Courier Classic

Last Saturday the city was host to the biggest inaugural alleycat of the year- the Courier Classic where teams of three riders and a dispatch raced for cash and the title of the fastest team of messengers in New York.

There was a lot of Redbull, hauled in by lots of Redbull Girls.

(profile hubs are smooooooth)

Early on one team started to show their dominance, and continued to pull ahead after four straight hours of racing. Each of the three winning racers rode handbuilt frames all designed, tested, and built in house, including (of course) our rider Austin Horse, who has been rocking it all year on his Gangsta Track.
Thumbs up (way to go, congrats, etc... we're running out). You make this shiz look easy.

(Photo Thanks to Luke Stiles and Joao: click for Flickr Sets)

The shop will be closed today for the fourth of July weekend. Huge thanks goes out to everyone out there who made this year our most successful ever, keeping us busy designing, testing, and building each and every Brooklyn Machine Works right here in the USA.

All City.

The crew over at NYCMTB are holding their second annual All City cross country race, the only legal mountainbike race series on the island of Manhattan, with $1000 in cash prizes.

(PDF flyer)

According to the organizers:
• The course has been expanded to 4 miles from the 2.125 miles of last
year. The course includes more urban park terrain including stairs, paved paths with broken pavement, graffiti'd overpasses, etc., and the non-singletrack sections will make the race a bit less brutal than last year, and less repetitious.
• Please use tough tires. The Highbridge trails are urban trails, and although we scour the trails before the race to remove debris and glass, there is no way for us to remove everything. Paper-thin race tires are not suitable for the course. [Edit:That means you, racerboys]

Pre-registration is $30, $40 the day of. Junior classes only 5 bucks.
For more information or bikereg, Click here.

Hey Ladies...

Today's Women only Hellcat Alleycat is in Tompkins Square Park
Followed by a Messquerade to benefit the good works of the New York Bike Messenger Association
.
So every gal, grab a guy, or another gal, race your hearts out, and end up partyin' for a good cause with some of that money you saved dirtbaggin' it at the Devo concert.

Jocko Homo.

Just a quick update for anyone in the neighborhood tonight, Devo is playing in McCarren Park Pool at 6pm, so drop by to place an order on your frame, then walk up the block and whip it, whip it good.




(Tickets are $52, so look for the pack of dirty bike dudes with BMWs' peeking over the fence.)

Canuck Coin Purse.

The 2008 Cycle Messenger World Championships were held in Canada last week, and Brooklyn rider Austin Horse left his obligations in NYC to battle it out with professional couriers around the world.

He placed first in the Alleycat, defending his title from this year's Monstertrack, and earned fourth overall for the week. Congratulations!

Photo courtesy of Doug D. of Hardcourt Polo. Check out more coverage of the CMWC and Austin's continued refusal get a haircut here, and here.

Big props to the organizers for running a tight ship with none of the confusion from last year.
(Special thanks goes out to Austin's hosts in Montreal who gave him valuable lessons about life up north. For instance: Be kind to ugly strippers - small denomination Canadians dollars are minted in coin, so those strippers that don't leave the stage with $100 bills tucked into their G-strings have incredible upper body strength after lugging sacks of change home every night. They'll mess you up.)

He Got Toe Jam Foot Ball...

Screw the I-phone. Today's blogs blew up with the collaboration Brooklyn Park Bikes made to round out the release of DJ Clark Kent's 112 pack Air Force One, coined from the zip code of our own humble borough.
Check out any of the Sneaker Blogs for full details of the build, and check out Dan Bowhers proving what you can do on a Brooklyn, even if your kicks don't match your frame.

Yo,Nike...where're our sneaks?

Gettin' Those Dolla Dolla Billz.

2 wheel battles popped up all over the Tri-State region over the weekend and Brooklyn riders were all over that shiz.
Pictures are worth a thousand words, but Brooklyn Factory rider Anson Wellington will split the difference in cold hard cash.
Pictures are coming out as Livers come back on-line, so in the meantime imagine it was just like this except with Union Square for the Coloesseum, and dread-locked Trinidadians instead of white guys in tunics.

Way to go Anson!

Big Ben, Big Money, Big Al.

Between racing the US open, Jetsetting to London, and tearing up Portland we'll have plenty of updates for all you BKLN fans and riders...
...but the most interesting bit of riding this week happened right here at home when some of the shop went on a leisurely Friday night spin through Manhattan alongside that most nuanced of NYC Baptist preachers: Rev. Al Sharpton, who met up with other cyclists in Union Square for a random and unplanned ride.

Keep Bikes Alive!

If you're in the NYC area, swing through the city for all the events to celebrate the last weekend of Bike Month. We'll be at the Bicycle Film Festival block party with some hand welded steeds from the shop. Anson, Tom, and Austin will be on hand to demonstrate their skillz and autograph babies.

Then meet up at Union Square with your BMX and a gut full of RedBull for a shot to win $5k
First 20 riders from Union Square to the Banks qualify.

I will call him...Mini Me.

Who said the mountain is just for grown ups? Without better options for a truly trail-worthy bike for his 7 year old son, Joe whipped up this little gem- the smallest full suspension DH bike to come out of Brooklyn.

What were you riding when you were 7 years old?

Like father like son.

Drivetrain and braking are handled by Profile Jr cranks, SRAM X9, and BB7s, while suspension duties are carried by a tiny FOX RP23 air shock and a Marzocchi Z.1 mated to a custom machined flipped crown, providing 5" of usable travel (front and rear!) custom tuned for a 50lb. 7 year old.

It's safe to say that the little ripper is excited about hitting the trails with pops this season, so be sure to stop and say hi when you see them on the mountain .

Season opener.

The Northeaset Downhill season has officially opened and Brooklyns from all over have been spotted representin' on the mountains.
After selling out of the first run, the latest SR6 is returning for its second season of lift-assisted trails after a long winter of pedaling singletrack.
You'll be seeing a whole lot of this frame over the summer, so keep your eyes peeled for updates on the big news (plus a long term KOWA review).

Our man Eric Hudson was up at Plattekill racing in brutal conditions for the season opener testing out the new BMW prototype DH rig. Check out the video action (Eric is sailing at 40 seconds in):

The time splits were close. It was Eric's first time with 8 inches in the rear, and he was shy of the podium by only 2/10 of a second. Way to go!

Rock Out With Your Lock Out.

Our Man from Japan is in town, bearing gifts from afar, picking up material for B-Maniac.






Last time he was in town to pick up Japanese Gangstas, he lost a liver at Bike Kill and we're going to see if we can do better for 08. If you're in the NYC area follow along for what is going to turn out to be a bitchin' spring weekend of riding:


Friday night is a night of warehouse parties, the last of which is being thrown by our friends at Times-Up at their fancy new space in the West Village.


According to the invite:
"Dance party with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra & DJ D, an olympic-size trampoline, Hot Seat and video projection by Velchrome. 11pm to 12:30am the Traffic Jam tap dancers will perform with the Boom Boom Brooks Trio plus a Bicycle Fashion Show - be in it!"
Beer, trampolines , and bikes. (Map Here)



Then on Saturday morning, the boys at NYCMTB.com are throwing the first legal mountain bike race in Manhattan, Hustle and Flow. A 4 racer relay mixing disciplines of road, cross country, DJs and Downhill on a 16 minute course. (Map Here)


Wind down for prizes and brews at the Knitting Factory and catch the NYC premiere of Seasons, the new MTB film by The Collective (makers of ROAM). (Map Here)


Then ride the banks for one last hurrah and hope our Japanese friend is sober enough to not wind up like this on Sunday Morning.
(Map Here)

...Where Do They All Come From?

Spring has sprung here in NYC; temperatures are rising, hems are getting shorter, and people are hitting the city in style.
Here's one of our springtime orders in a custom colorway, ready for its new life on the streets of Japan.

To see what kind of abuse the BMW park frame is up to, check out the latest clips from our man Dan Bowhers, who has been bustin' out videos left and right as the Winter fades.

Tune back in for more footage, or check out the forums to catch the latest rider buzz.

No Flash Photo...

Things are inching closer to production release of the ACL- here's a peek of the latest version: Pick up the latest issue of Distilled Magazine for an exclusive interview with Factory rider Anson Wellington and ride shots of him testing out prototypes of his signature frame.
Check back right here for more pics and release updates.

For New Yorkers waiting for our full lineup, break your cabin fever on the 12th by entering Mud Sweat and Tears, NYC's first unsanctioned as hell cyclocross series.



Word is that this Saturday is ", Sludgement Day: The Day of Wreckoning.
.....Randall's Island Circuit Racing. Rat Pack Hustle sprint competition. Skid-hockey, mudsprints, grasstrackstands, and other tomfoolery."




Check out their website for maps and details. Check out this website before you ride to the pristine shores of Randall's Island.

A Quick Shafting.

We're jumping into the spring season by testing all the products we've developed and prototyped over the long winter, both large and small. Swing by the shop to see what we have in our hand, or take a peek at this little side project in our bag of tricks.

A 29.8mm aluminum BMW seatpost!

*3D cold forged, one piece head
*simple and secure 2 bolt adjustment
*400mm long
*Shot-peened and anodized black...just black.
*250 grams
*Made by Communist Robots in a far away land.
*At only $44, it won't break the bank and makes a perfect compliment to your new (or current) Brooklyn frame.

Available now, call the shop or Email BMW@Brooklynmachineworks to order.