'Fork is slightly bent from a crash (but hey, it barspins!)'

Would you buy a Sparton with 'a slightly bent' fork?

Maybe it wasn't really a crash like the seller claims but maybe instead it went more like this:


Bike Repair from Stegnco on Vimeo.

But seriously, what is it with all those Sparton forks? We've all seen that video (below) of a fork failure and the only Sparton we've seen here in Helsinki also ended up with the fork getting all bent and finally totally destroyed in the end. 

Alien Track Frameset GROUP BUY!

Right, I've been posting stuff about those Alien frames here and I agree they do look pretty decent, especially for the price. It's lugged with proper forged Long-Shen lugs, the tubing is supposed to be ok (double butted Cro-Mo) and the geometry is nice and tight, the way it should be. 

Well, this where it gets even better:

Jamal from the bikeforums has helped to set up a special 2009 BFSSFG group buy of the Alien frames with a very nice price, 300 USD + shipping, international shipping is also available. Only two colors (or unpainted) available, otherwise it's just like the regular frame they sell, only 185 USD cheaper than normal price. 

Here's the ordering page & all info. 

Note that the closing date is September 30th, OR when the 100 frames available are all reserved. So make up your mind now. 

A Very Old Panasonic Track Bike, kind of...

Here's an interesting Panasonic / National catalogue pic from the 1970s. 

Why? Because it's an entry-level 'training track bicycle' AKA cheap fixed gear bike made from probably very crappy components and from very heavy low-end tubing. Just like what so many companies are pushing on the market right now, just go to Ebay and do a search for 'track bike'... Basically a ' track bike' which is really not a track bike at all but sold as such anyway. 

In a way you could say that Panasonic were like 30 years ahead of the game with a bike like that back in the day. 

The First Alien Fixed Gear Build. Finally.

Some time ago I asked about where are all the bikes built from the Alien frames. The reason being that Alien is new company, and lots of people have been really exited about them, and their first run of frames being quite a bit delayed. 

Well, now I can answer my own question. The bike above could be the first Alien frameset built up by someone who actually bought it. You can argue about the colors etc. of that build but the frame itself looks pretty damn good and tight, just like it should. 

Fuck all waterbottle bosses, mudguard eyelets and 'comfortable street fixed (= boring slack road) geometry'. Hooray for super twitchy steering, plenty of toe-overlap & cramped/compact riding position!