Monday, March 30, 2009
taipei!
Mr. Chang always keeps teh CSK booth interesting.
Mr. Chang took the camera from my hand and took this one himself. True story.
This guy is the head builder at the small shop where Kazane frames are made.
CSK frames on display.
Toyo frames - made by the same builders as Kazane.
A nice mom-and-pop shop in Taipei.
more pictures from taipei
a movie poster.
Mechanical bull for the home!
I ate this.
Wow!
He was trying to prove that the hat was adult-sized. I really wanted it but it didn't work out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
NOS Italian Frames
I have access to some very cool vintage Italian frames from DeBernardi, Ciocc, Coppi, and a couple of Guerciottis. Prices start at $400 frame/fork. I'm even toying with the idea of building some with the new SRAM double tap flatbar road shifters. It would be as cool a geared city bike that you get get for under $1200 (using Rival gears/cranks, Fulcrum 7 wheels, etc.). Let me know if you're interested. Complete builds with SRAM Rival (2009) start at $1400 for standard road.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Kazane E1 frame sells for $850. It hasn't won any Giro stages but the whole reason behind the bike is the prevailing attitude epitomized here in Cyclingnews.com:
"Gabriele Bosisio rode one to a stage victory in the 2008 Giro d'Italia on De Rosa's stylish King 3. Our test bike's subtly understated matt black finish won admiring glances - and it's clearly good enough for the pros - but is that enough to justify a hefty $5,300 USD frame and fork price in these times of credit crunch? In short, yes. It's fast, refined and makes quite a style statement."
I don't know if the guys at cyclingnews have noticed, but the credit crunch is old news. That's what we talked about over the summer. I think the phrase "global economic meltdown" makes more sense now.
"Gabriele Bosisio rode one to a stage victory in the 2008 Giro d'Italia on De Rosa's stylish King 3. Our test bike's subtly understated matt black finish won admiring glances - and it's clearly good enough for the pros - but is that enough to justify a hefty $5,300 USD frame and fork price in these times of credit crunch? In short, yes. It's fast, refined and makes quite a style statement."
I don't know if the guys at cyclingnews have noticed, but the credit crunch is old news. That's what we talked about over the summer. I think the phrase "global economic meltdown" makes more sense now.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
new shirt
go to keirinculture.com to order the new shirt by roanoke, va, artist Dickie Nieman. 2 more designs coming in the next week or two!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
taipei update
haven't been able to really update from the show here. i only have access to a hotel public computer and can't upload pictures. I'll have pics later when i get back to va.
everyone is on the fixed-gear thing here. it seems that all of the booths have some lugged fixed-gear bike to show. it's hard to muddle through it all. i'm very happy with the builder of kazane frames and wouldn't dream of changing. it's a small builder (contrary to what some forums writers have said in the past), and it's other big customer is Toyo. Some Toyo frames are made in Japan, but most are made here and are really nice. I'll have some available later this year on my site. Nothing like the Kazane frames. Mainly I'll stock the single-speed lugged cross frame by Toyo.
There are a lot of new cranksets available, too. Some are vintage style. The new Kazane crank is going to be a lot smoother with a tighter chainline. We also might do some of the vintage style, too. My friend designed one that you'll probably see next year from a few brands. A new Kazane hub is in the works. Super smooth. Can't say more.
It's just really funny to see these bike business guys jumping on the fixed-gear thing so heavily. I overheard a conversation at a builder's booth from an American trying to source an alloy track frame. The guy was fat and clearly had no experience other than reading about it in Bicycle Retailer magazine. It'll be funny to see how these things actually ride when they're designed by someone who doesn't ride.
Other news - Kazane road and track forks are on the way. Also road wheels and frames. On the Keirin Culture side - look for 5 Stratos NJS frames next week.
pictures coming in a few days.
everyone is on the fixed-gear thing here. it seems that all of the booths have some lugged fixed-gear bike to show. it's hard to muddle through it all. i'm very happy with the builder of kazane frames and wouldn't dream of changing. it's a small builder (contrary to what some forums writers have said in the past), and it's other big customer is Toyo. Some Toyo frames are made in Japan, but most are made here and are really nice. I'll have some available later this year on my site. Nothing like the Kazane frames. Mainly I'll stock the single-speed lugged cross frame by Toyo.
There are a lot of new cranksets available, too. Some are vintage style. The new Kazane crank is going to be a lot smoother with a tighter chainline. We also might do some of the vintage style, too. My friend designed one that you'll probably see next year from a few brands. A new Kazane hub is in the works. Super smooth. Can't say more.
It's just really funny to see these bike business guys jumping on the fixed-gear thing so heavily. I overheard a conversation at a builder's booth from an American trying to source an alloy track frame. The guy was fat and clearly had no experience other than reading about it in Bicycle Retailer magazine. It'll be funny to see how these things actually ride when they're designed by someone who doesn't ride.
Other news - Kazane road and track forks are on the way. Also road wheels and frames. On the Keirin Culture side - look for 5 Stratos NJS frames next week.
pictures coming in a few days.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
keep it clean
I stole this from a Team Mountain Khakis riders facebook. When you're a pro rider keeping your bike clean is important. These guys are racing and training in N. Carolina this week. The weather is bad and the roads are dirty, and sometimes extreme measures are necessary.
Friday, March 13, 2009
new shirt artist
I've got a new shirt design coming out from Croatian artist Matej Pasalic. The design is very cool. He does a lot of different art and even modern jewelry. Here's a picture of one of his rings that he designed:
See more here.
See more here.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Attention Aussies:
There is now an Australia-only Keirin Culture apparel online shop - keirinculture.com.au You can get all of the Keirin Culture shirts there without the extra shipping cost. Andy has introduced some new colors and ideas to the existing designs plus has some new designs in the works. Here's an example:
Monday, March 9, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
update
sorry about not posting more. it's been crazy. The big news is that Team Mtn Khakis has their Kazane road frames (well, most at least). The rest of the frames are on their way and will be looking for new homes. The feedback has been great, and this will be the team to watch in crits this year.
They will also be rocking/riding Kazane wheels. the wheels are 1550g, 20 front/20 rear bladed spokes and super strong. The whole point of the Kazane road products is to have pro quality stuff at an affordable price. A lot of parts make this claim but I figured the best way to back it up is to put it under a real pro team. Besides Team Mtn Khakis, Richmond Pro Cycling will be using Kazane frames and wheels. They are technically an amateur team but are respected enough to get into most of the big races, and once in are active.
Anyway, the wheels will sell for $400, frames for $850 with a full carbon fork. The frame weight is 1kg with a rider weight limit of 200lbs. It comes with a headset. Geometry is aggressive, kind of a response to all of the giant head tubes that are showing up on bikes everywhere. It's for the young racer who can never get low enough.
Here are some pics that were just made of the wheels. Frame pics are coming next week:
They will also be rocking/riding Kazane wheels. the wheels are 1550g, 20 front/20 rear bladed spokes and super strong. The whole point of the Kazane road products is to have pro quality stuff at an affordable price. A lot of parts make this claim but I figured the best way to back it up is to put it under a real pro team. Besides Team Mtn Khakis, Richmond Pro Cycling will be using Kazane frames and wheels. They are technically an amateur team but are respected enough to get into most of the big races, and once in are active.
Anyway, the wheels will sell for $400, frames for $850 with a full carbon fork. The frame weight is 1kg with a rider weight limit of 200lbs. It comes with a headset. Geometry is aggressive, kind of a response to all of the giant head tubes that are showing up on bikes everywhere. It's for the young racer who can never get low enough.
Here are some pics that were just made of the wheels. Frame pics are coming next week:
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