PROLLY IS NOT PROBABLY

Product Review: Laplander City Panniers

To make her Tokyo Fixed Dream Machine Cargo complete, Lauren really wanted a rear rack and panniers. Now I know I push the handmade in the USA thing a lot here but what I really care about are quality products made by people who give a damn about what they’re doing. When I met Shane from Laplander at the Philly Bike Expo, I was very impressed with these City Panniers.

Laplander makes all their bags in Philadelphia and I opted for the waxed cotton model for Lauren. After a few weeks of use, she loves them. Matched with the Wald rack and they add a whole new level of simplicity to her daily routine.

Check out more below!

PiNP Week in Review 01.22.2012

Numerous readers have sent in one request over the past year: a week in review post. I know I post a lot, so it’s hard to sift through it all. Each Sunday afternoon, I’ll compile a list of the highlights from the week.

01. Matt Spencer Take Over
This week, I unleashed all the photos I took of Matt Spencer while he was here in Austin visiting. After a bike check and a video featuring Pissy’s wreck, we hit some spots. We started on 6th street, checked out a spot, hit a large street gap, blasted some x-ups and we ended with a nice, fast gap.

02. Beautiful Bicycle: My Milwaukee Bicycle Co. Orange One Road
After a series of funky builds, my MKE Orange One is looking good as my only road bike.

03. Giro Makes Great Cycling Shoes
Giro’s line of cycling shoes just keeps getting better. Two models were reviewed, one for road and one for dirt.

04. Flag Hatchet Approved: NME Knife & Tool – BWB-01T
Zodiak branches off into the tool machining market and the BWB-01T is their first offering.

05. 12 Hour SOPA Blackout
Protesting was never this easy.

06. Mission Workshop: Eiger Waterproof Field Jacket
Mission Workshop’s new technical apparel offerings are looking sharp, with a price tag to match.

07. Merckx Mondays
A classic category on the site got some fresh new content.

08. More from Grime in SF
Mike from Grime is in SF, enjoying those Cali vibes and filming for a new edit.

09. AJ Austin is a RIPPER
My boy AJ got a lot of love on the blog this week. His new edit was a hit and his crank arm stall to fakie had the FGFS community buzzing.

10. Condition NYC: Macaframa on the Williamsburg Bridge
Chris caught some of those nostalgic NYC vibes that everyone loves.

Beautiful Bicycle: My Milwaukee Bicycle Co. Orange One Road

This poor bike. It’s been embarrassed numerous times on this blog. It went from that goofy stem to the goofier bar and lever setup. I look back at those photos with shame. What the hell was I thinking? My only guess is that this bike was never a real necessity. I had my Merckx and so I barely rode the MKE. When I sold my Merckx to fund the Bishop, the MKE became my only road bike. I’ve been putting in miles on it and even with the SRAM Apex and FSA cranks, this bike rides and handles a lot better than any other road bike I’ve owned.

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Giro Makes Great Cycling Shoes

I love Giro‘s shoes. I’ve taken my Prolight SLX road shoes across the globe, on a fully-loaded tour and they’re still kicking. When I saw their new line at Interbike, I had to try out their new models, the Privateer MTB and the Factor road.

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Burning Witch Box Set

This marks probably the 10th time I’ve purchased something Burning Witch-related. Over the last ten years, I’ve bought numerous CD releases and a few t-shirts from this Seattle doom band. I first heard them in highschool and couldn’t get over how intense their music was. In fact, it’s one of those bands whose work can’t be appreciated on anything other than vinyl. Which is why when Southern Lord announced they finally got the Burning Witch 4xLP and DVD set together, I sprung for it.

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A Thing of Beauty: Paul Racer Mediums

I’ve been meaning to replace my long-reach calipers on the MKE since I first built it up. They sucked for mud and leaf clearance but I just couldn’t spring for the Paul Racer Mediums at the time. Since I’m bringing this bike to Sydney in a few days, I wanted something that would fit fenders, cross tires or road tires and still have all the braking power I needed. Oh and they had to be black.

The Paul Racer Mediums fit perfectly on this bike. While the center pull can be deceiving, they mount through the brake drillings on the crown and brake bridge. When compared to the long-reach calipers, I was very impressed by their stopping power.

Full bike shots to come.

Garmin: Winter Training 2012 – Christophe Le Mével

Yeah, I know this is just a commercial for a rather expensive GPS that’s big enough to let you check your Facebook status on but I can’t get over how well it’s done. I used the Garmin 800 on my tour and it was extremely helpful. Not so much for the GPS, but for the elevation readouts and virtual riding partner. Every morning, I’d set the pace at 10mph and try to maintain that average.

Now, on my road bike here in Austin, I’ve been using it to do the same. Not that I’m training for stage races but I like to see progress in my riding. This is coming across as a review for a product that’s way too expensive to buy unless you’ve got a way to get it wholesale but I have enjoyed mine. When paired with the heart rate, cadence and speed monitors, it’s the perfect way to stay on top of your riding.

Initial Reaction: Resist Nomad Gumwalls

When I got my new Bruiser, I swore off any tire smaller than a 2″ but since riding BMX more and more, I kind of like the way a 45c tire feels on a fixed freestyle bike, especially with a wider rim. When Resist posted about their new Nomad tires in a gumwall, I had to have them. I love gumwall tires and almost all of my bikes are rolling on them.

Today we rode around and pending further abuse, I can say that these feel great. They skid super consistent, which was a big change from my Michelin City tire I had on the back. I only wish they made these in a 50c+ size because I like to ride with a bigger tire on the front.

Next up is a pair of 35c for the touring bike! Check out more photos at my Flickr.

Tuesday Teardown: Vallenfyre – A Fragile King

If you buy one death metal album this year, you should highly consider Vallenfyre‘s A Fragile King. This album, from beginning to end is nothing but the best in breaks, wailing riffage and brutal, spine tingling vocals. I haven’t been such a fanboy about a death doom act since Hooded Menace! But what makes this music so moving? It’s the story behind it. Vocalist and guitarist Gregor Mackintosh’s father died from cancer and A Fragile King was born from the grief and torment. As you can imagine, A Fragile King is a journey through pain and despair. Gregor (how metal of a name is that?) almost intentionally makes his vocals clear to share with us his pain. This album packs a fucking serious punch. He walks us through this tormented landscape with a razor blade collar, yanking if we begin to fall behind.

Check out more from this Tuesday Teardown below!

Tuesday Teardown: Devil – Time to Repent

“Time to Repent” from from Time to Repent

Last year when they put out their EP, Magister Mundi Xum , Devil became an instant hit. This NWOBHM band came out of nowhere with a refreshing and addicting sound. Everything about Devil embodied doom and heavy metal at its finest. You really can’t go wrong here. When the band released their new full-length, Time to Repent, my palms began to sweat. After many rotations, one thing is obvious: Time to Repent is void of any ostentation. There’s no futile attempts at creating anything epic or over-produced. What we have here is down to Earth (or under-Earth) doom metal.

Coming hot off “The Welcome (intro)” is “Break the Curse” and it’s a scorcher. Its tempo and the fact that the solo kicks in at the right moment jump starts the album with confidence. Next up is “Blood Is Boiling,” a catchy and melodic trip into doom! One familiar track is “Time to Repent”, the cover track. This was by far my favorite cut off Magister Mundi Xum and the re-recording sounds better than ever!

Check out more below!