Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Platform Pedals


Everybody who races knows you can go faster with your feet clipped in. It makes sense. You can pull up and push down at the same time. But when you’re just out for a cruise you don’t really need that kind of acceleration. So why not equip your everyday bike with a nice pair of platform pedals. You’ll get more comfort and support when you break out your favorite kicks. Here’s as few nice options.


The MKS Sylvan Touring pedals are a classic. I’ve used the same pair for years with nary a creak. And since they are designed with removable dust caps it’s a breeze to re grease the bearings.



The MKS Stream pedals are based on the same design but a bit narrower.


If you want something a little bit fancier the Touring Lite is where it’s at.


If you like a super grippy classic mountain bike style pedal the Soma Downie MTB platform pedals are tops. With sealed bearings and Cro Mo spindles, they should keep you spinning under the harshest of conditions.


For extra style points check out the Sylvan touring in Copper.


If you just prefer having something to hook your foot into a Half clip gives you the feel of a toe clip without being strapped in.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Da NAHBS Pt. 3

So much to see. We saw a lot of generators with wires going internally into the racks they were mounted on, we saw lots of Enve forks, and Iris bottle cages, extended seatmasts were everywhere, and carbon Gates drives, too. And we saw many more CX bikes than we expected to see.

Here are some more things that really caught our eye:


 Cykelmaguren Copenhagen makes city bikes, hubs and wood grips, but "brake levers" which are
beads strung across two metal clamps was what first captured my attention.


This Kirk Lee frame was done for a client who wanted an Atlas theme (He was a fan of
"Atlas Shrugged" I think). At first I thought the graphics were digitized, but everything was
handpainted. The headtube image glows and the supporting light rays and stripes
looked great.

While he's no Atlas, Don Walker (NAHBS founder)
has no problem owning this headtube.

NAHBS sophmore Demon Frameworks won an award for this incredible road frame.
Blurry pic doesn't do it justice.
Custom dropout on the Demon.

This frame set from English is missing half its fork and half its stays. The designer
says it rides just like any other bike despite missing some tubes.
He had to do some engineering to get the hubs to work for this unique design.

This Ira Ryan utility bike was amazing for more than one just its design.
If you look closely the bike and the 2-wheel trailer was equipped with
at least three Chris King headsets(see below) and three Chris King hubs. Whoa!



Sunday, March 4, 2012

Da Nahbs Pt. 2

More Pics from Sacramento.

 Comotion's 29er Tandem

Victoria Cycle's Randonneuse

 Fatback Stainless Fatbike

 Sunrace Driven Rear Deraileur

 Celio's Road

Rock Lobster's SS Cross

Pereira's 650b Randonneuse

Ira Ryan Trailer Hitch

Swift Industries Ozette Bag

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Da NAHBS

The Soma Crew took a little road trip out to Sacramento to visit the 2012 #NAHMBS. Here's some of what we saw.

Don Walker's Stayer Bike

Bruce Gordon's Dingle Speed

Black Sheep's 36'er

 Muse Cycle's Integrated Rack


Vibe Cycle's Bamboo Fatbike

Rock Lobster's 26" FGFS

CoMotion's Divide 29er Belt Drive Touring