It's the middle of winter here in the Midwest and to get everyone motivated to go out and ride we've teamed up with Empire and Prolly to throw a little photo contest. We will pick our favorite 3 post cards from the submissions. Remember, don't limit yourself to the generic rules. We will be judging based on all-around creativity not just the photo.
Today we are proud to announce the official launch of Chrome's newest Southside All City shoe in collaboration with COG. We wanted our readers to be the first to know that they are available (limited edition of 600 pairs) today on the CHROME website!
Now live is a short documentary of Peter during the final days of our production and mailing of issue 11 made by local Milwaukee filmmaker, Jack Davidson with help editing from Dan Ollman. Check it out below!
Chrome asked Prolly to do a little Q&A style interview with us for their site which can be seen HERE.
A HUGE thank you to all the above mentioned and especially CHROME for giving us this opportunity. We are really stoked to be a part of this project!
We produced this video from all of our photographs taken at the CHROME checkpoint during Saturday's qualifying heats. Congratulations to the Austin NACCC crew for putting on such a great event. See you all next year, in Richmond, VA!!
The Knog Strongman high security u-lock has just landed its first date with my Schwinn Paramount. I'm sure he'll hold on good and tight...
It was quite a sight to see Ryan Trebon (6'5") re-mount his Felt cross machine up close and in person. Trebon was part of a group of 10 that lead the entire race at Cross Vegas last week.
Pristine Fixed Gear, Amsterdam
The second release from our Euro Tour video series.
Filmed entirely on Kodak Tri-X super 8 film stock, utilizing the COG cineLab for development and telecine. Special thanks to Sammy, Gijs and Keng at Pristine. Cheers!
From Milwaukee to Amsterdam
Here's the first release from our Euro Tour video series. Filmed entirely on Kodak Tri-X super 8 film stock, using COG cine labs for development and telecine. Enjoy!
It's true, all of the stainless headbadges you see gracing Milwaukee Bicycle Co.'s frames are silver brazed one by one in the basement of Ben's Cycles. Just ask Steve.
BOOM! Just like that, the new Knog USB rechargeable Boomers and magnetic wearable lights landed in Milwaukee. Cheers Melbourne!
Low and behold, yesterday we received another box of SweetWater Brewery's Crank Tank Rye'd Ale. Brewed once a year for a worthy cause benefiting Camp Twin Lakes and Spin for Kids. Cheers, SweetWater!
Amsterdam is our first stop on our European tour and Pristine Fixed Gear has welcomed us with open arms. Come early for the pre-show alleycat thrown by the locals at Pristine. Stay late for a chance to win a special Leader 725 frame courtesy of Brick Lane Bikes and other prizes from SOMA, Pake, Swrve, and All-City. Hope to see you there!
On our visit to San Francisco back in November COG spent a couple hours with the fine folks over at Chrome. We took in a tour of their store and then went upstairs to see some of their behind the scenes development projects. One of these projects was the Niko bag. For myself, being a car free photographer, I'm on a continual search for the ultimate bag which allows easy access to my gear, while in the saddle. So, upstairs at Chrome HQ, Sharkey places an early prototype of the Niko in my hands...it seemed perfect. It was one of those, "holy shit, you did it!" moments...
After months of following up on the progress of the camera bag, the first production sample finally arrived at COG HQ a couple days ago. We were eager to go out riding and shooting with it, here are some initial hands-on impressions...
First off, the Niko isn't a lightweight, it's put together with highly durable weatherproof fabric on the outside and the inside is quite soft which makes my gear happy. Included are the standard padded dividers to arrange as you wish. There's easily enough room to accommodate required gear for most any shoot on the go.
The Niko sports the signature Chrome buckle, and yes, as Prolly pointed out, could be a sore spot for an old, but timeless prank. The action on the strap/buckle combo is smooth. The single shoulder design takes advantage of the messenger style quick access to the Niko's main compartment without dealing with a big flap in your face.
The main compartment uses two heavy duty, storm shielded zippers with extra clasps for long haul security. The carry handle is solid, there are velcro straps for a tripod or light stand and an extra outside access area which could hold a couple flashes or your Super 8 camera with plenty of film for the day... Nice work Chrome!
Our friends over at Lakefront Brewery have just released their fantastic Fixed Gear, American Red Ale in classic six-packs. We wasted no time and grabbed a six fresh off the bottling lines, plunked it into a PDW takeout basket en route to consumption.
Our 16mm series continues with part six...enjoy!
Our 16mm series continues with part five...
Antonyo, Sam, Kris and the rest of the Milwaukee crew got it together again this year to bring the fixed gear freestyle mayhem back to the Midwest once again.
Josh Boothby, Midwest Mayhem #2, Milwaukee WI photo by Kevin Sparrow
Our series continues with part four. Looking forward to having all the FGFS riders in town for MWM2 this weekend!
Our 16mm series continues with part 3...
Yesterday was the grand opening of Golden Saddle Cyclery in Los Angeles. Kyle (Trackosaurus Rex) has spent the last couple of months dialing in all the details for the shop.
If you are in LA, stop in and have a can of sparkling wine with them.
They also will be stocking COG mags and soft goods.
Congratulations Kyle!
