I’m a pretty picky lady when it comes to bags. I have no shame in admitting I’m the sort that likes to carry a heap of stuff with me. Probably too much sometimes, but hey, I tend to wander and I like to be prepared. Between snacks, bevies and a change of clothes that usually comes to and from work with me, I had been pretty pleased with the overall volume of our medium Captain Phil. But last week I took the jump to our newest little addition, the Low Profile and, admittedly, I was thinking I may need to cut down on the crap I carried in order to maintain a comfortable load. Wrong-o. This little champ may just be my new fav. Being a narrow shouldered lass, I get the feeling with some cycling bags that I’m strapping on the Ghostbuster’s proton pack. Especially when loaded, it can be tricky for me to find a balance between something that fits my profile and can still be loaded with happy fun time necessities and sit low enough to see over my shoulder. So far, I’m pretty sweet on this little number.

This particular beast is a proto. We made some final revisions to the pocket layout and the finish which I find to be 40% more badass than this guy.

Some late night river scrambling left me carting around some sand all weekend. As you can see, the side pockets are pretty perfect to stash empties.

The contents I awoke to Sunday morning consisted of the following assortment, which is a pretty fair smattering, more or less, its contents on any given day:

Rain jacket, shoes, wool, cycling hat, U-lock, Duluth Pack coozie, waterbottle, notebook, empty sixer, empty bourbon, empties, keys, chapstick, coughdrops, sunscreen, knife, lipstick, marker, ear buds, fix-a-flat ready seatbag, gigantic girly wallet, spare change, matches, book, our new tool pouch which usually is housing my Pinhead tool, spoke wrenches, Crank Bros tool, extra tubes for 700c and 29er & 15mm... I think that's the list.

Our buddy John Prolly, shot some pics of our buddy Woody's brand new Thunderdome. 

And here they are.

love it all, but those wheel decals, have got to go. Thanks John

And here's his original post

hey folks, thought I'd share with you what I did with my weekend, in photos.

here then are selected images

Or rather her stunt double in this case. 

A friend shot over this grab from TMZ of Fox and her double on the set of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. 

We were approached this Spring about supplying some bikes and being huge nerds and kids who grew up in the 80's, we weren't about to turn down the chance to get in with TMNT.

We just recieved our two latest bag related products, and man are we stoked. We've now got a slimmer more minimalist backpack and a handy dandy tool pouch for your consumption and enjoyment.

First up is the new backpack that we're creatively calling the Low Profile.  (we were going to call it the Low-Pro but were pretty sure we'd get a cease and desist from Lowe Pro, so we didn't)  It has basically the same outer configuration as the Captain Phil, but in a slimmer (1100cu), lighter, easier to see over your shoulder configuration.

This bag has been in the works for over a year now, and has become the go to for when I don't need a bunch of stuff, commuting, heading out for a long ride, or racing alleycats.


Constructed from water proof material, with a zipper pocket in the hood for easy secure access


adjustable sternum straps, removeable waist straps, and an included Iphone compatible cell holster

It features our standard backpack outer arrangement with a zip in the hood, magazine pocket, two flap pockets that are great for Ipods or Iphones, a central zipper pocket with a card holder, pen slots,  and two attachment points

side pockets for lock or bottle or emptys

The Low Profile has a bit different construction on the inside than the Captain Phil, with two side pockets and the lack of a dry bag. The outside material is waterproof, but the seams aren't. I've ridden with it in several downpours and there will be a little seepage at the seams on the bottom of the bag, but it's never been a big deal nor really bummed me out, and we like this more "finished" interior for a bag of this size and intended use. 

It's not for living out of like the Phil, it's for when  your're on a mission.

The best part though is the price, only $89 MSRP.  The best value in the game!

We also received our first run of tool pouches, and couldn't be happier with them.  There's nothing really fancy going on, just an affordable place to put your junk in a well made cordura package. 

MSRP $16

Both are available now, so jump on it.

Before we got too far- Dudes, look at how adorable Adam is! Adam lives with Lisa- he's an offical pup of the All City squad and she sent over this snappy from their walk this morning.

 Alright, alright, let's get serious. We received a delightful array of beauties this week, but Poppy's Dropout has that oomph. Nicely done.

 Overseas, we've got one Big Block from Markus in Vienna

And Tuukka's freshy in Finland

 Keep 'em comin.

On Friday I held the first Bandit Cross of the Spring, a redux of Night Moves, a short course crit.  Here are the shots of what went down.

photo Eric Shoultz

I wasn't feeling too well, so I headed down without my racing gear to force myself to sit out and get some much needed recovery time. However as I setup the course I got way too jealous of the racers and knew I had to jump in.

Not having any shorts, I had to improvise a bit and was glad I did because I felt great out there. The course was fast, people were stoked, and there is absolutely nothing like hurling yourself down a little trail at race speed with only a little fading light to mark your path.

photo Eric Shoultz

photo Eric Shoultz

photo Eric Shoultz

photo Eric Shoultz

photo Eric Shoultz

photo Eric Shoultz

you totally should have been there

This past Saturday Amy and I headed down to The Hub's Westbank location to support the shop during the Midwest Mountaineering Outdoor Expo, which brings a crazy amount of traffic to the area. 

We setup the tent and got out the America chairs and were ready for business by 8:30. The issue  was that no breakfast joint's were open at that time and we were starvin after a busy Friday night. Had to wait till 10 to hitup my favorite breakfast spot in Minneapolis, The Wienery. Homemade sausages, hand cut hash browns and everything cooked in butter. It's a slice of heaven.

back at the tent

The Westbank is also always a hot spot for people watching, we particularly enjoyed this creative pannier backpack

and these two hot-shits with the unicycle tricks.

We also had an old man with a Santa beard ride by in the drops wearing a one piece pink lycra suit with black basketball mesh shorts. Exchanging puzzled looks we wondered if that really had just happened.

Amy

some other sites were this cool old Schwinn

and this Russian trackbike headtube

Thanks to all the kids from The Hub for an enjoyable Saturday. 

Round these parts it finally feels like spring time. Birds singing, potholes round every corner. Dare I say, I exposed some knee on the ride in this morning after seemingly endless months of knickered hibernation. Pretty good start to a Friday. Seeing as though tonight marks the first Bandit Cross of the season, it seems only fitting to post up some hot cross action that's been coming our way recently.

Winn D in Boulder sent over this fine lookin Zona. Bikes always look better dirty, if you ask me.

Nick B's rasta Macho Man in Michigan.

Mick in Australia got some nice custom work done to his Macho, red rum build.

And finally, John W sent over a shot of his Nature Boy in Washington. Spring time, indeed.

Good effort this week, champs. Carry out your empties.

Amy.

the before photo

Yesterday I started prepping my Space Horse for the Royal 162 mile race at the Almanzo coming up next month.  The goal was to shave a little weight with some parts that I had lying around gathering dust.

I guess I should start this with why I chose the Space Horse. 

Well my friends, that tale starts with Kyle Kelley (of Tracko and Golden Saddle Cyclery frame) and John Watson of Prolly is not Probably.  Both are dear friends, as well as a couple of swinging dicks looking for any opportunity to twirl their meat.  When I suggested that they come visit for the Almanzo 100 they both decided that the ante had to upped to the 162 mile version, that there wasn't enough climbing and the 100 was too easy.  "Dude, do you have any idea how hilly Texas is? 7000 feet aint' nothing."  " I ripped 1200 feet on Cloudbonk bro." etc, etc. 

I'm paraphrasing of course, but these two yahoos got no idea what the Southern Minnesota bluff country has in store for them.  I realize the numbers aren't that impressive, but there aren't any flats, and a century on pavement sure as shit ain't a century on dirt. 

I myself will freely admit to being scared shitless of the 162.  I've never ridden that far in my life, much less on gravel and the spring snows (5 inches last night) are really hampering my training plans.

With the race in mind and looming, I decided to get my bike ready. 

In previous years I have ridden a single speed Nature Boy or my Mr. Pink.  This year though the Pink was out, because I wanted something with a Compact gearing, and decided upon the Space Horse instead of my cross bikes for the simple fact that my Space Horse steerer has 10mm more spacers in it and I'll take any comfort I can get over the 12 hours the 162 is going to take us.

Yesterday I started doing some mods:

I had a carbon SRAM Force crankset lying around my desk, so I put that on to shed some weight, I changed the brakeset from the Tektro's to a set of Shimano CX-70's that I had from my Macho King proto, and put on my cross racing wheelset which consists of a 28 hole 2 cross build on a Hed and King hub, in place of the existing 32 hole 3X Shimano build that I use for commuting / light touring.

before

after

I shed about 1lb  from the bike, and will lose even more when I ditch the 35c T-Serv's in favor of 33c Clement LAS's and lightweight tubes for the actual event. I also plan on digging around for a lighter weight seatpost, as the Kalloy one I have on there is a real chunker.

Now I just need to get out there and get some more miles in. 

The first race of the year will take place down in the dog park proper with the second running of Night Moves, a short course night crit.

Why? Because pretty soon the spring floods will be upon us and will render the interior of the dog park unridable until late fall. Not to mention that the first Night Moves happened to be some of the most fun I had on a bike all last year.

So if you missed it the first time, now is your opportunity to check out what all the fuss was about.

Bandit Cross Night Moves
April 26th, 9pm Minnehaha Dog Park Proper (follow the signs down to the shore and you’ll spot us)
Bring Lights 7 lap race

Fire and beers to follow, bring your own, and please please pack your shit out. If I see any of you littering cans, it’s going to affect our friendship. See you there.

Happy Friday, dear ones. Ready for some eye candy? Let's take a peek in the ole mail box.

First up is Scott K. with his new Macho Man build.

These next two shots were featured through some Instagram love, #allcitycycles. Some hot builds floating around those parts lately (and a little number with a horse. Classic). If you haven’t found us already, you can track us down at, you guess it, @allcitycycles.

Thanks, Stu!

Chris tagged the Thunderdome he finished building just in time for Red Hook. Dang.

This last lively steed comes to us from Christopher in WY.

That's it for this round. Stay safe out there.

Amy.

Did some Spring cleaning in my home workshop, need to clear out the junk and find some stuff to sell to fund future bike projects.

The other day I stopped in at The Hub's Westbank location to check out their new All-City display.  They're now stocking pretty much every size of every complete bike we make, so if you're looking to test ride and buy.  The Hub is the spot.  Plus they took some of our Frostbike tradeshow booth and created a real cool display.

Looking good!

It's been a while since I posted anything that wasn't directly All-City related from my general day in day out existance, so let's catch up a bit with a good old fashioned photo dump. (not that I think you're all on pins and needles waiting for photos of my dog, but just in case)

You may have noticed that all the non Columbus models now come with a little tubing decal on the seattube that reads "612 Select."  You may also be asking yourself, what the heck is that?  Well my friends here is your long overdue explanation.

We spend a crazy amount of time designing our frames, dialing in not just the geometries but the tubing diameters, wall thicknesses and butting profiles to get the feel of the bike just right. We do this not just on one frame size, but across them all, making sure that each size of every model is precisely tuned to give the rider the experience and thrill that they’ve come to expect from a bike wearing the Hennepin Bridge headtube badge.

It’s a process and result that we’re quite proud of, so we decided to give our proprietary blend of double-butted 100% 612 Select Cro-Moly tubes a name. That name is 612 Select.

So there  you go.

A few weeks back, I was in Denver to hang out and show off the new Macho Disc with a party at Pearl Velo.

I didn't bother to shoot a ton of pictures, since Prolly has been blogging  the holy shit out of the shop since NAHBS in February, but I did get a few good ones. 

If you're in the area, make sure to stop by.  Pearl is easily one of the coolest and certainly cleanest bike shops I have ever stepped foot in.  Their merchandising is amazing in it's presentation and thoroughness,and Tyler knows and reps All-City to the fullest.

Check it out.

I've been wanting to share the tale of the now canceled Macho King cantilever (a Zona version of the Macho Man) for a while now, but I've been afraid to show you something that you can't have.  We've been getting a bunch of questions about a Zona Macho lately, and as I feel there are a number of interesting behind the scenes info / how AC works aspects of the story, this is my attempt to let you know what happened and why.

Now a lot of people have warned me not to share this kind of information, for a number of reasons:
a. people will bitch and complain that they can't get one
b. consumers don't need to know this level of background detail
c. you're letting competitors know what you're working on
d. competitors will know your capabilities and testing standards

So what I'm getting it is that we're taking a risk by letting  you in on the goings on behind the scenes, please don't hassle us about it.  It is what it is. We're bummed out too that it's not a reality.  But those are the breaks.  We're moving on.

While it's a touchy subject, if the old Bridgestone catalogs have taught me anything, it's that bike nerds are always stoked to learn about manufacturing and design process.  Why we do what we do, etc.

The concept:
make the most amazing cantilever bike we can before cantilevers become obsolete, and push the boundaries of what a production bike can be.

This was to be our most "handbuilt" frame (though of course all of our frames are handbuilt) in that it would include a level of detail and complexity that none of our other bikes posess. 

To that end we decided to give it "full internal" cable routing (though it is external on the chain stay), with a quadruple top tube and a double downtube piercing.  We would also make it out of the always delightful Columbus Zona tubeset and give it a more heritage english BB shell. 

the now canceled Macho King proto

racing the proto at Bandit Cross
 

the double top tube and single downtube inlets

visible is a custom seat collar that we're working on, the finished version should be even more refined. No ETA available

We actually received first round proto's fairly early last year and commenced ride testing.  They rode amazing as you would expect any frame built with high grade steel to do and the quality of the construction left nothing to be desired.  They were flipping flawless.  

I'll let you judge for yourself, but in our eyes they were simply gorgeous.  The paint scheme remains my favorite to date (rest assured it will be used on something somewhere down the line), and the clean lines of the bike were positively NAHBSian. 

We knew we had a real winner, even writing this revisiting the project I'm getting all misty about what could have been. 

So what happened?

Well testing happened.  I'm sure you're aware that most bicycle companies perform some sort of testing to ensure that their bicycles are safe.  We over at All-City actually use the European Union standards which are harsher and stricter than their American counterparts.  Now the thing about testing is that modern standards were not really designed for steel.  They were designed for aluminum and their appropriateness for steel is a question of some debate.  The metals don't act or react the same. 

That said, they are the standards to which we've decided to hold to, in order to ensure that frames that wear an AC badge can stand up to the punishment that we know you dish out. In the Macho King we had a frame which 40 years of steel bike design and our own riding tells us is perfectly safe and reasonable, yet it didn't pass our requirements.  There was no question of what to do, we would go back to the drawing board and try again.

So we worked with Columbus to produce a custom Zona tube (I'm not saying which tube or how it failed because some information needs to remain proprietary to All-City, and we'd like to keep some of what we learned close to the vest) and tried again.  This time it made it through almost all of the required cycles but ultimately came up short.  We were close but running out of time as we wanted it to arrive in June 2013 in time for cyclocross selling season.

Due to the high sample and testing cost, and because we were also working on the 612 Select disc version, we decided to simply cancel the bike and focus instead completely on our disc development.  It was a sad and difficult decision, but ultimately the correct one for the brand.  We certainly haven't given up on doing a higher end version of our steel cross bike, it's just that it won't happen in canti.

We shot for the moon and came up a bit short, but we learned a lot from doing this project.  We pushed our frame builders, we pushed our supply chain, and we got to work with Columbus on designing a custom tube.  We have a better idea of what our capabilities are and what our partners can accomplish.  It's not coming out, but the project was far from a waste of time.

This was intended as a mic drop product that ultimately failed, yet from it's ashes emerged the Macho Man Disc and way cooler shit to come. 

Stay tuned.

It's that time of the week. Let's check out some beasts in the wild.

First up, we've got some local love in Minneapolis.

Casey's Def Wish.

And the Big Block he built up for his lady. Coaster love.

Custom decals from Thomas F. in CA on his old school Dropout.

Space Horse from Ken D. And lastly,

Matthew B. up in Toronto sent over some glamor shots of his Big Block.

It's almost Friday, now let's party.

Amy.

Last weekend in NYC, Redbull brought their minidrom to Brooklyn and team AC rider Heather brought her Nature Boy to the tiny little track. 

Check out this rad photo from Gothamist.

For the whole article click here

Our buddy Jason (ImagineGnat) shot a bunch of great ones at our Frostbike party, check them out.

Last night after returning from Denver I made a little post on my personal blog (bikejerks), and I figured that I'd repost it since a lot of what I'm talking about refers to All-City and associates. 

Below is the post

I apologize for the lack of quality blogging the last few months, it feels like it's been ages since I've actually written anything worthwhile or of substance. And the riding's been stale as the post Stupor Bowl winter doldrums have taken their toll on my mind and spirit.

The riding particularly has been frustrating as my back hasn't allowed me to do any for the last six weeks or so. I'm on the mend though and am very much looking forward to tomorrow's commute into work. (you know I'm starving for saddle time, if I use words like looking, forward, and commute in the same sentence)

I just got back from Denver and the trip was pretty great. I was fortunate enough to see some people who are dear to me, and meet some new ones whom I hope become trusted allies.

One of those people whom I was blessed to spend some time with is Tyler from Pearl Velo. Tyler has been an All-City dealer with us since the beginning of the brand, and the path that AC and his shop have taken run in parallels.

As we sat having a beer on Friday evening something that came up in conversation really sparked a sense of optimism in me. The realization that so many of us who came into the industry during the track bike boom have grown and blossomed, found our respective niches, and are set to move the industry in very exciting ways in the coming years.

Every period has it's movers and shakers, and as our generation continues to come into our own, it's on our shoulders to make positive changes for the future. The players are many and too numerous to name, but think about it: your favorite blog, the coolest bike shops in America, the folks behind the brands you identify with, the magazines, we're even starting to come into the manufacturing side of things. Not to mention all the riders from coast to coast.

I am so proud to have so many wonderful brothers and sisters in arms. The previous generation have done what they could, and now the group who has come up in the urban cycling scene have the opportunity to pick up the mantle and run with it. It is our time, and things are only going to get better from here on out.

Shout outs to Tyler, Josh, Eli, Prolls, Kyle, Ty, Woody, Josh K, Bryan, Dan P, Jeremiah, Billy, Sarah, Dan & Emily, Andy, the Rock-It boys, Chas, James, Kevin, Brad and Jeff, etc. (I could go on listing names all day, so apologies if I kept it short and didn't call you out, I hope you know you have my undying love and respect)

So proud of all of you and happy for your success. So many folks pursuing their dreams, so many laying it all on the line for their shot at making a difference. So overwhelmed to be a part of it.

Some folks are natural born world shakers, and this generation of cycling is blessed to have plenty of them.

This is just the beginning.

[End Post]

I'd also like to add, thank you to the All-City dealers, and to the people who ride and support us.  Lately I've taken to referring to the past few years of All-City as the "lean years."  Things are just starting to get really good for us as we've been growing tremendously the past few, and with that growth comes the opportunity to make ever radder and nicer stuff.  We're truly just getting started.

I'm coming to Denver for the weekend and we'll be sharing some beers and laughs (you like to laugh, right?) at Pearl Velo on Friday night from 6-9pm, so head over and have a cold one on us.

We recently received our first shipment of our new Fast is Forever T's, in lovely black on black.

Also available in a ladies cut, get one now!

This morning’s ride into work was one icy mother. My second fall left me cussing for spring and longing for late night adventure rides, grassy beer stops and bike camping getaways. So this afternoon I dug into the ole mail box to flip through some customer photos of those gloriously sunny days gone by. Come on spring…

Tim James' Horse all decked out for a 200K get away

Nick Wood, Portland- What a classy beaut. There's gotta be beers in there, right?

Greg W. send us over a photo of his lady. She's got the right idea.

Saja in LA

Kurt in Raleigh, NC

Man, I'm so ready for all of this. Next week I'll be taking a little get away from my desk, so my email responses may be creeping back to you a little slower than usual. My apologies. You can rest assured I'll be riding my bike enjoying some fine beverages thinking about you.  Keep those photos coming.

See you lovelies next Monday,

Amy.

Our upcoming Urban Velo ad, featuring our wool.