The bike industry as of late...

This is an awesome article from fyxomatosis. They are from Austrailia and are doing awesome things as far as vintage bicycles go and the pictures of gorgeous women don't hurt either.

This article displays are rare niche of cycling that certain bicycle mechanics (and even rarer the everyday cyclist) have a great deal of passion for. 

The bike industry is pushing the latest and greatest on us. The lighter, the stronger, the faster, the more $$$ that you will spend on bicycles and bicycle components now days. Carbon fiber is everywhere to be found. Technology has taken cycling to the next level. Power meters, GPS units, training programs, more carbon fiber. The faster the better....bottom line. 

As the industry pushes forward with the latest and greatest there are few companies still doing it right. Well "right" according to the "young" bike mechanic writing this blog. Steel bikes are making a come back and there is a push to go back to why we started riding bikes in the first place: to have fun. Companies like Gunnar, Salsa, Surly, and All-City are doing bicycles right. Their bikes are simple and beautiful and encourage the rider to go out, explore, and put a big grin on their faces. 

This article shows a passion and love for vintage steel bicycles and components. It shows the time, care, and obsessive nature that some of us mechanics have when it comes to this vintage era of cycling. My boss Bob rebuilt a vintage Colnago with period Campagnolo parts this past year and it was an amazing process. Companies Cinelli and Campagnolo have been around forever...and make some of the most beautiful frames and components around. Some people would look at these bikes and think that they are out dated and heavy. While, in my (and a few others) eyes I find this slide show to be absolutely beautiful and inspiring. Back when the bike didn't make the race....the rider did. Back when steel was all we had to make frames of. Back when cyclists smoke cigarettes and drank beer while racing the tour de france. I love the vintage era of cycling and the "simple" but beautiful bikes that this time period produced. 

A great start to this article:

"Of late it's become highly fashionable to become either a) bike courier b) barista c) blogger or d) bicycle mechanic.
What I've discovered is that those who get into either of the above for the fashionable appeal don't last, lose interest quickly, realise 'to do it well it's incredibly hard' and go back to whatever the comfortable no brainer job they had previously.
Harsh, but it's true."

I don't work on bikes because it makes me a lot of money....I have a masters degree in chemistry....I work on bikes because I love bikes. Riding my bicycle makes me happy. Riding with my friends have proven to be some of the funniest and best times I have ever had. They have solved many problems that I have had in my life and clarified so many things to me.

Maybe I'm just living in the wrong era....

- JB