Hellsinki Super Weekend

Last weekend was many ways successful in Hellsinki. There was famous Flow-festival and 9th King Of Fixed, the fixed gear riders fun and play days. During this three days there was a number of great performers in Flow and several interesting activities in KOF. Criterium-race, alleycat-race, trackstand, footdown etc. awesome s**t.

In Flow festival there was at least 3000 bicycles parked in special parking area where talented mechanics offered their services too.

Surprise events are always great fun too, BikePunksHellsinki held their tall bike jousting tournament in Dallape park. Hellsinki is getting better.

photo by Marjut

photo by k1m

Bicycle is not future of transportation

Says Syd Mead in this serious or perhaps HC trolling article which create again flaming discussion where car or bicycles are against each other. Well, world is not that B&W.

Mr Mead is conceptual artist, famous from films like Blade Runner and Alien. Conseptual artist is typically hired to sketch the producers first ideas of the coming film. These sketches are important to convince finance and artistical people to be involved to this film. No doubt, Mr Mead has succeed to do this. But as futuristic thinker he is somehow narrow minded. Car is not the latest invention in transporting history. Like fire or wheel, old inventions are use full too. Basic transportation devices are all ready invented, they are just getting better and better in time.

I'm sure that in future everything is powered by engines, even sidewalks but there is a well reserved place for human powered vehicles too. People still need and want to use their muscles to create power. They want to feel alive and gain something real instead of sitting in a boxed four wheel chair and be sure that this is the thing.

Cinelli SCP

This full chromed beauty from 1962 or 63 came to my hands last week it auction held in Helsinki Olympic Velodrome. It is painted to Bianchi celeste colors but really it is Cinellin Super Corsa Pista. Year of make is unconfirmed and also that tubing is from Reynolds 531 and Columbus tubing both.

Fast first build and test ride done tonight in moderate rain, it was a bliss for blessed new owner.

Doctor's tools

Visited Doctor's workshop again and he showed interesting vintage and new tools to solve common problems in bicycle repair and build. With these you can save rare frames and hard-to-find forks. I give big respect for Doctor's contribution to world of bicycles.

Long caliper to measure ERD on rims

This fits to aero rims too

Cottered cranks pin press

Made by Danecia(?)

Fork jig to observe and adjust

Extented saw to get rid of stucked saddleposts

Knife grinder from Buenos Aires

Front end tools

Ability to innovate, create new idea's and develope them to working machines is one of the homo sapiens great skills. They are the only species that clothe themselves, build fires and use tools in massive ways. Perhaps the greatest tool of Homo Sapiens is the hand itself.

New and old tools belong to bicycle world too, imagination is the only limit to creative problem solving. Here is just a few examples of variety of bicycle tools. These photos are from front end tools that are used to repair or build your precious machine.

threads tool by Hozan

blocks to hold the fork in 

threading or straightening by SJT

tools for fork straightening jobs by VAR and Pyykkö

tools to get rid of head tube dents by Pyörätohtori

tools to get rid of head tube dents by Pyörätohtori

bottle opener to finalize your picnic's

Knife Grinder vs. Gravel Grinding

They used to do other type of grinding before it came sportishly hip on gravel. Find this magnificent site of Museum of Tradesman's Delivery Bikes. 

These bicycles were made for hard work, not just for recreational fun. Also this site reminds me again how parallel history combustion engine motor cycles and bicycles have. Don't need the crystal ball to tell everyone that new cargo bike renaissance is crowing with electrical motors on them.

Work for fun, fun in work.

"Here he is, with his strings of onions, sun-tanned face, broken English and something in his gay appearance - all telling you he comes from France. Look out for him in the Summer"

Cycle movies

Some excellent cycle films and clips needs to mentioned and linked.

• Lucas Brunelle's Line of Sight is great except the shooting chapter
• Valparaiso downhill has awesome shooting
• Pedal, bike messenger documentary
• Brussels Express is sad view to city with no bicycles
• Lana Del Rey song. Angels Forever