The metoric rise of Danny MacAskill continues with a recent piece in the NY Times. Although sticking to the sort of language traditionally used in mainstream media (‘stunt’ – check, ‘extreme’ – check) it does provide a decent background to anyone outside the group of 13 million people that watched his original YouTube breakout video.
Bristolian photographer Nick Hand, whose work may look familar to Howies customers, recently finished a tour of the UK coast line by bike, stopping off with designers, artisans and various crafts folk along the way. His encounters are reproduced via the soundslide format here and are worth watching for insights from Paul Smith, Freshwest and Aardman amongst others.
Oddest trend of the year to round out the decade?
With cyclocross bikes, especially single-speed variants, becoming increasingly popular as fixture of mass-market product line-ups it’s interesting watching their popularity rise. How they are adopted by a largely urban, cycling-fashion fraternity will be especially interesting; the new track bike if some are to be believed – word on the street is that Charge have one in their proverbial bag for 2010.
Possibly the most bizarre trend in cycling – and there really are quite a few at the moment – is the emergence of mini-velos. These seem to define themselves as hybrid or track frames with 20″ wheels and either fixed or single-speed freewheels.
Perhaps the most visually familiar of these is the Cannondale Hooligan – for some time it’s been a trade stand side-show but has strangely (especially for a brand that’s at the bottom of a very long fall from grace and been dodging bankruptcy for perhaps too long) made it into production:
Whatever strange popularity gauge Flickr is normally able to provide for such trends is bizarrely distorted by somebody’s obsession with tagging the crap out of their Brompton style mini-hybrid which has none of the eccentricity of the mini-velo trend is just plain rubbish!
However appealing these might seem for a blast to shops before disposing of via ghost riding into an oncoming bus (or is that just me?), surely they must be the reserve of the few with a large garage and an even larger wallet?
The best & the worst from the wonderful Ride Journal: Joe Burt’s beautifully detailed pre-ride dress routine and some nonsense about freestyle fixed gear riding being remotely comparable to bmx street riding, something for which the most articulate analogy has yet to be found…
It’s a start, but from a community made up almost entirely of designers it could be a better one!
That’s a) Bristol & b) Lifecycles – news of which has gone quiet of late, more news soon.
Recent discussion of “what’s next for hipsters?” brought about a nostalgia for the old Marin grey matt & neon ways of the early nineties – while Marin have long since been the Vauxhall of the bike industry the memories of the colour schemes live on – and now in more just found recollection! A recently spied dirt jump frame makes more than a passing nod to it’s 90′s neon predecessors – is a style revival on the way? From arguably the industry’s dullest brand?!
