Kinoko Cycles: Wow

Apparently, Tokyo Fixed moved and changed it's name to Kinoko Cycles. This new shop in London looks fantastic, and here are a few equally fantastic photos of it. They obviously paid a lot of attention to detail when designing the interior of this place. I could probably spend a couple hours there. I dig the branding too!











See even more on their Flickr.

The Freeport Effect

Well, the cat's finally out of the bag: The folks who own North Central Cyclery, the shop in which I work, recently acquired another bike shop. It's called Freeport Bicycle Company.

The town of Freeport is a bit weird. It seems almost as though time just ceased to continue somewhere in the early 1990's, and  the people there continue to happily live their lives. It's full of antique shops, abandoned buildings, and storefronts with vintage signage and decorative facades. I've come to affectionately call this phenomena "The Freeport Effect". This is, of course, just a first impression.

In the heart of this strange place is actually a really cool bike shop, housed inside of a beautifully restored old building that holds a lot of history: In the late 1800's, Freeport Bicycle Company was actually manufacturing their own bicycles... In 1889 Daniel Stover and William Hance invented the "safety brake" in Freeport, which later came to be known as the coaster brake. Stover was also manufacturing bicycles for his own company out of Freeport, and one of them, The Phoenix, now hangs from the ceiling above the front door of the shop.
 
The shop has been doing well, but we see a lot of potential for improvement, and we've got big ideas. For now, take a look at some photos I snapped while I was out there helping out and getting to know the place last week:

More photos below:

Trek Project One Domane with Vapor Coat

We recently built up this baller bike at North Central Cyclery, and I went out to take some photos of it. We decided to stick with our recent theme of photographing sweet builds in front of a chalkboard, but to bring the "chalkboard" outside this time. I found a nice backdrop and sketched out some of the more notable aspects of the build. There were a bunch of people walking around staring at me, so pardon the quick/sloppy handwriting. I think somehow it works though...

Get all the technical details of the bike and other info here.

A few more shots/details of the bike below:

Aaron's Moots PsychloX

Aaron's Moots build has been completed, and I took some photos of it basking in a bed of gravel before we chopped the steerer tube and set it free. Highlights include Sram Rival gruppo, Eriksen "Sweetpost", King headset, Ergon saddle, Enve fork...

The first of many Moots to be built at North Central Cyclery.

Brompton Unfolded - a NCC Event

Bromptons kick ass. Come to the shop to learn more about these extremely clever machines while helping yourself to an array of snacks/bevs. We'll also be offering some of our specially reserved production dates for spring and summer to those who attend. Watch John fold/unfold a Brompton in record time! It'll be FUN!

"Join us as we host John McConaghay of Brompton Bicycles for an evening learning the truly fascinating story and evolution of Brompton. 
We believe Brompton is the folding bike par excellence - without rival in the marketplace. We believe folding bikes can serve a huge demographic, contrary to the general assumption that they are just for urban commuters. John does an excellent job explaining the culture and variety around Brompton. He's also one of the fastest folders in the world. 
Come learn with us about the new innovations, increased customization, and refreshing utility of Brompton folding bikes."

RSVP and stuff here, if ya got the Facebooks.

Japanese Diamondback Road Bike

Once in a while, cool old road bikes come through the shop for repair or restoration. This retro Japanese-made Diamondback road bike with 105 components and rad paint job was too cool to not photograph. Click "read more", for a couple more pics after the jump! (I think i'm going to start utilizing "jump breaks" more on this blog).

"Hooray Day" at NCC

On Saturday, December 29, we're having a sort of "community appreciation day" at the shop. In the last 12 months we've made a lot of new friends, done a lot of fun stuff, and watched our local cycling community blow up beyond expectations. We've really had one heck of a year, and we owe it all to you guys! So, come over and drink some beer out of our giant bottle, eat some pizza, drink some coffee, get a hug, drink more beer, or just say "Hey"... We'll be hangin' from 12-5pm. More deets here!

ReOrganizing/ReCycling at the Bike Shop

The innertube department has always been a bit of a lost cause here at the shop. It will typically stay organized for a week at most, before reverting to something that resembles a schizophrenic's pantry (food often finds it's way into the many compartments). This time of year, things slow down just a bit, giving us time to tackle these types of issues.

Ladies Night at da Shop

We had our annual Ladies Night Maintenance Clinic at the shop last night. I snapped some pix, Marcus drank all the wine...









We had a turnout of about 40, which exceeded my expectations. A successful evening I'd say.