Kool Guys

Futura 2000

2008-05-26T19:31:00.001-07:00

Not only one of the greatest artists in the world, he's a bike enthusiast. The boys at HAVEN just hooked me up with this Futura bag and lock.

Rick Mercer at the Velodrome

2008-05-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

Bootleg Sessions V.2

2008-05-12T16:46:00.000-07:00

If it's anything like the first one it promises be good.

All Hail Cardiel

2008-05-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

Macaframa Website

2008-04-04T05:49:00.000-07:00

Macaframa just launched their website. It has some decent photos and rider bios. Can't wait for the movie.

http://www.macaframaproductions.com/

New Indoor Velodrome?

2008-04-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

The success or failure of three years of planning for a $30-million indoor velodrome and recreational centre could be known next week when the proposal goes to the city's Community Services Committee of council.

The proposal, part of the city's Argyll Park Master Plan, is to turn the aging outdoor Argyll velodrome, which is usable about four months of the year, into an 102,844-square-foot indoor, multi-sport complex that will include a year-round, world-class-standard cycling track. It has already received the support of the City of Edmonton Community Services

Department and the majority of area residents and stakeholders who attended an open house last fall.

"It's important to understand it's not just the velodrome that's being proposed," said Alex Stieda, a former world-class cyclist and a spokesman for the Argyll Velodrome Association that is behind the proposal. "It's the master plan for Argyll Park, to kind of renew the park. It's not just a cycling track. It's a multi-sport facility ... built to energy conservation standards."

As is the case with all such developments, there are opponents, including the Argyll Community League that will oppose the presentation when it goes to committee Monday morning.

"The community league position is we love it, just not there," said president Mike Leedham. "It should be on an arterial road somewhere. The River Valley Bylaw, the Recreational Facility Master Plan, just about any city policy document you can find that deals with major recreational facilities, say they should be on arterial roads. And it's not even close.

"Other than that, it's a fantastic facility for the city. If we could provide access to the thing, other than having to drive up residential streets, there probably wouldn't be a problem with it."

The community league has suggested the facility be moved further south, to John Fry Park, but Stieda says the current location is the best. The proposal calls for the new facility to be built on the footprint of the existing velodrome that was built for the 1978 Commonwealth Games.

"The location is the key," said Stieda. "Where it is right now is the best location in the city, because of the history, the infrastructure's already there, it's on the River Valley trail system that means ease of access."

Stieda envisions many of the users of the new facility would not drive to it through the residential streets, but would use the River Valley trails to bike or walk or run to it. At least in the summer months.

"One of the great features is you can ride your bike, walk, use whatever human power to get there in a safe way, and then take part in the activity of your choice when you get there. Being accessible on the River Valley trail system is very important."

He said the city did a traffic study and concluded there would likely be about a three-fold increase, but it would be spread out over 12 months of the year, not just the summer months.

One of the keys is the removal of the BMX track that is next to the velodrome. Stieda said it has become so popular it requires a bigger area and more parking that can't be accommodated in the new proposal. That, he said, would seriously reduce vehicle use -- because virtually all BMXers drive to the facility -- and also reduce noise.

The proposal calls for a 250-metre cycling track that would meet the current International Cycling Union standards and would be only the second such track in North America. It would also include a 300-metre running or walking track, a two-storey fitness facility designed for a maximum membership of 750 people, various athletic fields in the cycling track infield suitable for sports such as futsal or rugby, plus facilities for handball, basketball and badminton.

"What drove this is the end-of-life aspect of the outdoor velodrome," said Stieda.

"We realized even three years ago, are we going to spend another million or two to renovate the track again, does that make sense in this environment, with the weather issues? No, it doesn't. If track

cycling is to continue in this kind of harsh environment, it really needs to be covered."

At the open house last September, 241 feedback forms were received by the city, with 157 supporting the proposal as it stands and another 56 supporting it with suggestions. Only 28 opposed the re-development.

A further breakdown showed that of 79 Argyll residents who responded, only 16 opposed the proposal. Of the 111 residents of Argyll, Hazeldean, Avonmore and Ritchie neighbourhoods who responded, only 26 did not support the redevelopment.

The two concerns raised were access and parking. Stieda said that with the removal of the BMX track, the potential for 70 new parking stalls, a new traffic entry off 88th street and restricted on-street parking could actually alleviate some of the traffic problems.

If the proposal gets approval from city council, Stieda said the AVA will be looking for financial support from all levels of government to provide about two-thirds of the required funding with the remaining one-third coming through fundraising efforts.

"If and when we get the go signal, we'll probably give ourselves a year to fundraise to get enough money to begin construction a year from now," he said.

Council Of Doom trailer

2008-03-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Looks like some decent riding. Full-length video out this Summer.

Champ Grips

2008-03-09T14:10:00.000-07:00

I just hooked up some new Champ Grips on my bars. Don't let how thin they are discourage you from getting a pair. They are sweet on the hands and give that minimal look to your bars.

"Bike There" Petition

2008-03-03T16:57:00.000-08:00

Just ran into this on Trackosaurus. Its like the "Drive There" option on Google Maps, but instead it will tell you the bike lanes and paths to get to your destination. It would be a pretty cool feature to play around with for those long rides. Sign the petition to get Google to add this option.

http://www.petitiononline.com/bikether/petition.html

The Newest Bike In The Crew

2008-02-23T15:17:00.000-08:00

My friend Arthur just got in his new Bianchi Pista. Looking pretty dope so far.

We also just went out for a ride this afternoon. It was a little sloppy but it was good to get out. I think we're going to make it a weekly thing so if you want to ride come check us out at Haven.

Macaframa SF 2

2008-02-19T18:06:00.000-08:00

I saw this awhile back and never posted it. I can't wait for this to drop.

Good Enough For The Professor, Good Enough For Me

2008-02-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Bootleg Sessions DVD

2008-02-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

I just got my copy of the new Bootleg Sessions DVD and I'm presently surprised. You've got to hand it to Tom LaMarche, he's taken what you can do on a fixie to the next level. I'd suggest you all check it out.

Newest Member Of The Crew...

2008-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

JC!

It's Finished

2008-01-20T10:44:00.001-08:00

Just bolted on the rear tire and now I'm ready for the winter to end.

Tokyo Scene

2008-01-16T20:52:00.000-08:00

Here is a cool article on the Tokyo Fixed scene from Cog Magazine
www.cogmag.com

Tokyo Pisto Explosion
by Eli Chessen
photos by Andrew DeCoste

Three years ago, it was rare to see another cyclist riding a fixed-gear bike in the streets of Tokyo. In fact, there weren’t many cyclists in the streets at all. In Japan, most people ride simple, cheap, all purpose bikes called “mama-chari” (mama’s bicycles), which are essentially designed for housewives to do errands with. But, almost everyone in Japan has one. There are hundreds of thousands of them, they only cost around a hundred bucks, and are only ridden on sidewalks. Generally, the only bikes you see in the streets in Tokyo are messengers and serious commuters. But, recently Tokyo has experienced a “pisto boom”, which has swept the city swiftly and controversially.

In Japan, track bikes are called ピスト (pisto, pronounced like “peace-toe”). Not so long ago, a few Tokyo messengers and hard-core bike enthusiasts took up riding pisto bikes, in part, because they could easily buy a used frame from a professional Keirin racer for under a hundred bucks. Other cyclists would stare, ask questions, and generally think the pisto riders where crazy. Now, used Japanese Keirin frames have become ridiculously expensive, while giant chain stores like Tokyu Hands have a pisto section where they sell NJS parts and custom Panasonic track frames. In the streets of Tokyo’s hipper neighborhoods, pisto bikes are more common than road bikes or mountain bikes. Just about every fashion or cycling magazine has included at least one article about pisto bikes and pisto fashion. Japanese messenger bag companies, new frame builders, small bike attire companies, and pisto bike shops have popped up left and right.

Ever since The Bicycle Film Festival came to Tokyo in 2006 and the MASH SF rough cut was premiered, Tokyoites have been going nuts for fixed-gear. Suddenly, skateboards were dropped and pisto bikes were built. In less than a year, Tokyo went from having a few handfuls of pisto bikes on the streets to having maybe thousands. And controversy ensued.

What happens when hundreds of inexperienced young men (and a few women) decide to zip around on the streets of one of the world’s busiest cities on bikes with no brakes? People get hurt. A few young men have been very seriously injured in traffic accidents involving brakeless pisto bikes in Tokyo in the last year.
A few giant billboards went up in various places around Tokyo which depicted small groups of smiling, fashionably clad, young Japanese men holding, riding, and doing tricks on pisto bikes with the words “No Brakes, No Problem” (literal translation) across the center. Members of the infamous 2-channel forums quickly barraged the Tokyo police and Nike with phone calls and letters of complaint and, within a few days, the billboards were taken down. 2-ch is possibly the world’s largest web forum and is used by anonymous Japanese citizens to gripe about anything and everything. It has become so large that it seems to be a political power unto itself. 2-ch “haters” as they’ve been dubbed, have been attacking fixed-gear culture in Japan with unnecessary vengeance. After the billboards, most Tokyo messenger companies received anonymous threats, warning them that their messengers were terrorizing the streets, and soon, all messenger companies started requiring their messengers to use brakes. The “haters” used stolen photos from peoples’ flickr.com accounts as “proof” when attacking individual riders, messenger companies, and bike events (the Mixpression alleycat race in particular). It is now possible for anyone to receive a very hefty fine for riding a bike without brakes in Tokyo, and recent alleycat races usually have the added thrill of a group of polite bicycle police rolling up to ask questions.

Several old-school ex-messengers guys say they have stopped riding their fixed-gear bikes all together as a form of protest against the new trendiness of pisto bikes. They uphold the idea that in the hands of experienced, skilled riders brakeless pisto bikes are perfectly safe and efficient, but in the hands of inexperienced riders they are simply very dangerous machines which happen to look really cool. The idea of pisto bikes as fashion accessories disgusts many.

But, a lot of riders have a “the more the merrier” point of view, welcoming as many new riders as they can. Many started riding pisto bikes after reading blogs and magazines and seeing cool guys riding them around town. They often admit to starting to ride for fashion reasons, but soon found that pisto bikes are more than just fashionable. They’re outright liberating.

Tokyo has a kind of loose-knit bike scene. Alleycats, rides, events, and parties have become a regular occurrence; with new , cool, bike shops popping up all over. A few shops that usually have riders hanging out in front of them at night are Punch Cycle in Asakusa and W-BASE and Carnival in Harajuku.
Friday and Saturday nights in Harajuku and Shibuya are prime for fixed-gear sightings. You may see more fixed-gear bikes roll past you in 20 minutes than exist in your entire hometown. There are dozens of pisto crews, which endlessly ride around their local parks practicing tricks all night. And, kids in Tokyo have some seriously nice rides. Imagine your favorite ten bikes around your hometown. Now imagine hundreds of bikes of that quality and style. Kids pump a grip of cash into their whips.

Pisto riders in Tokyo come from all kinds of backgrounds, but a huge percentage of them used to be skaters. Hip Hop and skater style fashions are the norm, as opposed to America’s hipster esthetic. Baggy pants, fitted caps, and skate sneakers. Not tight pants, ripped t-shirts, and trucker hats. But, one fashion accessory is the same. Messenger bags are everywhere. It’s a welcome feeling to be instantly accepted as a fellow rider in Tokyo. No mad-dogging, no pretentiousness, just a friendly nod when you roll past. If you visit Tokyo, you’ll find yourself welcomed and maybe even somewhat idolized (they may think you’re part of MASH).

Crazy

2008-01-14T20:38:00.001-08:00

Another good fixed site to visit:

http://hkfixed.blogspot.com

Bootleg Sessions Promo

2008-01-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

Maybe not the quality filming that Mash had but the riding is suppose to be unreal.

www.bootlegsessions.net

Macaframa SF Promo

2008-01-13T20:31:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd post this because I've watched the Mash DVD so much that I'm hyped on a new one.

New Year

2008-01-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

So with the New Year brings new resolutions. I have somethings in mind but never like to actually set them. I will say though that I'm going to try and ride a lot this year. I'm thinking of organizing some kind of monthly ride along, so if your interested leave me a comment. Not sure of the times and meeting place but think it could be fun.

Have a safe New Year riding everyone.

Brooks Sofa?

2008-01-13T14:55:00.000-08:00

Bike Update

2007-12-29T15:39:00.000-08:00

Just bolted on my new wheel, handle bars, and pedals. Looking better and better each day.

Another Project

2007-12-25T11:38:00.000-08:00

My friend Arthur just picked up this project bum bike. Looks like it needs a bunch of work but should be fun. I'll keep you posted on what goes down.

Mad Bummy

Merry Christmas!!

Damn

2007-12-24T13:48:00.000-08:00

Just got in my new Phil Wood Hub...

and my Aerospoke wheel.

Something to tide me over the Winter

2007-12-23T15:33:00.000-08:00

As we speak, I am awaiting my new parts to build my ultimate fixie.

This is my Surley Steamroller and I'm pretty much just using the frame. Everything else will be replaced.

This is what my bike will look like when all is said and done.

Check out http://www.pedalmafia.com/mafid/mafia_id.html

It's pretty cool. You can make a bike from the ground up, and choose a bunch of crazy parts.

First Post

2007-12-23T15:20:00.001-08:00

Looks like blogs are the new thing to do so I jumped on the bandwagon. I'm going to try and keep record of all things Bike and Skateboard related.

I'll start it off with the Trailer to Mash SF video. If you can somehow get a hold of a copy or download it, it's worth it. I ordered mine from Mash's website.