Paris in the olden times...

Course de porteurs de journaux au Palais de... by Remixe_le_patrimoine

The Porteurs des Journaux, meaning newspaper couriers, in Paris where the real O.G. bike messengers, in case you didn't know.

Robert Marchand, 100 Years Old Track Cyclist

"100 year old sets first-ever hour record mark for his age group

 The oldest ever track record has been established by the Frenchman Robert Marchand who, over two months after turning 100 years of age, travelled to the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland and established the mark of 24.251 kilometres. 


... 


 Amazingly, the last time he was on a track was long before world war II. As a result, he spent four days prior to setting the mark familiarising himself with the Aigle velodrome. “I haven’t cycled on a track for 80 years. You have to get used to the fixed gear. I prefer cycling outside but that is impossible at the moment,” he said. “I don’t want to catch the flu, so I am short on training.”"

Read the whole story here.

Visiting Alex Singer Cycles Workshop

Alex Singer Cycles from hanckxlife on Vimeo.

Not so much fixed gear bikes but interesting nonetheless if you love bikes and cycling. A legendary brand, custom framebuilder and boutique in Paris for randonneur and cyclotourism bikes and such. Edit came from here.

And should you want bit more in-depth information on Alex Singer Cycles, please check the nice feature on Cog magazine, here.

Path of the Track Bike

Level 1 is pre-derailleur.
Level 2 is roots (needs a section for “the collector”. They supplied many fine vehicles for 3-5)
Level 3 is where it really begins.
Level 4 finalizes the style
Level 5 marks the entry of non-messenger, non-cyclists. Its also the shortest time segment. (This is where the most deviations within the messenger community developed-aluminum frames and bars, the worst. Goofy “punk” accessories next.)
Level 6 is the explosion. Style bastardized
Level 7 is Babylon. No Style
Level 8 isn’t on the chart-Its all the deviations and cliques formed without influence of 1-4. It really has nothing to do with us, or cycling. It follows the current streetxwear/skateboard/bmx industry map.

I stole this from the Landlords because it is IMPORTANT.
Read and learn. Know your Roots.

Klein Track Bike 1975

"Klein track bike at the New York Bike Show, February 1975. 

 This marked the introduction of Gary Klein's welded aluminum frame to the public. I remember speaking to Gary Klein at the show that day. As you can see, the booth was bare-bones; I think he had a flier explaining his design idea. From my basic engineering knowledge, I understood what he was driving at, and realized this could be a real breakthrough. Little did I (and Gary) know that as usual, a Frenchman, Nicholas Barra, had beaten him to it by about 40 years. But I remember talking to Gary Klein and telling him that while the design and craftsmanship were great, I found his bicycle very ugly. He laughed and said "I think it's beautiful". Spoken like a true engineer. Note the steel (!) Cinelli track bars and stem, and the steel fork. Sugino track crankset."

From Chris Protopapas' Flickr.

"Early 1970's Polo Bike"

I stole the scan from Chainthug.

Bicycle Messengers of San Francisco 1995

Awesome photo gallery from Richard Todd, w/ lots more photos HERE.

These photos are apparently all from 1995 and if that is true, especially the guy above was so much ahead of his time that it just blows my mind, or maybe this just proves that everything goes around in circles.

OT: Cycling History Lesson - Klunking

Major Taylor Movie Trailer

See more here.

Bike Polo? Old News // Helsinki 1906

Via Cycling 'n' Sh*t:

"I found an old bike polo pic in a book from 1906, Idrotten i Finlad (Sports in Finland) by Ivar Wilskman. The picture shows a game of polo in the Kaisaniemi park in Helsinki (Helsingfors Velocipedklubb)."

Talking about the tradition!

Maglia Nera

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Maglia Nera

The "Maglia Nera" was a black jersey awarded as a symbolic prize in cycling competition at the Giro d'Italia, given to the last man to finish the race. It was allocated between 1946 and 1951.

There was real competition to win this particular jersey. Especially noted are the struggles between Sante Carollo and Luigi Malabrocca, to see whom could waste the most time. Each tried to lose more time than the other by hiding in bars, barns, and behind hedges, or even by puncturing their own wheels. In 1948 the honor was awarded to the Tuscan Aldo Bini, who according to some journalists and fans of the time, stubbornly continued the race until the end, despite a broken right hand suffered in a mass crash, and the suffering that especially in the mountain stages forced him to get off the bike and push it uphill. The special ability of the black jersey was, in addition to not being "discovered", to reach the finish directly within the maximum time.

The term "maglia nera" was later used in other contexts to indicate the bottom club in a league, often giving it a negative connotation.

In 2008 a similar "black number" was introduced, won by Markus Eichler of Team Milram."

Victorian Cycles: Wheels of Change

Early Bicycle History in Denver from Jim Kellett on Vimeo.


Trailer for Jim Kellett's documentary Victorian Cycles: Wheels of Change.

Via Lockedcog.com.

Fausto Coppi & Gino Bartali

Fausto Rode a Conversion?

I'm not the biggest fan of road bike conversions, real track bikes and all that, but what the hell? See the pic (click to make it bigger), Fausto Coppi, The King of Kings, rode a Biachi road bike conversion on the the boards... ?!

From G.S.Guccilife.

Summer Reading: Bicycle Books

Ok guys, it's my summer vacation time and I'll be gone and offline for a while now but in the meantime I'll leave you this LINK behind which you'll find all these great books as PDF-documents. Nice, eh?

Ride Hard, and Ride Safe!

More interesting PDF-books about bicycles.

Some Vintage Eastern European Cycling Video Weirdness

They're riding on a Velodrome in the beginning, they have a totally strange selection of bikes and it only gets stranger after that... plenty of recumbents, tandems, mini-bikes and tall bikes and pretty much everything in between. Plus a bunch of bike types the history has forgotten, thank God. 

And this is apparently from former Checkoslovakia, maybe?

First Fixed Gear Hipsters, circa 1880?

Were these guys the first fixed gear hipsters? Fausto Coppi was cool way back in 1950s but these dudes had the steez already in 1880s or so. 

How come? Because they had:

1.) Steel frame

2.) Brooks type leather saddle

3.) Fixed gear

4.) Pseudo moustache/pseudo riser bars

5.) Leather belts from which to stick their kryptonite minis

6.) No brakes

7.) No foot retention 

9.) White tyres

Look here for more debate...

Fausto Coppi presents Fashion Tips - Again

Still remember when I blogged about Fausto Coppi? Despite being very likely THE greatest cyclist ever known, he was also true hipster forefather (see pic below...) and the picture above proves this even further. 

The picture depicts is of Fausto, his brother Serse (who very sadly died young in 1951 in after falling mid-sprint during the Giro del Piemonte) and some other dudes out on a leisurely training ride. 

Take note, all yo'all fixie hipsters out there!

Now, if only roadies todat would dress like that instead of all that scary spandex kit... 

The Fixie Hipster Forefather: Fausto Coppi

I've talked about the fixie riding hipsters here before, here and here, right? Then my friend Giac returned from his holiday in NYC last week and told me yesterday that the image of Williamsburg filled with cool hipsters walking around there with a fixed gear bike as a mere fashion accessory is actually true. I'd been wondering about this but I trust him. 

Well, I've also been thinking about how we need to go back, back in time to look for the roots of the connection between the fixed gear and track bikes and the hipsters and right at that moment I found a pic above posted onto London Fixed Gear Single Speed forum by Motman, Thanks!

It's the legendary Italian cyclist hero & icon Mr. Fausto Coppi himself, showing how it was done, way back in Paris in 1952 and in on the Velodrome (Parc Aux Prices, maybe, who knows?). Everyone knows that Italians do it better but Fausto's beatnik-hipster style is just pure magic. 

Also, the pic promts a question: will turning your drop handlebars upside be the next hipster trend?