I just saw this on The Come Up. The long and short of it is that bikes 24" and under are considered toys and will need to be screened for lead before being allowed entry into the US.

What do I think it means? Aerican Bikes, baby! This new law will bring the bikes made in America by Americans into a competitive price range with the bikes made overseas. Sure there are some benefits to the buyer and even to the producer to make bikes overseas, but if both bikes are not the same price, I'd pick an American bike any day. Maybe this will bring some more of the bike industry back to America. Won't that be f'in sweet?!

-MarkI just saw this on The Come Up

While trolling the interweb for bicycle frame CAD software, I came across The Bicycle Forest. The site has a ton of free frame building applets, for everything from bmx frames to full suspension frames. It even has a spoke length calculator applet. If you're thinking about building a wheel though, you'll want to check out Sheldon Brown's site first, 'cuz he has the easiest instructions to follow. Anyway, I ran through some stuff on the CAD program and built my rendition of the Black Market MOB, which is below. It's easy to get on there and start making a bike, but a lot of the in-depth features are lost because of the simplicity of the viewing screen (you can only see one dimension!). They make a $400 version of the software, which I presume is more detailed.



Oddly enough, they have a list of frame fabrication companies that use their software, and Lucky 13 Bikes is on there. Reggie, the guy behind it used to work out of NYC, but moved his operations to Portland, OR recently. Check his site, as he's got a nice looking bare-bones jump bike in his lineup. If I didn't have a brand new Dobermann, I'd probably try to get on one.



That's that for a random ramble. Shoulder still hurts, better get fixed before the ThrashJam in Vegas after InterBike. More on that in the soon.

-Mark

So, Interbike is coming up, and that is where we'll see all of this year's new designs and technology will be on display. But, for now, check out these two cool things:

Trek belt driven singlespeed:
The belt is supposed to offer a completely silent ride, require no maintenance, and last much longer than a chain. Chains last around 3000 miles, while the belt is projected to last somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 miles. It's 280grams lighter too, but who's counting. I don't think it has a place in MTB jumping and BMX, since the frame needs to have a slot cut in it near the dropout to get the belt in. It is a really cool idea though. Imagine this with an internally geared hub... :)



CLIX Wheel Release System:
Most of us ride bolt-on hubs to make our wheels stiffer, but if you ride XC or anything on the road, you can attest that this device is useful. It is a quick release skewer that doesn't require the user to unscrew anything. Just flip the lever and pull the washer to release. I like the idea, but I wonder how much these things cost, and if they weigh any more than a conventional quick release. It'll be interesting to see if they take on though. Wait and see

Click the link to see a video of what I'm talking about. It's short, so go look:

CLIX Video

NYC Freeride joined up with Diablo this season to produce a pedal specifically for Diablo Freeride Park, which can only be purchased there, and which will be an official product of the US Open this season. They are called the "Glory Hole pedals". Funny, ya?

Here it is, straight from the horse's mouth...

"BROOKLYN, N.Y., February 4, 2008: NYC Freeride is very pleased to announce an exclusive product sponsorship of Diablo Freeride Park for the 2008 season. As part of this agreement, NYCFR LTD. will be manufacturing a limited edition run of custom Glory Hole Pedals produced exclusively for the park.
The “Diablo” Glory Hole pedal will feature a custom logo and color scheme and will be available to purchase exclusively at Diablo Freeride Park. In addition, the custom NYCFreeride “Diablo” Glory Hole pedal will be offered as prizes as the exclusive pedal of the 2008 U.S. Open of Mountain Biking and the 2008 Diablo Domination Series. “As the most-visited park in the east, Diablo Freeride Park is the perfect venue for NYCFreeride to showcase our products as we embark on a new phase of product development”, said Andrew Grossi, NYCFreeride General Manager. “Diablo Freeride Park plays host to several high-profile events and will provide us with product exposure benefits that are second to none.”
NYCFR LTD. is known throughout the industry for producing not only artistic bike components but also cutting edge designs with bomb proof durability, Just as bikers continue to push the limits of riding in competition and for leisure beyond the limits, we at NYCFR LTD. aim to provide the industry with top quality components built to handle the extreme limits of technology and complete function. We are a rider owned and operated Brooklyn NYC based company who manufactures our own components that are built with pride, and although we want our influence to be felt worldwide, our focus is to help support and shape the east coast scene. We also want to help and support others who share these same goals. Without loosing sight of our small beginnings, with hard work, and competent design principles, we plan to take what started out as a passion for bicycling and evolve into a significant influence in the mountain bike and BMX arena.
NYCFR LTD. is also proud to announce that we relocated into a new state of the Art facility that houses an entire line of new CNC machining equipment which has allowed us to keep all of our manufacturing in house and most importantly keeping production in NYC. We are working on an exciting new line of components currently in development. While we continue to produce our current product line, our company is known for manufacturing the most durable pedals you will ever use, every component is built to the highest manufacturing standards with the most state of the art materials available.
"

-Mark

The 2008 Deity website has gone live, and all of the hype we've been hearing about their new site and new product line is definitely true. They [both] rock! Their cranks, definitely one of the best in the industry have another year of innovation put into them, and they are now offering an all-new saddle that looks hott.

There is a very informative press release that you can download from us, by clicking that link. It's a good read, but too lengthy even to summarize on here. Open it up and peruse!

-Mark

Here's an interesting concept:

"Dirty Cycles is excited to announce the launch of www.dirtycycles.com. The website is designed to provide manufacturers an outlet for products that are not currently offered by their distributors or retailers. Dirty Cycles is dedicated to increasing the velocity of innovation in the bicycle industry by providing relief to manufacturers that have overstock, sample products, left over products from the previous season, , and the like. Dirty Cycles is Unique to the bicycle industry because we offer one product at a time at blow out pricing until it is sold out and then the next product appears. Check out www.dirtycycles.com for more info!"

Cool, yes? Ordinarily, I do not put my support behind online bike distributors, as it is my feeling that they take away from the livelihood of our modes of cycling by essentially running your local bike shop into the ground with literally unbeatable prices. But, alas, this is different. To me at least. If you read the above, then you know that they only offer one product at a time, and those products come from the scratch and dent departments. In our industries, even companies that appear to be huge and invincible make surprisingly small margins on their goods. So you can imagine that an entire shipment of goofed products is a whole lot of money in the shitter. Well, not if someone will buy that off of you. That said, I think their mission statement is right on, and you should probably keep their page on a link somewhere, for the day they have the part you need.

Sorry for the lack of posting, but it's the thick of winter, and as far as I can tell, the only riding going on anywhere near me is the occasional late night park session. I did, however, just get back from my first trip to Ray's in Cleveland. While the area is nothing to brag about, the park is sick! If you've never been, get out there. Let me know and I'll get back there with you.

For NJD, things are chilling. Every other site is down for their annual renovation, but we'll save that for some other time, thanks. You can expect a few more product reviews to drop in the time coming. Till then, keep the pedals moving over the frozen-ass dirt. That's what i'm trying to do.

-Mark

Rich from The Bicycle Workshop in Tenafly, NJ just hit me up with some info to spread around. Looks like he's searching for some competent bike people to help staff his shop. Check out his post below.



"A North Jersey bike shop -- 4 miles from the GW Bridge -- is looking for some fresh faces for part/full time employment.

Please send your resume and references to weridebikes@gmail.com. If you don't have a resume, please send a cover letter explaining who you are, why you want to work in a bike shop, and what you have to offer. You can make up for the fact that you might not have work experience if your cover letter is good kid!"

I'll be working there around the clock and Nick has a couple of days a week there as well. It's a very cool place to work, so hit up that e-mail addy!

- Mark D.

Unless you are living with your head in a hole, you must have noticed the increase in bike shops that carry products and perform service for only one (or some) disciplines of riding. That's a niche shop. Well, Bicycle Retailer, an industry publication that keeps shops updated on the goings-on in the bike industy, published a little diddy about the topic.

My buddy Rich sent the link over to me and upon reading it, I saw that the ownder of Mello Velo in Santa Fe, NM was interviewed in it. He used to own the Tenafly Bicycle Workshop in Tenafly, NJ in its heyday.

- Mark D.