Open Bicycle

I have no way to relate this to bicycles or to anything going on at Open, but I just wanted to acknowledge that the great author J.D. Salinger has died.  It is upsetting that the news of his death competed with the news of the release of the i-Pad, and then ceased altogether. But maybe that’s for the best and he would have appreciated the privacy. That is all I wanted to say really. I am sure that some of you out there can relate to my feelings of sadness over his death.

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.

It seems my earlier prognosis about rod brakes has come true.  Yielding to the demands of the times, Open is clearing its stock of fixed gear bikes to make room for some shiny new (or rather, crusty, old) roadsters.

Well, maybe I exaggerate again; the fixed gears are staying. But the roadsters are coming too.  If you attended Spoke Count, you are probably acquainted with the 1936 Raleigh Lady’s Tourist that hung suspended from the ceiling. And if that wasn’t enough, Open is collaborating with the newly formed Boston Retro Wheelmen to develop a programme of workshops aimed at vintage IGH bikes.

Why? Because vintage three speeds are good. Built like tanks, they withstand pretty much anything the city throws at you. They are easy to ride and easy to maintain. They love you and they want you to love them back. So if you live in the neighborhood and have an old, forlorn 3-speed that needs resuscitating, bring it to Open and it shall be cared for in the manner it deserves.  Restored vintage 3-speeds are also occasionally available for sale.

[pictured above: Somervillain and Biking In Heels tend to their steeds during a Boston Retro Wheelmen meeting.]

Spoke Count is a Chorus Gallery-hosted collaborative installation featuring 100+ small works about bikes by various artists from the community.  The show is open submission- that means you, dear reader!  Your work can be on any type of media and in any genre or format- we only ask that there be some reference to bicycles in the piece and the finished work be 8″x8″ and able to be hung.  It is estimated that there currently exist over one billion bicycles in the world- this show will attempt to visualize this (growing) mass of our favorite revolutionary transport.

Submissions are open to anyone- complete the form at the Chorus Gallery website to participate.  Deadline for work is 5p January 7th- show reception is 7p, January 9th 2010.

Our Fedex driver dropped off of a box of brand new Ironclad gloves.

This time our friendly shop manager JT tested the Cold Condition gloves.  After lighting them on fire, he dunked his hand completely under water, and his hands came out perfectly dry.

All sizes are back in stock and ready to keep your hands warm and dry.

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.