My two passions collide in this video produced by Tiziano Niero for Petrolicious. I was honored to be asked to be the subject of this video, and even more excited to bring a bit of cycling to the auto enthusiast realm. I’ve loved bikes and cars for as long as I can remember, so to have both side by side is a thrill. The M5 is the best car I’ve owned, and having it immortalized here is wonderful. 212,000 miles and still going strong. The bike is my built to order Haley. It is equipped with Z Couplers allowing it to be halved for travel. It is a showcase of the best of the best, as is the car. The M5 was a fantastic model to start, but my cousin, the original owner, went all in on very particular upgrades, making it an exceptional car. Two very cool machines that I enjoy on a daily basis. And now, I hope you, the reader, are able to enjoy the video.
A photo of the latest build, a Haley Ti road bike equipped with Z Couplers, and running an Eagle SL Transmission drivetrain. A set of custom Ogle Components UDH dropouts accommodate the Eagle rear derailleur. The paint scheme is a nod to my 1980’s Peugeot that was stolen back in 84 during my first year at Berkeley. The bike rides like a dream, a perfectly capable climber mixed with super solid descending stability. The complete weight of the bike with pedals, cages and computer mount is a hair over 18 pounds. A complete build breakdown follows:
“Best camping table ever.” Maybe that seems like excessive praise for something as basic as a table, but the Moonlander from NEMO really is amazing. The simplicity of the design is a refreshing break from overly complicated mechanisms. The table unfolds, the legs pop out from their storage slots, pop into holes at the four corners, and then with a simple twist of the legs, the table is ready for action. This straightforward design provides a rock solid table that can be used anywhere at a campsite. And it packs away just as easily into a flat and compact case. Each time I use the Moonlander on a camping trip, I marvel at the ingenious design. Waxing poetic about a table is perhaps a bit on the unusual side, but the Moonlander inspires effusive words.
Vittoria is currently offering a sweepstakes that gives participants the chance to win a trip for two to Italy. The package includes a stipend for two round-trip tickets, a tour of the Vittoria Technical Center and Vittoria Park, as well as tickets to the Tour of Lombardy. The trip is scheduled to take place from October 3rd to the 9th, and presents an incredible opportunity to visit Italy and experience one of the classic tours of the cycling season. To enter the sweepstakes and potentially win this amazing opportunity, please follow this link.
There have been several innovations in cycling in my lifetime, two of which are becoming the standard for most bicycles: electronic shifting and hydraulic disc brakes. These two technologies took a minute to catch on, but thanks to their incredible ease of use and solid performance, they are now accounting for much of what you’ll find in the bike shop. That said, the bicycle hasn’t really changed much over its incredibly long lifespan. Improvements come along regularly, but all in all, it is still the same basic machine .
So, I admit to being skeptical when I first started seeing oversize derailleur pulley cages entering the market. Ceramic Speed was one of the first on the scene, and because of the incredibly smooth bearings, it started appearing on high end bicycles. It quickly became top dog in the cage wars.
But its position at the top is now being challenged by a new entry from absoluteBLACK. (more…)
By now a lot of you know I covet cars and trucks as much as bicycles. And sometimes these two passions overlap, as in this Grenadier truck built by INEOS, sponsor of the INEOS Grenadiers, a Tour de France winning team. A BMW 3 liter straight-six turbo combined with three differential locks should make this truck a super capable off-roader. The design is exactly right for my preferred aesthetics, and cribbing off an older Land Rover is really not a bad thing. Modern underpinnings matched to retro design makes for a very desirable truck.
I’ve entered the Nemo universe, and I couldn’t be happier. The New England based company started back in 2002. The name NEMO is a melding of New England Mountain Equipment and the ingenious Captain Nemo. And ingenious certainly describes the first item I picked up from NEMO – the Dagger Ultralight tent, which has now accompanied me on many trips. From a snowy night in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California, to a backpacking trip on Catalina Island, the tent has proven to be a worthy travel companion. (more…)
