superbike defends your sister’s honor
As a tribute to both superbike and the upcoming ROFLcon conference, I present the following:
Ya, I just did that.
Tags: methaddict, roflcon, superbikeSuperbike
This post is copied over from my original article on OpenBicycle.com. Please see that article for updates and changes.
I needed a bicycle that would take me back to being 15 years old, when I was smashing my S&M Challenger through trees and trails and stairs and rails. I needed a bicycle that could pop me through traffic and manual across the raised divider. I needed a bicycle nimble and quick, sturdy and strong, and light enough to flick through the streets. I needed a bicycle to get me to the booze store and back again in comfort, something I could put miles on around town and still be able to stand up straight afterwards. BMX wasn’t gonna cut it, nor big bikes or a fixed bruiser, and trying to hack a Surly Steamroller into my dream ride wasn’t working out. I needed a bicycle built for the city and it needed to have balls, and there was nothing on the market that even came close.
Joshua and I sketched out the necessities and went to Marty Walsh, of Geekhouse Bikes, and said “we need you to build this super bike.” Marty said “I’ll build the bike, but let’s add all this other cool shit to it, too.”
Please, now, read about my super bike.
55t CDS chainring/22t cog/113mm belt, Profile BMX Race crankset & spider, Deity Decoy pedals.
The seat stay split and bolt that allows the belt to slip in. Hope Pro II rear hub.
The Phil Wood eccentric bottom bracket that’s necessary for belt installation, removal, and tensioning. Note the mountain bike chainstays.
Deity Fantom stem, TWENTY14 bars, LEAN grips (for small lady-like hands,) and King headset keep me connected to homebase (Portland, OR.) Paul Love levers for grabbing.
Yo Marty oversized fork + Greg Melms super-badass custom 20mm front dropouts. Hope Pro II front hub. Avid mechs @ 160mm.
Marty Walsh’s through-the-triple-triangle internal brake cable routing. Nuts, totally nuts.
Notes, after 3 weeks:
- rides like a BMX. little, like me, and can be thrown around like it’s nothing.
- 22lbs 9oz
- belt drive is silent and snappy and my right calf stays nice and warm all snuggled in my non-rolled up pant leg
- chukker 32h rims are steady. they love stair drops.
- flat matte black powder from sugarcoat…twice. i’ll let Marty tell that story!
- deity components are holding tough. stem and bars are very lightweight, but otherwise standard faire. the pedals and grips, though? i’m never going back, they’re balls.
- single speed spacer kit from Rennen Design Group, made here in MA, made the belt drive alignment way easier.
- vintage turbo saddle donated by joshua makes my ass happy
So, after 18 months (yep, one whole year plus one half of another year) of scheming, planning, and building, I finally have my bicycle. And yes, I’ll totally let you ride it.
Edit: forgot to mention and say thanks to Justin Keena for the awesome photos.
Review: Aladdin MiGo mug *UPDATED*
Some of you may be familiar with my fascination for snack teas, though I imagine most have no idea that my passion for snackable teas runs deep. No bullshit, bottom line: I pretty much love awesome snack teas. They’re like the best, or whatever.
Until recently I wasn’t in the market for a snack tea mug, but certain circumstances with certain plastic mugs that certainly have been around for a long time had made me certain that I needed to get a new mug and prompted me to enter said market. I’d had my eyes on some new mugs from Aladdin as I browsed the Target aisles for toothpaste, blenders, bright blue wool v-neck sweaters, and other assorted mostly-shit-but-too-cheap-to-say-no-to items, but it was never necessary. That was the case, until the circumstance happened.
Tags: aladdin, awesome, mug, reviews, snack teaing, snackable, tea