Category Archives: Bicycles

Teaching Times Up! bike repair classes

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simon_teachingXup_class

Here’s a great pic of me teaching the weekly bike repair class at Time’s Up.  I teach everything from the absolute basics (types of bikes, anatomy, cleaning, adjusting, and flat fixes) to advanced stuff like how to build your own bike, overhauling bearings, wheel truing, brake installation, etc.  We have two fully-equipped workshops and boxes of spare parts, too.

I really enjoy teaching the classes; I relish the challenge of explaining complex stuff in simple terms, meeting lots of cool people who come to the classes, and getting everyone to roll up their sleeves and do repairs themselves.  Come check it out, it’s FREE – Sunday 2-4pm @ 99 South 6th st. in Williamsburg and Tues. 6:30-8:30 at 156 Rivington St. in the Lower East Side.  www.times-up.org

How To: spray paint a bicycle (like a pro)

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There’s a couple tutorials on the web about how to go about painting a bike frame using spray paints. Since a powder coat often costs $150 or more, many people opt to head over to the hardware store and give their bike a D.I.Y. paint job. However, it often comes out looking cheap and ugly because they use budget paints or don’t prepare the bike correctly first.

After discussing this with Lew Edinger of Memphis Bargain Bicycles, he was kind enough to re-write a tutorial I saw online to reflect his extensive experience painting bikes. Lew has carefully restored many vintage bikes and knows how to get a truly professional finish from paints and supplies you can get at any hardware store.  Check out this tutorial after the jump, as well as some pictures Lew sent me of the finished results.

Read the full tutorial after the jump…

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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.

New Fuji Track Pro pictures

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photo by CyclingWMD

photo by CyclingWMD

Last Sunday we had some warm weather and I rode with a couple buddies from the NYC Fixed.gr forum out to Floyd Bennett field and Jacob Riis beach.  There was a spectacular sunset at the beach and I asked CyclingWMD to take some “bike porn” pictures of my Fuji Track Pro.  It’s evolved a bit since I last posted about it: I’ve switched to Syntace bullhorn bars, clipless Shimano pedals, and a black Dura-Ace 47T chainring.  And I added a carbon HED3 Tri-spoke front wheel.  This bike is so fast and comfortable now, having evolved into exactly the right fit for me and a joy to ride.

photo by CyclingWMD

photo by CyclingWMD

Bianchi “What You Want Ho” Pista

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sideangle_NDS_pista

Here’s a build I threw together the other day from parts I had around the house.  It’s a 2007 Bianchi Pista frame that was powdercoated red.  I added a Sugino Messenger crankset, BMX platform pedals with clips and doubles traps, a brown leather Concor Max saddle, flat bars w/ Oury grips, and a flip-flop wheelset.  I found a nice old Shimano side-pull caliper brake for the front as well.  The NYC “pistadex” took a nose dive this morning when I sold it for $310.

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Quoc Pham Fixed Shoe

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fs0905_01

I just heard about these from Prolly via his blog.  I checked out the Quoc Pham website, and while the only version available currently are the black leather ones, I liked these tan ones the best.  They are reasonably priced at £90 (about $130 USD) and I plan on picking up a pair when they get more colors in.  Check out the full review from Prolly, who got a tester pair recently and seems to like them.  I hope they also consider making versions that accept SPD cleats as well, like the Dromarti shoes.  I am loving the resurgence of classic cycling attire these days – I think it’s a lot nicer than high-top Nikes and a Kid Robot hoodie (soooo two years ago!).

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