The Radavist

If you haven’t heard of Royal H. Cycles before, you’re missing out! Bryan’s work is some of the finest I’ve seen. From his wacky time-trial bikes to modern beauties like this track bike above, his work has carved a very distinct niche in the Boston area. Bryan went on our ride today and all my photos of him came out slightly blurry or out of focus. To make it up to him, I’m putting up these teaser photos from my shop visit tonight. I had a blast shooting this bike and this week, you’ll see why!

Amazing right?

Another shop that I got to geek out in while in Boston was Indy Fab. Talk about a beautiful space. Nestled inside an industrial block in Somerville, Mass is the spot where all those Beautiful Bicycles I’ve posted over the years are made. While this is only a teaser, it’s a signifier of the beautiful clutter than consumes the space. Paint splatters, metal shavings and stickers, lots of stickers.

Be on the look out for more photos next week. Thanks to Tyler for showing us around. Enjoy the beer man!

So I’m in Boston (in case you missed the HORRIBLE Boston Red Socks flip) and despite my phone dying, the torrential downpours and the internet getting lost at Geekhouse, it’s been fun so far! I’ve got a ton of photos documenting the people, bikes and space at Geekhouse and rather than holding off, I figured I’d post up a few teasers of what goes on behind the scenes.

Check out the rest of the photos below.

Sometimes It’s easy to forget that many framebuilders call Brooklyn home. Even in my neighborhood. Thomas Callahan runs Horse Cycles, a small company on N3rd street in Williamsburg. While Thomas enjoys fillet brazing, he’s also familiar with the fine art that is working with lugs. From the mean street machines to the refined touring bikes, Horse Cycles creates some beautiful bicycles.

Check out my shop visit below!

The East Side of Austin is home to the Pedal Pushers. Nestled on 5th street, next to the train tracks, this small local bike shops caters to the everyday cyclist. The shop itself is rich in texture and personality, just how I like it.

Check out more photos of the East Side Pedal Pushers below.

@MellowJohnnys

You can’t possibly live in Austin, Texas, ride a bike and not know what Mellow Johnny’s is. Fronted by one of the United State’s greatest cyclists, Lance Armstrong and Trek, Mellows is many things. A showroom for Livestrong, a full-service bicycle shop, a commuter station, coffee shop and a hub for cycling culture in Austin.

Roll along with me as I give you a tour through Mellow Johnny’s.

One of my favorite places to visit in any new city is the track bike shops. In Austin, there’s one shop dedicated to fixed gears and track bikes and that’s Fast Folks. I spent some time in the shop getting to know the crew and snapped some photos.

Check more out below!

Never before has an entry on this blog merited over twenty photos and never before has there been as much beauty in a single entry. Bicycle fanatics are some of the most eccentric people on the face of the Earth. Their passion unites generations of cyclists and their love for two wheels makes the world a healthier place. I’m sure every town has one and in NYC, there are dozens. Most of which are in their 50’s leaving a few in their 30’s. Cicli Devotion is run by the latter. Matthew Devotion has one of the nicest operations in all of New York City. Unlike most collectors, Matthew offers his expertise in a form of a consultancy.

His tag line is “Classic racing bicycles & components bought, sold and refurbished”. Kind of ambiguous right? Well, that’s his niche. Follow me as we take a look inside this operation and peer into the workspace of Cicli Devotion.

While I was in town for the Summer Fix LA event, I got a car and drove down to San Diego to see one of my all-time-favorite shops in person. Velo Cult has always been a bit of a mystery to me living on the east coast. It’s one of those shops that actually takes the time to cultivate an online catalog of all (well, most) their inventory. Their blog posts are truly amazing and their graphic designer and photographer just kills it consistently. So with high hopes and my SLR, I headed through the front door of Velo Cult.

Step inside with me…

Every city has their staple shop. The bicycle shop that caters to the community and not just by offering repairs and builds. Community support comes in many forms. Whether it’s selling the local brands, displaying art, hanging out with the locals and being a safe haven for messengers during the day, a staple shop is the backbone to the community. In Philadelphia, on South 4th street lies Bicycle Revolutions; a shop that does all the above. The last time I was in Philly, I spent some time in the shop with Fuzzy and the crew and got a sense of the kind of operation they’re running.

Check out some more photos below!

The Atavistic Urge from Sara Kinney on Vimeo.

The Atavistic Urge is the first in a series of profiles on local talent. I teamed up with Sara Kinney and headed out to Bushwick to catch up with Johnny Coast and Seth Rosko. After two days of watching them work, photographing their workspace and interviewing the two, we came up with an in-depth look into their art: custom bicycle frames.

The tig-welder and the brazer; Coast and Rosko work closely together in their small workshop down a dead end street in Bushwick. The one thing that brings them together is the Atavistic Urge.

Check out more photos below!

I love visiting the local bike businesses once and a while to see what’s going on behind their doors. Last month I swung by Brooklyn Machine Works ( @BrooklynMachine ) to shoot some photos and see how the guys were doing. It’s been a busy few years for them with the popularity of the Gangsta track and the company has some new things up their sleeves for 2010.

Taking vignettes of spaces and machinery is quickly becoming a new passion of mine and 16 Powers Street is filled with them. Check out some photos and even some sneak peeks at future works below!

Outlier began as an idea. A clear intention, shared between two freelancers, Abe and Tyler. After commuting by bike to their day jobs, they quickly became frustrated at the limited offerings supplied by the fashion industry for cyclists. The two designers began to spend time in the Garment District, browsing the many high-tech fabric offerings by various vendors. Within months, they had their first product, a pair of high-tech slacks; the OG Pants.

From there on out, the Brooklyn-based clothing company started to work within the local industry in NYC. Sourcing their garments to local factories, rather than overseas, Abe and Tyler were an ever-present face at their production house, inspecting construction and making changes as they saw fit. Eventually, the two designers began to branch out, working with local talent to expand their line. They now offer a full-line of clothing geared towards, but not limited to cyclists in the city.

Check out more details and photographs of the Outlier showroom below.

Shut Skatedecks, hand-made in the USA

Yesterday on my lunch break, I went over to the Shut Skateboard’s shop on the LES. Matt Terwilliger ( @MATTERWILLIGER ) works at the shop and I hadn’t actually been to it before. Not that I didn’t know what or who Shut was, but unfortunately, I haven’t been into skateboarding as much now as I was earlier in my life. Like most skaters in the 90’s, I grew up skateboarding and looking to NYC for inspiration. There was somethign about the street skating scene in NYC that was unprecedented; Cali couldn’t touch it. It was, well, raw as fuck.

a quick tour of the shop!

After all the time I spent in W-base the last time I was in Tokyo you would have thought I would have taken enough pictures to make a bike shop review right? Well, I dropped the ball that time. Luckily I was back in Tokyo last weekend and was able to take some proper photos. Here it is, the Tokyo Bike Shop review of W-Base.

Carnival

Carnival sits above W-base in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. When we pulled up to W-base, I thought Carnival was their storage space. It took me a minute to realize it was another shop. (What tipped me off was the work station on the porch above W-base’s storefront.)

It’s hard to think of two bike shops stacked on top of each other, sharing the same building lot and surviving in today’s market, but Carnival’s interests lie in vintage track and road bikes, Italian and Japanese.

Italian road and track bikes

After visiting a lot of shops, I was surprised to see some bikes in my size range. The Italian track bikes remain a luxury item for bike enthusiasts in Tokyo. With Keirin frames literally being a dime a dozen and in all the right sizes, I saw very few Italian steeds rolling around. This Faini was Super Record-equipped and adorned with pantographed components. Dialed-in to perfection and just my size. Too bad it wasn’t in my budget!

frames from the ceiling

Once again, the every inch of space is utilized to the fullest. Frames hang from the ceiling and the displays are jam-packed with vintage and modern track bike components. Carnival’s collection is pretty dense. It took me a while to browse through everything the first time I visited it and even the second and third times I went up to see the shop, I was finding that I kept overlooking things.

tons of wheels

With wheels ranging from “No-Record” Campy hubs, to early Dura Ace and modern fixed, you have plenty of options on how to build your next bike.

151 bcd Campagnolo inch-pitch

I think I saw more Campy Inch Pitch in Tokyo than I have seen anywhere else. The admiration for Italian componentry was insane. So much NOS Campy porn to be had!

anodized components

Like many shops in Tokyo, Carnival has launched their own branded components. Cranks, saddles and even their own frames are spread throughout their shop; and of course, all the anodized fixed bits you could ask for. People in Tokyo must keep their bikes pretty clean; I couldn’t imagine having an anodized lockring. In two weeks of riding, you wouldn’t even be able to see the coloring!

street-culture

Tokyo and American street culture are everywhere in the shop. Posters, stickers, t-shirts, hats and shoes are all over. Little trinkets make the space and the friendly staff were always smiling.

Once again, when you’re in Tokyo next, make sure to swing through Carnival!

Previously:
Tokyo Bike Shop: Dreamworks
Tokyo Bike Shop: Sexon Super Peace

Dreamworks is one of those shops that uses every square inch of its space to display vintage bike components.

Literally, it was probably only 200 square feet, if that. There was so much cycling component history behind glass and hung on the walls I thought I tripped and fell into the Smithsonian.

I’m a detail-oriented person. When I stepped foot inside the space, I was immediately immersed into the world of classic bike porn. I just realized I didn’t even take a picture of the storefront or the space itself because I was so distracted by all the stock!

It was also one of the few shops that had an extensive Campagnolo collection

Along with some beautifully machined drillium components.

This wall had all the Concors you could want.

Even a LV custom and the highly sought-after Concor Sprint with lumbar-support.

Bibendum was there too, guarding the Nitto bars!

So much NOS Campy goodness sitting in shelves. The interesting thing about the Japanese track components is their homage to the Campy and other Italian companies. The MKS pedals were right next to the Super Record pedals, showing you the precedents.

No shop in Japan would be complete without the small work area. Not many shops in the US would be building bikes like this, but in Japan, the process of bike building is a revered tradition. It almost looks like the owner here is preparing for prayer.

NJS Keirin frames being displayed.

Including this Reynolds 753 Uno!

Dreamworks is exactly that. A bicycle shop built around dreams. Make sure you check it out next time you’re in Tokyo!

entrance

This week, I’ll be posting a few Tokyo Bike Shop reviews amongst the normal content. Make sure you check them out because these shops are littered with bike porn!

Sexon Super Peace is a block or so away from Dreamworks in Shibuya, Tokyo. The street presence is undeniable. Flashy 3Renshos sit a few feet from the sidewalk, a beautiful Path Racer adorns the windows and the minimalist interiors create the perfect backdrop for beautiful bikes from all over.

from inside – to out

The shop is littered with vintage and new track bike goods. It was really tempting not to blow my budget on some NOS Campy bits for my Merckx. Not to mention all the wheels!

through the rear triangles

Countless frames hang from the ceiling, all reasonably priced, walls of brightly-colored saddles lines the shelves, NOS Campy goodies and a plethora of vintage wheels.

beautiful Renshos

As I said, these Renshos are probably the most beautiful bikes I saw on the trip. Aside from a few minor building faux pas, they would really cause a stir at any bike show. I wouldn’t even guess at what the full builds would sell for!

Major Taylor style adjustable track stem

This vintage path racer has become the icon for the shop. I remember seeing the front of the shop a while back and it certainly stuck in my head. Very proper build. Period correct.

saddles saddles saddles

Sexon has one of the best saddle selections I’ve ever seen at a bike shop. This is only a fraction of their saddle stock. Down below and to the sides are boxes filled with vintage and new saddles, perfect for any build.

tools

What shop isn’t complete with a building area? What stuck out the most to me when I was visiting shops in Tokyo was the lack of building areas and work stands. I don’t think I saw a single work stand at any of the track bike shops. The building areas were super tiny too. Just big enough to build one bike at a time. I guess, in the end, that’s all you really need!

So next time you’re in Tokyo, head on over to Sexon Super Peace and be prepared to drop some Yen!