Candy Cranks

How adorable are these Japanese made Kaostem’s. Rie, Shino, Jess, you guys know where they’re available from?
Via Prolls

Robo cog is a new workshop that has recently opened up in Surry hills on the corner of Commonwealth Stand and Campbell St. (at the back of the Spring Court store) It’s an open workshop with tools and workstands and some friendly peeps around to answer any questions you may have.

The guys are putting on a photography competition with some great prizes up for offer. Register at Robo Cog with a photo of you and your best whip and you could be sporting some super new gear.

Robo Cog is open on weekends, Saturday - Sunday from 1-4pm.

Check out Le Pistas photos and post on Robo Cog.

Available here.

Picked up these babies for my man while I was in NYC. The perfect cycling shoe in an SF colorway. (represent!) Thanks Suz & Massan! Nike, time to do somethin for the ladies!

Photo from NYC.gov

Good news for NYC bike commuters! The Bicycle Access to Office Buildings Law just went into effect on December 11th, 2009, whereby allowing cyclists the opportunity to park their bikes in or close to the workplace.

This is great news to make life easier for current commuters and to encourage would-be commuters. (After you’ve survived the harrowing NYC morning commute, the last thing you want to worry about is a secure space to park your bike.)

For the law to apply, your employer needs to be located in a commercial office building with at least one freight elevator.

Of course, if there is no freight elevator accessible, you can still ask your employer if you can carry your bike up the stairs. (I once worked for a company that allowed us to park our bikes in the basement. When the basement was no longer available, we carried them up the stairs to an unused part of the office. People may complain about damage/wall smudges, so be careful with your tires on the landings.)

If you use this new program, or if you have an employer who has offered a helpful solution to accommodate your bike, let us know!

And now we take a pause from the bike-centric for a fashion highlight on:

Cufflinks!

I don’t think that cufflinks get enough attention. And I think that they may appeal to Candy Cranks readers, so allow me to elaborate.

A few years ago I acquired a very bold and very pink button-down shirt. The only sartorial problem was what to do at the wrists, because the shirt sleeves ended in the button-less mystery of French cuffs. My quest for cufflinks was born.

Cufflinks are a largely under-appreciated ornament, typically only spotted on bankers, European CEOs and the stray dandy. And forget about seeing cufflinks on a woman. But why are cufflinks so ignored? Why do we submit to the tyranny of shirtmakers who impose their choice of cuff buttons on us?

Cufflinks are bits of color and texture, fragments of delight at the end of the sleeve. They add a flourish without the weight or bother of something hanging from your ears or around your neck (something that bikers wearing helmets and bike bags and trying to avoid getting strangled by rear view mirrors can appreciate).

And something a little punk rock happens when a woman wears cufflinks — perhaps like when women started wearing pants — it co-opts a bit of boardroom from the boys. For my pink shirt, I started with a simple pair of silk knots (the “training wheels” of the cufflink world). In branching out, I came across the Minnesota-based designer William Dean, more commonly known as “WMDEAN, the King of Handmade Cufflinks.”

WMDEAN makes handmade cufflinks (pictured above) from various materials such as gemstones, found objects like old coins and glass beads and metals like platinum, silver and recycled aluminum. They are edgy and playful — my favorites are the pink cameos, which are not your grandmama’s cameos, because the delicate motif in relief happens to be a skull-and-crossbones.

WMDEAN recently participated in a Q&A for Candy Cranks, excerpts of which follow.

CC: How would you describe your cufflinks?

WD: I like to believe that my cufflinks embody the spirit of Salvador Dali’s surrealism and Marcel Duchamp’s love of found objects. I also have a deep fascination for symbols and the meanings behind them. Put those three artistic elements together and you get WMDEAN.

CC: Which are your favorites?

WD: It really changes from day to day. I feel that wearing cufflinks can be a discreet way in which a person, can express themselves. Like many cufflink lovers, I own hundreds of pairs of cufflinks. When I wear cufflinks, it’s a reflection of my mood. Right now, I am really into a pair I made that remind me of Duchamp’s Anemic Cinema (pictured above). They are mostly orange, which I love! They have a brown metallic swirl that runs through them. They are set in a WMDEAN exclusive bezel cup with a button back in Sterling Silver. Best of all, they look FANTASTIC on men or women.

CC: What do you think of cufflinks on women?

WD: I find that many women are looking for cufflinks for that one french cuff shirt that they have in the closet. They love that shirt, but can’t find the right cufflinks to dress it up. The truth is that most cufflink manufacturers are not interested in making cufflinks for women. I disagree! I believe that women need cool cufflinks too! Besides that, if the cufflinks ROCK, then the woman will buy them for special people in her life too!

CC: Where is best to find your cufflinks?

WD: The best place to see my work, and participate in the madness, is on my Facebook fan page. The best places to purchase WMDEAN cufflinks are currently my website, eBay, Etsy.

CC: What’s next?

WD: WORLD DOMINATION! Totus genus flectus dementis Regis salutant qui sibi artifex dixit! (Everyone bow down to the MAD King… who calls himself an ARTIST!)

In closing, WMDEAN has a special offer for Candy Cranks readers. He says that if you become a fan on his Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Oaks-MN/WMDEAN/111600214935?ref=ts, and post a message on his wall saying, “WMDEAN is the KING,” his company will contact you privately to send you a FREE pair of cufflinks.

Can’t beat that. Thanks WMDEAN!

TKO: One week of images in sixty seconds from Andy Miller on Vimeo.

Images of Tokyo from 16-23 November 2009. It wasn’t a sight-seeing trip, but there was plenty to see just hanging out with interesting people from Japan and abroad — many converging on Tokyo for the 5th annual Bicycle Film Festival. This is my week in Tokyo.

Check out the original set of images on flickr. Thanks Andy!

My favorite bike shop, Halcyon, is hosting an alleycat to celebrate their first birthday!

Poster designed by Keith

I’m loving these beard heads, they probably need some eyebrows as well. They could be a good cycling hat for all you Northern Hemispherians coming into winter now
Get your beard head here.

FIRE: Meg surprised me at my doorstep. My world turned hazy as it took me longer than usual to grasp something. To release that she was indeed holding only one thing that would send me burning…my new CANDY CRANKS bike!
WATER: I let the shock run into the distance as I checked it out. My mouth watered and I felt sleazy as I ran my hand over the bike and soaked in the beautiful craftsmanship of Primate Frames.
EARTH: Leonardo De Vinci claimed, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” and this guided my bikes understated colour scheme and wood finish rims.
WIND: Light as an eagles feather this chief of transport flew me. My heart truly beating like a jungle drum.…In life I strive to find balance between the beauty of the natural world and the man-made world. The photos above where taken around my neighborhood as I tried to combine both elements of natural and man-made beauty through colour, line and texture. This was the influence behind the creation of my bike.

Shino took me to her favourite bike shop in Tokyo owned by the super cool Takumi. They have lots of hot bikes on display, and a great range of accessories. I’m still amazed at how many awesome bike shops there are in Japan. Bean’s is definitely one to check out if you make it to Tokyo.

A few more pics here.

I’m seeking a shifty boys helmet for my nephew. Comment if you got ideas.

Sure lime, olive and jade coloured bikes are all fresh. So radical I see them on your rims, hubs and bars. But sorry guerrilla man, I’m one up ya. You see I got the latest for you freedom fighter! Hear me now because It’s GREEN bikes will have you on the streets being ‘all’ revolutionary. You got that little geezer? It’s time you stop pedalling so I found these ones for you to sit in and you can listen to your music box.

 here….

Bicycle Furniture 

Found browsing apartmenttherapy

Well it looks like there’s lots of people pretty confident about the hotness of their bikes! The first round of t-shirts almost sold out overnight, so I’m ordering a second batch. If you haven’t already, you can email me with your size and colour option so you don’t miss out.

hello@candycranks.com

A quick round-up of some of the fun reflective bike wear - perfect for fall riding!

The Lumatwill Cape from Dashing Tweeds

Elena Corchero’s Reflective Lace

Liz Collin’s Reflective cardigans and more

and by yours truly, a felted reflective vest with LED button

Feeling cocky? My bike is better than your bike, let the world know with these little numbers.

- American Apparel
- Screen printed in Australia
- Extra long length
- Unisex sizes
- Available in black or white

Get em here.

Look splendid on your groovy bike in London Town with Cycle Chic.
Beautiful accessories and bags also a great blog to where you can join
London bike outings and more…

Nice interview with Staisha from Headset on Fatlace, she’s given a good insight into her fashion and cycling style.

My nephew is about 16 months and bike crazy. Honestly “bike” and “bye-bye” are his most used words. One of his favorite games is getting me to put my helmet on his head and “pretend” to ride a bike around the room. But recently he got his first bike (it’s attached to a handlebar to push him around) but eventually this turns into a tricycle and so on. Now he just needs one of these cute limited edition cycling hats recently launched by Rocket fuel and he can really play the part!

I really like the new collection of Dakine for 2010. They have some good new stuff at Eurobike 2009. Especially the Girls Collection!
There are Shorts for “All Mountain Biking” and Shorts for “Freeride Biking”. My Favorites are the Freeride one “Mode Short”, they have some cute details like the removable recoil pass pocket or the side waist tab adjustments.. wondering how they would fit with my crash pants.

I also like the Back Packs, there are two new models “Girls AMP 18L and 12L, specifically designed to fit a girl’s frame. Those two models are good for Bike Tours. All Packs have this new molded back panel with Air Channel Ventilation. I was given a new Girls Drafter Pack yesterday. Looking forward to take them on my next Biking Trip.

If you are going with your bike to work, I would recommend the new “COMMUTER BAG”, equipped with a padded laptop sleeve (fits most 15” laptops), a tarp lined shoe pocket and of course an expandable helmet pocket. I definitely like to have one of these Bags.

And I also loved the Brooks Stand

More impressions on my Blog:
www.kAIRin.ch