Candy Cranks

Photos from the last saturday races!

Bike Polo Tournament

…and Gold Sprints!

Female: 1°

2°

3°

And a Candy Cranks fan!

RC, Scattofisso e FixedForum

Loving these fleecy lined cycling caps from Baroquemyworld. Made from wool and fleece they’ll be sure to keep your noggin’ nice and snug while out and about on those chilly days. I love the button on this one, gives it a lovely 1960’s vibe. More here.

The ever-fashionable Betsey J found these great images of Catherine Baba in Paris, shot by Tommy Ton. Amazing - makes me wish I looked so glam on my ride!

via Betsey J

Available here.

Veja and Cyclope, the first cycle shop in Paris to specialise in fixed-gear, have joined forces to create an exclusive fixed gear trainer.
- Made of ecological materials.
- Limited Edition: 384 pairs.
- Available in store from the 1st February 2010 at Offspring Neal Street (London) and Paper Scissors Stone* (Leeds)
- Pre-order at Paper Scissors Stone from Wednesday 27th January.
- £95

*Brainchild of Artist Si Scott and The Electronic Poet’s Steve Banks, Paper Scissors Stone is an eclectic mixture of concept store and exhibition space.

Stella McCartney has released a nice range of cycle wear, she’s incorporated some of her usual style options, lots of seams and gathered pin tucks. I like the simple lines, the orange gilet is lovely, I would like to have seen a wider range of colours, maybe there’s more available in store.

More info here. Thanks for tip Prolls.

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!

And I love Romeo.

Via Give and Take flickr

I’m digging these riding pants by Outlier.

“Lean, sleek and made of our core 4Season fabric. You get all the men’s performance features, in an elegant and slimming silhouette. The four way stretch and a soft inner face of the doubleweave twill fabric ensures you’re always riding in both comfort and style. Wear them to work or out for drinks, rain or shine you’ll be stepping off your bicycle looking good and feeling better.
Made locally in New York City. Not only does our 4Season fabric shed rain and dirt, dry fast and resist wear and tear, but it also meets the strict bluesign environmental standards. It’s a low impact fabric, made with tight emissions standards that ensures it’s produced with the absolute minimum amount of waste. A better way of clothing for a better way of life, enjoy them, and let us know what you think.
Fits true to size. Available in Slate Blue and Black, $180.”

Hmmm, I may need to get myself a Xmas present.. You can pick them up here.

Click the thumbnails for a bigger view.

My new bike is finally ready! It’s been 6 months in the making and so much fun watching it all come together. The frame was designed and built by Tarn at Primate Frames here in Sydney. I sourced the parts from various places including Japan, America and the UK, a lot of it is from Japan, I picked up some great bargains when I was over there in September. Pete from Star Enamellers did an amazing job on the paintwork, including my lovely custom sprayed Aerospoke, Chub Hub and B43 all in matching pink.

It’s so much fun to ride, it’s really compact and feels great to zip about on. I went for a slightly smaller frame than I usually ride and I managed to stay away from the usual black and white I tend to stick to, and I’m glad I did, I’m loving the pink wheels!

The specs are:

- Candy Cranks frame and forks
- Aerospoke, Chub Hub, B43 custom sprayed
- Paul lever
- Chris King headset
- Onebyesu CNC’d Brake
- Eastern bars, custom sprayed white
- Nitto stem
- Supertype seat post
- Regal saddle
- Candy Cranks chainring
- Sugino 75 cranks
- MKS custom nuevo pedals
- Toshi double toe straps
- Starfuckers cages
- Soma grips
- Phil Woods bottom bracket
- Shadow Conspiracy chain
- Gran Compe tyres

More info on Candy Cranks frames and Primate Frames.

Cute! Cute! Cute! Outfits, girls and bikes at the San Fran Bike Expo fashion show.
Via Richardmasoner

Some nice looking Jersys, T-shirts and cycling shorts for ladies, that aren’t covered in flowers. Yay! I’m loving this set in Particular, called “Rosie”.

We provide cycling jerseys, cycling shorts, and t-shirts that we feel embrace the spirit of women. We hope you enjoy wearing these clothes as much as we do.

Get yours at It’s a Girl Thing.

I was wondering how long it would be before someone put Swarovski Crystals on a bike. This 24 Carat gold plated bike will set you back just over $100,000 US dollars. It also comes with an optional gold bike rack, it features the companies name in Braille and can be delivered to anywhere in the world. Hmmm, wonder how long the postage takes…

Via ifitshipitshere More info Aurumania

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!

I was surprised and amused to find this in my inbox! I’m glad to see they are being used for good and not evil.

Thanks Carsten

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.

The first run of these puppies sold out in 24 hours, we’ve just got a new batch in and you can pick them up here.