Photo submitted by Kyle Schultz, “1500m above the valley floor, up in the clouds, I ran across two mountain bikers.”
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.
As huge fan of tandem recumbent tricycles, I am deeply offended by the Bilenky Frame Works guys’ answers to our 11 NAHBS-related questions. I had half a mind to not publish this vicious diatribe. If there is one thing I love more than electric “bicycles” (that go over 20 mph without pedaling), it’s tandem recumbent bicycles. I was going to ask Bilenky to build me an electric-assisted, steel lugged, S & S coupler-havin’, fixed gear, belt-drive, tandem recumbent cross bike, but now…you know what they can do? Go straight to hell, that’s what. Hey Bilenky, I hope Vanilla Workshop DESTROYS you in the Royal Rumble at NAHBS.
11 NAHBS-Related Questions:
BR: Are your plans for NAHBS a secret, or can you tell us a little bit about what you’re showing?
BF: Define secret…Okay….Okay….
We have been commissioned, along with Chris Bishop, to create a pair of his’ and her’s townie bikes to become part of the famous ‘Horton Collection’. Our Artisan Mixtie will be one of three bikes featured in our booth. (T, were trying to get pictures. I’ll send along when we get them).
BR: What about the booth, anything extra-special-crazy in the booth department?
BF: Our idea is to highlight the fact that despite the reputation, we at Bilenky clean up quite nicely with a bit of soap and elbow grease.
BR: What do you see as the hot trend at NAHBS this year?
BF: Artisan Mixties and beards.
BR: What is the lamest frame building trend ever? (more…)
Joining it’s new Pro Bleed Kit, Avid’s come out with a super simple, easy to use hose cutter for trimming hydraulic brake cables. It should work on any brand hydraulic hose as long as it’s not steel braided. More pics after the break…
Note to thieves: if you are planning on stealing a bike (please don’t!) you might want to try and pick out a bike that isn’t the only one of it’s kind in existence, and doesn’t belong to the founder of Oskar Blues Brewery. The bike-forward micro brewery happens to take riding almost as seriously as brewing excellent craft beers, and as the Oskar Blues Blog states, you stole the wrong bike. After having the lock cut that was keeping the bike safely attached to the Old Chub Jeep, OBB decided that they would try and get the bike back and have a little fun doing it.
In an attempt to retrieve the custom Yella Pils inspired Spot singlespeed belt drive 29′r, Dale is offereing a “$300 gift certificate to Oskar Blues locations and a day of Oskar Blues led riding, beer & food with the crew for the karma fed soul that can return this baby back to daddy.”
The bike shouldn’t be all that hard to spot, given its specific custom build and the custom Yella Pils Spot Brand graphics on the down tube.
Check out some detail shots of the bike, along with a full spec list after the break!
Photo submitted by Casey Campbell, “Out for my weekly ride – just missed one of the few rains LA gets every year.”
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.
The big North American Handmade Bicycle Show is just a couple days away and we’ve got a few more interviews to pack in before we start bringing you updates from the show itself. Today we’ve got Dave “Ellis is my middle name” Wages of Ellis Cycles. Dave comes off as a really nice guy…I find it hard to picture him beating up girl scouts.
11 NAHBS-Related Questions:
BR: Are your plans for NAHBS a secret, or can you tell us a little bit about what you’re showing?
DW: I’ve been posting progress pics of my NAHBS bikes over the last couple months, so no, no top secret stuff here. I am pretty excited about the mix of bikes I’ve got to show this year, I’m bringing a 29′er, a couplered Di2 bike, a really special randonneur, and a fairly straightforward road bike with SRAM Red. I’ll also have a “raw”, unpainted frame and a painted frame only. Should be plenty to see!
BR: What about the booth, anything extra-special-crazy in the booth department?
DW: From a booth setup standpoint, it shouldn’t be too much different from last year. I built some really special display stands last year, and they’re definitely not “single-use”, so I plan to use them for a few years at least.
BR: What do you see as the hot trend at NAHBS this year?
DW: Hot trends? Well, I think that the randonneur scene keeps picking up steam, so maybe that, and there seem to be less “crazy” bikes and more bikes that are truly representative of what builders do on a day to day basis. I think that’s good.
BR: What is the lamest frame building trend ever? (more…)
Well, the cat is pretty much out of the bag by this point: apparently the next generation of Sram Red, is black.
Today they released some “spy” shots, followed by the video (after the break) that basically shows the entire group.
This has everyone wondering, is it just a color change? Surely, Sram has something else up their bright red sleeve? Perhaps, but the release of Sram Red Black does mark something that no other component group manufacturers has: choices of color for the top level group.
Ultimately, we will just have to wait to see if Sram has an ace up their sleeve, but until then – enjoy the Black.
Video teaser after the break!
UPDATE: Close ups of all components and the official word on any changes after the break!
Hot of the presses, or machines really, is Sun Ringlé’s all new Dirty Flea Single Speed cassette hub. As Tyler made note of, many Sun Ringlé hubs are known for their legendary smoothness and durability, so it is no surprise that they are offering what should be a primo single speed hub.
Cassette single speed hubs such as the Dirty Flea are unique when compared to the traditional freewheel single speed hub in the fact that the smaller cassette body doesn’t force you into one static position for the rear cog. Equipped with only a few spacers, one can fine tune the position of the cog to ensure the perfect chainline with almost any crank set up. In addition, you can also usually set up more than one gear allowing for multiple single speed gears, or a mini geared set up.
Check out the full specs including the weight on the Dirty Flea SS hub after the break!
While Tyler is out in Santa Cruz checking out what’s to come from Avid in the way of brakes, this abstract shot was just leaked on Twitter. Unfortunately, there is no information included with the shot, just “Rumor has it there will be something new from SRAM for the 2011 race bikes…”
More on this as soon as we have it, so stay tuned!
*UPDATE* Full Derailleur shot after the break!
If the sprinkling of other new shows and the fact that NAHBS is on track for their largest event ever is any indication, there’s a growing interest among both consumers and the cottage industry to show the artisan side of the bicycle business. The latest show to get official with a date and location is the Heartland Velo Show, being promoted by none other than Bina Belinky. Here’s the blurb:
For over 100 years, the Midwest has been at the forefront of bicycle manufacturing, racing, and recreational riding. On August 27 & 28, the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin will house a weekend-long celebration of everything bicycle. Artisans and manufacturers of bicycles, components, cycling accessories and apparel will display their wares. Exciting demonstrations, informative panels and seminars as well as parties and entertainment will create a “something for everyone” atmosphere to delight cyclists and non- cyclists alike. The Heartland Velo Show is designed to inspire aficionados, enthusiasts, casual riders and those who may just be curious about the fun, fitness and freedom to be found on two wheels.
Photo submitted by Claudio Pertile, “With my IBIS MOJO HD, full Marzocchi!! Enjoy Bariloche -Argentina.”
To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.
photo courtesy RUFUSPHOTO.
Hey, happy Monday morning. Now finish your second cup of coffee get ready to have your mind blown. Today’s Race To NAHBS! interview is with Mickey Denoncourt the madman behind Spooky Bikes.
11 NAHBS-Related Questions:
BR: Are your plans for NAHBS a secret, or can you tell us a little bit about what you’re showing?
MD: We’re showing 3 different revolutionary and ground-breaking amazingly fantastic t-shirts. $30 each. That’s $90+ TX sales tax. They are even printed in Austin for carbon-credit-cred. I will be willing to trade the credits for floor space or mind altering substances. We also take credit cards.
BR: What do you see as the hot trend at NAHBS this year? (more…)
