Bamboo Max

I think the pictures say it all. Hello new Max tubed Cyclocross frame... Special features include internal cable routing, fixed / geared adaptability, matching straight blade forks and a stunning paint job. Here's looking forward to the build.

MTB Egypt

Here a photo worthy of an 'Egypt MTB Action' front cover if ever I saw one. Bob Smith shreds the Sinai. You can read Bob's Egyptian adventures here:

http://travelandpoliticsworldview.blogspot.com/

Whitney

Whitney might be dead, but the Whitney Museum in NYC is most certainly not. Concrete Grey and New York Taxi Yellow- nice. Oh yea, ground has broken on the Piano extension, but it's going to be hard to live up to the Breuer original.

http://whitney.org/About/NewBuilding/About

Inter Conti

Nice pre race photo from today's road race of (L-R) Swede, Brit, Brazilian. Shame my legs were pretty cooked from yesterday- 5th place having dodged the Open Cat. not good enough!

http://www.colossi.cc/reports-2012

Scratch

3 laps in, almost half a lap down. This was not how my first track race in 4 1/2 years was meant to start... The event was a scratch race- 60 laps of fast and furious track action, with first over the line the winner, and lapping the field a crucial component to success. Sadly, my naivety to think there would be some steady through and off for the first few laps was rather misconceived.

Another 4 laps later, after my own little flying Kilo effort, I had bridged up to the now break of 6, and had pretty much spent my chips, with less than half the race completed.

By around 30 laps the 6 of us had made a lap, and the winner would clearly come from one of us. Given the rest of the break were either HK National squad, or former Nationals, I think the smart money was going on one of them...

Still, no rest for the wicked. Nor for those who are about to be T-boned by a rider coming back down the track without looking...

Needless to say that come the sprint,  I got boxed in then swamped in the last 100m and came through for 6 out of 6. Still, good not to get lapped and make the selection from the initial start list. Good also to field a small colossi team and get our little track programme up and running.

Come the junior / ladies race, Hillary proved it doesn't matter what bikes she rides she still kicks ass, easily winning the ladies division. Shamefully the HKCA don't split women and juniors, so the next wave of HK Wong Kam Po's still got the nod.

As such, we made our own little podium.

https://picasaweb.google.com/115536926035453826984/ColossiTrackRacingScratchRaceMarch2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink

1954

Milan San Remo this weekend [Go Cav]. I guess the pavement outside the Duomo will still look exactly the same this year, but jesus, it's a shame the cars don't look as nice as this. Alfa?

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/photos/milan-san-remo-iconic-images/163471

Airpano

Just another overhead camera. Reminds me of Thomas Picklewickle's Shanghai Spikes.

http://www.airpano.ru/files/Honkong/start_e.html

Dead Heat

Saturday was another excellent training session at the Whitehead velodrome. 2 days later I can still feel the sprints in my legs- a good thing! We weren't quite this close over the line, but we ran pretty close once or twice. I think I topped out at about 60kph, which translates to 140rpm or so on the gear I was running. Whirrrrr... A nice link on all things gearing here:

http://thefixedgear.wordpress.com/2010/08/28/the-track-bike-part-4/

NAHBS

This time of year is always fun to scroll through the ream from the North American Handbuilt Bike Show. And 2012 is no different, except this time some of the HK alleycat guys were there to give a different perspective to the usual media channels. Here's a nice Bishop detail.

http://alleycat.hk/2012/03/03/nahbs-2012-day-1/

Nepal

Here's a film to go on the Christmas wish list. And ultimately the travel one too...

http://www.bikemag.com/videos/strength-in-numbers-andrew-shandro-and-rene-wildhaber-in-nepal/

FT RMB

An interesting article in the FT on the rise and rise of the private art museum in cash rich culture poor economies such as China, with Shanghai, and museums like the shown Rockbund being the obvious focus:

http://www.howtospendit.com/#!/articles/6658-feature-art-for-one-art-for-all

Forward

No idea who took this, but it's a cool shot from Sunday's race. The benefits of sky bridges, a city full of photography nuts and a zoom lens I guess. Number 070 looks like a bit of a fatty.

Central

A nice pre-crash image from today's criterium in Central... I don't seem to be having much luck at the minute, though I had a lot more than the guy who crashed in front of me- he was not in a good way and left the race in an ambulance. I hope he is OK- it certainly brings home the dangers of this stupid sport seeing something like that...

On the bright side, it was great to be racing in Central- I hope more events come our way on this great course. More photos on:

http://www.colossi.cc/reports-2012

Column

I like a nice column (oh errr), and they don't come much nicer than these Serra'esque bad boys in Amoy St., Wan Chai. Sure, it's sad they've knocked down yet another bit of old Hong Kong, and it's sadder still it'll be replaced by some dull generic skyscraper, but I do enjoy the process of these buildings a lot more than the end result.

Golden

When I posted a while back about my Colossi track bike (TT conversion), I mentioned how the cranks were the hardest part. This was due to the fact that although I'd bought a C-Unit fixed gear crank, I hadn't bought a corresponding bottom bracket. As such I was trying to put a crank meant for a 111mm BB onto a 102mm Campagnolo BB. This meant that when I put these cranks on with the 46t chainring it came with the chain ring and bolts actually rubbed on the frame. I managed to get around this as a short term solution by putting a 51 tooth ring I happened to have knocking about that had the same 144mm BCD as the C-Unit, countersinking the bolts on the back of the C-Unit crank, then adding some washers. After which I had about 1mm clearance back to the frame and a bad chain line. But at least the bike was usable.

This brings me to the longer term solutions. I could either put a longer BB on, or search for a track chain ring to fit my Campagnolo cranks. I decided on the latter, as if I decide to covert back to geared TT then it would be nice to keep the same crank and BB. Actually finding this ring proved to be much harder than I thought- 135mm BCD track rings are pretty rare, as this is Campagnolo's road standard BCD, and for their track cranks they go to the 144mm BCD track standard, as do Shimano (normally 130mm BCD). Luckily, I came across the excellent http://www.velosolo.co.uk/ who supplied me with a 'Made in the UK' 48t 1 1/8th 135mm BCD chain ring for a very reasonable 30 quid, and posted to the other side of the world within a week for a fiver. Problem solved, and pretty pimping with my gold chain ring bolts to boot. P Diddy eat your heart out.