This was a quickie restoration I did over the weekend, of a 1960’s-era Columbia Sport bicycle. Super relaxed frame geometry for cruising around town, and the trademark “hellenic” seat stays. Nifty chainring cut outs and original headbadge keep this bike looking old school despite the orange and black fade paint job I gave it. 27″ wheels with a coaster brake keep the ride smooth and simple. This bike would look great with a tweed jacket!
More pics after the jump…
I remember being introduced to Rob Playford, founder of the Moving Shadow label, at a club in London in 1998. At the time, I wasn’t familiar with who he was, and the friend that introduced me quickly set me straight: “You know ‘Tough At The Top’ by EZ Rollers? They’re on his label. You know Goldie? He produced his first album. You know 2 Bad Mice? That’s him.” And then I said “ohhhhh…..!” and ran back to buy him a pint and apologize for the blank look I’d given him moments before.
I dug up this mix recently and still really enjoy it. It captures some of my favorite Moving Shadow releases, catching the label at a time when it was split between the jazzy sounds of EZ Rollers and the harder techstep sounds of Dom & Roland that were coming to the forefront of the drum and bass scene then. This mix is a great tour of Moving Shadow’s sound, including “Tough At The Top” and Flytronix’s awesome “A Rosay for Rhythm,” an urban spoken word poetry tour de force. Mixed flawlessly by Rob, (under the moniker Timecode), it still has the same edgy, sophisticated and sexy energy that was the mark of this important era in d’n’b. Tracklist after the jump.
Listen now:
Download here (right click and “save as”)
41min 23s /// 77.6mb /// 256kbps .mp3
Listening to old-school acid house often means listening to scratchy old recordings ripped from 20-25 year old mixtapes. Not this time! Back in 2000, Underground Construction, a Chicago house label known for releasing literally hundreds of great 12 inches, compiled and released an excellent compilation of hits from the Trax Records vaults. For those not familar with Trax, here’s a little history from Discogs:
Trax is one of the two original Chicago house-music labels (the other being D.J. International Records). Founded in the early 1980s by Larry Sherman, Screamin’ Rachael, Jesse Saunders, and Vince Lawrence. Responsible for the release of “Acid Tracks” by Phuture, “Move Your Body” by Marshall Jefferson, and many other records that shaped the Chicago and acid house sounds through the 80’s until the early 1990’s.
Mixed by DJ Rick Garcia, this is a journey through twenty-four of Trax Records’ most famous and beloved anthems. These songs shaped the future of house music and techno, with their haunting synths and acid 303 lines, as well as soulful vocals by Darryl Pandy and Xavier Gold. Essential and timeless.
Listen now:
Download here (right click and “save as”)
time: 61:02 /// 114 mb /// 256 kbps .mp3
Tracklist after the jump… Continue reading
Following up on my last post, I recognize that not everyone wants to make their own SPD-compatible shoes. So what are your “off the shelf ” options? Well, I’ve done a lot of research and here is the first installment of my two-part “2010 buyer’s guide” based on the coolest shoes I have seen that are currently for sale. My criteria here is to list shoes that would look and feel good at a casual office or social occasion, the kind of shoes you can wear all day, anywhere, without looking like a total bike dork. This first list is of leather low-profile shoes that have a European style. Part Two of the buyer’s guide will focus on sneakers that are SPD-compatible.
Check out the rest of the 2010 buyer’s guide after the jump: Continue reading
Scoooooooooooooore! Scooped this beautiful Colnago Super Pista from a gentleman up in Harlem yesterday. I’m still unsure of the exact year and model, but I believe it to be a late 70’s – early 80’s Super Pista, probably one of the Colnago Mexico series. It has a Campagnolo C-Record gruppo; 165mm Pista crankset, hubs, headset, seatpost, and bars. Rims are Mavic sew-ups with Wolber tubular tires.
Overall the bike is very clean considering its age and the fact that the previous owner rode it often. My only complaint is that some dummy drilled the fork for a brake (arrgh!). I am planning on giving it a complete disassembly, cleaning, polishing, and lubing. And some fresh bar tape, of course. The stem is a Nitto Jaguar that I will probably replace with a period-correct 3TTT Colnago pantographed stem, and I plan swapping the saddle for an official vintage Colnago one, and maybe even splurging on some vintage C-Record track pedals. This is a truly rare bike and I’m kind of in awe of it. It will likely take me a few weeks (maybe months) before I accumulate all the correct parts, but I can’t wait to post the “after” pics when I’m done.
Check out more photos after the jump!
I just saw this new “experimental” frame from the folks at Bikesdirect / Bikeisland. They added a second top tube to their popular Kilo TT bike frame, and widened the front fork and rear triangle to accept 700×38 wheels. It’s based on the vintage designs of the early 20th century, sometimes referred to as “scorchers.”
Looks like a lot of fun to ride offroad, in the snow, etc. Or perhaps re-paint it and make a modern-retro townie to match your tweed jackets. It should be available for sale by the end of this week, a limited run of full bikes at Bikesdirect for $450 and framesets for $250 at BikeIsland. Sizes available are Small – 53c C-T, Medium – 56c C-T, and Large – 59c C-T.
Here’s the second mix I unearthed in my dusty backups, a mixtape I made with my friend Zakee on a summer afternoon in 1998. “Pimp Fiction” is a mash of good stuff, from 60’s and 70’s soul, blues, funk and disco gems to 90’s acid jazz, triphop, and rap. It’s reassuring to hear such tight selection and I’m glad to be able to add it to this archive.
Listen now:
Download here (right click and “save as”)
time: 70:34 /// 165mb /// 256kbps .mp3
Tracklist after the jump… Continue reading