tag
I saw so many LOW track bikes at the first stage of the 2014 Amgen Tour of California – but only had time to shoot one: Benny’s. Looking at this bike, I could tell this dude takes riding and racing at least somewhat seriously. The setup was dialed.
Turns out, the owner, Benny, races for a BMW development team on the road and works at Mike’s Bikes in SF. He’s also a super nice dude, kinda like his bike, super nice…
A little bit of Salem and a lil bit of freestyle (so rad Dylan!) with a whole lotta hill bombing. This is so sick Mash!
This one’s been sitting on my desktop for about a month, but that doesn’t matter because machines like this are timeless. Check out more photos of this Field Cycles track bike that Crema Cycles had the pleasure of sharing at their Berliner Fahrrad Schau booth below!
I wish I could have squeezed this into my schedule somehow before the ATOC. If you’re in SF, make sure you swing by the Red Bull Ride + Style and don’t miss the Stay Strapped DVD premiere! Check the flier out for that below.
Photo by Kyle Kelley
That has gotta be one of the slickest chainring and crankset combination. The Factory5 Lattice ring and vintage Suntour track. It’s almost like they were designed for each other.
… and this might be one of the best promo videos for the event to date. Check out more information at Red Bull.
Here’s a teaser for a new project from Salt Lake City’s FOAD Fixed entitled Gang Signs.
A group of friends attempted to cross Iceland on fixed gears. All I can think is how awesome all this looks and how much fun it’d be. Granted, type 3 fun… Read more about it at Fix the Iceland. Thanks for sharing this video Kryštof!
The latest issue of Cykeln magazine is now available for free online, featuring the Red Hook Crit, Dosnoventa and more.
State Bicycle Co, Jason Clary and Macaframa, doing what they do best in SF.
I love this ad Soma made to announce their 2014 Rush frameset. Head over to Soma for more information.
Cinelli and Chrome have teamed up to form an elite track crit racing team, with quite the impressive roster.
See more photos below, along with the press release.
Dan Chabanov is one of the first people I knew who transitioned from a cocky bike messenger to a less cocky, more mature professional bike racer. His perspective is unique, especially at the Red Hook Crit, because, you know, he won it a few times.
I reached out to Dan to lead into the Tales from the 2014 Red Hook Crit series here on the Radavist. Below you’ll find his report.
Red Hook Crit Observations from the Ground
Words and photos by Dan Chabanov
It’s amazing how much access you can get to an event when you know pretty much everyone putting it on and you’ve won it three times. Dave Trimble runs a really tight ship so I consider it a special privilege that he lets me get away with running around with my little point and shoot in places where I clearly shouldn’t be.
I have a love/hate relationship with the RHC. I love going and supporting all my friends who are racing. I love taking weird photos of them. I don’t really like having random strangers bugging me in the bathroom about why I’m not racing though. Honestly that question is getting pretty old. I imagine it’s like being a marathon runner who constantly gets questions about why he isn’t running the 1000m or something like that. Maybe that analogy makes no sense but I don’t really have a good answer to that question anyway. Bike racing is supposed to be fun and I’ve had more fun watching the last two years. So let’s just leave it at that.
In that time, this race has gotten pretty crazy, but this year with the downpour it was particularly intense. After a bad crash interrupted the women’s race there was a sense of dread ahead of the mens race. Dave and Al were crazy stressed out and worried. They couldn’t realistically cancel the race but at the same time I know they at least considered it. In the end the race was shortened to 15 laps and a couple hundred people stood out in the rain and cheered.
The RHC has changed a lot in the last four years. In 2010 I got made fun of for bringing a trainer to warm up on. Last Saturday three hundred people showed up with rollers. The field has also grown decisively more international. Thibaud Lhenry’s win on Saturday is the first in Brooklyn by a foreign rider. The field gets deeper every year and at this point I think it’s no longer possible to be successful at the RHC without being full on. For better or for worse this is no longer a race that can be won with a cavalier approach, some track bike experience, and a bunch of fitness.
Los Angeles bike crew Trophy Club take us on a two-wheel adventure (with a few special guests).
Over the years, Tom Kellogg has produced some insane track bikes, most of which go for a steal on eBay, Craigslist and at swaps. These machines have tight clearances, little details, great paint and you’d be hard pressed to find any two of similar breed.
Chris bought this frame off the Boston Craigslist years back. He’s raced it at Red Hook Crit and while it spends a fair amount of time hanging on the wall, sometimes he takes it for a spin into work at Mellow Johnny’s, where he wrenches.
Details include: custom fillet stem, insane seat stay cluster with bi-lam lugs, clearances for a 19mm tire up front, that fork, the clincher Shamals (rear rim was a road Shamal, laced to track Shamal hub) and yeah, that paint!
At a glance, this chop-job might actually appeal to some of you. Hey, it’s got everything you need. Low-riding porteur rack, shifting options, multiple paint finishes, massive tire clearances, rim options, disc brakes (hydro or cable) and a reasonable saddle to bar drop.
Doing this little exercise made me realize one thing: damn, there were a lot of disc brakes at NAHBS this year!
While I enjoy detail photos, the drive side of a bike lets you see so much, especially when it’s shot at a nice and level side profile. You can see clearances, BB drop, overlap, trail and reach.
The drive side photo is the most important portrait you can shoot of a bike, in my opinion anyway… This Gallery breaks it down. Flip through for easy comparison and if you missed any of these photosets, check out the 2014 NAHBS archive.
When the Foot Down first made this graphic, every skater turned track bike rider couldn’t help but crack a huge grin. Fast forward from 2010 to modern times and a lot has changed. Do you still own a track bike? Can you skid? Does your girlfriend even care anymore? Whatever your answer is, swoop up one of these prints, because nostalgia dies hard. Like the Aerospoke fad…
Pick up a print at The Foot Down!
This is by no means the first time a sneaker and bicycle company have worked together on a project, although I do think this capsule collection looks cohesive and clean. Bombtrack was approached by Adidas to design and produce 50 track bikes to coincide with the forthcoming Adidas Street Crew bag line.
These bikes can only be seen in a selected 32 Adidas Flagship Stores throughout Europe and Asia.
Check out more below!