Introducing Vallie Components: BEEFIEST FUCKIN' TRACK HUBS EVAR!!!

As most of you know, I've been tossing Lyle's name around here and there over the last few months. Aside from using me for my shop space and abundance of free parts (u no I luv u), Lyle's spent the better part of a year designing a GNARLY new set of track hubs that could withstand all the pain and withering abuse one could possibly ever take...

Oh and for all the studio wankers out there: I'm not a studio photographer! So I'm sorry if using something as inconsistent as a MIG welder for a light source horrifies you. Fuckin' pansies.. Anyways I suck at that shit so I figured, why not make it that much more challenging?! I think the photos came out fairly decent with a little bit of guess work:





More photos on my flickr set..

The hubs are easily the strongest, most solid ones I've ever seen for built for tracks bikes. Sitting one of them down next to a Phil Wood hub really shows you just how brutal they are. The flanges are taller, thicker and the bolts are HUGE! Bearings are wicked smooth too! I sincerely doubt there's any other track hub out there right now that's anywhere near as durable as this one..

For more information you can get in touch with Lyle to find out every minutely anal detail about these fantabulusly new hubs via his website:

Vallie Components

The hubs pictured are in Beta test phase now. Though I've been told that the revisions have already been made and are just awaiting further trials before the second wave are ready to be put into production.. More info on them as I get it!

For those of you attending NAHBS this weekend, you can meet him and see his hub in person. Be sure to say what's up and drool over their magnificence!

Also, I gave him a stack of promotional Monster Track DVDs that I got in the mail to hand out to people for free. He doesn't have a lot so the password is: 'Rocky IV' if you want one...

What I just saw walking to and from my lunch spot today...

First there was this fleet of bike car thingies:

Then on my way back I saw this sweet Panasonic funny bike locked up in the street:

The bike belongs to this dude Erin who came back to it as I was making some snaps. Nice guy! I seen him fly by me on it over on 6th ave a couple of weeks ago but I didn't have my camera out. He said it was something his friend 'just had sitting in his garage for years'..

Beauuuuuuutiful 'King of Mercia' Mercian SS frame!

I would SO be all over this if the ST wasn't so goddamn tall..

Built up:

Imagine if Bike Kill lasted three days...

...well you don't have to cause there's Mini Bike Winter.. 6!:

Minibike Winter VI [2009] from AllenInk on Vimeo.

Beauty and the Beasts! ..and finding out about a new skatepark by my house!

First off, a super lovely all chrome dream 72' Paramount roadie:

Franken Merckx:

and a Pegoretti with a SUPER ugly paint job:

It kind of reminds me of how I described an everything bagel to someone: Basically, they sweep the floors when they're done making all the bagels and just toss everything on the last batch...

Also.. I went skating since it was so nice out. Last week the kids who assemble in little groups across the street that periodically play ring and run at my building despite the fact that THEY LIVE ACROSS THE STREET saw me with my board. The little rat bastards asked me to do some tricks for them because you know, I was wearing my Ask me to do some tricks for you asshole t-shirt, so I obliged them by pulling off a clean nollie 360 flip first try. Surprising not only them but myself as well having not been on my board in over a month.. Anyways, they told me there was a new skatepark in Fort Lee and I was like: 'No way!'

I decided to go scope it out real quick before heading to Home Depot to buy some supplies to build my shop up with. What went from a having a quick roll around turned into a 3 hour shred session. I was stunned to learn the place had been there for like a year already- it was so mint!


Pretty fun park. My main gripes is that there's no big bank ramp and the concrete isn't polished. Which makes getting speed is a bit of a bummer.. At least if all the ramps had been set up with the grain instead of against it..

The most precious moment came when this fat little Turkish bastard on a razor scooter looked up at me and was like: 'What the heck- how old are you?!'

Yep.. Nothing like hanging out somewhere with a bunch of little kids less than half your age.. I mean some of those kids weren't even born yet and I was already sitting there trying to learn kick flips by watching Jeremy Klein do them on Skate TV and getting high in the woods behind my parents house!

Ugghh.. Anyways, my aging fat ass managed to have a good time none the less:



Please note that slam was actually BEFORE I landed the 5-0..

Walking away from a sesh with a double limp- Priceless! I totally went straight home and just laaaaiiiiiiid the fuck out...

and noticed someone was selling one of Sheldon Brown's bikes:


There's something about his bikes make me not want to hurl when I look at them. Probably because he always struck me such an overtly nerdy dude that I would expect nothing less..

More of his bikes here

Thankfully I did manage to get a bit done in the shop yesterday. Hopefully I can finish it up this coming weekend in time for Lyle to enjoy coming over and not having to start his day there by cleaning up...

I'M BAAACK!!! ..and boy has there ever been a lot going on!

Back from my little sabbatical from the blogishpere I hath returned!

Ya'll missed me didn't ya? Yup.. that's what I thought...

Welp, first things first... The Renny.. she is built:

From Japan to the Jerz.. yeeaaahh- that's right!

I decided it would be a good idea to lug it, along with a 40lb bag of camera gear up Dirtbag Mountain BY MYSELF for the photos.. It's this awesomely shitty/sketchy playground for motocross fans, burnouts and photards (another word for burnout) such as myself. As you can see it was a harrowing experience filled with many perils and super shitty light. Though both the Renny and I made it through unscathed..

More snaps on my Flickr set..

Specs:

3Rensho frame and fork
Dura Ace 7710 all around!
Araya gold tubular rims
Tufo Tubulars
Turbo Saddle
Nitto Slider stem and bars
Fizik wrap
MKS Royal Nuevo pedals and toe clips
Errebi straps

Thanks once again to Ben's Cycle for making it happen! Loooooove getting boxes full of goodies from them!!


(wheels weren't going to fit in there unfortunately)

As you could imagine, even despite my 'taking a break' I was unable to tear myself away from the all consuming thing that drives my daily existence.. eBay.. Okay, I'm not THAT much of a loser but it kinda feels like it when I see my watch list break a 100 items, hehe... UG..

In any case, there was many a luscious item that caught my attention. Such as this, this, this, this, this, this, this (3rd photo), this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and OMFG this!!!


Wait a minute, did you send me a coupon Buddha?! I'm going to kill you!! If no one buys it, I'm totally going to have to take it off your hands.. AFTER I send Kiochi my 2k down payment. If he ever gets back to me of course.. I would do evil, evil things to that white and gold cherry of yours!

But THIS is the one that nearly made me break my self imposed vow of silence. I mean, COME ON.. REALLY???

WIFN is NOT going on with that thing???

Oh and this one really pissed me off something awful! Not just because it's an all white bike but because it's an all white BMX bike. Why the fuck would anyone put together and all white BMX together is BEYOND me...

As if that wasn't bad enough, fucking Macy's went ahead and set this shit up:


If you don't live here what you have to understand is that there's like 3 ghost bikes within two or three blocks of the building. I can just imagine one those silly display twats hopping in her cab to head back home to the upper west side and thinking- 'oh, well now that's pretty'..
Nothing would please me more than to walk in there with a big squeeze bottle full of red paint and squirt it all over the manikins. I figure at least then having the white bike would be more appropriate...

Let's see , what else has been going on

My mind is still being boggled by the prices that USED Pista Concepts are going for...

I heard a rumor that a Velocity rep on an aussi board just let it slip that they're making a deeper rim than H+son.. Whoop-de-do!

I listened to the Bad Religion discography I downloaded like 10 times..

Oh I also made some snaps of the ALAN (uh-lahn) finally- cracked HT lug and all:


I didn't go overboard with the build or photos on this one due to the small HT lug crack. That and it's a cm too small for me. Still super fun to just ride around my hood to run errands etc.. Super easy 44/16 gearing and a bunch of random parts from my bins along with the sweet deal on a set of local wheels.. Actually, the one thing that's interesting is the cranks. The drive side is actually a Campy pista tandem stoker crank. Meaning that the pedal threading is reversed. So I took apart a couple of MKS pedals and switched the axles to make it work. Not the safest/smartest thing but again.. Just cruising around town and it's on there tight enough to not warrant concern over it popping off. I suppose I could've just set it up as a left hand drive but that may have been a bit too weird.. The other side is a campy strada arm that matches it perfectly desite being a road crank arm...

Another interesting thing about the frame is that it was originally part of the collection I got my hands on a while back. It came with a vintage Stronglight crank, Phil BB and Campy Pista Headset for $100. When I spotted the crack in the HT lug I was kinda bummed and mention it to the seller in passing. He actually felt bad and gave me a $100 in credit towards other stuff! SO GOLD!!!

I also got interviewed for a story about bike pornography. I was hoping it would be posted by now but it's still being edited last time I checked. Of course after it was all said and done I felt like a bit of a douche seeing as how I've never been interviewed before. Not to mention the fact that I'm way too honest and forthcoming for some stupid reason.. Well, it is what it is I suppose. The dudes were cool as hell and I'm sure I'm just being super paranoid as per usual. I'm writing this not actually having seen it yet so I guess we'll see what happens when it's up...

I also went ahead and scanned the rest of the Rossin Calendar photos:


Yeah, I know that last one's fucked up. Don't worry I'll fix it soon enough...

aaaand the first one and two I scanned a while back again..

As you can see the original two are def the best ones. Not to say that some of these aren't but still...

Anyways, I'm hoping all of that makes up for my little vacation from the blogisphere.. I've got a lot of neat and or fun and or stupid projects coming up so stay tuned suckaz!

p.s. - remind me to never take another vacation away from this shit. this post was a bitch to assemble! damn.. time for another break!!