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The girlfriend bike. Or in this case, the fiancé bike. It can be a tricky, slippery slope, especially when you’re kind of – ok really – obsessed with bicycles. When I bought this bike from Andy at FYXO last year, it came with a C-Record gruppo. Good for looking at, sucky for climbing hills – for Lauren anyway. We quickly found out that that 8-speed cassette didn’t have the gear range she needed to pedal up to Austin’s beautiful vistas…
This bike sat on my wall for about a year, collecting dust.
Steel Wül is a club in Santa Cruz, founded by Jake Hess, a local fire chief. He started the club to give people a super chill platform to explore the many roads in the area. I got to ride with Jake during the Giro #SantaCruzEffect event and his Caletti steel road bike looked so damn good the whole time.
Some of my favorite details are the custom-painted Ritchey stem, his family’s names on the stem cap, his battalion number on the NDS top tube, Steel Wül branding and the paint. When we rolled out of the Giro offices, the morning light made the frame just pop.
Granted, it looked even better after descending down that gnar gnar gravel on Gazos Creek…
I don’t know why, but this little detail made me think about cruising around in the summertime on a super chill, steel bike. Or in this case, a townie-minded Ciöcc! See more at the Cicli Devotion Flickr.
Over the years, Tom Kellogg has produced some insane track bikes, most of which go for a steal on eBay, Craigslist and at swaps. These machines have tight clearances, little details, great paint and you’d be hard pressed to find any two of similar breed.
Chris bought this frame off the Boston Craigslist years back. He’s raced it at Red Hook Crit and while it spends a fair amount of time hanging on the wall, sometimes he takes it for a spin into work at Mellow Johnny’s, where he wrenches.
Details include: custom fillet stem, insane seat stay cluster with bi-lam lugs, clearances for a 19mm tire up front, that fork, the clincher Shamals (rear rim was a road Shamal, laced to track Shamal hub) and yeah, that paint!
It’s been a long, long time since I first posted about Ben’s Columbus MS road frame. Last June, in fact. Chris and Ben both tracked down all the parts needed to build this beauty up and I gotta say, it’s one of the best road bikes I’ve seen come from Bishop. Which is saying a lot, considering my own and Michael‘s are still two stellar beauts.
Catch more of this insane road bike (if you can indeed catch it) at the Bishop Flickr!
Yeah… Cycle Smithy isn’t messing around with this one. A Columbus MAX Laser, featured here on the site before, fully restored, and laced with only the finest components. I can’t get over how pristine of a job Cycle Art did restoring this machine to its original state. Head over to eBay for the full parts list and BIN price.
Photos by Andy White
This photoshoot took place on one of the nicer days during my last trip to Melbourne and I’m not sure who was more stoked on the sun, Andy or Adrienne. Everything about these two photos rules, from the pristine Somec Promax with Campy 11, to one of the most friendly women I’ve met through a mutual love of bikes and the lens of Andy White… You just can’t go wrong.
In fact, seeing Andy’s use of Athena 11 made me finally pull the trigger on a modern upgrade for Lauren’s Casati.
See more at FYXO!
This is such a rad video. Thanks for sharing Tracko!
Photos by Marty Wood
It’s not everyday that I get a Merckx Mondays submission featuring a practically NOS Faema Merckx, shot in a studio nonetheless. Todd Schmidt is the owner of this bike and Marty Wood shot the photos. Both of which work at Q in Minneapolis. I met Marty during Frostbike and he said he had a Merckx to share…
Todd picked this up while he was working for Wares’ Cycle in Milwaukee. He was 16 when he started at Wares’ and instantly became overwhelmed with all things cycling. Back then, the heroes had frame companies. Names like DeRosa, Lemond, Colnago, Motta, Moser and of course, Merckx.
Fast forward to modern day. Todd, like many people, still want to relive the days of yore (i.e. the steel age). A random friend sent a note to him about a customer selling this very bike: a 1985 Eddy Merckx Professional made from Columbus SL and it wasn’t some ordinary factory paint, it was in the Faema Team livery.
Below is a rather lengthy description of what Todd did to restore this bike, which I won’t even begin to paraphrase. If you’re looking for a good read and photos, check out more below!
Talk about a brake with an evil reputation. Incompetent people claim they don’t work. Lovers of vintage Campagnolo worship them but few have had their cycling mitts on a set of Croce D’Aune Delta brakes. FYXO has a set of these in his web shop for sale. They’re so evil, I had to crucify them upside down.
Cast your $666.00 at FYXO.
Man oh man. This is a grail track bike for most people and City Grounds did an exceptional job on the build! See more at the City Grounds blog.
Photos by Giovanni Pirajno
Sorry for the lack of updates today, I was out doing reconnoissance in the Angeles Forest. That and Tracko doesn’t have wifi at his bachelor pad. Speaking of no wifi, I doubt the De Rosa factory has it either.
I can’t get over this De Rosa-built Molteni road. Gahhhhhh. See more at FYXO!
Photo by Keith Teket
With a killer paint job from Fresh Frame, custom components by Drillium Revival and the exceptional hand of Chris Bishop, this might be the best track bike I’ve seen all year. I’m seriously blown away here. See more at the Bishop Bikes Flickr!
Photos by Kyle Kelley
Woah! I’ve never seen a Merckx track bike with those custom details, only a Merckx SLX road. Usually an extended head tube lug and a downtube cluster webbing was strictly for the big boy racers. These details came custom out of the Eddy Merckx factory in Belgium and are still, to this day, a rare find.
Check out more at the Tracko Flickr!
“Red and yellow, kill a fellow…”
Maybe that’s why I love these old Team Raleigh track bikes? There’s something venomous about them. Like some predatory beast, I loved looking at the old photos of British steel eating their competition alive on the boards. The last time I was in Melbourne, I shot another Northside Wheelers in-store display, classic racing track machine, that bright red Cecil Walker. They’re both the same owner, with an impeccable taste for steel race machines.
This one’s a keeper! See more for yourself in the Gallery!
I first met this bike back when FYXO was Fyxomatosis, in Japan and if I recall correctly, it had a little more white and a little more red paint covering its tight angles. There is no shame in a respray – although I did like the original paint – especially when you’re looking to give your favorite bike a facelift. Or in this case, make it a minimal race machine.
Last weekend, as I was hanging around Maison de Blanc, I asked Andy if I could shoot his Euro track bike. Maybe it was the bright white tape, or the supple and soft white Rolls saddle (which, by the way is pain to photograph without a polarizing filter), but it was just begging for some clever placement photos against his father’s tractor.
Modern, mixed with vintage Campagnolo, a FYXO track ring, impeccable paint and classic wheels… what else would you expect? Check out more in the Gallery!
I swear, when I’m in Melbourne, it’s like classic steel roadie overload. Normally, I’m content with my modern steel but after a day at Shifter Bikes, I’m ready to start piecing together an Italian race machine. Dan has so many amazing builds coming out of his shop at the moment, but my favorite is this Colnago Decor with Campagnolo Record. Why? See for yourself in the Gallery!
I’ve been spending time with Lauren, walking around Melbourne these past two days and on our way to dinner last night, I saw these logos on an old storefront glass. They were hand-drawn on the backside as well. I’m guessing it was an old bike shop?
Until I start photographing bikes and shops, I’ll be uploading the non-cycling side of this trip to my Flickr, so follow along there!
