Couture.
Check out Black Mountain Cycles’ blog and Flickr stream for some brain-rattling classics. And fresh new takes on classic bicycle ideals.
Blog
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Cunningham Mini-Cam, guides and bosses
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A crazy bike from Santa Rosa
I talked to the creator of this bike (Herr Doktor Frankenstein, I believe), and really want to see his studio. Each of the different colors shows that piece is from a different bike. Except red – all the red pieces are from different bikes, too.
You sit on the seat, put your feet on the pedals, and I believe the bars are under the helmet. The whole front end turns, like a pennyfarthing. There’s a “floating chainwheel” in the chain as a tensioner. Cool. He says he goes out to the dump and buys a pickup load of bikes to cut up for these rolling sculptures. “$10 or $20, depending on what they have.”
The builder said he considered a second drivetrain to the rear, and a second seat, but thought that was too crazy. I’d kind of like him to look at my “hinge-in-the-middle” tandem design…
There were a couple of other “small wheel, high-saddle” bikes at the Bike Expo. Chain-drive ordinaries, of a sort. I complimented one of the guys on his bike, and he just gave me the barest nod of acknowledgement. Classy.
This other guy seemed genuine and cool. Plus his bike was nicer.
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“Share the Road” PSA from BikeTinker
Rules of the Road:
- Expect to share the road with bicycles.
- Expect to share the road with cars.
- Move predictably.
- Never attempt to kill or injure another person intentionally.
- Pay attention, so you don’t kill or injure anyone unintentionally.
- Stay aware of other peoples’ presence, speed and direction.
- Alert people to your presence, but do not startle them.
That’s it.
An article in the Press Democrat about a new Santa Rosa ordinance to protect cyclists. The attorney pictured has some really nice bikes.
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calfee bamboo bike jig
I saw Craig Calfee demonstrating bamboo bike construction at the Santa Rosa Bike Expo. This is a jig for the Bamboosero frames, and a prototype of the DIY kit they’re developing.
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Metrofiets Hopworks keg bike
Ah… my RBW friend posted his month’s worth of beer, carried by bike. I’m afraid I would need one of these to do the same thing.
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Fender Strut Detail
That is a nice custom fender-mounting strut. Use the rack bosses on your Quickbeam fork!
That makes me want to put a light mount there, but that’s how you get a mess, instead of a beautiful fender install.
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quickbeam disenrandonneurized
I took the fenders, dynamo hub, light, rack and basket off the Quickbeam. Also the S3X 3-speed fixed. It was pretty easy. I should weigh the parts that came off!
I put the +40mmSchwalbe on the front, but was too lazy to switch out the back. I like the tires, but the general lightening makes me want to try Rivendell Jack Browns or Grand Bois Cerfs.
You know, a “narrow” tire! -
Go see this show
If you’re in Portland, you should go see Adam Haynes’ drawings this Friday.
These are from the Nike 6.0 illustrations he did… backtrack*: Adam is a fantastic illustrator. He just did a Dirt Rag table of contents illustration, and rumor has it that he’s going to do a cover. His style is intricate black keyline over flat color – realistic, detailed, something like Geoff Darrow, except you feel good after looking at his work.
He also illustrated the labels for Deschutes‘ “Red Chair” NWPA.
And… he did an Imperial Shit Ton of drawings for Nike. I think he scans the ink drawings, and the color is added digitally, so this is the first time you can actually see the original drawings. And I love original drawings. I like that they were inked by a real human, and I like seeing where a pencil line was bettered in the inking. I just like it. I think it’s because I was a “good draw-er” before I was ever an artist.
So the show is Friday, August 18, 2012, from 6 to 10, at Nemo Design, on Belmont. Should be a good turnout, even if you don’t go, but still. Go.
*More backtrack – his uncle owns the bike shop in McMinnville.
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Bombadil for sale
Bombadil-2, originally uploaded by Blind Robert.
$3000 for this bike, built this way, shipped to your (continental American) door.
Phil hubs and bottom bracket, Tubus racks, Nitto bits, Brooks saddle. Fancy fenders.Über-duty tourer or tough mountain bike, depending on the tire choice.
Click through and send a Flickr mail to Robert if you are interested.
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Rivendell Poster Reveal
I bought the Goines poster from Rivendell, and here I am, showing it on the internet.
I took this picture when I got the poster, but Grant had asked that they (Rivendell) be the first to show the poster. Hence, my delay in putting it up. Also, I was busy.
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Custom Ink bike curation
A reader pointed me to some cool bikes built up by a screenprinter as artworks. I really like that approach to bikes, and I really like the bikes themselves. I was a screenprinter* for 8 years, so I have an affinity there, too.
My favorite of Jason’s bikes is the Thief of Bagdad bike, which picks up the colors and feeling of the great poster from the movie.
It’s the gold one on the left, with the pale blue rims. I like the blend of fixed gear and BMX going on here, and I think it’s cool he makes them happen.
There are more images here, and a fuller story: Inker Gallery
I got distracted reading about the Thief of Bagdad on wikipedia while stealing this poster image… the original 1924 version stars Douglas Fairbanks, and sounds awesome; the 1940s version stars Sabu, who I’d only ever heard of from the John Prine song. Reading the synopsis of the movie made me think “Wow. Sounds like Aladdin.”
And by the way… oh fuck.
*I can use a stat camera. Can you use a stat camera? I can use a stat camera.
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Freddy is IN!
Go get one. Funniest cycloncastic shirt since “Relegate.”
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Let’s Share
Let’s Share, originally uploaded by the Magnificent Octopus.
Bikin’ and doggin’
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bike-silhouette-classic
bike-silhouette-classic, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.
Allan didn’t want to look at the Speedvagen when calculating his bike’s tire pressure, so I made him a new Classic Race bike icon.
It’s an RB-1.
Which made me realize we need a carbon wunderbike in there, too…
The Tire Pressure app is done: buy it on Amazon -
Bike Silhouettes for the Tire Pressure App
The Tire Pressure App is super-close. Allan and Scott were waiting on me for the icons. These are them, with lots of fussy details. All bikes are steel, two are from Portland. Tires on these look like… 32, 25, 60, and 40 millimeters.
Wait!
That Herse head angle looks way too slack to me…
