My friend Jack and I ended up doing a little scavenger hunt thrown by another friend, Justin. It involved riding all over lower Manhattan, Williamsburg, and Greenpoint to find random small things — the number of trash cans in Chelsea Market, the sign on a building at Park Row and Mott, etc.
…and Jack and I won! Very exciting.
The trophy:
Jack and I in front of the Manhattan Bridge (sort of.)
The ride:
Great way to spend a beautiful May Saturday.
…while almost winning a stage at the Giro d’Italia.
Interesting article in the BBC on the conflict between folding-bike wielding commuters and their fellow passengers on British Rail.
Passing this one on to someone else… up for auction, my 1992 Eddy Merckx MX Leader. Full set of detailed pictures, available here. Really interesting, really beautiful bike — elliptically shaped Columbus MXL tubing (derived from Columbus MAX specifically for Merckx) with oversized lugs specifically for this tubeset. Eddy Merckx’s top of the line frame from the steel era, and one of the most sought-after Merckxes ever made. It’s a little bit too big for me, and hopefully it’ll find a good home.
I’ve never been to Portland, but have heard enormous amounts about how bike-friendly of a town it is. The Oregonian just ran a two part series on bike fashion — bike wear beyond spandex and Portlanders recommend what to wear. You see a little bit of coverage like that in the NY Times, but not to the same extent.
I recently picked up a new old stock Chub Hub, last manufactured in 2003/2004. The hubs were famous for their appearance (enormous carbon barrels with huge glued-on aluminum flanges) as well as their… well, somewhat spotty QC reputation.
Interestingly enough, a new manufacturer is now reintroducing the Chub. I spoke to Joel at By the Hive about the hub, and he allayed some of my concerns about the formerly spotty quality control (rumors spoke of separating aluminum flanges, bad threads, poor bearings, etc) stating that the new hubs were going to have some significant re-engineering that should reduce the problems with the former hubs. I’m quite anxious to see how the new hubs turn out, to be sure.
Something interesting to learn. Brooks of England will actually repair saddles that have been damaged, and considering the huge increase in price for the titanium railed saddles, this is actually a pretty good value. 45 euro gets you a fresh set of rivets and a new leather cover on your original rails. This is the first antique brown Brooks i’ve owned, and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The box smelled of fresh leather, as well. Pretty cool. You have to love the old-world service — I doubt Specialized would go the same route if your Toupe died.
