HERE’S my first stab at video editing for ya. it’s a quick little 13-mile ride from my apartment in SF to WR’s in mill valley — something i do frequently, and which often precedes a more robust ride for both of us once i arrive.

the raw footage was collected on my new GOPRO HERO2 HD video camera, which i mounted under my handlebars.

i don’t know shit about video editing and learned as i went, using iMovie, which is SUPER user-friendly. i managed to get the footage down from over 40 minutes to the most interesting or exciting 4:45. the song is the glitch mob’s remix of the white stripes’ "seven nation army," and i have only three reasons for choosing it — one, it’s awesome. two, it’s over 4 minutes long, so i was able to maintain more footage. and three, it was a free download from the band’s own site, so i have no copyright infringement worries.

i hope you like it!

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Related posts:

1. team lope ride report : sf -> mill valley, roundtrip, FIXED
2. Team Lope Ride Report – You CAN Take it With You
3. team lope ride report : AIDS/lifecycle 7

next category of NAHBS builds for you is "unique concepts" these are bikes which stood out as … well, unique. things i hadn’t expected or things i hadn’t seen before or just really imaginative things.

first up is the EVIL DEAD BIKE, which i gave it’s own post already.

next up is this crazy madness, a reconstruction of what’s called a "whippet," a bike which was very successful from 1885 to 1888, before the invention of the pneumatic tire. this was made by a frame builder who worked from a line drawing and some museum photos…

since bikes of the time had solid rubber tyres, they were super uncomfortable, and the whippet attempted to compensate for that with details such as a front shock…

and a mid-body shock…

the brake was a crazy contraption which utilized a lever that pushed on a bar that wrapped around the body of the bike (the silver bar just above the frame’s top tube)…

to a metal lever and plate in the back, where the plate rubbed against the solid rubber tyre…

apparently they were very uncomfortable to ride because they were too squishy, and since they had a total of seven pivot points in the design, tensioning the chain would gradually cause the two head tubes to become misaligned, resulting in the front scissor linkage losing functionality when the bars were turned. but still. a crazy bike.

next up is this WTF track bike…

personally, i can’t see any functional reason for this bike to exist, but this is a show, so there you go. it may look like the steering column is fixed, but in fact the stem (polished) is separate from the frame (gray), which is why there’s that other little connection point going from the head tube to the top tube.

next up, the "mudbike." i fucking LOVE this bike and it’s only real unique concept is the paint job. it’s a CX bike that is painted to look like it’s got mud spray on it….

it may not look like much in that picture, but upon closer inspection, you can see that each individual dot is hand-placed using a spoke nipple dipped in a different shade of brown and then touched to the frame. it has over 1500 individual dots over the frame and fork, entirely hand-done…

another one i just absolutely loved was a tandem specifically designed for a parent and child to ride, but unlike other kid bikes, this one put the kid in the front…

now look closely at how that works. the kid’s handlebars are fixed, they don’t do anything. the parents’ handlebars are what turn the front wheel, as on a front bucket cargo bike. but the kids’ pedals turn in conjunction with the parents,’ as on a proper tandem. i LOVE this bike. i’m a huge fan of the kid being on the front (as a rule), because they can actually see what’s going on and begin to feel what it’s like to ride independently.

next up is a crazy and unique brake detail that i noticed on an otherwise simple build…

i don’t know what’s up with that dodgy swede, but note the brake "levers." the brake cable is strung between two fixed points (with the housing on the inner point, as per the usue), but it has beads on it. so when you grab the beads and pull, you’re actually pulling the cable itself. pretty trick.

and finally, the deLorean bikes. these bikes aren’t made by DMC, obviously. they’re homage to the classic stainless steel, gullwing-door sportscar which may or may not be capable of time travel…

they had a sweet, simple city bike with a belt drive and an internally geared rear hub…

and a beautiful roadie which, while boasting questionable wheels, did have a sweet champagne cage on the seat tube…

stay tuned for more NAHBS image posts. i think next i’ll post up the fat tyre bikes.

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2. NAHBS things of interest
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THIS may be the most gorgeous bicycle i’ve ever seen in my life.

the southsiders are a euro motorcycle club with an incredible aesthetic, loads of class, and a love of bicycles as well. as such, they recently teamed up with some frame builders to develop their own bicycle.

now, i don’t believe this is, or is ever going to be, on sale to the public, but that doesn’t make it any less overpoweringly awesome. moreso, in fact.

the details are immaculate. the geometry is very reminsicent of turn-of-the century bicycles, and it’s a coaster brake single speed, so there are no cables whatsoever on it. the stem, cranks, chain guide, and 3-pronged axle wingnuts are all custom fabricated. and the most incredible detail of all, at least to me, is the integrated lighting. the handlebars have inset, front-facing white lights near the clamp area, and rear-facing red lights at the ends. and in the back, the single sickest cycling light setup i’ve ever seen — red lights integrated into THE SEAT STAYS.

click through for a whole bunch more photos, each more glorious than the one before.

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Yesterday I took a day trip for business down to Los Angeles to survey a building. That’s dawn patrol, up at 4am etc and home again by about 8pm. And yeah, I’m already up with the baby so that’s fine. But here’s the thing: normally on these, I bring my laptop and sketchbook, fly in, rent a convertible of some nature, get in and out of the job, and then hit a cafe and work on TRDL stuff until it’s time to get back to the airport. THIS time, I brought a bike.

You’ve seen Lung’s ride reports of his use of his coupler bike on the Vegas trip. We got our frames coupled, so to speak, at the same time, but my last two trips fell apart due to illness or injury (Vegas and Chicago) so I had yet to actually use Carpetbagger AS a travel bike. It was completely overkill for a day trip where I’d have at BEST 3 hours to ride. But it was a test of the process, and frankly, it was because I could.

Onward for details!

I’m using a S&S soft backpack for transport. You can use hardshell cases, with more protection, but this is a sweet setup because you can compress it and wear the bag. It’s all about the ride away, or to, the airport thing.

So up top, there’s Carpetbagger, my coupler bike. It’s a mid-gearing fixie (I think it’s 72) and a custom finish and graphic set by self. You’ve seen pics before. I’d SAY this is the virgin shot before it gets beat to shit in transit, but realistically, my Wee Z beat it to shit before I even had it finished, thanks to ‘I FIX it, daddee.’ moments. So it had a few frame dents and some paint chipping. First step, as seen in that pic, is pulling these hard sidewalls out of the bag and bracing them against all sides, velcroing them together to make a losse square. Actually more like the shape of a gold tooth cap. It doesn’t get square proper, but enough to frame the frame.

First, I layed this giant painting tarp up in there, used to fold and weave between major components. Great tip, among others, from One Lung. Here’s the front half of the coupler, dropped in first.

The tarp is folded over, then the rear wheel, cog down, fits in that void of the triangle. I put a top tube protector on one tube for science, since I didn’t bring any of my pipe insulation this time out. Other than that it’s just the tarp as protection. Remember that detail. Then rear triangle fits on top of the rear wheel.

Here’s the front wheel on top of the sandwich of tarp and parts and such below it. The backpack has rigidized panels where things make contact, such as the wheel axles.You don’t use other compression members in this situation. The saddle and seatpost fit into one of the extra spaces. I rolled up other parts like pedals and tools and such into microfiber towels and shirt rags and stuff, and put them here and there.

Here, possibly the most delicate part: placement of the handlebars. If using proper drops it’s even more of a hassle, threading them through the wheel, but I have Sparrows on this bike. But I still had to wrap it first, test the pressure on the spokes when you push on it, and wrap the brake caliper and stow that as well. I brought a ton of extra clothing and shoved them into all spaces and into the front and rear outer compartments, including a pair of Dickies and a long sleeve shirt and cardigan for the job site. Suave.

Boom! Packed! My first time, and from the point the first photo was taken, to the point the bag was zipped up, was about 45 minutes, including a call to Lung to check something and a few references to the S&S website (which actually has virtually no directions for the backpack.)

My cab came at 4:45 and I was off. When I checked the bag (Virgin America Main Cabin Select seating is a great deal: you get priority security line access, priority boarding, free food and drinks, and one checked bag.) the guy working the counter looked at it and lifted it and said ‘Hey, is this a bike?’

Now this is kind of a trick question. The whole point of this coupler system is to eliminate barriers to flying with the bike. If you bring an oversized bag, such as a bike box, it can run you up to $200 each way. If you bring a heavy bag, you get his with $50 fees each way. This system allows you to hand them a bag that is exactly within the 62" combined dimension for normal luggage (which you’d still pay for if you were in Main Cabin)… but also, there are ‘oversize’ cargo fees associated with BIKES. So, I merely said:

‘It’s actually a bag of bike parts’ Which is a true statement.

He laughed and said it was the coolest fucking thing he’d seen.

On the other side, a few delicious champagnes later, my baby rolled onto the carousel in LAX.
In one piece, so to speak. Well, point being, no crazy holes or ripped straps or zippers, and equally as nice, no obvious evidence of TSA searching, since that would lead to a) a mangled repacking job, and 2) confiscation of CO2 cartridges and probably all the tools. But I wouldn’t know for sure until I unpacked it. But no time! The plane was a bit delayed, and I had to basically haul ass in a taxi to Downtown LA, and would have to wait to see later. I wanted to ride FROM the airport, but I couldn’t risk being late.

Some girls I was talking to in SF found me at the taxi line, some designers heading to a big client meeting. ‘Hey, wait. Is there a BIKE in there?’ one said, mouth agape. I guess my helmet gave it away. You can see it in backpack mode, above. It’s heavy but manageable.

OK, so I didn’t want to break this down AT my project building for professional reasons, so I headed out into the fashion district (read ghetto downtown) to get over toa cafe I went to last time I visited this building, and do the build at the outdoor seating. But then I realized it was lunch hour. It would be packed. One of the fashion houses was upstairs. I finally decided, you know what, all the homeless and shifty hustlers have camped out on the street, I’m doing it. This marks the second time in 30 days I was doing bike assembly on a rough street.
That is how I ____O

The damage was minimal. A major gash on the downtube (so yeah, THATS the one to protect, since the shifting of the parcel obviously pushed the cog through the tarp into the frame) and a few other scratches. But that’s what this is for. Scars are sexy. Building it on the street was funny. Just like in Oakland, I got a lot of attention from streetfolk and otherwise sketchy folks that came to observe and yack at me, which kind of slows you down as you are watching your shit but at the same time, it’s cool that people are curious. Best part was a cholo painter crew walking past me when I was first unpacking, and then on their way back from the taco truck were like ‘Orale! What is that mang!’ I said it was a bike broken in half to travel with. ‘Its a fixie BRO!! TSCH!’ one said to another. ‘Ey, got that new Yanni cassette?’ Wait no, wrong story. ‘Ey, where can I get one?’ and I said ‘It’s custom. You’d have to be me.’ and they laughed and gave me a hand slap and they were off. Pretty good. Oh, also, no TSA tag.

I actually left a few of the rags in a nearby trash can, and even abandoned my Adidas. I have more, and it was a lot of weight I could shed, now that I was in my Vittorias. So someone scored some sweet Sammies.

My buddy Raul was stuck in a meeting, but I was able to hook up with my high school pal Christine, who works at KCRW and is into competitive roller derby ie. HOT. She’s in Culver City, so I basically made a beeline for her down Venice Blvd, because I didn’t want to dilly-dally. It was maybe a 20 minute reassembly and repacking, much faster, but I was still racing the clock now at 1:15pm or so with a 5:30pm flight meaning I’d need to be checked in at 4:45pm. So, this sent me down some nassssty business to get to where she lives, like the back side of Koreatown and the ‘Byzantine Latino Quarter’ and another section where the side streets are actually GATED. It was pretty awesome doing it by bike, though. I was rolling next to some rough types in cars and some dodgy types on the sidewalks, all that sort of thing: shopping carts in the street and such, and here I am on a white and chrome fixed gear with old timey bars and leather and elkhide, in proper Team Lope kit, with a big ass backpack on. Pretty rad. Got to Culver City in about 45 minutes, and here I am, waiting for her to come out.

Side note: remember that Kickstarter project about a rubber bracelet that you can wind your earbuds into? OK, how about skipping the bracelet altogether? Works GREAT.

I missed some great photo ops in my speed ride to her house, including a toothless guy in the lane in front of me projectile vomiting like the cartoons, where the total diameter of the vomit spray is exactly equal to the diameter of his mouth. Also, a 35mph street sign hanging upside down and with a bullet hole in it. Also some cool business offering transmission repair AND greymarket stereos. One thing I DID manage to capture, near her place, was a random display of motorcycle cops and what not going off. I thought it was some bad business, but she gleefully exclaimed ‘yay! Santa.’ and lo, it was. Only in LA.

We had lunch at a mexican place near her house. Al Pastor tacos and margaritas, yes.

The waiter was a rider so he was geeking out on the bike, and it was a nice mellow lunch.
When done, I checked the clock and it was about 3:15pm, so that put me into a bit of pressure, as I’d have to gear up and get on the road to LAX. Not too far as the crow flies, but we’re talking LA traffic. Sure I don’t get stuck in the traffic jams but I do have to wait for the megalights on these big boulevards, and also, lots of big vehicles i and out of the side businesses and freeway onramps etc so you have to be vigilant.

I wonder WHY in LA. To live and DIE in LA.

At 4:10pm, I rolled up into LAX and dismounted at my terminal. Tole you what, I’ve ridden in many sketchy traffic conditions of somewhat surreal natures, like critical mass and bad ballgame traffic and so on… but riding the lanes around the terminals at rush hour is a video game with ONE LIFE LEFT AND NO EFFING TOKENS. Exhilarating though. And no deaths or ticket punchings.

While I was breaking the bike down again to re-pack it, I had even more spectators than on the street. It started with an inquisitive airline guy, and then three homeland security cops came up, but not to give me trouble, just to oggle at the process. Two stewardesses (and I’ve been watching Pan Am so I got thirsty for a scotch at that point) and a few tourists. Again, I’m working fast as nails, but having to narrate and answer questions. Crazy. I thought girls in line at bars and coffee shops who grab at your sleeves or poke at your arms to see your ink were invasive, but these people are like lifting bike parts and checking out the couplers and so on. You have to laugh. Any time regular folks have a non-violent interest in a bike or a rider, I consider it a win.

The bag was unmolested on the return flight (visibly anyway I haven’t actually opened it yet) and I was home after dark, exhausted, sore from the heavy bag, but super charged for getting to take my bike with me and ride in yet another city.*

And of course, what cab did I take?

*Note I grew up in LA, and we rode up through the beach and Brentwood and Westwood on Aids Lifecycle, but I’m talking general transportation and exploration.

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1. Team Lope Ride Report: The Napa Ride Weekend of Destiny 07
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so when my bike was stolen a couple weeks ago, there was one cool thing that came out of it and that was that it forced me to build up a frame that i’d been wanting to put together anyway. now, i had to build that frame up into a fixed road bike cause i had a metric century coming up that weekend, but the only thing it would take to convert it to the end goal of a fixed townie cargo bike was new handlebars. i had everything else, including the front rack.

well tonight on the way home, i took a chance on a new-ish bike shop in the neighborhood and lo and behold they had the EXACT bar i was looking for – a silver riser bar. and to make matters more awesome, it was only $26. yeah, so that happened.

to be fair, it wasn’t EXACTLY what i needed, as it had a 25.4mm clamp area and the stem on the bike is a 26.0mm stem. but i thought i had a shim, so it didn’t matter. oops, except i was wrong. but after searching the shop and not finding it, i just grabbed a can of beer from which to fabricate one. but check this, when i set to work on it, i discovered that my stem was actually perfectly capable of closing the 0.6mm difference and still clamping down perfectly securely. now, this may explode in my hands tomorrow on the way to work, but i’m counting on everything working out ok.

an hour later, boom. fixed townie cargo bike.
can’t wait to ride it.

(BONUS : when i was rooting around for the notShim, i found brake levers for the road bike i’ve been building forever, and with the acquisition of a hand-me-down set of high-end road cranks from the one and only WR this afternoon, i think that bike’s only a few shifter cables away from finished. yeah. epic bike day.)

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despite being on a bike nearly every day of my life, and using a bike as my main form of transportation for the same amount of time, i’ve only been what you’d call a "cyclist" for the last 7 or 8 years. when i say "cyclist," i mean someone who goes out with the specific intent of riding something more than 10 or 20 miles. and in those 7 or 8 years, i’ve discovered something unfortunate. i have a predilection for cramping. every mile i go over 40 or so, i run the risk of my thighs, hams, hip flexors, calves, or inner thighs cramping up BAD. there have been times when my cramps have actually driven me off the road in excruciating pain, where i have to wait a few minutes, super-hydrate, and stretch. i tried lots of things to combat this over the years — stretching a lot, using a half-gatorade-half-water mix in my bottles (not a bad idea even if you DON’T cramp, and so on — but not a lot of them were working.

cut to 5 months ago, when i went to check out the new MASH SHOP. while i was there, i found a product called SALT STICK CAPS. i’ve been using them for that entire time and i have to say, they work phenomenally.

the usage specifies that you should take one capsule with water every 30-60 minutes that you’re exercising. i take one before i leave for the day and i pop them roughly every hour after that, and i’m pleased to say that i haven’t had cramps in my legs since i started doing so. (i should specify that i actually DID get cramps on a metric century on the 24th of september, but that was because i had to cobble together a bike out of spare parts after one of mine had been stolen and the only seatpost i had in the shop was too short, meaning my legs couldn’t get full extension and hence – cramps.)

in cruising their site to prepare links and so on for this post, i stumbled across a little something i’m DEFINITELY going to invest in, and that’s the SALT STICK MINI.

it’s a little dispenser that tucks inside your handlebars. it looks just like any other bar end that might be holding your tape in, but when you turn the end, it pushes a single capsule through the little water-resistant diaphragm at the end.

fucking BRILLIANT. as it stands right now, i always have a handful of pills in my jersey pocket, where they’re susceptible to sweat degrading them. this way they’ll just always be there, whether i need them (long rides) or not (commutes).

these capsules are definitely a 10/10 CLANK! product as far as i’m concerned, as they’ve taken away one of the most painful and counterproductive physical impediments that my body’s chemistry has. if you get cramps too, i recommend you try these.

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picture courtesy of PROLLY.

yesterday was gorgeous and i didn’t have any plans after work, so i decided to shoot out to visit the new MASH transit store. the location is not at all where i thought it was. when i saw the address, i thought it was in the mission. i just sort of assume that a bike shop on a numbered street is in the mission. but this is actually out in the castro/noe, on 14th just off of market, behind the lucky 13. i LOVE that. for one thing, it keeps them a little bit out of the way. but for another thing, it’s essentially at the base of twin peaks. if they couldn’t be on top of it, i’m glad they’re at the base of it.

so anyway, i shot out there on what turned out to be an amazing ride filled with sundresses and bare legs and sundresses and bare legs and sundr… you get the point. i arrived at the shop at the perfect time of day — the sun wasn’t too high in the sky and it wasn’t a heavy shopping time. and the first thing i noticed was … what! … no bike parking. i mean i understand that there might not be a bike rack, but there were no meters or parking signs even. (obviously, this is no fault of MASH’s, it’s just something i noticed.) i ended up locking to a streetTree support pole, which is like the opposite of a secure locking spot but whatever, noe/castro isn’t a theft hotSpot, so i didn’t trip out too much. i have to assume that it’s cool to bring your bike inside anyway.

and there ended the negatives. the shop is amazing, frankly. once in the door, MASH OG MIKE MARTIN and friend of lope DYLAN introduced themselves to me, and i set about checking the place out. to be honest, it’s everything i’ve always hoped a bike shop would be. it’s CLEARLY catering to the established cyclist, in that it’s not just a big retail space full of bikes. it’s got a bunch of high end components (thomson, cinelli, san marco, phil, mavic, lazer, etc.) and tools and locks and such, but it’s equally dedicated to providing multi-disciplinary cyclists with other stuff. such as nutrition. they have a whole section (keep in mind, this is a tiny shop, so "a whole section" amounts to a shelf) of recovery supplements, preparatory supplements, and … wait for it … ANTI-CRAMPING SUPPLEMENTS!!!* they also sell not only their own branded kits, but some base layers from other manufacturers as well. then they have some stuff for the urban cyclist, from mike’s MARTIN collection — jeans, windbreakers, et cetera. there’s tons of MASH-branded stuff (obviously), some magazines, some lubes, other clothing, and so on. it’s clearly a boutique, but unlike most boutiques, which sacrifice function for form, they’ve married function and form. the aesthetic is typical MASH — clean lines, high design, etc. — but the products are what you need. that’s not to say that there’s not fluff there — you can buy prints of their photography, for instance — but because the space is limited, they keep only what we, as dedicated cyclists, need. there’s no frames for sale, no complete bikes, no walls and walls of bullshit. just kits, supplements, and high-end components. it’s wonderful.

i realize that i didn’t mention too much about the space itself, so let me say here that it’s tiny (i’d guess it at around 700 sq ft), but it’s classic SF — a victorian storefront under apartment buildings. it has the gorgeous double front window setup with an inset door in between, and the door is one of those half-doors where you can open just the top, or the top and bottom together. there’s a section of the south wall that juts out diagonally because of the apartment stairs above (this is where they have the handlebars). the floors are hardwood. and in a really awesome detail, there’s a back deck. just past the clothing rack, there’s a sliding glass door which lets you out behind the shop onto a small deck and yard. typical gorgeous SF layout. and what they’ve managed to pack into this small space without feeling cramped is nothing short of amazing. additionally, the counter has a small repair area behind it, but this is not a place where you go to get a ton of work done to your bike. as i said, they cater to the dedicated cyclist and we do our own repairs. but if you’re in the castro and snap a spindle, it’s a good place to go handle your business.

all in all, it’s exactly what i expected — a beautiful boutique, catering to the dedicated, multi-disciplinary cyclist by providing core needs in limited quantities. MASH doesn’t do hipster BS, they do cycling. they push the limits of track bikes and their own bodies and they package it all in a gorgeous, high-design wrap. and that’s what their storefront does.

i had two very favorite details, and they were both product-related. the first thing i loved was that on their shelf of nutritional supplements, they had poison ivy/oak treatment. this might seem like a "whatever" to some people, but to me it speaks volumes. it says "i ride EVERYWHERE." i mean, clearly it’s for the cyclo guy who goes down into poison ivy, but it’s also for the guy pushing his track bike from SF to LA (ahem) who takes a leak in, or sleeps near, poison oak. it’s a subtle detail that was not lost on me. the other thing i loved was that right in the middle of their componentry shelf, amongst the cassettes and stems, laid a handful of KERSHAW KNIVES. so rad.

overall, this shop gets an 8/10 from me. it’s not a place for the average joe by any stretch, and the location’s lack of meters or street poles (wtf) are working against it (which isn’t their fault), but it’s beautiful, it’s straight-up SF, it’s for cyclists like me, and it’s totally MASH. good show.

*my excitement about the anti-cramp supplement is because i’ve become particularly prone to cramps for some reason. i try to manage it with hydration and stretching, but sometimes there’s just no getting around it. so when i saw that they had that (which appears to be pills of mostly salt), i was intrigued. i talked with mike for a second about what he was going for with the shop (we specifically talked about the knives, poison ivy treatment, and supplements), and when we discussed the supplements, i was already holding the anti-cramping pills. i tole him about my attempts to deal with it, and he said, "that’s the answer, right there," motioning to the bottle of pills i was holding. so i’m super excited to see if it works, this very weekend!

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2. MASH Transit Opens
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I don’t have anything against tramp stamps, and I certainly love bike tattoos. But really, get a GOOD one if you’re going to do it at all, ey?

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THIS was up on prolly’s site a while back and i’m just getting through a bunch of my saved tabs today, so click through to see all the ghetto fabulousness. it’s made of handlebars and a vise grip. proper.

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HOLY SHIT. BEHIND BARS, INC, from whom i bought a t-shirt at last year’s swap, was in full effect this year — they weren’t just tucked away in a corner with a couple sleds, they were the entryway show. they had an "entry corral," which along with having a DJ, showcased a combination of bikes by them, "the others" bicycle club (on whom i could find no online resources), and "LOS CHOPADEROS" bicycle club. but beyond this "entry corral," the customs went down the length of the entire hallways to each the exhibition hall and the bikeSwap hall. between the three sets, there were so many fucking fat customs i didn’t know where to go, so i just shot all the stuff that blew me away.

to wit…

you can’t see very well cause this is a cameraphone pic, but this bike has two headlights nestled in the headtube cluster, as well as big fat spikes at the ends of the grips, front axle nuts, and rear stays (the seat and chain stays extended a bit past the rear dropouts and were capped in spikes. AWESOME.).

so much to love about this ride. the headlight mounted between the forkblades, the curved seat tube, the white rails and springs in the saddle, the bandanna upholstery on the saddle, the leather handlebar bag — straight up.

everything in the front of this trike you’ve seen before — 144s, apehangers, rear-views, headlight — but everything from about the headtube back is straight custom. look how the back end isn’t just a trike kit bolted on — it’s actually extended and makes a luggage rack. so sick. i also really dig how the bell is mounted to the side of the seat tube to give it the look of a motorcycle engine’s (carburetor?). plus there’s a detail coming up in the next shot that blew my mind.

drivetrain detail from the above bike — THREE CHAINS. that’s the dopest customization.

i like betty so much. the military theme is awesome — same bar setup as an old WWII motorbike, combined with aircraft nose art on the "tank." love the speedo mounted at the front axle, too. oh and those mags are 16s — betty’s a KID’S BIKE. so ill.

i left dude in the shot so you could get a sense of scale here. this bike’s sitting on fuckin 30s. maybe bigger. 30s would look similar to MTB 29s, and these were way bigger than that. they may be 36s. either way. EXTRA LARGE. supersize me.

i realized after i opened this pic on my computer that i took a really bad angle for the handlebars. you can’t even see the left side, cause it’s coming right at you. but i love this bike. blanca always looks sharp when it’s done right. plus, illest detail ever, coming up…

SKULL-CAPPED SUICIDE SHIFTER. that sits behind the white bandanna-upholstered saddle and runs to the S-A 3-speed internal rear hub. SO. ILL.

this pair of bikes was simple and fresh. nothing super custom on the frames themselves — you can buy those stock, they’re called "limo" frames — but i just love the builds themselves. big springer-rail leather seats, moon cruiser bars, COON TAILS??? but the best detail of all is the little mexican flags standing up on each rear axle nut. i LOVED that.

another military-themed bike. love the fairing and the perforated metal saddle, but it’s always the tiny details for me — look at the little amber rear light on the opposite side near the axle nut. CLEAN.

WHOA. i’m not usually a fan of bikes that you can’t ride, but this one’s pretty goddamn sweet.

that murdered-out chopper on the left is almost a chopper version of my daily fix. all matte black, and it even has a bandanna tied around the downtube, up near the headset. (my bike has a bandanna tied around the headtube, outlaw style.) it was so close to the theme of my bike that i was almost pissed. then i realized it was wicked.

there were a couple motor conversions there, which i’ve been really really interested in recently. i love the low, compact nature of them. they remind me of old motorbikes from WWII. i can see riders on these bikes in round goggles and leather helmets, grinning a mouth full of splattered bugs.

i love that this bike’s so tall, i had to shoot it in portrait. here’s another example of mounting the bell on the seat tube to emulate a motorcycle’s (carburetor?), and another detail i love is how the rear fender mount comes up beyond the fender to make a sissy bar. yes, they almost always do that anyway, but not only is this one custom, it doesn’t have a saddle that needs a sissy bar. so it’s all for aesthetic. love that.

why yes, that IS a tandem schwinn set up krate style, why do you ask?

here’s a handful of the chopaderos and others crews. these dudes were awesome. some of them were straight up OGs, others were just regular dudes. i love that they’re all wearing MC-inspired cuts. i wanted to get a picture of their backs, so you could see their colors, but this was the only shot they gave me. either way, bunch of really cool guys, really into custom culture — motorbikes, bikes, cars, whatever — good cats.

that is all. next time the bike swap comes around, if you live anywhere in the bay area, you MUST attend. it’s worth the 12 bucks just to see the customs. fuck all the tech — just get on some BC shit.

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Related posts:

1. sf bikeSwap, 6 november 2010 — PURCHASES
2. sf bikeSwap, 1dec08
3. clockwork bikes’ trials bike’s drivetrain is RAD

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