Author Archives: naptrax

Zunow Z-1 road bike with Sugino 75 group

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zunow-graf

The post has been long overdue.  Above is my Zunow Z-1 road bike, equipped with a Sugino 75 road group.  It has a 53.5cm seat tube, making it slightly large in size for me, but I have the fit dialed in quite well.   An earlier build of this bike (sporting tri-spokes, LOL!) was featured on the Chari & Co. blog two winters ago, and it's taken a quite a while longer to "finish" it.

The Zunow Z-1, made by Takeru Kageyama, was their top-of-the-line road bike, made with their proprietary lugs and Tritec / Ditchex tube set.  The drop-outs are Campagnolo, although Zunows were also made using SunTour dropouts as well as their own Zunow-branded ones. 

The rear triangle is atypical for the Z-1 series; they usually have a more typical seat stay arrangement with a bi-plane style brake bridge.  My Z-1 has wishbone style seat stays with a gentle curve in the stays.  The chain stays are curved too, and the entire rear is chromed.  Wishbone rear stays are more commonly seen in their DiPicce and Lepton models. 

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Catnap – Acid Techno Classics

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I’m back with a new DJ mix, and this time it’s a selection of techno from the late 1980’s and early 90’s.  The first wave of acid house had passed and the tempos had increased, the sonic landscape widening as the genre began to mature.  The roots of the Trance genre are here, alongside harder-edged sounds from Germany and New York, mingling with the Afro-futurism of Detroit.  This is when EDM “grew up” and went from a popular dance craze to the exploration of whole new worlds and visions.

Mix download and tracklist after the jump… Continue reading →

Gold Pake single speed

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Here’s a Pake “Rum Runner” single speed that I built for a friend of mine.  It’s a 56cm frame with a KHS track fork, an Surly wheelset with flip-flop rear hub, front and rear brakes, and riser bars.  The tires were the stock Avocet 700x32c skinwall slicks came from my RB-T, which should deliver a comfortable ride on broken urban pavement.  Simple!

Blue Sky Black Death – Aquatic Reverie

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Young God and Kingston are collectively known as production duo Blue Sky Black Death, cutting melancholic hip-hop beats years before folks like Clams Casino went that route.  Already responsible for soundtracks to rappers like Nacho Picasso, Jean Grae, and Hell Razah, Aquatic Reverie is a blend of all things beautiful in their pursuit of instrumental happiness.  Read on for more, plus download & stream links…

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Sparton fixed gear bike

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Sparton is a Chilean brand that was briefly imported into the USA from 2007-2010.  They were initially sold via eBay for under $200 for a frame and fork.  At first a handmade, lugged steel track frame at such a low price made a big splash in the fixed gear scene, but then a number of negative reviews came out.  Most of the issues were concerned with the fit and finish, unsurprising considering the low price and 3rd world origin.  They operated a retail store in South Carolina briefly, but now the store, website, and owner have all disappeared.

This particular example was bought used (frame & fork) from a girl who had been riding it for the last three years.  It was marked 53×53 (the size of the frame) on the bottom bracket, and had the Sparton logo cast into the seat stay end caps.

It was notably heavier than other track frames I’ve seen, leading me to believe it was made from cheap hi-tensile steel as opposed to lighter and stronger cromoly steel.  The only issue I noticed was that the seat stay bridge had been placed too low, preventing the rear wheel from being mounted all the way into the rear fork-ends.  An amateurish but not serious mistake by the builder.

I built it up with a set of Alex wheels, a Sugino ALPS 144BCD crank which I think is identical to a Suntour Cyclone, stock WTB saddle from my Surly Long Haul Trucker, and the original Bridgestone tires that had come on my RB-1.  It was purchased by a young art student from Paris.

Picture gallery after the jump…

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Nightmares on Wax presents: Wax Da Box June 2012

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DJ E.A.S.E. aka George Evelyn is known as the positive force behind Nightmares on Wax. Since 2009, he has been hosting the weekly WAX ON records radio show called WAX DA BOX, streaming worldwide via IBIZA SONICA radio every thursday 6-7pm CET – with the repeat going out every saturday 2-3pm CET. You can check out the full archive of Wax Da Box mixes at their Soundcloud account.

This particular mix is my favorite one of all.  some of the tracks in the mix include Waldeck’s dubby “Our Day Will Come”, “Dreamer” by B.B.&Q Band, the “Soul Clap” instrumental by Showbiz & AG, “Rocking Chair” by Mr. Scruff, “Mas Pan (DJ Day Remix)” by Quantic, the “Luck of Lucien” instrumental by A Tribe Called Quest, and a rare old-school hiphop nugget from Jibri the Wise One, “The House the Dog Built”.  Quite a mix of rare and classic tracks with newer selections – truly worthy of the Nightmares on Wax name.   Check out the full tracklist after the jump…

Alternate download link – 136mb, 58 minutes, 320kbps .mp3 file

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Skratch Bastid & The Gaff – Soul Sisters STAND UP!

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Beyond being acclaimed Canadian DJs, Skratch Bastid and the Gaff share a love for ’60s- and ’70s-era soul music. Over the past couple of years, the pair spent two years in the lab concocting Soul Sisters, Stand Up! – a funky as hell 80-minute mix of sister funk n’ soul tunes. In Scratch Bastid’s own words:

Well, here it is. Soul Sisters, Stand Up! is our long awaited, brand new 80-minute mix filled with 100% Female Funk/Soul/R&B/Breaks. 2 DJs. 2 years in the making. Featuring the sounds of soulful ladies from the mid-60s & mid-70s – a snapshot of love, pain, happiness, oppression, strength, struggle and more from an era where records were the primary outlet for these voices. These messages are driven home by the beats and grooves from what is undeniably the funkiest decade in music history. From Freda, Aretha, Nina & Diana to Betty Everett, Lavette & Davis, we take you on a journey to a mindset, using tunes both classic and criminally overlooked to tell the story. Mixed together in classic mixtape fashion… you know, with mixing.

The selections are funky, sequenced and blended flawlessly, showcasing the voices of Marlena Shaw, Lyn Collins, Merry Clayton, Etta James, Aretha and many more. Some of the O.G. samples are looped live, recreating the classics on the fly in the context of the mix without losing momentum.  Stream the tape to preview if you must, but smart money says a download might be in order as this is likely to get repeat listens from any avid fan of quality music.

Download here (both parts 1 & 2 together in one mp3) – 105mb, 1 hour 27 minutes, .mp3 format

(article source credits to Smokingsection and Totallyfuzzy)