Search Term – Change
When this frame popped up on Craigslist here in Austin, I crossed my fingers that it would be my size. Alas, it was way too small, but luckily, Chris picked it up. Last year, it was set up as a singlespeed, but this year, he’s got it nicely equipped for a bit of trail smashing and racing. What’s not to love about a pink bike? Especially one with a bit of style. Purple Chris King? Check… See more in the Gallery!
When Ian at Icarus moved to Austin, Texas, I don’t think he anticipated working on this many local frames. Or that Chris would put down two deposits at once: a lightweight road bike and a fendered, touring / commuter. This is the first out of the queue, a modern, steel road bike with a matte paintjob and a few clean details. Nothing extravagant, but also nothing simple.
Chris is a father and he works full time, so riding is always a last minute, unplanned endeavor. He was looking for a little inspiration to sneak in an hour or two when he could and Ian built him just that. With a Zipp cockpit, seatpost, Chris King R45 to HED Belgium, Fizik Kurve saddle, Campy Chorus 11 speed and King Cage bottle cages, it’s up there in the “dream bike” category…
The newest from Chrome features one of my favorite photographers in cycling, Chris Milliman:
“Chris Milliman has been taking pictures since he was a kid. He’s been riding a bike a little bit longer. Chris is lucky enough to do both for a living. He’s captured some of the most epic cycling moments around the world. From Cyclocross Nationals, to the Tour de France, to the streets of NYC and Chicago, Chris captures the essence of cycling in every shot he takes.
This season’s Limited Edition Artist Series features four of Chris’ iconic photographs: A local cyclocross race around an old castle in Belgium, the iconic industrial bridge structures overlooking the bike lanes of Chicago, a locals only watering hole of the same windy city, and the organized chaos of a bike shop. The inside of each bag includes an exclusive woven patch that references old school photo processing.
The Chrome Artist Series celebrates photographers, graphic designers, screen printers, and painters who inspire us. These collaborations are built in limited quantities and once they’re gone, they’re gone.
The four Milliman Artist Photo Citizens include:
Zonnebeke (brwn/red), Chicago Steel (brnw/yellow), Locals Only (brwn/green), and Shop Rat (brwn/blue)“
See more at Chrome.
It’s hard to deny the impact that the original Ritchey Swiss Cross had on American cyclocross. Any cycling history buff will note Thomas Frischknecht’s many victories in the early 90’s while riding the original, so it had to be a perfect choice for Ritchey to re-introduce the mighty red machine for 2012. Having only seen the bike at Interbike, I was stoked to hear Chris’ choice in picking one up when he wrecked his previous cross bike. Built with mostly matching Ritchey components, this build turned out perfect. Last Sunday, after a Walnut Creek singletrack session, I got some photos of this race-ready machine.
Some of my favorite details are the integrated head tube and that wicked cable routing at the seat tube cluster. Check out more in the Gallery.
I haven’t posted about Independent Fabrication in some time now but their latest blog entry beckoned for some circulation. At first, when I heard Chris Chance was at last year’s NAHBS, I thought it was a rumor but after several sources confirmed, after the fact, I’m pretty bummed I didn’t get to at least shake his hand. At the IF booth, Chris engaged in a discussion with the ex-Somerville builders. What did they talk about? Mountain bikes, naturally. As a starting point for discourse, IF presents the latest project of theirs, Deluxe :: Redux. Hit the link for more!
Onto my second point: where the hell do I get a purple Sotto Voce King?
If you’ve been following this blog for any extended period of time, you’ll know how much I absolutely love the late Mike Mulholland’s work. There was just something so idiosyncratic, yet classic about his style and how could you overlook that head badge? While I’ve never owned a Cyclops, I once found myself in a eBay bidding war on an old t-shirt, respectfully bowing out at $100… A few months ago, Mike from MASH listed up this frame. After realizing it was way too small for me, I posted about it and a friend here in Austin scooped it up.
Chris took his time with this build. He wanted a modern road group, so he chose SRAM Red, mixed with Ciamillo Cycling Zero Gravity calipers. He even learned how to lace up wheels, selecting Chris King R45 hubs to HED Belgiums. There are a few off details with the bike as photographed here which I’ll go ahead and point out. Yes, the Thomson post is backwards and so is the front wheel. But don’t let those distract you from the double wishbone seat stays!
Click on the above photo to launch the gallery, or here to open in a new tab.
My buddy Chris just completed this build and since I can’t really post portrait-oriented photos in the galleries, I figured I’d give this one some love on its own. Expect the full set tomorrow…
So… you think you’re fast? Start at the 4 minute mark to see Chris Hoy eat everyone alive. Damn.
Chris Piascik has a tee design in the new Odyssey BMX line. Check his and the others out here. Looking good man!
Chris Fonseca announced that this will be his last fixed freestyle video. The footage is a bit old but it’s worth the watch to see Boothby, Santos and even Torey ride NYC. Some of Josh’s lines are fucking dialed. I love the Williamsburg bridge plaza clips.
It’s a rainy day here in Austin, which has me browsing the internet more than usual. I just came across this post on Chris’ Tumblr, linking to an Art Battle LA contest. Head over right now and vote for Chris! It only takes a second.
Ian at Icarus is a man of many talents. When you are a master at fillet brazing, making the switch from small-diameter, vintage-inspired bikes to modern, lightweight race machines is easy. When Chris hit up Ian about building him a race bike for the 2011 Philly Bike Expo, he had one thing in mind: performance. After selecting the right tubeset, the bike was under way. This thing is 16lbs complete, has some of the smoothest fillets and sports one bitchin’ paint job.
Check out more from Ian from Icarus’ 2011 Philly Bike Expo road bike for Chris below!
I’ve been watching this video for a full day now and have decided that although some of the moves are a bit sketchy, it’s one of the more creative fixed freestyle videos in recent weeks. A lot of the skid and slide tricks can be utilized in everyday riding and no one really seems to pick up on it. When I think of fixed freestyle skid riding, I think of Matt Spencer’s tire slides and skid stair gaps, Torey’s edgers, Wonka’s whip to half cab and Tom’s massive tire slides. Aside from the peg tricks, this is how I like to mess around on the fixed gear. Solid video dude! More skids please.
I’ve got a few things I’ve been working on that hopefully I’ll be able to pull into a new edit soon!
Photo by Keith Teket
Leave it to the Bmore Fixed crew to session a single spot all day and it’s not necessarily a great spot either. Keith, Sam, Christina and the Bmore Fixed crew spent their Sunday shredding Applebaum Alley where Christina got some levitator pedal grinds. Pretty freaking sick! Check out more here.
Remember Mac’s Chris Chance Pista I posted a little while ago? Well, Mac recently acquired another one and this one’s got quite the back-story:
“This pink Chance is a bit of cycling history. When Chris Chance started making mountainbikes in the eighties under the name “Fat Chance”, this frame was kept somewhere in the workshop. It was used at a certain point to try a new paint and left and forgotten. That is, until Ron from King Cage (an ex-Fat Chance worker) asked if he could have the frame. Chris agreed and Ron applied the high gloss pink coat, as well as the last set of Chris Chance decals around. The fork was rubbed on the left side and was touched up with fluorescent orange and yellow. I recently obtained the frame and built it up with a NOS Superbe Pro 7-speed group, Mavic MA4 tubeless wheels, Vittoria tubulars, Modolo Speedy front end, Selle Italia Superleggere seat and Look World ARC pedals (matching world cup stripes on the rear).”
Man, that’s one hell of a bike. Check out more photos at Mac Spikes’ Flickr.
Previously:
Beautiful Bicycle: Mac Spikes’ Chris Chance Pista
Chris Bishop in 35mm
One of my favorite framebuilders is Chris Bishop and this weekend, unlike previous events, I actually got to spend some time with Chris. While I really wanted to interview him while we sat at Whole Foods drinking a bottle of Tripel Karmeleit, I figured he was probably enjoying the afternoon and didn’t want to bother him with it. When we did chat, it was mostly about his years as a messenger (he actually still messengers in Bmore every day) and how much he loves to ride a track bike in Manhattan.
Columbus MS in 35mm
Then I came across this interview on Embrocation the other day and I was glad that someone caught Chris’ stories on tape. Here’s an excerpt:
“Chris clearly thinks that a track bike is the best for city riding. “Manhattan is great for a track bike; that’s traffic slalom all day long.” I have to agree that, especially in bad conditions like rain, snow, and ice, a fixed gear is much more communicative than a bike with a freewheel and brakes—“like driving a stick instead of an auto.” But what about the steep angles and incredibly narrow wheelbase? He described a method of changing a line in which he “pops” the entire bike from one course to another—it reminded me somewhat of the kind of thing one might do on a pump track. “
Man. Is he ever right! In fact, I’m going to go tear through Manhattan now on my Merckx Pista. Read the rest of Chris’ interview on Embrocation here. I added a few more photos from my Recent Roll to the NAHBS in 35mm Flickr set.
Maybe you recall a man by the name Christopher Robin that I’d posted about before? During the long winter months, he spends his free time making bicycles in what most would consider sub-standard conditions using implemented tools and techniques. For his latest endeavor, he decided to construct a replica of Graham Obree‘s hour-record breaking track bike. In a word, the outcome is immaculate!
You have to check out the rest of the photos and a video below. It’s insane!
Christian and I have been chatting about his new edit and last night, he emailed it to me. I think it’s pretty freaking solid and on par with my kinda riding. What do you think?
