Posts Tagged ‘Phil Wood’

Let’s Get Rolling!

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I can’t even begin to process everything that I missed while in China but this image that Tracko posted from Velo Cult is a great launching point. I’m in Melbourne, toasted from the past three weeks but am ready to get rolling again. Thanks for your patience and thanks to Tracko for holding it down!

Beautiful Bicycle: My FBM Sword SQ Track

Beautiful Bicycle: My FBM Sword SQ Track

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!

Down to the Cog

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It’s been a while since I’ve taken my sweet time building up a bike and this project’s been a lot of fun. Over the past few months, I’ve sought out everything piece by piece. Whether it was buying and trading parts from friends or finding deals at local shops, I’ve really thought about each component and how they’ll fit into the entire picture. But most importantly, I took my time.

Getting this Phil Wood SLR track cog today was as juicy as well-cooked and cut brisket.

Life’s Too Short to Ride Clean Bikes

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When I ask people if it’s ok to shoot photos of their bike, they often reply with “let me clean it first”. Where’s the fun in that? As long as there’s not salt residue from winter slush on your beautiful steel steed, there’s nothing wrong with road crud and grime. No matter how nice your bikes are, they’ll always look better with some dirt on them. More on this bike in particular, later on this week.

I have to credit Andy from Fyxomatosis for the “Life’s too short…” lead in.

Phil Wood: Seat Collars in Stock

The small details on a frame are what stand out and even if you can’t afford some Phil Wood hubs, these new seat collars are an affordable way to add a nice bit of color (they’ve got a good selection!) to your build:

“Phil Wood & Co. seat post collars are machined out of solid US produced billet aluminum. Each collar is machined in-house to the same high-quality standards as we apply to all of our products. Our collars are available in the same anodized colors and high polished surface as the rest of our products. This allows for a coordinated color match between all of our products.

We are currently running at maxiumum capacity. Becuase of this no other sizes are available and custom orders will not be taken.”

Head on over to Phil Wood for more!

Two Phil Wood Products for You: Cranks and Collars

I showed you the Phil Wood 40th anniversary singlespeed cranks back at the 2011 NAHBS on the Horton Collection’s bike by Bilenky. Then last year at Interbike last year, where they were dubbed “singlespeed, not track” cranks, due to their Q-factor. Now, nothing on the Phil Wood site says anything about a track crank, but I know they were working towards that last year at Interbike. Regardless, these things are balleur. Get on that pre-order!

Also from Phil Wood are seatpost collars. Another fine piece of machined metal.

Contact Phil Wood for pre-ordering information.

Phil Wood: BB Cup Mud Guards

Some people don’t like the way the Phil Wood BB cups look. For those naysayers, Phil Wood developed these mud guards for their shells. They’ll cover up the innards that you don’t like to see and keep your cups clean:

“Our mud guards are designed to help protect your Phil Wood bottom bracket cups from getting dust, dirt and mud that can accumulate in and around the bottom bracket cup splines. They are designed with a drain opening to allow any moisture between the bearings and mudguard to vent out. They are designed to install onto any Phil Wood square taper bottom bracket cup sets. Each set of mud guards comes with 4 rubber o-rings, (preinstalled and two replacement).”

Pick a set up here in all of Phil Wood‘s colors. I’m going to order a set and shoot some photos on the Icarus this week.


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John Watson

Prolly is not Probably started in 2006 in Brooklyn, New York. For over 6 years it has thrived as John Watson, the sole author, documents multiple facets of cycling. With the boom of urban cycling, Prolly is Not Probably has grown to be the number one blog for the culture surrounding it. In recent years, a large push for original content has spawned a steady flow of photosets, profiles and portraits.

Known for his A Day in 10 Photos, Merckx Mondays, Recent Roll, Shop Visits, and Beautiful Bicycles features, John continues to document bicycles of all kinds and his daily life through photos. Over the years, Prolly is Not Probably has been cited in the New York Times, COG Magazine, Urban Velo and other notable publications. In March of 2011, John moved to Austin, Texas where he continues to cover a cross section of cultural influences.

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