BMX Track and the MTN Bike Van!!

Chris, Richard and Scott went to a BMX track at C470 and Colorado Blvd. tonight.
So fun.

Packed dirt with big huge sweeping turns makes everything right.

All of us progressively got faster and smoother. Some of us wrecked pretty hard. We aren't mentioning names, but it wasn't Richard or Scott.

So, the van is almost ready for prime time. It is licensed, registered, insured and pretty. It just needs some bike racks. This time next week that task shall be completed and we will take our inaugural Saturday morning mountain ride. No fooling around this time. The van seats 8 and holds 9 bikes. We'll email the Salvagetti email list when and where and how, but it is coming up soon.

Chris - Generic Cycles Bronx
Richard - Azonic DJ
Scott - Brooklyn Machine Works Park

Learning something new

Some of our crew has started a new venture. We have been dirt jumping. And some of those jumps have been videotaped. And those movies are on YouTube.com. Here are two of them:

Scott riding his Brooklyn Park Bike on some sissy jumps that are kind of intimidating. Kind of...



And Tom taking a piece of jump home with him.



We'll post more as we have more. Come ride with us soon.

Dang Gangsta (AKA Brooklyn Machine Works Gangsta Track)

First one complete... and then he let us ride it.

I know a great bike when I feel one. And a track bike that lets me confidently try to do a stand still whiplash is fun. Not just fun, but hilariously fun. Since I have ridden the Brooklyn Gangsta Track bike, I have craved its presence at least a dozen times. It has only been a few days since we were last together. Soon enough, she'll come back to me and I will successfully completely my trick of tricks.

We are building up at least one of them complete in the next week. How do you find out how fun a bike is without riding it? Well... you really can't. But, you will have to leave us some *serious* collateral to put it between your legs.

Frame : Brooklyn Gangsta Track (LRG)
Fork: Same as frame
Cranks: Truvativ Omniums
Wheels: Mavic Ellipse
Everything else: Nice but not too nice.

All right BMW!

We are carrying Brooklyn Machine Works bicycles, parts and "stuff":

These bikes feel like someone has read your mind when you were on some wonderful drug. Our fear is the revolt you will feel when you climb back on your old bike. Right now we have a Pooky and a Park on their way to our temple of bikes. Soon enough, we have Gangstas coming. If you are serious about buying any of these, you may want to plop the money down before we get them, if they aren't already sold to employees before you even get a chance. We'll get more sometime though.

For a good time, look at uTube for Brooklyn Machine Works. You may just laugh out loud.

http://www.brooklynmachineworks.com

Pedal Fetish?

I love pedals. I cannot help it. I love looking at them. I love thinking about them. I love talking about them. I just love pedals.

I have a few pairs that I am most proud of...

1. I am most proud of my Brooklyn Machine Works Shinburgers. These are CNC'd out of solid aluminum to make your feel stick like clipless. Once, while I was jumping off of some stairs, I actually became unglued to the right pedal. As I came down full force, I felt a dull pain on my left shin. The kind of dull pain that smell like a hospital is in your future. The kind of pain that makes you forget everything around you. I rolled up my pants to see the damage. I leaned in for a good look and found a perfect pyramid indentation about 3 cm deep right where the pedal had gone in... to my shinguard... I still got a nasty bruise and bragging rights.

2. My second favorite pedals are my old school Atomic Lab Trail Pimps. They are super thin and beautiful. I love looking at them and I love getting hurt riding them. My best injury with these pedals came when I was waiting on my sidewalk for my friend Evan to show up so we could get really really hurt. When he showed up, I was laying down holding my shin sort of laughing. I had been trying to be a trials rider on my bmx bike and had slipped. The pedal shaved a wide thick chuck of skin off of my shin and it was hanging from my pedal. I should've taken a picture because it could be its own website.

3. My last, but still favorite pedals aren't original or different, but I still love them. It is the Crank Brothers Mallets. I just love the simplicity and the absolute usefulness of them. I don't have any great pedal related accidents with them and I plan on keeping it that way. I can pull up as hard as I want and not worry about rolling off the pedals. That is fun. Feels like I am running up the hill instead of doing lunges.

The Taste of Dirt

I remember the first time by brother really actually hurt me. We were playing catch with a tennis ball and he got very confident that I could catch anything he threw at me, so he launched one. I got hit in the nose. So hard, that it just fell cold and blood started gushing out of both nostrils. His immediate response was to *sort of* compliment me by telling me how cool it was to get a double bloody nose. I have to say, I felt pretty proud of it; even though it hurt like crazy. And I went to tell my mom on him.

The taste of dirt was on my nephew's lips on Thanksgiving. We went to the Lake Arbor dirt jumps. He doesn't know what to be scared of yet and he sure did rip through several jumps for about an hour. Then comfort set in... and.... POW! His bars turned to the side on a landing and his face stopped him from skidding. I watched his head bounce on the ground (with his helmet) and the pause before the scream. I tried to pull the complimentary comment out: "That was a great wreck! Wow, I'm impressed!". Aidan looks at me with dirt on his mouth, a little bit of tears and lots of rage in his eyes and says exactly what I first thought when I had a double-bloody-nose. "I DON'T CARE!".

He got back on the bike within 10 minutes and was doing the same jump within the half hour.

"Gotta get back on the horse"

Aidan: Giant STP 125
Carl: Bridgestone MB4
Andres: Mountain Cycle Hardtail
Scott: Brooklyn Park Bike

Go Bike Go!

Yesterday, Scott and Chris went to Elk Meadow for some easy-fast-fun riding. The trail was perfect on the way in, with exception to the gentlemen who were *killing us* by going slowly up the climbs. The singletrack through the trees reminded me of times when I have been in a car with someone who was going too fast for conditions. Except that Chris was whooping it up loudly and Scott was smiling ear to ear, far from hanging on for dear life. Scott endo'd when he saw a "huge red fox", but otherwise, no good crashes to speak of. The whole time, rain was trying its best to fall, but to no avail. Until we got to a clearing at the top of Too Long trail. The clouds unzipped and pow! Rain, followed by hail, followed by lightening. We obviously turned around since lightening is a no second chances hazard. On the way back down, we let it all hang out. We were definitely pushing on the too fast for conditions line. We made it back unscathed and soaked. It was one of the most fun rides I have been on in recent memory.

Scott's bike: Brooklyn Machine Works Park bike, fox fork, singlespeed 26"/24"
Chris's bike: Black Sheep Full Suspension Ti, Fox suspension (w/Push inside), 27 speeds

And lastly...
We are placing our very first order with Giant Bicycles today. It will be a momentus occasion for Salvagetti to receive these bikes. I have my eye on several of the 2007 mountain bikes.

Thanks for reading,

Scott T.