Mountain Bike Collectors are Great!

I'm in awe of the things prolific MTBR poster Rumphy has accumulated and still rides on a regular basis.  Check out his great collection of Onza Racing Porcs.  And also what happens when you shred too hard on a 25 year old tire!

He hasn't posted much, but it's all gold. 

More here!

Flare Friday

Prolls directed me towards this one.  Laurence has been around cyclocross off and on for nearly 40 years and did it with the perfect amount of power, skill, and most importantly, style.  Check out this article o'er at Cyclocross Magazine.

Can't Win Em All!

Drool-worthy completed eBay auction items that I missed out on!  All photos are links.

Open Road to Missoula.

In 1982, Greg Siple began recording our visitors on film and asking them to tell their stories, creating Adventure Cycling's National Bicycle Touring Portrait Collection. The Open Road Gallery features selections from this collection in Adventure Cyclist magazine.

Check out many more here!

Keep Trails Weir(d)!

"The second day I had my bike, for want of anything better to do, I rode all the way to the top of the mountain, and that was wonderful, just ducky.  I was perhaps less cautious than might have been prudent. I hit a particularly pernicious crag in the road, and did what I understand is called a 'Polish Wheelie.'"

"I landed in a driveway, right at this guy's feet, and fortunately he turned out to be a doctor. Well, he was an eye doctor, but at least he was a doctor."

Bob Weir on riding above treeline in Vail

Polar Vortex v.2

Photo from this really awesome collection here.

Flare Friday

Chris Kostman has written many articles in his lifetime that go in the face of the cycling zeitgeist a la Grant Peterson of Rivendell.  He was even sponsored by Bridgestone (which Grant ran through the late 80s and until their closure in 1994).

Check out these articles here and here for a starting point!

10 reasons to get skinny in the dirt

1. You'll get used to a little slip and slide under your tyres; then when you hit the pavement or return to the trail with knobbies you'll be astounded by the traction and confidence you suddenly command.
2. You'll be forced to actually pay attention to your line, thus developing better seeing skills and eye-body coordination.
3. This forced attention span will educate you immeasurably about trail surfaces, sands, soils, erosion, even geology, flora, and fauna. In other words, you'll learn to ride with the land, not over it.
4. Your skinny tyres will leave less of an imprint and impact on the trails.
5. You'll marvel at how much faster you can ride on flats, rollers, and most uphills, compared to your full-blown ATB, once you shed all that excess weight, rolling resistance, and weird positioning. I.E., you'll dust the fat tyre 'flyers' like I do all the time.
6. You'll realize that you really can soak up the bumps and dramatically alter your bike's riding characteristics on demand, rather than having your suspension (try to) do it all for you. This is called Body English and it's about time that you really became fluent, rather than only packing a few token phrases like some 'Ugly American' tourist.
7. You'll discover that there's more to the fun factor than seeing how fast you can blast a downhill in a park overflowing with hikers, equestrians, and forest rangers. In so doing, you'll dramatically increase our common survival potential in a world that abhors the mountain bike and all its connotations.
8. Gone will be the days that it's a total drag, literally, to ride to and from the trail head. No longer will you be smoked by the roadies while plodding the pavement, nor will you pollute the ecosphere by driving to the trail head anymore.
9. You'll actually have the nerve to venture down a trail that you discover while out road riding. In fact, you'll quit even thinking of 'road rides' or 'dirt rides.' A ride's a ride and a bike's a bike. It's what you make of them that counts.
10. Finally, you'll learn once and for all that technology is a crutch, not an asset, and that it truly detracts from your life experience on and off the bike.

If It Ain't Metal, It's Shit.

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

The Dirtbomb.

Lachlan Morton

There need to be more guys like him in the pro peloton.  I hope to be able to hang with him at the Coors Banquet Chill Pro Challenge this year!

Photos from Manual for Speed and Lachlan's own brother. 

Ben from Oklahoma

Here's an entirely unexpected customer at Pearl Velo this past week.  An AMP Research full suspension oozing character.  Tons of high-end of components and stickers make this one of the more unique bikes I've caught rolling through either Pearl Velo or Wheat Ridge Cyclery in recent memory. 

 

The U-Tube No Hand Wheelie King

This is an approved way to ride a bike.  

Breezer Series II

Up close and personal!  Unbelievable.

More great photos here!

Ignore the Experts

Vintage MTB Workshop

If you get a spare moment, check out this ridiculous collection that resides in Boulder.  Just the bikes he's sold alone make it worth the look.  He also has some projects he's worked on to recreate vintage parts that can't be sourced, often making them better than the originals!

Main site here.

Sold bikes that are no longer part of the collection here.

And projects here.

http://www.vintagemtbworkshop.com/

Erik's AWOL by Prollz

Go forth and be amazed.  This set really knocks it out of the park...

Check out more photos here!

Can't Win Em All!

Drool-worthy completed eBay auction items that I missed out on!  All photos are links.