Vintage kind of girl, vintage kind of bike
May 7, 2010 9:14 PM Subscribe
Mini-velos are new-school kewl, and I don't mean folding bikes. Even if you can't afford an Alex Moulton Double Pylon (and at $15,000, who can?), the Dahon Smooth-hound and Cannondale Hooligan are perfect for tooling around town on grown-up bikes with itty bitty wheels.
20" wheels are quicker and stronger than larger sizes: short wheelbases and spoke lengths make for bikes that handle like BMX racers, and are BMX racer tough, but comfortable for adults to ride - fast and hard through pot-holed streets.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:45 PM on May 7, 2010
20" wheels are quicker and stronger than larger sizes: short wheelbases and spoke lengths make for bikes that handle like BMX racers, and are BMX racer tough, but comfortable for adults to ride - fast and hard through pot-holed streets.
posted by Slap*Happy at 9:45 PM on May 7, 2010
Lord, but that video irritated me. Seeing the top or bottom of an image out of focus (as opposed to foreground or background, how normal lenses work) bugs me badly. I realize it could have been done with a tilt-shift lens, but it seemed arbitrary and unnecessary.
posted by komara at 9:55 PM on May 7, 2010
posted by komara at 9:55 PM on May 7, 2010
Too bad it isn't a Raleigh Twenty.
But kinda cook anyway.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:01 PM on May 7, 2010
But kinda cook anyway.
posted by 2N2222 at 10:01 PM on May 7, 2010
> I realize it could have been done with a tilt-shift lens, but it seemed arbitrary and unnecessary.
It was. Canon 5d MK2 and a 45mm tilt shift lens. (from the vimeo page). I saw it as an interesting video, and liked the use of the bicyclist kind of punching the frame as each shot looks like a model (or similar tilt shift videos) but they usually don't include close foreground movement, as it breaks the model aspect of it.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:12 PM on May 7, 2010
It was. Canon 5d MK2 and a 45mm tilt shift lens. (from the vimeo page). I saw it as an interesting video, and liked the use of the bicyclist kind of punching the frame as each shot looks like a model (or similar tilt shift videos) but they usually don't include close foreground movement, as it breaks the model aspect of it.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:12 PM on May 7, 2010
"kinda cook"... for a minute I thought there was yet one more piece of modern culture I had missed out on.... thanks for the correction...!
posted by HuronBob at 10:17 PM on May 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by HuronBob at 10:17 PM on May 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
see... I found the video dragged me in... I SO wanted a focus... I kept watching...and adjusting my glasses... when she finally stopped.. there was some relief... well done..
posted by HuronBob at 10:18 PM on May 7, 2010
posted by HuronBob at 10:18 PM on May 7, 2010
Very cool. I've been all about utility bicycles and the slow bicycle movement ever since acquiring my 1960s single speed cruiser bike. The animation chick even looks a bit like me!
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 12:08 AM on May 8, 2010
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 12:08 AM on May 8, 2010
I'm a facility manager, and I use a 1969 Raleigh Twenty to get back and forth between the two arts facilities in Baltimore under my oversight. They're separated by about a mile of bike-unfriendly road/sidewalk/alley, but my little Raleigh's tough as nails, strong enough to carry a loaded toolbox, and as light and nimble as my Stella. You have to do a fair amount of sidewalk-crawling to bike in the city (yeah, I know, but I'm not going to assert myself in front of a city bus), but people don't get quite as irritated by the Twenty when I come tick-tick-ticking through at an easy walking pace.
Mine's a folder (most Twenties were, I think), so at the end of the day, I can bend it in two and take it on the train with me to go home (I live 22 miles South of the city) because our commuter rail allows bikes on the train if they fold. The irony is that it actually gets bigger and bulkier when it's folded, but rules are rules.
Just like my scooter, I find that I love the thing more every time I ride. Mine needs a little love and a refresh—I unpacked it from its box (eBay) and put it right on the streets, complete with its original '69 tires and rock-hard (i.e. useless) brakepads and 3-speed Sturmey-Archer AW hub that needs some adjustment, and was on it as soon as I could put the pedals on, but it's a trooper, infinitely-removed from the ultralight finicky zillion speed keepupwiththejonesescycles that seem to be the tragic norm.
When I'm rich and famous, I'll get an original Moulton, but for now, I'm always looking for a second Twenty, so I can have another little pack mule waiting for me at home, too. I do actually have a nice old Schwinn Speedster at home, a Sturmey-powered Chicago-era Schwinn zipper with a Brooks B67 saddle, big panniers, and pretty chrome fenders, but discovering the joys of a small-wheel three speed that feels so light and fun and zingy on the road has just won me over.
This fall—C&O Canal, here I come!
posted by sonascope at 4:28 AM on May 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
Mine's a folder (most Twenties were, I think), so at the end of the day, I can bend it in two and take it on the train with me to go home (I live 22 miles South of the city) because our commuter rail allows bikes on the train if they fold. The irony is that it actually gets bigger and bulkier when it's folded, but rules are rules.
Just like my scooter, I find that I love the thing more every time I ride. Mine needs a little love and a refresh—I unpacked it from its box (eBay) and put it right on the streets, complete with its original '69 tires and rock-hard (i.e. useless) brakepads and 3-speed Sturmey-Archer AW hub that needs some adjustment, and was on it as soon as I could put the pedals on, but it's a trooper, infinitely-removed from the ultralight finicky zillion speed keepupwiththejonesescycles that seem to be the tragic norm.
When I'm rich and famous, I'll get an original Moulton, but for now, I'm always looking for a second Twenty, so I can have another little pack mule waiting for me at home, too. I do actually have a nice old Schwinn Speedster at home, a Sturmey-powered Chicago-era Schwinn zipper with a Brooks B67 saddle, big panniers, and pretty chrome fenders, but discovering the joys of a small-wheel three speed that feels so light and fun and zingy on the road has just won me over.
This fall—C&O Canal, here I come!
posted by sonascope at 4:28 AM on May 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
Y'know who else liked Raleigh Twenties?
That's right, Sheldon Brown.
posted by fixedgear at 4:56 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
That's right, Sheldon Brown.
posted by fixedgear at 4:56 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
Manic pixie tilt-shift bike girl!
posted by mattholomew at 6:20 AM on May 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by mattholomew at 6:20 AM on May 8, 2010 [3 favorites]
pours some out for Sheldon, too
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:18 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:18 AM on May 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
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posted by HuronBob at 9:21 PM on May 7, 2010