Every year, Tim O’Donnell’s Shamrock Cycles collection spans the gamut of bicycle types, from road to ‘cross to touring to mountain. And every year, he’s got a plethora of fanciful features adorning each one. This year looks to be no different, and apparently his show bikes are no different than the everyday builds he’s been doing for customers between shows…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

TIM: I have been concentrating pretty heavily in supporting a cross team for the past two seasons and that has really paid dividends. It is way more work than I initially planned but is worth it. I also support a smaller mtb team but that is largely for my own fun reasons.

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Specialized is recalling an additional 460 Tricross bikes, following the massive 14,200 bike recall in September, because the carbon fiber forks may break at the brake posts. The bikes were sold between June and November 2011. Picture of the fork’s vulnerable spot and full CPSC release with links and contact info after the break…

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From the League of American Bicyclists:

Moments ago, Congressman John Mica (R-FL) announced the introduction of the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. The proposed bill eliminates dedicated funding for bicycling and walking as we feared, and it goes much further and systematically removes bicycling from the Federal transportation program. It basically eliminates our status and standing in the planning and design of our transportation system — a massive step backwards for individuals, communities and our nation. It’s a step back to a 1950s highway- and auto-only program that makes no sense in the 21st century.

The bill reverses 20 years of progress by:

• destroying Transportation Enhancements by making it optional;
• repealing the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school;
• allowing states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles;
• eliminating bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs; and
• eliminating language that insures that rumble strips “do not adversely affect the safety or mobility of bicyclists, pedestrians or the disabled.”

On Thursday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee will mark-up the bill and Representatives Petri (R-WI) and Johnson (R-IL) will sponsor an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Representatives Petri and Johnson can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts their representative today.

Because of these urgent new developments, and the vital importance of a HUGE turnout on Capitol Hill in March, the National Bike Summit early bird registration deadline has been extended to Feb 20. We need every single cyclist in Washington, D.C. that the city can hold (and that’s thousands …). Register today!

WHAT TO DO: Click here, scroll to the bottom and enter your zip code. They’ll guide you through the rest and it only takes a couple minutes.

Fyxation just added two bullhorn bars to their urban goods arsenal – the Rodeo and the Rodeo Pursuit.

The Rodeo and the Rodeo Pursuit are both bullhorns, but each bar welcomes a different style of riding.  The main difference is the Rodeo Pursuit gets a 40mm drop, giving you a bit of extra power for sprints while the basic Rodeo bar is a good all-around city bar.

Click more to see pictures, specs and opinions…

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See all of our Project 24.2 posts here!

There are certain things that we do as we get older that aren’t necessarily cool or exciting.  Grownup stuff, like telling people who aren’t your mom where you’re going riding and when you expect to be back.  Like packing enough water and food for a ride.  Like keeping your insurance current.  Road ID fall squarely into that category.  As important as carrying a some form of ID, if things go horribly wrong most identification doesn’t really doesn’t contain all of the information that emergency responders want- or need.

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While some builders focus on a particular type of bike, others, like Jeremy Sycip, build the gamut from road to cyclocross to full suspension mountain bikes. On occasion, they even build something wild. For Sycip, the latest big crazy project was the three-wheeled cargo bike  (and here, too) with integrated front lock he submitted and rode in last year’s Oregon Manifest Builder’s Challenge.

His creations for last year’s NAHBS included a mixte and a single speed disc brake cyclocross bike, among others. Here’s what he’s been up to since…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?

JEREMY: I have started offering Inset 44mm headtubes as well as Pressfit BB options for all my bikes. I also did a collaboration with Fuse Project for the Oregon manifest. It’s a 3-wheel cargo bike. Might try to bring one for this years NAHBS. Also, I am trying out some new KVA stainless tubesets.

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Scapin is breaking into the fixie market with the 2012 release of the Eleanor. They weren’t looking toward the track with this one, instead developing it to handle the daily beat-down of the streets.

Riding a track bike on the road is like buying a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store.  I personally own a fixie and enjoy riding it around town, but feel like I need to be somewhat apologetic at times.  A fixie should, in my humble opinion, be a mixture of aesthetics and sport.  It needs to look great, feel great, and bring some wandering eyes to it when locked to the bike rack.  The Eleanor looks to hold of all of these traits.

I’ve noticed many 1980s-model Scapin road frames stripped down to nothing and converted into fixies. I take it Scapin finally caught onto the raging trend their old frames have been fueling with the production of the Eleanor. The Eleanor is forged with vintage-appeal in mind, the bike molded around a Columbus Spirit steel frame with chromium-plated lugs.  The complete bike is featured in a variety of colors (Black, Blue, Creamy White, and “Old” Green). More to come about the Eleanor and Scapin’s new 29er after the break.

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Since we first posted about Retroshift, they’ve worked through production and have been selling the units all over the world. According to founder Adam Clement the response has been pretty incredible.

The Retroshift is a modified Tektro brake lever for drop bars that fits a Shimano friction shifter on the top front. Clement says this gives the rider quick, precise shifting even in foul conditions, making it perfect for cyclocross and touring bikes where more expensive integrated brake/shift levers might get gunked up too easily.

The video above shows how quickly you can whip through the gears. The levers are actually a discontinued Tektro model that the company has revived production just for Retroshift. It’s available in two versions: Version 1 has only a right-hand shifter for single chainring setups and retails for $89. Version 2 sells for $119 and is ready for both front and rear shifters. They include only the shifters, you’ll need to source your own bar-end or downtube shifters to mount on them. For now…

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How is this helmet not everywhere?

I mean, the Louis Garneau Edge is a fantastically comfortable, good looking trail helmet that weighs 308G -size medium, with its visor- and retails for a penny under $100.  By way of comparison, that’s 25g less than Mavic’s high-end Plasma (with its visor) and is lighter than a Giro Hex while adding a shell that protects the base of the helmet and outboard strap mounting points.  And yet, I’ve never noticed another on the trail.  How did Garneau do it?  Hit the jump and stick the landing to find out…

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My cycling buddies and I pledge at least once a month that we will finally buy the tandem bike.  But we never do.  Why don’t we?  Because if we buy the bike, we will in fact be riding tandem.  By all means, tandem riding is a skill and involves complex maneuvering, planning, and coordination, but regardless of the skillfulness, there is still some hidden comedy to riding a tandem bicycle.

This tandem concept is named the “Twist” and is conceived by Spanish designer Jose Hurtado.  The Twist allows the riders to both conjoin individual bicycles to ride tandem and split the tandem to ride apart.  Hurtado perhaps had in mind the couples that ride into the city together during the week and subsequently depart to their separate jobs.

This is a concept bike that might best exist in a future Utopian world.  In this Utopia, all cyclists would be the same size and own the same perfectly symmetrical bike.  All cyclists would be acquaintances and could proceed to “hook up” tandem to each other when they are so happily inclined.  In this Utopia, there would be no brakes to get in the way of friendship, and no mechanical difficulties with hubless wheels.

As beautiful as this rendered concept is, I’m as scared of this tandem as I am of an actual Utopia. See why, along with more renderings, after the break…

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Reynold Yip’s won the People’s Choice award at NAHBS 2010 and his 2011 collection saw a very nice Rambler and Big Mountain bike grace the show floor. For 2012, he’s bringing a show version of the 650b randonneur bike, like what you see here, and some retro-inspired cruisers. Until then, here’s a peek at what Yipsan Cycles been working on recently…

BIKERUMOR: What have you been working in since NAHBS last year?
REYNOLD: Lots of all road bikes and some city bikes.

BIKERUMOR: Any killer custom bike builds?
REYNOLD: I am quite happy how this bike came together, a 650b randonneur with integrated fender and lighting ready for any long rides on almost any terrain. A very wide gear range to allow my customer the possible need for steep climbs after a long day.

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Fizik’s new line of Kurve saddles are designed to move with the natural movements of your body during pedaling. By using built in sensory receptors and a new type of base material that provides flex and comfort without the use of lots of foam padding, Fizik has created a new standard in saddle comfort for me.

I have been testing the Snake version of this saddle for the past two months and it feels as plush as day one with no visible signs of wear.

Click through for actual weight, specs and the review….

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