Open Bicycle

Our Surly Steamrolling friend Jeff shot us this article yesterday as it went live on one of his near & dear creative-minded consumer sites, Selectism.  Goodmorning Technology just announced the newest piece to their “Bikes and Stuff Around Them” project – the bike porteur bars & basket.

I have been on a huge basket and fender kick this spring, yet I prefer riding my Reminton track bike around town – so this definitely catches my eye.  The bar and basket integration solution fits the aesthetic quality that most track-bike riders adorn, smooth lines, tight geometry and lots of shiny bits.  As the Selectism article does, I question the structural integrity and also the size.  Removing the weight from the fork mounts and placing it all on the stem and headset could prove problematic when hauling around multiple bottles of Pinot or cans of PBR.  As for the size, exactly how many bottles or cans could one stack?

I appreciate the integration of the bar into the basket, while Joshua seems to think that with a set of Velo Orange Belleville Porteur bars, a few yards of 4130 aircraft tubing and the flame from our oxy-acetaline torch he could do better – and that folks, is why I love him.  As I was finishing the past sentance, I heard something pop a few feet behind my head – well worth this quick photo:

Joshua just snapped an arm off the shop vice pulling a stuck crank arm off of our pal Joe’s new, used Peugeot project.  Cameo in the back!  Brek.One has also been spending a lot of time in the shop – he’s getting ready to buy a Lexus (with a bike rack!) and drop his first major mixtape, so look out.