VA-LO:VE-LO

Daphny Van den Brand

2012-01-23T20:45:00.001+02:00

Daphny Van den Brand, originally uploaded by kristof ramon.

Chris Akrigg back on the bike

2012-01-23T19:42:00.000+02:00

Step by step from chris akrigg on Vimeo.

Moss rules.

Heaven and Hell

2012-01-19T22:48:00.000+02:00

Yesterday, Heaven.

Today, Hell.

The road to the Olympic Games

2012-01-13T22:15:00.000+02:00

The womens road cycling event at the London Olympic Games will be interesting. It is likely that Pia Sundstedt will be the first ever Finnish woman to qualify. She needs to be among the top 100 in the UCI ranking on May 31, 2012.

UCI Qualification system:

"Each NOC with an athlete among the first 100 in the UCI world individual ranking of 31.05.2012 will receive one place."

Here is the development of Pia Sundstedt's UCI points and ranking, currently #82. The red line shows the UCI ranking (left) and the blue line the UCI points (right). The black dots show the points earned on the actual dates when the races were held. Read all about the races at Pia's blog.

Winter Training - Christophe Le Mével

2012-01-11T23:55:00.001+02:00

I wish winter training in Helsinki would look like that.

Cav's secret weapon

2012-01-11T00:01:00.000+02:00

Check out Cav's #makeitcount video.

Cav is sure to win a few sprints with those pedals. With gear like that even I would earn the stripes. Cheap plastic pedals in an ad by NIKE featuring the World Champion, somewhat disappointing.

This is the line

2012-01-10T23:25:00.002+02:00

Some cool stuff from Kristof Ramon's Instagram.

The text on the top tube of the Team Sky Pinarello bikes.

Super sweet, a Fizik Arione World Champion saddle.

At the CXVSM - take two

2012-01-07T23:49:00.001+02:00

A few more pics from the CXVSM.

Kari Weselius - Revving it

Looks like a similar setup as I use for riding trails, I mean the front fork (carbon fiber tubes?).

Aki Heinonen - At the finish

Santeri Teerihalme & Kimi - At the finish

Airto Vienola - Last corners

Keeping time - Frozen rhubarb?

At the CXVSM - cornering

2012-01-07T22:38:00.000+02:00

The very unofficial Finnish cyclocross championship was held today (at a proper UCI date) in Kaivoksela. More at the Fillari forum, the dedicated FB page and the Fixed Gear Blog. Not much mud, but snow and ice. Below a selection of different cornering styles (pics by me). It seems that the speedway style was the preferred one.

Jussi Kulonpalo & Tuomo Telama

Emilia Lajunen

Juho Lahti

Airto Vienola

Aki Heinonen

Mikko Sten

Matero

Bruce Wayne

I will load these and the rest to my Flickr ASAP. I arrived late so I did not have time to go around the track to find good spots, so most pics are from the same corner. Not very creative, but maybe next time... Results here.

@MARKCAVENDISH #MAKEITCOUNT

2012-01-06T12:26:00.001+02:00

My favourite sprinter. Found the ad at Creative Review, via ZLOG.

Tweaked my blog design

2012-01-04T23:04:00.000+02:00

The last couple of days I tweaked the design of my blog. Wanted to have a fresher and lighter look, instead of the previous black on black design. Overall I wanted to have less widgets and stuff. Originally I planned to put up a flash based portfolio, but it would be too much work to maintain all the different sites so I decided to stick with my Flickr.

I also sort of changed the name of the blog, from cYcLiNG`n´SH*T to VA-LO:VE-LO. Valo is Finnish and means light, I would obviously like to do some more photography in the future. But otherwise it is the same shit in a different package. Everything is not exactly as I would like it, but good enough considering I did it on a HP Mini in a couple of afternoons.

On the trails

2012-01-02T15:47:00.002+02:00

First ride this year.

Nice with some snow for a change.

A bit difficult with all the fallen trees, Boxing Day storm damage.

Happy New Year 2012!

2011-12-31T18:28:00.000+02:00

8778 km during 2011, hoping to do a few more in 2012.

Daphny Van Den Brand on the bump run

2011-12-29T10:09:00.001+02:00

Daphny Van Den Brand on the bump run, originally uploaded by kristof ramon.

Intense. GvA Azencross Loenhout 2011. Check out the rest at Kristof Ramon's Flickr.

snow and mud at Namur

2011-12-28T18:19:00.001+02:00

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

Boonen going for green?

2011-12-28T15:11:00.002+02:00

Photo: Tim de Waele/TDW Sport

Tom Boonen with his new glasses for the 2012 season.

Thijs van Amerongen reflected

2011-12-27T23:50:00.001+02:00

Thijs van Amerongen reflected, originally uploaded by kristof ramon.

Via Flickr:
World Cup Heusden-Zolder 2011

Cool!

Freddie Merckx

2011-12-22T22:31:00.001+02:00

via tracko.

A fitting pair for Charly Wegelius' tweet from yesterday.

Monte Bondone 1956

2011-12-19T22:05:00.001+02:00

Charly Gaul on Monte Bondone, Giro d’Italia 1956.
From GdI’s twitter.

GvA Trofee Rouwmoer

2011-12-18T13:22:00.000+02:00

Check out the sprockets!

Aah, cyclocross women

Photos: Balint Hamvas (cyclingphotos.co.uk)

I have always wondered about the aerowheels in the mud.

running water alarmclock

2011-12-18T00:44:00.000+02:00

Crescent helracer Nr70

2011-12-17T23:42:00.000+02:00

This stuff is already a couple of months old, but it was only today that I had the chance to read the Mobilisti magazine (6/2011). The cover story was about a restorated Crescent helracer from 1935, a Swedish made racing bike. It went from this

to this.

Some additional pics here, and at the build thread. Nice, to say the least! Would not mind having that bike...

I noticed that I also was able to contribute a little bit to the story. They had pulled a photo from one of my blogs, the book cover below (there are some spots on the cover).

More info on this book on my other blog (in Swedish).

Below are some scans from a catalogue from 1938, contains info on basically the same bike as the restored one. The following year the models were updated (will maybe post something on that later). In 1939 there was model Hellberg N:o 1B that was a track bike for the 1940 Olympic games that were supposed to be held in Helsinki. The games were cancelled due to the WWII. The velodrome that was built then is still used. The games were held in 1952.

teaser shot

2011-12-17T22:35:00.000+02:00

Teaser Shot from Lung Animation on Vimeo.

la concurrence

2011-12-16T18:53:00.001+02:00

check out the rest at guilherme's flickr.

via milanofixed.

little things

2011-12-14T22:36:00.002+02:00

Little Things - Bike + Tools from Ryan Alexander Lloyd on Vimeo.

rock'n'rollo

2011-12-14T22:23:00.000+02:00

from FixaCWB.

retro racing

2011-12-14T20:25:00.000+02:00

A Finnish L'Eroica. More here and here.

a wide line

2011-12-08T20:30:00.001+02:00

via Milano Fixed.

my next bike is a cyclocross

2011-12-05T15:44:00.001+02:00

from here.

cycling is great!

2011-12-02T21:35:00.001+02:00

via tracko.

Finnpower

2011-12-01T21:08:00.001+02:00

A new Finnish bike was revealed today. Both name and frame are quite retro.

The frame seems quite high, but I newer cared much for mountain bikes anyway. This one can be yours for 8000€.

Someone doing a faceplant headslide combo.

FG Moscow минидроме

2011-11-24T21:08:00.001+02:00

from here

The summer is over

2011-11-21T00:01:00.001+02:00

Switched to winter tires today, 240 studs/tire. Should have checked the forecast though, it seems to become warmer again.

ratamies

2011-11-18T22:28:00.001+02:00

This posting is for readers who know Finnish. The text contains track cycling training tips published in 1939. Click on the scans for hires ones.

The scans are from a booklet promoting Raul Hellbergs bicycle shops (pyöräkirja = bicycle book). Raul Hellberg was the undisputed cycling champion in Finland of his time, with 24 Finnish championships and two Nordic championships.

Back in the days Hellberg also organized a cycling competition in Porvoo that is still held every year. The legend tells that he organized it so that the second prize was the best one, he knew he would win and he wanted the others to race for second. A nice guy.

ride like royalty

2011-11-15T21:06:00.001+02:00

No, this is not about Pippas ass...

It is a Finnish ad from 1939 for the Nokia King tire. Yes, Nokia was around already in the 1930's. Here is a rough translation.

"A Royal vehicle this is - my bicycle...

No wonder, since it is fitted with Nokia King tires. They are especially tough, as they are constructed with an elastic layer beneath the strong and durable tread. Thus the King tire has a 'Royal lifetime'. The King tire turns your bike into a Royal vehicle...

The most expensive (!) domestic bicycle tire

Ride like Royalty, choose the Nokia King tire for your bicycle"

See more Nokia bicycle tire ads here.

The Holy Grail of Finnish cycling history

2011-11-13T00:01:00.000+02:00

Something interesting that I came by some time ago. I have heard rumors about the existence of this, but I have never seen it before. The Holy Grail of Finnish cycling history.

Helsingfors Velociped Klubbs Marsch för piano av Harald Hedman, printed in 1897. Probably does not require translation, but it is the Helsingfors (Helsinki) Cycling Club's March for piano by Harald Hedman. Printed about 114 years ago, 20 years before Finland gained independence. Very nice details on the front page.

The back side is full of ads, mainly for bicycle (velocipede) shops. There are also ads for pyrotechnics, photography, tobacco and spirits. Cycling and photography were obviously interesting novelties at that time. The ad at the bottom says "we keep in store an excellent cognac, imported especially for cyclists (!) from the renowned company MENKOV & Co. in the town of Cognac". Cool.

The first lines of the HVK march. I should try to find a recording of this, or someone who can play the piano.

guts

2011-11-12T23:12:00.001+02:00

Trapinka from Lina Jelanski on Vimeo.

please go over there

2011-11-12T22:28:00.001+02:00

Newcastle Fixed Gear Trailer from Mr. T on Vimeo.

oh sht fck sht!

bicycle tools #1 - pedal wrench

2011-11-12T16:48:00.001+02:00

A drop forged pedal wrench, probably manufactured in the 1950's. The length is 400 mm. Both ends are 17 mm, not much use for it today as most pedals are 15 mm. Not that I am going to use it any way, a tool collectors item. The model was produced already in the 1930's, maybe even earlier. The original cardboard casing has been preserved, how cool is that! Sweet!

Bahco #376. Bahco Specialloy, this marking was probably used in the 1950's. Adjustable spanners (or wrenches) from the same period were marked V-STEEL, I think.

Bahco is (or was) a Swedish company, well known for high quality tools. The trademark still exists, but the company is now a part of Snap-on inc.

Berndt August Hjorth (B. A. H. & Co.) was actually from Finland. Finland was still a part of Russia in the late 19th century when he moved to Sweden.

A drop forged adjustable bicycle wrench, Bahco no 15 (6"). Manufactured from 1928 to the 1940's. These were made in large numbers and are fairly abundant still today. Back then they were supplied with high quality bikes.

A copy from an old tool catalogue. The pedal wrench #376 is missing from the table, maybe there was not much demand for that model (17mm/17mm).

If you happen to have other Bahco bicycle tools, and you are willing to part with them, please contact me.

chill.and.go.III

2011-11-12T13:37:00.001+02:00

Check out the rest of the cool hypnotic flyers at mexicofixed.com.

The flat

2011-11-12T10:53:00.001+02:00

The flat. Vita Di Milano.

Tweed Run

2011-11-11T23:19:00.001+02:00

Tweed Run now also i NY, report by Jen from BFF.

Cycling vs. Porn

2011-11-11T21:24:00.001+02:00

I used the Google Analytics to look at the geographical distribution of the visitors on my blog.

Top ten countries are:
United States
Finland
United Kingdom
Germany
Japan
Canada
Indonesia
Australia
Chile
Italy

Thanks!

There are even visitors from Greenland! Some white spots still remain, I assume some of those countries probably have very limited internet connections. One white area on the map is Papua New Guinea (black arrow). I wondered what they are interested in, obviously not cycling. I did some quick searches with Google Insight for Search.

Well, ... above is the regional interest of the search term "porn". Don't know how Google calculates the interest index.

Top ten "porn googlers" of the World are:

Papua New Guinea, 100

Trinidad and Tobago, 66

United Kingdom, 56

Zimbabwe, 54

Zambia, 53

Pakistan, 52

Ireland, 52

Kenya, 50

India, 48

Malawi, 48

Keep on choking the chicken!

Porvoo-Murmansk

2011-11-10T19:26:00.004+02:00

How did I miss this... spotted it at Tracko. I was born there, in Porvoo not Murmansk.

Porvoo-Murmansk 2011 from Lina Jelanski on Vimeo.

rain, wind, snow, tears & joy!

2011-11-09T19:54:00.000+02:00

Giro d'Italia 2012 - The promo / Il promo by giroditaliaweb.

The 95th edition will start in Denmark!

World Championships womens TT

2011-09-20T19:16:00.000+03:00

Judith Arndt won gold today in Copenhagen.

Photo: GETTY IMAGES

I was however mostly interested in the performance of Pia Sundstedt. She has been competing in mountain biking for the last nine years or so, currently ranked #2 in the marathon category by UCI. Pia finished 20th in the TT today, two minutes behind the winner.

Her goal is to qualify for the London Olympics. Quite confident she will. She would be the first Finnish woman to take part in the Olympic road cycling event, cool!

Tour de Helsinki

2011-09-06T22:58:00.001+03:00

Did the local tour on Sunday, 140 km. The weather was great and around 2000 cyclists showed up. I rode in a huge bunch, which made it an easy Sunday ride. Only the last 20 km, or so, was racing. The start was just beside the Helsinki velodrome. For the first 11 km all 2000 riders went slowly behind a lead car. I rode with a bunch going for an average speed of 32 km/h. The finish was actually at the velodrome, which was cool.

Some previous postings about the velodrome (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).

Sweet summer

2011-07-09T00:13:00.002+03:00

My five weeks summer vacation started today.

Katy at the FixFixFix.

Freshjive Moving Pictures - Bicycle Seat from freshjive on Vimeo.

Haha!

Takhion replica

2011-07-09T00:13:00.001+03:00

Started sweating while looking at these photos, not sure what that means.

More at ollierkkilä.

I had something on the Takhion earlier.

BICYCLE FILM FESTIVAL: CALL FOR ENTRIES

2011-02-23T00:00:00.000+02:00

Got an email from Danae at the BFF headquarters in NY to post this on my blog. Good stuff!

Submission Deadline: April 1

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com

Submissions are now open for the Eleventh Annual Bicycle Film
Festival! The BFF is looking for films with a bike-related theme. Any
style is acceptable: animation, experimental, narrative, documentary
and music videos are all a go.

There is no fee to enter your film, simply download a submission form
from the BFF website, and send a copy of the film to the BFF Head
Office in New York.

The Bicycle Film Festival began in 2001 when Brendt Barbur, founding
director of the festival was hit by a bus while riding his bike in New
York City. He insisted on turning his negative experience into a
positive one. The Bicycle Film Festival is a platform to celebrate
the bicycle through music, art and, of course, film.

The BFF travels to over 25 cities around the world, including Paris,
London, Tokyo, New York -- and Sydney. Last year, more than 225,000
people attended the festival. The BFF is not only a showcase for new
films, but also, includes rock shows, street parties, art shows,
dinners, bike rides and more!

The BFF over the past ten years is proud to be a platform for exposure
for many independent filmmakers and artists, and to show a range of
emerging filmmakers to established artists, including Albert Maysles,
Spike Jonze, Mike Mills, The Neistat Brothers, Michel Gondry, and Tom
Sachs.

The 2011 submission deadline is April 1. Any inquiries please contact Brendan or Jen at:
info@bicyclefilmfestival.com
jen@bicyclefilmfestival.com
brendan@bicyclefilmfestival.com

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com

Making of

2011-02-03T23:08:00.001+02:00

Brass and copper heaven. Lots of cutting, filing and soldering. Seriously cool.

Greifmasters 2 TROPHY making from romabikepolo on Vimeo.

via Berlin fixed.

Nine months to build the bike

2011-01-30T00:27:00.002+02:00

42km/timmen TEASER from Ruben Broman on Vimeo.

Interesting!

Look Ma! No brains!

2011-01-23T22:04:00.000+02:00

via iminlikewithmybike.

Friday tool porn

2011-01-21T23:49:00.000+02:00

You probably all know the Knog folding adjustable wrench. The other one is a Lamson & Sessions (L&S Co) bicycle wrench (#0). The monkey wrench is tiny, only about 5 inches.

Phillips cycle fitments 1935

2011-01-21T22:43:00.002+02:00

from my bookshelf.

Stealing a bike

2011-01-21T21:58:00.010+02:00

Go here and here and you are done.

From Rides A Bike.

From steel

2011-01-21T20:35:00.001+02:00

One of the most enjoyable videos in a long time!

FROM STEEL: The Making of a Soulcraft from michael evans on Vimeo.

via Lockedcog.

Supa knulla roller race

2011-01-21T20:34:00.000+02:00

All you need...

KCR Roller Race Party 2010.12.04, originally uploaded by Hallisar.

seen at KCR.

It's almost like beer, cycling & tits.

78 km/h

2011-01-21T20:24:00.003+02:00

via Flwrider.

Who remembers the c-cassette?

2011-01-21T20:22:00.000+02:00

From residual via fixedgearleeds.

Faster than speed!

2011-01-21T20:17:00.003+02:00

Faster Than Speed from Fixie Vids on Vimeo.

More at yksivaihde.

Why would you ride a bike sober?

2011-01-21T19:44:00.001+02:00

Cool stuff!

via Prolly.

Chromatic mail

2011-01-20T19:23:00.001+02:00

A poster tube arrived in the mail today. As you can see the sender is the office of Ven Gist, San Francisco.

It was of course the chromatic guide to gear ratios. Cool!

BS for today #31 - Eddy Merckx

2011-01-16T16:14:00.005+02:00

As one of the best athletes of all time, Eddy Merckx has deservedly appeared on a number of stamps and sheets.

The first Merckx stamp was issued by Ajman in early 1969. It belongs to a set, Champions of Sport, showing several famous cyclists. Eddy Merckx has the lowest value of the set. The stamps were also issued as sheets of one, shown below. On the same day Manama issued a nearly identical set of stamps and sheets. The postal validity of both the Ajman and Manama stamps are questionable. The stamps were basically printed up and canceled to order, i.e. for collectors. Some Socialist countries used to do the same thing in order to get foreign currency. Maybe the best Merckx stamp anyway.

The stamp shows a stylized cyclist from this Italian Giro stamp from 1967 (different color). It celebrates the 50th Giro d'Italia, held in 1967. Gimondi won and Merckx was 9th overall.

In the upper and lower margins you can see cyclists from a stamp issued by Mexico in 1967 for the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City. Merckx turned pro in 1965 and could not take part (I think).

Cuba issued a stamp in late 1969 showing three cyclists in the 6th Tour of Socialist Cuba (VI Vuelta Ciclistica a Cuba Socialista). One of them is supposedly Eddy Merckx, not sure about that though. It could also be Sergio "Pipian" Martínez, who actually won the 6th tour. The race was in February and the stamp was issued in November. Could not find any information that Merckx would have taken part in the Tour of Cuba. There is a stamp from 1992 showing "Pipian" and I am almost sure that the 1969 stamp also shows him. However, artists quite often draw "generic" cyclists, which of course might look like some famous cyclists of that time.

Ajman again issued four Merckx stamps in 1972. The stamps belong to two sets showing TdF cyclists. On set was printed with silver and one with gold borders. This time Merckx has the highest value of the sets. The stamps were also issued in sheets of 20 (10 different). I don't have any of these.

Let me know if you have any of the stamps I'm missing.

In 1973 Equatorial Guinea issued a set showing stage winners from the 59th edition of Tour de France (1972). The philatelic value of stamps issued by Equatorial Guinea of this time is questionable. Merckx has again the highest value in the set, as appropriate, as he took the over all victory in the 1972 TdF + a bunch of stage wins. There is also a sheet of one showing Merckx and Gimondi, which I don't have. Merckx also won the green jersey in 1972. In this video you can see Merckx giving it to Cyril Guimard who breaks into tears. Merckx seems quite moved also (seen in the video). Guimard had to abandon due to knee problems.

Merckx' bike back then, found here. The burned orange has become a bit too red in the stamp.

The Molteni shirt seems OK. I read somewhere that Molteni produced canned minced meat. Here is Merckx with Ocaña and Poulidor in the 1972 TdF. There is some interesting stuff on YouTube about the battle between Ocaña and Merckx in the 1971 TdF.

In 2010 Belgium issued a stamp to celebrate the 65th birthday of Eddy Merckx. The stamp shows Merckx now and then. Somehow the stamp lacks the greatness that should be there. I don't have this stamp either, pic from here.

Mini also on vimeo

2011-01-16T16:13:00.001+02:00

Red Bull Mini Drome Final London from Tim S on Vimeo.

via Fixed Gear Leeds.

Chris Akrigg wins the mini drome

2011-01-16T15:32:00.002+02:00

What does he not win!

via Fixed Shit Up.

Ouch...

via London Fixed Gear.

Can you ride tandem?

2011-01-16T01:10:00.002+02:00

Simon "Gomok" Andraca - Welcome to the Team O'pignon fixed gear

2011-01-15T13:33:00.001+02:00

Simon "Gomok" Andraca - Welcome to the Team O'pignon fixed gear from Florent Delahaye on Vimeo.

Only in Japan

2011-01-15T11:40:00.000+02:00

via iaminlikewithmybike.

Dedicated to making it awesome!

2011-01-15T02:04:00.001+02:00

This was up at ZLOG. That's how you put together a bike in style! You can newer fool around too much with compressed air...

21st Avenue Bicycles - Family Fun Bike Build! from James Wilson on Vimeo.

Friday tool porn

2011-01-15T00:51:00.035+02:00

I was just going through Flickr to find some nice bicycle tools to post. As it happens Fixed Gear London just put up a post about the LockWhip V2 & some nice photos at their Flickr. The combined chainwhip, 15mm nut wrench and lockring tool looks tempting...

LockWhip™ V2's, originally uploaded by fixedgearlondon.com.

VE/LO/VE

2011-01-13T20:50:00.000+02:00

via mexicofixed.com.

via Fixed Gear Switzerland.

BS for today #30 - Cycling in space

2011-01-12T22:30:00.006+02:00

I don't think anyone actually has done any cycling in space, but I found some stamps showing stationary bikes.

The first four are Soviet stamps, issued in 1980 and 1987. Three of them only show cosmonauts in training, but in the second stamp they are actually in space (Salyut 6 space station). Three of the stamps celebrates the interkosmos space program, which was a Soviet led space program for the socialist countries.

Joint mission with Hungary (Soyuz 36 - May 26, 1980).

Joint mission with Cuba (Soyuz 38 - September 18, 1980). The Salyut 6 space station.

20th anniversary of the Gagarin cosmonaut training centre.

Joint mission with Syria (Soyuz TM-3 - July 22, 1987)

The big rivals in space were of course the Soviet Union and the United States. The Soviets managed to beat US in almost every category except in the most prestigious one, putting a man on the Moon. The US space station Skylab was one of the programs that was not very successful. Skylab was manned for only three short periods in 1973-74. Skylab reentered Earths atmosphere in 1979. The Soviets were first to have a manned space station, but the 1st Skylab crew were the first ones to get back alive.

A funny story found at the Skylab wiki page.

"...The station did not burn up as fast as NASA expected, however. Due to a 4% calculation error, debris landed southeast of Perth, Western Australia... The Shire of Esperance fined the United States $400 for littering, a fine which remained unpaid for 30 years. The fine was paid in April 2009, when radio show host Scott Barley of Highway Radio raised the funds from his morning show listeners and paid the fine on behalf of NASA."

This is a Hungarian sheet of one, issued in 1973, showing the Skylab space station. The members of the 1st (SLM-1) and 2nd (SLM-2) crew are also listed. NASA apparently flew a stationary bike into space, shown in the right margin.

Haha! How fast can you go on a stationary bike. My favorite stationary bike pic ever, by Olli Erkkilä.

Fail or win? Sooner or later you want to get rid of it, in this way you get to have some fun dumping it. Definitely a win.

[SEOUL got SOUL] I am a Mechanic / Part2

2011-01-11T23:16:00.002+02:00

Great, part two!

"My love for bikes has made my career, given me friends and food, but deprived me from dating..."

[SEOUL got SOUL] I am a Mechanic / Part2 from David Jongkwon Kim aka DKshop on Vimeo.

A new velodrome to Helsinki?

2011-01-11T22:58:00.002+02:00

Every now and then there is some talk about building a new velodrome in Helsinki, but so far nothing has happened.

It is a pic from a program for the Helsinki 1952 Olympic games. It says roughly that "The Helsinki velodrome is a fully modern cycling stadium and as such a suitable venue for hosting the Olympic cycling events" but that was printed almost 60 years ago.

Maybe we just need to send around the hat and buy this one, once they have had their fun on it.

Panning

2011-01-11T18:41:00.032+02:00

16th Asian Games - Day 4: Cycling - Track. By Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

Track Cycling Finnish Championships 2008 - Points race. By me.

Build your own bike

2011-01-11T18:16:00.000+02:00

Awesome home built track bike by "Chrobin". Inspired by "the Old Faithful". Read the full story at Fixedgear.se.

Nipples and mashed potatoes

2011-01-11T17:19:00.000+02:00

FIXED GEAR FUN from Sipakorn Kungsapishart on Vimeo.

Polo lady

2011-01-10T18:21:00.000+02:00

via iminlikewithmybike.

Don't give up!

2011-01-10T18:18:00.000+02:00

via Flwrider.

Math at the velodrome

2011-01-09T22:14:00.002+02:00

John and Zach are training at the Helsinki velodrome, which was built for the 1940 Olympic games. As we all know these games were canceled due to WWII. Helsinki instead hosted the games in 1952. The velodrome was designed by Hilding Ekelund in the1930's.

I have a hangover and function as the timekeeper. My job is to keep the riders informed about their lap times around the 400 meter concrete surfaced track. While admiring the functionalist style of the Helsinki velodrome John has time to do some math. He is going around the track a bit faster than Zach and quickly figures out that he would lap Zach every 9th lap, if they would continue at the current speed. However, if they were to ride in opposite directions they would meet every 23rd second. The riders pedal around the track with the same cadence.

1) What is the average speed of the each rider?

2) How many teeth does John and Zach probably have on their cogs? Their bikes have the same wheel size and the same number of teeth on the chain wheels. You can assume they use standard half inch pitch chains, chain wheels and cogs (a long question... but simple to solve).

Tools on the wall

2011-01-09T21:06:00.002+02:00

More or less everyone has already posted this photo by Matt Lingo. A nice set of photos, as usual. I should get my bike tools on the wall. I just don't have a suitable space. Still hesitating putting them on the living room wall. It could look cool, but... maybe not very practical.

Spoke tool flower

2011-01-09T20:04:00.000+02:00

via Flwrider.

Smileyface

2011-01-09T00:46:00.003+02:00

Cool smiley track ends, this is happiness!

via mexicofixed.

Liz Hatch - Every Single Piece of me ...

2011-01-08T19:11:00.001+02:00

Yesterday Vicky, today Liz.

Liz Hatch - Every Single Piece... from Dovydas Augaitis on Vimeo.

via Flwrider.

DONG！DONG！DONG！...

2011-01-08T18:41:00.004+02:00

DONG！DONG！DONG！... from wowonini on Vimeo.

Wheel building

2011-01-08T18:36:00.001+02:00

Wheel building is cool. It is surprisingly easy and very satisfying. I have built a few using the advice given in Jobst Brandt's book "the Bicycle Wheel". I copied a few of the pages to have in my tool box as reference.

Should make a time laps movie some day.

AFFINITY CYCLES x KENZO MINAMI = DIGITIZER from Cinecycle on Vimeo.

If you don't have a proper truing stand you can always improvise.

Seen at the fixedgear.se discussion forum. Seems to be a proper Bahco wrench.