T&D

Mr. Tanabe

Kalavinka NJS frame
Thanks Toshihiko Tomita for the photos!
here is a video of Mr. Tanabe building a fork.

Yoshi Konno

This is Roa

Chester Cycles

From this
To this.

Chester Cycles is a fantastic place to get a full service eco-friendly paint job. It is run by Duane Waller, who is literally one of the nicest people I have ever met. I went to him with a VERY vague idea of what I wanted my fuji track pro to look like and he sat down with me and the brainstorming began. Duane is a fantastic book of knowledge when it comes to color theory; he can advise you what color you're actually looking for when you ask for a generic blue, also he can tell you what colors work well together and what colors should not be combined.
He stands by his work and for good reason, it's top quality that I couldn't be happier with.
Word is starting to spread around, that for paint, Duane is the go to guy.
I was #109!
I highly recommend him.
for more info and a look at other frames he has painted here is his website

This Texas Toast needs no butter.

A Taste of The Toast from Michael on Vimeo.
check out more here

The truth about Aerospokes

I know there is some confusion as to the ruling concerning what you can do about a busted aerospoke and sending it back to the company to get it trued/fixed/a new one. There have been claims that you cant, or you need a receipt, etc.

This was something that I was definitely curious about, considering I run one, so I e-mailed Bill Micol (aerospoke representative), and here is how the conversation went.

Hello,
First I would like to thank you for making such a fantastic wheel. I have a front aerospoke currently (I know, WHAT A SURPRISE!?) its in great shape, nothing wrong with it at all. I was just wondering *crosses fingers if anything did ever happen to it, could I send it in for a new one for 150.00 WITHOUT a receipt, I pray the answer is yes.
Thank you so much for your time and production.
Robbie

Robbie:
Yes, you can. The $150.00 replacement is available to anyone with an Aerospoke. This would be for the natural color, painted wheels are more.
Shipping is $13.00 in the 48 states.
Thanks for the kind words.

Thank you,

Bill Micol
248.685.9009

Council of DOOM! presented by Ride it Sunday!

Council of Doom looking good at their U.K. Premiere!
Thanks to Liam Walsh for posting them up and taking some great shots!
check out more at rideitsunday.blogspot.com

Thank you Chicago for being home to this.

THOSE
ARE
32'' RIMS!

S.A.G. Messenger (Large) Bag Review

When I first took interest in these bags finding a solid review was nearly impossible, and when I did, it wasn't in English. Great. So I figured I would write a thorough review on the bag in case you were wondering how they held up/felt/looked/etc.

First things first.
How much can it hold!?!?
-I find the S.A.G. bag to be very comparable to a Chrome Metropolis bag ( I own both) which averages out to 2000 cubic inches. HOWEVER, I do find the Chrome bag to hold a bit more due to three factors.
1. The Chrome bag is "taller/slimmer" than the S.A.G. bag and can fit more vertically.
2. The Chrome bag seems to stretch more at the sides allowing you to cram everything in there.
3. The S.A.G. does not have adjustable straps/clips that can be found on Baily work/RELOAD/Chrome bags to make room for larger than normal loads which make it possible to carry.
- The S.A.G. bag has a pocket on the inside of the bag (which is semi-secret) that is about 10 inches wide/7.5 inches tall which stretches out about 4 inches.
- The S.A.G. has a bag within a bag that runs 18 inches long/12 inches tall which is secured by button on both ends of the bag. It has 4 large deep pockets/small zipper pouch/large zipper pouch. Its very handy for keeping everything organized and removing/installing is a matter of 5 seconds.

Locking Mechanism
-The bag has a locking system that is found on some of the old Tumbuk2 bags. It has 2 straps that loop around a metal clamp, when you push down on the clamp you can push down to loosen, or pull up to tighten. Same idea behind most toe straps. It only has one strap that you pull over your head. It may seem awkward at first due to most bags having some sort of clip or "seatbelt" type of locking (think Chrome bag);but once you get the hang of everything i.e. loosening/tightening/pulling over, the simplicity works well.

Comfort?
-The S.A.G. DOES have a shoulder pad, however it is very thin and it doesn't really feel like much support, which CAN lead to some shoulder pain after a good amount of time.
-The S.A.G. bag DOES NOT have a stabilizer strap which at first I was really bummed out about, but I find the bag to "mold" around the body which seems to hold up very well while riding, not much needed adjustment.
-The material feels really solid and has a sort of "rubber" feel to it which doesn't irritate the skin (at least not mine) at all.


Aesthetics
In my opinion bag is crafted beautifully. The simplicity/elegance of the bag make it stand out. The large white S.A.G. logo on the bottom stands out and the S.A.G. logo on the front of the strap is a nice touch too.
When I first took interest in these bags finding a solid review was nearly impossible, and when I did, it wasn't in English. Great. So I figured I would write a thorough review on the bag in case you were wondering how they held up/felt/looked/etc. They are also very easy to clean.

Waterproof?
Yes. When I first got the bag, the first test was to stuff the bag with paper then threw it in the shower and ran water directly on it for a good ten minutes. The paper was perfectly dry.
Id rather have found out it wasn't water proof under a controlled experiment, than having everything inside soaked on a rainy day.

S.A.G. bags can be found here. They normally run (for this particular model) about $130.00
Anything else I should cover/more photos just comment or send me a e-mail.
I have owned this bag for a few months now and I am very happy with it, it does everything I need it to do, and that's all I ask.
Hopes this helps any possible buyers!

So Pretty

Dick cheese from kjo on Vimeo.

I LOVE the fact that he holds a wheelie for so long, the aerospoke stops rotating.

Some Chicago in Manchester

Gabriel Dumapias, a good friend of mine, is currently overseas. Here are a few shots of what looks to be a fun night in Manchester! 

Gabriel is representing Chicago well in his Fixed T-shirt, which can be found here

Trackstands!
Looks to be a good turnout. 

Spotted these over at njs supermarket blogspot not sure if they are going to be for sale or not, but they look really clean.

It is a interesting point however that h+son have not released much after the initial release colors of white, black, and gold. 

A new revamped rim in store to compete with the Velocity B43?

One of my favorite videos

Mash from romk on Vimeo.

I watched this video for the first time quite some time ago, it never gets old for me though.

The combination of Andy making his bike look like it has a coaster brake, and m83 = joy.

This is Gary

One of my favorite cats of all times.

He is one of the two cats that lives at Yojimbo's.

Velocity's will withstand the apocalypse

"We are working hard on getting this rim to market. If all goes as planned, they should be readily available this spring." they look seriously tough, with triple walled rims and 32/36/48h drillings, these should hold up very well for the street,they are also going to be 1mm taller than the h+son rims. However, there is talk of the wheel being completely redesigned from scratch, so only time will tell.

Testers for the rim? Yes please.

more here

The cats of Honduras

There are plenty of wild cats in Honduras, all of which are surprisingly nice. Don't let the photo fool you, he is yawning.

Honduras

Is where I have been from March 9th and will be till the 15th. It's heaven here.

Chicago summer here we come!

These are some flicks that Michal Tuszynski took over the summer of some of the best that Chicago has to offer. Michael Vorel, Russell Woelfel, Sean Callahan, and more.

This is Rocco

He lives in Kenosha, and is quite mischievous!

keo I have a question

VIMBY - Keo Curry

Alright, so I have had a bareknuckle (what I believe to be Keo's current ride)
now I have a Fuji track pro, and I have no idea what he's talking about when it comes to the fluidity of the trick with what your bike is made out of. 
I can feel a difference in the aluminum no doubt, its stiffer and in my opinion more responsive, but that whole square thing while doing tricks I cant seem to grasp. 
If anything I feel its easier to whip the bike around because its lighter/stiffer. 
Ive seen videos and photos of both steel and aluminum being obliterated 
Im guessing because steel is traditional thats why everyone goes with it. If a steel frame dents/cracks/folds whatever people just say "that sucks" BUT if you take the same situation, but replace the steel with aluminum EVERYONE says "steel = reall" it makes no sense to me. Any ideas?

Division and Milwaukee

This is what Chicago looks like right now

Happy Birthday Phil Wood

You can find out more about these very limited hubs here

One of my favorite videos

Tracko from Trackosaurus Rex on Vimeo.

This is Terrance Gary Gatsby. He lives by Midway airport.

Chicago Lake Path

This is

Gracy. She lives at Yojimbos

NAHBS after party

Momentum Magazine sponsored a party for ArtBike! at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Indianapolis, Feb. 27, 2009.



Photobooth images by David Niddrie.


 

Russell Woelfel (shown to the left) represents Chicago and San Francisco well with his

Fuji Track Pro/HED3 combo.

A big thanks goes out to Joshua Alexandre Haines for taking such a wonderful photo of my Fuji Track Pro. 

For those of you interested in getting something similar done, there is a possibility that another photoshoot will be held.

If you drop your e-mail I will keep everyone posted on what's going on.

More of Joshua here

NAHBS

For those of you that couldn't make it out to the NAHBS out in Indianapolis here are a few photos!

check out more here

Lookwell was a television pilot written and produced by Conan O’Brien and Robert Smigel. It starred Adam West as a washed-up TV action hero who at the peak of his career was ceremonially deputized by a local law enforcement who falsely believes he can solve crimes in real life. His student, Jason, becomes his sidekick and is played by Todd Field. The pilot was broadcast on NBC in July but was not picked up as a series despite being a “personal favorite” of NBC’s chairman Brandon Tartikoff as well as comedian Bill Maher. Freddie Faried, a friend of mine introduced me to the show Lookwell, or at least the pilot which I thought was absolutely brilliant, its a bittersweet feeling that the show never went past the pilot. Bitter because it was hilarious and I’d love to see more. Sweet because it never had the chance to fail and will always be perfect.

This is Moscow

Moscow lives in our courtyard. He is a ally cat that pretty much owns the block.