On this episode of bike of the week, we get a proper education from the ‘gents over at IF on how to make a stunning, clean bike. The paint job totally pops, and it begs for the viewer to take it all in nice and slow.
We hope Bob is happy with his new IF because if he isnt, there’s a long line of people who would probably commit felonies to get their grubby hands on this gorgeous rig.
It’s about time for another of our killer monthly shop rides: The ride will take place on Saturday, September 11. We love to have chance to take it to the streets with our customers and friends, so please join us!. See below for the journalistic deets.
Who: Everyone is invited!
What: NYC Velo Monthly Shop Ride
When: Saturday, September 11th. Meet at the shop at 8AM. We leave at 830.
Where: The ride begins and ends at NYC Velo- 64 2nd Ave (between 3rd and 4th St) We’ll ride across the GWB to Piermont and back. The pace is entirely up to you guys.
Why: Because we love riding bikes!
Misc: Once again Erik from Vice Magazine will be leading this month’s ride. Hopefully you don’t wear anything that will get you featured in “DOs and DON’Ts.”
Ben from Think Coffee will be in da’ house creating espresso-based masterpieces just for you. Delicious, delicious baked goods from Blue Sky Bakery will also be provided in order to further convince you to show up and ride your awesome bike with awesome people.
It was only a matter of time before our 5ive Points series blew up. When we say Blew Up, we mean that all our industry friends would be clamoring to be profiled. When we say Clamoring, we mean that they, like all 5ive Points participants, graciously accepted our phone call/email and took a few minutes to address the points.
This week’s 5ive Points is special for myriad reasons, not the least of which is that we’ve decided to run the elusive Double Interview. We cornered a couple of our good friends over at Independent Fabrication, Tyler and Gary, and got a taste of the Indy Fab life.
Tyler is in charge of Special Ops at IF while Gary steers the ship, as it were. If you’re interested in learning more about Special Ops, Tyler will be on hand at the Rapha Continental event at the Rapha Cycle Club at 352 Bowery on Thursday night (8/5) at 7pm.
NYCV: What bike do you ride these days?
Gary: My bikes are like shoes, I have multiple usage occasions that call for different bikes depending on the ride and my mood. Practically speaking, given that we tailor each bike to individual customer preferences, it is part of my job to understand the ride differences between materials and configurations. Among my favorites, and I do love all my children, are my stainless steel city bike and an as-yet-unridden internally geared, studded tire, titanium uber winter bike. I built it for the North American Handmade Show this past year and for once am looking forward to snow, since I now have no excuse not to ride this coming winter.
Tyler: I ride many bikes. Currently in active rotation: Tungsten Electrode Full suspension MTB, belt drive singlespeed Corvid, SSR made out of XCr (Bella), XS track bike and a Steel Independence touring bike set up for the upcoming D2R2 ride in Western Mass.
NYCV: What’s your favorite ride?
Gary: That’s tough, since I live in the woods of New Hampshire and have so many road and trail options right out my door. It’s hard to beat riding along the Atlantic on Route 1A, and for organized rides, The Franklin Land Trust out in Western Massachusetts does this ride every August called D2R2, the Deerfield to Deerfield Dirt Road Randonnee, which is in Rapha-speak, epic. It’s a 100K of scenic, mostly gravel roads, with covered bridges, orchards and insane amounts of climbing, all to benefit the protection of the area that you are riding through.
Tyler: Right now I’ve got a good off-road route in The Fells just North of Boston.
NYCV: What’s your favorite post-ride food?
Gary: One of the fruity breads from my local bakery, When Pigs Fly, loaded with almond butter. Right now they have a seasonal blueberry lemon bread that is just mind-altering (and waist-altering as well).
Tyler: Burrito if it’s an early or mid-day ride. Beer if it’s later in the day. (that’s food right?)
NYCV: What’s one thing you always carry on a ride?
Gary: Stuff to fix flats. Riders that don’t carry their own repair goods and mooch off of others suck, but I never leave them stranded, no matter how tempting!
Tyler: Money, ID, Phone.
NYCV: What’s next for you?
Gary: We’ve got a new Ti Factory Lightweight coming out any week now, and an all carbon cyclocross bike coming out this Fall, so things are busy at IF right now. At BaileyWorks I’m working on a new line of tool rolls and a limited series of country themed bags, so lots of new product in the pipeline to keep it interesting.
Tyler: Right now I’ve got to work my way through a bunch of bikes that need to be welded so I can get out of here and go mountain biking. But the real “next in cycling” big picture kinda thing is for me to buckle down and finish up these TiFLW prototypes I’ve been working on for months
In conjunction with our awesome shop ride, we are marking Sunday, August 8th as a day of celebration for both the Bespoke exhibit (coming to an end August 15th) as well as North American handbuilt bikes.
If you’re the proud owner of a North American handmade bicycle, stop by the shop between 8AM and 6 PM and we’ll put your bike up for all to ogle and drool at. Pro NYC Velo photog Justin King will snap some pictures of your bike, and one lucky handbuilt will roll away with the “Bike of the Week” distinction and all the prestige that comes with it. Participating bikes will also be given a free ticket to Sacha White’s Bespoke exhibit at the Museum of Design. The exhibit is truly stunning and a very important event in the NYC bike community. Free or not, the NYC Velo crew suggests that it not be missed.
We will also be serving up delicious brews from Think Coffee as well as baked goods from Blue Sky Bakery throughout the day- a killer pair.
We are proud to announce the inception of our monthly shop rides! The ride will take place on Sunday, August 8th. We love these rides as it gives us a chance to take it to the streets with our customers and friends. See below for the journalistic deets.
Who: Everyone is invited!
What: NYC Velo Monthly Shop Ride
When: Sunday, August 8th. Meet at the shop at 8AM. We leave at 830.
Where: The ride begins and ends at NYC Velo- 64 2nd Ave (between 3rd and 4th St) We’ll ride across the GWB to Piermont and back.
Why: Because we love riding bikes!
Misc: Erik from Vice Magazine will be leading this month’s ride. Hopefully you don’t wear anything that will get you featured in “DOs and DON’Ts.”
Ben from Think Coffee will be on hand to create espresso-based masterpieces for all in attendance. Delicious, delicious baked goods from Blue Sky Bakery will also be provided in order to further entice you to show up and ride your awesome bike with awesome people.
A hearty THANKS goes out to all the riders who joined us for the IF/NYC Velo ride a couple weeks ago. Making the trip down from Somerville, MA were Joe, Clint, Leah, and Sparky of Independent Fabrication. The ride got off to a great start, thanks to some help from Ben, head Espresso Trainer at Think coffee, and Blue Sky Bakery muffins. The ride toured the Palisades State Park in NJ, along River Road, before returning to the city in a spirited fashion. It’s always a great time when our IF friends pay us a visit, and July’s edition of the semi-annual ride was no exception. For those who missed it, we’re already planning the cool weather version for November or December – you’ll be able to get the the specs right here on the blog!
It’s been a year since we partnered up with the fine folks at Independent Fabrication and things couldn’t be better. There are quite a number of new IF owners out there with some pretty amazing bikes to show off. We would like to invite all current, former, and future IF owners to participate in the Second Biannual IF Ride.
If you currently own an IF, are thinking of buying one, or just want to know what the deal is with custom bikes, come by the shop to meet and ride with our friends from Somerville, MA on Saturday, July 10. Russ and Daughters bagels and Think Coffee will be served at 8am, and the ride heads off to Piermont at 8:30am.
Show off your bike (regardless of provenence) on a comfortable ride to Piermont, NY with like-minded individuals. Afterward the IF crew will be on hand to answer questions and show off some amazing demo bikes. Additionally, we’ll raffle some some swag, including a Level 2 paint upgrade on any new IF, an custom NYC Velo Whalemouth bag from Baileyworks, and a custom NYC Velo Rambler backpack from Mission Workshop.
Don’t miss this opportunity to get to know a unique brand!
No, we’re not talking “kilowatts per hour”, we’re talking Kissing With Helmets. That’s the name of the wedding project site (is there such a thing?) of our very own Brett Cleaver and his fiancée Edie Perkins. The two shared their first kiss while wearing – you guessed it – helmets, and once they’ve tied the knot this summer they are embarking on a honeymoon bike tour across the country.
They recently contacted our friends at Independent Fabrication, and ordered up a couple of new bikes for the ride. Check out the pictures here on IF’s blog.
We have to say, they look fanstastic.
Then they reached out to other industry friends like Rapha, HED, Ortlieb, Tubus, Oakley, and Chris King to chip in merchandise and support for the ride.
We wish “Team B&E” all the best, not only on their bike trip, but in life as well!
You can keep track of their journey by following them on their site.
From the man himself: “Finally, the much-anticipated follow up since I got the SSR – I felt a full range of riding experiences were necessary before I could accurately report on it. The bike has enjoyed various coffee/muffin shops throughout the Tri-State area, climbed the Blue Ridge Mountains in a North Carolina training camp, and most importantly, raced.
Simply put, I love this bike. The ride quality and handling are amazing. It climbs, descends, and accelerates with ease. It’s stiff and light enough to do the aforementioned, but still feels good after 100 miles. It doesn’t beat up on you like aluminum does, or make you feel like you’re going to get blown off the road on a fast descent like carbon might.
Five days of training in North Carolina sealed the deal for me on this bike. Dirt roads, serious climbs, and long descents with switchbacks (both to and from the summit of Mt Mitchell) and I felt like the bike worked with me the entire time, no matter the situation. My tires weren’t always as cooperative, but we’ll save that for another post.
I’m looking for the spring legs to come around after the training camp, so look for some racing highlights to come aboard my new steed.”
Yikes! – based on the response we’ve gotten, this Bike Of The Week is already nearing Bike Of The Year status. We drooled over her carbon tubes and belt drive chain at NAHBS, then were tickled to find out that she was being shipped to us the following week for a big city magazine photo shoot.
We got her over to our good friend Jack at NoHo Productions and he set up the 12lb beauty to pout for the camera.
We can’t wait to see her in print!
