Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Penny-Ante: The Ordinary Trend Moves Up a Notch

As the fixed-gear trend arguably reaches the point of total mainsteam absorption, the penny-farthing trend appears to be taking its place. On Monday I pointed out that penny-farthings not only trump the fixed-gear in terms of zen-like simplicity, but are also "chick magnets." Since then, my assertion has been borne out, as photos of modern-day penny-farthings (or "p-fars," if you're the type of person who says "fixie") continue to pour in from around the world:


From Hjulcompaniet in Norway comes an excellent example of what you can expect to replace the "fixter" in the coming months. Note that instead of wearing snug women's trousers, the "p-farster" is wearing loose-fitting bloomers. It's also interesting to note that he's sporting relatively modern-looking eyeglasses. There's a raging debate in the p-far community as to whether these sorts of glasses are acceptable. Proponents point out that over-the-ear eyeglasses have been around for centuries, but purists maintain that they weren't very popular until fairly recently and as such opt for the pince-nez.


From Melbourne, Australia comes this fascinating example. Interestingly, this rider eschews period-correctness and has even incorporated modern accessories such as a u-lock and a spoke card (or, given the size of the wheel, a spoke treatise). Also, this photo proves once again that the p-far is a "chick magnet," as there is a blonde woman with bare legs and high heels in close proximity. It's obvious that this photo was taken just after she spotted the p-far and just before she followed the owner into the building, where she probably smiled coyly at him and encouraged him to send a telegram or perhaps even (gasp!) call upon her in person for tea.

We've already seen colored deep-Vs and adhesive letters in the fixed-gear scene, and it would appear that the p-far scene may be following suit. Unfortunately, though, this rider has failed to take advantage of all the space with which his huge front wheel provides him. Instead of simply spacing out the letters, he could have really seized upon the opportunity to employ some flowery Victorian-era prose. If he's reading, I recommend revising this message before making a sepia-toned daguerreotype and submitting it to pennyfarthinggallery.

But while some trend-seekers have abandoned the fixie for the p-far, others have left it for the road bike, and they're taking their fixed-gear habits with them. A reader has pointed out to me a new trend of road bikes equipped with bullhorns, and I must say that this is in line with what I've been seeing on the streets of New York City:

I've definitely been observing more and more people using bullhorns on their road bikes, and frankly I find it disturbing. Bullhorns became popular on fixed-gear bikes because they allow a hand position similar to that of riding with your hands on your brake hoods. However, once you've got a road bike with actual brake hoods there's no reason to use bullhorns. (Unless you're building up a time trial bike or something, in which case you're about to get sucked into the rabbit hole of compulsively anal behavior and there's no hope for you.) The drop bar with STI levers affords you all the hand positions of the bullhorn, keeps all your controls at your fingertips, and gives you the added bonus of drops when you need them. Then again, urban fixed-gear riders are highly averse to drop bars, and when they do use them it's simply an aesthetic choice. Even those who choose to maintain the stylistic integrity of their "classic" track bikes by using drop bars still often ride with their hands on the tops even when they're out of the saddle. It would follow then that they'd carry their bullhorns over to their road bikes. In fact, with more and more riders coming to other types of cycling via fixed-gears, it may be only a matter of time before the drop bar becomes extinct and bike companies start selling road bikes stock with bullhorns, top-mount brake levers, and bar-end shifters (in addition to the flat-bar road bikes they're already selling of course).

But what if you're not ready to abandon your fixed-gear for the p-far or the bullhorn-equipped road bike? Well, fortunately there's still a place for you. In Japan. The proprietor of a "Keirin bar" in Tokyo has just informed me that I can stop in for a Nama Beer if I'm ever in Nakameguro. According to the description on their website, I can also order a Ginger Mint Mojito if I prefer, and I can drink it beneath a "kaleidoscope of Japanese Keirin Track frames:"


It's good to know that the Ginger Mint Mojito is a "drink for any occasion," because if I do ever go to Nakameguro you can be sure to find me sucking them down in rapid succession at Kinfolk as I play with my tiny fixed-gear models beneath a kaleidoscope of Keirin frames. You can also be sure that by last call I'll be passed out in my underpants on the sofa in the background, surrounded by tiny fixed-gear models and smelling strongly of ginger like some tragic parody of Bill Murray in "Lost In Translation."

Speaking of tiny bicycle models, if you're looking for something to add to your own collection look no further than Philadelphia Craislist, where a reader informs me you can purchase a "G.I. Joe Like Soldier On Bicycle With Gear" for the incredibly low price of $20:


G.I. JOE LIKE SOLDIER ON BICYCLE WITH GEAR- GUN, HELMET, GOOGLES & BAG - $20 (DELAWARE COUNTY)
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2008-11-18, 4:16PM EST

THIS IS NOT A G.I. JOE BUT IT IS VERY SIMILAR TO ONE. HE COMES COMPLETE WITH A HELMET, MESSENGER BAG, MACHINE GUN AND GOOGLES. HE IS DRESSED IN A COMPLETE CAMOUFLAGE UNIFORM. HIS BOOTS FIT IN THE TOE STRAPS AND THE BACK WHEEL SPINS WHEN THE PEDALS ARE TURNED BY A RUBBERBAND DRIVEN CHAIN. THE FRONT WHEEL ALSO SPINS. THERE IS A KICKSTAND THAT HOLDS HIM UP AND A WATER BOTTLE CAGE BUT NO WATER BOTTLE. THIS SOLDIER IS READY TO FIGHT! THANKS!

Between those track bike models and this I may never have to leave the house again--though my play may now become a bit more bellicose. My only reservation is that the quasi-G.I. Joe's bike doesn't come with a water bottle, since I'm not sure where I'd be able to find one. (There may be one in my Barbie's Workout Center, but I'd hate to open the shrink-wrap and break up the set.) Then again, the soldier does Google, so he may be able to find one for himself. Intrigued, I set about trying to determine whether the seller was male or female by running the ad through the Genderanalyzer, which yielded the following result:

I guess I may never know.

One thing I do know, though, is that telecommunications companies are looking out for cyclists. (Well, not specifically cyclists, but I suppose we benefit by default.) If you're a cyclist, by now you're probably accustomed to avoiding drivers who are far more engrossed in their cellphones than they are in where they're going. Personally, I'm more afraid of a driver holding a cellphone than one holding a Ginger Mint Mojito. For this reason, I was simulaneously heartened and irritated to see this tiny icon in the corner of a Sprint cellphone advertisement in a respected and highly pretentious magazine:

Wanting to learn more, I placed the highly pretentious magazine in the recycling bin where it belonged and consulted the same popular search engine the quasi-G.I. Joe uses, where I learned this:

A cellphone company telling teens not to drive distracted is kind of like Philip Morris telling parents to talk to their kids about smoking, though I do appreciate the effort. I also find it entertaining that the program speaks to teens "in their own language, using real-world examples," and I'd love to see the part of the instructional video where they show the kid pulling over safely and coming to a stop before answering that long-awaited callback from his weed dealer. Hopefully the "Focus on Driving" program speaks more loudly to teens than my own PSA, which while poignant admittedly falls into the generational gap:


And cellphones aren't only deadly in the hands of drivers. We cyclists are equally vulnerable to the cellphone's siren call (or text). Just a few days ago I witnessed a woman ride through a red light at a major intersection while on her cellphone. She then ran into the broadside of a yellow cab (which amazingly had been doing nothing illegal or dangerous), at which point she took the phone off her ear and shouted obscenities at the driver before returning it to the side of her head and continuing on her loquacious way.

But as a New Yorker I suppose I should consider myself lucky, for while I may have to dodge cellphone-wielding drivers and cyclists on my commute a reader correctly points out that I have yet to have a run-in with a bear:

I was glad to see that both rider and bear seem to be OK, and that neither was using a cellphone at the time of the collision (though fortunately the bear had the wherewithal to call for an ambulance). I was also pleased to see that the rider was on a cyclocross bike and that penny-farthing craze has not yet reached Missoula, which means that while we may see more and more of them in the coming months it should be a good while before the trend moves into its ironic phase.

131 comments:

jza said...

bikethrow!!!!!

jza said...

post up!

Anonymous said...

nick is the man

mander said...

Podium!!! AYHSMB

Throughly Entertained said...

I can do nothing but agree that bikes should be thrown

Anonymous said...

Po fo sho!

Anonymous said...

Top ten?

ant1 said...

ant1st!

Anonymous said...

Another top 10? I need to get a life!

Gnarles Darwin said...

Top ten. Now I will read the post

leroy said...

Honestly, all this podium dancing is like opening the present without reading the card.

Anonymous said...

Dang, Anon 1:53 was wrong...

Anonymous said...

almost!

Anonymous said...

So that woman was riding a cellphone? While talking on a cellphone? Man, the competition between apple and google must be getting fierce.

Anonymous said...

teabagging rulez

Anonymous said...

How's the bear doing? I have some unused minutes I could donate to him.

ant1 said...

I'm sure you guys will be glad to hear I just got myself a fixie. There's something special about a bike that costs less than the handlebars of my regular road bike. I'm currently working on the color-coordination. A name will have to be come up with, also, so if anyone has any ideas...
I am proud to say that for my first ride on it, I wore the only thing a self respecting fixter wannabe would wear (rock? run? I'm new to this.): a hoodie, and I was drinking a beer, albeit a southpaw rather than a PBR, and smoking a cigarette. Still need to find a nice pair of girl jeans to complete the outfit, and one of those little "look at me, I look like I have sex with european dudes" scarf thingies. I'm sure if I'm missing anything, you guys and ladies will let me know.

Anonymous said...

Snob, I think you are a talented wordsmith. However, "...I witnessed a woman on a cell phone ride through a red light at a major intersection while on her cell phone..." is not the greatest bit of prose to ever grace your fine blog. Do you teach creative writing at DeVry?

Anonymous said...

while it may be late in the game, you could add an "all you ant1 haters can can suck my balls" deep-v. I would assume that if Prolly and Snob are right, there should be some cheap ones on the market right about now.

Jim said...

Ways & Means? What a cool name for a bar. Somebody should name a congressional committee or something after it.

brettok said...

top 20, 1st Aussie!

leroy said...

But BSNYC --

You haven't told us if the P-Farster from Norway was towing the dumpster in the background of that picture.

Is this, as they say at the Westminster Kennel Club, a "working breed"?

And is that P-Farster fully grown or the Norwegian version of a leprechaun?

Important questions unanswered.

No wonder OC complains of "irresponsible journalism."

Anonymous said...

"...Then again, the soldier does Google..."

Dude, how can you find something each and every day that makes coffee shoot out of my nose.

Well done, and all that.

KOA said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ant1 said...

g - unfortunately, the deep v bandwagon is one I was aware of, and got right on. Two days after I order me a black pair (calm down Frilly, I'm talking rims here, not the object of the messages on some rims) to be laced up to some red hubs, Prolly single handedly killed the industry. I got in at the exact wrong time.

Anonymous said...

Helmet? Check.
Messenger Bag? Check.
Machine Gun & Goggles? Check.
Camo Uniform? Check.
Boots fit in Toestraps? Check.
Rubberband driven chain? Check.
Front wheel spins? Check.
Kickstand? Check.
Cage w/ no Bottle? Check.

Who knew? If I'm not GI Joe, I'm "very similar to one."

Anonymous said...

mr. bear basher works at "target range middle school". somehow, this is far more frightening than the prospect of encountering bears on my cyclocross ride.

Anonymous said...

Pennyfarthings = WACK. Fails the bike test. Can't do a wheelie. Can't hop a curb. Same catagorie as tandems and recumbents.

Anonymous said...

Is Prolly prolix? Probably.

Anonymous said...

ME WANT KEIRIN FRAME PENNY FARTHING

ant1 said...

By the way, the color scheme is as follows for the new ride (might help the naming process):
-yellow frame (cause I love yellow)
-black rims and spokes
-red hubs
-red pedals
-black everything else, for now.
I guess it's somewhere between a serious ronald mcdonald bike and an ironic shell gasoline bike.

Anonymous said...

I would think that the heavily armed fixter is the next trend. Might level the playing field with the cabs et al. never a bad idea to pack a little heat, as it were.

Anonymous said...

Hey, in the picture of the road bike with the bullhorns, is it being steadied upright by a disembodied arm sticking out of the Chrome messenger bag?

Anonymous said...

As The Snob clarified just the other day, ironic use and ensuing hipness can only be achieved when an item is ironically used after the last person to seriously use the item has ceased to use it. Regarding the Norwegian P-Farster, we've never really stopped using those here in the Norway. Therefore, usage will not be ironic.

Not a lepechaun, he's a "nisse" It is very possible that the bin is pulled as it contains all the P-Farster's personal belongings. Poverty is a grave problem all over Scandinavia, most people live on the streets and have old fashioned clothing and even worse bikes. Just LOOK at Thor Hushovd.

Also, Norway being mentioned in a NYC blog will probably make the news tomorrow, possibly front page, "We've been noticed!" Aaw, thanx.

But!

Anonymous said...

Ant1, it sounds like you are only a few stickers away from having built a Specialized Langster NYC Taxicab edition!

ant1 said...

merckx - yeah, just need a little checkerboard pattern. That would be hip alright, especially down here in atlanta.

Anonymous said...

@ant1st!;
Hambugger


anon1st!

ant1 said...

Little joke for you dudes, Jeopardy style:

Lance and Adolph have one in common.

answer:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,454744,00.html

Jarredelectric said...

ANT1, I think you should name it "Infinity." As used in a sentence: "This fixie gets infinity miles to the gallon." It could also mean the infinite possibilities of color coordination you can use, or the infinite appeal that this bike has.

Critical Ass said...

P-fars = rodeo clowns
fixsters = regular clowns
single speed = mimes
"coasties" = ass clowns

bikesgonewild said...

...ant1 - answer...

...what is the sound of 'one ball' wreaking havoc through the french countryside for years at a time ???...

...now i'll take famous italian bike races for 500, alex...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Caaah said...

Modern eyeglasses are ok as long as they are Paul Smith. That way your eyes are protected as they rub against cars as you squeeze by.

ant1 said...

bgw - much better than what I came up with. History does have a way of repeating itself i guess.

Calvin said...

Ah!!!! Apparently this blog is written by a woman...

http://genderanalyzer.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbikesnobnyc.blogspot.com%2F

Anonymous said...

Of course it's not GI joe, it's only GI joe 'like'. Only a pussy would ride a bike, GI Joe is too busy freeing up oil for Hummers and ramming freedom down the throat of the middle east with his kung fu grip at a very low cost.

God, I miss my G.I. Joe, but he got real itchy after a play date with Malibu Barbie, that woman had a great rack, but was unclean.

So I heard this from some comedian Steven Wright wannabe: is a hippopotamus a real species? or is it just a hip Opotamus.

You decide.

Nateo said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Calvin said...

Okay so I didn't read yesterday.

Make it quick.

Jim said...

Canuck - your GI Joe Doll probably would itch less if you weren't using him as a pin cushion for your Canadian Govt. Issue Anti-American Voodoo Stick Pins. C'mon man, we hate ourselves enough already, and that's not even accounting for how bad Manhattanites hate the rest of the country, or the way we discount that by not really including them as part of the country, except when they're under attack or our own football team loses out of the playoffs.

Hey, isn't P-farster what you hear when you're taking too long in the bathroom at a pub in Darbyshire?

bikesgonewild said...

...no problem, ant1...just a shame you lost yer "hello, kitty" water bottle at the weekend soiree'...it would so "rock" (accessorize, run, whatever ???) yer new ride...

...props for the heuvos to post a description...knowing full well where that shit could go...

...& classic black rims w/ red hubs ???...cool...reminds me of my es's w/out all the stickers...

Scott said...

bikesnob, thanks for nipping that one in the bud. If you don't mind, could you set your sights next on the dandyhorse.

Anonymous said...

So where's a good place to get one of these Pennyfarthing's?? I'd love to get a powdercoated frame.

MINGUStheMECHANIC said...

NY PistaDex @ 450.00. Something big is going to happen, i feels it.

http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/bik/925770798.html

hillbilly said...

and what do we make of the intentional inclusion of the crumpler in the photo of el bullhorn?

Cameron said...

I've taken the liberty of snatching up www.pennyfarthinggallery.com, so if anybody wants to start up a sweet new bike porn site. Make me an offer.:)

Caaah said...

"single speed=mimes"

Perfect.

Anonymous said...

meh1st!

Anonymous said...

Oh, and fuck Canada!

Anonymous said...

My Google search for a "higly pretentious" magazine resulted in 1,420 hits with today's BSNY post as number 1! The runner-up was a recommendation for the critically acclaimed Johnny Depp film "The Libertine."

Anonymous said...

"They call me the Hip-hop-opotamus
My lyrics are bottomless ...
...
..."

kale said...

Ask Richard Sachs or Vanilla bikes to make you one. By the time they finish it, they'll be all the rage.

Otherwise, next time you're in Alameda picking up some grapes you can also pick up one from Rideable Bicycle Replicas.

I still haven't found a supplier of Velocipedes...

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 2:15pm,

Oops.

Anonymous 3:49pm,

Oops.

Accuracy is pretentious.

--RTMS

MINGUStheMECHANIC said...

Roadies= androgynous harlequins
Cyclocross= overpaid jesters

Anonymous said...

anon 2:15pm, how dare you, I got my small engine repair certificate at DeVry and live in a nice house, drive a real Dodge Neon and my mom is proud of me.

All those mowers and leaf blowers? who's gonna fix them, you? YOU?
..I thought not.

pwned.

Anonymous said...

jim..
Canada actually had "G.I. Doug" by Mattel Montreal, he was a replica of a Van Doos brigade soldier armed with a slimline executive stapler and a sternly worded NATO telex.

Lifelike 'Ninja Projectile Vomit Action™' after a night at the canteen and homosexual experimentation.

Ah, ...a child's loved toy.

Anonymous said...

oh Calvin, we're gonna take this slow, ...pliers...blowtorch..get all medieval on your ass.

kale said...

I figured all the action heroes in Canada were American.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Reux said...

Snob,

The Melbourne photo is inaccurate. The correct caption for the woman is "sheila".

Cheers, mate.

Anonymous said...

Kale, thanks for the links. I'll have to get my order in.

Anonymous said...

Can someone with a little sister verify whether or not a GI Joe can wear Barbie's designer jeans?

Anonymous said...

What do you get if you cross a bear with a mountainbike?
A)late to work
B)singletrack snot
C)furry fork
D)meh

Anonymous said...

Kale..no, no no...we had great action heroes along with GI Doug, there was "Super Pearson" with genuine bureaucracy action™ and the full "state dinner" action set, complete with waiters.

Sometimes, we'd get all crazy, yelling import tax! embargo! embargo! around the neighborhood.

good times.

kale said...

I figured there would be some Prohibition-era comix with "René le Rumrunner" and his sidekick "Les Bootleg Jacques".

I don't mean to pigeonhole all Canadians as Quebecois, but they are more annoying than the rest.

kale said...

Spoke too soon...

Marissa said...

I want to get a penny-farthing just so I could take to the streets looking like Mr. Peanut each day. Pantaloons would be optional; spats would not.

AMR said...

BSNYC,

Got the same on the Genderanalizer, or worst... 74%!
S..t, wrong post.
On that road bike with bullhorn bars... it is a distorted sight.
And you guys, or girls, are still playing with G.I. Joe dolls?
Check this one out:
http://www.minisurfers.com/video.html
AMR

Anonymous said...

I know someone who taught English at DeVry. She has a B.A. in English and French Literature from Princeton and a Ph.D. in English Lit from NYU. All you DeVry haters can suck her balls.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Ant, let me know if you need a cover for your top tube pad. I could probably gift ya a little somethin'.

Anonymous said...

When dealing with bears, I always remember the sage advice of Bob Crawford, author of the timeless classic, "Mauled": "Never feed a marshmallow to a grizzly bear like this..."

http://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78dbooks.phtml

Shaina said...

I never comment, but I must break my silence to tell you that not only did I attend Target Range Middle School, Jim Litz was my very science teacher. And as far as these things go, I am not the least bit surprised that he rode his bike into a bear. In fact, I'm surprised to learn that he had never done so before.

Anonymous said...

I bet Mr. Litz was trying to session a bear-hop.

That would have been sick!

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for someone to start YouTube-ing pennyfarthing trick riding.
I think that would do a better job of putting me to sleep than watching golf!
They could even use the same commentators, speaking all hushed...
"and here's Prolly approaching the curb...and...wow! look at that...was that a bunny hop? I think so Dick, this guy's amazing!"
They would probably need the guys who hold up the "quiet" signs too, just so you could tell the rider was actually moving.

meh.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2.31 , Thor Hushovd was so poor and destitute that he had to lower his income into seven figures, suffer the indignity of riding a Carbon Cervelo P-far SL for the next few years and start a new life as an illegal immigrant of Canada by swimming the Norwegian Sea, cross country hike over Green Land to the Land of Promise .

Unknown said...

so I'm guessing when Hitler teabagged GI Joe's top tube, it really wasn't all that impressive...

Anonymous said...

I was interested to see the item on the cyclist colliding with a bear. Where I live (Canberra, Australia), the danger is cycling into kangaroos that are prone to darting (hopping !) out from the bush onto roads and bike paths, particularly around sunrise and dusk. This year two of my friends have been badly injured in (separate) collisions with kangaroos.

bikesgonewild said...

...mark @ 8:54...

...i believe w/ only one it's called a sideswipe...

bikesgonewild said...

...& shaina...i don't know why, but after following the link & reading the story about jim litz's encounter w/ ursus americanus & knowing that ultimately he was a-ok, i found yer post to be uproariously funny...

...props & kudos, knitallica...yer aces !!!...

Anonymous said...

Damn, Cameron.
As soon as I saw snob mention the pennyfarthinggallery I knew you'd be in there like a shot...
Well done.

Anonymous said...

hard to believe that nobody has mountainbikegallery.com

...yet

Anonymous said...

man, that nytimes article about cyclists being responsible for cars hating us sucks!

iamjberube said...

check utube for footage of monstertrack from 2 years ago...penny farthing rider completed entire course iirc, on snow and ice no less. right at the start of nickjames' video.

Travel Gravel said...

You could do a killer stoppy on a penny bike. Penny Farthing Freestyle!

Luck E. 7 said...

Maybe giant hula-hoops will make a comeback too.


A

Anonymous said...

Ant: I suggest a name from the literature ironic. Hipsters love that sort of shit. Might I suggest:

"We call this one 'Evil Minded Son of a Bitch'" - Terry Pratchett

The diminutive would be Emmy or Ems.

As for all of you trendazoids rushing to be the first on your block to be a P-farster, that's sooooooo last month and you will all be bowing to me when you wake up and realize that swift walkers are the most kewlalicious.

I'll be taking orders for ironic bottom brackets shortly (I recommend seat post mounting). Don't be caught out as the last serious user.

Daddo said...

our group has a few deer collisions - not fun

ant1 said...

Frilly - I haven't thought much about a top tube pad. maybe wrapping barbed wire around the top tube would be ironic. or is it ferrous?

ant1 said...

maybe wrapping a barbed wire top tube pad in cloth would make a good theft deterrent.

Anonymous said...

I was just emailed an article that has "nonplussed" in it.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/11/20/caption-contest-cat-drives-roomba-is-not-so-impressed-actua/

Anonymous said...

Kale, they are perhaps the most annoying people on earth, but in true roadie style, I'm as scared of the French as Lance. I get night sweats with dreams of being chased down allyway on bikes with big wicker baskets and being beaten to death by beret-toting thugs with bagettes.

ant1 said...

ant100th!

Anonymous said...

The bagettes aren't bad. It's the poutine and toutiere that kill.

Anonymous said...

Bagette/Baguette
Derailer/Derailleur

kale said...

Ant1-

Perfect top tube pad fabric for you.

And it's from Brooklyn.

ant1 said...

kale - that's badass. I might even want to get the entire frame painted like that.

kale said...

I thought you were going for the whole McDonalds thing. You could have made a top tube out of old Value Menu "Chicken" sandwich wrappers. Then the ants would be real. If you go that way though I would suggest making a bike out of clear polycrabonate tubing and start an ant farm inside of it. Kinda like the wasp nest, but you could fill it with Myrmecia forficata.

That would be performance art, but not ironic.

ant1 said...

Kale - Just bought me some ant print fabric off ebay. Thanks for the idea.

Anonymous said...

That Norwegian bears an uncanny resemblance to Sheldon Brown.

Anonymous said...

...This top tube pad is sooo cute and fun. I have one I made for myself and I always receive compliments on it. The pattern is a gingham fabric design with big, hungry ants crawling all over. It is printed on a lightweight cotton, so it really lets the frame breathe!

Sprocketboy said...

I am afraid the penny-farthing fad may end before it begins. The Pedaling History Museum in fabulous Buffalo, a repository of many high-wheeled wonders, is going to shut down in January. I know that all of us handlebar-moustachioed, tweed plus-four sporting, jaunty-cap-wearing types who have been Genderanalyzed at 70 percent or better will go there before Doom strikes.

Anonymous said...

How do you send pictures?
http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l313/pelletman/RudgeLate55TrackStand.jpg


Here's how to mount and NOT get off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_2l8L6nJIs

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the 15 seconds of fame. I'm blushing.

The bullhorn equipped Cannondale rides like a charm, so who cares if it is as ugly as sin. What can you do?

Sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists - Crumpler bag was just laying there as it was near the door. I did remember to kick the other bag out of the way of the front wheel. Didn't think to kick that bag (lord knows what was in it - it belongs to the girl of the house) too.

Anonymous said...

Lying is the correct word, NOT laying! However, if ordinarys are getting to be the rage, where do I get (buy) one? I've tried building my own, but the largest wheel I came up with is a 27 inch. It is fun to ride, but I'd sure like/love to ride a 54 inch wheel. Any ideas? Cruiserjoe.

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