Fat City Cycles Print Ad
Just had to share this amazing Fat City Cycles Ad I just came across!
Bicycle Charging Station
Just saw this cool gadget charging station over a tuvie. Could be awesome if you want to take your laptop to the park for a nice outdoor work session. Actually I can think of a ton of ways this could be useful! My only advice would be to make it a rear wheel instead of a front wheel. Anyone who has ever used a front disc outdoors will tell you the wind makes it quite hard to go straight, however in my experience a rear disc doesn’t effect the ride too much since most of your weight is on the back and the rear wheel doesn’t steer.
Designer : Jinsik Kim and Bosung Seo
Crazy Bike Designs
Just came across a ton of crazy folding bike designs over at Tuvie. I am not really a big fan of folding bikes but I really enjoy futuristic design and thinking outside of the box. These are my 2 favorites but head over and check them all out.
“Antares Lift is an innovative foldable and space saving bicycle concept that was intended for the cycling lovers and green commuter. This concept bicycle is a step away from the traditional mechanical aesthetic and carries in some organic elements that are found in nature. The design gets the inspiration from the orchid leaf and the outline of a tear drop and some remarkable features includes single-speed drive, rear and front brakes and an integrated set of energy efficient LED tail and headlamps. You can fold the bike by simply lifting up the center frame, let the rear and front wheels roll in near each other and click.”
“The compactable bicycle concept was driven from the need of boosting urban space efficiency when it is not in use or being transported. The wheel is made of six modules, each with double pivot in their joints, allowing the wheel to be folded and become smaller. The spokes of the wheel are contained in the internal structure when you fold the bicycle and the spokes rotate to the system’s center where they attach with the center wheel. This bicycle is designed in a double triangle structure made of expandable modules with foldable ability. To keep the structure in position, the system has utilized a special X shaped component that aligns the modules to the exact position.”
Old School Nostalgia: Before Superb
Before Superb Bicycle there was Boston Bicycle… It’s been over a year since we’ve renovated and forgot that at one point we didn’t have chandeliers. To remind us of our roots, Adult Swim has posted up an episode of Assy Mcgee called “Bikes for Bombs” featuring Boston Bicycle back in the day. You can view the episode here. At 3:52 into the episode you can see a shot of the shop slightly redrawn and renamed “Radical Bike” for copyright purposes I’m sure. They have the rooftop fire escape, fire hydrant and even the crooked fire alarm post down in their exact locations! Comparing the cartoon version, Boston Bicycle, and Superb Bicycle it really takes us back!
Assy Mcgee’s version of Boston Bicycle, “Radical Bike”.
Old: Boston Bicycle.
Current: Superb Bicycle.
If you guys have the time, I would also sit down and watch the whole episode. It’s pretty damn funny even for non cycling enthusiast and also features an Eddy Merckx in the shop that’s accurately drawn. John Prolly did a post on it comparing it with a real Eddy Merckx a while ago.
Leaving Las Vegas
As most of you already know, last week Superb Bicycle sent a small contingent out to Interbike. If you are not familiar with Interbike, it is the largest North American convention for the bicycle industry, and almost every manufacturer of bicycling products is there to show off their new stuff.
Thousands of representatives from bike shops, advocacy groups, and the cycling media from all over North America descend upon the show. There’s lots to do in association with Interbike. You can ride bikes at the Dirt demos, go to bike geek parties, watch the cyclocross races, and race the alleycats.
And then there is Las Vegas. For for the last 12 years Interbike has been held in Las Vegas, but next year the show will move back to Anaheim, where it was held in 1997. I don’t really know that much about Anaheim, other than it’s in the southern-ish part of the concrete jungle that is LA, and that it’s pretty close to the nicest velodrome in the country. Oh, and it’s got Disneyland. But really? Anaheim? Really?
The reaction to the news supposedly has been mixed, but most of the people I asked about it were visibly confused and ultimately dismayed. “But?……..,” they would mutter to themselves, shaking their heads until eventually looking down at their hands as if the answers they were seeking lay somewhere in the lines of their bike grease-encrusted palms.
You see, Vegas has the Strip, which I guess is kind of like a Disneyland, of sorts. The convention center is on the Strip, and most people stay at hotels on the Strip. It’s really easy to never leave the Strip because all your needs can be met on the Strip. You see fascinating things on the Strip. And you meet interesting people on the Strip. I wonder if Anaheim has a Strip?
As showgoers began their journey home the reality of it all started to set in, and many found themselves wondering about the future. “Would Interbike do as well in Anaheim as it has during it’s run in Vegas?” or “Could the struggling Las Vegas economy take another hit from a tradeshow defecting for greener pastures?” And the ever-popular, “When will I ever find a good excuse to go come back to Vegas?”
Interbike was the perfect excuse. Vegas, my Interbike heart will always break for you.
