no. 22 late June: Five minute read plus songlinks
A songs that flew once but wouldn't these days, and for good reason.
Would this song fly? It was No. 1 in 1974 for a while.
These two I LIKE:
This one from 1964, with or without the subtitles?
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How is this possible? Somebody had a bad experience with a cyclist on this sidewalk, so hassle-be-damned, they pushed through this custom sign? Or was it "off the peg"? A block from us. The sidewalk is extremely bicycle friendly.
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Mark got himself a Spur Cycle bell, and it wasn't light enough, and was too loud for him. He's a sucker for a featherweight bell with a faint tone, and he's making it.
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I'm shooting phone-camera test shots "for position only" in the catalog layout--for the HILLIBIKES--and this is one we need. Showing how you raise off the saddle and lean back some, and let the nose of the saddle go where it will, etc.
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Analog Cycles has been making and having made Zero extension stems to make drop bars work better for trail riding. Zero is good, but it's not the ceiling:
and
So there you go. Sofia rode this around for a couple of hours, said it rode totally normally, which was our experience here on the pavement around the building. It's a way to use drops on bikes not designed for them, and I think it looks kind of cool. Sofia said something like that, too. Maybe, "I don't know...I kind of like it."
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I am looking for a designer who's expert in QXP10. If you have to ask what that is, you aren't one. PM me, grant@rivbike.com if you are. Especially if you're local. Don't say "I use InDesign--it's even better. What's up?" Thanks.
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Mixed stuff going on here. This hippie foodery was in Isla Vista, a subsidiary of Santa Barbara, CA, and this shot is from the late '70s, I think. Do we know where these two people are right now? One of the notes refers to the guy as Wing Bamboo, and the note up top there says he is Bruce Wagner. He looks more like a Bruce Wagoner to me, but the thing is, the other comment is seemingly true, at least has elements of truth in it. One of our customers lived in S. Barbara for a bit last year until she quit or was laid off—I never did get that story straight—and she says she's seen an old Jamaican guy in a park in town.
She sniffed around a bit and came up with this. I don't know what to make of it, but there it all is. "Wing Bamboo" doesn't sound Jamaican to me, but I've never been an expert on Jamaica or Jamaicans, but I know not to bet against them in sprints. Do one of you know this Bruce Wagner? Minor finder's fee.
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Here's a recent custom not built up yet. You'll see it all built maybe in an email update, but it just got here today.
It's for a Missouran. Here's the seat lug with extra Joe Bell sweat:
In 140 years this will still be a beautiful bike. Nobody's going to toss it, ever. It will always be art, even if it gets smashed by a truck. The paint job will never be duplicated or equalled. I hope somebody's still riding it, and that is possible. It kind of depends on what happens between now and then.
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Well now, we've sold out of CLEM-L 52s. Hurray and Dang at the same time. It's good for cash flow, and good cash flow is everything in an underfunded bizniss. Also sold out of the 64s, but we didn't get as many of those. Still some 59s, but we might sell out of those too, by mid-Aug when the truck comes carrying them all.
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I got good news today about the SILVER2 shifters. The next hurdle has been cleared. We may get a sample in a month.
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This is not a reason to ban disc brakes (heads up before clicking link – it's a little gruesome):
But I think they should do something. I think it's better to slow or stop a wheel farther from the hub. More leverage, less stress on the spokes, and in the front, no tendency for the braking force to pull the wheel out of the fork. Thru axles "solve" that, but have their own weirdnesses. I just like normal.
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I don't want to end this with a gross leg picture, so here are three from the past couple of months:
It's Emily (L) and Sofia (R) walking down a hill that's way steeper than it looks.
Olympus OM-1, FP4 film, orange filter.
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This is Dan and Sofia in the Marin Headlands just north of the Golden Gate bridge, PUSHING up a hill that's steeper than it looks. This and the photo below were on FP4 also, with Hasselblad 903SW, which is the fanciest camera I'll ever own. The Headlands are perfect for riding, and the weather is always -- well, it's never HOT there, and there are no snakes. There must be some, but it's not snakey.
We were unsure which way was up. Sofia used paper and seemed happy; Dan used his iPhone and seemed consternated. I just noticed I still have the plastic reflectors on my CLEM. Just doing my part for the whales, etc.