Four Current Classics for a Four Day Week

The process of organizing and cleaning up can be a little ugly - found a nested folder on the computer that had a bunch of things which folks had sent in late last year, that "I was gonna get to..." but didn't.   Within that unremarkable digital repository is a goodly chunk of cool bicycles.  I may end up threading them into the newer submissions, or just try to do those sequentially (which may in turn build up the backlog for more recent entries.....) We'll see.

Again for those of you who have sent stuff in and have yet to see it represented, patience please! (And Thanks! - both for the images and descriptions and for the patience!) Hang in there, subscribe to the feed and enjoy these fine bicycles.

Nick Roth's Schwinn Superior

Along with the early Trek bicycles, another set of bicycles which I've always secretly lusted after has been the fillet brazed Schwinns.  This under appreciated segment of Schwinn's lineup seems to be largely unknown to folks.  It first caught my eye when I read about them on Sheldon Brown's site -  in Mark Rother's article posted there.

Now, certainly,  I like lugs.  But, there's something really beautiful about a fillet brazed frameset - a smooth, seamless quality to the work that flatters the elegant simplicity of a bicycle frame. The Schwinns such as Nick's Superior just seemed like really undervalued framesets.

Hopefully (since we presumably ride in the same county) I'll cross paths with this bicycle one day - but in the meantime, enjoy these images of this bicycle.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery - 
#829 - Nick Roth's Schwinn Superior
#830 - Gernot Huber's Raleigh Woman's model
#831 - Angus Lemon's Rivendell Atlantis
#832 - Tyler Los-Jones' Miyata 1000

A Good Helping of Current Classics

It's much safer to stay out of the post-Thanksgiving retail scrum and enjoy some great looking bicycles. Between gorgeous images of pre-fall mountain bike vistas and the details of resurrections and renovations which are contained within this batch, my hope is that you'll find some enjoyment and respite from the pending holiday craziness.


Eric Bagdonas' Miyata Ninety Mixte

Mixtes seem to be enjoying a bit of quiet resurgence.  Appearing in  more advertisements and articles to be sure, but it does seem as though I'm seeing them more frequently on my commute and locked up around town as they quietly go about their day being useful and stylish. 

Starting with a well-rendered Miyata mixte frame, Eric has created a sure-footed, weather-resistant bicycle for real world use on the streets of Portland, OR. It's funny to consider how many features I would have poo-poo-ed a decade or so ago - basket, fenders, IGH (Internally Geared Hubset)... indeed, the very notion of a "drop-bar" bicycle itself.  But, now, there it is, with just enough glimmer and glint from the silver fenders to catch your attention as it goes about its way each day.

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery - 
#817 - Bob Hague's Motobecane Grant Touring
#818 - Justin Becker's Rodriguez Tandem
#819 - Kevin Mulcahy's ALAN Guerciotti CX/Road
#820 - Tris' Fort Touring Audax
#821 - Michael Kullman's Surly Karate Monkey
#822 - Don Genovese's Rivendell LongLow
#823 - Nick Roth's Raleigh Commuter
#824 - Mauricio Orantes' Trek 1500
#825 - Eric Bagdonas' Miyata Ninety Mixte

Singlespeeds For a Short Week

Everyone is supposed to be tying off work quickly this week and gathering for contemplation around an unfortunate bird.  Which means you're probably stuck in some airport, listlessly overhearing folks complain about the TSA intimate frisking they just endured. Hopefully, the addition of eight new entries to the Singlespeed Gallery will help you divert your attention to something fun and healthy...

It seems to be getting more difficult each time to choose one entry to highlight, mostly because each and every bicycle has something unique and intriguing about it.  This selection of single speed bicycles is particularly diverse - including purpose built commuters, repurposed mountain bikes, and stripped down road machines.  The wonderful thing is that these bicycles are all getting enjoyed and used now.
In the end, the nod went to a fine example of early mtb history...

Jeromy Hewitt's Fat Chance Buck Shaver
As I've mentioned before, it was from the writings of Mike Ferrintino back in the inky newsprint pages of California Bicyclist that first made me aware of single speed cycling. At that time, I recall thinking "why would you want to get rid of the gears?"

But, somehow as I read through the article, in which he talked about the weight which would be jettisoned and the simplicity which would be attained, there was an attractive kernel of resonance.  At that time, even seeing a singlespeed was a rare thing. 

Since that time, I've always thought of mountain bikes first when someone spoke about singlespeeds. On the roads with a single geared setup, you do sometimes have to accept the multi-geared folk whisking past you now and again, when you are spinning along at just under the butt-bumping cadence.  But, on the trails, there's that sublime flow and near-silence, the simplicity of knowing that speed comes only from effort, and momentum must be maintained.

The Buck Shaver came from the east coast, and was a move to bring out a less expensive offering from the workshop of Chris Chance and company. At the time, hard to remember now, there was the talk of "east coast geometry" - a tighter wheelbase and sometimes higher bottom bracket which gave those relatively unknown bicycles kind of a bad rap out where the sun set.  We liked our 44" wheelbases and slack-angled frames.

Of course, looking at that bicycle now, none of that comes to mind.  The Fat looks like a lean and ready trails machine. The TIG-welded steel and jaunty straight fork promises nothing other than a ready companion to help you get lost on the trails for hours. 


Additions to the Singlespeed Gallery:
#317 - Allan James' Schwinn World Traveler
#318 - Vince Santiago's No Name Singlespeed
#319 - Guiseppe Rosalia's Assiolo
#320 - Lee Chae's Rivendell Quickbeam
#321 - Jeromy Hewitt's Fat Chance Buck Shaver
#322 - Mark Elam's Schwinn Moab
#323 - Gilles Landry's Raleigh
#324 - Joe's Univega Viva Sport

Also, there were some Updates to these previous entries:
CC #656 -  Don Genovese's Miyata 1000 Touring
CC #654 - Randy Pugh's Trek 1500