Single Speed Dreams

Moser

2008-04-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

With the closure of one project comes the spine of another...i'm quite tempted to get my hands on this frame and with a bit of luck, turn it into a beauty!

Little 500

2008-04-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Every year the University of Indiana runs a bike race called the Little 500. The most recent happened to take place last week and it would seem that the "Cutters" won again. I am most intrigued by this amazing event and i think it would be great if a similar event were to happen in Dublin. We could run it for messengers and people who ride fixed or single speed bikes and donate whatever funds we're able to raise towards a charity for injured cyclists or pedestrians who have become the victim of a hit and run involving a motor vehicle...more on that at a later date. So the Little 500 was visited by Barack Obama this year and Lance Armstrong has visited it in the past, that's some good press! If you're from the States you probably know the rules and the race history already, but for everybody else, here is a brief summary. It's an annual, 200-lap race that pits fraternities at Indiana University against one another riding one-speed, coaster-brake bikes. The first race was in 1951. The bikes are all old school Schwinn's (aluminium frames excluded) that cost around $300 and are paid for in the form of a deposit which is returned to the payee if their team doesn't want to hang onto the bike after the race. I'd sure love to get my hands on one...

Particpants in the 1977 Little 500

Participants in the 2008 Little 500

Schwinn Little 500 2007

Goodbye Lenin

2008-04-21T04:27:00.000-07:00

I watched a film called Goodbye Lenin the other night. If you can tolerate subtitles and you're looking for a not so typical Hollywood epi(demic) i highly recommend that you give this film a twirl in your DVD player. It's a very heartfelt and moving story about a sons efforts to protect his Mother before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall...that's all i can say without giving too much away. If you liked Amelie and found yourself giggling at the quirkiness of that film you're sure to enjoy Goodbye Lenin.

New Albums...

2008-04-21T03:10:00.001-07:00

I picked up the following albums over the weekend:

Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours
Neon Neon - Stainless Style
M83 - Saturdays Youth
Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
Why - Alopecia

Working my way through them all at the moment so i'll try to put up a decent review of each in the next little while...but so far they're all sounding pretty damn good!

Langster 2008 Revamp

2008-04-21T02:59:00.000-07:00

So i got bored of the winter green paint job and pedestrian feeling fork on my 2008 Langster and decided to switch the fork out for a straight blade carbon job as well as a new paint job.

I stripped the frame down with nitromors (approach with caution) and got into the welds with a coarse wire wool from a hardware store. The end result was pretty impressive but i was concerned about the alloy oxidising so i decided to get the frame powder coated bright red (like an old rockhopper i had as a kid) and it turned out pretty well considering i only paid €50...I swapped out the old brake levers with shimano 600's and i taped the bars up with white cork tape to finish her off. The bike is looking pretty sweet so i'll post some pictures on here to (hopefully) inspire anyone who is considering a rejuvenation project for their bike.

Entroducing...

2008-04-21T01:52:00.000-07:00

Well this is my first post in what i hope becomes the most referred to blog in the universe when it comes to all things on two wheels with one speed...it's good to think big! There are already a few sites in existence such as fixedgeargallery and velospace that do a mighty great job of quenching our thirst for custom, retro and generally cool bikes. This blog is designed to keep people in Dublin, who like me, appreciate or ride single speed bikes and to try to pass on info about what is happening in their fair city on various different levels. I'm going to attempt to include:

Tech Information
Reviews - Bikes, Albums, Movies, and Places to eat on the cheap
Bike Skills
Experiences in traffic
What i'm up to...

Please feel free to comment, leave feedback, or generally just give out about something that's bugging you!

Go Ride (your bike)

Chris