Team Lope Tyre Clubbe

Nice collection of photos from #BikeNYC showing Krys in action, over at Joe’s shop.
Very cool!

http://gudphoto.com/bikenyc/2011/04/28/ … omment-538

They pulled Triple Rush after three episodes.
I haven’t even fired up the DVD yet!
Why the FACE.

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2011/04/ … et_she.php

This sweet toy concept involves a kit of parts designed to allow kids to build a bike.
I mean, this would speed up the process of getting Wee Z Shop Assistant-ready…

http://www.wouterscheublin.com/projects … ction-toy/

Lung will remember this, but when i had our first MINI, I was obsessed with the idea of sliding a folder into the back and having it live there permanently, so that anytime I needed to drop the car off for wifebot(tm) and hustle, or even anytime I was stuck in the car for a meeting or whatever and wanted to just pull ove once off the freeway and ride from there…it would be the perfect Secondary Deployment Vehicle… the problem at the time was that none of the folders would fit in the back of the R53. Those that did it would fold a seat down and slide it in tat way, so it’s almost like what’s the point of the folder, other than convenience? It’s heavier than a regular bike, and if you’re going to fold seats down, why not pull wheels off a full size bike?

Later, with the Element, I carried a full size bike upright in there on some of my drives and would park off the freeway and ride from there, and it was wonderful.

Anyway, 9 years after the MINI was released, MINI has unveiled a folder designed to fit the boot of the current gen Cooper and Cooper S (and obviously the larger models.) It’s heavier than it should be, at 24 lbs, and it’s more expensive than I’d like, at roughly $700 EU. But I do like the fact that they at least introduced the product in the first place. A few carmakers in Europe have brought out bikes branded with their crap on it but it’s all luxury brand stuff and has nothing to do with commuting. So this is at least a step in the right direction…

http://new.minimania.com/web/DisplayID/ … ticleV.cfm

In the market for an unusual, severe, and probably painful on the huevos in an accident stem? More so than normal I mean. Here you go!

I love the concepts Livery Design Gruppe churns out… they aren’t always my personal cup of tea, but they tend to rock.

http://www.liverydesigngruppe.com/produ … flush-stem

Team Sigh posted this up and I have to say, of all the details, the tow hook decal is the best of the bunch. More here…

http://teamhype.blogspot.com/2011/03/in … cross.html

Oh hai, book I’m demanding for a future conscriptory-gift-giving-holiday.
And I’m not even BUILDING a road bike right now. Though I know someone who is…

http://urbanvelo.org/the-custom-road-bike/

Well, if we base it on brand awareness…

http://prollyisnotprobably.com/2011/04/ta_do_keirin.php

In this context.

http://trdl.tumblr.com/post/4876338831/ … y-my-motto

i have had a tumultuous relationship with spoke cards over the years. when i first moved to SF in 91 (and actually even before, when i’d spend my summer vacation from school living here with my dad), i noticed a VERY few couriers on bikes with one speed, no brakes, and a bunch of weird postcards stuck into the spokes of their wheels. i figured out the bikes right away, but the cards always eluded me. eventually i found out that they were markings of participation in alleycat races — underground, messenger-only, often track-bike-specific, often DRUNKEN, city races.

smash cut forward to the initial hipsterification of the track bike phenomenon. the neon triSpoke days (and what horrible days they were). as soon as the kids started emulating the couriers, they started making their own spoke cards, too. their cards didn’t mean that they’d participated in anything other than the wholesale hijacking of a sub-sub-culture’s secret language. their cards were … whatever they were, postcards their fucking parents sent them from paris or whatever, who gives a fuck. the cards lost all meaning immediately. the couriers stopped using them ENTIRELY. it was their own way of further identifying the posers (beyond all the obvious ways).

fast forward a bit to today. spoke cards have finally settled back into a normal place in the zeitgeist. some couriers use them again, now back in their rightful place as alleycat participation identifiers. some of us regulars use them, sometimes as our own alleycat identifiers, sometimes as decoration, but never overdone anymore. some organizations even use them now, such as the SFBC’s bike-to-work-day accident checklist spokecard (which is AWESOME), or chrome bags’ critical mass participation sale card. they’ve finally made it past their uncomfortable middleground.

so i finally felt comfortable going for it. over all these years, i’ve used TWO spoke cards, each on separate days, one for the entire day (the aforementioned SFBC BTWD spoke card), and one for a few hours (the also-aforementioned chrome bags’ CM participation sale card). but this one is gonna stay for the duration (however long that is). it’s my hell’s angels san francisco chapter support sticker spoke card. i purchase small gifts from the frisco HA every year in order to support their organization, and the small gifts you’re able to do so with always say something about "support," which, according to the angels, gives you the right to wear/use them because you’ve given money, you’re showing your support, and you’re in no way claiming to BE an angel. so i bought a grip of stickers and stuck two of them back-to-back to make this spoke card.

win!