal on.
Editor’s Statement #37
‘Tis the season to turn over the miles, or casually ride with friends. I live for long summer weekends spent riding and exploring, pedaling fast and then hanging out slow. From one adventure to another, as one ride ends the planning for another just begins. There is no end to the new places to discover and explore by bike, and an endless variety of ways to do it. No matter your flavor, there is a way to do it on bike.
SF Sprints 4
June 8th marks the 4th annual SF SPrints event. This year it’s traditional flying sprints — get up your momentum for a lap and cross the start line at full speed. Track bikes only and $5 to enter, with more info available at sfsprints.wordpress.org
