Asking a bit much?: The $10,000 Pogliaghi Tarck

Would you pay anywhere near the asking price on vintage track bike that was rechromed, has re-pro decals and a drilled fork?:

"I am taking no prisoners on this bike. She was built for a purpose and is perhaps THE SINGLE BEST example of her kind in the United States, perhaps The World, today."

'Take no prisoners'? Dude should be put in prison for asking that much, not to mention the rest of the BS he's slangin'!! I mean, yeah, it's pretty but even if the whole thing came out of a box in tantalizing NOS condition, the price would still be totally scoffed at. Shit, not even a NOS matched road and tarck set wouldn't fetch that kind of cash!

I'd be surprised if he got 2gs for that thing.. nnnNEXT!

Asking a bit much?: The $10,000 Pogliaghi Tarck

Calfee / Bernie Mikkelsen Sizer Cycle NOW IN MY SHOP!!!

Holy fucking balls am I ever stoked on having this WICKED fitting machine in the shop!

Larger photos on my flickr page..

It really is something else huh?! So fucking stoked on it!! Thing is so kick ass I don't know where to start..

I'd been looking for a fit machine of some sort for years now. They show up on ebay from time to time but are never cheap, never in good condition, very limited in their function and heavy as fuck making shipping costs a nightmare..

I'd long given up on the notion of getting one until I randomly walked into NYC Velo a little while back and saw it sitting there. I was blown away by it from the start and couldn't believe I'd never noticed it in their shop before, let alone knowing that it even existed. One of the guys came up and asked me if I needed a hand. I told him I was good but if there's any way I could buy the fitting machine I would be all types of stoked. He told me it actually was for sale and I was like WUT..

$1500 bones later and the beast was all mine! I didn't even haggle over the price seeing as how the price new is just north of $3k not including shipping..

I'm pretty good at fitting as is but having this will allow me to take it to the next level. While a lot about fitting has to do with physical measurements, I really like the idea of giving someone the opportunity of to actually FEEL what it'll be like riding their future custom bike..

The other RAD thing is being able to fit stock frames. Let's say you want to get yourself a Bianchi, Colnago or Trek whatever, but you're nervous about the sizing and geometry. Well, all you have to do is go to their site to find the specs on the frame, apply them to the sizer cycle, hop on and see what you think- AMAZING HUH??!!

Something tells me I'll have a lot more visitors stopping by in the near future..

Lots more info about the Calfee Sizer Cycle here..

Also, one last thing:

I mailed in my final payment check to Anvil this morning for my bitchin new jig and various other tools..

STOKED OFF MY ASS!!!

Shop party BBQ fitting sesh coming soon!

Calfee / Bernie Mikkelsen Sizer Cycle NOW IN MY SHOP!!!

Even MORE Tubing!

Got this in a couple weeks ago but only got around to checking it out yesterday:

I won it on ebay from Tony Maietta. He decided to scale down his frame building so he posted a bunch of stuff up for sale. Couldn't resist getting even more tubing in esp for such a great price! Here's the breakdown of what was included:

7 - 68mm x 38mm English Threaded BB Lugless with No Holes

1 - Paragon PF30 BB shell Stainless Steel

1 - 600mm x 36mm Columbus Head Tube

1 - 380mm x 36mm Columbus Head Tube (cut from 600mm tube)

1 - 620mm x 28.6 x 0.50/0.38/0.6 Columbus Spirit Seat Tube

2 - 635mm x 31.7mm x 0.8/0.5 Columbus Life Seat Tube

1 - 560mm x 28.6mm x 0.75/0.4/0.6 Columbus Life Seat Tube

3 - 650mm x 35.0mm x 0.65/0.45/0.65 Columbus Life Down Tube

2 - 570mm x 28.6mm x 0.65/0.4/0.65 Columbus Life Top Tube

1 - 496mm miter to miter Columbus Tear Drop Top Tube

6 - 560mm x 17mm x 0.5 Columbus Life S-Bend Seat Stays

7 - 410mm x 30/16mm x 0.7/0.5 Columbus Life S-Bend Chain Stays

1 - 150mm Paragon InSet Head Tube

3 - 31.7 OD x 27.2 ID Paragon Stainless Steel Seat Tube Top

1 - Complete Columbus Spirit 7 Tube Set: Bi-Oval Down Tube, 28.6 Round Seat Tube, Octagonal Top Tube, Unique Spirit Chain Stays, & Unique Spirit Seat Stays

4 - Strawberry Wishbones

4 - Steel Oval Chain Stays (Non-Columbus)

4 - 28.6 Steel Tubes (Non-Columbus)

3 - 31.7 Steel Tubes (Non-Columbus)

Stoked!!

Even MORE Tubing!

This is pretty awesome..

..if it's real:

Don't know a thing about it yet. Just saw it on the forum. Here's a couple more awesome things while I'm at it:

In other news I got my motorcycle license this past weekend via the MSF course:

Stoked!!

I grabbed that GZ250 in front since it was the only and most powerful bike there. Shit was fun despite the rain the next day..

Super stoked to get out there to practice and put down some serious miles. If any of you guys know of some good deals on motorcycles or have something lying around you don't use anymore be sure to let me know! It's been pretty fun wrenching on my CB but I don't think it'll be done anytime soon. Def want to scoop up something cheap to tool around on soon..

Anyways, sorry things have been slow here lately. Last couple of weeks were my super busy closing weeks in which my mind is turned to mush. Next couple are slow and I have photos of cool shit I'll be posting shortly.. Stay tuned..

This is pretty awesome..

Is it just me..

..or does this guy strike you as the worst kind of cycling twat ever?:

From the designy site I spotted this on:

Bike Building Manifesto by Bertelli

This is the kind of bike you would ride during a bright sunny Sunday in the middle of spring, with your newspaper under your arm, heading to your favorite breakfast bar.

From the bici site:

Bici is the Italian slang for bike/bikes, every Bertelli Bicycle is a unique design object that you won’t find in any store in New York City. Every part is assembled by hand, finished and fine-tuned by me, Francesco. All my bikes are track bikes and fixed gear only (with the exception of some coaster-bike builds) I combine brand new parts with “new old stock” and vintage parts found at flea markets, old bikeshops, collectors and from my trustworthy suppliers. The final result is that you won’t find exactly the same combination in any other bicycle out there. And you bicycle will be unique.

I like (and all my bikes have and will have:)

- No logos and stickers
- Lugged steel
- Skinny tubes
- Quell stems
- Vintage cranksets
- Track geometry (listed where?)
- Leather & wood
- Unusual handlebars
- Chrome Forks

I do not like (and it is unlikely you will see on my builds:)

- Visible logos & stickers
- Threadless fork
- Clamp stam
- Visible welds
- MTB Handlebars
- Sponge grips
- Fake leather saddles
- Machined rims
- Flip-flop wheels

My favorite is this quote:

"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailleur? We are getting soft…As for me, give me a fixed gear!"

—  Henri Desgrange, L’Équipe article of 1902

I'm totally for old irrelevant quotes and all, but I mean, come on already. That was when derailleurs were still NEW. I'm sure if you were to put Henri D on a Sram Red equipped Carbone with some blacktop under the deep dish wheels, he would have a completely different opinion altogether.. 

I just have a really hard time dealing with some of these labels out there who cater to only one specific type of person. By type I mean these well off nuovo hipster yuppie pseudo intellectual urbanites that are no less singular minded than the counterparts they fled post-haste from which ever fly over state in they originated from. The type that are drawn towards, and for all intensive purposes, are suckered into buying stupid shit like that. It's as if their montra is: I know the look I like is amazing because what I like has a look that lots of other people like the look of. Huh?! Seriously?!! Fucking ug and more ug..

If you're still unsure of the type I'm talking about, look no further:

If watching that doesn't make you want to puke there's something very, very wrong with you. I for one am looking forward to the moment I can share a knuckle sandwich with the first terd I see wearing that stupid fucking thing in public..

Anyways, back to the original cycling bitchfest..

As for the bikes themselves, they have this initial veneer of being pretty and somewhat well thought out. Until you look at them for more than a second to appreciate the details, or lack there of. Believe me, I'm all for simplicity and minimalism. Though the thing about minimalism is that unless it's pulled off exceptionally well:

IT'S

FUCKING

BOOORRRRRING

Like, wow, REALLY fucking boring!

The bikes are essentially like a Linus, only slightly nicer without the Linus decal. It's as if you were to buy a linus and throw some different bars and saddle on it. Oh wait, that is essentially what he did!

OOOOOWWWUUUHHHOOO! 

ZO AMAZING!

ZO ZIMPLE!

ZO YOUNEEK!

ZO ZTYLISH!

Give me a fucking break already with that znoring BS!!

It's obvious this guy is using stock sized imported shit frames and parts, slapping them together with some vintage parts and charging stupid shit bastards double what he pays. It's brilliant in that he's taking advantage of the inexhaustible supply of lame brained assholes NYC and the world has to offer. Lord knows if he was building them himself, or if built in 'merica, there would be this non ending drone of carrot waxing rederick about how uniquely artisan he is at building bicycle frames. I know because that's how I feel when I make whatever bat shit crazy bike I put together. It's called being stoked on something you built with your own two hands. The emphasis on built pertains to his attempt at selling the notion of 'hand assembled' as if he has some specially acquired skill that mere mortals are unable to aquire. Regardless, there isn't even a remotely good reason for it to be made into something of altruistic grandeur..

At a starting price of $1500 I would expect some ACTUAL altruistic graneur as opposed to a bunch of superfluous minimalist design drivel. For instance, at no point does he make a single mention of ride quality. Gee, I wonder why? Could it be that the frames teamed with mostly no frills overseas parts and a few vintage ones just doesn't ride quite as nicely as the overwhelming minimalist design has to offer visually? Oh but wait, I'm getting ahead of myself here. It's not about all that because riding to your local breakfast bar with your paper under your arm isn't about ride quality. It's about looking like you're some hot shit sophisticated looking mother fucker. Great. Just completely abscond from the notion of what the true core of cycling is. Utility..

Here's the bottom line. Go to a Linus dealer. Spend $500. Look around on ebay for a used Brooks saddle and neat stem. Spend at most $200. Go back to bike shop and have them assemble it for you. Tops you're looking at $850. Grab your paper and fuck off into the sunset..

Better still, give ME $1500 and I'll hook you up with an ACTUAL unique kick ass kooky custom frame. My beta frames tester list has been steadily growing BTW. I need to cut that shit off thos cause there's only so many free frames I can build for people to test for me..

Anyways, it's almost 2am and I'm fucking tired of sitting at work. It certainly is worth my while in the end when I receive my overtime check, but damn if it isn't a bear dealing with this shit while it's happening!

I'll leave you mofos with my favorite new model I discovered:

Amazon Eve measuring in at 6' foot fucking 8"!:

 

Check out the video at the bottom of the page too- it's fucking mmmmMENTAL!

God fucking damn what I wouldn't do to climb all over that tall drink-a-water. That and get into a proper brawl with her. No shame in losing to that one that's for sure!

Is it just me..

FYI: The Legend of Korra is just as awesome as you had hoped!

For those of you who were fans of Nickelodeons cartoon series- Avatar: The Last Airbender, should be super fucking stoked because I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that The Legend of Korra is fucking awesome!

I could tell from the trailer that the creators were def stepping it up with the quality of the animation but man, after watching the first two episodes I can tell you that the storyline is executed just as well!

I'm not really going to go more in depth, other than saying that I'm super stoked on it, because it's wicked nerdy enough that I'm posting anything about it at all..

Here's the torrent file for both episodes in one hi-res file- Enjoy!

FYI: The Legend of Korra is just as awesome as you had hoped!

BMX bike converted into a Turntable??

My initial thought on this was something along the lines of- 'Oh god damn to I can't stand the whole over glorification of DJing these days'. But I have to admit that while I'm not in particularly into that whole scene, they certainly do deserve credit for A: Actually doing something and B: That thing being a pretty original thought..

For those of you who are unaware, we really need a lot more of A and B in the world right now. A little more substance would be nice but I'll take what I can get..

BMX bike converted into a Turntable??

One of my favorite people in this Town..

..talking about one of my favorite shops in town:

One of my favorite people in this Town..

Blogger is dead, isn't it..?

This is a trend I've been noticing over the last year or so with other blogging sites/hosts becoming more and more popular. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what to do. Should I switch to another more popular and user friendly site? Stick around here, hope google gets their shit together and updates blogger..?

With other sites like Tumblr, Wordpress and VIRB offering a lot more features along with allowing you to have a more professional look for next to nothing cost wise, it seems like a no brainer right?

VIRB is really great and offers up A LOT of creative control and sleek professional looks. Which would be a great site to showcase my photography and any future bike building stuff. From VIRB, you can link your Tumblr blog. Which is great and all but I kind of have this love hate relationship with Tumblr. It seems to have gotten better over the years tho. Wordpress seems like the a good choice as well although there's something about it that bothers me as well..

Then it begs the question: Which site of what's out there do you guys prefer and or think is my best bet if I were to switch? Or should I skip the idea altogether and hang back here on Blogger?

I added a new poll on the sidebar since none of you mofoz ever comment here anymore. Let me know what you think there! If you have any other suggestions be sure and let me know via comment/email..

Blogger is dead, isn't it..?

The BFF is coming!

Extended deadline for submissions is April 21

(Same weekend I'll be taking the local MSF course)

More info on the BFF here..

The BFF is coming!

Vintage 1988 Schwinn Prologue Lo Pro frame and more 24" wheel madness!

While I've told myself not to buy any new frames, outside of holy grail and dirt mufuckin' cheap ass ones, I couldn't help but swoop this one up:

LOVE those super skinny vertical Schwinn Logos F+R!

Now you might be thinking, what in fuck's name are you going to do with that thing?!

Well, I mostly got it cause it was A) cheap as hell and B) I wanted the rim to match one I already have:

Awesome..

I also wanted to check out the geo on the frame and fork since I was thinking about screwing around with a 24" wheeled frame of my own. It's been my list of kooky contraptions ever since I regretably passed on the Zinn TT bike a while back..

I also picked up 3, 24" Saavedra Turbo rims. 2 with tubulars in NOS condition and one in good used cond:

Also wicked cheap. 

UNLIKE THE SET OF THE EXACTA SAME RIMS IN 700C, 36H AND NOS CONDITION THAT I ALSO HAVE ROSS..

In case you're wondering, here's what a 24" wheel looks like next to a standard 700c:

..and what the bike looks like sitting on wheels:

If that doesn't give you a clear indication as to why these style bikes were reffered to as funny bikes, nothing will. Shit is cray-cray!

Here's a snap of one with a more original style set up:

..aaaand what I expect it'll look like once the next owner gets his or her hands on it:

So reddic but pretty awesome in a so bad it cancels itself out and becomes awesome again way, hehe. 

Best part is that the frame and fork are in really lovely NEAR MINT condition! This guy is def going back up on the bay, with the used Saavedra rim, once I've completed my analyzation of it..

Larger snaps up on my Flickr page..

You can find lots more info and photos on Lo Pro Cycling Club

Vintage 1988 Schwinn Prologue Lo Pro frame and more 24" wheel madness!