Here is a sneak peak at the new colors of All-City Star Track Grips. 

First up there’s neon green and black to match your new Nice Cap

Second there’s pink and black

And last but not least red and black

If you squint your eyes and look real hard you can even make out that the grips finally say “All-City” on them as well.

Expect them early Fall

Hola,

Happy Friday everybody, and here for your enjoyment is some random Friday business.

First up are some races that All-City is proud to sponsor this summer.

Our homies in Seattle are planning a huge Future Tense for July and the fine folks from Vimby will be on hand to film the whole beautiful mess.

We are also proud to let you know that we’re also sponsoring Rocky 7 in Philly later this summer

And finally on this nice MN friday are some pics of the boss lady’s (Lisa: Brand Manager, MTB biker, climber, city rider, farmer’s market enthusiast) bike all built up.

This is a special one off 49cm with black tips on white


She reports that it handles bar runs with aplomb, and hopefully I can talk her into writing a full report for you soon.

And before I go I’d also like to take a second and make a big shout out to our friends at Profile Racing for hooking me up with some cranks that will eventually find their way onto my All-City proto trick frame (not the frame pictured) which you can all see (in person or pics) at Interbike.  (don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll actually see it way before then)

I’m doing some first hand testing to see how using BMX cranks with a wider Q factor effects my riding. 
To the gents at Profile thank you so very much, see you at I-bike.

And with that I am gone for the weekend, going back to Wisco for my niece’s high school graduation party. My niece’s high school graduation.. weird

Yes, I am definitely getting old.  30 this year. Just the other day at Tricks and Drinks (our weekly trick sesh) I showed up on my new bike with some new bars and stem.  When asked, I reported that it was just some stuff I had lying around, and lil’ Bob (the youngest member of the regular crew, age 16) reacted like I must be rich to just have nice parts lying around.  Then I realized something…. of course I have extra parts all over.  I have literally been collecting parts and working as a bike mechanic since before this kid was even born. 

Getting old is weird, but awesome. Although I am not as carefree as I once was, I am way too old for many of life’s annoyances that distracted me when I was younger.  I am much more comfortable with myself, and I now have the assistance of experience and wisdom even if the restraint that I admire so much in others still has not showed up to the party. 

And on the wisdom tip, one of the things that I have found comfort in as I grow old are my relationships with other people and that special somebody in particular and here’s some free advice from me to you regarding a situation that recently came up in conversation with some friends:

The proper reaction to when you’re out at a party or bar and someone is chatting up your special person in a flirtatious way. (this all ties in to the getting older and wiser bit from above) 

The young persons initial reaction is typically jealousy and anger.  The older gentleman or lady however knows a far better response. 
Which is to channel this guy: 

 or Sean Connery circa James Bond; slide over there, give your sweetie a big kiss without acknowlegding the rogue party, then turn around slowly, surprised to find another human being alive on this planet (so wrapped up were you in your kiss that the whole world disappeared in your mind) smile enthusiastically at that person and introduce yourself, hopefully you’re having a great time, but if not fake it.  Then once you are all acquainted buy all three of you a shot.  Boom. Problem solved. Now you’re all formally acquainted and that rogue party knows that the person they desire is attached to a charming, warm, classy individual, and what shot could they possibly have? 

Dating advice on the AC blog.  Yep. 

Cheers to all of you out there, have a great one this weekend. Be good to yourselves, and each other.

Jeff (Dear Abby)

Hey out there,

We just posted the complete spec of the Big Block and geometry charts up on the website along with our thoughts on the process of speccing (sp?) our first complete.  Just click on that handy tab at the top of your screen that says “Bikes” or click here.

here’s a photo of a bike that’s darn near the same spec as the complete that the Robeast Trevor Crayton is currently riding

Yeah boy!

Holy crap, it’s a post that has nothing do with Mike Carney, weird.   Anyway taking a break from the rider coverage of the last few weeks I’d like to let you all know that the All-City cycling caps are fresh off the boat from Italy and are currently flying off the shelves. 

For those of you who aren’t aware we are currently offering two design options

The AC Shield in grey/blue                                     And the Nice hat in neon green/black
    
CL1916                                                             CL1918

The Nice Hat of course comes equipped with a secret weapon

Yes, I know it’s awesome.  But thanks for mentioning it anyway. 

The caps fit real nice, not too small and not too big.  I sometimes have trouble with other cycling caps fitting a wee bit too snug, especially when I have a full head of winter hair, but these are quite roomy and don’t pinch my mishapen melon.

As you can see from the pic they have a cotton sweat band around the whole shebang and in true Euro fashion elastic only in the way back

And perhaps most importantly to the inner snob that lurks within, they are made in Italy

I swear the first time I put mine on I caught a whiff of garlic.

Get them while they’re hot.

Oh, did I mention they’re Italian?

Once more I am proud to bring you the new edit by All-City rider Mike Carney, if you happen to pay attention to such things you may have noticed that his name is cropping up everywhere in the fixed gear blogosphere lately.  Kid’s been working super hard lately and progressing at a very impressive clip. He already dropped the first video ever of a fixed handrail and now he brings you the double slider.  

MIKE CARNEY MPLS from vincent shim on Vimeo.

Oh, and did you happen to catch that box to barspin or that last line?  (I’d call it fresh, but calling something fresh makes me feel like I’m stuck in the early 90’s) 

Thanks Mike for all your hardwork, as always we’re proud to have a rider and person of your caliber representing All-City and Minneapolis.
And big props also to Vinnie from V.S. in getting this edit done.  Vince is a kingpin in the Minneapolis fixed community and has been a huge influence in shepherding a younger generation of riders into the fold. 

Cheers to you fellas and all your hardwork.  

 
Mike takes one while working on a new rail variation.

I’m out for the weekend, going mtb’ing in Iowa.  See you on Monday! have a great one

Hola Amigos,

It’s been a while since I rapped at ya.  I proudly present another mixed bag of bicycle stuff for your perusal.

First up here are some shots of the workhorse of the All-City stable, Mike Carney’s, Volume Cutter.

putting in work click for video

Frame: 56 cm Volume Cutter
Fork: DMR Trailblade
Wheels: All-City Pewter Front to Velocity Blunt 650b rim, 700c rear
Cranks: AC 612 Track
Clips: AC sample orange Classic Plastics
Straps: AC double straps
Grips: AC Star Track

All-City is a proud sponsor of the film Trafik and they are involved in a race this weekend, coincidentally titled the All City Race 3

And finally some news about wheels. 

As you may or may not know, I am a huge advocate of tied and soldered wheels.  I ride them on my fixies, my mountain bike, and my road bike.  In my opinion they lend toughness and strength to a wheel that simply cannot be duplicated using any other method.  A while back we sent Sam Miller a set of 36 hole tied and soldered wheels and he obtained a set of 48h wheels as well.  According to Sam the 48’s died the first week, while the 36h t-n-s wheels are still going strong.  The point is that there’s a lot more to building a durable wheel than just spoke count.

Anyway, the point I’m trying to make here is that tied and soldered wheels are the bomb if you’re an abusive rider, however the one drawback is that the spokes can’t be re-used according to popular thought.  A few months back I trashed my Pro Max to Fusion rear wheel and I was bummed because I was going to have to buy new spokes to rebuild it.  Then a light went off, and I realized that it didn’t need to be rebuilt, it only required a rim swap.  Well I called on the boys over at Handspun and my home slice Anthony whipped it up lickety split.  No one over there had ever done a t-n-s rim swap, but according to him it was no problem.  So there you go, one more negative of tied and soldered has been laid to rest.  If you don’t believe me, try some for yourself.  It’s a whole different ballgame.

Oh yeah, one other thing about Handspun.

They’re now building our hubs to black and pink checkers. 

Only available through them.

Hope you all had a great weekend.  As for me, I went to the races on Friday

had a bike adventure on Saturday

and did nothing on Sunday.  All in all a pretty good weekend. 

In other exciting news, Tony Fast from Bootleg Sessions posted some pics of his Milwaukee with the AC parts I sent him.

Tony’s words:

Jeff over at All City sent over some sweet parts for me to ride. Little did he know that it would be more of a get well soon gift rather than being ridden right away. I have been riding my old Bianchi road bike because it has been way easier on my broken leg. I just built up the Bruiser with some brakes to cruise around. There are some huge dents in the frame from my accident, but I think it will be manageable to ride in a few weeks when I am off the DL.

I threw of the new All City goodies on it. Double straps, newer clips, 144 BCD chainring and grips.

I have been riding the All City clips for a while and I really can’t recall a better design that fits so snug around your feet.

Jeff over at All City sent over some sweet parts for me to ride. Little did he know that it would be more of a get well soon gift rather than being ridden right away. I have been riding my old Bianchi road bike because it has been way easier on my broken leg. I just built up the Bruiser with some brakes to cruise around. There are some huge dents in the frame from my accident, but I think it will be manageable to ride in a few weeks when I am off the DL.

I threw of the new All City goodies on it. Double straps, newer clips, 144 BCD chainring and grips.

I have been riding the All City clips for a while and I really can’t recall a better design that fits so snug around your feet.

Glad you like the stuff Tony, and get well soon.

Although you can tell by this photo, that Tony’s not exactly taking it easy.

And lastly today here are some shots of Adam’s 58cm Big Block all built up.  The blue tips look pretty nice, but we’re all thinking that a blue body and black tips would look better.  And for those of you who wonder about these types of things, no we’re not doing this colorway, it’s just a sample.  The bikes are going to be black/white for frameset and red/white for complete.

See you later!!

AC rider Jesse Hilliard with his version of the handrail.  He hits this trick after flatting his rear on the previous attempt.

Jesse Hilliard from vincent shim on Vimeo.

Hello everybody,

It’s been an exciting week here at AC.  Our second generation of Big Block proto’s have arrived and are being built up and ridden.  I commuted in on my white one today (34 miles round trip) and it’s perfect.  No changes will be made to this size, so I’m stoked on that.  Earlier this week my boys Jesse and Mike both knocked out the first fixed gear handrails ever done.  (footage of Jesse coming soon) Which is kind of a big deal if you’re into that sort of thing. 

Beyond all that there are a bunch of random pieces of business that I’d like to address, starting now:

Purple hubsets are in stock at QBP Part number HU4751
 
Get them while they’re hot.  MSRP: $110

In other news, our Friends at Fast Folks are having an event next Saturday, June 20th.  If you’re in the Austin area, I suggest you check it out

From Natalie at Fast Folks: We are having a race next Saturday called Shop to Shop. The race will start at Fast Folks and everyone will race to No Comply (skate boarding shop) then back to Fast Folks. We will have three bands play, free beer, Trick comp and Race. 

And here are a couple of builds involving AC products from two of our shops

From Superb Bicycle comes this lovely Vigorelli

The homies over at Carytown Bicycle built this lovely Dolan Kadet

And finally Daniel from Gnarcalfixed sent over some pics of his new wheel build and the following text:

I recently purchased a brand new set of Velocity B43 rims to build up 
a set of wheels.  I knew that I needed to also get a quality set of 
hubs to lace to the rims.  After tons of research and comparison, I 
decided to go for your high-flange track hub set.  I built up the 
wheels about three weeks ago and I must say that I was (and still am) 
extremely happy with my decision.  This was honestly one of the 
strongest/coolest/most true set of wheels that I have ever had the 
opportunity to build.  I just want to send some props your way for 
creating an awesome looking, great performing, and fairly priced track 
hub.

Thanks for the props Daniel (hope you don’t mind me posting  your note.

And with that I am gone, I’ll see some of you tonight at the Nature Valley GP in Uptwon tonight.  Woot!

Due to the huge outpouring of demands for video, All-City rider Mike Carney went back out today and got it done!

Mike Carney Handrail Grind!! from vincent shim on Vimeo.

Mike your riding is truly an inspiration, congrats on the trick. Props to all of your recent hardwork.

On Monday the second generation Big Block Proto’s showed up at the AC offices. The only changes between the first and second generations are slightly more standover clearance and the inclusion of the production version of our signature dropout.  We still have to do some more riding to validate each size, but for the most part you are looking at the production version.

That’s Adam, the bikes designer with his Quality Control face on

First let’s chat about the new dropouts. The production dropout is investment cast from stainless steel, features a refined version of the bridge design, an integrated chain tensioner, and an extra cutout near the chainstay junction.

Original                                                                Production
            

painted with chain tensioner screw/bolt (I have no idea which is the proper term) installed

And just to put to bed any arguments from armchair engineers out there.  These dropouts are 7.5mm thick at the axle pad and 5.5mm thick throughout the rest, they are plenty strong and we have so much confidence in them that you will be seeing them again on the forthcoming freestyle frame.

On the second round of proto’s we decided to try out a few different paint schemes

52cm deep red sparkle with white tips

my personal bike: 55cm all white with a heavy sparkle.  I wanted something NJSish

All-City Headbadge

new brake bridge

Lisa’s (boss lady, brand manager) lovely 49cm white with black tips

Here are some pics of the builds so far:

The red with white tips is the frameset colorway that we will be offering on the complete bike.  The aftermarket framesets will be black with white tips, like my original AC frameset.  I built this bike with as close to the OEM spec of our complete as I could so that I could present to you a sneak peek of the complete bike.  I will post a more detailed description of the complete bike at a later date, but this is pretty close to how it’ll look on your local bike shop’s floor.

Peep that sparkle when the sun hits it.  It’s been overcast here for the past three days, so this afternoon when the sun was out for about 10 minutes I ran outside and snapped this:

This is my white sparkle frameset built up with the show parts from my beloved first gen bike

So let’s recap, shall we?

Frameset Color 
Complete Bike Color

Now the kicker:  MSRP on the frameset is $499  

Full High Quality 4130 CroMo, double butted main triangle, tapered stays, externally tapered seat tube, 4130 fork blades, lugged fork crown, cast fork dropout, signature track ends, and a custom head badge.  I have no problem hopping on my soapbox and stating: there is no nicer track frame on the market at anywhere near this price.  You could spend alot more on your next frame, but why would you?

Ride one and see for yourself.  All-City has just raised the bar.  Boom, done. I’m out of here. Talk amongst yourselves.

Coming November 09

Ealier this week Prolly issued the challenge regarding who is going to be the first to pull a handrail on a fixed gear.  Well last night I picked up Brad Q from Urban Velo and headed to TnD where Andy had convinced Jesse and Mike to take up Prolly’s challenge.  We leave the spot and go to a very short rail on Nicollet which turns out to be a bust, due to security and the length of the rail.  Cam calls out that the famous Alt rail is a prime candidate and off we roll. 

Here’s what went down:
Jesse Hilliard hit it first try, front pedal and wheel on the rail

*photo credit to Andy G*

Mike Carney hit it immediately after Jesse:

 
*photo credit to Urban Velo*

Also in case you were wondering, but you probably weren’t: Yes those are some sample orange Classic Plastics that Mike is riding.  He’s also riding the hubs, cranks, and straps.  Jesse’s on a silver early set of the 612 Cranks as well.  All-City supports our local riders!!! And I’m so proud of these two guys. Congratulations gentleman on this major fixed gear freestyle milestone.  Years from now I’m sure we’ll all look back and laugh, about a time when riders weren’t doing handrails.

In honor of this achievement I’d like to lay this on you
 that’s some pretty heavy shit right there

The second generation Big Block proto’s have arrived, and my stokometer (what a gross word I just made up) is off the charts.
I will post complete pics and builds tomorrow but to get your mind working, here is a shot of our new production dropout.
 

Our friends at Keirin Cycles wanted to let you know that they are hosting sprints this week, if you’re in the area I suggest you check it and they out. 

I’ve been busy getting the proto’s photographed and built today, it’s now two hours past my usual departure time and I’ve got to get some food in me before Tricks and Drinks tonight.  But as I stated earlier I’ll make a lengthy bike post tomorrow. 
 

Right now I feel like this, except not as comfortable

MPLS knows how to party

Our distributor QBP just got in Bootleg Vol 3 (part number VI6676) , and I am so freaking excited.  Not only is there a Minneapolis section featuring myself and the other MPLS kids, but All-City is an official sponsor, and Burd just put out a new Trailer featuring two of our riders.  

That’s our newest rider Minneapolis ripper Mike Carney in the opening shot, and Sam Miller with that buttery 180 to slider.
All-City coming UP!!!!

Also of exciting news, Kyle from Tracko just posted his feedback on the Classic Plastic Doubles.

Kyle is a tough and honest critic, and I’m really happy and relieved that he likes them.  (I stole your image for this post, hope it’s okay)

In other news I sent out a package to the boys at the new fixed gear movie Trafik.  This is by far the largest sponsorship package I have ever put together, but the chance to have some of the West Coast elite trying out our stuff was just too good to pass up.

Enjoy!!

And finally, today I spotted a mess of handbuilt Minneapolis track frames running around. 
Here are a few shots.

That’s a Clockwork and a Peacock Groove.  The Clockwork belongs to the Robeast Trevor Crayton namesake of the Crayton Double Clips, and the PG belongs to our buddy Adam Shaleen.

Also of note was another one of AC’s friends Abe Coleman’s new Evershed.  Evershed is an up and coming new Minneapolis builder, and by the looks of it he has a very bright future ahead of him.
Those seat stay caps are incredibly sexy

 
Abe says he’s just going to clear coat it and add pinstripes because he’s enjoying the raw look so much.

So with all of that business behind us, I’m heading to VS. to watch the vid, see you all later

It’s another busy day at the AC offices on this lovely Minnesota Wednesday.  I’m currenty putting together the copy for our complete bike for the website, and I thought I’d take a quick break to post up the flyer for the alleycat I’m throwing this Friday in MPLS

Meet up at 9pm at Peavey Plaza. 
Bring $5 and a light

Short Course with all of the entrance money going towards purchasing pitchers of beer at Jimmy’s up in N.E.
Hope to see you all there

In other news the package that I sent out last week to Torey (HFwido) up in NYC made it there safely

He also sent along a link to a little video he just made

keep up that hustle. 

And with that, I’ve got to get back to work on the website.  Stay tuned for some pics of the 2nd generation Big Block proto’s next week.

fizlefourtytizzrtp from hfwido on Vimeo.

Our friend Nathanial Freeman (of Freeman Transport) just dropped the trailer for the new Stupor Bowl movie entitled Down by the Weep Hole: the story of the Stupor Bowl

For those of you who might not be aware, the Stupor Bowl is one of the oldest, longest running, messenger thrown alleycats in the world. Every winter in the dead of February over 400 people gather to do battle.  This years speed race was won by NYC badass Austin Horse with myself taking second place honors.  The Stupor Bowl is a truly unique, spectacular, spectacle.  It is one of a kind and must be experienced to believe. 

The film premiers at the NYC Bicycle Film Festival this summer and will travel with the festival around the world.

I am so freaking excited to see the whole thing.

 P.S. I’m the dude with the wandering eyes and bushy beard speaking near the end of the trailer