FINALLY FINISHED! It took a while - but she is well worth it! Click here for more photos. Whatta beaut! Unfortunately for the rest of you, shes already spoken for, but dont be disheartened, we can try to build something like it for you too!
This one features a VO Touring hub in the rear - so its super easy to change a spoke, if ever necessary. We were lucky enough to score the TA mini front rack with the frame purchase. The previous owner did the nice bend to echo the curve of the fender. We wanted to keep the bike looking vintage but have the benefits of modern indexed shifting, so we went with 8 speed thumbie mounted downtube shifters, older shimano derailleurs (you know, when they were all made of metal), and some IRD defiant compact cranks (you gotta get up some hills here in SF). Honjo fenders were the perfect compliment of class and the PDW grips matched the Brooks antique brown the best.
So … what can we build for you?

Merry Christmas!
We wanted to take a moment to thank everybody who has supported the shop over the past years and would like to extend warm seasons greetings to everyone! We hope that 2011 was a blast and you got to ride and ride and ride. But maybe you didnt ride enough. Maybe you should set your sights a little higher for next year. Maybe you should be humbled by the feats of “The Mile Eater,” one Tommy Godwin. (Not this Tommy Godwin, although hes pretty badass too.) So that was the answer to the last shop trivia question. Stop by the shop for your chance to flaunt your cycling knowledge and save a penny or two.
Also, a big “Thank You!” to the very talented Cheryl Coon for her support and her bear bike shop model! Happy Holidaze!!
We were hanging out at the SF Bike Expo last weekend (if you wernt, why not?!) and we had a great time. We missed the cross race, as many of you did, surely, but we still had a great time. Amongst the gems spotted at the bike fiesta were this totally rad Landshark tandem mountain bike. Whats not to love? The great components on it? (Magura hydraulic rim brakes :D, Kooka tandem cranks and XTR captain seatpost!) There was a nice selection of vintage steel and we were happy to see a new area that allowed some custom frame builders to showcase their work. And personally I would rather see custom bikes more than a fashion show, but to each their own. Also a shout out to Moth Attack! It was nice to see Megan again and check out some of her work. One of the fanciest bikes to see at the show was Ira Ryan’s bike built for the Oregon Manifest race last month. Really nice, clean work and a great attention to detail.
And while Mr Chain has never been the sort of rider to fly through the air off huge ramps, it is always very impressive to see. The final heats were really exciting and we witnessed more than one front flip. Totally bodacious.
Its September here in San Francsico (and the rest of the world) but its our summertime! And coupled with our wonderful weather comes tons of fun! So if you dont have any weekend plans you do now! On Saturday Niko will be hanging out (read: working hard) at the Bicycle Film Festival block party (Capp St @ 16th) doing some quick, on-the-spot repairs for all you bicycle advocates and film lovers. Come by and say hi before checking out a new film. My guess is it has something to do with a bicycle.
And then as if that wasnt enough for you, or you actually want to put in a few miles, come ride with us out to Fairfax for the 2011 Marin Biketoberfest! There will be plenty of beer and a good representation of what Northern California frame builders have to offer. Also, for you early birds, there will be a few rides-but most of us San Franciscites will probably just ride up there and get our exercise that way. Unfortunately Fairfax native Joe Breeze wont be there - he has to guest judge the Oregon Manifest Race. Gah! I wish I could be there - but oh well. Too many events for one weekend. But for those of you that cant make it to Oregon, meet up with us on Sunday morning and we can all ride to Biketoberfest like one happy family. eMail Sasha (at) CitizenChain.com for details.
Its always exhausting but its always a hoot! The night we arrived the sky was flashing from lightning off in the distance - a precursor of the rain that was on the way. In an unusual turn of events, it poured in Vegas. Our friendly shuttle driver was telling us that whenever it would rain the streets would flood because Vegas’ drainage system its pretty horrible. We continued driving into the ominous skies and arrived at the outdoor demo and we got to test out some pretty awesome machines and we got scars to prove it! Our first run was a little wet, but the weather turned beautiful. A moderate temperature followed the storm and the slightly dampened ground kept the dust a bay. Hooray for us!
Day two started with a bit of a shower as well but once youre in the Sands Convention Center, youd never know it. Pashley had a great booth at the show and were showing off some new product including a stainless steel lugged bike. They are also reviving the GB brand and their presence was apparent on their bikes. Pashley are also starting to expand into fashion and some clothing items. Going by the Santana booth they were displaying a new very promising coupling system. I talked to the guys there and they plan to make them in steel and Ti soon enough. I also had the chance to talk to Brett Horton for a little while about his Shelly Horton bike and about bikes in general. It was way easier to get a good look at this bike than when it was on display at A Ruota Libera. Check out our flickr site for other pics. More still to come!
Rosebud was a bike!
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