Take the Long Way Home with the Breadwinner B-Road Special Edition

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Take the Long Way Home with the Breadwinner B-Road Special Edition

The B-Road is Breadwinner’s prized “all-road” bike. Run it with fenders and your road tires, or without and a big, plump, high volume rubber pairing of your choice. To commemorate these capable steeds, Breadwinner is running a pre-order for a special edition B-Road. You can head to Breadwinner to read more or to put a deposit down, and see the frame specs below. This pre-order window is open until October 21, with delivery by Christmas.

2016 NAHBS: Mint Mosaic RS-1 Road

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2016 NAHBS: Mint Mosaic RS-1 Road

Aaron Barcheck and his team at Mosaic never cease to amaze and impress at NAHBS. For them, they don’t need to go over the top on show bikes because their work is just that: over the top. It’s the “every bike is a show bike” mentality. This minty green RS-1 road bike, with painted to match Silca frame pump is for Velo Smith in Chicago.

Leave it On the Road’s 2015 Crush the Coast Charity Ride

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Leave it On the Road’s 2015 Crush the Coast Charity Ride

Leave it On the Road’s 2015 Crush the Coast Charity Ride
Words by Michael Tabtabai

Ride from the heart and anything is possible. In mid October a crew of seven riders departed Portland and headed for San Francisco on a quest to ride bikes, take photos, and raise money to fight cancer. Through the rolling hills of Oregon wine country, down the foggy coast, through the Redwoods and down the golden rollers beyond Mendocino. We were a little nervous about the weather, as this was the time of year where the wind shifts and the rains roll in. But we got lucky – just enough rain and fog to make it interesting and more than enough sun to keep spirits high. To live the life of a cyclist, that is, 100% of your days truly devoted to the sport, the preparation and the recovery, is an awesome thing. And it is even better when you get to help raise over $25k for a great cause – City of Hope. When we arrived in SF three riders continued on to Los Angeles, knocking out nearly 1400 miles in 14 days.

This was the third major Leave It On The Road ride, and we called it #crushthecoast.

My Rusty n Dusty Rat Rod Titanium Firefly Disc All Road

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My Rusty n Dusty Rat Rod Titanium Firefly Disc All Road

Cycling is an experience that should continue to mature overtime. I’m weary of people who stand firm in their ideologies, rest on laurels and refuse to embrace the “new,” especially when it comes to riding bikes. Look, it’s not that hard to have fun. Opinions can change with experience, its normal. Embrace it.

For the past two years, I’ve been planning both financially and functionally for this bike. Something I’d encourage everyone to do with a custom machine. Don’t just jump in head first without doing research and saving your money. The last thing you want to do is to take a financial hit once the final invoice comes in.

You see, I knew I wanted a Firefly. I kind of felt like that brand and my own brand have grown together over the years. When Jamie, Tyler and Kevin started the company, it had a breath of energy, creativity and their final products all expressed experimentation. Those guys can make anyone a dream bike but deciding what kind of bike is a challenge. Part of my apprehension was not only where I felt like cycling’s technology was heading, but where my own riding would be taking me over the next few years.

I Survived the Second Day at 2015 Interbike

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I Survived the Second Day at 2015 Interbike

The second day is usually the busiest at Interbike. After walking the aisles endlessly the previous day, I felt like everything of interest had been seen but alas, there were many more gems to be found. Some of which included:

Industy Nine‘s Match Stick Thru-Axles
Sparse and Bicycle Crumbs lights
Bruce Gordon‘s “All-Road” disc bike
Silca‘s mini pump and saddle bag by Yanco.
Paul Component Engineering‘s new MTB stems

Breadwinner Cycles: B-Road for a Seattle Commute

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Breadwinner Cycles: B-Road for a Seattle Commute

The team at Breadwinner recently built up a B-Road for a customer in Seattle with a decent commute to work. He wanted a commuter bike that was light and capable but also has all the right touches for a custom bike and would make his 15-20 mile trip each day enjoyable. Full Sram CX1 disc with Sugar Wheelworks built Enve rims and topped off with the new Silca Impero frame pump in custom paint to match the frame. Topped off with internally wired generator lights on the front and rear and a Tubus rear rack to help lighten the load.

Check out more photos at the Breadwinner Flickr.

Do I Have to Send it Back Already? the Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer with Gevenalle Shifting

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Do I Have to Send it Back Already? the Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer with Gevenalle Shifting

While we took a look at my own touring bike yesterday, I will say this with confidence: had I ridden the Elephant Bikes National Forest Explorer prior to ordering my Woodville two years ago, I would have drastically changed my views on 650b, disc brakes and trail.

The National Forest Explorer is a low-trail, 650b bike with disc brakes and a decent, not copious amount of tire clearance. These NFE’s are made by Glen Copus in Spokane, WA and pack quite the wallop of versatility in a beautiful, forest service green package. They’re made from lightweight steel for just the amount of liveliness.

Firing Out of the Gate: My Argonaut Cycles Road with Bontrager Aeolus 3 TLR Carbon Clinchers

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Firing Out of the Gate: My Argonaut Cycles Road with Bontrager Aeolus 3 TLR Carbon Clinchers

Apologies for double-dipping in Bontrager today!

It’s been torrentially downpouring for the past few weeks in Austin, which flushes those dirt-obsessed back onto the roadways. My MTBs are gathering dust and yet my Argonaut Cycles road bike has been incredibly happy. Coincidentally, we did a photoshoot here in Texas Hill Country with Bontrager last week, which left me with a set of the new Aeolus 3 TLR wheels to review. So now it’s got a new pump and new shoes to skate around town on.

There’s a lot of made in the USA goodness going on. Check out more below.

Richard Hallett’s Classic Road with Campagnolo Nuovo Record

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Richard Hallett’s Classic Road with Campagnolo Nuovo Record

Richard Hallett is the author of The Bike Deconstructed: A Grand Tour of the Modern Bicycle and part-owner of Sportif Magazine, a new publication in the UK that focuses on, you guessed it, sportif rides. While at the L’Eroica Britannia last weekend, I had the pleasure of both seeing Issue 01 and having the opportunity to shoot Richard’s newest frame, his vintage road.

Laced with Campagnolo Nuovo Record throughout, built with Columbus Zona tubing, Cinelli 1a / CdM bars and a Turbo saddle, this is about as classic Italian as you can get, coming from the UK, anyway. The polished stainless seatstay caps and head badge pop from the classic Gios-inspired paint. All this, topped off with a custom painted Silca pump from the 70’s and rolling on Challenge Strada tires. Sorry, tyres…

For added stiffness, Richard used a bi-lam construction on the bottom bracket (not pictured – you’ll have to figure that one out on your own). Richard’s bike took him across the L’Eroica Britannia 100 mile course with ease, which is partially a testament for his own fitness as a life-long bike racer.

While I enjoyed photographing this bike in the morning sun, as it kissed the Peak District’s green hills and cow pastures, I had even more fun shooting the shit with Richard each night. I’m very impressed with both Sportif Magazine, Richard’s frames and wish both of them the best. Holler at him on Twitter for more information.

Cheers!

Merckx Mondays

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Merckx Mondays

Photos by Marty Wood

It’s not everyday that I get a Merckx Mondays submission featuring a practically NOS Faema Merckx, shot in a studio nonetheless. Todd Schmidt is the owner of this bike and Marty Wood shot the photos. Both of which work at Q in Minneapolis. I met Marty during Frostbike and he said he had a Merckx to share…

Todd picked this up while he was working for Wares’ Cycle in Milwaukee. He was 16 when he started at Wares’ and instantly became overwhelmed with all things cycling. Back then, the heroes had frame companies. Names like DeRosa, Lemond, Colnago, Motta, Moser and of course, Merckx.

Fast forward to modern day. Todd, like many people, still want to relive the days of yore (i.e. the steel age). A random friend sent a note to him about a customer selling this very bike: a 1985 Eddy Merckx Professional made from Columbus SL and it wasn’t some ordinary factory paint, it was in the Faema Team livery.

Below is a rather lengthy description of what Todd did to restore this bike, which I won’t even begin to paraphrase. If you’re looking for a good read and photos, check out more below!