Here’s a nice video from the folks at Kona, showcasing how bikes can make cities cool. Check out the photos and full report at Kona.
#london
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Radar
Urban Hill Climb
This year’s Rollapaluza Urban Hill Climb took place earlier this month on a closed road in North London. Competitors were greeted with a 1km of pain, cowbells, great coffee and cheering crowds.
Radar
Specialized’s Crown Jewels x Deck of Cards RHC London Track Crit Bike
Jon Takao, the footwear designer at Specialized looked to the royal family to inspire the latest Red Hook Crit track bike. This black and gold bike is an homage to the Crown Jewels, the gates of Buckingham, a deck of cards and believe it or not, Alice in Wonderland. Check out the BTS video above and a few photos below.
Radar
London Edinburgh London Trailer
1400k in five days? Rides like this require an exceptional amount of both physical and mental fitness, as these riders come to find out. Here’s the official trailer from Made Good for the London Edinburgh London documentary, which you can watch here or pre-order for the film’s release.
Radar
Red Hook Crit London Nº1 Video
This year brought about the Red Hook Crit track criterium to London, where all the high-speed, spectator-friendly action took place on a closed course within the city center. Here’s the first video we’ve seen from the event. Be sure to share yours.
Radar
The Red Hook Crit Comes to London This Week
July 11th brings the Red Hook Crit to the streets of London. This one’s gonna be good! To make sure you’re on top of all the happenings, head over to the RHC London website and follow them on Facebook.
Reportage
Charlie’s Ted James Design ESB Rear Disc Singlespeed
If any city merits a good, solid track bike or singlespeed, it’s London. The traffic is like an organism. Sometimes predatory, othertimes symbiotic. It’ll swallow you whole, or let you surf the wave of continuous flow. Die-hard fixed gear and track bike riders will sing their bike’s praises in these conditions, while guys like Charlie will take all that and run a different direction.
Charlie is the owner of Seabass Cycles. He’s had this Ted James Design ESB, or extra strong bike for a few years as a fixed gear. The premise behind these frames was to take a track geometry and tweak it with a few BMX or MTB influences: bigger tire clearances, gussets and body language.
Reportage
Oakley’s In Residence Workshop in London
Cycling isn’t a new thing for Oakley. As a company, they didn’t see a potential market and invent a legacy or shift marketing dollars in order to tap into it. From supporting Greg Lemond back in the day to working with Mark Cavendish on modern eyewear. They’re an iconic staple heavily vested in creating not only performance eyewear for professional athletes, but supporting scenes and dare I say cycling’s outlying “cultures.”
Their In Residence spaces are designed around a specific use or program. It began in Los Angeles with a Studio, which centered around the art surrounding LA skateboarding and has now moved onto London, where the In Residence Workshop operates as a hub for cyclists.
Nestled on Exmouth Market, a small one-way street that shuts down to vehicular traffic at night for the pubs and restaurant patrons to enjoy, the Workshop is an ideal pre or post-ride meet up. There’s coffee by Prufrock, exhibitions by Spoke London, free Seabass Cycles-operated mechanics area, maintenance workshops with the London Bike Kitchen, weekly rides by East London Fixed, movies by the Bicycle Film Festival and yes, free wifi.
Reportage
Chas’ Legor Cicli Track Bike
In the world of beausage and bicycles, you’d be hard pressed to find a better catalyst than a street-racing track bike. Or even a bike messenger’s work horse. When you combine the two…
This Legor Cicli track bike was first featured here back in 2011 at NAHBS in Austin. Originally owned by John Taki and was just recently passed down to Chas, it’s seen its share of street wear and tear. Fit with Omnium cranks, a 44RN camo chainring and Essor wheels, it has the mean stance of a race machine, with a lot of that special pista patina we’ve all come to admire.
Chas was in London to do a panel with Oakley at their In Residence space, so in-between his busy schedule, I took this bike outside to document it. There’s something special about a track bike in a city like London… and I love it! Oh and that cup in the spokes? Chas didn’t want to litter when he finished his beer.
Radar
When in London
On the way back home from Italy, I swung through London to catch up with my friends at Oakley who have just opened their Oakley In Residence space. After a quick tour of the locale and a brief meet and greet with a few athletes, Chas from MASH and I convinced multi-Olympic gold medalist Victoria Pendleton to step outside and take a #HardstyleWednesday photo.
My mind is blown… As always, there’s more to come!
Radar
Kinoko Cycles is Closing their Brick and Mortar Shop
... and focusing solely on their online store. I'm bummed to read this because I thought Kinoko was one of the nicest shops I've been to and the team at Kinoko are so rad.
At any rate, read on below and I wish the guys the absolute best!
Radar
Emily Maye Photography Exhibition in London
Wednesday, July 2nd, Emily Maye has a photo exhibition opening in London, at Beach. Roll through to check it out. I wish I could be there!
Reportage
Quick London Details
This morning, after no sleep and a long day of traveling, I landed at Heathrow with the sunrise. In fact, I’m pretty sure it was the sun, peeking through the neighbor’s window, hitting me in the face that kept me from getting an iota of sleep.
I hopped on the Express train and made my way to the hotel, before taking a stroll with the PEdAL ED team around the neighborhood.
Holding onto consciousness, in an almost sleepwalking state, we swung through a few shops, all of which I’d like to spend more time combing through the details and doing proper Shop Visits at, but in the interest of time, I’ll have to go with these random details.
Kinoko was amazing. One of the nicest shops I’ve been in and the Rapha Cycle Club was quite the experience… I’m here with Brooks England, for their Eroica event and our days are pretty packed, but I’ll do my best to document our journey.
Radar
Kinoko and Daily Goods Caps
These look good!
“Daily Goods is our rather excellent in store coffee shop, the brain child of Carter Donnell. We finally made a limited edition collaboration cap, so you can share the love and show your allegiances when it comes to your favourite spot to sup the finest coffee based beverages in all of London town and where to purchase superior cycling goods and apparel. You may also find that this fine piece of Italian made head wear will keep the sun out of your eyes and the rain from disturbing your finely coiffed locks.”
See more at Kinoko.
Radar
Norman Foster’s Vision for a More Cycling-Friendly London
British architect Norman Foster’s newest project proposal isn’t a giant building with a spaceship-like façade. Instead, it’s an urban adaptive reuse project:
“Foster + Partners has unveiled a scheme that aims to transform London’s railways into cycling freeways. The seemingly plausible proposal, which was designed with the help of landscape firm Exterior Architecture and transportation consultant Space Syntax, would connect more than six million residents to an elevated network of car-free bicycle paths built above London’s existing railway lines if approved.
“SkyCycle is a lateral approach to finding space in a congested city,” said Norman Foster, who is both a regular cyclist and the president of Britain’s National Byway Trust. ”By using the corridors above the suburban railways, we could create a world-class network of safe, car free cycle routes that are ideally located for commuters.”
“To improve the quality of life for all in London and to encourage a new generation of cyclists, we have to make it safe,” he added. ”However, the greatest barrier to segregating cars and cyclists is the physical constraint of London’s streets, where space is already at a premium.”
The 220-kilometer SkyCycle, which has already received backing from Network Rail and Transport for London, would provide a safer and cheaper alternative to constructing new roads. Nearby residents would access the suspended pathway via 200 entrance points, all connected to the street by ramps and hydraulic platforms.”
Read more here.
Radar
Kinoko Cycles: Testing the Dart V2
I really like these two photos that just hit the Kinoko Cycles blog, featuring Josh and the new Dart V2. That bike looks like a lot of fun!
Radar
Charge TV: Phil Young and His Freezer in London
I like videos like this because they highlight an everyday commuter and how they spend their days. Check out Phil from Urb-Orbis as he talks about his work life and riding his Charge Freezer in London.
Radar
Kinoko Cycles Looks Amazing!
As an architect, I can really enjoy looking through photos of the new Kinoko Cycles space. I’ve always wanted to design a complete bike shop, from the floorboards to the millwork and it looks like the designer went to town on the buildout. As part of any successful project, photos are of the utmost importance and the shots on the Kinoko Flickr look great. One day I’d love to check out the space in person!
