Yo, our distributor QBP just got cranks, toe clips, (including Classic Plastic Med’s), and straps back into stock.  If you’re looking for some don’t sleep.

P.S. I hope you all have a great weekend, and for those of you in the Twin Cities I’ll see you at Cash is King

Last week I promised you a big sneak peak upon my return from Wisconsin.  Well, I’m still waiting for a few things to fall into place before unveiling the unnamed big deal, however to hold you over I am proud to present the concept artwork for our bike boxes. 
While frame and bike boxes are not that particularly exciting, we are excited about them none the less.  Our goals with this project were to further the bridge inconography found on our headbadge and dropouts, create a box panel that perhaps might live on as “art” in someone’s workshop or garage, and to continue the All-City tradition of thoughtful graphic design.  This is the kind of stuff we geek out on. 

Happy Thursday everybody

I’m in a great mood because I’m off to Wisconsin and Michigan for good riding and camping. I can’t wait to get back onto native soil.  I’ll be back in the office on Tuesday to handle any All-City business that crops up in the next few days. I will also have a very big sneak peek for you.

Before I go however, I’d like to lay down a few random points of business.

First up, big thanks to our friends over at Cyclehawk.  I sent them a package last week and Squid responded with this photo. 
There’s something about a kid in a cycling cap that always makes me smile and feel optimistic about the future of the human race.  Thanks for the photo Squid, I hope those clips and straps serve you well.

Next
For Tuesday’s Tricks and Drinks I mounted some of the new formula Classic Plastic Doubles and some new style straps that I’m testing out.

In other Classic Plastic news, Bryan from Bicycle Revolutions sent over some pics of the Neon Green pair I sent over last week mounted on his Cutter. 

Lastly, a couple of packages went out yesterday.

A set of cranks and a 44 tooth ring to the one and only Tom LaMarche

 And a crankset, clips, straps, and a t-shirt for our newest West Coast representative Dayle Forness.

Enjoy boys, and with that I am out of here. Have a great Memorial Day weekend, stay safe, and hug your friends. 

I’ve been waiting and planning how to write up my review for All-City’s first frameset and now that the moment is upon me I’ve frozen up at the keys like a deer in the headlights.  As I am currently without direction on how to proceed I guess we’ll just start with our intentions.

Our intent with this frame was to design our dream bike, the bike we’ve been envisioning and wanting, and wishing someone would make.  Let’s narrow that down a bit.  We wanted to design the perfect frameset for the urban fixed gear rider.  Many years ago now when I built up my first fixed gear (a conversion Viner) my good friend and NYC messenger (at the time) Eric hopped on it and the first thing he said was “it’s not a track bike.” My fragile ego was crushed, and I wrote his sentiments off as snobbery and jerkiness (I think he was riding a Cinelli at the time).  A year later I built up my first “track bike,” a 2005 Marinoni steel Pista, and I began to understand.  It turned on a dime, was fast, and actually fun (as opposed to scary) to pedal through corners on.  A few years on and I can never go back to anything but track geometry for riding fast fixed in the city.  I like the upright position that  traditional track geometry provides, I love carving around on a bike that only needs the slightest amount of rider input to rail a turn, I’ve become accustomed to the sensation of a high bottom bracket, and I really enjoy a bike that comes alive in a sprint. 

Thus the criteria for our first bike became: traditional track geometry, a NSC Velodrome approved bottom bracket height of (our local velodrome is wooden and steep as heck, many bikes with “track legal” BB heights are not allowed by the track administrators on it due to the risk of clipping a pedal), clearance for 32c tires because we like fat meats on the streets, and a very traditional appearance with some thoughtful All-City touches. 

We are bike geeks, this is our life and livelihood.  We set out with the above criteria to design a bike that a rider would want to own and cherish for years.  Some bikes you get, ride for a while, and move on.  Some bikes you never want to imagine being without.  It is our goal to provide you with the latter.  It is a well designed, carefully thought out, traditional steel track frame; suitable for the boards or for working a full day on.  It is a work of beauty, it is a labor of love.  It is the All-City Big Block.

So about that name, yes we can finally announce what we are calling this beast, and it is the Big Block™. I could give you all sorts of reasons for the name such as the fact that in Minneapolis and in the surrounding burbs there are often double stacked blocks without a break or “big blocks,” or I could tell you that this bike is a big building block for the future success of All-City. I could tell you a bunch of things and they’d all be lies.  The truth is that one day I was listening to Steve Earle sing Copperhead Road (in full disclosure, I love country music. I’m from a small logging town in Northern Wisconsin, the kind of place where the chamber of commerce might have issued Johnny Cash albums to all it’s citizens.  So you’ll have to give me a pass on the country music, it’s in my blood.  I won’t apologize, and I wouldn’t be caught dead listening to the junk they call “pop country”) and there is a line in the song “my daddy ran whiskey in a big block Dodge.”  I had been struggling with a name for this machine, nothing quite fit, and that line struck my ears like a bolt of lightning.  Big Block it is.  It just works for me.  The old school bootleggers still hold romantic sway over my country heart, and the analogy between whiskey runners evading the police in the country and messengers and alleycat racers doing the same in our modern cities is just too fitting to pass up.
  

maybe too much fun?

So yeah, the name is the Big Block and I’ve been riding the first generation prototype for about four months now.  Whatever I tell you about how the bike rides you probably won’t believe me since it’s our baby and All-City pays my bills so I’ll just describe to you a little about my relationship with the bike; since in the end it is our relationship with our rides that give them their true value. 

This bike is going to die with me.  I love it, it turned out way better than I ever could have imagined or hoped for.  Our designer Adam is good, I knew that, but what I didn’t expect was for him to hit it out of the park on the first try.  This is my favorite bike to rip around the city on.  It hurt my heart a little to write those words. I currently own three track bikes and one fixed gear, three of them handmade in North America, and if I had to choose a bike for a quick across town jaunt or a race, I would go with the Big Block every time.  At first I thought my vigor towards this machine was simply due to it’s newness and the fact that it’s the only one.  When it first came to me I had to ride it so that I could provide Adam with the quality feeback necessary to make changes and improvements for prototype round two. Once we decided upon the changes that were to be made for the second generation of prototypes (the only change being slightly increased standover clearance, and the addition of the new production dropouts) I was free once more to ride any bike of my choosing.  I stuck with the BB for a while but soon started feeling guilty that my other bikes weren’t being ridden, and due to a flat that I was too lazy to change, I put the Big Block away for a while.  A week passed and I started missing my All-City, two weeks passed and I had to get  back on it.  I often found myself wishing, while riding my other bikes, that I had chosen the Big Block instead.  It has the great bump compliance that you expect from a steel frame, it sprints like crazy (at first I thought it might be too stiff, until I started riding it hard, then it all made sense), and once you get it up to speed it wants to stay there. 

Have you ever had that experience when you’re out late at night on your bike in the city, perhaps you’ve imbibed a few and you are rolling around looking at the buildings, enjoying the air, feeling lucky to be alive, and you just inexplicably start cranking?  You put your head down low, slide your hands in toward the center of the bar, relax your back, and really start to just “feel” the bike (I don’t know of any great way to describe this other than the sensation of your body just being draped around the frame).  Well in those rare moments the bike just begs to be ridden faster and harder, you’re pedaling through one green light, then two, then three, not tired, but completely lost in the moment and in the sensation of being the fastest thing in the city.  Well I’ve had a few of those moments on this bike, it just begs to be kept at speed and really encourages hauling ass. For me that is what riding a bicycle is all about:  those moments, the sensation, the connection.

So that’s my review, I don’t know if any of that makes sense to anyone but me, but I can tell you that I love this bike and look forward to many years of pleasure on it.  It’s going to get scratched and dented and beat up.  The only thing it won’t get is dusty.

Here is some other information regarding the Big Block that I think you’ll find useful.

• It will be available as complete bike in a similar build to what you see here (no pricing info yet) or as a frame and fork
• MSRP for the frameset will be in the neighborhood of $500 (finalized soon)
• The Big Block Track Fork will be available in both 1” and 1 1/8” threadless versions 
• Six sizes available (geometry chart down below), size your appropriate bike via the top tube length
• ETA for frameset and complete bikes is Fall ‘09

We finally received our first shipment of the white 612 Track Cranks
 If you’d like a pair you better hurry up and ask your local shop to get you some quick, I expect our first small run to sell out in a few days.  There will be another run of white cranks later this summer so if you miss out on this one don’t fret.

Also please remember that these are painted cranks and not annodized.  A painted finish is inherently less durable than an annodized one. BMX companies have been doing painted cranks for years without trouble so I wouldn’t expect  any issues.  My bike mechanic heart though couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t point that fact out.  You want white cranks, this is your best option.

CR2910- 165mm
CR2911- 170mm

Today I had the pleasure of putting together some packages for some friends of All-City

First up is Tom LaMarche and Tony Fast (and a little something for our buddy Bryan at Bicycle Revolutions in Philly)

Both of those dudes are getting a pair of our new white Classic Plastic Double Clips, some straps, a t-shirt, grips, and one chainring for Tony.  You have no idea how excited I am to have two of the best riders in the world testing out our product.


A few weeks ago I was making fun of Bryan’s bike because he needed some green clips to complete his “look.” 
Well, here you go guy, now you got some, and not just any old some but the only pair in the country.  You are a special and unique snowflake.

Another package is going out to our friends at Cyclehawk Messengers.  I’ve been really pushing folks to try the Star Track Grips on their riser bars  (normal track grips are too thin to ride on risers in my opinion, but these are thick and comfy) so they’ve got some heading their way, along with some clips and straps, BMX grips and a t-shirt for their famous leader Squid.

And last but certainly not least.  The tough talking, hard riding, sweet smelling couriers of Trackstar will soon be sporting some new grips too.

Perhaps you weren’t aware but Trackstar is also one of All-City’s partner shops, so if you’re in Manhattan and looking for some All-City goodies, I suggest you give them a try. 

All of this package making, picture taking, and AC blogging is making my back hurt.  I’ve got to go.  See you later, and be safe out there. 

Our friends at Fast Folks in Austin Texas are now open for business and are having a huge bash, including a Death Pedal premier, to celebrate their grand opening on May 16th.

If you’re in the area you better not miss this one.  

And just to whet your appetite here are some pics of the place

Pretty damn cool

We recently received this souvenir bandana/wall hanging from the Chie Festival in Japan.  Big thanks to our friends at Motocross International in Japan for getting All-City involved.

It now hangs proudly in our offices!!!

Our friends Tom and Tony from Philly are featured in this new web short for Vimby.  Enjoy!

Our good friend Vince at V.S. Social Standard sent us some updated pics of his shop.

For those who don’t know, V.S. is Minneapolis’ only fixed gear boutique and they are a must see for all of you shoe and streetwear nerds. They were also just recently named the Best Clothing Store for men in the Twin Cities by City Pages

You want Aerospokes? They got em.  You want white Randonneurs? They got em.

Italy—> Minneapolis—>Your Head

We’ve commissioned Nalini to produce two All-City cycling caps for us.  Nalini is one of the premier makers of cycling apparel in the world and I have long been a big fan of their cycling caps.  They are produced in Italy and imported by All-City.  Ask anyone. If something is made in Italy it must be good.  Campy, De Rosa, Colnago, and now these lovelies.

The AC shield hat is blue with grey sidepanels and contrasting inks and features the All-City shield logo on the sides and “All-City” on the top and bottom of the brim

The Nice Hat features neon green ink and accents on black. 

In case you’re wondering about the “nice.” thing, there are two reasons for it:

1. I just think it’s fun to be able to flip up your cap and have it say something silly, I’m already looking forward to the moment when half-in-the-bag I’m able to flip up the brim as the exclamation to whatever garbage I happen to be spewing out.  Believe me at some point in your life it’s gonna come in handy.

2. It’s a play on the midwestern expression “Minnesota Nice”.  I spoke with several of my colleauges and we couldn’t come up with a very articulate explanation for the phrase, so I’ll leave it up to Wikipedia: Minnesota Nice. 

Expect these towards the end of June.  I’ll let you know when they arrive.

P.S. when the time comes the part numbers are: CL1916 for the Shield and CL1918 for the Cityscape

Burd over at Bootleg Sessions just dropped the new full length trailer for BSV 3.  Our rider Sam Miller is featured, as is a Minneapolis section with myself and the other MPLS folks.

Bootleg Sessions v.3—Full Trailer from Ride/Relax Productions on Vimeo.

I’ll keep you posted on a Minneapolis premier as details develop

A bike check for Tom La Marche’s new Cinelli track bike is up on the Bootleg Sessions Blog

It is of note to us, in All-City land because he has chosen to use the Cecil Pro pedal, and our clips and straps.

Looks real nice Tom.