Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Fixedgeargallery...Keirin Katastrophe

Ah, yes. There's nothing like the attention to detail a proud owner of a new Keirin frame pays to his or her build. Each part is painstakingly hand-picked, and proudly bears that all-important NJS stamp.

This bike is a perfect example. The owner has gone with "as much NJS as possible," making only a few concessions, such as the de rigeur Brooks saddle and the untaped flop-and-chop bars. (Apparently this particular owner insists on posterior comfort but isn't particularly concerned about being able to grip the bars. I mean, to me bars without grips or tape is like having a bathroom with no toilet paper in it. But what do I know? I'm not a Keirin racer like this guy.)

The attention to detail continues with the yellow highlights meant to bring out the frame decals. There is even the whimsical touch of the Livestrong bracelets around the hubs. Isn't that cute?!? Perhaps the owner has some yellow streamers on order too.

Given all this attention to detail, you certainly wouldn't want to spoil the effect by putting on an unsightly brake. (The track-specific fork certainly wouldn't accommodate one anyway, right?) But that's OK. I mean, you can stop as quickly as you need to with your legs. And chains never break, nor do hub threads ever strip.

But you know what does happen? Sometimes you get so carried away hand-picking NJS vanity components that you forget to install all the chainring bolts!

Should be fun in a panic stop. That's when "NJS" stands for "Nice job. Sayonara."

Another well thought-out build. Keep looking--you'll find a fifth NJS chainring bolt somewhere.

31 comments:

Art said...

Good eye, but it begs the question; When the chain flies off of your freshly bent NJS chainring, how good of a grip do you really WANT to have on the bars?

Unknown said...

I've got a chain-ring bolt I'll sell him that *I'm sure* is NJS approved....it'll only cost him $25.

WTF? What's next?? Norwegian moto-bike replicas with studded tires for those dicey NYC winter streets?

fxdwhl said...

Your cynicism is the perfect balance to the NJS whores of the world. I've watched the gallery change over the years and either wince or skip over a lot of the entries. Velospace is even worse. He was thoughtful enough to use bar plugs though. Definitely needs a new stem to hang with the biggest drop/grips at stem kids.

Anonymous said...

People like this guy should have their bikes taken away from them by some kind of social services for bicycles.

Anonymous said...

You know he put those bracelets on the hubs so people will ask him how he got them on.

alliwannadoisbicycle said...

i wonder if the kierin racers in japan know that their sport has turned into a narcissistic flight of fancy for a bunch of out of shape, badly dressed idiots in brooklyn and san francisco...

Anonymous said...

Can we please just start calling NJS "New Jersey Style"?

BikeSnobNYC said...

Big Jonny,

Yes! And the logo practically designs itself.

--BSNYC

Anonymous said...

I wonder if there's any chance, through some freak accident or the like, that the Livestrong bracelet on the rear hub could get caught up in that cog? Ouch.

Anonymous said...

"You know he put those bracelets on the hubs so people will ask him how he got them on."

Yeah: Scissors (snip). Wrap band around hub. Apply Superglue to cut. Hold together for 10 seconds. Brag about building your own wheels!

Pascii said...

Hey BSNYC,
when you point out these catastrophes on two wheels, it's hard to argue with you. (and my wife finds it funny when I'm laughing out loud at my computer)
And while, I realize that the whole point of this blog is to single out all the clueless douchebags and brakeless dorkenheimers out there, wouldn't it be fun if you posted YOUR bike(s)? You know, open the Kimono and let us all see what's so hot or just plain, boring old correct (or...worse, "period correct") 'bout your stable.

By no means am I hoping to make you look bad here, I'm just really curious. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two?

Or maybe the whole point is that it's none of our business what you ride and NJS geeks et al. should quit making what they ride our business?

c'mon, let's see some bikeage to back up all this snobbery.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Pascii,

Ha! Well, as a cyclist I never thought anybody would ever care about what I ride. But I'm flattered and it's a fair question.

As you noticed, though some of my preferences are obvious, I don't refer specifically to what I myself use. This isn't out of fear of ridicule or anything like that. The reason is that I communicate in derision and derision only--I prefer not to "endorse" or speak positively about specific products. There's enough of that on the web as it is. Plus, what I ride (or what anybody rides) isn't important. The point is the motivation behind the choice of ride and equipment. It's when the motivation behind that choice is vanity that my sensor gets tripped.

But at the same time, I don't want to be too evasive, and like any cyclist I'd like nothing more than to discuss my equipment. So I'll just say this: I have four bikes. (I'd probably have more, but this is New York, and there are spacial constraints.) Two of them are geared, one is a single-speed, one is a fixed-gear. One is carbon, one is aluminum, and two are steel. None is exotic and the manufacturers are not esoteric, though of the four the road bike is the one that would most be considered "high end." They all use more or less boringly conventional wheels and components.

Hope this helps. I'm very pleased to have given you some laughs.

--BSNYC

Josh said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"I wonder if there's any chance, through some freak accident or the like, that the Livestrong bracelet on the rear hub could get caught up in that cog? "


In a perfect world, yes.

Anonymous said...

And lemme guess "Bikesnob". your fixed gear ironically has no brakes.

Unknown said...

@alliwannadoisbicycle
sadly this trend is in full force here in columbus ohio...

this blog is cathartic.

thank you.

1234567890 said...

FWIW, the bracelets would actually serve a purpose: They keep the hubs clean of road crud and dust. My father-in-law puts zip ties or strips of leather on his bikes to do the same.

I have no comment on the importance of having clean, shiny hubs. :)

Anonymous said...

as for shiny clean hubs... what's the point when they are covered with a road crud covered plastic bracelet?

Anonymous said...

uh, who cares? he was trying to be creative? i dont think we should critisize when we are trying to be different.

Anonymous said...

you know i post where you found that a lot and the guy who owns the bike is nothing but nice. no reason to rip on him for liking something you don't other than to glorify your validation spree. (i.e. a blog on the internet about how cool you are for making fun of people, schoolyard much?)

Anonymous said...

you know i post where you found that a lot and the guy who owns the bike is nothing but nice. no reason to rip on him for liking something you don't other than to glorify your validation spree. (i.e. a blog on the internet about how cool you are for making fun of people, schoolyard much?)

Anonymous said...

i've got a name for the NJS haters on this silly little waste of cyber-space:

"poor"


just ride your bike and lookout for cars, rather than what OTHERS are riding.

Vince! said...

My god. I can't believe the number of people who take this blog seriously!! I mean its fun to read! If you get offended by it? Get out of the kitchen!! hahaha. Relax folks its all in fun!!

Anonymous said...

I'm a njs whore. What can I say, I like Japanese engineering and design. Not everyone can afford high end gear but some people can. Heaven forebid they ride too! What's more trivia, blogging about someone's vanity or committing said vanity?

Anonymous said...

to move away from the unendable discussion of function vs aesthetics(see bauhaus c. 1919), i want to comment on grip tape!

after crashing while riding on a flat street, because a tiny bump made my hand pop off the bars, i limped home and immediately wrapped my bars whilst hurting from a sprained wrist and dripping from sprawling on the wet road....
score one for function.

Bike Locks said...

There is even the whimsical touch of the Livestrong bracelets around the hubs. And that is so cute...!

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