pedalhard competition 2.26.11

last saturday i made the trek down to sacramento for the grand opening event of pedalhard's grand opening trick comp. after almost running out of gas from being lost in sac's IDIOTIC GRID (beautiful city, dumb grid), i ended up at southside park... kinda early. after i grabbed my bike off the roof rack, alex blanco (imd), matt montoya, and forest parker rolled up in a van. by then, a couple people were there. among those who showed up were scott horton (wheel talk), john nguyen (wheel talk), anthony "wreckless"combs (the GRIME), dawson phan, jeff chen, jake lanich, kenny arimoto(peninsula fixed gear), sean eagleton (destroy bikes), and kris fay (lockedcog, eighthinch). in a surprise turn of events, michael chacon and jamil gray showed up- apparently they just happed to be in nor cal.


the day started with 2 plastic ramps, a tranny, and a rail. both plastic ramps were destroyed within an hour, and the rail broke during the comp. then 2 rails were brought in, a table was abused, and the greatest ramp ever conceived was made (but i'm getting ahead of myself, you'll see how jank it really was..) brace yourself for a ton of photos... you dont want to miss this, click "read more" already....

pedalhard from a videocamera

(via youchoob)
i'm lagging on my photos because i had a rough night, so those will be up in a while. in the mean time, check out shiloh's overage of the event!

jmik

support the local locals: shortyfatz house frame

(via shortyfatz)
shortyfatz has always been a big supporter of BHSK, and i'm forever a supporter of them. the house frame takes the same famous silhouette you get from the 8 series, but makes it more affordable for the general consumer. plus you have the satisfaction in knowing that the frame was hand made in the us (and better yet, san jose). from the looks of it you only sacrifice the eccentric phil wood bb, as well as the vertical dropouts- still 100% shortyfatz, still 408% original and dope. pre-order at shortyfatz!

jmik

eighthinch butchers are here!

(via eighthinch)
i couldnt save enough dough for me to pre order the butcher, but i definitely will get one eventually. if you pre-ordered, then yours will be out of eighthinch by the end of the day. if you didnt, scoop the frame here and scoop the complete here! honestly, the butcher is built to take a shit ton of abuse and then some AND it come with everything aside from a fork. right out of the box, slap your parts on, chuck your old frame in a dumpster (or on craigslist) and ride off!

jmik

john prolly is a lucky mother...: all-city fixed freestyle

(via prolly)
this dude gets to cover NAHBS from where he's at right now, annd he gets to see the coolest stuff first. since everyone's now tricking in for NAHBS, john get's to meet up with everyone- including jeff from all city. jeff brought with him the upcoming things for all-city like their 48 spline chainwheel and 14 mm hubs (to coinside with their new def wish fixed freestyle frame). wow. just, wow. all-city is gonna hit the pavement hard and run with it. that chainwheel is sick.

now i'm not gonna take anything that john's posting for NAHBS, just go go him for that stuff! why you lookin' at me for? GO!

jmik

media portrayal: iminusd, kiet do the newscaster, and the word "fixie"

i feel like this singles out fixed riding a little too much. after doing some reasearch, i found that it wasnt so much that the bike was brakeless, it was more about the level of experience the rider had. now i'm not condemning channel 5 cbs news (especially since they went to iminusd and talked to jeff and nhan- most newscasters would go to a snobby bike shop what is very anti-fixed), but i feel portrayed ineffeciently. however, the other side was accounted for which was nice. how do you guys feel about what happened?

jmik

METAL: prolly's black metal tee

(via... where else?)
john loves to give me shit because i'm me and because i apparently dont cite anything (sometimes i miss things), but in the end... there'es no in the end, he just gives me shit. ha! regardless of our fictional internetz quarrels, he's got a shirt coming soon which is pretty metal. if you like illegible band typograpahy (and i do), you'll love this shirt. for those of you lucky enough to go to NAHBS, you'll get first dibs. lucky bastards.

jmik

fixcraft pre-cut polo covers

(via fixcraft)
available in 700c and 26", the fixcraft polo covers are a great investment when it comes to hardcourt. unlike last time, they're going to be selling these individually instead of in pairs. this means you can mix and match whatever colors you want. again, they're constructed of corrugated plastic and will be up in their webshop sometime this week. in the meantime, go visit fixcraft!

jmik

nerding out on tubing: all city nature boy zona

(via all-city)
i wonder what tube set was used for this frame build? if you have no clue, and aren't nerd enough, it's columbus zona. sure, i can go on and talk about double butted characteristics and compare it to a tange or reynolds equivalent and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah- but for the sake of you not getting lost in translation, i wont. lets just say this, you can be the shit out of it without worrying about it. and it's light considering it's a steel frame. they cut weight by shaving off the braze ons for the internal cable routing, leaving sleek holes in the top tube (thats what she said), and overall the bike shed half a pound in weight (that's pretty damn impressive).

(via all-city)
unfortunately, they're only making 90 of these. its unfortunate, but it's necessary. i mean the paint job is of something stevil kinevil would worship- and if you dont get that, then you dont get it. out of the 90 made, 70 will make it state side. for more details, check out all-city.

jmik

mission impossible: fixed mag 7

(via FGL)
if you think the picture is cool, wait til you hear the story about how it came to be:

"We tried to get up to the ceiling once before on event night, but security was tight… we made another attempt and we made it. This was a real covert mission, no one saw us get up top and we had experience of what we had to do from the previous day. Sick!

This time we made a harness from some rope and secured Johnny to a post. 20 minutes go by and we are all good. Then some one calls my mobile and says…
'are you up in the ceiling?'
'Erm.. yes'
'Security is on it’s way!'"

sounds intense and a little dangerous.

jmik

jaw dropping: sarah murder's freeman transport

(via pushbike)
i recall one of my first posts on bhsk (when it was still a personal blog) was about a freeman transport and how i just bought a continental tire (which skid through in 20 days). three years later, here i am looking at another freeman transport. however, this particular FT belongs to none other than pushbike's sarah murder. to say this is a solid build is an understatement. this is one of the cleanest, non-overdone builds ever. sram omniums, quintessential chris king headset, brooks bar tape, ladies turbo saddle, nitto ADB-X bars (the fancy cool looking bars with the kinks up top)- i can go on and on and on. this is a clean bike. see more at pushbike, and support your local locals!

jmik

changing the game...of bike polo: burro's custom wheelcovers

(via lancasterbikepolo)
i'm not sure how effective these are since a one would imagine a solid wheel cover being more effective than a one made of cordura and lining, but if the dudes at lcbp say it's "surprisingly solid" then i'll agree with that notion. strapped on with some heavy duty velcro, the covers use tightness in order to deflect balls, and are relatively easy to remove (as opposed to cutting off zip ties) when you want to get all steezy. looks like burro can expand their list of already awesome stuff they make! see them on a bike and the install procedures at LCBP.

jmik

macaframa: matt montoya, colby's exit

that last clip was hard to watch. damn, butt raped by the pastel tigers on san fernando. damnit, i hate seeing familiar places in edits. i want to go home. check out the homie alex eye lazering matt at the end too. it took me a while to see it. it's fitting that this was a short edit from colby who announced on facebook that he will no longer be a part of maca:

"I’m sure no one cares, but, for the record, I wanted to let everyone know that from this day forth, I will no longer be a part of Macaframa in any way. I wish them the best of luck.
I am just going to do my own thing now. I’ll still be around; I’m not leaving the bike world."
-colby

from the community as well as BHSK we wish you the best of luck in whatever you do breh. and though it was a year ago, i still cant thank you enough for collaborating with ted shred and i for macashreda. good luck homie!

jmik

synchronized bmx, the new olympic sport

okay, so it's not an olympic sport, and it has nothing to do with fixed gear bike. however, the new olympic drome is done in jolly ol' eng-land and thus begins the amazingness of the summer olympics (which i'm still angry that they cut some track cycling events). combining synchronized swimming and bmx (which was introduced in the olympics in 2008), looks like logan and kyle are setting up a new sport: synchronized bmx doubles. you dont have to be a fan of bmx to like this, only a fan of having your mind blown. watch it, you'll be amazed- i guarantee that.

jmik

KAOS: santos and brad

(via LDG)
looks like brad and jakob are busy doing some extensive R&D for LDG with the KAOS frame. from what ive heard, brad got a new fork that has somr pretty sharp angles as compared to the traditional bmx style for (you can see it a little above).  no word when the frame will drop, but i do know that it has zero bb drop, can fit gigantic tires, and since jakob and brad are riding it- it wont explode on you. good stuff guys!

jmik

crosstown traffic: macaframa's race and photo exhibition

(via macaframa)
two words: fixed. cross. i'm imagining the fixed freestyle duders with knobby ass tires are going to have a little advantage, but this is all city so you wont know what to expect. this is all in celebration of the new macaframe as well as the launch of a new website (see the snazzy logo?). the race registration starts at 3, and the photo exhibition starts at 7. see maca for more details.

jmik

radical: shortyfatz x hayes x phil wood for NAHBS

(via shortyfatz)
straying away from the usual lowrider and fixed gear frames, my friends at shortyfatz, have made a dirt jumper frame to show off hayes' (not just the brakes, the whole hayes bicycle group company) components. that includes hayes, sunringle, manitou, answer and wheelsmith. not only that, the company down the parking lot (AKA phil wood) also helped by supplying their 47/86 bottom bracket- WOAH WOAH WOAH... are you telling me that there's a friggin phil wood spec BMX bottom bracket on this thing? excuse me while i essplode. if youre going to NAHBS, say hi to the dudes at the hayes booth- this bike will be there.

jmik

the sounds of the bandwagon: skullcandy "world champion" series

(via TFD)
okay maybe the title was a little bit harsh. after a second look at this pack or whatever, i think i change my mind. sure, i've probably gone through 7 or 8 skullcandy cheap ass earphones and i have a negative vibe about them, but i know that their not cheap stuff is good. i'll give it up to them; usually they over-do their designs and such, but this is nice for once. the pack includes 2 earphones (the 50/50 and full metal jacket models if you care),  "agent" headphones, as well as a bag, wallet, and belt. see the footdown to get a closer look.

//edit// the footdown pulled a fast one on me and made these into ads. that was so slick, i'll allow it. buy shit from them. because they're awesome.

jmik

unaptly named: brooks criterion mkI

(via brooks)
oh hey, another overly expensive yet stylish piece of apparel from brooks. okay it has it's function, but i really dont believe anyone who's going to a criterion is going to wear this. however, that's what brooks is- it's a company rooted on classic imagery (which is fine with me because brooks saddles are kinda cool). this footy was taken at bread & butter, a german tradeshow held in berlin, and the bespoke tailor for the piece was timothy everest (apparently THE bespoke tailor). would i wear it? no. would i buy it? no. is it cool? it's brooks.

jmik

everything sounds better with "pro" at the end: chrome kursk pro

think about it, raleigh rush hour... raleigh rush hour pro... fuji track... fuji track pro... chrome kursk... chrome kursk pro... whatever the pro means, it means you can utilize clipless pedals for these sneakers. i reviewed a pair of their regular kursks, and found them to be nothing short of awesome (until a lace got caught in my chainring going 30 mph and destroyed my right shoe :sadface: ). unlike the pair i destroyed, the pros add a full shank plate, and SPD compatibility. looks like they reinforced the ankle so it wont fray, and blacked out the sidewall logo as well. over all it's looking like a really promising shoe.

just wish i can get my destroyed kursks replaced =\ (you hear me chrome?)

jmik

the green wave of valencia street

for some of us, riding a bike means not driving a car. this poses a problem when it comes to lights; most of the time, one would have to mash hard to 25 mile per hour just to hit a bunch of green lights. seems easy for a cyclist who might not carry alot of stuff, but for the commuter that's hard to do. on valencia street in san francisco, the city decided to take the 25 mph wave down to 13 mph. that way, it wont suck to wait at a stoplight and you wont be winded at the end of the line. that, and you wont have the scenario where you get caught up by a red light by going a little to slow. oh, and mission bicycle co. is in this as well (which so happens to be on valencia st.)

jmik

sabotage: wheeltalk x grime

(via slumworm)
i should have never moved from san jose. so many familiar places, so many 3's so many rails, it's crazy. mix in a little mike and ed, and you have the combination set for amazing disaster. that and a sweet intro leg-over skid.

jmik

BFF: make a movie

(via youtube)
bicycle film festival is starting up the collection of 2011 entries, by compilating all the previous film shown at BFF. if you have no idea what your film should be about, check this out. the deadline is april 1, and you can find all the information here!

now go make a movie.

jmik

why dont more of these exist?: whole foods flagship bicycle repair

(via prolly)
this is cool, why arent these everywhere (yeah i know i said that prematurely because the obvious rebuttal is that most of that stuff would end up stolen in a heartbeat where i'm from)? john found this at the whole foods flagship store in austin, and WHY THE HELL DOES CHICO STATE NOT HAVE ONE OF THESE (yeah i know i said that prematurely because the obvious rebuttal is "walk 5 blocks in any direction and there's a bicycle shop.")!? regardless of the realities of what might happen to this stand (like the tire lever snapping, and half the tools breaking within a month) , it would be nice to have one on campus, or everywhere as a matter of fact. see more of this amazing-ness at john's joint!

now it needs a cool cigarette dispenser that dispenses tubes and clif bars or something...

jmik

pedal consumption x seagull bags

(via PC)
pedal consumption has the coolest collabos. dosh wallets, BLAQ hip packs, holdfast straps and now seagull bags. in this collabo, both courier bags and backpacks will be up at the PC webstore soon. seagull has been making bags since 2003, and theyre really heavy duty. wish i knew what size they were though...

jmik

how they did it: Livery Design Gruppe x Hurley

(via ldg)
the time and work livery design gruppe puts into their product really interests me. i'm a nerd, so seeing 3d cad work makes me geek out a little. LDG worked with hurley to create an ld labs aero with the colorway of hurley's kings road boardshorts. normally i'm uninterested in the idea of matching particular pieces of clothing with frame color, but knowing LDG- it'd be cool. you'd be surprised to see when they opted for matte black components to bring out the colors- that's out of the box thinking. see the though process here!

jmik

looks like a bull: colossi tuxedo

(via colossiflickr through PC and prolly)
even though pedalconsumption and prolly jumped on it before me, i still have to talk about this monster. yes, it has a strange shape (and looks wierd to ride), but if you think about it and draw straight tubes in your mind on the bike, you'll find that everything is in the correct place sure the bars look funny, the dropouts a look short, and the seat height is deceiving, but dont you want to strap on a tt helmet and mob down an abandoned street? apparently there's a second bike after this coming from colossi, so i'm strapping myself for that.

jmik

back breaker: jerry's pursuit

(via pristine)
i love pursuit frames as much as the next person, but even i'm saying this is mad. everything is sooo proper (sans the foot straps.. come on.. this thing deserves a little better), but damn... wouldnt you have spine damage and end up paralyzed for 5 minutes after each ride? 650c front, corima disc in the back- who wouldnt risk their bone structure and well being for a ride on this thing?

jmik

full of "meh": bape messenger bag.

(via hypebeast)
not that long ago, one of the biggest and more influential streetwar brands of the early 2000's (i guess that's how you state it) bape sold to a chinese conglomerate for a total sum of (drumroll) 2.8 million dollars. though i was never into bape as much as my peers were, i just want to say that 2.8 mil is not alot of money. that's the cost of 2 houses in the bay area. surprising me this morning was this bape messenger bag. judging by the plastic strap clip, and the general tendencies of bape, this is just a bag that looks cool. cant say it's waterproof, cant say it's functional daily. it's just another streetwear brand accomodating a different market. meh.

jmik

south beach queen: skid and destroy

(via SBC)
south beach queen is a crew a dudes who run the streets of surabaya indonesia. they hold a bunch of events, and are really dedicated to fixed gear riding. i dont know how i ended up on SBC's blog, but i think it had alot to do with this particular picture. it reminds me of motorcycle doughnuts for some reason. this is really awesome looking. be sure to stop by south beach queen and look around.

jmik

king kog x hold fast

(via king kog)
if you dont know who king kog is, then you probably wont nerd out on these as much as i do. based out of brookyln, NY, these dudes are all about fixed gear bikes. plus, i just think their logo is fucking awesome. there will only be a small run of these, so check out king kog for info on getting your hands on these bad boys.

jmik

oooh, fun: lil' phil centric bb

(via philwood)
"The lil Phil Centric is only available for square taper and threads into a standard bottom bracket shell."

yeah, that's all they said. that's it. that's all the information we get. looks promising, especially since eccentric bottom brackets are really interesting to me. the dudes from san jose are coming out with some cool stuff. oh, and thanks for sending out those hub bearings so fast!

jmik

malakye on matt sharkey of chrome

(via malakye)
this may seem uninteresting to most, but matt is the director of marketing for chrome. if you were lucky to get your hands on the "WRENCHED" zine (which is pretty much a guide to san francisco), you might recognize his name as the creator. he's a driving force in chrome, and it's also an interesting read if you want a peek into chrome's insides. here's a little excerpt:

"There are aspects of the bike world right now, namely the fixed-gear or freesytle-fixed world, that are exactly like where skateboarding was in the mid-80s. The older and more refined surf world didn’t know what to make of skateboarding, so skateboarders went and opened their own retail stores instead of waiting for surf to catch-on. Similarly, the much older and more conservative cycling industry hasn’t known what to do about or with the fixed-gear world so people who are into that have created their own scene as well. Their own shops, their own magazines, their own brands, etc. Beyond that isolated example, however, the industries are very similar in their structure in terms of distribution and methodology."


check it out.

jmik

stickers!: eighthinch

(via eighthinch)
i'm a sticker lover. i have a huge envelope full of sticker's i've accumulated over the years, and surprisingly i dont have a stack of eighthinch stickers even though those dudes support me. coming in both the polo logo (hey that rhymes!) and the regular logo, just send a self adressed stamped envelope to eighthinch and they'll fill it up with stickers. get the address here. speaking of eighthinch, i heard that the butcher frames are going to be shipping out really really soon! in the mean time check out eighthinch rider will gibbons pull a quick one:


jmik

HOLY TIRE CLEARANCE BATMAN!: BB17 charmer 700c

(via bb17)
holy crap, remember not too long ago people were just trying to squeeze 32c's on their volume cutters? seen on this BB17 700c model is a 29 x 2.1 (granted, it's on the end of the dropout, and needs to lose a link or two) which is totally not overkill. sure it can lose the .1 so the axle can fit on the dropout better, but why would you? those are hella big ass tires. not sure how i feel about that cutout on the seat tube yet... it looks like alot was cut out from a seat tube. then again... 2.1's man.... see more of the build at bb17.

jmik

todd danger's coffee cat

(via mash)
you think you can drink coffee? you think you can ride your bike? you think you can do both...hella fast? making its first run in the city by the bay, the coffee cat is is simple: five stops. five coffee joints. five cups of scalding hot coffee. winner gets to throw up wherever they want, gets bragging rights, and gets to throw the next coffee cat. oh yeah, there will be prizes and a party too. get your cafe racer on and keep posted on mash to find out details.

jmik

i love big bags: incase courier collection

(via incase)
incase is coming back with the courier collection which includes both the messenger bag and messenger backpack. they both come in 3 colorways and are constructed with 1680D nylon. i know people who swear by incase's quality and i dont doubt them. i dig the celeste/orange colorway too. check out their new alloy collection as well.

jmik

METAL: pentabike patch

(via pentabike)
the pentabike is one of the more enduring symbolisms in the fixed gear world. whether it's spattered with mud and blood at a cross race, or frozen and scarred on a cycle courier's sock- it's just metal as fuck. now along with the muststash secret handlebar stash system, the dudes are coming out with an iron-on patch. knowing that i'm on a patch frenzy after getting my hands on a WRAHW patch, i'm definitely going to get one.

jmik