philly bike expo 2015, part 2

Then on to the vendors. Velo-Orange is a favorite of mine. they make new-old stuff. The bars and stem on the Yellow Maserati are from Velo Orange, and I have a number of other items from them.

I love the "drillium" crank. They showed a black anodized one on which the picture didn't come out; they drilled and machined it after the anodization. Nice. (I'm trying to tell myself that I don't really need that very handsome brake in the picture above...)

Another vendor, Peram Never-Flat, is selling an insert that replaces the tube in your tire. The insert is not inflated, so it really doesn't ever flat; you can cut chunks out of it and it will keep rolling.

But the insert is very heavy. I doubt it will catch on with club riders, although, if the price is right, it might be just the thing for toy bikes.

Cycle Monkey had, among other things, belt-drive bikes. The belt doesn't split, so the bike frame has to.

Lezyne. Beautiful tools, but sometimes impractical - like, why a wooden handle on a chain whip? My chain whip handle is the greasiest spot in the garage.

One of the things I bought (that seems to be working) is this Upstanding Bicycle stand. The concept is simple: a washer with an extension goes onto your axle (held in place by the nut or quick-release), and a carbon-fiber stand slides onto the extension, onto which you can lean the bike. I put one on the Krakow Monster, and, as long as you don't overbalance it too much, it works pretty well.

I also met Brandon Hunziker of BikeHubStore, who treated me like an old pal (I don't think I've bought as much as he says I have, but I'm not going to argue, especially since I'm going to buy spokes and a rim for another heel to build, and he might give me a price break). He showered me with Sapim impedimenta: literature, water bottle, socks.

Other neat stuff: custom headbadges!

One of the vendors had a Hetchins, known for the most ornate lugs in the history of bicycles, and for the curvy, chromed stays. I'd never want to own one, but I love these frames.

TEW and I repaired to the nearby Reading Terminal Market for lunch, and I came back to hear the lecture by Brett Flemming on derailleurs. Flemming now runs Efficient Velo Tools (they're VERY expensive), which is the source of the Safe Zone mirror that (I think) Tom H and Snakehead use. Flemming spoke about the strengths and flaws of the derailleur system, and about how to make adjustments that will last a few years. He supported several of my suspicions (which means, of course, that I found him an excellent presenter), and I discovered that I'm probably a better mechanic than I thought I was.

While I was in the lecture, TEW got these very excellent arm warmers.

Now she wants to go visit the shop in Philly that sold them to her. Wait... another trip to a be shop with TEW? Now there's a crisis!