The Radavist

Scott Chapin and Steve Peat take to the hills of Yorkshire, England during a mid-winter storm on the new Santa Cruz Stigmata cross…

Where do I eat? What’s the weather going to be like? Where can I ride? Where’s a good bar? What shop can I ship my bike to?

See the full spread below.

Here’s a video recap of the 2014 Bespoked. It’s great to see some familiar faces in there and I’m so stoked that Winter won best track bike!

Straight from the Speedbloggen:

“Army green has been one of Speedvagen’s core colors for, well, since the very first prototype I made back in 2006. I love the the icon of militarism and the toughness that the color represents juxtaposed by the goofiness of racing your brains out and crashing cross bikes in the mud with your friends. I’ve wanted to do an army green kit for a long time but as I started to dig into the design I was conflicted: On the one hand, you have all of this space that you can fill with words and logos; get all bilboarded up, right? But I kept coming back to the idea of a uniform. A uniform is clean, crisp, balanced, minimal. This kit doesn’t need a lot of shit on it to get noticed in the peloton and for that matter, the more I put on it, the less it really says.

We wanted to offer  something special to our Speedvagen family and friends. Offering the team kit up for you all seemed like just the way to do that. We’ll be taking orders for two weeks only and we won’t be keeping any back stock. This means that only a handful of you will have the kit, well, you and our 6 team members. We’re planning to offer a fall/winter kit too, something a little warmer for cross and getting in base miles.

The jacket and vest, originally designed by Jeremy Dunn (of Embrocation fame) are an abstract design in our signature blue, army green, and red with an explosion of Speedvagen text and sheilds. The answer to the abstract outer layers is the strictly business base kit in army green with color bands as punctuation on the sleeves, legs, and collar with Speedvagen shields enblazoned on the chest, back, and legs. We also have a new Team cap that you can add to your order.

Castelli makes some of the best apparel available and has for over 100 years. Plus they’re right down the road from us, so it only makes sense that we work with them for our racing gear. All of the clothing is made here in the Northwest and the items we’ve selected for you are the top of the line of what Castelli has to offer. Wear them well. To place an order please visit the order page.

If you have any questions drop us a line: customerservice@vanillabicycles.com”

Check out more photos of the kit at the Speedbloggen.

As winter approaches here in the States, Australia braces for summer. Who better to ring in the warmth than FYXO?

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!

Some of you may remember Open Bicycle, a small shop that opened in Union Square, Somerville a few years back. After Open closed its doors, co-owner Joshua Kampa opened up Arc En Ciel around the corner. Specializing in custom personalized bicycle repair, complete builds and consultation services, Arc En Ciel is your go-to source in the greater Boston area for building up your vintage ride. I swung through the shop last week to shoot photos and I ended up hanging out with Joshua and the guys while we talked bikes and drank beer for a few hours.

Check out more photos from my Shop Visit to Arc En Ciel Bicycle Studio below!

Photo by Kyle Kelley

Photo by Kyle Kelley

Tracko had a bit of a wreck last week while on a group ride. He’s ok after a short stay in the hospital with a concussion and a stretched ligament in his left shoulder. At any rate, Kyle’s got some great recon up from the 2011 San Diego Custom Bicycle Show and these two photos were my favorite. Winter makes some lovely steel bicycles and Calfee always delivers!

Check out more here at the Tracko is Not Probably Flickr.

Another shop that’s been a staple in my life here in NYC over the years is NYC Velo. Andrew and the guys do a great job in catering to the neighborhood commuters, PRO racers and the younger, hip crowd. NYC Velo has a great collection of interestingness, spanning the ages of cycling. From Fat Chances, to Richard Sachs cross bikes and Eddy Merckx 7-Eleven frames, the shop is littered with Beautiful Bicycles.

Check out more photos from my Farewell NYC Shop Visit to NYC Velo below!

Coming back to NYC for the first time since December has been an interesting experience on many levels. I always think it’s funny how frequently people go through new bicycles here. I’m not sure if it’s some nervous twitch or just the thrill of the hunt, but everyone’s always got a new bike. While I was visiting the Outlier showroom yesterday, I snapped a few photos of Maurice’s Serotta road bike.

Check out more photos below!

So stoked for the Kinfolk crew. I got to see this space and talk with Maceo and Ryan about it when they first signed the lease. Unfortunately, I wasn’t about to help them out with it since I was moving to Austin for the winter but it looks like they got it all situated!

This just in from the Kinfolk wire:

“As you may or may not know, Kinfolk is in the process of building our new studio in Brooklyn. For those who haven’t seen it yet, it’s an awesome space, and we have lot of great things planned for the property later this year, including the NY branch of the Kinfolk Bar & Lounge. It’s a big project, and a huge calling, but one we’re very excited about. In the meantime, we’re doing our best to open the doors to the public by March 1st.

We could use a little help from our friends to make this happen. It’s been a long and brutal winter, and it’s time we threw a party. So on Feb. 25th we’re having an Open house and Premiere exhibition. If you’re in the area, we want you there. If you want to help us out, buy a Kinfolk T-shirt. We’re making a special batch just for this event (see below). And for all of you outside of Japan who have been wondering how to get a hold of some Kinfolk gear, here’s your chance.

For those of you who can’t join us in person, check out our web store at http://www.kinfolkstudios.bigcartel.com/products

In addition to T’s we’re gonna have posters, original art, and a few other surprises.

But mostly we thank you for the support you’ve already given us over the years. We couldn’t do any of the things we do without the support of our entire extended Kinfolk family. There’s a lot more to come, and we look forward to sharing it with all of you.”

Solid guys! Do not miss this opening. It’ll be an awesome time.

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!

This week’s Reader’s Rides entry showcases what I refer to as “classic steel” and “new school whips”. Anthony’s Raleigh track versus Stefano’s Faggin. Which one do you like better? Well, I’ve got more photos of Anthony’s Raleigh below. This thing’s a real looker!

Check out more photos below!

I’ve “known” Ross for a few years. I use the quotes because in this day and age, you really can get to know someone over the internet. Ross has been a member of the NYC Fixed boards for a while and everyone’s always impressed with his stable, myself included. When I moved to Austin for the Winter, I really wanted to link up with Ross and shoot some of his bikes. The other day, he was in the neighborhood, so I invited him over. We rode down to Pleasant Valley Road and shot some photos of his Nagasawa on the dirt trails.

Check out more photos below!

Today I met up with a friend for some good ol’ North Carolina BBQ. After lunch I rolled by the local bike shop here in Wilmington and then down to the beach.

Check out nine more photos below.