En fixed gear sykkel (fastnav) er en sykkel hvor drevet bak er skrudd fast på navet uten frihjulsnav. Så lenge hjulet går rundt går også kranken rundt og omvendt. En fixed gear sykkel kan også sykles baklengs...

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Broken Campa'

Guess what!? The crank "gave up" this afternoon (read the previous story).
I got a new 39 tooth Campagnolo chainring in the mail today. When I was out testriding the 39/16 set-up the left arm cracked...
I think the combination of beeing from the 80's and the fact that we give it a lot of stress is the reason. And of course the fact that I tried to tighten it "some more". It just made a "crack" sound and I knew that this was not a good sound...

Yellow tape...

I changed the handlebar tape a few days ago.


Unfortunately the color was way to "lemon yellow". I think I liked the old Carbon fiber look better. But now it's done...

More trixie pics...

Here's yet another cool picture of Kristian on my Motobecane.
I wonder when something brakes on this old bike..?
























As you can see I changed the bartape for a yellow one from Nashbar. Unfortunately it had a to much of a lemon yellow color...

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Doing some tricks on the Motobecane fixie...

I was out cruising the fixie with my friend Kristian Nauf.
He had his GT trial bike.
And I'll tell you; the K'man knows how to use a trail bike!!

Hit the pics for a larger version!



Kristian had a "day of" from the practice hours to Birken...

Of course he knows how to play with a Fixed Gear!


Mr. "Wannabe" Fixie!


Doing the best he can...




More pics from the cruise here!


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Monday, August 25, 2008

Girls just want to have fun!

Updated parts list...

Here's a updated parts list on my Moto' project...




*Flat black powdercoated frame.

*Self designed and made sticker set.

--

(Wheelset)
*DP18 M Yellow
*Black spokes 3x
*Novatech Yellow hubs
*Respaced to 126mm
*Shimano Dura-Ace Cog & lockring 16T x 1/8
*ACS Freewheel 16 x 1/8
*LV Tubes
*Rim Strips
*Continental Sport Contact 700x28

--

*KMC Z410 yellow chain

*Silver alloy seatpost 25.4mm

*Vintage Stronglight Motobecane French Headset

*San Marco Arami Sadle

*A NOS Motobecane Headbadge.

*Polished old Campagnolo Athena crank arms

*Cyclo crank arm dust caps

*42 tooth Campagnolo chainring

*Polished old Cinelli Stem.

*Flipped and Chopped original Cinelli handlebar.

*Carbon Look handlebar tape (removed...*).

*Yellow handlebar tape

*Campagnolo Athena front brake (removed because I liked it better without...).

*Brake level from GT babyjogger (removed because I liked it better without brakes...).

*NOS Yellow Brake Cable (removed because I liked it better without brakes...).

*Frog Lite twinpack

*MKS Sylvan track pedals

*MKS Aluminum Toe clips (removed because I liked it better without...).

Sunday, August 24, 2008

VISION! Danish bike...



VISION Sprint TSG.
Ny baneramme i custom aluminium
7005 D.B. T6 rørsæt. Ekstra kraftige bag- og
kædestags og volume areo underrør sikrer
maximal stivhed.

Leveres med integrerede styrfittings og
lige aluforgaffel.



Tekniske specifikationer:
7005 aluminium - T6 varmebehandlet,
dobbelt butted
Aero underrør
Oversized Bagstag
Integreret styrfitting
Incl. 1 1/8" alu-forgaffel.
Krankboks: BSA
Saddelpind: 27,2 mm.
Hjulstr. 700 cc.
Vægt ca. 1350 gr.

Nå skal hipsterne ha sykler det er umulig å slutte å trå på.

Er det Thor Hushovd som har skylda? Neppe. For den profesjonelle sykkeleliten ville det vært utenkelig å legge ut på tur med en sykkel det er umulig å slutte å trå på. Likevel har salget av fixed gear-sykler (populært kalt fixie) nærmest eksplodert det siste året. En fixie er en sykkel med fast nav. Noe som innebærer at pedalene roterer med hjulet, og at man i teorien kan sykle bakover.



FORDELENE ER likevel mange. En fixie er lettere enn andre sykler, siden girsystemet er fjernet. Også håndbremser er avleggs, siden bremser veier og – ikke minst – raserer designersyklenes velkomponerte hele.

Tanken er at en fixie og dens syklist skal fungere som en organisk helhet, og at man blir ett med naturen, asfalten og omgivelsene. Frihetsfølelsen av å ri en fixie er ikke overvurdert. Men det koster. Og tyngdeloven har skylda. Å bremse med pedalene, etter å ha sluppet hemningene, sust nedover en bakke og latt lårene gå som trommestikker, er en prøvelse – sykkelen er da heller ikke designet for norske fjell.

Man kan heller ikke fjerne føttene fra pedalene, for å plassere dem ned igjen kan sammenliknes med å stikke foten inn i et roterende hjul.

SÅ HVORFOR ER fixies, sykler designet for profesjonell konkurransesykling på bane, blitt den nye it-saken? Svaret ligger i spørsmålet.

Rent sykkelhistorisk kan de første tohjulinger, som for eksempel «veltepetter» (1860), gå under betegnelsen fixie, da pedalene var festet rett på hjulet, men mot slutten av 1930-tallet var det faste navet så å si historie på landeveien. På 2000-tallet så man likevel en oppblomstring av sykler med fast nav. Syklister som foretrakk å gjøre triks med tohjulingen, framfor å faktisk bevege seg fra A til Å på dem, så fordelene ved å kunne rygge med sykkelen.

DET SISTE ÅRET har fixies likevel beveget seg fra å være et kultfenomen til å bli et kult fenomen. Syklene er å se på framsiden av trendblader og ikke minst på verdensvevens utallige hipsterblogger.

Norske trendsettere har selvfølgelig tatt til seg moten, og sykkelen er blitt en like naturlig del av den retroperspektive hipsteruniformen som italienske Persol-briller fra 50-tallet og kalkulator-ur fra Casios 80-talls katalog.

I tillegg gir sykkelen uttrykk for helse og velvære, da man faktisk er nød til å trå så lenge man sitter på den. Slik sett har man med fixien tatt treningssenterets ergometersykkel ut i gata, og blandet treninga med ekstremsport og en «i ett med naturen»-opplevelse. Fixien er i takt med ei tid der fjellklatring og kiting er blitt «like vanlig» som en tur i marka. At det er tett mellom fixiesyklene på Manhattan er ingen underdrivelse, noe kjente merkevarenavn, som blant annet Stussy og Nike har oppdaget og designet egne sykler. Kjendisene har også kastet seg på trenden, og hiphop-mogulen Kanye West er en av mange som har fått spesialdesignet sin egen fixie, en gul en, som visstnok er malt med maling som lyser i mørket. Et klokt valg selv på nedre Manhattan, der avenyene er brede og sykkelløypene mange.

På norske krøtterstier derimot kan en håndbremsfri, tynnhjulet fixie fort bli ufix.

Dagbladet, søndag 10.08.2008

Sykkel uten bremser!

Med fjærlette sykler uten bremser gjøres gatene utrygge. «Fixed gear» blir etterhvert en del av gatebildet.

«Fixed gear» skal etter sigende være den nye trenden innen sykkelsporten. For å minske vekten så mye som mulig er syklene strippet for alt unødvendig utstyr, som for eksempel bremser.

Kultstatus
Den noe spesielle sykkel-typen går nå som en farsott i store deler av verden. Til og med sykkelbudene i New York har tatt i bruk de raske syklene uten bremser.

Sykling uten bremser har nærmest kultstatus i enkelte miljøer basert på oppfatningen av at denne typen sykling gir en spesiell tilstand av intens konsentrasjon, også omtalt som «flow».

Gamle racersykler blir ofte brukt innen «fixed gear»-sykling.

Sykkelen er laget slik at den ikke ruller av seg selv. Tannhjulet er festet direkte til hjulet, som fører til at hjulene ikke vil går rundt med mindre man trør.

For å bremse må man ta i bruk ren muskelkraft og holde imot pedalene. Eventuelt kan man skrense. Den nye trenden krever både god fysikk og sterke nerver.

- Kroppen er med på en helt annen måte. Man kan ikke slappe av et sekund, og man må være med i hver bevegelse...

I mange land, blant annet Norge, er det ulovlig å sykle uten bremser. Og som skaterne var det på 1980-tallet og taggerne har vært de siste 10-15 årene, blir «fixed gear»-gjengen muligens politiets fremtidige hodebry...

Se traileren til den kommende «fixed-gear»-videoen fra YouTube:



Fra TV2 på net!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

This dude is awesome!

VALENTINO CAMPAGNOLO

























He’s not a cyclist. He’s neither an engineer nor a metallurgist. Like many other successful Italian businessmen, he’s conservative in appearance and in character. Still, this is Valentino Campagnolo, and unlike any other successful Italian businessman, he is the keeper of a flame. A keeper of an empire. Son of Gentulio Campagnolo, Valentino is an example of the burdens that a famous name and legacy can bring.

Not unlike his Japanese counterparts who carry the Shimano name, Valentino Campagnolo has a lot on his shoulders when he awakes each day. Just as it is with the Shimano brood, the burden has as much to do with the daily business of running a bicycle component company as it does bearing the family name itself. For Valentino, “Campagnolo” is a name that’s as entwined in the history of cycling as it is Italy itself.

On A Cold Day
In the annals of European bike racing, “Tullio” Campagnolo was a bike racer of little note. But when his freezing hands were unable to remove a wheel during a cold weather stage in 1930, he visualized a quick release mechanism that would eventually lead to the empire known as Campagnolo SRL. Beyond the quick release, there was also the little gizmo known as the rear derailleur that he introduced in 1949 that would have a fairly large impact on the sport. Perhaps the one invention of his that would have ramifications well beyond the cycling tifosi and prove the ultimate Italianess of the Campagnolo name was the self-centering wine bottle opener that he received a patent for in 1966. A glass of Chianti, anyone?

Until you spend some time with Valentino, it’s not ever clear just how profound an impact his father’s legacy plays in his life. But “Tullio” is a theme that he consistently returns to as he describes one vestige of the business after another. It is his father’s legacy, after all, that has spawned everything from countless Tour de France victories to the many bike geeks who ride across the globe living and breathing all things Campy. You know the type. Partisan zealots who fiercely defend the iconic brand by heralding every new product as innovation, who dismiss their less successful designs and proudly display the winged QR logo tattoo on their calf. It’s for all that that Valentino comes to work each day professing to always do better.

The House That Tullio Built
The Campagnolo factory is located in Vicenza, Italy, just minutes off the A4 highway that acts as the vital link of commerce for the industrial zone that is northern Italy. Including their subsidiary operations, the Campagnolo workforce totals around 700 people. Valentino is both the namesake and CEO, and the privately held company has an annual income of nearly $175 million.

Despite the romantic notions that some Campagnolo fans might imagine, the headquarters of the fabled Italian component maker are rather drab. As much as Campagnolo’s continued success relies on its vaunted heritage to engage contemporary consumers, it is obviously a company not prone to sentimentality. Besides the occasional race win poster and an etched piece of glass with a visage of Tullio in the main foyer, there is not much to indicate that this is the origin of so much celebrated passion and history.

However, in my many conversations with various engineers and product managers, it is equally obvious that no one at Campagnolo needs the visual trappings of Campy history to remind them of the mission at hand. Brand and national awareness seem an inescapable purpose for most. Even in talking with lead engineer Vincenzo Garbin, the passion of a true Campagnolisti is obvious. “All of Campagnolo is a research department. We have a lot of competitors and so we must continue to study and research new materials. We have to enter into the world of customer expectation—and more.”

From Moab To Milano
Strangely, despite the company’s road heritage, it was at the Fat Tire Festival in Moab, Utah, where I first met Valentino back in 1990. Campy was just starting to make inroads into their ill-fated mountain bike effort, so Valentino flew out to the celebrated event to get a firsthand look at the crazy sport that was just beginning to be aware of its meteoric rise. Stranger still was when later in the week I found myself standing outside the costume party watching Valentino (with all his traditional Italian sensibilities) size up a ribald, seven foot tall incarnation of Frankenstein who was equally awestruck at meeting the son of Tullio Campagnolo.

One year later Valentino was on more common ground as we whisked our way towards Campagnolo’s hometown in Vincenza from the Milan bicycle show. Valentino had booked us dinner at one of his favorite local dives, “Il Leonconi,” and it was there that I was introduced to the Italian delicacy of boiled meats! Valentino is an impeccable host and I felt guilty for causing him a moment of distress by feigning instant and strict vegetarian requirements that not only had me passing on the grayish (and largely unidentifiable) body parts presented with some level of fanfare, but also in forcing the chef to scurry back to the kitchen to scrounge up a salad and plate of grilled vegetables!

Almost two decades later I once again found myself visiting both the Milan show and the Campagnolo factory. Once again I was able to sit down with Valentino and talk about life, cycling and the wondrous mystique that is all things Campagnolo and Italy.

The Life and Times of Valentino Campagnolo

Ines Brunn in LA


Ines Brunn - Los Angeles 7/20/08

Block Party LA!


BFF Block Party LA 2008

Hufnagel Cycles!

Check out Hufnagels bicycles! www.flickr.com/photos/hufnagelcycles/

Monday, August 18, 2008

Broken chain...

The yellow KMC chain broke when I was riding with my friend Kristian, learning some new trix last saturday. That's pretty f'n scary...


.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Pretty dam close to finnished...


New Clips Straps on the pedals, a Campagnolo Athena brake up front and a Frog Lite LED light set. One red for the seatpost and one white for the handlebar. So what else do I need to be the coolest fixie on the block..?

Got brakes and Clips'n Straps!

I have become a "chicken" and mounted a brake... (It might not stay for long!)
It's a Campagnolo Athena caliper that I cleaned up. Got a great deal on a yellow brake line on eBay. The brake lever is from a GT Baby Jogger. It actually works pretty good. Perfect size! Thanx Tom Kristian for the great idea...





As some of you might notice; I'm missing one part ont he calipers. If you have one laying around let me know...

A new set of MKS clips (from eBay) and a set of REG straps. Found the straps in a local hardware store. Brand new!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Monday, August 04, 2008

Old Motobecane commercial...

Cool new ride...

How cool is this guys!? The new Attack from Fetish Cycles!




Check out Fetish Cycles!

Guestbook!

The guestbook is up and running! Please sign it...

Click Here!

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Kristian is test riding!



When I was out playing with the fixie on sunday, this dude wanted to testride my Fixed Gear bike. His name is Kristian Nauf and he had seen it at Larvik Sykkel, a bikestore in Larvik, when I was getting help with the buid.
Kristian is one of Norways best trick/freestyle/MTB/road bicycle riders.
And man I'll tell you; this dude is awsome! He did it "all" on his first ride...




Stay tuned for a video of the happening...

The man behind the Moto'...



This is me and the Motobecane in my home town last weekend. I was out training on some bike-tricks...