Wheelgirl

Car Companies Collaborate and Brand Bicycles

You probably already saw this posting about car companies collaborating and branding bicycles. But in case you were working on your Halloween costume for the past several days and missed it, see what you think. I haven't had a chance to ride any of these. If you have, comment.

 (Maserati and Montante Cicli, photo lifted from the post. Not sure about a front disc on what could be an uncomplicated fixie? But I like the colorway.)

 (Specialized and MacLaren Applied Materials, photo lifted from the post. Fast is good. Faster is better.)

True, on you way back from a training ride, you could knock on doors, and score some treats by convincing some you are wearing a bike racer costume. But change into a fresh jersey, or the little pirates, painters, and neurosurgeons won't ever think about being cyclists.

Lynskey Now Making A Titanium Fixie Frame

OK, my urban cats, tired of hauling your decent but boat-anchor heavy steel fixie up and down the BART, apartment, and workplace steps at least twice a day? Want something as light as aluminum that doesn't make your shoulders and spine cry for their mamas? Titanium is here for you. Lynskey is officially making a house-blend fixie frame. The fixie frame in the photos is a show bike, which was ridden around the United Kingdom, so it has a special etched design on it.  Here's the info on the fixie  if you want the skinny on basic pricing, geometry, and finishes.(I just got the official photos today from Lynskey.) If you love Google, but go to Bing.com each day to check out the daily photo,and pretend you are somewhere other than a polyester-covered cube farm, try clicking around on the Lynskey site's bicycle photos. (Suggestion: Be stealth. There's enough oh-so pretty metal on the Lynskey site to make you get yourself busted and fired.)

I ride a custom ti track bike that Lynskey made for me. I rode a steel fixie before. It's all good. But the Lynskey is feather-light rocket that feels like you're on a cloud. If you are tired of jarring your fillings loose on surface-of-the-moon asphalt, it may be time for a Lynskey's ti frame. But isn't the fixie riding experience supposed to be hoop-d messed up crazy ride that hurts? No. It's supposed to be simple and fun. Painful and ugly isn't ever the point. If you still have a job, are commuting on a bike more then in a car, and you've established that you love riding fixed, cancel your gym membership, and start thinking about getting yourself a frame that is going to last a lifetime and not beat you daily to a right pulp. (Oh, and rodent lovers, happy Ground Hog Day!)

 

Photos sent to Wheelgirl from Lynskey today.

Limited Edition Cinelli Track Bike by RVCA at Interbike in Vegas

OK, here is an eye catching track bike. RVCA (pronounced "Ru-ka" if you have seen the name only in print) designed this limited edition track bike for Cinelli. Check out the photos. They didn't make too many of these bikes. The graphics and color way make it really visually unique, kind of a blending or deep and mid-century old school. If you click on the first photo to make it bigger, you can see the orange outline of the faces on the seat tube. I am still a sucker for chromed lugs and stays.

 

Photos by Wheelgirl taken at Interbike in Vegas 2008

FixieTrix Food For Thought In November

Here are 5 minutes of fixietrix you can think about, emailed to me from customer Larry. If you've got your track stand dialed and can ride backward circles, here are some new ideas to keep you humble and challenged.  Spend the winter practicing, and show us what you've got in the spring. Here are some other ideas if you are feeling like you're ready to build your skeels

(Suggestion: Build your skills slowly. Keep the blood and bones inside of your skin. Note that there are no cars, buses, or trolley tracks in the middle of the gym floor.)

The Surly Rat Ride Single Speed and Doughnuts

OK, this Surly Rat Ride single-speed bike caught my attention at Interbike 2008 in Vegas because, well watch the video. How can you ignore its presence?  This fat single-speed with discs, Large Marge rims, and Hoggy-G 24 x 3.45 slicks makes you want to eat a few doughnuts before before your morning commute. Heck, it makes me want to string a bunch of doughnuts together on a necklace and have a giant doughnut breakfast during the ride and wash it all down via a hydration pack filled with coffee.

It looks a bit more like a hippo than a rat. Its shape makes me grin. And I am sure those unleashing its girth on the streets or trails are laughing themselves silly every time then catch a glimpse of their wide reflection in a storefront window or a pond.

Traitor Bike Pabst Blue Ribbon Fixed Gear Interbike (2 of 3)

Traitor Bikes had a limited edition Pabst Blue Ribbon fixed gear in their booth at Interbike. The PBR label is decorating the Traitor Ringleader fixed gear frame. And the PBR fixie special edition has the same parts and frame spec as the Ringleader.

Traitor Bikes Ringleader Fixed Gear at Interbike (1 of 3)

The Ringleader is a production fixed gear available from Traitor bikes. The Traitor bunch have run Transition Mountain bikes up in Washington State for the past 5 years. They are looking to offer some new graphic design possibilities to value-based basic commuter, fixed gear, and urban transportation bikes. (This is 1 of 3 Traitor bike videos.)

New KHS Flite 100 Fixed Gear / Single Speed at Interbike

The good news, the KHS Flite 100 is going to be available in white and matte black. Things that I am not sure about, for example, the top tube now has a braze on for cable routing if you want to use the bike as a single speed. Those who ride fixed for simplicity may not dig that. However, I live in an urban area that lends itself to fixed gear riding. Those who decide on this bike and who live in hillier geographies may like the braze on detail. Also, the cog that comes with the bike for next year is alloy.(Jump to read more.)

New Surly Steam Roller Fixed Gear/ Single Speed at Interbike

I visited the Surly booth. The new Surly Steamroller comes with a brake and lever, sealed bearing hubs, and the chromo steel frame is comfortable for urban riding. The rear brake bridge is drilled for a rear brake, so you can utilize the flip /flop rear wheel and run it as a single speed if you move to the mountains.

We have put a few pro-athlete team-sport sized guys, 6' 4" weighing 215-240 lb guys on this bike. They haven't broken the frame yet.  So that is a good sign. The frame has brazeons for a water bottle cage. And you can fit up to 700c x 32 tires on it. The rear stays have a wider clearance. This is good news for those who have to commute on busted up pavement, since you can run a wider tire for a bit more shock absorption. You can then spend less time wondering when your ride over that giant crack in the asphalt if your body is going to be jolted really bad or just a little.

The color is kind of a vanilla cream (kind of the old SE color, actually) and the componentry is mostly black. It comes spec'd with a 3/32nd 47T chain ring and 3/32nd 19T. So that is a gear ratio of 66.8, which is a nice cruising gear, and the bike won't throw you off when you try to stop it. You aren't going to ever beat anyone in a sprint, but you should be able to ride the same terrain you can ride on a geared road bike if you put the bike in the smaller ring (on a double crank set) and in the middle of your cassette. Go here to figure out what gear ratio feels comfortable for your style of riding.  I forgot to check to see if you could scrape off the decals or if the clear coated over them and are there to stay. If someone knows about the decals, put up a post for us. (Jump for more ratio picking info.)

Lynskey Performance at Interbike Curvy Single-Speed Mountain Bike

The Lynskey Peformance booth is always a welcomed sight to my eyes in the crowd of 1100 vendor booths at Interbike. David Lynskey is someone who in the Bay Area we call a "maker". Has never ever has tried to sell me anything. He likes, and most probably needs, to make things. His eyes light up when I ask him about projects he is working on that require new applications and fabrication processes for titanium. David Lynskey and his family founded and sold Litespeed almost ten years ago. Lynskey Performance is the custom titanium bike frame company that they launched at Interbike a couple of years ago. The frames are titanium, so they never rust, never fatigue, and are lifetime guaranteed.

Lynskey is applying modern designs to their bike frames, tubing technologies, and titanium material technologies. But, for me, they also give off that familiar old school, stable, manufacturing vibe of guys and gals who for decades have been successful in a specific manufacturing industry. 

Here is one of the curvy single-speed mountain bikes Lynskey Performance brought to the show. (Michael you asked about this bike after you saw it on the Lynskey site. So, this video is for you. I took about four videos of new offerings at the Lynskey booth.)

Interbike Vegas 2008: Affinity Track Pursuit Frames 5

5 of 5 videos of Affinity at Interbike.

5 of 5 Affinity Pursuit Fixed Gear Frame Sets from Wheelgirl on Vimeo.

Interbike Vegas 2008: Affinity Track Pursuit Frames 4

4 of 5 Affinity videos. This is the Bat Wing bar. Sleek one-piece bar-and-stem set up. I'll recheck the spec. to make sure that they are full carbon. The retail is $175 for the Bat Wing bar stem combo.

4 of 5: Affinity Track Bikes Bat Wing 1-Piece Bar and Stem from Wheelgirl on Vimeo.

Interbike Vegas 2008: Affinity Track Pursuit Frames 3

3 of 5 Affinity videos

3 of 5: Affinity Track and Pursuit Frame Sets from Wheelgirl on Vimeo.

Interbike Vegas 2008: Affinity Track Pursuit Frames 2

Video 2 of 5 of Affinity track bikes

2 of 5: Affinity Track Bike Pursuit Frames from Wheelgirl on Vimeo.

Interbike Vegas 2008: Affinity Track Pursuit Frames 1

I talked with Jason at Affinity. The pursuit frames are made in Taiwan. Affinity is located in Brooklyn, NY. And my guess is that they are going to have a ton of orders on their hands. The vibe at the booth was great. I'll follow up with the frame models and details, but for now, check out the videos.  I am taking a zillion videos of new gear at Interbike. The uploading takes a ton of time. So stay tuned.

1 of 5: Affinity Track Pursuit Frames from Wheelgirl on Vimeo.

1959 Murray Meteor Flite, Kristin & Olympic Cervelo Win Gold, and a Lucky Deep V

You can be a little bit country or a little bit rock 'n' roll, and you will still find a bicycle story that appeals.  Sunday at the bike shop, we got a visit from Ray and his group of riding pals. Ray added some touches to a red 1959 Murray Meteor Flite, and he assured me that both lights still actually work, and each wheel has 144 shiny spokes.

Neil from Rohloff stopped by, and we admired the tubing shapes on his bomb proof new city ride from Brooklyn Machine Works. Neil tells me I might want to stop by his booth at Interbike in Vegas, since there will be a nice new shiny bit of gear in his booth, and I might want to try on my fixie. We talk about bikes, and Neil sends me a link to the clean and very cool Cervelo S3 limited edition Olympic paint scheme road bike.  Kristin Armstrong (USA) won gold in the Beijing Olympics in the Women's Individual Time Trial on her Cervelo Olympic paint scheme TT bike. (Mike Day won a silver in Men's BMX. Jill Kintner won a bronze in Women's BMX. Donny Robinson won a bronze in Men's BMX. Levi Leipheimer won a bronze in the Men's Individual Time Trial. Well done.)

Monday morning, customer Eric calls. He is completely fine, but could we take a look at his track frame. He assured me that he didn't even fall off, but on his morning commute to work, a car spanked his fixie Eric figures that the rear Velocity Deep V took most of the impact from the car moving into the bike wheel at approximately 15 miles per hour. The rider and frame were fine. The rim stopped the music. (Yes, Eric got the license number of the vehicle and two witness' phone numbers.) It looks like Phil is doing fine and will take up residence on another Deep V. Ah, bikes, never a boring moment. (Jump for more photos.)

Photo by Wheelgirl are of Ray and his 1959 Murray Meteor Flite. The Cervelo S3 limited edition Olympic road bike is lifted from the Cervelo site. Eric took the cameraphone photo of his bike with the tired Deep V.

Skid Spot Charts, Skid Patch Calculators, and Your Bald Fixed Gear Tire

Customer Nick came into the shop needing a new 135 BCD Miche front chain ring for his track bike. (Miche shares its bolt circle diameter with the classic Campagnolo BCD. You can't put a standard track chain ring, 144 BCD, on Miche track cranks.) Anyway, I ordered him a new chain ring, and we started talking about ratios and skid patches.

There are a couple of schools of thought about managing skid spots. One school is that if you keep skidding in the same place, you will wear a hole in your tire and /or tube. However, if you know where the skid spot will be, you can rotate your tire to the left or right of that spot, now and again, and manage the wear better. The other school says it is better to spread out the damage. However, spreading out the damage means that it is harder to keep track of managing the damage. And that actual spot size is a bit deceiving. In fact, there are many conversations about hows and whys, and not all of the participants agree with each other. Also, when calculating skid spots, you need to be comfortable riding on the street in the ratio that you choose for your eventual tire destruction.

If you just like to ride, and you have a decent job, you may decide to buy a new tire when yours is as bald as Kojack and save your knowledge of numbers for the daily newspaper suduko puzzle.

Screen shot taken from the Hong Kong Fixed Gear site; more info. about it and other calculators and charts after the jump.

(For good or bad, I like a big ring up front. And, I like pricey tires, so skidding is not my life. Nick likes to skid, and he rides 45Tx 15T.)

Cycle Ball: Another Reason to Get Chased By Rent-A-Cops

You  tried bike polo after hours in some corporation's parking lot. You got chased. Why? You were swinging home-made mallets concocted from bits of 2x4s with garage sale golf club shafts jammed into them. Oh no, that doesn't have liability written all over it.

Next time, when you are feeling like a team player, get all of your friends together; put on your soccer clothes from five years ago, jump on your track bikes, and play cycle ball.  Read about the rules , and let's not have all the teams, re: UCI tradition, being made up of guys. Boring. Mix it up. Read about the history of cycle ball so someone has a clue. Remember the Pospíšil brothers, and kick it for your country.

The guys in these photos have special bikes, as you can see. But you can start with a fixie. First, get some supreme balance and grace. Then take everything pointy and dangling off the frame, so you don't lacerate yourself or others on a broken, jagged piece of alloy. Also, remember to put some bar plugs in the bars, so you don't core sample yourself. If anyone has some horsehair, put it inside the ball.

I'd like to watch some cycle ball matches. I am getting kind of bored watching YouTube shorts of people skidding down big hills. It is starting to feel like watching endless downhill videos taken with helmet-mounted cameras. That Was Then, This is Now. (S.E. Hinton was 23 when she wrote that book in 1971. Her first book, The Outsiders, was published when she was 19 in 1967.)

http://333.fotoc.com/hk_icycling/v/asian06/cycleball/

Whose Got Bike Skeeels?

OK, you can trackstand on your fixie. You can chat on your broken phone, while balancing on your bike at a standstill in your kitchen. You can ride backwards circles and screech to you ipod. So, it makes sense that you believe you got skeeels.

You did until you looked at these school kids redefining whose got skeeeels, and upon more viewing, whose got game. (OK, their bikes don't look so filthy punk; the younger ones probably can't go to a concert without their mammas, and they wear tight-rope-walking shoes. But does that really make you feel better?)

And if you and your best girlfriends in the whole world don't know what to do on Saturday night before going out to the club this Saturday, dress up; meet at Sissy's house, and make up a complex bike routine to your favorite songs!

http://sports.webshots.com/album/178925263idcnvk

http://333.fotoc.com/hk_icycling/v/asian06/

http://sports.webshots.com/photo/1178926128051677010fVrqsE

Remember The Hammer

You think that double straps are going be the answer?

Now, get on your fixie, and on your way to get a Slim Jim and bottle of blue Gatorade, remember The Hammer and beat that frickin beige Toyota Camry to the next light.

Ok, she wears lycra and a face shield when she sets these records, but 3K in 3:30.213 minutes?

Hello? Can you hear me?

Can you hear me now? 

Something like 32 mph spinning 90 gear inches at like 115 rpm?

I am not sure how well she can skid. But, she did win two world championships.

 

Beautiful Oslo on 20-Inch Rented Wheels

1. Buy a 24-hour Bike Rental card at the Tourist Office in Oslo.You can rent a bike as often as you like within a 24-hour period, and you can replace it at any time in any bike rack in the city.
2. Put the card in card reader located on the vertical post at the end of the bike rack.
3. Norwegian instructions and a number will appear on the LCD screen on the card reader. If you can't read Norwegian, join the club. Simply, go to that number on the bike rack. The light on the bike rack next to your bike will be blinking green. Remove the bike from the rack. Easy as pumpkin pie.
4. However, if you remove your bike, and it has low air in the tires or a flat, wait about 30 seconds after you remove it, and then replace it in the rack in a lower numbered slot. When you replace the bike, make sure to wait until the locking red light on the bike rack next to your bike stops blinking. So, let's say bike with a flat is on #4, make sure to replace it slots 1, 2, or 3. Put your card in the card reader again, and the card reader will remember that the last bike to be removed was #4, and it will continue on its programmed path to number #5, presumably a bike in better shape than #4.
5. Joy ride around Oslo, and replace the bike in any one of the dozens of racks around the city when you are through. Or, replace the bike in a nearby rack instead of locking it, when you reach your destination. Then rent another bike when it is time to go home.