Once more I am more than pleased to add another partner shop to All-City’s growing list of stockists.

Continuum Cycles of NYC, purveyors of a mighty fine lineup of their own framesets, as well as vintage and modern framesets from other manufacturers.  These guys are a huge part of the NYC bike scene and are the folks behind the famous Gold Sprints roller racing. 

The pictures don’t lie, the shop looks amazing and it’s clear that these guys know what’s up.
 

Just look at this parts case.  They even featured the All-City stuff in the pictures they sent over. 
I told you they were classy.

So if you’re in NYC and you’re looking for All-City parts or just want to drool over some very cool track bikes, check out the boys at Continuum.

Jon from Des Moines Iowa sent over some pics of his new build

It’s a Schwinn world sport dressed up in some All-City goodness. 

One of the things that I love about the fixed gear movement is the new life that it’s breathed into so many older road bikes.  This baby’s been lovingly stripped and recreated as a very modern machine.  
Making the old new again, it’s the best form of recycling.   

Looking good Jon, and thanks for the email

All-City is proud to add the Bicycle Business in Sacramento to our list of partner dealers 

They are one of the most knowledgable and well stocked track shops in the country and they also have a really excellent online store.  If you’re in the Sacramento area, these are the go to guys for any fixed or track question or product, and if you’re not local buy online and they’ll get it right out to you.

 
just look at all these shiny baubles

Folks, I’m out of the office for the rest of the week.  I’m taking some time off to go enjoy the Milwaukee Messenger Invitational.  I will reply to all correspondance next week upon my return.  I will also no doubt have many stories to share. 

If you spot me out and about in Milwaukee, please introduce yourselves and say hi.   I’ve got a hearty handshake, smile, and nip of the whiskey for ya.

cheers,
Jeff

All-City has just signed on to sponsor Grand Theft Velo III in New Haven Connecticut

Friends,
let’s take a moment to discuss the venerable Star Track Grip. 

I love them.
I have always loved the BMX versions and ridden them on many bikes, and I am now enamored with the long Track style. 

The reasons for this are many:
1. Dual compound: harder stars over a softer body provides excellent no slip grip
2. Unlike traditional track grips which are thin and give a harsh ride on rise or flat bars, the Star Track Grips are the same diameter as their BMX counterparts giving a comfortable beefy perch
3. Multiple hand positions.  You can slide your mitts all over the bar and it’s all good wherever you roam.  I like the option of moving my hands inward when riding fast.
4. Freestyle: many times when I spin the bars I end up catching the right side (I throw the bars with my right hand) in an off center position.  With a flanged grip, this may be uncomfortable or unridable.  With these long jobbers I can continue to hop or spin or whatever in complete control because I’ve landed on the grip.
5.  They look sweet and are available in colors.  Totally.

And for those of you creative types, don’t feel limited to drops or risers.  Our good buddy The Donner recently sent me this photo of his new bullhorn setup. He says they feel great and as we all know, you should never go against The Don.(photo taken by the lovely Linda Sue)

And in case you need proof as to why you should value The Don’s opinion, one look at his senior photo should put the issue of credibility to rest. 

This my friends, is a man not to be taken lightly

 
Let’s chat about the Standard Track Pedals (STP) for a moment.  The STP’s are a part of All-City’s line because we like them and thought you would appreciate a low cost pedal that you could really put some miles on.  Some of the reasons we like them is that they have four windows in the pedal body for double straps, have a nice cage profile, can comfortably be ridden with or without clips, and are really really inexpensive.  They retail between $20-26 depending on the finish (black anodized on the low end, white powdercoat on the high) and in my experience can and will provide years of reliable service.  

A major reason the price point is so reasonable is that they feature non-sealed bearings and non-sealed bearings, as you know, require proper adjustment to function at their best.  Many times out of the box these pedals will feel tight when you spin them in your hands,  if this is the case you have two options.

Option 1: leave them alone, mount and ride
Option 2: adjust them

Option 1 results:  Don’t worry, they usually break in and loosen up after a week or so

Option 2:  If you’re like me, you like to tinker with your parts and don’t mind putting in a little elbow (or bearing) grease to make the average feel sublime.  In that case, here is my step by step guide to a quick and dirty adjustment that will have your pedals feeling great and running smoother for longer.

Tools Required: 
                       Razor Blade or Screwdriver
                       12mm socket
                       15mm pedal or box end wrench (or adjustable)
                       Bearing grease

Step 1
 
Find yourself a small flat head screwdriver or a razor blade to pry the end cap up with 
If you look closely at the plastic cap in this photo, you’ll see some pry marks from the screwdriver.  The razor blade is the best solution and is easiest to use for this task and doesn’t leave tool marks on the plastic.  However since you are all good boys and gals and your mothers taught you not to leave razor blades lying about, the screwdriver or any other thin object will work.

Step 2
 
you now have the end cap off and can see inside the belly of the beast.  That nut staring up at you is 12mm.
What you need my friend is a 12mm socket
 

Simply put your 15mm wrench on the pedal spindle and the 12mm socket on the nut like so.
Now just loosen the nut, don’t be alarmed if this requires a bit of effort as they can be fairly tight and stubborn.

Step 3
Now that the nut is loose, simply reverse the process and retighten it.  Hold the 15mm wrench steady and simply turn the socket against it (don’t be afraid to put some weight into it either, you don’t want it to come loose on it’s own) .  While it may seem silly to just break it loose and re-tighten, you’d be amazed at the difference it can make.  The machine that tightens the nut at the factory just applies a little too much torque, making the pedals feel chunky out of the box.  By breaking the nut and retightening using common sense and human power one can usually obtain a much better feel, and as I stated what we’re doing here is a quick and dirty adjustment. 

Step 4
Since you have that cap off, you might as well pack it with some grease
The grease will help keep it running smoother for longer and will also serve as a barrier from contaminents that work their way under the end cap

Step 5
 
pop that cap back on and spin the pedal spindle between your fingers. Smooove.
Repeat process with other pedal, mount and ride. 

 Now don’t you feel smart? Your $20 pedals now feel like a million bucks

 Our distributor Quality Bicycle Products just started carrying the Council of Doom DVD.  Their part number for it is VI6672.   You’re probably wondering why I care about this enough to blog it.  Well, the reason this is important to me, is that this is the first fixed gear video they’ve carried.  Which means that it’s performance will likely effect how future fixed gear DVD’s are evaluated.  Basically I’m hoping that it will do well so that they’ll add to their selection, thus making fixed gear DVD’s easier for people to lay hands on. 

If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

The first our Staff Bio is posted and it belongs to me. You can link to it off of the “About” page. Writing a Bio was a very weird experience.  I didn’t know whether to actually put information about my past or something irreverent like:  ride bikes, have fun, eat cake.  Well, in the end I chose accuracy because I thought you might like to actually know a little bit about the people behind the parts.

So yeah, check out the bio.  As for me, I’m going for a ride.  I’m going to smile, and laugh, and giggle and drink beer and get lost.  It’s suppose to be over 30 degrees all weekend.  Spring is coming, and my bike is calling.    see ya
 

Born and raised in the Northwoods of Wisconsin in a small little paper town (‘Sconnie for life).  I grew up riding the trails and racing mountain bikes.  At 16 (the age when all your friends stop riding) I was too scared of killing someone to want to drive a car, so I had no choice but to ride. (I did finally get a drivers license at the age of 21).  I continued to ride my mountain bike everywhere, until I moved to Minneapolis after college, started turning wrenches and discovered fixed gears and single speeds. 

I’ve worked as a bike shop mechanic, a high end bicycle builder (all custom builds), and a suspension repair technician.  My formal education is in the fields of Public Relations and Comparative Studies in Religion.  In 2005 I started throwing alleycat races and a little company called Bike Jerks was born. I needed a reason to throw races and support the bicycle community, and Bike Jerks has been the platform from which I have been able to do that.  It is my creative outlet, time suck, and labor of love.

Along the way I kept getting deeper and deeper into bikes and cycling culture (I never meant for it to happen, but you move to a new town and work at a bike shop, your fellow employees become your friends, pretty soon everyone you hang out with rides, and you never see your friends who don’t), and somehow worked my way into the wonderful position of helping to start All-City.  My goals with All-City are to make the coolest stuff possible and to help guide the bike industry in a way that positively serves the riders. 

Sooner or later, track bikes won’t be the hip cool thing anymore and the big companies are going to pull out.  It happened to BMX, it happened to skateboarding, and it will happen to us.  My job, as I see it, is to make sure that when that time comes, the riders will still be able to get the parts they need at reasonable prices from a company they are happy to support.

The first part of that statement is easy enough, all we have to do is stick around and put out great  products. 

The second part takes a little more work.  I understand that it’s in our culture’s nature to be skeptical and cynical about new companies, especially during this boom period where it seems like there are new fixed gear companies popping up every minute.  There is nothing that I can write here to persuade you that I am sincere and earnest in my goals and beliefs, however if you ever have any questions about what we’re doing, or why.  Feel free to hit me up and I’ll be happy to chat with you about it.   I know that sometimes I get really corny and serious when I start talking about bikes, and community, I can’t help it, I’m a huge dork.  I make no apologies for it, and I have no problems letting people know the things that are important to me.

But the bigger picture here is that I am sincere (it takes no courage or character to be a cynic) about what we’re doing and honestly hope that this little company can make a positive impact on the riders and industry. 

thanks for checking out All-City, if you see me out and about say hello and introduce yourself.

P.S. Inspite of the grandiose statements that I just made; know that I take neither bikes, nor bicycle culture, nor myself too seriously.  have fun and relax.

Got an email from Rick the other day with pictures of his new Affinity build.  Check it out

Just sent off a package of goodies to Sam Miller up in Vancouver.  Sam’s a fixed gear freestyler who exploded onto the scene in last year’s Bootleg Sessions Vol 2.  (he’s the guy who brought sliders into the fixed gear lexicon) 
All-City is very proud to have Sam riding for us and testing our product.  He breaks alot of gear and our thinking is that if it holds up under him then the rest of us should have no worries.  Of special interest is his ability to destroy wheels.  He’s been riding a set of 48 hole track wheels with good luck, but they too are now deceased. 
I’ve long been wondering if 48 hole hubs are going to become a necessity as freestyle fixed grows up.  Do we need them?  I don’t know, BMX guys used to think they needed them but now they’re all on 36’s.  Of course our wheels are much larger than theirs (creating greater forces, especially laterally) so you can’t dismiss 48’s based on that fact alone.  48’s are obviously going to be heavier and as of right now your rim options are severly limited.  

So I put forth to Sam these wheels as a test of 36 hole wheels strength.  This is the strongest 36 hole combination (and don’t even talk to me about four cross. bah!) we could come up with: a brand new set of our 36hole hubs laced three cross to Deep V’s, tied and soldered.  The wheels were built by our friends over at Handspun wheels and Velocity kicked in the hoops.  They’re in the mail as I write this, and Sam should be riding them soon. 

They are his to ride and thrash and enjoy.  I’ll let you know how they hold up.

First order of business: New Shops

Long Beach Fixed Gear has begun stocking our products.  They have been added to our list of partner shops and whilst browsing their website I was super impressed with the look and feel of the store.  If you’re ever in the area, make sure to stop in and check them out. They’ve got a ton of cool stuff and are super knowledgable.

Another shop that we are proud to add to our list of stockists is Carytown Bicycle Company of Richmond Virginia.

 
The main man over there is Braden, and if you’re looking for good advice and sensible bikes check them out.

I also recieved a pic of Bryan at Bicycle Revolutions finished new bike.   
It’s a Volume Cutter with some All-City goodies on it.  Looking sharp guy, and please let me know how those tires hold up.

I also wanted to remind all of you mid-westerners out there that the Milwaukee Messenger Invitational is quickly approaching. 

I’m excited about this because it’s not only my first race in Milwaukee but also the first alleycat that All-City has sponsored.  Hope to see you all there.

That’s it , it’s supposedly going to hit 40 degrees here, and I’m trying to get out of work early to do some riding.  I suggest you do the same.

cheers,

Our Man Bryan over at Bicycle Revolutions in Philly sent over this pic of his new personal ride. 

A volume Cutter done up with some All-City goodness.  If you’re in Philadelphia I definitely recommend checking out his shop.  It’s sick.

This is the very first All-City frameset in existence, and I feel like the luckiest boy in the universe because it is mine to thrash and crash and levy judgements upon. 

Expect many tweaks and changes as we proceed through the testing phase of this project.  This is our chance to build our dream steel track bike, and the first product that we have designed entirely in house from the ground up.  This frameset is based upon our years of experience as riders and we are delighted to finally have the opportunity to build the bike that we wish we could have been riding all along. 

All-City’s mission is to make a significant contribution to the culture and machinery of urban cycling and this frame represents the true beginning of that quest.  Check out the bikes page on the website for more information, and check back to the blog often for photos and updates. 

I can’t express how much it means to us to be able to design exactly the products we want and to be able to offer them to you.  It’s a very proud and humbling thing, and I just want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported and believed in us during the beginning phases of All-City.  Without you, none of this would be possible.  I hope that you like the bike and the direction we are headed in and will continue to support us as we try to prove that fixed gears are not a fad, but are an irreplaceable part of our lives. P.S. Yes those are white All-City cranks.  We’re working on it.