Sometimes, the simplest changes in a bike’s setup can really enhance the ride. Take my Sword. Sure, it looked mean as hell with drops but I swapped them out for those Budnitz Ti sweep bars and plugged on a Cetma rack. It’s the perfect photo bike, with the aid of the Tanner Goods Field Camera Bag… Check out a few more photos below.
Tools of the trade:
Mamiya 7ii / 80mm
Kodak Portra 400
Woof did the artwork for the new Kagero this year and to show his appreciation for his new bike, he made a quick video showing the build process. Now you know who has the other purple 44RN 144#47 ring!
Aaron Panone of 44RN has been working on a new 130 BCD chainring, meant for 1×10 drivetrains or single speeds. These are still an early prototype, exclusively for Tomii Cycles but expect more details to come.
Aaron and I are going to be working on more products in 2013 and these photos just got me very excited for new things to come. See more at the Tomii Cycles Flickr.
This bike has been in the works for a while now and I’m not talking about the weeks the frame sat in the box while I accumulated the parts. I’m talking about since I first saw one in person, at Post Bikes in Brooklyn. The original Sword wasn’t what I would consider a true track geometry. It was more of a fixed cruiser, marketed not only at the kids wanting a street bike to thrash, but also to the older BMXrs who wanted a quicker way around town.
Steve and John Paul began working on the Sword SQ. They talked to various people in the “industry”, including Josh “Big Red” Hayes and Kyle Kelley, who worked on the Sword’s geometry, making it what it is today. This Sword SQ represents a lot of things to me. Mostly, a company, who in the wake of Taiwanese fabrication, still make their bikes in America, for an affordable price and have never taken a penny from an outside investor.
While I’ve already got a kick-ass track bike, this Sword will go through many variations. I’m already planning on putting a Cetma on it to carry my photo bag in the summer and will probably throw risers on it at some point to encourage some throwback FGFS. It’s a little small, compared to what I’m used to riding, so the saddle to bar drop is much more race-fit than my Icarus. I’ve dialed in the fit now and it looks a lot more reasonable than the first Instagram photo I posted.
I tried to use as many American companies as possible. Profile Fix / Fix hubs laced to H+Son Archetype rims (fucking love these rims!) and a 18t Phil Wood SLR cog. Thomson stem, post, 1960′s Unicanitor Saddle, Ritchey Classic Curve bars and Newbaum’s tape. I was tempted to buy a set of the Phil Wood cranks, but went with the tried and true SRAM Omniums with an extremely rare, purple 44RN 144#47 ring. My White Industries pedals got a new life and the Toshi single straps are just right. Finally, a black KMC Cool Chain and 28c Continental Gatorskins finish off the build, with a 3/4″ mini Viking decal on the stem.
I’m very happy with this bike and it’s been nice to ride a track bike around, since my Icarus’ fork has been at the painter’s for a few weeks.
Many thanks to FBM for this beast and I can assure you, this won’t be the last time you see it here on the site!
Back when I did the Raidô contest, Aaron at 44RN made a few of these purple anodized 44RN 144#47 chainrings. I’ve been holding onto mine for well over a year, waiting on the perfect project to put it on. Over the past few months, I’ve been slowly acquiring parts for a new track bike build, more to come!
A few notes about the 144#47 track chain rings by 44RN. These rings are designed to be extremely quiet, right out of the packaging but there are a few things you need to do:
-run a new chain
-run a new cog
Check out why below.
Finally! As the second installment of the Purple Projects, I’ve teamed up with 44RN on another run of his 144#47 track chainrings. Machined in Boston, designed at 44RN, in Somerville, these rings have been put through the ringer for months. Pick up a silver or a black now in the PiNP Web Shop.
While 44RN might be known best for his 144#47 rings, Aaron loves to tackle projects, no matter how simple they are. Take this replacement lever for the Joy Tech system, done exclusively for Justin at Luxe Wheelworks.
When you’ve been working with wheels as long as Justin has, you learn a thing or two about skewers and applying that knowledge will merit a sharp product. These will be available through Luxe Wheelworks custom wheel builds soon.
Check out more at 44RN.
I put this up on my Tumblr, meaning to schedule it for a week from now, only to have it go live today, sending a slew of emails my way. It is true, 44RN is machining a new batch of 144#47 chainrings this week. That means another week or so for anodizing. As it stands, there will be 50 silver and 50 black rings in my web shop around Halloween.
This is only to alert you that you should set money aside for one. As far as I know, they’ll be $77, the same as before. Aaron is a very talented designer and he is doing this out of the goodness of his heart. He’s not making much money here, and it’s only after constant pestering that I convinced him to do this.
Everyone who’s had these rings (myself included) has nothing but positive things to say about them. So get stoked!
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