THE BIKE BLOG BOOK

Friday, March 20, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Japanese custom bike makers Bratsyle build or tinker with any make and model to create dream bikes. With capabilities to machine nearly any part of the bike including engine blocks, mufflers, handlebars and seats, each bike is an exquisite work of craftsmanship and a showcase of impressively sharp attention to detail. Unlike over-the-top embellished bikes in the vein of Orange County Choppers, Bratsyle offers a more rideable, comfortable, subdued luxury that reminds us of Simone Pace's Italian bikes. Relish those old-school Firestone slicks often used on their street bikes.
http://www.bratstyle.com/

designhuis.com

Ride For Life!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cult Classic

Set in post-World War II Rome, The Bicycle Thief tells a simple story well, relying for its impact on gritty realism and emotional verity. There are no subplots, there are just a few key characters, the dialogue is the day-to-day talk of poor people struggling to survive - not the ingredients for heady debate over coffee after the movie.

Still, it is a film one will not quickly forget. Director Vittorio de Sica pioneered a lean, stark presentation with nonprofessional actors. The style, with its subject matter based on hard postwar life, epitomizes Italian neorealism. Here we follow the fortune of Antonio, a family man whose wife pawns their household linens so that they can reclaim from the same pawnshop a bicycle that is required for a job he has been offered. Jobs are scarce and the family is poor; much depends on possession of the bike.

The bicycle is stolen on Antonio's first day at work and he and his young son search the streets of Rome in hopes of recovering it. A series of frustrating episodes mark the day, tension and desperation growing as chances for recovering the bicycle, and with it, their dashed hopes, fade. The events of the day, from a confrontation with a suspect and his neighbors, to a respite with an ill afforded restaurant meal, to a visit to a fortune teller have a cumulative effect, deepening our understanding of, and feelings for, father and young son. Their humanity glows, even through their misery, and their despair becomes ours.

Freestyler

Not a replica, the Original Freestyler is an update of the original 1970s BMX bike ridden by BMX legend Bob Haro.

The new version of the 1978 cult classic features a throwback Haro Freestyle Division frame, Skyway Tuff Wheels with Haro MS4 tyres, tubular 4130 three-piece cranks, 44/16 gearing with ACS Mainline freewheel and as befits a limited edition, chrome aplenty.

If you're into your BMX, all of that will no doubt mean something to you. if it doesn't let's just say it's a bike that's both fun to ride and cool to be seen with. The Original Freestyler sells for around the £355 mark.

http://www.harofreestyler.com/

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Bill Phelps

Brooklyn photographer Bill Phelps'images blew us away. They’re surreal, sensual, and often feature motorbikes. Bill’s style is unusual: sometimes there’s a dusty sepia look, and sometimes a hint of Victoriana. Often, there’s a heady, almost French Polynesian sexuality. I don’t know what camera Bill uses, but he sure knows his way around it. The bike in the picture, by the way, is a 1953 Norton Featherbed followed by a 1952 Vincent Black Shadow pictured above.

http://www.billphelps.com/

Monday, March 9, 2009

Mosaic Monday

http://chasingelephantdreams.blogspot.com/

Sweet Beauty!

We’ve only just finished salivating over the Wrenchmonkees’ 1976 BMW R80. And now the boys from Copenhagen have come up with a Japanese café racer that’s just killer. The new bike is called 'Gorilla Punch', and it’s based on the classic air-cooled, inline four Honda CB750. More delectable images on the Wrenchmonkees website, or if you're residing in bicycle utopia, you can see it at Kunst Industri Museet, the Danish Museum of Art & Design. The price on the sticker? Cheaper than a run-of-the-mill US chopper: USD$30,000.

http://www.wrenchmonkees.com/

Yao's custom 80cm!

West U. Cycles, Inc., owner Jeff Nielsen presents Houston Rockets center Yao Ming (7'6") with a custom-made Gunnar Rockhound 29" wheeled mountain bike.
http://gunnarbikes.com/newsletters/10-29-04.htm

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http://bttdominhoaovouga.blogspot.com

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http://bttdominhoaovouga.blogspot.com

Friday, March 6, 2009

Poetry in motion

There were cathedrals falling out of your eyes
And your arms were the handlebars
I held in an abbreviated dream of crushed petals
Strewn across the limpid avenues.

I said, “I have poems for you”
But my words were lost in the wind.
I said, “I love you”
And you drifted into sleep.

And so I said nothing and rode you in and out of the rooms
Where we had stretched the boundaries of the soul
Like an endless sheet
And I felt you waking up between my legs.

“Bicycle Poem”
by Noelle Kocot

Save a life!

Georg Jensen

Georg Jensen is best known for its eye-catching designer jewellery, but the company has taken something of a strange departure and gone into the bicycle business.

And this Georg Jensen bicycle is the first product. A classic bike made in conjunction with a classic bike maker - Sogreni of Denmark - with detailing courtesy of vintage British leather firm Brooks. For the not-inconsiderable price tag you get a single-speed, brushed steel bike hand-finished with the same level of attention as any of the company's bling, plus a handmade silver-plated bell, premium leather seat and grips and some chrome mud guards.

If you live in a crime-free area, you can pick up this limited edition bike in the very near future in 'selected' Georg Jensen stores, priced at £2,800.

http://www.wallpaper.com/interiors/wheels-by-georg-jensen/2864

Métisse Desert Racer

This is a replica of the bike owned and used by Steve McQueen for competitive racing, faithfully reproduced by hand and fully authorised by the McQueen estate.

In terms of technical details, it offers up a fully-reconditioned period Triumph TR6 engine (complete with single Amal carburettor), styled footrests, 35mm Ceriani forks, a Mk III chrome-moly, nickel plated, oil bearing frame and authentic colour coded tank, seat and panels.

Just 300 are being made, all sold with a framed and embossed certificate of authenticity and McQueen signature on the tank badge. You can order now, with a price around $32,000.

http://www.metisse-motorcycles.com/stevemcqueen.htm

Classics

If the kit you wear is as important as the bike you ride, you might want to check out the Dromarti vintage-style leather cycling shoes. A classic look that sits somewhere between formal footwear and a pair of vintage football boots, the shoes are available in three styles - Sportivo, Race, and Storica - all with a similar look, handmade in Italy and with a leather upper and options to fit most pedal systems.

http://www.dromarti.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=10_14&products_id=16