function and fashion, but mostly function: vans x brooks england

(via brooks)
if you're very close to me then you might know that i'm kind of a self proclaimed sneaker anthropologist. so when this fell on my lap, i lightweight freaked out. brooks has been making amazing fucking saddles for 150 years. vans has been amazing sneakers for 50 years. they came tother with artist (and common vans collaborator) taka hayashi to create a collection celebrating both companies' anniversary. check out the interview here.

jmik

street fighter: cinelli tipo pista

(via citygrounds)
over the time i've been gone, ive seen a ridiculous amount of aluminum frame track bikes over saturate the market. i may sound like our future president, but there's too much crap out there that looks like good stuff but is really not worth the metal it's made from. this is a rant (ooh i see your knees shaking on the idea of jmik going on a loooooong rant about stuff) that i'll get to later on. there are little sure shots out there and you can't go wrong with a cinelli. the tipo pista is a great alternative to the cheap crap out there. with the emergence of criterium track bike racing and folks taking track bikes to the street, the angles of the tipo pista caters to that whole movement with a less extreme and more foregiving track geometry. with a starting price of $1035, it's not the most affordable aluminum street fighter out there, but it's definitely fitting in that middle ground right before full blown track build (especially considering the cinelli x mash runs in the $900's or so). you can get yours out at citygrounds now.

jmik

brap brap brap: racing y raicilla with kyle warner

remember when i reintroduced myself and said there will be some different things that pop of from time to time? this is one of those times. this really is not out of left field, however- kyle and i go back. we actually worked at the same bike shop in chico. his life has gone on an intense journey through the north american enduro tour. he's been with marin bikes for a while and this past year he hung up his attack trail for a hawk hill. for those who don't speak mountain bike, some would consider it a downgrade of sorts, pinning a 120mm platform against the competition that runs 150mm.

and he won that shit. for a third time. it comes to show that it doesn't matter what frame you're on, you can slay it as long as you're a badass. mr. warner is a badass.

jmik

there's other things to life: NAHBS SLC 2017

North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) from NAHBS on Vimeo.

i dropped the ball. the north american handmade bike show was in my backyard (okay... an hour and a half away from me or so but close enough), and i missed it. i went with the destroy fam a few years ago and had a blast, we all crammed in a small motel room and got to see some rad bikes from builders we could actually talk to. now that i'm doing alright now, i want to go out there again. unfortunately it's not gonna be in sacto for a while, but it is going to be in salt lake city, utah. roadtrip anyone? check it.

jmik

home base: a time for reflection SF & NYC by chrome

Chrome Industries - A Time For Reflection SF from Chrome Industries on Vimeo.

Chrome Industries - A Time For Reflection NYC from Chrome Industries on Vimeo.

this is a rad series that's been popping up on the interwebs lately. chrome is a staple in our community and they're highlighting both sides of the country. each spot has their own style and tastes, but the common denominator is the stuff we're riding and the stuff we're hauling. first we got the fam in san francisco- there's way too many people in that to mention. then on the other end of the spectrum we have a core crew in new york; both are big cities, both are wildly entertaining to ride, both have bridges (and both have the home matt reyes, because slum is a hard working motherfucker and defies time and space). the year is ending, and next year might be rough so maybe we should all look back and reflect on the people with us and surroundings that we live in.

oh and watch out for those autonomous uber cars, eh?

jmik

life is too short: FOAD breaks a walmart bike

via FOAD
got some time to spare? the boys from SLC got their hands on the latest and greatest wally-mart can muster, then proceed to put it through the ringer. it's nuts to put into perspective what we all went through when it comes to this fixie stuff- this crap was really hard to come by and now it's being churned out for the masses as cheaply as possible.

life is too short to ride crap bikes.

jmik

allow me to reintroduce myself: BHSK is back.

hey y'all. it's been a while since i've had this thing active and to be honest- i really do not know where to start. some of y'all have some questions so i'll answer a few.

where the hell did you go?
life caught up to me. i did not intend to stop BHSK, but when i did, i ghosted out. juggling work and the blog and life wasn't working out at the time. plus the fixed gear scene in san jose disappeared when iMD closed down- that affected the blog and i a lot. i got a job that i actually use my degree in which stacked on top of my bike sales gig, i changed the way i live to something a little more healthy, and cut out the blog for a while. a long while.

so if you were gone for that long, why come back?
i'm a little more stable, but over the course of the time i was AFK, i noticed a big shift in fixed gear. i want to rant about it. i also miss riding bikes. i've been hanging around proper mountain bikers, roadies and cyclocross dudes for so long, it makes me want to ride a stupid bike. you know, the kind that you and i like.

has anything changed and will anything change for this blog?
fuck no! okay, maybe that's not true. my interests have changed a bit but the main focus will and always will be fixed gear. you might see a sprinkling of enduro or cross stuff or road bike stuff, but that's because that shit is rad. hey, you might like it.

get any new bikes?
first off, i still have my destroy 29er. that thing is my pride and joy. i've added to the fleet a destroy bmx (previously owned by the homie tod), a pake tarck build, a GT sensor full suspension build, and (as of this month) a ghost nivolet EBS ultegra. i still have a sunday model c to build and a REALLY WANT TO BUILD A MONSTERCROSS BIKE.

when will you start?
right fucking now. right now.

jmik.