Yesterday’s I Love My Bike Book Ride was a smashing success- the Square was packed with kind folk and their beloved bikes and Finkle led everyone around on a scenic tour/photoshoot of the Somerville/Cambridge/Boston area.  Thanks to all who came out and hung out.  FYI’s: we’ve got a good stock of the Chris Piascik- designed tees, printed on American Apparel, in stock now at OPEN.

I was asked to review some Arnhem Suede Shoes by Chrome, but they do not make them in my size. So I gave them to my Co-Habitant, the gentleman pictured below.  He has been wearing the Chrome Arnhems for a month now and is surprised by how much he likes them. He wears them without clips, and the soles grip the pedals firmly in all but the worst weather conditions. They are also comfortable to walk in: He has spent 12-hour work shifts on his feet in these!

But the really interesting thing, is that the suede is fairly water resistant, as well as road-salt resistant.  I though for sure the shoes would get ruined if he wore them in the snow and slush, but they are fine in the winter.

Open carries the Chrome Arnhem Suede Shoes in men’s sizes 7-14. If you are female, I believe that a size 7 translates to a ladies’ size 9.  I wish Chrome made these in my size, because they sound like great cycling shoes.

We take product selection and testing very seriously here at OPEN.  After looking into the various gloves marketed by cycling apparel manufacturers, we decided that every offering had some flaws- not weather-proof enough, too much padding, or simply too expensive.  We started looking elsewhere- surely there was someone making gloves that would keep your hands dry and toasty throughout the climate-change ravaged Northeast winters?  The solution, we found, was in workwear.  A few of us had been very happy with our Ironclad mechanics gloves, and we decided to investigate their other models.

Ironclad has been making technical gloves for industrial, construction, and military use since 2005, utilizing cutting-edge fabrics and rugged design.  Their gloves are ergonomically fitted, well priced, extremely durable, and (we think) stylish.  We brought in two models, the Tac-Ops (Teflon-impregnated, stealthy black, thin and flexible; perfect for cool weather riding or covert spy missions) and the Cold Condition Waterproof (seriously dunk-your-hands-in-a-bucket waterproof, insulated, and featuring good knuckle protection; these are the gloves oil rig workers in Alaska use, and probably too warm for any day above 40 degrees), $26 and $40 respectively.  We feel like that’s a lot of glove for short money, but we decided to put these gloves to the test.  Jeremy offered to check the Tac-Ops purported fire and oil resistance:

The gloves stood up to JT’s pyromania, and also passed the immediately-following dunk test.  We’re proud to offer these quality gloves, lacking in bike-chic brand labels (and associated price tags) as the ideal solution for your frozen fingers.  All sizes now in stock, here at OPEN.

The Morf offers the same integrated mitts and face shield that the popular Loki jackets have.  We originally set up an account with Loki to bring in the venerable Myth softshell, but it seems that the jacket has undergone a material change for this year- it’s no longer a waterproof outerlayer.  Instead, we sourced these nice lined hoodies- perfect for layering.  $79 here at OPEN.

As the frosts approach, we here at Open are looking to bring in new seasonal product to keep your fingers warm and tires on the ground… which means making some room in our little shop.  We’ve got a nice assortment of Chrome product, from the all-new (and toasty warm) shoes, with in-sole stiffeners and ballistic Cordura uppers and laces, to a lineup of the SF brand’s bags and hip packs.  Bags in stock are 15% off and shoes in stock are 20% off until the end of the month!

Dave has been honing his skills on the sewing machine all year, all the while putting his signature upcycled-material caps on fashion-forward heads all around town and taking care of an awesome and growing family.  The new winter caps feature New England-appropriate wools and flannels with cotton liners.  Each cap is individual, and can be custom tailored for your head.  Earflaps and other features are possible custom options, as well.  The caps start at $30 and are only available here at Open.

Every time I visit OPEN, Joshua’s hands are perpetually covered in bike grease. When I see him, we dance through our customary social greeting which habitually begins with him saying, “Sorry man, my hands are dirty…” — followed by a hand slap that tightens into a tug-of-war style embrace, which leads into a shoulder-to-shoulder connect for the finish.

The fact that Joshua’s hands are always grimy is comforting to me. His greasy hands are symbolic of Joshua’s creative passion for what he and Zack, both, hope to bring to the familial and collaborative space they have created with OPEN.

For Joshua’s hands, gloved in filth, hardened and sometimes scarred from a day spent repairing and building bikes, the grease represents his pencil and is the one tool that feeds [your] creativity and is so essential that without it [you] feel naked and unprepared (Tharp, The Creative Habit).

What is the pencil for your creative habit? For me, quite literally, it is a pencil. True to my hustle, it is called the perfect pencil. As a writer, my pencil helps capture the world around me through finished narratives, or by sharing the fractured elements of stories without a voice.

Where’s your pencil? What creative spark to your habit will it bring to keep your fire burning? I suspect that once you discover the tool, the only thing left to pursue is your passion. Like Joshua, with his hands perpetually covered in bike grease, this is one habit you will never have a need to apologize.

With all of this fresh press has come fresh criticism – some of which I am a bit a bothered by.  So, my response: Anyone stating that these articles are nothing but an attempt to turn cycling into a fashion show and a promotion to the well-to-do is absolutely close-minded.  Anything that promotes riding a bicycle is good in my book, whether its riding a Traitor in cut-off Dickies and Vans or a Dutch bicycle in tailored trousers and Sidi’s.  To each his own; convert a basement find or call Independent Fabrications – at the end of the day, it all takes self-motivation and two wheels.  I have come to accept the fact that as the popularity of a subject increases, so does the criticism – its an unfortunate habit of pop culture.  However, this isn’t a heavily charged topic, we are talking about bicycles, just bicycles!  It should be considered one of America’s pasttimes, after all, for most, it is a nostalgia of childhood.

If you didn’t catch yesterdays article in the NYT, Riding the IT Factor, I suggest should read it.  The article is focused around the WWII-era Dutch Bicycle, something that we and the rest of Somerville are quite fond of. My only real gripe with the article is a statement that attorney James Vicente made, “I never ride with a helmet either, even when people are telling me I’m an idiot. Riding a bike should be normal, and you shouldn’t have to wear a funny Styrofoam hat.”  I don’t really know what to say about his comment, except that anyone who thinks wearing a helmet alienates you from the cycling norm has probably hit the pavement one too many times.  The ostensibly well-educated attorney was also discredited after the article noted he rides a fixed-conversion, and then quoting him saying, “Juxtapose that (the dutch bicycle) with the most fashionable bikes in New York now, the fixed-gear bikes, which are really impractical.”  I completely disagree with the statement that the fixed-gear bicycle is impractical, but we’ll save that conversation for another time.

If you missed the April 2, 2009 article, In These Clothes, You Can Go Far, it provides a good look into Rapha.  With all of this said, it is great to see publications such as the NYT investing resources and time into cycling, anything that promotes riding a bicycle is good in my book.  Now Go Ride Your Bike!

We found these vintage 80’s Nike cyclocross kicks a while back (I would say we found them in the basement, but the whole shop is in the basement, so it would be somewhat redundant)- I think they’re back in style full force! Nylon & suede uppers in hot colors, stiff integrated “cleated” sole. Nearly NOS- check them out!

This tee is a bit cryptic to most; a set of Campagnolo component icons used in their mid-1980’s to early 1990’s catalogs.  I’m a huge fan of iconic graphic identities, great design is timeless:

Here’s an example of the icons in use, pulled from the 1990 Chorus catalog:

In 1989, Greg LeMond’s 55×12 ratio in the final time trial stage into Paris brought him from 50 seconds back to win the Tour de France by an 8 second margin.  The graphic accentuates LeMond’s goggles, the Oakley Factory Pilots, which became a bit more popular after his win.  Sprinting to victory at an average of 34.52mph, one of the fastest TT speeds in Tour history, LeMond definitely deserves his own tee:

Finally, we come to Mr. Eddy Merckx.  This man is well known for winning more races than anyone else in the history of competitive cycling: 11 Grand Tours,  28 Classic Races, 4 World Championships, 27 Track races (including 17 six-day races) and a he held the hour record for a long, long time – Enough said:

I’ve thrown one of our in-house, handmade SeedSewn caps next to each of the tees, these things have been quite the favorite this week, so I figured, “what the heck.”  Products are available via our (new!) webstore.