Now that Interbike 2009 is over, I wanted to share items I thought were particularly interesting.All of the pictures are coming from UrbanVelo so be sure to head over there for their take on Interbike as well as their awesome magazine.

Raleigh Cyclocross bike in Miller High Life colors! They did a PBR one a while ago as well. This looks like a great bike, regardless of the color scheme. More CX bikes out there is a good thing.

This Cannondale concept was just that, a concept for a long time, and circulated on the internet as such. It’s awesome to see it actually exist.

Full size folding fixed gear. Looks fantastic for those who could use the convience, but don’t want a crazy looking mini-wheeled folding bike.

Pedros ‘Tulio’ multi-tool. Fits in your quick release. Keeps your pockets empty and mind at rest. Looks GREAT. I really like Pedros.

Sycip Mixte, a good looking modern take on an old style frame. Disc brakes rule.

Sturmey Archer S3x, 3 speed fixed hub, need I say more? It works with Paul thumbies too. Awesome.

EL rear blinky. Looks cool. Keeps you alive.

15mm slide on wrench for your U-Lock. Too many people I know don’t have a 15mm wrench and constantly fuck up their track-nuts with adjustable wrenches.

Hold fast straps! I love these and I’ve never ridden them. Clips and straps really kind of suck. I’m eagerly awaiting my chance to get my hand on these straps. Those pedals are really comfortable as well.

MKE Bruiser. Great looking paint schemes. The defacto trickster fixter bike.

Giant single-speeds, love the bar stem combo.

Raleigh single-speed. Again, bar stem combo.

Awesome looking and very functional Raleigh single-speed. Love the clean look and the fenders. Also you can take those fenders off and put on knobbies and race SS CX.

Thickslick, love the typeface. Good looking city tires.

Profile 144mm BCD splined ‘track’ cranks.

FBM Strutter 700CMX bike. I like how FBM is giving the BMX dudes a way into riding fixed gears while still riding their favorite brands. Good shit.

Bike Maintenance 101 – Saturday October 17, 2009  – 10a-1p

Learn the basics:
fixing flats & changing tires
adjusting brakes & derailleurs

Get Your Bearings – Saturday November 14, 2009 – 10a-1p

Dig deeper:
overhaul bottom brackets, headsets, & axels

All classes held at our 51 3rd st location in Troy.

Suggested Donation $10-30.
Classes limited to 6 persons per session.
To register, email us, (and select register for classes) or call Carolyn at 518-269-1917

Visit http://troybikerescue.org/classes for more information.

So a few weeks back I posted how awesome I thought the new Crud Roadracer fenders were and that I was quite excited to get a hold of them. Well I got them on my bike!

General
The guys at Crud are smart. The fender set is two fenders which are identical, then you use these really simple thumbscrews to add the attachments which then makes them front and rear specific. The front has a narrow attachment to fit under the brake, and the rear a long tail to keep crap off you and your bike, as well as the person behind you (how considerate).

The main struts are glass reinforced plastic, so if something goes terribly wrong, those pieces will break instead of destroying your wheel. That is awesome.

Also, they’re 180g per set. I couldn’t tell the difference between the box before and after I took them out.

Installation
The install kit consists of two reusable (!!!) zip-ties, which tie onto your brake’s nut to hold the fender off of your wheel. The supports that go onto your bike are attached using two heavy duty rubber bands, which are more like large o-rings than rubber bands. The struts then use those easy thumbscrews to attach to these. It’s dead simple.

I did run into an issue here on my IRO Angus. There is no rear brake, which makes it impossible to zip tie the fender to the brake nut. This was easy to fix with zip ties however and has functioned perfectly, regardless of my ghetto installation.

Thoughts
I’ve only got a few rides on them so far and none in particularly terrible weather, but as the winter approaches, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to run these guys through the paces.

I really would like to say thank you to Crud for the fenders! Head over to their website for more info on these awesome fenders. These things are rather inexpensive as well! Head to your local bike shop (unless it’s the Downtube, go to CK) and have them order you a set, they’re about $40, and EXTREMELY worth it.

Images

When done right it’s strong and less sketchy than most people think. I’ve got an el cheapo cf fork on my fixed gear and have had no problems with it over its two year life span.

A lot of people I know ask me what bikes to get so I’ll do one of these every once in a while as a public service.

PANASONIC SPORT 500 – $65 (Albany) Not the best bike, but a complete bike and the seller is negotiable.

Jamis Coda Sport 21.5 IN (54 CM) -  $250 (Ballston Spa, NY) An actual bike made by a real manufacturer. Flat bar road bikes are really great, too.

2008 Fuji Crosstown 2.0 Like New! – $295 (Saratoga Springs) A bit dorky looking but way solid for someone who needs a good bike from a good manufacturer.

The following two are really awesome and I’d go after them if I had a reason to.

===1988 Trek 1000- $100=== – $100 (Middleburgh) These older Treks are great. A lot of people on the NYC Fixed Gear forum specifically enjoy these for their low price and great value. This is REALLY worth the $100.

Panasonic Team road bike SMALL 51cm/19″ – $250 (Manchester, VT) This thing is awesome. It’s a straight up race quality bike from the 80s. Perfect for that small person you know! This would make a killer girlfriend bike for all the guys out there!

George de Piro (ever go to the Pump Station?) wrote a fantastic article pertaining to cycling in Albany which offers a good look into the shortfalls of this city with respect to bicycling and as well as solutions to fix these issues.

Read the full article on the Times Union website.

Woohoo two more short days.
63.3 today, few good descents, couple slow climbs.

Only eventful thing was a dude wearing a primalwear jersey _under_ his bibshorts got mad at me for his shoddy multiple use path skills.
On the way up to the school were staying at, there’s a pretty good climb, in which I flew past everyone, including primalwearunderthebibshorts guy. Nardical.

41 tomorrow 39 Sunday, basically done.

50 miles today, still on the Brooklyn. A few hills out of Syracuse today made for an interesting ride. It was wet too which made doing siqqqq skyddz (inneffecive stopping) easy. The graffiti in Syracuse was super sick and there’s a ton of abandoned shot everywhere.

The canal surface was all stone dust with a real choppy surface since they allow horses on it. It kinda sucked since you top out at 10.

Nothing notable other than a fucking dog loose chasing me up the hill. Scary shit. Good thing I’ve got my Cavendish legs on today.

63 tomorrow, hilly, woohoo.

Day 4, halfway there. Short day today, 40 miles. Trail was super choppy an was fun technical pothole dodging on the Erie canal path. Weather has been literally PERFECT.

I’m currently eating at dinosaur BBQ. One thing on the menu here for vegeterians. Whatev it was deec and I got an order of cornbread.

60 miles tomorrow. Maybe rain, hopefully not.

Day 3 was a big ride. 63 miles. It was a good ride with a few small hills and a good tailwind and an annoying headwind.

I ended up pulling a 10 man group for 10 miles. I wish I had a picture of me doing that because it was badass.

Fun shit.