one less car news

So it's finally summer, you're probably noticing more art popping up on the streets during your rides & commutes- i know i do...

I got a few things from Art Primo awhile back and i'll give you the lowdown- but first, check this video out- maybe your bike needs a new paint job, or you want it to look top notch for the summer...whatever your reasons, you need the right tool for the right job- and Krylon isn't it, but you can't afford to get that whip powder-coated either, so here's a solution for you: a couple cans of Belton Molotow paint from our friends at Art Primo!

You can get straight to the paint here:
http://artprimo.com/catalog/spray-paint-molotow-high-pressure-c-26_75.html

Without further a do, check this out!



I got the following goodies: A can of Belton Molotow paint, a couple of Krink's Smash markers, and an OTR .210 Metallic black book marker.

Let's start at the bottom and work our way back to the paint...

Up first is OTR's black book marker- metallic gold! I've been a LONG TIME fan of OTR's goods, and this little baby is no exception.

The nib is super-fine, and a pretty decent length, so you've got a few options for when you're planning your next piece, need some fine metallic lines on a canvas, or just walking down the street...

***For legal reasons, I must state that I am not promoting vandalism or malicious destruction of property in any way/shape/form. What you do on your time is your call.***

That said, let's get back to business!

It easily fits in your pocket without concern of falling out (like my 1" Soul Tip- that still hurts.) while walking, running, riding your bike (how I lost the ST...)- however you get around, you can feel confident that it's not going anywhere.

Very similar to OTR's other liner's, this one isn't refillable (as far as I can see...).

...But nonetheless, still permanent!

***

Next up- Smash Ink Markers- The Smashville Slugger in Teal Legit, and The KO in Violent Violet! Have to admit that these probably have the raddest color names I've seen. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing 'em up on the site anymore- not that they're still not available...



Very similar- if not identical to Krink's K-71. This line of Smash Markers have a pretty fat, broad tip for a steel paint marker... These, along with anything else you can find at Art Primo will kick the ass out of anything that you'll probably be able to find at your local art supply store. They do mine!

Killer inks, can be as drippy as you want them to be, and the colors are simply amazing. Bright, bold, and beautiful.

Like everything else- especially steel markers, they need to be shook pretty good, and aren't that quiet. And you need to take your time with the cap- I pulled a cap of of one of mine in a hurry & watched the nib go flying through the air... but I found it!

Overall though, a kick ass marker from Smash.

Saving the best for last, a 330 gram can of Belton Molotow High Pressure. Forget your cheap ass Walmart cans, your Krylon, and your Rusto... This has been one of the best cans I've ever used.

I live in a place that's damn cold for a little over a season. Any of the above mentioned paints turn to crap and just get worse the colder it gets. This stuff says all season on the can, and it's no joke. all year 'round, this is what you wanna grab for sure.

While being a high-pressure can, it's hard to get it to drip unless you just hold it on the same spot & don't let go- anyone can get a nasty drip like that. But for being high-pressure, I was pretty impressed by that too.

There's two more reasons why this should be one of your main go-to cans- The first being that it claims to be dust free, and damn near is. While I can't recommend NOT using breathing protection, you're not gonna be sitting in a cloud of dust for however long it takes you to do what you're doing!

As much as I love the smell of inks & paints, I can feel when I've got a good pigment cake sitting on the front of my brain, and it's not the best of feelings, not to mention that kind of thing can cause permanent damage in the long run.

And while it may look pretty sweet when you blow your nose, and the snot comes out in every shade of a rainbow, when it comes down to it, we all know it's not a good thing. So that's one less thing to have to worry about!

The last reason why this should be a go-to: one word: PIGMENT. These claim to have the HIGHEST concentration of pigment available. It's as simple as that! The more pigment, the better coverage, and the less paint you have to use to get the job done. I'll bet you could go through close to, if not 3 cans of Krylon before this one can is gone.

It's one of those products where you really get what you pay for, and Art Primo is the company that's got your back. Simple as that!!!

I love the Instructables site- in case you're not familiar, Instructables is a site where people make their own projects, then post them with full instructions, pictures, & all the details.

Plus, anyone can comment on any project which often leads to improvements or a whole new idea all together. And there's an Instructable for just about anything & everything, including some really rad ones for bikes!

Check it out here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Commuting-Bicycle-Mods/

My personal favorite is the sidecar built by stevebod.



Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there! Today's your day to get back in the garage & make mod one of those bikes! When you're done, be sure to post a pic to our flickr feed on the blog!

Thanks & happy Sunday too...

Brandon

Our friend Eddy & a couple of his friends up in Canada are attempting to launch a new bike grip company called OOQI GRIPS **The Hyper-Galactic Handlebar Grips** through Kickstarter & need your help!

They have 27 days left to reach their goal! Plus, if you help them reach their goal, you even get a pair of grips...or possibly even a brand new OOQI fixed gear bike!

Check out the video below, and if the link above doesn't work, go here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/604599907/ooqi-grips-the-hyper-galactic-bike-handlebar-grips-1

I'm sure you're familiar with Chrome's buckle-bags, but this there's a new twist to the Salvage series.



The Salvage series are made using salvaged, reusable materials that would otherwise be discarded, so no two bags are completely alike. The first run of Salvage bags were made from reclaimed army tents (shown below) for the outer panels of the Heritage Citizen bags.

Needless to say these bags are pretty limited... 120 in stores: 40 in SF, 40 in NYC, and the remaining 40 in the new Chicago store, then there's a few more at select retailers., so you'll have to hunt them down! Each bag is stamped with the lot size and it's unique number within the lot.

Once they're gone, they're gone, so get one while you can!

I got a call from my youngest sister the other day, and outta nowhere she decided to join a small group of people that are riding across the US in a month! Kind of short notice, but I know she can use all the help she can get.

She's trying hard to raise the money for the trip and everything she'd need to go, but if there's anyone out there that can help her out I know she'd greatly appreciate it!!

Here's her story...

Dear friends,

I decided to participate in an event in honor, respect, and remembrance of my father, Andrew John Bartels.

I have joined a group to tour bike across America. The tour is North West America down to Key West Florida. I am finally going to spread his ashes in each and every state and beautiful site I see until they are gone.

I never got the chance to travel with him; so now I am and I need your help. I leave in one month and I have to raise money for my trip to be as successful as I want it to be.

Your donations will help me survive for the several months on my travels. I need to purchase supplies, bicycle gear, camp gear, and food among other things, such as having health insurance and cell phone on while I’m away.

I will be tracking my trip with pictures and journaling along the way. I will have my cell phone and when possible share on Facebook or email.

I am asking for donations from you to help me on my trip. My goal is to raise $3,500-$4,000.

Will you please consider a monetary donation for my father and me? A donation of any kind will help me greatly!

I can take checks, credit cards, and cash or I can even send a PayPal invoice.

Please don’t hesitate, I leave in a month!

As you all know, my father passed away last August from lung cancer, heart issues, among several other illnesses that simply took over his body and health. He suffered severe pain physically and mentally for several years prior to his passing; yet his high spirits was always around. To this day, I still feel his high spirits around me.

I can proudly say that the main thing my father taught me was to be myself no matter what the cost. I unfortunately finally learned this after he passed away. I realized he also taught me to not fear judgment from others and to not judge others, to enjoy everyone, to love nature and the earth we came from.

Part of my father’s spirit resides in me. I am part of him. I know his character, I know his soul and I know what he would do if it were me…

Thank you for helping me on my quest,
Chelsey Marie Bartels

-if you'd like to help please email me!! -brandon | brandon@1lesscar.com

Urban Outfiiters is in the news as of late for stealing a jewelry designer's ideas: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/26/urban-outfitters-continue_n_867604.html#postComment.

What does this have to do with bicycles you ask? Well, here is my story.

As some of you may know, I started a second company called Bates Crates. I have been building high end wooden crates for the front of bikes for 3 years now. Here is a link to the first one I built- notice the date in the link... http://1lesscarnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/porter-box.html.

That was the first crate I built, but a few months later I designed what we called the Classic Crate, and within a few months we were contracted by Trek to design a crate for them (The Model T): http://1lesscarnews.blogspot.com/2009/08/biggest-news-in-one-less-car-history.html.

Now that you know the background, a few months ago I was alerted to company *cough*SUNLITE*cough* making a REALLY cheap knock of of my crate (along with another person or two on blogger).

About a month ago, Urban Outfitters emailed asking about selling my crates. I told them my wholesale price and below was there response:


Hi Cole,
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. We have a similar basket right now that retails for $40 and I really can’t work with a wholesale cost of $90 since we have such high margins. Thank you so much though.

So I decided to take a look on their site and this what I found: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=20758819&CAWELAID=857891016.

Not only is a direct rip-off of my design, but they stole the name too!

It sucks for multiple reasons. First, I spent a lot of time making these, then sales slowed down, and now I have a decent idea of why.

I don’t have enough cash to hire a lawyer, and we all know Urban Outfitters has deeper pockets than me, so it looks like they're just going to get away with it... but I hope not.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks-

Cole

First things first- I know everybody knows (you should...), and I was on twitter at the time (@greezus -follow me!) and didn't post here, but my heart goes out to the Weylandt family and the Leopard-Trek team. On May 9, Wouter Weylandt was fatally injured in a crash on the third stage of the Giro d'Italia. He was 26-year-old. Westbound.



Time really flies whether you're having fun or not. Cole always says I need a personal blog because I'll easily get into my personal crap when this is supposed to be a cycling blog, so all I'll say is I got dumped after 13 years. I'm trying to stay on top of the game as much as I can, and I'll leave it at that.

Upcoming reviews: Bags from Detours, Mountainsmith, and much more!


News: So much has happened since my last post. I took a short hiatus in Chicago. Since I'm talking about Chicago, Chrome is opening their 3rd retail store in Wicker Park on June 4th! Speaking of Chrome, they just came out with the Brigadier- the ultimate travel backpack that transforms into a haul bag to live up to the adaptability demands of year-round global travel. Whether bike, board, train, plane or automobile... Watch the video!

Chrome Brigadier: Get Gone from Chrome Bags on Vimeo.

I may or may not be moving there as well. Everything in my personal life is up in the air right now. But if I do, OLC will be moving from MI to CHI for a second time...

While there, I got to meet Cole's go-to mechanic, Adam, who runs Pedal to the People. I received a bike to test awhile back (that will remain nameless), but as Cole and I were pedaling around the city, my bike kept getting louder & louder until Cole figured out the spokes were loose on the rear wheel. Come to find out, whoever built that wheel never finished. They could all be tightened by hand. Not so good... So we went to see Adam, and he trued the wheel for me quickly and it was also very affordable.

So, if you're ever in (or live in) Chicago and your bike breaks down, call Pedal to the People at 773.355.0882 and talk to Adam yourself! He'll ride TO YOU, makes repairs ON THE SPOT, and on the CHEAP!


Also, coming up in Chicago on May 29, 2011: A car-free bike ride down world-famous Lake Shore Drive for the tenth annual MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive. Enjoy live entertainment and breakfast at the post-ride festival in Grant Park. This amazing bike ride is a fundraiser for the Active Transportation Alliance, Chicagoland’s voice for better biking, walking and transit.
More than 20,000 people are expected to attend. What better way to experience a better world for bicycling than by cruising down a wide-open Lake Shore Drive on your bike on a spring day?

New Belgium's Urban Assault Ride was just in Chicago this past Sunday and is in full effect! Check out the link to see when it'll be in your town!

And music-wise, while I got to see Hunx and his Punx, I'm bummed I'm can't make it back in time for the back to back, 2 nights of The Melvins, performing 5 albums in all back to back. Dentist & Doctor. Balls. Oh well... Won't be the first kick-ass show I've missed, and I'm sure it won't be the last either.


If you've been paying attention to the Giro at all, I'm sure you've seen GEOX-TMC riding Fuji's ultra-light Altamira road bikes.

With leaders like 2009 Giro d'Italia champion Denis Menchov, and 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre, as well as emerging stars like Fabio Duarte and Rafael Valls, GEOX-TMC will not only be among the top contenders for the pink jersey- they have a chance to win.

We've been following the team since the season began in January through rider interviews, race reports, and exclusive photos and news from Fuji's pro team blog: http://www.fujibikes.com/proteam. check it out!

On Sunday, May 15^th, Fuji and Kestrel took the tri world by storm: Fuji's Matt Reed won Rev3 Knoxville, Andy Potts won the Rhoto Iron Man 70.3 Florida, and a slew of Kestrel athletes took Top 10's across the country.But Mesigian's not worried. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kestrel had a big showing on this particular weekend, but Fuji only had one athlete race... and he won."


SE & Oakley have joined forces once again to creat some of the sickest gloves ever! These retro looking "team fit" gloves feature the classic SE Racing & Oakley Factory Pilot logos, have short & tight cuffs for better wrist articulation, perforated thumb knuckle pads, out-turned seams on the fingers, and "B1-B" finger grippers so you won't get caught slippin'!

If your local shop doesn't carry them, go to http://www.buySEstuff.com to get yours!

This week I got to review a couple rad things-

Mission Workshop's Rummy, their medium sized roll-top Messenger Bag, and from Feedback Sports, their RAKK Storage Stand.

First up, we’ve got the Rummy:



Just like their roll-top backpacks, MW comes through with roll-top messenger bags that are just as weather-proof, just as bomb-proof, and come in 3 different sizes to satisfy whatever carrying situation you have.

I use their large Vandal backpack a lot of the time, but there's a lot of times when I don't need to carry a bag full of orders, or a keg... so I decided it'd be best to downsize and went with the Rummy, MW's medium sized messenger bag. Read more...

And last but not least is the RAKK:




When I opened the box to the RAKK, I was immediately impressed. It felt HEAVY, which made me think heavy duty right away, and that it is. It's also pretty compact, which is also a definite plus.

For a single bike stand, it's got options to boot. It's got two little arms on one side that flip out so you can hook another RAKK to that one to hold another bike. REPEAT. Straight line, circle, it's all good. Read more...

we've got more reviews in the works, so stay tuned!

same bike time, same bike channel...

Brandon

Enter Chrome's Sherman, a whole new breed of cycling bags.


Like Chrome says, The Sherman was built as a race bag, but fit to carry just about everything. To be honest, I didn't think I needed a new bag. I thought I was set on bags for the rest of my life, but something kept bringing me back to this bag... READ MORE!

Been playing catch up & trying to get back on the saddle after a really rough couple of months. Cole prefers I talk bikes (don't blame him!), so I'll spare you the details...

The main thing is I AM getting back on that saddle, and while I might need training wheels for a bit, everything is all good I guess. And no, I didn't crash this time. Just burned.

So I will ride and do my damnedest to keep a PMA...

Until next time (soon!), cheers!

Brandon

P.S. OLC garage sale coming soon!!!

My 1st post from my new phone! Color me stoked!