Pictures of Bicycles
December 10, 2007 12:54 AM Subscribe
Pictures of bicycles. And previously.
Please be advised, there some pictures of girls that might be considered Not Work-Safe, but mostly just lots and lots of really sexy bicycles.
Fixies are now officially mainstream, as evidenced by this Youtube parody.
posted by Crusty at 2:19 AM on December 10, 2007 [4 favorites]
posted by Crusty at 2:19 AM on December 10, 2007 [4 favorites]
"Not Work-Safe"? What, are we afraid that the Fark Police are looking?
posted by spiderwire at 2:50 AM on December 10, 2007
posted by spiderwire at 2:50 AM on December 10, 2007
Fark Police? Fark Police? Oh, right, the trademark-thing, right. Yeah. No. I just don't like the acronym NSFW, and there isn't really any porn in there. Some people work in more restrictive environments though, so I thought I'd mention it.
This blog has photos of Plate Fork Crowns. I have no idea why they are special, but some are very attractive.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:20 AM on December 10, 2007
This blog has photos of Plate Fork Crowns. I have no idea why they are special, but some are very attractive.
posted by From Bklyn at 3:20 AM on December 10, 2007
Being the proud owner of a vietnames soldered, double suspension balls preserving, 15 kg very testosteroney MTB that moonlights as deadweight at the local gym....
...I am livid with envy for these light, oh-so-carbon-light weighing, sexy looking cycles that wouldn't look bad on a Paris catwalk.
It's cycle porn @!
posted by elpapacito at 4:20 AM on December 10, 2007
...I am livid with envy for these light, oh-so-carbon-light weighing, sexy looking cycles that wouldn't look bad on a Paris catwalk.
It's cycle porn @!
posted by elpapacito at 4:20 AM on December 10, 2007
I've always found cycle porn fascinating. The aesthetics are undeniable but unless you are racing or a cycle courier it seems so counter productive to radically increase the efficiency of a form of exercise particularly when you are at the same time undermining the efficiency by going fixed.
posted by srboisvert at 4:31 AM on December 10, 2007
posted by srboisvert at 4:31 AM on December 10, 2007
Mmm filigreed steel.
posted by YouRebelScum at 5:07 AM on December 10, 2007
posted by YouRebelScum at 5:07 AM on December 10, 2007
Wife and I bought vintage bikes when we got the UK.
Late 1950's BSA for me and a 1960's Raleigh for her.
Pig iron, rust, steel, 3 gears in the wheel. That's all you need.
They look like someone ran them over with a truck and set them on fire but they still have all the cool intricate work bits.. Just under a nice protective coating of rust.
So I appreciate this site.
posted by Lord_Pall at 5:18 AM on December 10, 2007
Late 1950's BSA for me and a 1960's Raleigh for her.
Pig iron, rust, steel, 3 gears in the wheel. That's all you need.
They look like someone ran them over with a truck and set them on fire but they still have all the cool intricate work bits.. Just under a nice protective coating of rust.
So I appreciate this site.
posted by Lord_Pall at 5:18 AM on December 10, 2007
Fixed gear: When functionality loses out over something with more "soul". See also Crusty's video.
posted by Big_B at 7:58 AM on December 10, 2007
posted by Big_B at 7:58 AM on December 10, 2007
Someone always messes up a good gear porn thread with dumb links to oogling girls. It's like some people can't possibly get it through their head that the word "porn" doesn't always have to include nude or semi-nude women and they add some in just to make themselves feel better.
There are some fine, fine track bikes on that forum thread (I love the painted deep-V rims) but the "hey everyone here's a girl in her underwear ON A BIKE" photos are really fucking dumb and take away from the actual nice bike photos.
posted by mathowie at 11:23 AM on December 10, 2007
There are some fine, fine track bikes on that forum thread (I love the painted deep-V rims) but the "hey everyone here's a girl in her underwear ON A BIKE" photos are really fucking dumb and take away from the actual nice bike photos.
posted by mathowie at 11:23 AM on December 10, 2007
I like this post just because I've never seen a frame as Hott as that Moyer! Now I have to figure out which organ I'm going to sell next to afford one.
you need the bikeporn tag, Bklyn
posted by a_green_man at 11:24 AM on December 10, 2007
you need the bikeporn tag, Bklyn
posted by a_green_man at 11:24 AM on December 10, 2007
I used to join in the chorus of fixed-gear scoffing until I read this article by Sheldon Brown. (Ack! There's a gory picture of mangled fingers if you click his "Fixed Gear for the Road" link.) Now I'm planning to build my own this winter.
posted by hydrophonic at 11:44 AM on December 10, 2007
posted by hydrophonic at 11:44 AM on December 10, 2007
Alomst at the bottom of this page. There's a bike called a "Bilenky 'Hetchins Tribute'" Track bike. I'd like to suggest that it too is quite attractive.
posted by From Bklyn at 11:54 AM on December 10, 2007
posted by From Bklyn at 11:54 AM on December 10, 2007
Almost spelled it all correctly too, alomst alomst...
+BikePorn
posted by From Bklyn at 11:59 AM on December 10, 2007
+BikePorn
posted by From Bklyn at 11:59 AM on December 10, 2007
Yeah, that Moyer is out of control.
I've never played the MeFi Scrooge before, but Jesus am I fed up with the unthinking hipness of track bicycles these days.
These guys know far more about which frame which builder made on which island of Japan in 1974, no doubt, but what's it worth?
For ego jousting and spending trust fund money on new NJS parts (approved for racing in Japan by one of the most exacting organizations in the world) that are only going to be ridden around and muddied up on the streets of Williamsburg or the Mission. But at least somebody will see them go by and think, "that Moyer is out of control."
AHHH!
In my hometown, they're actually starting to come down to the local velodrome where we've been racing for decades on bikes that may/may not be "out of control," and that's exciting. New faces at the track are exciting. Competition. Building a beautiful bike because of a connection to the parts and history and because you think it will make you beat that guy who edged you in that match sprint.
But man, am I tired of the kids who ride these bikes to joust with one another, smoke cigarettes, talk about Deerhoof, and do what the cool kids do. And who manufacture reasons for doing it, as in the video, "a connection to the bike." Just say it: "because I saw them locked in front of Ritual Coffee."
Is this all the bitter, spiteful rage of a hypocrite? Why am I troubling myself with the decisions of others? I do these things too. I'm ranting at nothing. The track was mine own, and now it's the Next Big Thing. Big deal, right? Probably not, but I'm just tired of those godforsaken mustaches.
posted by coolhappysteve at 12:12 PM on December 10, 2007 [1 favorite]
I've never played the MeFi Scrooge before, but Jesus am I fed up with the unthinking hipness of track bicycles these days.
These guys know far more about which frame which builder made on which island of Japan in 1974, no doubt, but what's it worth?
For ego jousting and spending trust fund money on new NJS parts (approved for racing in Japan by one of the most exacting organizations in the world) that are only going to be ridden around and muddied up on the streets of Williamsburg or the Mission. But at least somebody will see them go by and think, "that Moyer is out of control."
AHHH!
In my hometown, they're actually starting to come down to the local velodrome where we've been racing for decades on bikes that may/may not be "out of control," and that's exciting. New faces at the track are exciting. Competition. Building a beautiful bike because of a connection to the parts and history and because you think it will make you beat that guy who edged you in that match sprint.
But man, am I tired of the kids who ride these bikes to joust with one another, smoke cigarettes, talk about Deerhoof, and do what the cool kids do. And who manufacture reasons for doing it, as in the video, "a connection to the bike." Just say it: "because I saw them locked in front of Ritual Coffee."
Is this all the bitter, spiteful rage of a hypocrite? Why am I troubling myself with the decisions of others? I do these things too. I'm ranting at nothing. The track was mine own, and now it's the Next Big Thing. Big deal, right? Probably not, but I'm just tired of those godforsaken mustaches.
posted by coolhappysteve at 12:12 PM on December 10, 2007 [1 favorite]
Anti-eponysterical!
posted by hydrophonic at 12:30 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by hydrophonic at 12:30 PM on December 10, 2007
I've never played the MeFi Scrooge before, but...
coolhappysteve is neither cool nor happy. *waggles hand* Discuss.
Tawk amongst yourselves. I'm a little verklempt.
posted by sdodd at 12:31 PM on December 10, 2007
coolhappysteve is neither cool nor happy. *waggles hand* Discuss.
Tawk amongst yourselves. I'm a little verklempt.
posted by sdodd at 12:31 PM on December 10, 2007
In my defense, hydrophonic, I had to look up the spelling of "verklempt." Took me awhile.
posted by sdodd at 12:33 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by sdodd at 12:33 PM on December 10, 2007
Well, I had to look up the spelling of "eponysterical."
And coolhappysteve, I'm with you on the mustaches.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:40 PM on December 10, 2007
And coolhappysteve, I'm with you on the mustaches.
posted by hydrophonic at 12:40 PM on December 10, 2007
Uh, coolhappysteve, Moyer is a company out of Austin. One guy, really. I knew nothing about them before seeing the pictures of the lugs on that thing, which are, indeed, beautiful.
I understand some of the pique, but is it really all that bad? Sweet bikes are sweet bikes. A bike on which a lot of money is spent for racing is no better than one one which a lot of money is spent for riding to a show, and neither one buys groceries for a starving family, so maybe a bit of perspective is in order.
posted by OmieWise at 12:44 PM on December 10, 2007
I understand some of the pique, but is it really all that bad? Sweet bikes are sweet bikes. A bike on which a lot of money is spent for racing is no better than one one which a lot of money is spent for riding to a show, and neither one buys groceries for a starving family, so maybe a bit of perspective is in order.
posted by OmieWise at 12:44 PM on December 10, 2007
Hey now, I still think I'm pretty cool, at least.
posted by coolhappysteve at 12:45 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by coolhappysteve at 12:45 PM on December 10, 2007
Someone always messes up a good gear porn thread with dumb links to oogling girls. It's like some people can't possibly get it through their head that the word "porn" doesn't always have to include nude or semi-nude women and they add some in just to make themselves feel better.
You know Matt, with enough "INVISIBLE BIKE" macros, all porn can be gear porn.
posted by spiderwire at 1:50 PM on December 10, 2007 [1 favorite]
You know Matt, with enough "INVISIBLE BIKE" macros, all porn can be gear porn.
posted by spiderwire at 1:50 PM on December 10, 2007 [1 favorite]
Coolhappysteve I feel ya, but at the same time...It's always easy to hate the cool kids, but they'll be on to something else soon enough. And maybe one or two of them will take it seriously after a while. keep riding. TZhrow of the chains of trendy consumerist opression and love his bike for what it is...a bike.
The way I see it if one form of consumerism trumps another form, maybe it's for the best. A few years back some of my friends got way too into bikes, but they went the other route. Their bikes looked more like robots than bikes, and somehow they got the idea that it was ok to dress like a trip to the store was the Tour de France. It got so bad I had to shame one guy by referring to him as Lance. Something about bikes makes a certain type of person go too far. At least the current crop of fixed gear fans dont wear spandex in public.
I do realize that my aesthetic preferences are my own, but I really do believe that if more people see the advantage and beauty of a regular no-frills bicycle, maybe more people will ride them. If the current trendiness means I get to see more bikes that look like this on the street than these monstrosities, then hooray for hipsters!
I get compliments on my bike all the time. The other day, I had a 70 year old lady ask me if she could touch it because it was so pretty. My bike isn't really all that distinctive looking, but it is just a bike. no bells, no whistles, no carbon-fiber, suspension, shifters and gears, doohickeys and gee gaws. When you look at it, you see the bike. And it is a joy to ride. And I do ride it. Before the weather turned so frosty I was up to 100 miles a week, and I've dropped almost 30 pounds in the past year.
The other thing that I don't understand is the polarization between fixed gears, and everything but the kitchen sink high tech multi-speed road bikes. There is a lot of middle ground. There are lots of reasons besides trendiness or track racing to ride a simpler bicycle. I personally don't think fixed-gear riding is a safe option for riding in NYC, but gears aren't really necessary as the terrain is essentially flat. My previous bike was a 3-speed, which I found to be overkill. My current bike is a really simple single speed (freewheel). It's also great not having too many extra cables and derailleurs hanging off the bike when carrying it around or locking it up. Living in the bike theft capital of the world means you carry your bike a lot, and I'm happy to have a super light bike.
Sure, some of the trendy top-tubed, bubblegum colored hipster bikes are annoying, but the people who own those bikes are annoying in general. Everything they touch becomes a mockery of itself. The current crop of ironic hipsters are a lot like the Hare Krishnas. They just show up one day oddly dressed and annoying everyone in a 40 foot radius. Noone knows why they convert, or if they even realize how silly they are. I just figure if you ignore them long enough, they'll go bother someone else.
But if you want some top-notch hipster bike hatin...check out the Bikesnob He's funnier at it and thoroughly dedicated.
posted by billyfleetwood at 2:53 PM on December 10, 2007
The way I see it if one form of consumerism trumps another form, maybe it's for the best. A few years back some of my friends got way too into bikes, but they went the other route. Their bikes looked more like robots than bikes, and somehow they got the idea that it was ok to dress like a trip to the store was the Tour de France. It got so bad I had to shame one guy by referring to him as Lance. Something about bikes makes a certain type of person go too far. At least the current crop of fixed gear fans dont wear spandex in public.
I do realize that my aesthetic preferences are my own, but I really do believe that if more people see the advantage and beauty of a regular no-frills bicycle, maybe more people will ride them. If the current trendiness means I get to see more bikes that look like this on the street than these monstrosities, then hooray for hipsters!
I get compliments on my bike all the time. The other day, I had a 70 year old lady ask me if she could touch it because it was so pretty. My bike isn't really all that distinctive looking, but it is just a bike. no bells, no whistles, no carbon-fiber, suspension, shifters and gears, doohickeys and gee gaws. When you look at it, you see the bike. And it is a joy to ride. And I do ride it. Before the weather turned so frosty I was up to 100 miles a week, and I've dropped almost 30 pounds in the past year.
The other thing that I don't understand is the polarization between fixed gears, and everything but the kitchen sink high tech multi-speed road bikes. There is a lot of middle ground. There are lots of reasons besides trendiness or track racing to ride a simpler bicycle. I personally don't think fixed-gear riding is a safe option for riding in NYC, but gears aren't really necessary as the terrain is essentially flat. My previous bike was a 3-speed, which I found to be overkill. My current bike is a really simple single speed (freewheel). It's also great not having too many extra cables and derailleurs hanging off the bike when carrying it around or locking it up. Living in the bike theft capital of the world means you carry your bike a lot, and I'm happy to have a super light bike.
Sure, some of the trendy top-tubed, bubblegum colored hipster bikes are annoying, but the people who own those bikes are annoying in general. Everything they touch becomes a mockery of itself. The current crop of ironic hipsters are a lot like the Hare Krishnas. They just show up one day oddly dressed and annoying everyone in a 40 foot radius. Noone knows why they convert, or if they even realize how silly they are. I just figure if you ignore them long enough, they'll go bother someone else.
But if you want some top-notch hipster bike hatin...check out the Bikesnob He's funnier at it and thoroughly dedicated.
posted by billyfleetwood at 2:53 PM on December 10, 2007
by "funnier at it" I mean funnier than I am.
posted by billyfleetwood at 3:11 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by billyfleetwood at 3:11 PM on December 10, 2007
Seconding the BikesnobNYC, I just sent him an email referring to that hilarious FIX PUSH video.
posted by blasdelf at 3:52 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by blasdelf at 3:52 PM on December 10, 2007
Seconding billyfleetwood. I can't comprehend using a bike without brakes in New York, so my "fixie" has 'em, but it's great to have a bike with no gears to steal.
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 8:41 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by foxy_hedgehog at 8:41 PM on December 10, 2007
Hey coolhappysteve give me break. A pretty bike is a pretty bike. Doesn't mean I've got the $$ to own it. That Moyer is lovely.
posted by Skygazer at 10:35 PM on December 10, 2007
posted by Skygazer at 10:35 PM on December 10, 2007
The FGG forum has some top-notch bike geeks knocking around, and they've guided me through my share of builds. I post there as well.
I'm not real crazy about the whole BikeSnob, scoffing-at-hipsters phenomenon. I'm not a big fan of the hipster trend-train either, but if the trend gets more people riding bikes, showing up for critical mass rides, and serving as advocates for biking culture, than so be it. I started mountain biking in high school, and now bike commute every day, and have for the past couple years. I ride fixed gears because they don't break, because they're simple, and because they're fun.
I am a fan of brakes though.
posted by craven_morhead at 6:59 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
I'm not real crazy about the whole BikeSnob, scoffing-at-hipsters phenomenon. I'm not a big fan of the hipster trend-train either, but if the trend gets more people riding bikes, showing up for critical mass rides, and serving as advocates for biking culture, than so be it. I started mountain biking in high school, and now bike commute every day, and have for the past couple years. I ride fixed gears because they don't break, because they're simple, and because they're fun.
I am a fan of brakes though.
posted by craven_morhead at 6:59 AM on December 11, 2007 [1 favorite]
I meant no harm, Skygazer, and love pretty bikes as much as the next guy.
billyfleetwood, I snap to all of your thoughtful comments. It's interesting what you say about simple, clean bikes being such a novel sight: I race on a mean-looking Rock Lobster with beautifully matched components, so when people compliment my muddy, taped-up, Taiwanese (or what-have-you) manufactured Bianchi Pista that I ride around the city, I'm always caught off guard. But yes: fewer Y-frames with backwards forks assembled haphazardly at Costco is not only aesthetically pleasing, but probably safer, too.
(Although, when you talk Hare Krishnas, I live not far from Santa Cruz - which they never left - so I'm not particularly heartened.)
posted by coolhappysteve at 2:20 PM on December 12, 2007
billyfleetwood, I snap to all of your thoughtful comments. It's interesting what you say about simple, clean bikes being such a novel sight: I race on a mean-looking Rock Lobster with beautifully matched components, so when people compliment my muddy, taped-up, Taiwanese (or what-have-you) manufactured Bianchi Pista that I ride around the city, I'm always caught off guard. But yes: fewer Y-frames with backwards forks assembled haphazardly at Costco is not only aesthetically pleasing, but probably safer, too.
(Although, when you talk Hare Krishnas, I live not far from Santa Cruz - which they never left - so I'm not particularly heartened.)
posted by coolhappysteve at 2:20 PM on December 12, 2007
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posted by flapjax at midnite at 1:15 AM on December 10, 2007