Tag Archives: Style
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
Product Highlight: Nonetheless Garments NeoShell Pants
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NYC Velo is proud to add Nonetheless Garments to our apparel selection. The first piece from the Chicago-based company is the NeoShell Heavy Duty Jean which, like all of the Nonetheless offerings, is handmade in their hometown. The Jean is made of Polartec’s NeoShell material which, as of this writing, has over two times the airflow of any other waterproof textile and offers four-way stretch technology. The price for this Best-in-Class pair of all-weather pants is $258, and available now @ NYC Velo. About Nonetheless, in their own words: Nonetheless Garments deliver the best of both worlds to the core commuter. Waterproof technology has remained about the same since the very first hard shell. Breathability is achieved through diffusion: moisture and heat create enough pressure that moisture vapor finally passes through the fabric. Soft shells trade waterproofness for greater breathability by making use of convection: a constant exchange of air allows more moisture vapor to escape. The airflow in conventional waterproof / breathables is close to zero whether you’re active or not. Breathability claims for these fabrics are typically based on static testing conditions. So the second you walk outside, the claims are irrelevant. A more accurate measure of breathability is found with Dynamic Breathability Testing which accounts for real world conditions like wind and movement. This pant was designed as a hybrid with traditional jean touch points and refined trouser elements. |
Winter Speciale: All Chrome Gear 25 – 50% OFF
As the NYC Velo Winter Speciale continues, all In-Stock Chrome gear is on sale! This means that all Chrome messenger bags (including the Citizen, the Metropolis, the Yalta, the Pawn, the Bravo, the Dually, the Sherman, the Krakow, the Olaf, and the Cardiel ORT) are up to 50% off. Chrome apparel (including the merino wool Cobra and Pasha, the waterproof Storm Cobra, and the Ike Windshirt) is up to 50% off. Chrome’s innovative shoes (including the Kursk, the Kursk Pro, the Midway, and the Southside Pro) are up to 50% off.
As always, the Winter Speciale applies to in-stock items only, and once they’re gone, they’re GONE! Call or stop by the shop to check out the selection in detail.
Product Review: Giro Merino Cycling Cap & Facewarmer
Most cyclists who ride in the city have appropriately prepared their bikes and hardware for the weather, yet the most important question still stands unanswered: how to save our faces and ears from Old Man Winter?
Some wrap themselves in scarves and don their regular winter caps (a ski cap, for example). While these are viable options, proper fit and comfort will most certainly be compromised. Cold air has a nasty tendency to rip right through that knit scarf (or pashmina if you’re fancy) and your helmet will most likely not fit correctly over a traditional bulky winter cap. No surprise, the bike shop stocks options designed to effectively cure these problems.
To keep the ears and head warm (and to rock some biker style) Giro developed the Merino Winter Cap. Made with merino wool (and a micro brim) , the Winter Cap will definitely keep the wearer’s head nice and toasty warm. Along with the natural fibers there, the Winter Cap incorporated a surprising tech feature: the inclusion of X-Static. X-Static is silver that is bonded to textile fabrics (Merino in this case) and acts as an antimicrobial agent, meaning (in layman’s terms) that if you sweat a lot your fancy wool cap won’t stink.
To cover the face for rides after the mercury plummets, Gore developed the Facewarmer (which also covers the ears). The biggest plus of the facewarmer is that it is offered with WindStopper fabric. WindStopper is a product developed by DuPont Industries under their Gore label and can be found in various articles of active clothing, including pants, gloves, and jackets, and is designed to act (as the name suggests) as a windproof barrier. The Facewarmer also incorporates an opening for the nose and several holes for the mouth to allow for unencumbered breathing.
Winter Storm Nemo (thanks TWC) says, “stop by today to check out our winter gear and show old man winter who’s boss.”
apparel, Cyclocross, facewarmer, Giro, merino, Road Biking, Style, Wool
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.
Winter Speciale: NYC Velo Wool Jerseys on SALE
This week’s Speciale features two custom made NYC Velo Classic Wool Jerseys, fresh off the looms. Inspired by the true hardmen of cycling, when a racer carried his own water and didn’t wait for an attack signal from a radio, ’cause he attacked when he damn well pleased.
Like the jersey introduced last fall from Cima Coppi, the new jersey design is a long sleeve merino wool model with red “flocked” lettering on the front. These new jerseys are made by Woolistic in Switzerland, have a 1/4 zip on the front and 3 rear pockets.
The new version, the ‘Gruppo Sportivo Ciclistico’ or ‘Cycling Sports Group’ jersey, is a head nod to the famed Italian cycling clubs which nurtured so many legends.
Until March 31st (of this year) either jersey (either in-person or on our webstore) is specially priced at $160 (a savings of $30). The sale is limited to stock on hand.
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
Bike Of The Week: Pegoretti Cicli Luigino Coffee-Getter
This week’s Bike of the Week extends the “Month of Dario” by highlighting yet another example of the handiwork of Pegoretti Cicli. The Columbus-tubed, lugged steel Pegoretti Luigino is a very special bike, indeed.
The customerrequested a “cruiser-style” lugged steel bicycle, but fell in love with Pegoretti’s Luigino frame. Most cycling folks don’t readily associate the Pegoretti marque with “cruiser-style”, but according to Dario, there are more than a few non-road-racing/riding-style framesets in existence.
The component “theme” of this bike is “silver Campy”, a classic that’s hard to come by these days. Most of the gruppo is New-Old-Stock (NOS) Campagnolo Chorus 10-speed (crankset, rear derailleur, hubset), from the 2000-2002 era. The shifters are 10-speed bar-end shifters that have been modified to work with a flat-handlebar shifter mount made by Paul Components in California (and hand polished by the team at NYC Velo). The seatpost is from the Campy Chorus group as well, the chain is Campagnolo Record and the cassette is Campagnolo Centaur. The stem is a NOS Ritchey 1-inch steel, the handlebars are the Nitto Albatross model, and the reverse brake levers are from Dia-Comp. The handlebars and leather handlebar wrap are from Brooks of England. The rims are of the NOS Campagnolo Tokyo variety, the spokes are Colorado-made DT Swiss Competition double butted and the tires are 700x25mm Panaracer Pasela Tourguard. The chainguide is also from Paul Components, and has also been polished here at NYC Velo. The chainring guard is a cut and polished 39-tooth Campagnolo Chorus 10s chainring, repurposed.
Should you happen to run across this bike in the streets of New York, take the time to check it out, it’s a stunner. And yes, Pollo, it’s for coffee.
Bikes Of The Week: Pegoretti Cicli Luigino Track X2
As NYC Velo’s “Month of Dario” continues, the bar is raised yet again for the Bike of the Week feature as this week brings 2(!) Pegoretti Luigino lugged steel track framesets. These framesets are noteworthy for a number of reasons, beyond the obvious pedigree.
The Luigino is one of only 2 lugged steel models that Pegoretti Cicli produces, and is available only as a custom order (and a 12-18 month wait list), with few exceptions. In this case, Dario fabricated both framesets specifically for tradeshows, making them some of the only “stock” lugged steel Pegoretti’s in existence.
In the Luigino, Dario brazes the Columbus Nivacrom EL-OS tubes to investment cast lugs and dropouts. The fork, crown lug and all, is also steel and of the throw-back one-inch steerer tube variety. While both of these frames have 55cm top tubes, the seat tube is slightly longer on the yellow version and both are finished with horizontal track dropouts and Campagnolo Record headsets, $4650 apiece.
Bike of the Week, custom, dario pegoretti, Fixie, Italian, Lugged Steel, NAHBS, Racing, Road Biking, Style, Track
Bike Of The Week: Matt’s Parlee Z5
This week’s Bike of the Week is Matt’s Parlee Z5. We’ve certainly featured versions of Parlee’s renown Z5 model here before, so we’ll forgo a retelling of the stellar attributes of this frame and focus on this customer’s vision of a great road bike.
Matt directed the paint scheme for his Z5 to be a mix of very specific shades of blue and red, yet retaining Parlee’s Race silver downtube graphics. Matt outfitted his bike with a mix of old and new: “old” 2012-model-year SRAM Red components and a “new” 2012-model-year SRAM Red Quarq power crank. If you’re confused about the “old” and “new” 2012 model years, we’re sure that contacting SRAM’s Chicago-based marketing wizards directly would shed some haze on the subject….
Matt chose ENVE’s deep-sectioned carbon clincher hoops, DT Swiss hubs, and Sapim CX-Ray spokes to complete the wheel package. He finished the project off with 3T cockpit components and a Selle Italia SLR saddle. By the time this posts, he will have the lion’s share of a season on his Parlee, and the reviews are nothing but spectacular!
Bike of the Week, Parlee, Road Biking, Style