Tag Archives: Brooks
Product Highlight: Brooks Pickwick Day Pack
Brooks of England, the legendary saddle maker, designed the Pickwick in London but went to the hills of Tuscany to produce it, a classic daypack. The Pickwick’s water resistant European canvas, along with the rolltop design, will most definitely keep your items dry on those dreary days, and the Brooks leather trim will help the bag stand the test of time. In addition to the large main compartment, there are two smaller pouches, one located on the lower back portion of the bag and the other being on the bottom of the bag. The 2 smaller compartments are accessed from the “underside” of the bag, increasing security and ensuring waterproofness. Currently available in five colors, the Pickwick sells for $235. According to Harold, the Goose Beak hue is the standout choice.
accessories, Brooks, england, leather, messenger bags, pickwick, Style, tuscany
Bike Of The Week: Surly Trucker Deluxe
Every Bike of the Week is special in one way or another, and most are special in myriad ways. This week’s edition is no different. While the Surly brand may be humble in the minds of many, its focus on delivering quality and utility without flash (assuming that painting bikes in a “meth teeth” greenish hue isn’t considered flashy) it’s introduction of the Trucker Deluxe certainly ups the ante. The Trucker Deluxe is the leader of the Surly pack by including a distinct high-zoot feature: S&S couplers that allow the frame to come apart for easy travel yet allow the frame to retain the integrity of an standard Long Haul Trucker.
The customer who commissioned this special bike was, like all of our customers, focused primarily on the fit of her new bicycle. In pursuit of delivering a bike that not only fit the customer properly but met her utility needs, the NYC Velo Team specified flat handlebars and ergonomic bar end extensions from Ergon (and completed a comprehensive fitting once the bike was complete). While Shimano’s Ultegra component group, with the help of its compatible flat bar-specific trigger shifters, handled the drivetrain tasks, the Team specified an excellent set of (made in California) linear-pull brakes from Paul Components. The stem and seatpost were from Thomson, also made in the USA. Germany’s Ortlieb (and sister brand, Tubus) supplied the waterproof pannier bags, handlebar bag, and rear rack. The wheels were built in-house by the Team using Mavic XM719 rims, Phil Wood hubs, and DT Swiss spokes, and the tires were from Schwalbe’s touring-appropriate Marathon line. A Chris King headset (a no brainer) and leather Brooks female-specific Flyer saddle finish off this bike in fine fashion.
The owner of this bike will be taking it across Spain (to start), with future trips planned around Europe and Turkey. We look forward to see the photos of this machine in action!
Bon Voyage!
Bike Of The Week: Hopped-up Bianchi San Jose
This week’s bike is the San Jose from Bianchi USA. The San Jose, a venerable model from the Bianchi stable if there ever was one, is essentially a steel-framed singlespeed cyclocross bike (with a steel fork) and was last produced in 2011.
Though usually available as a complete bike from Bianchi, our example was shipped to us as a frameset only (frame & fork), allowing us to use some creativity to complete the build-up. The new iteration sports sealed bearing hubs from Formula, double-butted spokes, Alex rims, and Panaracer’s Jack Brown 700 x 33 tires. The burly All-City crankset offsets the Brooks brown leather (B17) saddle and handlebar wrap. With an upright riding position, fat city tires, and strong Avid cantilever brakes, the “new” San Jose marries style and performance quite well, all for $1185.
2012 NYC Velo Holiday Gift Guide
Phil Wood Hand Cleaner, a home mechanic must-have, $12
Brooks Limited Edition Union Jack-Series Swallow Saddles, Red ($275) and White ($350)
Grimpeur Bros 9 Dub Espresso Beans, roasted in Queens, $14/12oz
Endura 100% Merino Baabaa Base Layer, $69.99
CEP Compression Gear, Team NYC Velo Tested, $39.95
Andy Hampsten's Extra Virgin Olive Oil Co. from Tuscany, $24/.5l
Oakley Frogskins, A Classic, Revised, $100-140
Bailey Works/Independent Fabrication Whale Mouth Duffle, $150
NiteRider Lumina 350 Rechargeable Headlight, $95
Silca Classic Floor Pump, Made in Italy, $100
Silca Classic Floor Pump, $100
Defeet/Team NYC Velo 9 Inch Wool Socks, $20
NYC Velo Custom Wheels, Industry Nine Hubs, Velocity A23 Tubeless-Ready Rims, Sapim CX-Ray Spokes, $1100
NYC Velo Wool Longsleeve Jersey, Handmade in Canada by Cima Coppi, $190
Search And State S1-J Riding Jacket, Weatherproof, Handmade in New York City, $245
BOTW: Justin's Serotta
The frame’s use of Columbus custom tapered, ovalized seat and top tubes make for an interesting design, purportedly stiffer, lighter, faster than the also-rans of the day. Serotta had a reputation at the time for making some of the best, if not the best, competition-level bicycles in the world. The attention to detail in this frame is obvious, and impressive against today’s NAHBS crowd, just think about how it might have outclassed its peers when it was made nearly 25 years ago!
Justin runs, on this bike, a single down tube shifter connected to a 10-speed cassette, offering him plenty of gearing for jaunts around QNS and the commute to and from the East Village. The cockpit of the bike, used primarily as a “get around ride”, is upright, the handling quick, ideal for poppin’ wheelies. Campy cranks, Phil Wood front hub, Dura Ace rear hub, Paul E Brake, Selle Italian San Regal leather saddle and Brooks leather bag complete the package: a fine, fast, comfortable ride!
The Official NYC Velo Holiday Gift List
‘Tis the season… To spend money on other people!
Chances are that if you’re reading this blog, you have friends who like to ride human-powered 2-wheeled machines. It just so happens that we specialized in “peddling” cycling-related wares to the general public (see what we did there?)
If you’re a bit stumped on what to get the cyclist who has everything, then check out our holiday shopping list, which features gifts at myriad price ranges.
1 – NYC Tour Brass Bell $15 Commonly referred to as the “Crane”bell, this sucker lets you warn others of your arrival, in style.
2 – Brooks B17 Saddle $105 The B17 saddle is an icon, a classic, and now comes in 6 colors, a great way to improve any ride!
3 – Oakley Frogskins $110-130 West coast style, limited edition colors, made in the USA. Kids love ‘em, adults who remember them when they were kids love ‘em, and bike nerds love ‘em.
4 – Campy Record Track Hubs- 32H $475 Another modern classic, the perfect basis for your next fixie wheel build.
5 – Deluxe Tune $125 Winter weather is bound to get crappier and our bikes will no doubt take the brunt, why not surprise someone with the gift of clean?
6 – Gore Race Overshoes Thermal $100 For the aforementioned crappy weather commute, keep your lower extremities dry, cozy, and warm.
7 – Indy Fab Corvid $8500 Eighty-five hundred bills doesn’t seem like such a deal, but this barely used demo frameset is sporting all new components for a savings of over $2k.
8 – Mission Workshop Rondel Shoes $130 It’s about time someone came out with some bust-around-town sneakers that clip into your ATAC/SPD/Crank Bros pedals… clips and straps seem so 2009.
9 – NYC Velo cycling cap $20 The new edition has landed in the shop, great for keeping your head warm(er) and the low afternoon sun out of your eyes.
10 – Embrocation Volume 6 $20 Bike culture in Journal form, so your partner doesn’t think your reading just another bike racing rag.
11 – Holdfast Straps $59 If you want security at the pedal, but aren’t into ”positive cleat engagement”, check out these Made in Brooklyn Velcro toe straps.
12 – Chrome Dually Reflective backpack $140 Chrome bags last a lifetime (their warranty says so), and the generous reflective panels on this bag ensure that it’s a long one.
13 – EWR NYC Velo Wool trainer $125 When it gets cold, wool is the only way to go, and this jacket stands about the crowd.
14 – NYC Velo Geekhouse Rockcity Frameset $1150 Custom steel frames, handmade and powdercoated in Boston, except they’re available in stock sizes, and without the 6 month wait, so not really custom… but damn nice to behold and ride.
15 – Princeton Tec PUSH Headlight $50 Finally, an amazingly bright 100 lumen headlight that doesn’t elicit comparisons to a 3 d-cell duct-taped to your handlebar.
We’d like to wish everyone a happy holiday season!
Brooks, Chrome, embrocation, geekhouse, independent fabrication, Mission Workshop, oakleyLeather Rarity: Brooks/Vans Collaboration
This post goes out to a few people.
It goes out to all of you brooks saddle die-hards who may have caught themselves yearning for a matchy-matchy pair of shoes to go along with that fine saddle of yours.
It goes out to you crazy sneaker collectors who put women to shame with the size of your shoe closet.
It goes out to fans of unique and interesting collaborations between companies that seemingly have nothing in common.
Feast your eyes on the beautiful marriage of Brooks Saddles and Vans Sneakers. We were fortunate enough to be picked as one of the five bike shops in the country to carry a very, very limited run of this very, very impressive pairing. Each shop has been given 6 pairs of shoes and 6 of the saddles. With only 1,000 of the (individually numbered) shoes and 500 of the saddles in existence, you’re going to be hard pressed to get your hands on these.
Here are the deets:
Call the shop for individual pricing on the shoes and saddle
Buy both together for $500
You can’t reserve them. First come first serve. No Refunds.
We have one pair of each of the following sizes:
Good luck.
apparel, BrooksBOTW: The Spriggscycle
This week’s Bike of the Week is our friend Mike’s townie. It’s a handmade bike from 20 years ago, when Mike’s buddy Greg decided to make track bikes with relaxed geometry for all his messenger friends up in Boston. This was Mike’s work bike in the early 90s, then it became a commuter, and now it’s Mike’s “around town” bike – as well as the official errand bike for the Rapha Cycle Club. Mike decided on a relaxed fit, with gentlemanly Nitto bars, a Brooks B-17, and a Shimano coaster brake for fun. Couple that with an slick t-shirt from Mike’s Gage & Desoto line, and you can see why everyone says Mike Spriggs is the “cock of the walk.”
