Throw an event in Italy...

...and the owner of Cinelli might just show up and take a ride on your bike. Antonio Colombo at the Urban Velodrome Party in Milano...



From a new blog from Aldone in Italy, The Art of Trackstand.

Cadence Winter

Got a nice package from Dustin @ Cadence yesterday...





Thanks Dustin! It's kind of funny since I've only been hooked up with them for a couple of years, but Cadence has this serious O.G. feel to me now, which is awesome.

Dustin has also released the new winter line, so be sure to check it out @ cadencecollection.com.

Heads up, London...

...you are about to be awesomized.

Bike Polo, NYC style

VIMBY - Bike Polo

Brakeless upgrade

Sylvester from Brakeless in Montreal has completely overhauled his website and did me the great honor of asking me to submit some info for his Brakeless People section. Very cool. A friend of mine from Indy went to Montreal this summer and couldn't stop talking about what a great city it is. He raved about Brakeless as well, though I think it took him a couple days to find where it was located, heh. Montreal is definitely on my list of places I want to ride...

I need this.

My Milwaukee MKE frame is missing paint in several places because my shoes are always rubbing against the tubes. Sounds like this new Gun Kote option that Milwaukee is introducing will be about as bomb proof as you can get...

Hardcore Food Drive race - Seattle

Dec. 6th. Thanks to Ryan from Emerald City Bike Bloc for the heads up.

Lifeact kicks

A few months ago I was contacted by Charlie from London about a shoe company that he was starting. Looks like the first samples are in, and I have to say that they look pretty amazing, definitely a unique look going on. I especially like the ones in the front with the black tongue (or what I can see of them anyway)...



If I find out any more info from Charlie, I'll be sure to post it up.

Villains & Co. December

Preview of what's new from Villains & Co. for December...



Definitely digging the robber in the striped shirt graphic.

Fixed Mag #2

The second issue of Fixed Magazine is coming soon, with our man Keo on the cover and an extended interview that I did with Macaframa's Colby and Colin. Can't wait for this one...



Spotted at Tracko.

Bike Jerks Blog & BSv.3

I have no idea why I didn't already know about this, but Jeff Frame from All-City/Bike Jerks has a good blog going...



You may notice that in this post, Jeff mentions doing a Bootleg Sessions segment. I haven't really talked about BSv.3 yet because we've been kind of getting the riders together over the past few weeks, but now I can say that it is officially on.

Looks like we're going to have a nice mix of old and new riders again this time, and I think some of the new faces will surprise a lot of people. We're getting really excited about how this one is starting to come together...!

You wanna talk BMX?

OK, so I haven't really ridden flat since the end of the "mid-school" era, partly because I became obsessed with the fixed gear thing, and partly because they started making flatland frames so small that I can't even pedal them without hitting my knees on the bars and/or heels on the rear pegs. Not to mention the fact that even if I could pedal them I wouldn't really be able to ride anywhere because the gearing is absurdly small these days, like almost 1:1. Nevertheless, I still have a lot of good friends who ride flatland and I ride with them all the time, and it kinda bugs me that flat gets no love.

Since our fixed blog comrades have all been posting BMX street vids recently (Prolly, TRex), I thought I would throw down what I personally consider to be the best BMX edit I have seen in years, possibly ever...


SEVISUAL EVERYWHERE from adamkun on Vimeo.

Now that, my friends, is flow.

More roots

Ever since I scored this '86 Diamond Back Strike Zone, I've kinda been listening to a lot of stuff that I listened to back in the day while I was riding, including various Def Jam groups like Run DMC and Public Enemy. I gotta say, I miss the days in hip-hop when samples were cheap and DJs could pretty much mix together whatever the hell they wanted. One of my all-time favorite old school cuts is "Beats to the Rhyme" by Run DMC (starts @ about 0:50)...



The main sample for that song comes from "Nautilus" by Bob James (listen at the 3:30 mark)...



Love the way they used that sample. 100% genius. It's too bad that record companies started charging out the ass for the use of samples of their songs, that killed a lot of the creativity in hip-hop, especially for up-and-comers who can't afford to clear a bunch of tracks...

Fixion trailer

The Osaka crew's DVD, called "Fixion" (originally called "Trick Heads") is nearing completion. If this trailer is any indication, it looks like it's going to be incredibly well put together...

W-Base turns 4

The famous W-Base Bicycle Garage in Tokyo is throwing themselves a big birthday party...





Congrats guys!

Urban Velo #10

The new issue of Urban Velo is out. Great stuff as always. You can check it out at urbanvelo.org for free, but I would recommend grabbing a hardcopy if you can. The guys have upgraded from the original 'zine style format to a full-blown magazine format, and they look and feel top notch. Like I've said before, I love the hardcopy...

3 Bancho

Just got the 3 Bancho fitteds Kyoichi sent out for Tony and I. They look fucking sick. Kyoichi is rad. Thanks!

Bug's Eye View

I am unapologetic...

...about my obsession with Adidas Superskate slip-ons. I finally found a shoe that I love that someone actually produces in my size (aka huge), and dammit, I'm gonna grab every pair I possibly can before they stop making them. I've said it before and I'll say it again... these are the PERFECT riding shoes.





Mmmm... suede.

Charge Podcast

Check out the new Charge Bikes podcast featuring Juliet and Ted. This video had a really great vibe to it and made me want to get out on the bike. I'm going riding, later.

http://www.chargebikes.com/video/

Bike Jerks go to work

Minneapolis! This is some serious stuff... the last few clips blew me away!


Bike Jerks Weekend from BikeJerks on Vimeo.

SAG

I woke up to a nice package from SAG this past Saturday. It included a custom color way Delta Force I and a set of double straps. The bag is super comfortable and has a ton of compartments for tools, drinks, headphones or anything you can possibly think of. Thanks Yoshi and Ichigo!

FM Magazine article

There is a great article about the fixed gear phenomenon in this month's FM Magazine. Excellent piece by Tuyet Nguyen, definitely one of the better ones I've read, and I'm not just saying that because I was interviewed for it. Honestly.

The rest of the mag is very good too, and it's free, so if you can get your hands on one, make sure you do so. Support those independent publications, especially when they're supporting us!

Track Bike Times means business

Our man and SF resident Matt Rice has just put his stamp on the internutz with TrackBikeTimes.com. There is a serious edit that you don't want to miss on the front page, and you can expect more to come in the near future...



Image nicked from HKfixed.com.

3BANCHO Caps have dropped!

Make sure you grab one of these while you can, because I guarantee they won't last long. Kyoichi is shipping them overseas, which is great to hear. I think the best way to get one in the event that you don't speak/read Japanese is to contact him directly through his email address, which he has posted on the top lefthand portion of the 3BANCHO blog.

Vapors Magazine #50

Read it for free online here.

Mishka Spetsnaz Jacket

If you ride in the winter and you need some seriously burly outerwear, check this out... you can get 35% off a Mishka Spetsnaz Tech Jacket by entering the discount code GETPITTED on their website...

Last Fall Mishka introduced the Spetsnaz Tech Jacket as an all-purpose, functional jacket against the elements. This Fall we went back to the drawing board to up the ante with the Spetsnaz Mark II, creating a better fit the jacket to the needs of NYC's cycling community! In addition to the already taped seams, the jacket was made waterproof and coated to withstand a whopping 10,000mm of water pressure and treated to not only be wind-proof but also breathable by wicking away sweat your body heat creates. Coupled with undearm arm ventilation zippers, the jacket offers up the perfect comfort control for cyclists plowing through NYC streets. And for those messengering, the jacket features a generous 13" x 10.5" back pouch to safely store any and all important documents that need delivering, while keeping your hands and torso free of a cumbersome bag.

Mosher X Volume

Tom Mosher recently got hooked up by Volume Bikes. Here's his new Cutter...



Congrats, Tom!

More from Texas

This time it's Houston and College Station joining forces...


City Of Crank 3.5 from Blackgoldcycling on Vimeo.

Tokyo Fixed Gear (London) Movie Night

Bootleg Sessions v.2 will be showing @ TFG next Wednesday, Nov. 19th. Intro by Super Ted should be highly entertaining, so if you're in or near London, don't miss it!

Charge = Wow.

This is quite a nice piece of titanium machinery from Charge Bikes...



Don't know if it's true that they're going to give this thing to Super Ted to hammer on, but if so, that's pretty incredible...!

Spotted @ Prolly's.

Tokyo Fixed Gear Pop-Up Shop

Check out the guts of Tokyo Fixed Gear's new shop in London. If you look closely, I believe you can see a few copies of Bootleg Sessions v.2 sitting on the shelves...


TokyoFixedGear Pop Up Shop from Andy Ellis on Vimeo.

Power Cat 2 - San Marcos, TX

What is it with San Marcos, Texas? It's not that big of a town, is it? And yet there always seems to be a crapload of stuff going on down there. Their last alleycat was big, and this one is going to be even bigger. If you're anywhere near there, make sure you don't miss out...

Volume fork

Saw this at TRex... an employee from Volume Bikes posted this on the TrickTrack forum recently...

Hey guys...since we have gotten so much love here on Trick Track, I wanted to show you a fork that will be coming out VERY SOON from us here at Volume. I know some of you have been bummed out the not all of the Cutters have been able to barspin a full 700c wheel (56cm can). So we are coming out with a BMX style fork that will be able to barspin a 700c wheel at all sizes for the Cutters. The legs about 409mm from the crown to the center of the drop out. And if all goes like we plan we will be putting a LIFETIME WARRANTY on the fork as well! So imagine have a Frame & Fork under $400 that is bomb proof.





Been seeing a bit more of this sort of thing recently, and I have it on good authority that there is more to come...

London Bike Style

If you live in London, like bikes, and enjoy having your photo taken for obscure coffee table book projects, then you may want to check this out...

Are you a “Londoner”? Do you own a bike? Do you ride it with style? Do you know someone like this? If so, I´d love to hear from you. ”LondonBikeStyle” is a project by photographer, Marcus Ross, photographing the great and the good of London´s cyclists. If you have an interesting or unusual bike, or you ride you bike with a sense of style and panache, get in touch. ”LondonBikeStyle” will consist of 100 different people with their bikes. I am particularly keen to find a interesting cross-section of people, from all walks of life, with a great age range. ”LondonBikeStyle” will culminate in a book and an exhibition. If you would like to be part of this exciting project, please get in touch with your contact details, and a photograph of you and your bicycle. Likewise, if you know of anyone who you think would be worth photographing for this, I would be very grateful if you could pass on my details. To see some of the project so far, please visit my website. For those on Facebook, you can join the “LondonBikeStyle” group. Thanks very much and I look forward to hearing from you all. - Marcus Ross

Graffiti Alleycat

Our favorite photographer Jose Martinez sent us this photo of Wonka at the Graffiti Alleycat...



More pics coming soon @ Jose's Flickr. The stuff Jose did for Bootlegs was amazing, including of course the cover shot for Bootleg Sessions v.1. We gotta make sure Jose is on hand for some of the filming Luke and Crihs are doing for "Empire"...

Jose, please take that as a hint ;)

Roots

The most amazing thing happened to me recently. In the mid-to-late '80s, I rocked a Mike Dominguez signature Diamond Back Strike Zone. I rode flatland on that thing for 4 or 5 years, and I seriously lived on that bike. Here's a pic of me rolling an elbowglide circa '88 I believe...



Eventually I decided to upgrade and sold this bike, and to this day I feel like it is one of the stupidest things I ever did. I kept almost everything else I had collected from that era, including a Diamond Back team shirt and the Life's a Beach "Bones" cap in the above pic...



...but like a complete idiot, I hadn't saved the most important thing, which was of course the bike. Well, recently I happened to come across a pic of the exact same rig on Flickr, and someone had mentioned in the comments that it was owned by Large Ray of Plywood Hoods fame and that he had been looking to sell it a few months ago. I managed to find his email address through vintagebmx.com and asked if he still had it, and he replied saying he did and that he would send it to me for pretty much peanuts.

Yesterday I came home from work and found this on my doorstep...



It needs to be cleaned up and dialed in a bit, but on the whole it's in amazing condition. No rust on it anywhere. I went out and rode it for about an hour this morning, and I swear to God I still can't wipe the stupid grin off my face...

Mishka holidays line

A new lookbook from Mishka has been posted on their site, detailing their lineup for the 2008 holidays...

Milwaukee Bikes shirts

Milwaukee Bikes, the greatest has a couple of nice new t-shirt flavors in stock now...

3BANCHO lids are on the way...

Kyoichi's 3BANCHO project is about to expand a bit more, this time with the release of the official 3BANCHO cap. The stickers look straight up official, don't they? I love watching an idea develop from the ground up...