Chip’s Trek Soho S

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The Trek Soho S is a very popular choice for anyone looking for an affordable single-speed commuter bicycle that combines quality features with a low-key but stylish design.  I had one a few years ago, which I modified a bit to include road bike drop bars for more hand positions.

Chip came across the post I put up in 2008 detailing these changes and customized his own Soho S in a similar fashion:

“I ride a 2010 Trek Soho S as my daily commuter around Raleigh NC. This weekend I installed some drop bars, Cane Creek cross top levers, and a Cinelli stem after seeing your post. I am loving the setup so far! And best part is I was able to secure all the parts for around $50 locally.  I’ve also upgraded to Koolstop Salmon pads (awesome), and also installed some MKS touring pedals. Next up will probably be a new saddle.”

I think it looks great, although I’m probably a bit biased.  The drop bars bring out the Trek race bike heritage that is part of the Soho S design, and make it more comfortable for long rides as well as sprinting.  Thanks for the pics and write-up, Chip!

Doc Martin – Afterglow Visions of Paradise 1-4

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Doc Martin is one of the most revered DJ’s in the American house music scene.  His career goes back to the earliest days of rave culture, and he has toured the world many times over and held numerous residencies at top dance clubs.  His many recorded mixes are collected in a number of places around the web: Rave Archive, Ezeskankin, and MPiii to name a few.  This particular one is a favorite of mine, collecting many of my favorite house and deep house anthems in one epic journey.  This recording combines all four parts of the Visions of Paradise set into one long mix, which was originally spread across two cassettes.  I don’t know the year it was recorded, but given the track selections, I would say it was sometime in the late 1990’s.

Stream it here

Download here  (163mb, 179 minutes, 128kbps .mp3)

Greg Wilson live at DEMF 2012

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Greg Wilson has been a pioneer in electronic music ever since the early 1980s. Specializing in jazz-funk and disco, Wilson is known for being the first DJ to ever mix live on British television, as well as the teacher of a young Fatboy Slim. Yet perhaps the British producer is most famous for his DJ sets, in which he scratches and mixes using two reel to reel tape machines.  I’ve posted about him before, specifically his awesome BBC Radio Essential Mix and later an except from his essay on the roots of electro.

His set in May 2012 at the Movement festival in Detroit was a tour-de-force of disco dancing and seamless remixing.  Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Garbage, and many others get a disco rework that’s both surprisingly funky and faithful to the originals.  I’ve been listening to it constantly since May and have to share it here:

Download here  (79 minutes, 145 mb, 256kbps .mp3)

Read on for more…

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Medici Triple-Triangle Triathlon bike

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Last spring I found this bike on eBay for under $400 complete.  It’s a Medici, a “spin-off” company of Masi, with ex-Masi builders Mike Howard and Gian Simonetti making the bikes.  I contacted Mike Howard and found that this particular bike was handmade in the 1980’s by him for a southern California triathlete who won several Ironman races with it.  It was sold through the Sandpiper bike shop in Seal Beach, California, and carried their logo along with the Medici logo.

Check out the build & picture gallery, after the jump…

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Surly Long Haul Trucker touring build

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Surly LongHaul Trucker

The Surly Long Haul Trucker is considered one of the best modern, non-custom touring bicycles on the market these days.  Introduced in 2004, it quickly became the “go-to” bike for riders looking for a reliable, no-nonsense machine for long, multi-day travels.  It can also do double duty as a solid commuter or errand-runner around town, perfect for hauling camping gear or groceries.

This one is a 2009 model in their beige “Truckaccino” color, size 52 with 26″ wheels.  I scored it off of Craigslist from a guy who won it in a radio contest and then never rode it.  It came stock with a set of Ortlieb panniers and Blackburn racks.  Since I’ve never been one to leave a stock build alone, I changed almost all of the components out.

Highlights of the build include a Gilles Berthoud “Aspin” touring saddle, Schmidt SON28 Classic generator hub with Supernova E3 light, BioLogic Reecharge system for the iPhone 4,  Schwalbe Marathon  tires, Deore XT derailleurs, Suntour Command shifters, Tubus racks, and a LOOK ErgoStem.  More details and picture gallery after the jump…

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Bridgestone RB-T randonneur touring bike

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1992 Bridgestone RB-T

The RB-T was designed by Grant Petersen to be  a “sport-touring” bicycle, a fore-runner of today’s hybrid bikes.  It’s intended to fill a number of roles, from putting in long rides on the road to tearing up off road trails, to weekend touring loaded with gear.  It does all of these things quite well, and has a classic style that harks back to the French randonneur / audax bicycles of the 1950’s and 60’s.

This particular example was found on eBay in dusty but barely used condition.  It’s a 1992 model, shown in the Bridgestone catalog here.  I cleaned it up and added a lot of new parts.  Like most of the Grant Petersen-era Bridgestones, the stock parts group on the RB-T is a well-thought out mix of reliable but affordable components.  It’s hard to “upgrade” a Bridgestone, but I replaced the brakes, handlebars, and saddle with my own selections, chosen for comfort and style.  Also, it needed racks and a new fork with the appropriate eyelets to mount them on in order to be truly tour-worthy.  The result was a classy, easy-riding machine that gets a lot of compliments.  Read on for details on the restoration and build.

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