Gangs with Bangs.

when stephen and alex were on their way home from the arcade, gumballs in pocket, sleeves rolled, sunglasses rockin, they felt pretty good. alex had just scored 1,420 on the shoot-em-up game, a new record for him, and stephen had beat the shop boy at a burping contest, so they were both feeling pretty good, pretty hard, and pretty invincible.

and then they took the wrong turn.

suddenly, there they stood, face to face with what looked like an army of the toughest gang members theyd ever seen, who were staring back at them with almost as much shock as the two boys.

thinking quickly, the boys started to chat to them, hoping a quick friendship could be forged, which in turn might allow them to pass, to live another day.

but just then, stephen drops the ball, and admits to having recently had his nails done.

the girls wouldnt stand for it.

seconds later, stephen was a smear on the street.

the streets are mean these days.

doesnt help that youve got gangs like these, trolling the streets, causing mayhem and destruction on every street they haphazardly turn onto...

The Hammer Headset

k, its not a head set, but it is awesome.

here

2 parts Water, 1 part Pothole, 1 part Bicycle, Mix Vigorously.

THATS THE SPIRIT!

bringing "bike porn" to a new level.

BMX-Inspired Track Bike Show

before i comprehended the title on the below link, i was looking at the bikes going "man... these look like... i dont know... something... what is it?"

from here

i really dig the bright colors, and complementing color schemes... good job builders! (notice on the purple frame with the white fork, they actually shot some little matching purple stars onto the fork making it match so perfect!)

Used Factoid of the Day

"Keanu" is a derivation of Reeves' great-great-uncle Keaweaheulu, whose name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian.

- from here.

this has nothing to do what so ever with bikes, cycling or beer. so there.

and, for all you william gibson fans; reeves played the role of johnny mnemonic (in the eponymous flim) who, according the short story by the aforementioned author, dated a girl named molly millions / "sally shears" (the latter because of her ability to extend and retract at will razor blades fromunda her nails), who, over the course of a series of short stories and novels, eventually dates a man named case. case is the lead role in 'neuromancer' (arguably gibson's best work), and the footprint - along with the whole fucking rest of neuromancer - for the hit sci-fi movie trilogy, "The Matrix," with molly brought to life by the svelt character, Trinity.

therefore reeves, effectively, played both the current and most-recent-ex boyfriends of molly shears.

Found: Rediculously Hot Bike For Sale

its on ebay for the next 3 days and 1 hour.

its a 1985 Pinarello Amatore Track frame, sized 56 cc / 57.5 ct.

i want it.

if not simply just to adorn my wall, above my mantle piece.

its hot.

its what squarepusher wrote about, in "my red hot car."

i mean, just look at all the little subtle white detailings; look at the boundary lines of the red paint; notice the lugs, the fork ends, the headbadge...







what i find so amazing, however, is the complete lack of style this bikes modern counter part has - i mean, were only talking 22 years, but DAMN. one looks classy, stylish, respectable, and the other looks like it wants to be on MTV.

My Ride :D

She's finished.
T.J Quick road frame (circa 1990 ish) with Cinelli lugs and Campagnolo drop-outs
Campagnolo seat post
Cinelli quil stem and LA84 time-trial bars
Brooks pro saddle and bar tape
Campagnolo Record C front caliper brake and crank set (42t)
Ambrosio front hub
Surly 130mm flip-flop rear hub
Shimano Dura-Ace 15t sprocket and lock ring
Velocity Deep-V rims (laced by Harry Rowland)
Vittoria tyres
Axxo K170 SL light weight chain
KRS track pedals and clips
Crane Creek brake lever

I love my bike.

Bikes & Beers: Ride Too or Hurray for Geeks that Horde!

upon matts receipt of his white velocity deep-V's laced to black flip-flop surly out back and a silver ambrosio upfront, we quickly went to work on strappin' them in and on, finally delivering matt to a state of fixed gear wheeling.

after toying with what to do with vic's ride - seeing as its a tiny frame with even tinier wheels (something like 24" wheels, on 28 spoke double single speed hubs (as apposed to flip flop)) - we couldnt figure out how to get it to fixed yet, so, for now, we left it as is, and decided to eat pizza.

only there were four of us - matt, vic, jenn and i - and only three rides. (although jenn rides in baltimore, her stallion did not attempt the journey to east end london.)

"het matt" begins carlos, "i bet we have enough bike bits to build an entire, complete, bicycle."

after a deep-thought inspired long pauses, matt responds,"dude, i bet we COULD!!!!!"

"oh no," mumbles carlos, worried that his half-joke might be taken seriously and that they might now actually have to build a bicycle. "we might now actually have to build a bicycle," reiterates carlos, for those who cant hear what he thinks.

so off they went, carlos to his in order to grab the old lilac peugeot frame and the two boxes or old or un-used parts, and matt into his to grab wheels and other assorted bits and bobs.

within 30 minutes of beginning and 40 minutes of even mentioning, there stood a fully functioning, single-speed road-ready collaborative effort, bicycle. specs: 1980/81 Peugeot PX-10 frame, cinelli criterium stem & bars, selle italia seat, complete campy wheel sets, brake cable and rear brake calliper, cane creek brake lever, shimano crank n chainring. the rear wheel is off matts full speeded t.j. quick, so we just mated the chain to the gear with the straightest chainline. the only part we actually didnt have was two bottom bracket bolts; for a total investment of £4.50 and 30 minutes of fitting, attaching and otherwise putting together, we had a complete bike. hooray for geeks that horde!



although its a bad shot, below is what matts newest ride looks like. however, i will encourage him to take it out for a photo shoot somewhere, and have him post it to FGG.



once we got to the lauriston (an excellent pizza house, replete with a hand built clay oven, and shortlisted for the best pizza in london), we shackled up, up front. i noticed that our collection of four rides made for a particularly easy sight for the eyes. see below.

A Nice Essay, Ese!

Rapha, apparently Condor's upmarket brand, has a section of their site buildt (im assuming) to demonstrate their commitment to cycling, and their intellectual interest in it. On their features page, i found this essay which i found really nice. so im reposting it here.
-


Alley Cat

by Jamie Grant

It’s dark outside. We’re terrified. Or maybe petrified. Whichever’s worse is what we are. Riding your bike at night is an odd feeling. Everything seems slower somehow, which compensates for the fact that we’re all riding harder than we have in our lives.

Bike messenger races are like that. Even after all my years as a top amateur racer I have never ridden harder than when I’m racing an Alleycat. It’s the fear, I guess. It hangs over all of us like a chandelier made of nails waiting to drop. But we’re too fast.

The only light is from the cars we’re passing at 45 kph. Drivers see the reflection off our spokes as we blow by them. There are about thirty of us tonight. We ride through traffic like water, taking the path of least resistance, no matter what the cost. I squeeze between two lanes of cars that are coming towards me. I’m breathing heavy. The drivers mistake the fear in my eyes for lunacy, but I’m far from it. This is simply the fastest way.

I see four or five others hauling down the sidewalk like a pack of dogs. All chasing me. Any one of us could die tonight, I think. The thought gets lost as I turn left; more pressing issues are at hand. I’m pretty sure I’m winning but I have no way of knowing. At any moment someone could come out of an alleyway ahead and defeat me. Panic starts to invade my body. To lose to a stranger is one thing, but to lose to your peers is unacceptable. My legs and my head are in the battle of their lives. “Just two more minutes”, my head says. My legs reluctantly agree and I start to fly.

Everything is in perfect symmetry. I am functioning the way God has intended me to function. There are no more alleys ahead. I can taste the victory. There won’t be any zipping up of the jersey here, though. For all I know someone could blast out of one the last building’s windows, nipping me at the line. The panic comes again. I’ve waited too long for this moment. A previous second place has caused me enough sleepless nights. Twenty feet from the line and the crowd is screaming for me but all I can hear are my prayers asking to be not struck by lightening even though there isn’t a cloud in the sky. I must win…

The first thing we do is wait to make sure everyone makes it in all right. We’re like a family at the hospital with more members coming in every minute to wait for the dreadful words of a doctor. The last one arrives to the greatest applause of the night. We could hear his gasping from a block away. He plays the part of a two-wheeled grinning grim reaper.

Relief sets upon us like a cool mist and the talking begins. Horror stories and close calls are traded like sports cards. It’s the same feeling, too. Like being a kid again. Someone tells of how they ran over some guy’s foot. That unwilling spectator will probably talk about his foot for the rest of his life. We’ll only hear the story a few more times before it’s forgotten: a casualty to more exciting events. People come over and congratulate me. Others keep their distance, unsure of what to say.

I know, however, that it is the last place rider who is the true champion. There was no blessing bestowed upon him of athletic genes at birth. The agony on his face was proof of that. His lung capacity holds only asthma and cigarette smoke.

It is him that we all came to see.

LIES are go!

LIES clothing (fixie orientated, from the streets of SF) are now live on the interweb, with some killer artworks on their tees and one of the best bike caps ever. ha! swing by at www.everybodylies.net

BIKE GANG ASSUALTS LOCAL BASKETBALL COURT, ONLY STOPS FOR TEA

on a lazy sunday, a few days back, we passed the basketball court at the top of brick lane, when the following transaction occured.

"hey check it out! its a BIKE GANG!", exclaims carlos.

"NO!", matt corrects, "Its a bike gang PLAYING POLO!"

and so it was folks, and so it was. a freaking fixed gear, probably all messenger polo game in full swing.

only, funny thing was, because your on bike, chasing a tennis ball sized yellow ball around, you cant really go fast (as your always turning to chase, or to avoid collision) so the whole game was amazingly well tempered. infact, the whole game was almost silent, same for a few "OHHH!!!" 's from the third team, if some one missed a shot, a smattering of rather calm clapping if a goal was made. suddenly, a goal was made, only this time one team departed from the court and the third hopped into action, steeds ready.

at some point, matt remarked on this, saying "sheesh, they seem so calm, i bet theyre going to stop for tea any time soon!" or something like that.