Archive for the Shop Product category
For Immediate Release:
Open Bicycle (in its current Hawkins St. incarnation) will be open by appointment only starting Monday the 15th of February. We will be devoting our energies full-time to completing the build-out at our new space at 21A Union Square, next to Sherman Cafe. In the interest of taking as little as possible with us, we’ll be having a ONE DAY ONLY SALE tomorrow, Saturday the 13th. 20% off ALL NEW PRODUCT. Come get it.
Please contact us at: info AT openbicycle.com with any questions or to make an appointment.
Thanks!
Walking toward the shop from our ritualistic AM stop at Sherman Cafe with coffees in hand and laughing in the late morning light, we spotted a distinguished-looking gentleman wheeling what was obviously a classy track bike down the train bridge. Waving the fellow down, we were introduced to Tim Dixon, bike-lover, furniture-builder, and Imron-sprayer extraordinaire. Hailing from California and the heyday of West Coast craft builders, Tim was dropping in to show us this extremely elegant Sam Cotten track bike and chat a bit about his new wet-paint operation in Boston.
Sam Cotten, he explained, was a friend of his who had a part time framebuilding operation in Hollywood, as well as being an actor and amateur philosopher. Tim cut some Cinelli lugs into delicate shapes and had Sam build him this frame, which Tim then painted. The result, with the perfectly-matched C-Record kit and Cinelli bar/stem combo, is about as classy as they come. Yes, that is an extremely rare semi-sloping Cinelli track fork crown. Yes, those are Record Crono tubular rims. No, we’re sorry, but you can’t ride it.
Tim is starting up his spray operation again here on the East Coast, and we’ll be offering his services through the shop. Please do drop in to gawk at his ‘90 Cotten and start dreaming up your new paint scheme.
Luminaries passing, riots and disaster in far-flung countries, and biting cold- another week passes in our quiet “post-industrial” metropolis. Here at OPEN, busily bustling away in the basement, we sometimes miss all of the chaos occurring at or above ground level.
In a dizzying turn of events, OPEN will be moving locations next month to become Sherman Cafe’s newest neighbor. We’re excitedly planning a fresh new build-out and cozy little storefront and looking forward to even-easier access to Union Square’s finest coffee and sandwiches. Chorus Gallery is going to be homeless for a bit, but a new benevolent conglomerate has been birthed and we’re looking forward to seeing the staggering variety of projects that will come from it.
Along with all of the exciting new initiatives, we continue to hunt for the finest products for your non-conspicuous cycling-related consumption.
Dana over at Recluse whipped by on his enviable Zunow last week and dropped off some of his newest creations. Seen here are his new updated tool roll with a hand-waxed construction ($25) and a nice assortment of his custom top tube pads ($30). And yes, that is the hotly anticipated re-released Campagnolo “peanut butter” 15mm wrench, all a-bling. $44 and it feels like love.
That blank spot on your wall where your compartmentalized record of 2009 used to hang is the perfect place to put the 2010 Thought You Knew calendar. Benefiting the Chicago Women’s Health Center, these calendars (featuring your choice of gender posed along with their bikes) feature some pro photography and pretty people. They also help you figure out what day it is and prevent the forgetting of loved ones’ birthdays.
We also keep some actual bike parts and accessories around. Popular this winter: Izumi chains, (bushingless techno-wizardry from the Isle of Japan, $26-$90) Chain-L no.5, (winter-proof chain lube in the coolest bottle ever, $12) Seedssewn winter caps, (up-cycled materials and cutting edge style, made in Medford, $30) Vittoria Randonneur tires, (utterly indestructible urban tires with subtle tread and double flat protection, $30) Ironclad Cold Condition Waterproof gloves, (without equal and short money at $40) and the performance-boosting and elegantly “bobo” Phil Wood bearing upgrade for your winter Formula wheels ($8 per cartridge, a decent six-pack for the install).
We’re saving much of the really cool stuff for the new store. Fresh lugged steel from some coastal connects, handmade courier bags, and a slew of bike-lust inducing vintage parts are in the pipeline for our grand (re-)opening. Details to follow, or just pop by and catch up on the gossip.
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.
Every week, we are faced with the prospect of dozens of busted and rusted wheels, frames and components. Fodder for the dumpster, we sigh reluctantly. Today, our friend and benevolent landlady Wenzday over at Metro Pedal Power let us know that there were some folk close by that would collect the scrap metal parts for reuse and recycling. Hopefully, this will mean that the dumpster isn’t overflowing any longer and that we aren’t contributing to the equally overflowing landfill problem…
Everyone know recycling is a good thing. The ubiquitous green triangle arrow signs constantly remind us of the active role we play in a finite system. In considering our shop’s impact and position, both globally and locally, I was reminded of an Internet Manifesto (I know, I know…) that I ran across a bit back that is worth considering:
At times, we here in the OPEN shop find ourselves facing a dilemma. A component on a customers bike is broken or damaged, and we recognize two alternative paths of action. We could spend an hour or two disassembling the part, scrounging for a replacement pin or bushing, and inevitably one-off manufacturing something that will work (and often times work better than the original). It generally is easier (and more profitable, of course) to toss the broken mechanism in the trash and sell the customer a new, if perhaps lower quality, part. That sort of solution, however, lacks the personal satisfaction of the repair and the greater utilitarian good of reducing consumption.
Is it counter-productive of me to discourage consumption? In the end, I believe not- it’s not that I naively think that one can exist in our contemporary Western society without buying new things- the manic-depressive Massachusetts seasons require a closet full of gear and outerwear, your bike will wear through tires and chains as you put in the miles, etc. I don’t think that helping people spend less, consume less, and ultimately demand less production means that I’m shooting myself in the foot as a business owner- as I personally enjoy the meta-material relationship of a repairer to “repairee” more than the reductive relationship of the seller to consumer, and as people (re)learn to appreciate and support the craft and art of expert repair, I think that my business will flourish.
To this end, we are offering, as is appropriate this time of year as we are all looking for something thoughtful and expressive for our loved ones, OPEN Shop gift certificates. These cards, unlike out standard certificates, are good only for labor and repair time. Here’s the deal: insofar as we want to promote the repair and utility of the bicycles we so dearly love, we’ll match you dollar for dollar on these certificates. Buy your guy a $100 card, we’ll pay $50. Get your wife credit for 2 tune-ups for her daily commuter and we’ll cover the cost of one. The idea here is give the gift of repair- we’re not going to look over your shoulder but we’re trying to encourage the growth of local personal human services over that of crude consumption of imported future landfill real estate.
There’s no expiration date on the certificates. Any denomination (US$ or equivalent) is fine with us. For the record, comprehensive tunes are $60, rebuilding your French BB about $25, and a complete service of your 55 year-old Sturmey Archer 3-speed hub about $50. Anything else you can think of / make-up / inspire us to try: $60/hr. E-mail me with any questions.
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 friendly FedEx guy just dropped off our first Loki shipment- a box full of Morf zip-up hoodies. Jeremy offered to model:
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.
