Category Archives: Clothes

Icebreaker SS Apollo V merino t-shirt

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Ever since Outlier put out their $75 Empire merino t-shirt last year, I’ve been wondering what the big deal is. Well, as of today I am officially a convert – I picked up this merino t-shirt by Icebreaker last night and it is wonderful.

The cut and the fit are perfect, and it is incredibly comfortable as a base layer as well as all-day outerwear. Icebreaker’s shirt is $55 and available from their site. Or check out Outlier’s version, as well as their amazing merino hoodie.  I’m ready to get myself more merino shirts and outerwear; it’s absolutely worth the premium cost.

Kicks for fixies: the 661 Filter SPD shoe

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661_filter_spd_bk

Recently I switched from riding in clips and straps (MKS GR-9 pedals with Toshi double straps and Soma double clips) to clipless pedals.  It was an amazing difference; easily the best upgrade I have ever invested in for my bike.  Within minutes I could do stuff that had always eluded me with clips and straps – I can skid, even while seated, and can ride no-handed.  Handling and power transfer is superb.  But I still had a problem: when I wasn’t riding, walking around in fancy road shoes and cleats was pretty lame!  They don’t look cool, they were noisy, and at one point they made me slip and fall down a flight of stairs!  (Luckily, I was OK).

filtercleat

Then at the Bike Jumble last week I bought a pair of these 611 Filter shoes from Continuum Cycles.  They are skate-style shoes with stiff reinforced soles and mounts for cleats!  Perfect!  They are comfortable and solid, holding my foot as well as my road shoes.  The cleat is recessed into the sole, so you have the full grip of the sneaker tread – no more slipping around on bulky cleats.  I am using them with Shimano SH51 cleats and M520 dual-sided clipless pedals.  I definitely recommend these shoes to any urban fixed-gear riders who want the benefits of riding clipless without the annoyance of walking around in road shoes all day.  Check them out at 611’s website or you local bike shop.

Tank Driver’s Hat!

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A couple weeks ago I saw an older lady in the lobby of the building I work in, on her way to one of the art galleries that are housed in it. She was wearing a really awesome winter hat that caught my eye. I looked closer and realized that it was a tank driver’s helmet, thanks to the fact that I’m a major geek when it comes to military history. So, I got my Ebay on and sought ought a similar helmet. This is the one I settled on:

tank driver's helmet The helmet has a padded leather shell with genuine fleece inside. Raised pads on the top and front protect your noggin from the constant bumping around the steel interior of a T-52 or T-72 tank.

Underneath the ear flaps are heavy-duty headphones that plug into the tank’s intercom system. I removed them from the hat in order to get a more streamlined look to it. It took about 20 minutes and a razor to cut the stitching.

The particular hat pictured is the actual one I bought from Ebay for about $60. It’s an East German Army version, an authentic Cold War relic.

It’s more rare than the Russian M60 variant, but I preferred it because it has three pads with one positioned in the center. The Russian one has four pads and is not quite as striking. I think it’s about 30 years old, and I’m going to have the leather re-conditioned and the flaps sewn down by a professional tailor soon. It’s a real bad-ass winter hat, and although it’s getting warm now as spring hits NYC, I’m gonna rock it next winter.