This Week on the Web 2

Clear those tabs.  Here's an innovative take on flatland, make the rhythm rock to the bike:

I met this guy Joe while I was in NYC a couple of summers back.  A former architect, he builds and sells one bike at a time, each one of them unique.  I heard one of his employees, Krys was hit by a car and has a long road to recovery, maybe you can help. Maybe you'll want to after watching this video:
 

The Inverted Bike Shop from Show Love on Vimeo.

Professional builder takes 12 years to build one bike.


10 ways sex is like riding a bike.


Drinking alcohol may significantly increase problem solving skills (and your willingness to tell others they a wrong?).

Marla Streb says that bike shops need to clean their bathrooms, was she talking about the Rose?

Lot's is happening in the Yewtah bike scene.  Not only is the (almost) Whole Enchilada Enduro scheduled for this fall, Ali is sayin' that he will be putting on enduro races this summer.  Of course, the Tour of Utah is coming our way this summer with the Salt Lake City stage finishing downtown on 300 West, August 10 at 3:30-4:00pm. With no major climbs in the day's parcours, its likely to be a sprint finish.

Tired of being a spectator? Learn how to build bicycle frames, here in the Wasatch.

On the other hand, the Salt Lake City Mayor's office doesn't seem to understand the important cross- disciplinary nature of cycling and has abolished the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee, established in 1986. Let the Mayor know what you think: mayor@slcgov.com

Want to make a bigger impact and have a resume booster, as well? How about joining the new Salt Lake City Parks, Open Space and Trails Board?  Applications due Friday, 4/13/12 5pm. Alternately, you could get involved in the Granary District and the upcoming charrette.

With Fabian out for a bit, Fahzure's interest in the peloton has shifted.  With no Contador, Schleck in poor form, Martin down, Valverde back, Sanchez showing strong, this year's Tour De France is looking interesting.  What's that you say? Cadel? Well he seems to have enough on his plate to distract him (click to see tweets from Cadel's "better half"):

Yep, still holding on to her last name, going on a "bucks night out," blackmailing her hubby and retweeting her own tweets (which Stevil points out, is like drinking your urine).  My picks for the TDF? Sanchez, Voelker, Van Garderen.

The Granary District-Bike Spot?

 

The Granary District, an area from roughly 600 S to 900 S and from 300 W to I-15, in Salt Lake City is a pocket neighborhood slowly being revitalized. The biggest recent addition is the new ArtSpace Commons at 400 W and 800 S which despite its LEED Goldness, has an awful eastern European gulag aesthetic:

The design "aesthetic" probably came down to money,  as the spaces are well equipped, energy efficient and affordable. This has lead to a plethora of non-profits locating in the ground floor of the building including: Heal Utah, Wild Utah,  A Gift To Africa, Save Our Canyons and Tree Utah. Any philanthropist (holiday gift giver?) could save a bunch of time while doing good, unloading coin on this block.

The Artspace development, combined with a recent symposium on the GD has built momentum for master planning the area to bring it greater vitality and consistency in redevelopment. The core of the GD is almost certainly 400 W, you know, that street, with the tracks down the center, that you currently avoid because it has the worst surface in the entire city. On my way through the area the other day, both of my kids slid out and one went down on the pavement due to rail tracks that run in the roadbed roughly parallel to the direction of travel.  Here's an idea of how to create a spectacle for the neighborhood: wait 'til a rainy day and hold a crit. With Fabian out, the Roubaix is anybody's race (Sagan?), so start your training here;  if you're on a road bike, the right 5 feet of this road are that "challenging":

 Truth in advertising:

Those tracks which, if you blur your eyes a bit and open your consciousness, could become a cycle boulevard with barrier protected center bike lanes:

Efforts by locals and the City have been underway for about a year now to redesign the neighborhood.  A series of gatherings and seminar has already taken place with a coffee klatch at the Utah Pickle Factory the other night.  Fahzure got word of this gathering and decided to check in with developments and plans:

The Utah Pickle Factory, artist/maker coop, graciously hosted the 20 or so folks hashing out a framework for incorporating bikes into the area.  This gathering was in anticipation of a Charrette, April, 26th-May,1 organized by The Granary District folks. The UPF is a cool building, sitting at a rakish angle to the street and with a broad porch and bikable ramp.  Not too many bikes at this bike meeting:

The inside space is one project area after the next:

Exactly what I would expect from this type of space's bathroom, a torn homage to the man who crushed culture:

As a cycling community, I think that it is important that we are involved and support this process.  The GD folks are taking the worst cycling street in the city and attempting to transform it into a vision for neglected areas in SLC. Big props for that. This visionary sees bikes as critical to future cities:

Down by the river

This time of year, the riverside trails are coming alive, there's action from muskrats on the bank, birds in the trees and humans on the path. The sheer numbers provide for likely encounters with free bicycle culture.

Which brings me to: Why the hell hasn't somebody developed a low cost DIY trailer system for bikes using bed frames, shopping carts and bicycle parts? It seems that the utility movement is taking off but, other than Surly ($700!) and handful of garage operations, nobody is making heavy duty trailers and a reliable DIY design is absent. That (and maybe a few other things) is what Jose is up against (click to enlarge pic and notice the fine detail):

Jose was attempting to extend his MB4, with trailer, through the addition of some angle iron. The apparent chaos in this picture has some order: the two lag bolts held together with a hose clamp are being used as a leveller; the cordless drill motor stator shaft (hardened) is being used as a punch; disc brake rotors act as anvils:

While I would like to believe that Jose is some sort of trailer impresario, truth is it was a bunch "wrong tool for the job." I sent him to the Bicycle Collective (celebrating its 10th year) to get more useful parts and use some good tools. Each of the prior pictures has alluded to it, so you knew it was coming, the crux of the DIY quandary, the trailer hitch, solved with clothes hangers: 

Hump Bike- Sled Sled

You may have seen this bike out on the Utah DH race series, or maybe up at the Canyons, or over in Boulder City doin' some preseason tuning but, you were probably most likely to see this bike on the Bobsled.  It's owner, Demi, is an Aves local who likes to send it. Look for this aqua and white flash as you carve the sled this spring.

So this sled is a Yeti 303 DH v1, I have to put the v1 there because v2, in carbon, even, is due out soon.  The v2 bike is totally different. This 303 is a sled with its shock rate entirely linear. No rocker arm, swing link, or arcing frame member controls the shock:

Rather, the shock is driven by this shuttle and rail system in line with the spring. Pure linear.  Want to know what a coil spring feels like? Ride this bike:

BB and head angle are adjustable via the lower shock mount.  Lots of hydroformed and machined aluminum. Interesting mounting blocks that connect the swingarm to the shock driver:

Triangulated swingarm and shock driver assembly. Code brake and DT Swiss wheel are strong and reliable:

Lookin at the cockpit, it is wide and low, kids these days.  The Fox 40 in white nicely compliments the white rear triangle:

This sticker says something about all-moutain use only:  Being the favored child, Demi gets special stickers and mods:

Sram, DT Swiss hubs, corncob cassette and giant rotor, must be a DH bike:

Hump Bike- Taking a Giant Hump or Dump

For $95, is this Old Skool Giant Too Cool?   

By: Rolling Hall


Enter Your Vote>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

What's dressed in red, sports a perky rack, and shifts smoothly?  Up for purchase is a Giant MTB that appears to have seen little use in its hometown of Sprawlsville, UT.:

Its manila-mo owner probably rode it around the cul-de-sac once, explaining why this ferrous frame hasn't returned to base elements. It's an LBS-notch above 80's-department store quality, and for close to the same price, after taxes, you could buy this four-and-a-quarter star POS. So, with that monstrosity as a gauge, would you hump this Giant, or dump it?:

At first glance, the NICE NICE NICE upright riding position might look tempting. It'd provide a lucky cyclist with a commanding view of populated streets. But, unfortunately upon further inspection, the quill stem is mounted at a ready-to-snap height. We'd advise lowering it a bit, unless you'd prefer an impromptu introduction to Terra Firma (no, not the exotic dancer you perv). That's a quick, costless fix, and the rest of this red-sled doesn't appear to need any more coin tossed at it to get going on your first Giant adventure.

Inside the ad's beehive-edjumacated listing, the seller claims this bicycle is 'weighting' for a person who loves 'out doors adventures.' We're pretty sure he intended to type outdoor adventures. And given the undeniable reliability and serviceability of thumb shifters, a Shimano drivetrain, and cup n' cone hubs, we wouldn't hesitate weighting the rack with camping gear to spend a weekend exploring the White Rim.:

On the stopping end things, (my God, he didn't mention breaks!) this Giant pile piles on mediocre power with a canti front brake and rear U-brake. While it's adequate stopping power to cruise rail trails with your most precious possession rolling along in a child seat, that stealthy U brake hidden under the chainstays wasn't a high point of slowing ATB's. Early mountain bikes favored this brake and location because its low-profile shape provided ankle clearance with a shorter actuation cable. Unfortunately, the more powerful, easier-to-adjust, and less affected-by-mud canti's would hang out too far from the seat stays. They'd snag stone-washed jeans and hit rider's calfs and ankles when getting rad -- not cool.

The seller of this particular 'smooth shifting' 21-speed beast (we're willing to bet he hasn't shifted a modern drivetrain yet) claims that massive saddle is brand-spanking new and 'confy' – by which we are assuming he means comfy. And that's a good thing when the only filter between you and your Giant adventures is foam grips and pinner 2in-wide tires.

The price is 'fi,' whatever the fu that means. So, for 19 five-spots do you see yourself leaning this retro-ride outside Alta's Peruvian? (A pair of Black Widow tele skis strapped with used tubes to the rack, of course.) Or is this 'classic' better off donated to the SLC Bicycle Collective to fulfill its two-wheeled talent fetchin' forties and blunts from a corner mart?

You decide!

Hump it: That's a NICE NICE NICE price!

Or

Dump it: That price is Fu…

---

See the poll on right sidebar

Bike Spot-15th and 15th

You may be aware of some of the local bike spots like, 21st South and Trax, with Cam Wood's BMX specialty shop, The Bicycle Collective and the soon-to-open Performance Megastore (!). 90th South with the soon-to-open Scheels (hear that Trek dealers?), Highland Drive and 9th and 9th have a bit of this going on, as well. The latest hotspot may be the 15th and 15th neighborhood, with the newly open Beehive Bicycles.  Look for the Applesque (or is it The Hive?!?! with their Chub Design theories) logo with fat and funky bikes in the window:

 

Fat bike and low-voc parts washer:

Owner Greg Steele is reaching out to niches by being open on Sundays and promoting brands such as Boo:

Thousand dollar truing stand:

After an introduction from Rolling Hall, I was curious to go across the street to the 15th Street Gallery, where Steve Smock, wrench turner at Really Competitive Cyclist, shows off his creative side with a supersized photorealist exhibition of bike parts.  Huge canvases show accurate machining and detail of bike components, even the individual cuts on a modern mirror finish cassette (click to enlarge):

The background collage/tech manual detail is amazing, too:

While I appreciate these works for their precision, attention to the mechanical and their expression of utility, I can also Imagine that some folks have a more Rothko approach searching for meaning in that which is abstract and unfamiliar.  Consider it an opportunity to take someone out, without a strong fondness for components (maybe sitting across the table from you), and see what your takeaways on the art are.

Bike Swap at the Fairpark

Well, by now, you know two things: 1. Fabian, yet to peak, from a small group at 10K, crushed them, like he crushed rock, in heroic form, on Strade Bianche;  2. The Bike Swap is over.  Here's what you might have seen or missed. There were a number of $300ish late seventies/eighties road bikes.  This one was the most novel, an Urago mass production:

A welded by Kieth Bontrager for $800.00:

Farari Bianchi's for sale:

Betty Boop did not sell for $265:

This Yeti 303 was interesting, but hella heavy and not that great a deal at $3200:

Sly Folks, Sly Fox, fistfulls of cash:

This is a video of Iltis not buying it at the Bicycle Collective table; which is hilarious, because otherwise he can't stop giving. This man puts out gives a lot to Utah cycling:

Fahzure, always slow, went down to A Putt in electric bike slicktrack oval racing:

Because it had all of the right markings: vintage, mixte, cool paint, I thought this bike was going to be best of show:

But alas this bike, like the Betty Boop, was priced at about $300, lacked much of its original equipment and posted later model add-ons and components of a down-grade quality. On the other hand, here was a $750, nearly stock Kona Stinky with everything in dirty, but working order. Start a DH lifestyle for under $1000 (it'll need a little work) with a dependable, fun bike. Freeride! Best of Show:

So, while there were a few opportunities, the problem with this year's swap lies in the fact that the pickings were particularly thin on the used front and traffic was slow. The people did not come out, especially those looking to get a deal on a new bike. More than a couple of vendors probably didn't cover their booth cost. The Bicycle Collective, who registers bikes for free at the event, only stickered about 45 bikes.  Let's hope that weather, the North Temple reconstruction and $5.00/gal gas conspire for a busier swap, next year.

Opposites attract

My friend, the Right Reverend, suggested that we cyclists might want to take the long route, the 2 hour commute, the windy, oft not beaten path, to work. I got on a path, then an alley, which T'd into another alley which led to this, precisely.

This is the Summum temple, a religious organization that I appreciate for fighting to have their beliefs, "aphorisms," posted alongside the city erected and endorsed Ten Commandments in a couple of Utah towns.  While I'm not really a fan religions, I do support challenges under the Establishment Clause regardless of who brings it.  Their revenue comes principally from mummification, mostly of pets, from what I hear. They are fairly community minded with a radio station and a well kept grounds, fancy fence.

Sure, I've been here before, but not by this route and not with my sense of discovery quite so keen. I noticed this:

Right across the street, and I'm talkin' sixty feet away, I noticed what has to be the most bombed corner in SLC.

Crazy mish mash overlay chaos across the street from total control now and in the hereafter.