With Velo Orange introducing an affordable “multi-purpose” 650B oriented frameset called the Polyvarent, we thought it appropriate to see what kinda of “multi” we could make out of it.

Inspiration is often accidental. As we are apt to do, during our weekly survey of the blogosphere, we came across this vintage photo from the Old Spokes Home Blog. That photo, along with the accompanying article on a couple of Scorcher build-ups, was the push we needed in the right direction.

It had been a while since we pondered a Scorcher build-up, but with the “Hot Rod Black” paint on the Polyvarent and the plump 650B tires available, we felt a Retro Dropbar Backroads 650b Fixie Steel Scorcher (did you get all that?) would be perfect.  Plus, we figure sooner or later somebody will have to do it, so it might as well be us.

Anyway, here is the progress so far:

Velo Orange Polyvarent Scorcher

A custom build option for Velo Orange Polyvarent ... the off-road fixie retrogrouch special.

4 Photos

 

Obviously there are a few more details to work-out, but things are looking pretty good.  Some of the more geeky details are:
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Next time you are out for a routine ride, feeling bored with your daily commute, or just need a little extra spark … try something new:

• Ride a new route to an old route.
• Pedal with only one leg.
• Ride only in your biggest / smallest gear (if you have more than one).
• Count the number of dogs that don’t chase you.
• Ride with your eyes closed (but just for a second).
• Put your helmet on backwards and see if anyone notices.

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If you are new to the whole social media Twitterverse, you might be curious what appeal (or relevance) these 140 character messages have to you:

For whatever reason, cyclists from all aspects of the activity have really adopted this technology.  And we’ve found that the Tweet is a simple medium for conveying and receiving info on the most interesting cycling whatnot around the Interwebs.

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Yes, sometimes a bit of sarcasm is effective at humorously addressing some common misconceptions and well intentioned malpractices of the cycling flag-bearer.  This brief article (which we have transcribed in full) appears in the 42nd edition of the legendary Rivendell Reader:

How to Make the Rest of Your Family Hate Riding

• Coach them on proper technique and critique their performance so they know where they stand.
• Insist on proper saddle height even if they’re afraid of not being able to put their feet flat on the ground. tell them the truth—that pedaling with a too-low saddle will lead to chondromalacia.  That will motivate them with worry on top of their fear.

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As you may have read in our previous post, Like a Duck to Flickr … I Mean Water, we have wrapped our proverbial arms around Flickr. What makes bicycles and photography such a good match is that cycling is a form of self-expression … and there is no better way to “self express” on a bike than a Panda Portrait:

Here’s the brief description from the very popular Flickr Panda Portrait Group:
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For whatever reason, we were slow to adopt Flickr as one of our regular online social outlets. But now that we have made the leap, we have taken to Flickr like a duck takes to water.

In fact, we are so enamored with Flickr, we actually created three different resources based on the ability to sort, share, and interact with like-minded bike geeks:

1. Renaissance Bicycles Photo Stream — These photos are some of the mainstays of our website Gallery, along with other photos that just didn’t make the cut.  Plus, check out what we have in our personal stable of bikes.
2. “Renaissanced” Bicycles Group — While we would like to take all of the credit, we know that there are a lot of individuals lovingly refurbushing their vintage bikes with modern components, wheels, and / or accessories.  This is a place for you to share your creation!
3. The “Best” of Bicycles on Flickr — There are zillions of bike photos on Flickr, so we’ve narrowed it down to the “best” (ATMO) bicycle lifestyle photos.  We update this often, but feel free to make your own suggestions.
   

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