Taking a hacksaw to the new carbon frame, under the watchful eye of the US Army

Measure twice, cut once. Or, y'know, measure once and cut twice @ about $4000 per cut.

Dude should cut those chops next. To each his own, I guess. Cute dog, though.

Never did like that integrated seatpost. What the heck do you do when fashion dictates a higher set-up, once today's fashionable "power" setup is debunked like cholesterol in butter?

China: Bike manufacturing and sales through the roof

You know, on a Tuesday afternoon, there's nothing we like more than kicking back with a cup of tea and curling up with the latest copy of China Machinery Daily.

Today, we read that despite all the gloomy global economic news, Chinese exports of bicycles increased almost 15 percent last year.

According to statistics by the General Administration of Customs, China exported 59.23 million units of bicycles in 2007, valued at US$ 2.17bn...In 2007, China exported 18.17 million bicycles to the USA, up by 1.1%, while the exports to Japan and the ASEAN countries increased by 7.4% and 5.3% respectively to 8.41 million and 5.32 million units. The said three markets together accounted for 53.9% of China's total bicycle exports.

Presumably, most of those frame-sets were equipped with Shimano parts. (Those that weren't? They were equipped with Dynacrap-brand parts.)

Once you factor in Taiwan manufacturing, that gives you a pretty good idea why people say that roughly 9 out of ten bikes come from Asia.

A weak dollar: Good for US bikes?

You were surely way too busy this weekend putting your studded tires on and getting your steel frames winterized to realize that the "Intlbike Conference" was going on in Shenzhen, China.

The buzz? Whereas China has been catching up to Taiwan as the world's largest producer of bikes, the weakness of the US dollar and the cost of petroleum-based distribution could cause the market for Asian bikes to flatten or decline.

That's good news for US bike-builders, probably -- because handmade local bikes may end up being cheaper than mass-produced Chinese rides. But the mid-range quality bikes will be hit hard: the Surlys of the world that are welded across the Pacific, and offered here at that delicate $1000 price point.

The difference between a $900 bike and a $1200 bike is far greater than between a $1200 and a $5000 bike, and it comes down to more than just wheelsets and drivetrains. It's a huge cognitive leap for bike buyers who are innocent in the ways of the world.

Fixies: The trend is officially over?

There is an old cliche that once the Sunday New York Times takes notice of any particular trend or fad, it is elevated to the level of "totally over and lame." I don't know if that's true, exactly. But if it is, then fixies may soon start showing up in garage sales right next to the waffle irons and the vinyl copies of "Brothers in Arms." But I've pledged to stop being a hater, after seeing yesterday's cool fixie video.

Anyway, what caught my eye in the Times' story was this innocuous passage:

The dangers of a small world getting bigger were vividly illustrated a few months ago when a hipster wearing square-frame glasses wandered into King Kog. The store, which sells fixed-gear bikes starting around $800 and going up to the thousands, also carries Jason Chaste’s Fortynine Sixteen clothing line, named for a gear ratio, and high-end parts like Sugino cranks, Izumi chains, and Dura-Ace and Ciocc frames.

Ciocc?! I believe that's the first time I've seen my beloved road bike's name enunciated in English. And that calls for some quickly slapped together then-and-now bike porn!

Then... (mid 80s)



(too bad the owner of this one appears to have tampered with the fork. Ciocc forks from this period are some of the most elegant ever built, and this looks like some carbon nonsense, with silly lines)


And now...


Still being made and sold in Olde Italia!


And let me just say that $800 for a fixie seems, to these innocent ears, like they're price gouging those Brooklyn hipsters. (Somebuddy hadda say it.)