BSNYC Friday Fun Quiz!

In all the discussion of "Empire," it is worth noting that there are other cyclists making films of themselves engaging in death-defying urban riding as well. Moreover, they are doing so on bicycles that coast and have front and rear suspension. Here is one such video entitled "my bad azz street/trail mtn bicycle i built (all carbon/ti):"

my bad azz street/trail mtn bicycle i built (all carbon/ti) @ Yahoo! Video

This video was forwarded to me by a reader who also happens to be a dentist but claims not to own a Serotta (yeah, right) and I was immediately riveted. First of all, unlike most fixed gear videos, this one is accurately titled. Nobody dies in "Death Pedal," "Empire" should be called "Gentrified," there's no Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce or even a B.J. Hunnicut in "MASH," and I don't even know what the hell a "Macaframa" is. On the other hand, "my bad azz street/trail mtn bicycle i built (all carbon/ti)" opens right up with a bad azz street/trail mtn bicycle he built that is all carbon/ti:

Then there are the tricks. You say you like wheelies? This guy's front end pops up more than ads on a porn site. He wheelies in the subway station, past the bus shelter, and even right into the camera:

(All You Haters Visually Inspect My Bottom Bracket Shell)

Best of all, the video is also interspersed with technical information regarding the bad azz street/trail mtn bicycle he built that is all carbon/ti. Here's a detail of the custom trigger that triggers something:

Other highlights include the twin Spinergys, the Fox shocks, and a compass on the stock and this thing which tells time.

But when it comes to sweet custom bicycles, you'd be hard-pressed to find a specimen more intriguing than this Concorde, forwarded to me by another reader:

This is a rolling retrospective of road bike gimmickry, and a rare case in which fixed-gear conversion might actually have saved a "vintage" frame. While the Mavic Mektronic group is the obvious highlight, you can't disregard the original Rolf Dietrich-era Rolf wheels. Dietrich ushered in the era of paired-spoke technology, thereby inspiring some of serial retrogrouch and uber-curmudgeon Jobst Brandt's most heartfelt pro-36 spoke MA2 treatises as well as consigning millions of squirrels to death by decapitation on Sunday group rides all over the United States. Sadly, your opportunity to own this bicycle has passed as the eBay auction has ended, but amazingly nobody bid on it so perhaps you will have a second chance:

Speaking of second chances, I'm pleased to present you with a quiz, which you're free to re-take as many times as you'd like. As always, study the item, think, and click on your answer. If you're right you'll know, and if you're wrong you'll see the next must-have fixed-gear freestyle bicycle accessory.

Thanks very much for reading, ride safe, and remember--if you must "wheelie," always use the appropriate bar.

--BSNYC/RTMS

1) "...a combination of shrugged shoulders, pursed lips and forced air resulting in a sound that’s akin to getting hit in the stomach with a basketball." This is apparently:

--"An unmistakably Belgian gesture"
--"What cyclocross feels like"

--"What a kangaroo attack feels like"

--"What a bad reaction to an 'epic' burrito feels like"

(Greg "Wednesday" LeMond)

2) Three-time Tour de France winner Greg LeMond will apparently not rest until he:

--Convinces Trek to re-introduce his brand
--Gets his arch-nemesis Lance Armstrong into court

--Receives financial backing for his proposed chain of fast food restaurants

--Wins a free Scattante

3) As if it needed more validation, Portand is now receiving:

--A second velodrome

--Its own stage race
--Its own cyclocross tire
--A separate airport terminal for passengers traveling with bicycles

4) This map indicates:

--Planned locations for a fixed-gear film shoot

--Checkpoints for an upcoming week-long alleycat stage race

--Sluggish Portlanders in dire need of coffee replenishment

--The residences of people Greg LeMond plans to sue

5) Watch out, Primal! Some company is producing series of jerseys featuring:

--Old covers from The New Yorker

--JD Salinger first edition dust jackets

--M.C. Escher prints

--Interesting facts about ham

6) Watch out, cycling! The hot new wheeled trend is:

--Tandem unicycling

--Inline surfing

--Urban mushing

--Skateboard polo

7) What was the make and model of the $11,000 bike recently stolen in Issaquah, WA?

--Pinarello Dogma
--Trek Madone

--Serotta MeiVici

--Bianchi Pista

***Possibly Unsafe For Work Saddle-Sniffing-Themed Bonus Question***

This is a commercial for:

--Giant bicycles

--Terry saddles
--Apple iPad
--Vulva

(via AHTBM)