All City Championships 2012

I wish I could make it to this, especially the bandit cross. I think I might know of an underused lot where we could have our own underground cross race...

Fixed Gear Memphis

The majority of the "track" bikes that I see in the shop are set up single speed and on the Cycle Memphis ride I think there were but a few people actually riding fixed. So does anyone in Memphis still ride fixed gear?

I'm actually thinking about a new frame. Maybe someone will let me borrow a bike so I can remind myself why I started riding and perhaps, why I stopped. 56cm, y'all.

Memfixed - a fixed gear forum for Memphis

I saw this over at Gritty: Memphis now has a fixed gear forum - memfixed. Started by transplant Rem, he's Daniel's cousin and will be helping him out in the shop downtown. Head over there to the forum, log on and join the discussion.

It's Alive!!!

Wheel Covers: removed. Drive: fixed. Pedals: Hold Fast'd. Tires: knobified.
I've been thinking about a fixed monstercross for a while now and seeing as how my polo bike just wasn't handling the abuse I decided it was time to operate. Switched back to my Sugino crankset with a 39 ring paired with a 19 tooth cog in the back. 700 x 42 knobby tires just barely fit. I actually think I need to space out the rear hub a little bit more. Colony pedals because I needed some that are Hold Fast compatible, my Odyssey Twisted's are not. Hold Fast straps are legit. So it's been set up for about a week but today was it's first real ride.

Em and I set out on the Greenline this morning and I dipped off onto the blue trail (Wolf River Trail) as she continued straight to Shelby Farms. This was my first time riding that section of trail, my first time riding that bike on a trail, and my first time riding fixed on a trail. Perfect. Everything. Okay, there's that one narrow bridge at the bottom of the hill with that 100 degree turn leading right into it that I felt safer walking and only one of the sand pits stopped me but other than that it was way fun.


More pics on my flickr.

I'm going uphill faster

than you're going downhill. That was my ride home this evening. As I crossed over East Parkway and made my way up Harbert a gentleman cruiser started pedaling his way down East Parkway. I totes beat him but you know what, it was just that kind of day to be cruising around, relaxed. Beautiful day.

I came home this evening and Em was sitting on the porch, watching the neighbor kids skateboard. I jumped over a tie they were setting up for a makeshift box and rolled up the driveway to find that Em had a surprise gift for me, wrapped in her own art.





So this book is amazing. Traffic instructions, touring tips, a chapter on cyclocross, chapters entitled 'How to Ride a High-Wheeler' and 'Hurray for Fixed Wheels', British cycle polo vs American cycle polo, and general wind directions per season/city. This coming October the wind direction, according to this book at least, will be pushing towards the west southwest. I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

Memphis adopts brakeless fixed gear law

After reading about Cara's debacle I remembered that I've been so busy that I haven't posted about the amendments to the City of Memphis bicycle laws. In particular I wanted to draw your attention to one section alone that makes Memphis have some of the most progressive bicycle laws in the country:

Section 21-200. Equipment - Brake
Every bicycle operated upon streets in the city shall be equipped with a brake or brakes which will enable its driver to stop the bicycle within twenty five feet (25') from a speed of ten miles per hour (10mph) on dry, level, clean pavement. Such brake(s) shall be maintained in good working order at all times. For the purposes of this section, the drivetrain of a fixed gear bike is considered a brake provided the rider can demonstrate compliance with the braking requirement stated herein.

The rest of the amendments an be found here, pg. 9-14: http://www.cityofmemphis.org/pdf_forms/documents_041310.pdf

Thanks to everyone at Walk Bike! Memphis who spent time rewriting the old laws.

Links to the previous laws can be found here: http://fixmemphis.blogspot.com/2008/09/cycling-laws-again.html

Toy Machine Fixed Gear Deck

I spotted this at Hipster Nascar: Toy Machine Bloodsucking Skateboard Company has released a new deck showing Turtleboy in a Cinelli cycling cap and holding a copy of a mag that appears to be titled "Fixed Gear Today."

This is not the first time skateboards have featured bicycles. Remember the Chocolate decks? I still want those. I google-found this site which shows that they made some pretty rad looking t-shirts as well.

That led me to search what other skateboard decks have featured bicycles, and more to the point, which have featured fixed gear bicycles. Of course we know that Element and Brooklyn Machine Works did a collaboration but I'm more interested in actual decks and artwork.

The Switzerland based 242 Shop released a deck that shows a shop area. My Swiss isn't exactly conversational but I believe the sign is pointing towards the velodrome. 242 Shop also has some rad t-shirts. I also like their Hubble shirts because I'm a space nerd! You can't order direct but you can email them and tell them what you'd like and they'll send you a PayPal invoice.

Enjoi also released this Cairo Foster pro deck. It looks like they don't know too much about gear ratios!

Last up is this Queen tribute from Expedition (Expedition One, whatever...). It's not a fixed gear but it's still a bicycle.

In addition to adding the cigarette it looks like they gave her a wedgie as well. Originally the girl was naked but stores refused to stock the single (Bicycle Race b/w Fat Bottomed Girls) so the label put some panties on the curvaceous cyclist.

Fixed Gear: Savannah, GA

Emily and I just got back from a fine beach vacation in Hilton Head, SC with plenty of sand castles, alligators, beach cruisers, sunsets and fruity drinks in a rainbow of colors (which we were more intent on drinking, rather than taking pictures of them):




One day while we were there we took a drive over to Savannah, GA (about 30 minutes away) and shopped and took pictures of bicycles. Savannah is home to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) so you can imagine the number of "hip" art-school kids with fixed gear bikes. I'll preface these photos first with an apology to anyone whose bike I captured that isn't an art-school hipster and actually rides for the love of it, for the work of it (shout to Brett, a Savannah Pedi-cabbie who was super nice to talk to for a while), or for the transportation of it. Savannah is beautiful and I want to come back and race and play polo (everyday!?) and just ride in your bike lanes and park in your abundant bike parking, but it seemed that a lot of the bikes I saw were strictly trying to be cool. Here's what I mean:

I never thought about grabbing my bars from underneath but I imagine it would make you pretty aero:


Or, "I'm gonna chip to hell my sweet-ass Merckx with this un-sheathed chain." Two condoms are needed here: one for the chain and one for the owner so he doesn't reproduce:


However this is the worst:


Where did that derailleur go? It must not have been any good. What does Dura-Ace mean anyway?



However there were some good looking bikes around like this guy:



...and his rather smart basket:



Or this Fuji Track Pro that was (regrettably) spray painted white:



And overall Savannah looks like an enoyable place to ride:



I mostly took pictures of fixed gears and single speeds as there were WAY too many cruisers. Check the rest of them on my flickr.

Driven Magazine NOW AVAILABLE!!!

There is a feature on the Memphis fixed gear scene in the newest issue of Driven Magazine. You can pick it up in many of your local bicycle, running or outdoor shops. Sorry it's not available online yet but I'll let you know when it happens.

Let's talk about fixed gear chainlines.

A trusted customer came into the shop the other day with a fixed gear conversion. He purchased said bike from a "bargain" bike seller who shall remain nameless. I don't recall how much he paid for the bike but it included the frame/fork, BB, crankset, handlebars (flopped and chopped), and a wheelset with a flip-flop hub.

Several things struck me as out of the ordinary: the axle on the rear wheel had some extra nuts that didn't match in width to each other. Most of us know that a flip-flop hub has a 120mm spacing. Older model road bikes have a 126mm rear spacing. Simple math tells us this is a difference of 6mm, which is 3mm on each side. It is perfectly fine to tighten the axle nuts that 3mm. You won't mess up the frame. If you add extra nuts you are in effect pushing the cog further away which will result in a off chainline. Of course that chainline also depends on the BB length and crankset you are using. Every crankset sold now will have a recommended BB length for its intended application. Most fixed gear cranksets run anywhere from a 102mm to a 110mm, while road bikes can run from 110mm to 122mm. I don't know what the BB length was on this bike because I didn't measure it, but let's guess it was a 117mm. Obviously you need to run your chainring on the inside of the spider to get your chainline as straight as possible, which brings up the other item about this bike that I found odd: the chainring was run on the inside of the spider but the chainring bolts were intened for a double chainring. Obviously that means they are longer. Instead of using chainring bolt spacers this "bargain" bike seller used washers. Honestly, that will work fine provided the washers are small enough so they don't hit the spider.

These things combined (mis-spaced rear hub, longer BB) will result in a chainline that is way off. What happens when your chainline is off? Unnecessary wear on the chain, chainring and cog and your chain could pop off or break resulting in serious injury or even death.

If your bike looks like this you should take it to a qualified mechanic at one of your local bicycle shops and have them fix the problem or take it back to the seller and get your money back. I wouldn't ride it and no shop would sell it.

This Thursday Night!

This Thursday will be several people's last Thursday Night Ride for a while. Chase, Dennis and Jevans will be leaving for their tour soon, Anthony is taking off to travel the world, and Josh Gorman is moving to Washington, DC! This will just be a fun ride, moderately paced, all are welcome. Come wish your friends happy trails!

Driven Magazine Story Re-Post

Thanks to everyone who came out last Thursday for the Driven Magazine photo shoot. Terie didn't get to interview everyone so she would still like you to fill out the questions below and send them to her. Not me.

QUESTIONS FOR DRIVEN MAGAZINE’S FIXED GEAR STORY!!!
PLEASE ANSWER THEM AND E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS TO: TERIEB@DRIVENMAGAZINE.NET
THANKS, AND I’LL ASK MORE QUESTIONS AND TAKE PHOTOS WHEN I SEE YOU ALL AT YOUNG AVENUE DELI NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT AT 9PM!
TERIE BOX

1) Who are you? Name (or alias), age, day job?
2) How’d you get into fixed gear cycling?
3) How often do you ride your fixed gear now?
a. I ride it in alleycats and other events
b. I ride it every weekend.
c. I commute to work and some other places when the weather’s nice.
d. I don’t own a car. My bike is fused to my feet.
e. Other: please explain
4) Tell me your favorite thing about fixed gear biking.
5) Tell me your least favorite thing about it.
6) In a sentence or two or four, describe the culture that surrounds fixed gear cycling…for example, if someone rides a fixed gear bike, they also probably:
7) What else do you have to say about it? Let loose!

Let's be a feature in Driven

Many of you have seen Driven Magazine in the shops around town and some of you probably met Terie when she covered the New Gears Alleycat. Terie phoned me the other day and wants to do a feature on fixed gear riding in Memphis. We've scheduled an interview/photo shoot for Thursday May 28th at 9pm at the Young Avenue Deli. That means get your bike fresh'd. If you won't be able to make the big group photo shoot but still want to participate I've got some questions from Terie that you can email to her:

QUESTIONS FOR DRIVEN MAGAZINE’S FIXED GEAR STORY!!!
PLEASE ANSWER THEM AND E-MAIL YOUR ANSWERS TO: TERIEB@DRIVENMAGAZINE.NET
THANKS, AND I’LL ASK MORE QUESTIONS AND TAKE PHOTOS WHEN I SEE YOU ALL AT YOUNG AVENUE DELI NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT AT 9PM!
TERIE BOX

1) Who are you? Name (or alias), age, day job?
2) How’d you get into fixed gear cycling?
3) How often do you ride your fixed gear now?
a. I ride it in alleycats and other events
b. I ride it every weekend.
c. I commute to work and some other places when the weather’s nice.
d. I don’t own a car. My bike is fused to my feet.
e. Other: please explain
4) Tell me your favorite thing about fixed gear biking.
5) Tell me your least favorite thing about it.
6) In a sentence or two or four, describe the culture that surrounds fixed gear cycling…for example, if someone rides a fixed gear bike, they also probably:
7) What else do you have to say about it? Let loose!

Nashville Roller Races pics and vids

NASHVILLE ROLLER RACE from Nathan Wahlman on Vimeo
Photo by candice.gay
Photo by candice.gay

More photos and videos here: Steve Taylor
And a forum breakdown of the aftermath here.

Polo Sundays

Thanks to all who came out for the impromptu games of bike polo this evening. Sorry for those who didn't get the message, it just means no one has your phone number. This is going to be a weekly event so get into it. Every Sunday at 5pm behind the Peddler Bike Shop on Highland. There are plenty of mallets so don't worry about bringing one, unless of course you want to make your own stealth stick. The shop will be closed so come prepared.

Thank you everyone!

To start: Thanks to everyone who made it out! Jonesboro guys: Sorry you didn't make it to the finish/afterparty; we cheers'd you for coming out and having fun.
Next: All you guys who said you'd be there: Pat Boyd, Alex Carr (We really missed you and your house!), Jonathan Cisco, Rocky (to name a few; but mainly Pat Boyd who I talked to almost every day before the race and who said he'd be there...) you guys missed a super fun race and really good beer and pizza. Your loss, DICKS!
Finally and ESPECIALLY: Thanks to all of the volunteers: Alona and Wes, Matthew Writt from the Memphis Flyer, and Kermit. This would not have happened without your initials. And extra thanks to Terie B. from Driven Magazine for including our small world in her wonderful publication.

The race started with 9 laps around the East High School Track. The racers had to drink a beer before, during, or after their 9 laps. They were then given a manifest consisting of 4 checkpoints and a final destination: 208 North Main, 209 South Main, a Grocery Store (their choice) where they had to purchase a can of black-eyed peas, the U of M Clock Tower, and the final destination of Midtown Bikes. Two different manifests were handed out which had the checkpoints in reverse order.

Enjoy these few photos and check out the rest of the sets:




The Results:

1st Place: Chris Spencer
2nd Place: Russ "Shithead" Griffin (Should not have taken backroads.)
3rd Place: Isaiah Flowers (who stopped at home to get his ipod)

1st (and only) Girl: Erica

1st Cruiser: NOBODY

1st Hurl: NOBODY (Really, I was totally expecting someone to evacuate stomach.)

Most awesome part of the race: Beer handoff to Russ Griffin. (The man knows how to caress a bottle.)

Kermit's set HERE.
Fix Memphis set HERE.
Matthew Writt's set HERE.
More sets to come.

Stay tuned for a February "Tour De Pizza Cafe" with everyone's favorite cross-country traveler Sean Quigley.

Happy New Year!

See you all at 1 this afternoon!

If there's too much snow on the ground

Yeah I know, at first snow here we're all out on our bikes or falling off of them but there are probably some places where there is too much snow or some people who don't like riding in the cold weather. Whatever this guy's deal is he's used his indoor time wisely:



Kinda looks like Sasha Barr to me.

Happy New Gears 2009

It works like this: meet at East High Track, ride nine laps, having a beer before, during or after. When your nine laps is complete you will get a manifest for the rest of the race.

Pay attention to the bag, lock and extra $3.

Email fixmemphis@yahoo.com if you would like to volunteer.

Call for Volunteers

We're looking for people to help run checkpoints for the January 1st Alleycat. This may or may not involve dressing in a costume, taking pictures, getting (re)drunk, or explosives. If this sounds like something you can do then send an email to fixmemphis@yahoo.com.