miércoles, 25 de noviembre de 2009

The BMX bike all'Italiana

Lo and behold! The Italian take on the budding BMX market of the second half of the 1980s. A wonderful Cinelli frame made of Columbus tubing, gorgeous Campagnolo anodised hubs and crankset, Clement 20" rims, and legendary Regina chains, all the big road Italian manufacturers banding together to create a truly bling-bling "motocross racing" bike, as they liked it to call this Ultima BMX. Click on the image for a larger view.


No wonders then that Cinelli is nowadays taking a similar approach to the fixed gear "hipster" market issuing limited edition frames in collaboration with riders-collective MASH or with artists like Barry McGee. At least, Campagnolo has not considered for the moment a limited edition reissue of its classic vintage track crankset in a whole array of anodised colours... That will be blasphemy, indeed!

martes, 10 de noviembre de 2009

Cycling Portraits from Barcelona.



Looking for some cycling memorabilia, I have just come across this pair of portraits dating back to the early 1900s. The dashing figure cut by these young men, dressed up with their jackets and loose fitting trousers, will not certainly look unfamiliar in any of the popular tweed runs that have taken place recently in the UK, USA or Australia.

For the first originators of these "nostalgic" rides, well before the fixed gear scene took them over, check The Tweed Cycling Club. Their motto: "Style not Speed. Elegance not Exertion"; wise words, indeed, for any would-be urban cyclist.