The Radavist

This project has been in the works for some time now. We’ve already seen New Balance reach out to frame builders in the Boston area, so this shouldn’t be a huge surprise and while many would say the urban cycling “sneaker” has jumped the shark, it’s still exciting to see a brand like New Balance take its approach to a staple in any cyclists’ wardrobe: comfortable sneakers to ride a bike in.

Check out the full press-release below, including models, availability and pricing.

Tyler at Firefly was kind enough to send over some photos from last weekend’s MERCIBOS exhibition by KCE at Firefly. I can’t get over how creative these prints are, especially the ceramic snail design.

See more below!

I’m sure it’s maddening as a viewer of this site being constantly bombarded with high-end, custom bikes on a daily basis. Meanwhile, your apprehension and financial situation has you riding something from [insert big brand here]. Not that there is anything wrong with that. The best bike for you is the one you are able to ride.

In the time I’ve been covering frame building, builders and custom bicycles, I’ve dealt with this internal debate: am I being exclusive here? Custom and production frame building is anything but exclusive, it is however something that requires financial planning. I’m here to break it down for you in what I’m so nonchalantly calling “A Guide to Buying Your First Custom Bicycle”.

Check out more below.

… and someone’s got a new Firefly. That thing better be getting muddy ASAP!

Bottles, bottles, bottles. I have to resist the urge to buy each pair I come across but I might make an exception with these Team Awesome Purist bottles… Thanks to Firefly for the awesome photo!

Nao from Tomii Cycles won’t be at NAHBS this year but that doesn’t mean his work isn’t worthy of the show. His Flickr has been exploding with great photos of even the simplest things like fork ends. Check out more photos at the Tomii Flickr.

Custom, bent titanium chain guard for a titanium singlespeed porteur? That sounds like a show bike if you ask me. Surely, Firefly will be there, right? Nope. Not going to NAHBS. But that’s because they deliver everything from the elegant, modern road to quirky customer requests and document each one like it is a show bike. While the gang won’t be at NAHBS this year, they are moving into new digs in March. Best of luck guys!

If you carve it, they will come (for orders). JP Weigle is a master at what he does. His 650B randonneur conversions and his own frames rival even the top vintage French framebuilders. If he can carve something, he will. It doesn’t matter if it’s his own con denti pedals, or drillium dropout faces, the man will find some way to leave his mark on metal. Like many builders today, JP Weigle documents his work on his Flickr.

I don’t know what sparked this post, I guess I just wanted to make a point that not every framebuilder can make it out to NAHBS but that doesn’t mean they’re not capable of producing show-quality work.

Photo by Justin Keena

The ninth installment of Embrocation cycling journal is now available with contributions from Heather Mcgrath, Justin Keena, Nikita Piautsou-Rehfeldt, Brian Morgan, Zahariz Khuzaimah, Nathaniel Ward, Bert Tosh, Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, e r t z u i ° film,Alessandra Mondolfi, Phil Gale, Tyler Evans, Natalia Boltukhova.

Pick up a copy here!

Details, baby. Details. That’s Firefly‘s forté. The simplicity of an anodizing tint on these bottle cages really set this frameset off.

I think we all know which one I’d rather open up on an empty road. Don’t worry, a full photoset is on the way. I feel like I’ve been putting up too many teasers lately…

Well, I hope you all had a great New Year. I’m assuming most of you are back to work now and probably have some time to kill today during your lunch break so I invite you to check out a year in review. 2011 brought about a lot of traveling for me and like the increase in frequent flier miles, the site’s content continues to rack up. International, cross-continental and bi-coastal travels brought me to shops, events and in front of Beautiful Bicycles.

Check out Prolly is Not Probably’s Year in Review below!

It’s only fitting to post this after the last entry on Firefly. The Boston-area has a rich history in bicycle fabrication. Thanks for sharing Aaron!