El Cyclista

11.08.11

A New Favorite Brand: Polerstuff

Love this brand, especially when they say things like “It’s for people that wonder why everyone is trying to pretend they are going to do first ascents on alpine peaks, instead of celebrating the fact that they are having adventures that are awesome in their own way”. There collection of products is growing all of the time, with a focus on practicality and quality. Their Adventure photo essays are gorgeous.
POLERSTUFF.COM

11.02.11

New Kit, New Projects And A New Store

The next round of kit is in and we have all sizes in all the pieces. There has been a lot of interest so get in there early. And along with the new kit we have started up an online storefront to make it easy to order, pay and check stock. You can get to it here http://elcyclista.myshopify.com/. You will notice when you get in there we are going to be launching a series of new projects this year and into 2012. The first is going to be ARTBOTTLE. We are going to be doing a series of limited edition bibon designs that are going to be so nice you won’t be able to throw them away in the last 2K. We have also had a lot of interest in the photography on our site, so we are going to be selling a selection of prints under the EL Art Projects section. Hope you like the new stuff.

10.29.11

What Do you Do On A Snow Day?

What do you do on a snow day? (yes we are having a very large snow storm here in CT, before Halloween in October – nuts). Well, you start to sort out that massive box of Elcyclista kit that just showed up from Italy! Post coming soon about our new online store.

08.24.11

Keirin Training

Since we are on the theme of Keirin racing, this is not a shot by Fredrik from his amazing Keirin essay below. This surfaced on the internet when researching. I bet that room smells amazing, and I can’t think of a better top than a white cotton t-shirt for some sweaty roller work.

04.16.11

Trakke Messanger Bags / Glasgow

Hand made and straight out of Glasgow, a company that seems to have been born out of a necessity. There are a tonne of bag makers out there and no shortage to choose from, but it was the attitude behind Trakke and the great color choices in the products that I like most. They started making bags for themselves when the price point of what was out there was just too expensive. This quickly evolved into making bags for friends and eventually ending up on a stall at the Glasgow market. Trakke bags as a company was born. The bags are handmade in the Glasgow with a lot of care, but what I loved most about them was that while the basic bag shape stays the same, each batch changes and takes in feedback from their buyers. Always in beta is a philosophy we try to believe in as well. The funniest part of the brand is the need to make a brightly colored product, not necessarily for visibility (although it helps) but “because Glasgow is a grey enough place as it is” (Ed: Coming from Northern Ireland I understand this well). True to their roots they have tried to keep the bags as affordable as possible. Free courier delivery in Glasgow, free delivery in the UK, and as low as possible post internationally. The bags start at £50 and go up to £90. Well worth a look.

Find them here: http://www.trakke.co.uk/

Suka Sport / London

I found this store in London last week at 47 Beak street in Soho, turns out they had only been open for 2.5 hours. They describe themselves as “stocking only the most advanced gentlemen’s sporting brands”. Their space is beautiful, and may have the biggest changing rooms I have ever set foot in, handy when you are trying to peel yourself in and out of a wetsuit (no worries, I wasn’t). They stock high quality brands for everything from running to yoga, and riding to Tri. What caught my eye was a beautiful white Canyon Ultimate CF SLX parked in the middle of the floor. If you are going to have a bike for display, that is not a bad place to start. I wish them all the best, it is a hard time to be starting a business, I hope they do well

Site: Suka Sports

01.21.11

Never Mix Colors With Whites

Looks like Kenny put the green socks in the whites wash again.

01.10.11

“BiciBands” by Molletta Design

With a fixed gear bike being so stripped down and functional it is hard sometimes to see where you can get a little bit of personality on your ride. Molletta Design from Las Vegas (yes they ride down there even after Interbike has gone) offer you two handcrafted and beautiful options. One is a little more practical, and the other is designed to get a smile down the coffee shop, or from the girl that pulls up next to you at the lights. The “BiciBand” (above) comes in a choice of 14 colors, yes that is 14, with enough choice to match the most fickle of color schemes (the pink being our favorite). As Ignazio of Molletta says, “They are designed to keep you and your bike close together, just like peas and carrots”. They are so confident in what they have made they are offering a 365-day return policy. The second character-building accessory for your ride is the “BikeStache” below. What is there to say…they have the ability to render the most serious looking rider helpless.

11.27.10

Classic Jerseys From The Ghisallo (Part 1)

These are the first of some cleaned up shots taken at the Ghisallo Museum Of Cycling this summer. Great design and color combination from the days when we didn’t have to cover jerseys with sponsorship, unfortunately necessary for today’s kits. I would wear that Legnano jersey down the coffee shop after a ride.

11.20.10

You are not as fast as you look

If I had been wearing this t-shirt in Italy this summer I am afraid that I may have been a little humbled. “You are not as fast as you look” is great when you are sitting having a coffee, but I found out the hard way that mostly everyone who looked fast in Italy, was in fact as fast as they looked. Although you can’t pass up an opportunity to taunt anyone decked out in white Lycra from head to toe. If you are interested in acquiring one of these rider taunting t-shirts you can get them at Free Bird Velo’s shop on Etsy.