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Dan Chabanov has won the Red Hook Crit for the third time, meaning he now has three prize bikes. Each year, Cinelli donates a complete build to the winner and year after year, the bikes keep getting better. The 2012 trophy bike was already in King Kog‘s window when I went by on Sunday, so I took it out for some lens love.
Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.
Yes, steel is real but traveling with a bike on some airlines is too rich for my budget. Knowing it would cost me over $100 to fly back and forth from NYC with my Icarus, I emailed Jason from Affinity and asked if he had a loaner bike. He replied, saying I could ride a Affinity Kissena Velo Fund bike. As he handed it over, I realized I could come under fire for riding, wait for it… aluminum! Truth be told, I raced a Felt TK2 at Kissena and while I prefer steel frames, I’m not gonna pass up riding a mean racing machine like a Kissena as a loaner in NYC.
I won’t get into why I don’t like aluminum here because the purpose of this post is to thank Affinity for all the support over the years. The Kissena is a racing machine and it’s fun to ride on the street, especially with a spinny gear and wide risers. How many of you own these bikes? What do you think of them?
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When I first moved to Austin, I met up with Ross to shoot his Nagasawa track bike. Then I shot photos of his Speedvagen and now, the other day, we took his Richard Sachs cross bike out for some lens love. This bike is race pedigree through and through. There are no cable stops for a front derailleur and no bottle cages. Not ideal for a daily rider but when Ross saw a local selling it, he hopped on board. Wanting to do something a little different with the build, he opted for TRP mini v-brakes, a Ti Chris King headset, Tune ‘Bigfoot’ square taper cranks and a Phil Wood Ti BB. Oh and Campagnolo 10… How’s that for a bike suffering from an identity crisis? Personally, I think it’s bad ass and he’s on it every day when we ride. Ride what you love…
Check out more by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.
Massan just posted up a few shots from a recent interview he did with Western Civ Magazine. Head over there for the rest. Looking good man!
Photos by Dylan Bigby
I know I’ve been cropping portrait-orientation photos here on the site but these two photos are too good to put on another page. Crihs was in SF this winter, escaping the NYC cold and having a blast riding the hills of the city. Full Frame Collective did a great Personal Series on him while he was there and it’s definitely worth your time to check it out. They also touch on why Crihs spells his name like that… Head to FFC for the scoop!
Photo by Andy White
The first time I ever heard of Kenevans was on Fyxo, so it’s only natural that Andy presents the world with this fine piece of Australian steel. I’m super bummed I can’t make it back to OZ in April to see Ken. I missed him by minutes when I was there last month. But then, who needs to see a Shop Visit when you’ve got pure, unadulterated bike porn like this? The man himself is back making frames. See more at FYXO!
Australia’s a wonderful place, filled with amazing people. This Recent Roll is compiled from various left-overs accumulated while I was Down Under. It’s mostly city shots and photos of vintage cars. Click the photo above to launch the Gallery, or click here to open in a new tab.
Seriously. I’m burnt out and I didn’t even go to many shows. Today was unofficially the “last” day of SxSW. The hordes of people will start heading back to their home town tomorrow and slowly but surely, the decompression and reconstruction of Austin will take place. Yesterday, I met Erik and Sofia from Sweden. In the next few days, they’re leaving on a 10-month cycle tour of the western United States called The Great Escape. I’m letting them crash with me for a few days before they begin their Raidô.
Last night was a wreck, which lead to a great ride and finally, I was ready for music. So this afternoon, I went by Barcelona to see the only DJ group / crew / bass record label I give a shit about anymore, Trouble and Bass. I’ve known these guys for years, since before this blog was even in existence. Seeing them grow and prosper over the years has been very inspiring. I made it in time for Drop the Lime and Death Face‘s sets. As the crowd became even more intoxicated by the deadly bass, the mood darkened and it was still daylight out!
Check out the gallery by clicking the image above or click here to open in a new tab.
I met Erika last summer in Portland at the Rapha Gentle(women’s) Race. Since I don’t have cable, I had no idea who she was. Then, everywhere we went, people recognized her from the TV show “Parenthood”. If you follow her on Twitter and pay attention to Velo, you might have caught onto this photo. If you don’t, then you had to have seen it on Tracko. Either way, you’re seeing it now, via JennLevo’s Blog.
For more on Erika, head over to the post on the Embrocation blog where she was interviewed after the Rapha Gentle(women’s) Race.
Photo by John Daniel Reiss
Marc, that’s a nice LOW FIXED and the Cadence kits aren’t too shabby either! See you at the Red Hook Crit buddy!
Today was awesome. We started off with a detox ride to some hills and immediately got sucked into the madness that is SxSW. I randomly bumped into Matty B, who was working at the Handsome roasters pop up shop. After some much-needed caffeine, I headed over to Yellow Jacket, where Elle Camino Vintage Clothes had her pop up shop going and from there, it just got kinda fuzzy. I do know that I saw Lamour Supreme at Secret Walls at some point but again, the rest of the night was a blur. Check it out for yourself here.
We’re what? Not even a few days in SxSW here in Austin and I’m already over it. The saving grace is avoiding the crowds, hanging with friends, both new and old, and maybe hearing some music. A group of us saw High on Fire (who’s stoked for De Vermis Mysteriis?) last night and today, I caught a few songs from the Portland-based band, White Orange. Then, it all became a blur of open apertures and congested streets.
Check out more randomness in the Gallery by clicking the photo above.
With Rapha and Tracko both posting about proper grooming for male cyclists, I figured I’d add in some photos from a Recent Roll in LA. I stayed with Kyle for a week or so and kicked around the #GSC on the daily. Tracko and I got a nice trim by Omar the Barber one morning and I got some photos of him getting his head shaved. He’s an elusive one, often hiding from the camera, with his tongue sticking out, but it’s hard to be sour when your head’s full of foam. Check out more by clicking the above image.
Melbourne has so many nice track bikes on the street at any given moment. It became kind of overwhelming. To the point where I just stopped trying to shoot photos of them. Then I saw Tristen‘s Guerciotti at Saint Cloud and had to shoot it. The build is a mix of old and new, with a peculiar grip situation on the bars. The Phil Wood hubs to Velocity Deep V’s are a wheelset we’ve probably all had at one point but this noble steed gets ridden and locked up everyday, not hung on a wall. Click the image above for the gallery.
While I was in Geelong, visiting Baum, I took one of Darren’s shop bikes outside for some lens love. This Baum Cubano road bike was built up sparing no expense. Chris King, ENVE, SRAM, you name it. It just oozes cool. Pulling precedents from old race cars, Darren and his in-house painters worked on the livery. The white, black and orange is reminiscent of the old Gulf Porsche cars and knowing that the build could pass for the weight weenies, i’m sure it rides like one too. Check out more in the gallery.
Gallery (FYI, you can also just click on the photo above to launch this)
Photo by Crihs
After a close one at last year’s Monster Track, JT has seized the win for lucky number 13. From the video I saw on Facebook, he had this shit by almost half a minute. JT, I’m very stoked on this. See you at Red Hook Crit!
In all the time I’ve been posting about Firefly‘s work, I’ve never actually ridden one. It took me traveling to Australia to finally get the chance to ride a frame in my size and man, what a rocket. Let’s face it, Tyler and Jamie know what they’re doing. Their stainless and titanium bikes are awe-inspiring and that takes a special mechanic to do the build justice. Luckily, Justin knew where to go: Shifter Bikes.
Where do I begin with this bike? The Rotor Rings, affixed by the polished Hollowgram cranks? Or the entire group, which was polished by none other than Fyxomatosis? Then there’s the EE Cycle Works brakes with their made in America, tech aesthetic. As a complete piece of art, Justin’s Firefly is molten lava. See for yourself below!
As you can tell, I’ve been holding off on posting a lot of my Australia content for the recent torrent of NAHBS coverage. We’ve seen this bike already, a few times on the blog but Eirlie’s Clamont pista definitely deserves its own post. On a rainy morning in Sydney last month, I caught up with her and shot some photos of it while she ate her breakfast. This bike is the love of her life and while it’s got some chrome plating chips on the crown and various other little imperfections, its webbed bottom bracket, cleaved seat tube and history make it one unique ride. Check out more below.
