Long Time No Blog

Hey all...

  So it's been a loooooong while since my last post.  There's been a lot that happened during the month of July that I was actually excited to see like Lance Armstrong placing 3rd in the Tour de France. Amazing!  Not too many people thought this "old guy" could do it, but he held his own on all the climbs, all the TTT's, and upheld his word by helping his teammate Contador.  

  I have mixed feelings about Contador....I thought he pulled kind of dick move during that one stage in the mountains where he totally bailed on Lance to get his time in the light.  But this is my favorite photo from the entire event:

Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!  Look at Lance's face! Hella muggin'!  He's probably thinking, "Asshole, that should've been my number 8!"  Haha.  Oh well, however, we all have something to look forward to next year's Tour de France:

Awesome!

  Other great news that happened during the month of July is some news I heard about this new rim called the EERO by HPlusSon.  I've been thinking of building up a new back wheel for a while now and it's said that this rim is made to take more abuse than the regular Formation Face SL42.  However, I've been also seeing more B43's by Velocity on the streets these days. Those wheels look sick too! My buddy Ryan just put one of those on his Bareknuckle and it really opened the color scheme on his bike.  

However, one of the main reasons I've been on such a looong hiatus is because I've been working on my cycling hoody.  I feel that this design is pretty simplistic, fashionable, and very functional to the urban cyclist. Here is the only picture I have of it so far.  I will do a small photoshoot for it soon. Enjoy.

Will Armstrong Ride Strong?

  So tomorrow Lance Armstrong will be again mounting the saddle and partaking in the 2009 Tour de France.  This tour is the most grueling race every year and it seems immortal for one man to win this particular race seven times in a row.  By achieving this feat, Lance has launched himself as an icon in the cycling realm and world of sports.  In my opinion, what makes his numbers of wins even more astonishing is the mere fact that he is also a stage 4 cancer survivor.

  But being out of the circuit for so long people begin to wonder how he will do and if he has any gas left in his tank.  Another aspect is that he may not be the leading favorite on his team Astana to win the race.  Lance stated that he will back up Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer if they prove to be better riders than him.  However, I feel that Lance's desire to win it himself still resides within him and if given the chance he'll definitely pounce upon it.

  In 2005, Lance stated that there would not be a number 8, but no one really knows if that will ever be true.  It's interesting though, many greats across the world of sports that made their marks, retired, and suddenly, decided to come back somewhat tarnished their legacy in my opinion.  Look at Jordan, Favre, and now....Lance?  The world will see how this guy does this weekend, but I know I will be cheering him on.

photograph by: Guillame Horcajuelo/EPA

Wednesday Ride

  So these pictures are quite late because I was waaaaaay lagging, but last Wednesday a couple of my buddies from Levi's decided to get together and go on a ride that ended up being a ride throughout the city with a bunch of stops along the way. So it was me, my buddy Mike, and Kris.

WEDNESDAY RIDE!

....We first met up at the Civic Center and rode down Market Street toward the Embarcadero, but Mike wanted to check out the Chrome store to pick up a new hip pack.

Hello Kitty came too....

Ray from Chrome.

Mike (now equipped with his new Chrome hip pack) and Kris at the Embarcadero.

Mike's siiiiiick 3Rensho. muy expensive!

Obama!

So, while biking toward the water, Kris had the idea of stopping off at this bar in the Mission.  Totally the opposite direction!!! O well, it's called Zeitgeist and it has a beer garden and it's really bike friendly. Hella hip. However, upon our arrival the bartender was a total douche. We coined him as "Le Douche." hahahah.  So I hate riding with my wallet so of course I forgot to bring my ID.  Yeah, it was my fault for not having it, but he wouldn't even let me hang out in the EMPTY bar at noon when Kris was forced to chug her bloody mary. What an ass!  Anyway, here's some pics at Zeitgeist.

Mike's 3Rensho and Kris's Raleigh.

and my Kilo...

this is us parked outside of a local liquor store to get us some tall cans after me being the party pooper at Zeitgeist (thanks Le Douche!).

at The Park. Dolores....and enjoying some Tecate.

great view of the city....and got totally burnt!

Push Bike and Steeez Electrique Jeans

  My co-worker Mike Pablo works with me at Levi's in the factory.  He's an up and coming designer and my fellow fixie enthusiast.  Working in the factory has its perks like having access to the embroidery machine.  He has customized a lot of existing Levi's jeans by tapering them for avoiding hungry chains, a reinforced belt loop for carabiners, stylish embroideries, reflective bits, and extra pockets.  The prices right now range from $80 to $100 per pair depending on how much customization is on each pair of jeans.  He also, is willing to throw in a free hem for a more "custom" fit.  Pretty awesome!

  He is now selling out of Push Bike, which is a store in the Mission ran by a retired courier that offers cool-limited run items like hoodies, bags, and now....Steeez Electrique Jeans!  Check 'em out.

Velo Vogue

  MY BIKE WAS SPOTTED! Haha.  I guess someone had taken a couple of pictures of my bike probably after work at Levi's and locked up on Market St.  Pretty awesome.   Makes me feel good that people can admire all the time and money I put into it. :)  My co-worker Mike (who I will highlight more in the next post) told me that he saw it on this blog.  Velo Vogue just seems like photobucket filled with different tags related to cycling around SF.  Awesome.  Just glad to have made the list. 

My Beloved Helmet Finally Came

The post is a bit long overdue since I've been riding around town with my new helmet for about a week now but it has finally come!  It came all the way from England.  And no, I didn't buy the Whisper because 1) it's HELLA expensive and 2) my friend told it looks like a cheese-grater.  So I'm like "Great. Yeah, I don't need to have a cheese-grater on my head.  I still think the Whisper is a beautiful helmet, but I settled for the 2009 Kompact Pro, which is a more simplified version of the Whisper but with 21 air vents in comparison to the Whisper's 39.  Check it out:

Sleek.

Compact.

And looks sick from the back!

Totally sit well on my head...

....without bulging out too much from the side like the Atmos by Giro.  I hate that!

AIDS Lifecycle 2009

  Okay, so I don't know anyone who has AIDS or has died from AIDS personally, but I do know that this disease is something that we really need to find a cure for.  Anyway, the AIDS Lifecycle is going on as I type.  My friend Bryan Kim decided to try it on a whim by simply seeing the ad in restaurant while eating dinner one night.  I started bustin' up laughing when he told me why he decided to do the race.  Haha.

 Every participant in the race had to raise at least $3,000, which I believe went to AIDS research.  They all set off from the Cowpalace in SF and are riding 545 miles down to LA. CRRAAAZZY!  I hope he makes it in all one piece.  But I'm definitely rooting him on. 

Go Bryan GO! 

Finally Figured It Out

  So after watching the Tour of California I fell in love with the helmets of one particular team.  However, I have never found these helmets in any bike stores, no one ever really knows what the heck I'm talking about when I describe what it looks like, and I've only seen it on the streets of SF maaaybe twice.  Everytime I see a rider wearing one of these awesome helmets they always zoom past me, allowing no time to catch up to them and ask what the brand is.  

  My interest for this infamous helmet subsided for awhile until my friend (who usually NEVER wears a helmet) showed up to my work with his Catlike Kompact helmet in his hand.  I almost gasped when I saw it.  Aren't they beautiful?  

  These models are called the Whisper, but Ryan's owns a white Kompact.  The Kompact has 21 vents, but the Whipser (shown above) features a whopping 39 vents!  I love the shape of these helmets because they're so eye catching and it even looks good on my head!  The only downfall on this company is that they don't really distribute to the US.  To buy one, you have to try mainly eBay or a site called the Wiggle.  These helmets would seem that safety is compromised for air ventilation, but this helmet offers good CES (Crash Engery Splitter) meaning that upon a collision the energy would be spread evenly over the helmet instead of one concentrated section of impact.  So if anyone wants to buy me one, let me know! hahah. 

MACA DVD Release Party

  Sorry for the late post, but my experience at the Macaframa viewing was personally mediocre.  It was actually my first time being at the Independent and I thought the venue was a great choice due to its cozy atmosphere and perfect set up for a movie-night.  This place also has a bar! Even though I didn't really feel like drinking that night, the guys still wanted everyone to pound at least two drinks to probably reach their bar tab.  Another aspect that I thought was clever was having the event at a place like the Independent because it kept all the hipster-trash kids away.  Thank God.

  Other elements factored into my less than pleasant mood like everyones must and B.O., the unexpected rain, and the fact that there weren't any hard copies of the DVD present!  

  Despite the rain it was nice to see that San Francisco Bike Coalition was also there conducting a bike valet, raffle, and giveaways. 

  The night was pretty crowded and the crew definitely had a good turn out.

  The Maca crew were lined up against the right side of the venue heckling each other when they appeared on the silver screen.  The crowd (including myself) was rather quiet that night while watching the movie, which really annoyed the guys.  I had a feeling that many of the viewers (including myself) had already seen the movie at the first SF premier and were merely there to pick up a DVD but disappointed later to find out that no copies were available.  

  At least I was there with some friends like my riding buddy Ryan, his girlfriend Yuka, and her friend Jane.

Jane and Yuka.

  Even though I wasn't drunk, already had seen the movie, and left without a copy of the DVD it was nice to see the this SF bike crew is growing their popularity throughout the city and probably even across the country at this point.  Congratulations to Colby for all the hardwork and the hopefully good payoff for creating a gritty, raw, and appealing movie featuring great riding spots in the city and highlighting the world of fixed gear riding.

Macaframa DVD

  It's been a long time coming for this group of riders and film enthusiasts.  I remember waiting in line for the SF premier to watch their first showing and all the sudden all these damn kids bum-rushed the door as soon as it opened causing me to wait for the last show.  However, the movie was well worth the way.  These guys take you through the best parts of the city and showcase their impressive tricks and riding abilities.  You can support these guys by picking up one of their DVDs on May 4th.

Tickets For Fixies? Shiiiiiiiit.

So while I was looking for something new to write about, I came across the topic of people in different areas receiving tickets for riding brake-less. I thought this was pretty crazy when I first read some of these stories, but I can somewhat understand why people who ride bikes without brakes would get a ticket due to the safety issue. Here is the letter of the law:

21201. (a) No person shall operate a bicycle on a roadway unless it is equipped with a brake which will enable the operator to make one braked wheel skid on dry, level, clean pavement.

To disect this law to its core is somewhat pointless when you already have a ticket from a stupid cop in your hand, but it makes me wonder about the bikes that would have a coaster brake built within the bike without the presence of hand brakes. Remember those bike that rode when we were kids and all we had to do was simply back pedal to come to a skidding stop? Isn't that pretty much the same thing as riding a brakeless fixie?

One could possibly argue that they had a coaster brake and didn't have hand brakes when you're in front of a judge trying to argue the ticket. Haha, he probably wouldn't even understand but it might work. You never know... So be careful! I mean, I know I'm preachin' to the choir since I ride brakeless, but it's something worrth looking into and all the other bike laws so that you know what are and what aren't the rights you have while sharing the road with cars and whatnot...

How to skid on a fixie.
www.infobarrel.com/media/image/175.jpg

The Tri-Valley Redemption Alley-Cat

  Hello all Bay Area riders.  There is a new alley-cat race coming up this April 26th at 12 noon.  All riders are to meet at the Dublin BART station.  Sponser are awesome. Hope to see everyone there.  Also they stress to bring a helmet! Bring one. Better safe than crackin' yo head!

DRIF LA

  Drif LA is a gem find in the LA area.  This store is literally "a hole in a wall"..... it's super tiny!  And to add onto the minute size of the store it's only open for three hours of the day! So if you want to check this place out you have to venture out close of Little Tokyo and catch them between the hours of 3 and 6 pm.  

    (This is a NJS certified helmet found at DRIF LA that wouldn't fit my XL dome! haha)

  When I went on my birthday weekend to visit the store with my girlfriend the store keeper Jiro was polishing up his Bareknuckle.  The store carries a lot of random-but cool parts from Japan and even some deadstock saddles like a vintage Turbo that you can't find nowadays.  They have a couple colors of Saglife bags (which is why I went) and I picked up a small blue messenger.  It has now become my day-bag that is perfect size for carrying my U, a spare tube, mini pump, and a light jacket.  The SAG bags were also 20% off so it's worth checking out. 

 

  Another thing that was pretty funny was that I tried reaaaally hard to find some cool fixed gear riders, but I couldn't find any until we cruised through Little Tokyo.  I found some hipster kids were riding some keirin frames.  The only thing that bugged me was that when they dispersed and when me and my girl were walking back to our car, we saw one of the guys mounting his Nagasawa on top of his car!  I was like, "What the...!"

  

  What the heck is the point of having nice-ass bikes in the city and not riding them?!"  I do understand that LA is a lot bigger than SF, but to drive around and meet up with your boys to ride seems kind of dumb.  I also found out that riding in LA isn't the easiest task to do either with the lack of many bike lanes.  Here's a couple differences between San Franciscan's and Los Angelians:  people with live in SF either Muni, walk, or bike and people in LA drive, don't walk anywhere, and seldom bike places.  And this is coming from a native from LA who now lives in the bay.  But I digress...Drif LA is really worth checking out despite its small size and few hours of business because of some of their cool Japanese imports.

Yamaguchi san

Koichi Yamaguchi. A name that is regarded as one of the top frame builders in the world. AllYamaguchi bikes are actually built by this one man, which is why they're sooooo expensive. This is a picture of this master at work.


Yamaguchi got his training building frames for the infamous 3Rensho in Japan for mainly riders in the Keirin circuit.
The reason why I bring this guy's name up is because he doesn't live in Japan, but in Colorado! He also instructs a frame building school! How awesome is that?! Even if you're not really into cycling I think it would just be fun to learn how to weld, be able to talk with a legend, and keep something you make. Yep! He let's you keep that frame that you make over the 2 week course.
The course is a bit steep....$2,000. However, when you think about it, his frames retail for about $1,700 sooooo why not drop another 3 bills and learn from the Master himself? Another aspect that this school does not include is room and board for the duration of the class.
If you can save this amount of money and want a coveted bike by everyone on the streets of SF I would check into this awesome deal.
CHECK OUT YAMAGUCHI BIKES @ GOOGLE.

NO LANCE NOOOOOO!

  Lance Armstrong has just broke his collarbone on Monday in the Vuelta de Castilla and Leon race in Spain.  It was reported that during a portion of the race the road narrowed and it seemed that many of the riders were pushing for the front causing wheels crossing and creating a huge spill.  This caused Lance not enough time to react and flew from his bike, which is a result of this unnecessary injury.  We all hope that his healing process is quick and that he's able to hop back onto the saddle soon.  

  I also heard from ESPN News today that this incident is not supposed to affect his running in the Tour de France.  However, it may affect how he places.  He needs race experience to get ready for the Tour de France and this incident does not help, but we've seen Lance do the amazing.  Fight on Lance!

The New Deep V: B43

So, it looks as if the Deep V is searching for a solution to the new favorite H Plus Son rims that are a tall 43 millimeters. Well, I think they've com up with a solution. The B43! Read this...

Velocity: "We are working hard on getting this rim to market. If all goes as planned, they should be readily available this spring. It is called the B43, because it is 43mm tall, making it 1mm taller than our very worthy and formidable competition.

It's hard to compare it to the Deep V. The B43 will be heavier than the Deep V, it's hard to say how much yet.

As for multiple drillings of the B43, we do plan on that, you guys doing tricks have been evolving and you're at the point now where you are doing some rather insane manuevers. We were not thinking of going down to a 28h though. Less spokes is usually indicitive of some one wanting light weight, the B43 will not be light.

It is a work in progress, we have actually received two different batches of extrusion and we are not quite satisfied yet. We are seriously considering modifying the design again and making the B43 wider. Can you imagine a 43mm tall rim by 24mm wide with 48 holes?!?! I'd say that would be just about bullet proof.

We definitely plan on doing a variety of drillings, at least 32h, 36h, and 48h. 650c will happen eventually. A variety of colors too. While they won't be the lightest rim on the planet, they shouldn't be a boat anchor either. The final product should be somewhere between 710 to 730 grams. We could make it lighter, but durability is our main concern.

As for price, it looks like we'll at least be competitive. Making good rims is not a cheap endeavor, sure we could source them out and have them made in China, but that would be selling out in my opinion."