You gotta love a nice classic steel bike. For my daily commuter I’m rolling on a classic hand built steel lugged road bike that has been converted in to a single speed. It’s been reborn over and over for whatever my current needs were at the time, and has served as a geared road bike for long distance rides, to use as a fixed gear. These days it is rolling with the hub flipped around with a free wheel, but there is something to be said for a frame that is this versatile. The only bummer is that it is an old race frame, and lacks commuter friendly extras like rack and fender mounts.
When we came across the Raleigh Roper steel cyclecross bike, it stopped us in our tracks. I love the basic no-frills color scheme- gray and black go with everything, and the blue accents just rock. Raleigh’s graphic designer has a serious fan here. Although the total weight on the bike is a bit on the portly side for a race bike, it does mean that for a daily driver this bike has the potential to last decades, assuming its half the bike of my current commuter. Highlights include a full Shimano 105 group, with a number of house branded parts and Joytech hubs to keep the price down. The Roper embraces the future with disc brakes front and rear, which means stopping shouldn’t be an issue whether its wet or dry out. It is also commuter ready with fender and rack mounts and dual water bottle cages. The only way this ride could be more versatile is if it was it was single speed friendly rear dropouts.
What? It is single speed-able? Shut the front door. The frame uses the new BB30 standard for the bottom bracket. I initially was opposed to BB30, as I’m not a fan of press in bottom brackets. However, then I found that an aftermarket option for converting the BB30 to an eccentric bottom bracket exists, and that opens the door to even more possible configurations for this bike. This model from Beer Components looks like it would work swell. I’m still not sold on BB30 for full suspension mountain bikes, but for rigid frames it gives this frame options. (Unless BB30 is replaced by something else a few years from now, but even then you should be able to source off the shelf bearings to fit) The Roper would be a welcome addition to any stable of bikes, and stands out as one of the most versatile option-filled machines currently available.
The Roper retails for about $1499.
Check it out: Raleigh Roper Steel Cyclecross bike
I have a weakness for gear. An addiction, really. Like Carrie Bradshaw and her shoes, I’m obsessed with hoodies and backpacks. My closet is filled to overwhelmed with both, and at this point I’ve come to consider myself a connoisseur of packs. I’m always looking for the ideal pack to match my lifestyle, or hold and organize my gear better. I have packs for riding bikes in the city. Some for riding bikes in the dirt. Some for carrying camera gear. Some of carrying camera gear around town. And some for carrying camera gear while mountain biking. Needless to say, I’m always on the search for the ideal pack.
When I came across the Captain Phil Backpack by All-City Cycles, I have to admit it was their marketing copy that really hooked me. That, and the black texture just looks really effing cool. In the blurb, its described it as their dream pack made real, with all the features they’ve ever wanted. These words spoke right to me- would their dream pack be mine as well? The pack has a reasonably low retail price to boot, so click went my mouse, and a short while later I was looking at the latest addition to my closet-busting collection of packs.
I’ll admit I did a bit of looking around for better images online before jumping on this latest in a line of impulse purchases. The problem was that the photos of the bag don’t quite explain the scale and size of the bag. They offer it in both medium and large sizes, but the gallery of images doesn’t clearly differentiate the differences. (A photo with both bags next to each other would be nice) They look similar with the height of the unfolded bag being the main change. [click to continue…]
Masses of fixed gear riders from all over converged on San Francisco’s waterfront this weekend for Red Bull’s event, the Ride N’ Style. After hitting the trails in the MidPen in the am, we headed over to get our fix of free Redbull and to witness the carnage. [click to continue…]
These small LED bike lights from Copenhagen Parts are the cleanest bike light design I’ve seen. Designed for use with steel frames, they utilize magnets to attach to your bike for an extremely clean look with no mounting points, straps, or fasteners. Not only are they extremely compact, but they turn on when placed on your frame, and switch off when removed. Assuming you place them in a pocket that doesn’t have anything ferrous in it, you’re going to have a light with plenty of juice left when you need them. You will need to run a steel frame for the magnets to work, but since the current trend in urban city bikes is to run steel frames, most of us are in luck. (as you can see below, they clearly attach to Bianchi frames just fine)
Placing these magnetic bike lights on a steel frame activates the on switch.
We’re loving the clean design aesthetic, and the idea that these lights will never accidentally turn on in our pocket or bags. The drawback? They’re not going to be available until fall, and even then, since they’re based in Copenhagen, it might be even longer before they are distributed in the states. – via Gizmodo
Check it out: Copenhangen Parts
Raleigh Roper Steel Cyclecross Bike
Review: All-City Captain Phil Pack
These new Magnetic Bike Lights look sweet
Stuff We Like: Santa Cruz MTB Festival Edition
HT AEO1 thin pedals
Jamis Quest Steel Road Bike
