Villains & Co. March

Here...!

NAHBS Goldsprints

Went to Goldsprints last night after NAHBS and had a blast. Met tons of new people, all of them awesome. Took a couple of crappy cell phone pics because I don't really know how to use my new phone yet.

On the left is the Tzusing, the "son" in H Plus Son, and on the right is Kyle from Trackosaurusrex.com. I forget the cat's name in the middle because I have the worst memory in the world... sorry man!



This is Shawn Wolf digging in against Garrett Chow of MASH fame during Goldsprints. Garrett won, but I think he eventually lost in the finals to a dood named Mark Alford who was like a human explosion. Not really sure though, because the computer crapped out during their race and I didn't stay long enough to see if they did a rematch.

Milwaukee Orange One

Before everyone goes and gets up in arms as to why I am not riding the MKE S700 prototype let me explain what is going on. The S700 has held up incredibly well so far. It has seen some of the bigger gaps that have been done on fixed gears and even did well in some alleycats; the bike is solid as a rock. However, we have had to make some drastic changes to the small geometry because it is a little bit cumbersome for me to do some tricks on due to the length of the bike.

The next set of small S700s have been shortened up quite a bit. The front end of the bike has been shortened almost 30 mm which will accommodate a larger range of riders and make the front up far more responsive especially with the steep 74.5 HTA. The original prototypes had a very long rear requiring a good bit of muscle to the get the bike off the ground even though it wheelied like a dream. The next round of bikes have a shorter seat stay and steeper seat tube this way we can slam the back wheel in much further. These changes should make the bike jump off the ground on its own accord. I am very excited for the next set of rides and you all should be too.



Keep in mind that Drew at Milwaukee has taken on a daunting task of accommodating a lot of different styles of riding. The first set of prototypes were a very well educated guess, but still require some changes. There are tons of riders testing these bikes from all different disciplines and once this bike hits the streets it is going to make some waves.

I wanted to get back into some techy stuff, that I found difficult on the S700, so Drew set me over an Orange One. Another benefit of riding this bike is that I can compare what I like about the small “traditional” fixed gears to the S700 tank. I hooked this whip up last night.

Frame: Milwaukee Orange One 53cm in Blue Flake
Fork: Milwaukee S700 form w/o brake mounts - You want this fork! It is made to accommodate 700c tires without that ugly gap between the crown and wheel. It makes any stock bike barspinnable.
Stem: Thomson Elite 50mm 0*
Headset: Chris King NoThreadSet
Seatpost: Thomson Setback Silver
Seat: Charge Stool
Bottom Bracket: FSA 48 spline Euro Pro
Cranks: Profile Racing 165mm
Sprocket: Profile 42t Imperial
Pedals: Odyssey Twisted
Straps: MKS Doubles w/ Dimension toe clips
Chain: KMC Kool Chain
Front Wheel: Profile Hub to a Salsa Delgado Cross rim with a 35c Bontrager Galaxy
Rear Wheel: 15t Profile cog on a Profile Fixed/Free Hub to Velocity Deep V's protected by a 32c Bontrager Hardcase

This bike was fun to ride last night. Thanks Drew!

Bootleg Sessions v.3 mini premiere

There's a good chance that we're going to debut one of the parts from the upcoming Bootleg Sessions v.3 vid prior to the start of the Macaframa screening on Saturday night in Indianapolis. It will most likely be Dre's part, which is 100% completely amazing. If you're in town for the NAHBS, make sure you show up at 8 PM sharp!

Milwaukee Zipper Hoodie

Liking this one a lot. I need to hassle those guys into making XXLs. Huge people ride bikes too!

All-City teaser

Coming soon...

Maca-banner

Shawn Wolf sent me this pic of the banner he made for Saturday night...

Don't forget this weekend!

NAHBS + Artbike + Macaframa Premiere = Indianapolis is the place to be!

Open Bicycle

I'm really stoked about the opening of Open Bicycle in Cambridge. My wife is from Boston and we spend a lot of time out there, so it's definitely a place I'm going to hang out at when were in town. We've sponsored an event or two for these guys and they seem really nice and laid back, so I really hope the shop takes off for them. Good luck, gents!


Open Bicycle Opening Soon! from open bicycle on Vimeo.

Profile 48s

Heavy duty...

Milwaukee love

Got a package today...



Gorgeous.

This Pipe Bomb is a Bike

This is on Tracko right now too...

Sticker Causes Memphis Airport Scare



...but I thought I'd add this comic that I ran across that pretty much nails it...



Cops freaking out about TBIAPB stickers on bikes is pretty awesome, but I still think the Boston police shutting the city down over a lite-brite promotional display for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie still takes the cake.

Bootleg Sessions v.3 update

Last week we started going through the first batches of footage that we've received for Bootleg Sessions v.3. So far we've cut the footy for Justin Taylor from San Marcos, TX, and Dre Reyes from Singapore. I can tell you right now that both guys are going to have absolutely killer parts. Justin has really stepped up his game from BSv.2 and is throwing down some incredible stuff, and Dre is going to completely blow minds. I can't even explain how crazy a few of the things he pulls are.

Yesterday I received this in the mail...



Osaka represents! I can't wait to see what these guys have sent to us...

Final MKE S700 specs

After much feedback from the guys who have been testing the new MKE S700 frames, the minds at Milwaukee have hammered out the final details. Check out all of the newly updated geos here.



The new large is now smaller than the large that will be arriving on my doorstep in a couple of days, so I guess I'm now getting an "x-large," which should suit me just fine. Drew from Milwaukee also told me that they liked the green color that I requested, so they're going to make it one of the standard options and call it "Bootleg Green." That's fantastic. Can't wait to see a slew of Bootleg Green Milwaukees hitting the streets in a couple of months...!

Video about Ethan

Last thing I'll post about my friend Ethan... I just feel like more people out there should know what he was all about. He was incredibly nice and extremely laid back, but at the same time was about as hardcore as they come. After spending 9 months doing survival training in the wilderness in Montana, he rode his bike all the way back to Indy. Alone. That's well over 1,000 miles.



Still hard to believe he's gone.

Wonka Killing It

You probably have seen videos of Wonka riding, but that really does no justice for how intense this kid rides.

This pic is ill and I am willing to wager this kid is going faster than most of you will ride in an alleycat.

R.I.P. Ethan Runnels

I just found out that a good friend of mine went missing on Saturday after his canoe capsized in the White River and is now presumed dead. Ethan Runnels worked at my local bike shop and helped me out with a ton of stuff over the past few years. He was truly a unique and amazing guy, and would routinely do the sorts of things that other people talk about doing but never actually do, like move to Montana for 6 months and live completely off the land. He didn't just talk about doing things, he went out and did them, and in that way he was a major inspiration on myself and many others.

I can't even believe how much this sucks. I can't even think of any other way to put it right now. We'll all miss you Ethan...

Mosher does the Hubba Hideout

Wow. Mosher just straight up goes for it.

Medicine for Melancoly in Filmmaker mag

I still want to see this flick. I wonder if it will still be playing anywhere in NYC when I'm out there in April? Probably not...

New Brow: The Rise of Underground Art

This looks like a pretty interesting doc...


New Brow Trailer 1 from New Brow on Vimeo.

3BANCHO MLB logo long sleeves

Our man Kyoichi comes at you again with some new long sleeve 3BANCHO threads...



Check them out here.

Mishka DART New Era

Bears and bikes... gotta love it.

Here.

Juice Magazine

Picked up the latest issue of Juice Magazine a few days ago. It's easily my favorite magazine right now, and the only skate rag I still bother reading. It's full of nothing but in-depth interviews with serious hard-core skaters (mostly tranny guys, which is the era I grew up in) who have been through it all and actually have something interesting to say. No fluff, no hype/bullshit/advertising disguised as content, and no interviews with 16-year-old "pros" who have no clue what the hell is really going on.

If you can find a copy somewhere, grab it.

Velib Test

One of Paris' "Velib" rent-a-bikes gets a serious workout...


TEST VÉLIB CREAM BMX MAG from CREAM BMX MAGAZINE on Vimeo.

I want to open a joint like this...

Seems like London has it all going on right now...


SHOP 14 / TOKYOFIXEDGEAR from TFG on Vimeo.

More Lazy Sundays...

Is that really NYC? In February? Short sleeves? What the hell... I'm freezing my ass off over here!


The Sequence Session [Lazy SNDY] from jmartinez on Vimeo.

Mike Giant in Swindle Magazine

There's a very interesting article about artist/fixed gear enthusiast Mike Giant in the current issue of Swindle Magazine. Fortunately you can read the entire thing here if you don't have access to the hardcopy.




The most interesting part of the article isn't available online, however, so I took a crappy cell pic of it...



It's basically a photo timeline of a typical day in the life of Mike. In case you can't read it, the third square on the fourth row says "Trick riding on Nate's bike." Dood is living the dream...

Here's the back cover...



There's also a good piece about the old Olympic velodrome in Mexico City. Solid issue.

Back to the Comptowns

I've been riding in Adidas Comptowns again recently. As much as I love the Superskate slip-ons, my feet have been killing me with the vulcanized soles, so I had to get a little more protection.



Comptowns are solid as hell, and super comfy too.

Zach/Zlog has some fresh ideas...

I like this one...




Nice work, Zach!

Milwaukee S700 frameset updates

This is a very good sign... the guys at Milwaukee have been tweaking the design of the new S700 frameset after a few weeks of testing. The fact that they are more interested in getting it right than getting it out the door is extremely encouraging. I'm getting more and more excited everyday for that box to show up on my doorstep!

Macaframa Screening during NAHBS!

Shawn Wolf and his crew have organized a screening of Macaframa during NAHBS in Indy. Show starts at 8:00 at the Big Car Gallery in the G.C. Murphy building, located here. If you're going to be in town for that weekend, you definitely want to come out on Saturday night!

What's happening in San Marcos?

This.




Justin Taylor during filming for Bootleg Sessions v.3. Photos by Danny Garcia.

All-City clips

Definitely interested in the plastic doubles... those look like they'd fit my canoes nicely!





More info here.

Time Lapse from J. Martinez

More from our man J. Martinez...!


Lazy Sunday - [timelapse] from jmartinez on Vimeo.

This was shot last weekend. Interesting to watch, especially the bails...

Gnosis

Yesterday I found out that there is this killer new street art gallery/designer toy shop that popped up about two months ago a mere three blocks away from my house... Gnosis. They have a great selection of everything you can imagine... or can't imagine rather. If you're coming to Indy for the NAHBS, this is one of the little gems that you may want to check out...

Big weekend in Seattle

The NBA All-Star game is in Arizona this weekend, but who gives a crap about that? Seattle is the place to be!

2/13 - Future Tense
2/15 - Race of Shame
2/15 - Council of Doom Screening, featuring several bike shorts from NYC's Bike Shorts.

This is impressive

Saw this at HKFixed... the first bit is very creative. Gotta love it when you have an idea for something to try and it works like a charm...


DLM Fixed from erick fletes on Vimeo.

Pretty good commercial

Normally it pisses me off when I have to sit through commercials prior to a movie that I paid to see in the theater, but this one was pretty good...

Milwaukee Takeover

After many emails back and forth, I finally got a hold of the small prototype MKE fixed gear frame. I haven't really had much time to test it out, but the way the bike feels certainly strays from every conventional idea used in manufacturing fixed gears. I'll give a full report in a week or two. One thing for damn sure is that this bike is a tank.


Polished Chris King NoThreadSet
70mm 0* Thomson Stem


Profile Fixed/Fixed Rear Hub
Salsa Delgado Rims
12t Milwaukee Locking / Cog Combo
Charge Masher Interlock Chain
Odyssey Twisted Pedals
Dimension Toe Clips
MKS Double Straps
165mm Profile Race Cranks with my own bolt mod so the cranks don't slip
FSA EuroPro 48 Spline Bottom Bracket
Bontrager Galaxy tires
Cadence Doublizers


Answer Pro Taper 2" rise bars
Thomson Setback Seatpost
We The People Grips and metal bar ends
Charge Bucket Saddle