WORDS AND NEWS AND MORE

Back in the early 2000s when bike advocacy in the United States was finding its footing and Critical Mass was the place to meet up and make the ideas happen, Chicago Critical Mass had a couple of year run of putting out semi-regular ‘zines under the banner of The Derailleur. These are time capsules of another more renegade era of city cycling when bikes track bikes were starting to break through to the cool kids and the crowds at Critical Mass had reached, ahem, a critical mass to effectively demand cycling accommodations. Remarkably well put together, in their day these were vital to organizing, educating, and motivating people to show up to the next ride.

Chris Bishop brought this track and field stunner to the 2025 Philly Bike Expo, inspired by classic time trial track bikes and built with a bit of extra tire clearance for a knobby tire transformation.

If you’re familiar with Chris Bishop’s work, you’re also likely familiar with his love of 3Rensho “Bat Wing” lugs and other bicycle design work. This particular bike was brought about from a magazine image of a 3Rensho bike with an inverted quill stem to lower the bars to the aero positions people were experimenting with in the late 1970s and ‘80s. While most examples show fork crown mounted bar clamps, 3Rensho built at least one bike with a quill that went into the fork steerer from below, with Bishop creating his own version here. The inverted stem features internal reinforcement to maintain that beautiful tight clearance under load, though let’s be honest that this bike will likely never see a full sprint out on those bullhorns, but if it did…

The connection between the Dead and mountain bike culture is closer than many realize — there is a surprising amount of overlap between the people involved in early mountain bikes and psychedelia, with Gary Fisher himself having feet planted in both worlds. Charlie Kelly of Fat Tire Flyer, Repack, and the very formation of what became modern mountain bikes interviewed Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead on a ride with Fisher way back in 1992, published in Dirt Rag #23, sold out since the '90s, and remaining an impossible to find print copy to complete the set. Back in the early 2000s I had to purchase a copy from a collector to complete the in-house Dirt Rag set, and it hasn't gotten any easier to find in the years since. Between us here at Footdown there exists a single copy, and we made some fresh scans of this classic piece with the ads of the day intact.

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Bob Weir: ““I’ve heard…that the bicycle is the most efficient machine ever devised by man in terms of calories expended for work done. Philosophically, I like that a lot. It’s Technology, Servant of Man, in its very finest form.”

Along with the wool socks and baselayers, when cold weather outdoor adventure season comes around I dig for the lighter fluid. This is my love letter to the classic Zippo refillable handwarmer.

The first time I spied a friend with one of these, I was beyond intrigued. Fill it, light it, put it in your pocket? Just a sense of danger, pairs well with flannel, and it makes me feel like my grandpa. Tell me more. I bought one later that night.