Echo Park-based SHIFTY line of cycling jerseys are now available at Flying Pigeon LA

We recently added some ladies cycling gear to our shop from SHIFTY, all of it designed and made in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, and instantly got picked up in an article in the Business section of the LA Times, “Urban cycling spawns its own peddlers” by Cyndia Zwahlen, published on August 30, 2010.

Shifty founder Jen Diamond of Echo Park makes a line of clothing for women that includes stretchy dresses and halter-style tops with reflective ribbon ties and belts.

It’s a contrast to the tight, logo-emblazoned jerseys worn for serious fitness training.

“You don’t have to change out of your bike jersey to feel comfortable in a restaurant,” said Diamond, who has no employees but collaborates on designs with two friends. Her tops sell for $65 online as well as at the Flying Pigeon and Orange 20 Bikes in Los Angeles.

Selling cycling gear is a tricky business in North America. It’s really easy to end up hustling clothes that makes cycling look like an exclusive club for stretchy pants-clad fanatics. These folks do exist, and their dollars do fund the large majority of business in the bike industry. However, our shop is dedicated to something different, something more in line with Mikael Colville-Andersen’s cycle chic or his slow bicycle movement. We feel that this is where cycling is headed – towards the citizen cyclist, running her daily errands, going to work, and being herself. When we carry “bicycle clothes”, like Jen Diamond’s SHIFTY line of jerseys, we’re looking for stuff that is free of … well, perhaps my quote in the article will say it better:

“It allows you to maintain an identity on your bike without having to be subsumed by the sporting image or aggressive-commuter image,” said Josef Bray-Ali, who owns the 2-year-old Flying Pigeon with his brother, Adam.

Which is also why we also carry a nice line of cycle bags from Chicago-based Po Campo; knickers, sweaters and shorts by L.A.-based Bicycle Fixation; t-shirts from J. Knice Clothing; and panniers and bags from Holland’s premier bag manufacturer, Basil.

It’s an exciting time to be involved in the bike industry. Cycling is a transportation solution to so much of what ails us in America’s great cities – and that idea, along with the shift in marketing and commodities that it engenders, is definitely news worth covering.

Photographer Gil Garcetti has captured the everyday grace and beauty of citizen cyclists in modern day Paris.

At Flying Pigeon LA, we’re big believers in “Bicycle Culture 2.0” – the idea of people riding their bikes as they do normal, day-to-day things. It is funny to some that this type of activity even needs a special name, but in our experience (born and raised in Los Angeles), it helps to explain what our shop is all about.

Words, however, can only go so far.

Pictures can do a much better job, and that’s where photographer Gil Garcetti and his wonderful book, “Paris: Women and Bicycles“, come into the story. We’ve snagged a small share of time in Garcetti’s busy, globe-trotting, schedule and he’s agreed to do a talk and Q&A at our shop on Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

From the book jacket of “Paris: Women and Bicycles”:

For nearly three years, Gil Garcetti, has been photographing women riding bicycles in Paris. Women of all ages, smartly dressed, use bicycles to get to work, to visit friends, to go shopping, go to the movies or the opera, and even to funerals. The weather is never an impediment — these women ride in the snow, the rain and the heat. With evocative urban imagery and lush color, this book will inspire readers to leave their cars for their bikes wherever they may need to go with Parisian flair. This book is one component of a community bicycling initiative in Southern California.

Los Angeles is in the throes of it’s own full-tilt bicycle renaissance, with Mayor Villaraigosa holding his own “Bike Summit” recently and a major update to the city’s long neglected bike infrastructure in the works. Yet, in the midst of this culture change, we are often starved for images of what a bike friendly city really looks like.

Garcetti’s work provides the imagery so many of us long to see. His work provides a lens with which to view our own streets, our own lives, as commuters, parents, and community members. “Paris: Women and Bicycles” opens up the fun and the pageantry of masses of people using bikes to get around town in their daily lives.

Photographer Gil Garcetti will give a talk about his book, “Paris: Women and Bicycles”, at the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop (located at 3714 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065) at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 9, 2010.

Admission is free, refreshments will be served.

Getting to Flying Pigeon LA bike shop:

• By Metro – we’re served by the 81 and 83 lines and are just blocks away from the Heritage Square Gold Line Station.
• By car, 110 Freeway, exit Avenue 43, left on Figueroa St., park at Avenue 37 and N. Figueroa St.

Flying Pigeon LA is a specialty bike retailer located at 3714 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our phone number is 213-909-8986 but you’re better off trying to contact us at info@flyingpigeon-la.com

We stock Flying Pigeon bicycles (of course), our “Deluxe” line of Flying Pigeons, Batavus, Gazelle, Pashley, Biomega, Achielle, Torker, Velorbis, and Nihola Family bikes. Our accessories include the Bobike Mini/Maxi/Junior line, Yepp Maxi and Mini child seats, Design House Stockholm baskets, Pocampo Bags, Basil bags & baskets, various rear wheel locks from AXA & Abus, a select line of tires from Schwalbe, saddles and other goodies from Velo Orange and Brooks and loads of other good stuff.

An older chicano fellow, in his late 50′s or 60′s, came into the shop a while back and needed some help with his bike. We messed up the initial repair and kept him off his bike for almost a week while waiting for parts to arrive to make everything right. The parts arrived, and we installed them to his specifications, at no extra charge. We threw in a bell (of his choice) to make everything right.

He chose one of the Velo Orange brass temple bells we keep in stock. Ouch! That’s a pricey little bell, but we owed it to him for the inconvenience. They’ve got a really nice tone – I ring mine just to hear it’s sustained and mellow ring, opting instead to yell at people and things in my way, the bell’s just for me.

A few months later the same guy comes in the door and asks us if we can get him a bell for KPFK, the local radio station he helps run.

KPFK airs one of our favorite programs, Bike Talk!, once a week, so we were all in.

A spare coaster brake axle, a one-piece kids’ bike chain ring, some sawed-off handlebar bits, and ping! A new bell for KPFK’s membership drive (they ring it whenever they sign up a new member). Of course, we installed a Velo Orange brass temple bell.

We’ve already received a friendly response from a few shop regulars and KPFK listeners, and hopefully this small audio prop will help keep the station’s membership drives fun and lucrative.

Steve Campos delivering the Blogdowntown Weekly for Flying Pigeon LA.

Our distribution of the Blogdowntown Weekly continues! Look for the latest issue at coffee shops, lobbies, etc. in and around the Downtown Los Angeles area this Thursday, August 12, 2010.

Flying Pigeon LA's Nihola cargo tricycles in the staging area for distribution of the Blogdowntown Weekly.

The paper is being distributed by the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop (we have awesome friends willing to gamble their productive work hours on crazy idea), on cargo bikes like the Nihola Family – a Danish tricycle capable of 200 lbs. of cargo in the front carriage. The Nihola’s tight turning radius, stability at low speeds while under load, sturdy all-weather construction, and relative light weight design make these ideal for urban transportation and errand running.

Eric Richardson, co-publisher of the Blogdowntown Weekly, and Steve Campos ride a pair of Nihola Family bikes through downtown LA.

If you’re in downtown the next two days, keep an eye out for our crew! We’re going to have an additional bakfiets cargo bike thrown into the mix this week to see if we can’t get more papers where they need to go, faster.

All photos courtesy of Robert Lowden.

Flying Pigeon LA is a specialty bike retailer located at 3714 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our phone number is 213-909-8986 but you’re better off trying to contact us at info@flyingpigeon-la.com

We stock Flying Pigeon bicycles (of course), our “Deluxe” line of Flying Pigeons, Batavus, Gazelle, Pashley, Biomega, Achielle, Torker, Velorbis, and Nihola Family bikes. Our accessories include the Bobike Mini/Maxi/Junior line, Design House Stockholm baskets, Pocampo Bags, Basil bags & baskets, various rear wheel locks from AXA & Abus, a select line of tires from Schwalbe, saddles and other goodies from Velo Orange and Brooks and loads of other good stuff.

In July of 2010, Flying Pigeon LA bike shop assembled a collection of cargo bikes and a couple of friends and headed Downtown for the monthly Art Walk. We rode around en masse, hollered out that we were offering free rides on the pedicab we’d brought along, and generally had a good time.

Now that we’ve got two Nihola cargo bikes housed Downtown (doing distribution of the Blogdowntown’s weekly paper), the half-restored pedicab in my garage, two bakfiets, a Yuba Mundo, and God knows what else – we can really take the streets of Downtown by storm!

If you’d like to join us on our second Downtown Cargo Bike Ride, meet at the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 12, 2010. We’re rolling to Art Walk at 8:00 p.m. with our armada of work bikes (regular bikes are welcome to join in the fun!).

We’ll meander around the downtown area, and go our separate ways as the night draws to a close (storing these behemoths is non-trivial).

If you’re interested in joining us, please do!

Getting to Flying Pigeon LA bike shop by Metro – we’re served by the 81 and 83 lines and are just blocks away from the Heritage Square Gold Line Station.

By car, 110 Freeway, exit Avenue 43, left on Figueroa St., park at Avenue 37 and N. Figueroa St.

The Flying Pigeon LA bike shop is located at 3714 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065.

No need to RSVP, any questions should be directed at info@flyingpigeon-la.com

Eric Richardson of the blogdowntown came up with the idea to deliver his new weekly paper, “blogdowntown Weekly”, via bicycle. Through a Facebook image post by a mutual friend, Stephen Box, the Flying Pigeon LA crew contacted Eric and gears were put in motion to have this new paper distributed around Downtown Los Angeles using two Nihola Family Cargo tricycles.

The Nihola Family Cargo tricycle is a Danish invention (or rather refined version of earlier cargo trikes) that is intended to be used as a baby, grocery, pet, etc. transport solution for people living in a dense urban area. It’s fun to ride, very stable at low speed (critical when riding a bike with babies in the front through a farmers market), and it looks very sleek.

The bikes are available exclusively through Flying Pigeon LA, a bike shop based in North East Los Angeles (just outside of Downtown LA). They range in price from $3,199 for a 5-speed version to $3,399 for a 7-speed version. Each bike some complete with a carriage cover, a bench for the little ones, seat belts, and a seat cushion for the bench. It is very common for an additional rear rack or child carrier to be added onto the rear of the bike, and we carry some of the best of both at the shop.

Flying Pigeon LA is a specialty bike retailer located at 3714 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA 90065. Our phone number is 213-909-8986 but you’re better off trying to contact us at info@flyingpigeon-la.com

We stock Flying Pigeon bicycles (of course), our “Deluxe” line of Flying Pigeons, Batavus, Gazelle, Pashley, Biomega, Achielle, Torker, Velorbis, and Nihola Family bikes. Our accessories include the Bobike Mini/Maxi/Junior line, Design House Stockholm baskets, Pocampo Bags, Basil bags & baskets, various rear wheel locks from AXA & Abus, a select line of tires from Schwalbe, saddles and other goodies from Velo Orange and Brooks and loads of other good stuff.

From Henry of WorkCycles in Amsterdam:

A little bit of bike rap Courtesy of the City of Amsterdam who is finally waking up to the fact that bicycles are one of the Netherlands greatest attractions and on e of the strongest reasons it’s just such a darn lovely, peaceful place to visit or live. The incredible cycling mode share enables very high population density without the typical urban noise, danger and stress. Much of the 17th and 18th century city remains not as a museum but as a living, breathing, charming city as the city was once defined: a place for people. We love riding our bikes here… with our kids, dogs, SO’s, to work, to the pub, to school or just for the sake of riding!

Here in L.A. there are plenty of people in town trying to make this city a little bit more like Amsterdam (when it comes to bicycling), and I’d encourage you to get involved with any of the following organizations:

CicLAvia
C.I.C.L.E.org
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
BIKESIDE LA

If you want to ride a real “fiets”, come to Flying Pigeon LA! We carry a host of bicycle brands straight from Holland to the streets of L.A.: Gazelle, Batavus, Achielle, Velorbis, Nihola, and many more.

The Coaster Brake Challenge is a an off-road, unsanctioned, bike race organized by Atomic Cycles in Van Nuys. Competitors can use any type of bike frame they like in the race, but are only allowed to use a coaster brake (common on childrens bikes and beach cruisers) to bring their bike to a halt.

Competition was fierce, with 2009 Coaster Brake challenge champ Dingo emerging victorious yet again. Charlie from Team Flying Pigeon came in second place. Dingo and Charlie placed in the same positions in the first race of this series, setting up something of a rivalry for the trophy in the remaining two races.

Another member of Team Flying Pigeon sent in a report of the first race in the series, which took place on July 4, 2010. DJ Chicken Leather emailed a massive missive via email:
h

dear fellow fan,
maybe i should rephrase it on this post holiday drag after the 4th of
july. everything
has that slightly out of sync ring to it like an over medicated horn player in
one
of those nineteen -fifties biopics trying to kick the drug of the day the
filmmakers
have put in with the local law enforce to kick to the curb, kick.kick
the flashback is coming on now from stale p,b & j and all the while ‘times
a wasting clorissa ; tick-tock’ –try to move thru space and how did this frame
get so heavy? maybe a little more kick. kick,c’mon kick, move you hunk of
reconstituted
pot steel, which in a past life was some auto part widget- probably a pitman
arm.
isn’t that ron kovick passing me in his wheel chair ? he waves and tells me i’ll
go far
if i just stay off the hard stuff-like from china.kick,damn it!
and then i realize that only got five minute,no,no it five minutes past the time
they’re
suppose to meet up for midnight ridazz and what was the theme — oh yeah
world cup-kick,kick you back to the old school,head butting,why are the french
not
in the finals? if only for comic relief .kick.kick till the sport has no
resemblance to the
real world–hey wait a minute,i don’t even get a signing bonus,or the old city
to sing
me a “we are the world” knock off,let alone a boys and girls club to surround me
at the big press conference -say isn’t that like seal clubbing ,out till the
bars and
liquor stores close.right, right i know why i’m like this.
instead of appreciating the five/four day weekend i cut it short
and eased back into the groove of that race everyone shakes their head over.

hello coaster brake to coast fan,
did ya miss the heat at seven am, or how the cahuenga pass starts to
curve
when you you approach the speed of light? paul’s grin as he explains the course
like it’s one of those old wartime escape/chase espionage films
” back for more?here you are on the dog run.you will approach the park
here,paying careful
consideration to not exhaust your ammo on the bmx style encampment near the
bridge.watch the water trap-gerry does so like muddle up the works on that back
section.here’s your shirt,patch and your number plate. good luck. ..oh.yes the
new start time ,five pm.”

after the local color tells me all the ins and out of ‘low-budget internet porn’
in the valley and intimating that I might want to make that award winning
career move;we straddle the pigeons and are in hot pursuit of the field.
charlie or is it ‘spidey’ due to all that parcore (sp?) gives chase as last
years
winner pulls up with wheel trouble.
“i’ve got some tools.” i hear myself saying,
“i’m done,for today” he says.and then i remember i’m still kicking it for
another lap.

this is the point when i caught my local neighborhood spideyman on the flats
with
the female spectators cheering and doing the jackie o wave.
then like some lone gunman,the sound of thunder rips thru the silence of the
lambs
with dingo in the lector roll,twisting and putting the final touches like a
cheap
chianti .to us adding more shame–schwabe,white friend with reflector,
calls the hand and i’m left with holding a hand of also ran rubber and
mr.pigeon.
heavy,eatting dessert mr.pigeon.the bead blown after too many wild rides with
spidey ,new old stock put together in the eleventh hour in an effort to get
an extra five minutes of sleep.
do i short cut back? thru enemy lines back to the start? nah,i hoof it back
the long way,watching all those i lapped ,lap me just to say i finished on the
up and up
wasn’t it kip keno who said that his nation didn’t send him to just start the
race but to finish it. pigeon nation lives just barely.

(will chicken be back for round two? or is the charm of the valley about to have
it’s
way with our heroes? and what of that whole support crew/extra that is now
following the tour
the twittering,facebooking,my spacing. will he ever know the ways of team fast
or
the joys beyond dial-up?…stay tuned)

You can find out more about the Coaster Brake Challenge by visiting the Atomic Cycles page for the Coaster Brake Challenge. The next race is on Sunday, July 18, 2010. Dingo, Charlie, DJ Chicken Leather, and all the rest of the gang will be pushing their coaster brake bikes to the limit to win points and take home the home made trophies done by Paul at Atomic Cycles. More importantly, they will all be there “[t]o have fun, to race, to sweat, breathe hard, to ride hard, to challenge ones self.”

There are two models: a 5-speed coaster brake version, for $3,199; and a 7-speed v-brake version, for $3,399. These prices are all that you’ll pay – no tax, no shipping, etc. added on to them.

That pretty much wipes out our profit, but it opens up the possibility of you riding a Nihola to the park, market, or beach, with your kids, pets, or significant other (up to 200lbs) in the front.

Nihola’s are a great way to switch over to a car-lite or car-free lifestyle. They’re best at low speeds since the two wheels in front keep the bike very stable when slowly weaving through a crowd or a narrow gap. The bikes weigh about 100 lbs empty, but can be easily hoisted onto the back of a truck by picking up one end and then the other.

Nihola’s are an excellent choice when stability and smooth riding is a major concern. Two wheeled cargo bikes can feel more “zippy”, but are unstable at low speeds (which is what you’ll be doing on most cargo bikes anyway!). Shopping at the farmer’s market, riding to the beach or park, dropping the kids off at day care, taking your doggies (or livestock along for the ride) – all of it is made fun, eco-friendly, and safe with a Nihola.

Inquiries should be directed to info@flyingpigeon-la.com

We’re bummed that we couldn’t make it work with these excellent cargo trikes (the best in the world, by our judgement) in L.A.

We’re shipping the unsold portion of our inventory of Niholas to the east coast (to another dealer) in two weeks, and it looks unlikely that anything this cool will be available locally in L.A. for a while to come.

Dingo, Charlie, and Msr. L'auteur at the first of four Coaster Brake Challenge races being held in the summer of 2010.

Another summer, another Coaster Brake Challenge.

The coaster brake challenge is a non-sanctioned off-road race on bicycle equipped with an old-fashioned coaster brake as the only means of stopping the bike. It is organized by Paul Choppercabras of Atomic Cycles in Van Nuys.

For the past three races, the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop has sponsored riders in the race by giving them our signature Flying Pigeon Racer to use in the competition.

Charlie from Team Flying Pigeon on his custom Flying Pigeon Racer.

Results from the last race, held on July 4, 2010, were posted online recently and we’re excited that Charlie from Team Flying Pigeon was able to place 2nd behind 2009 Coaster Brake champion Dingo. Several top racers had their attempts at a trophy thwarted by flat tires.

Msr. L’Autuer rode the race on a custom built Flying Pigeon Racer, complete with a basket and streamers. He finished in a respectable time, considering he had some flat tire trouble of his own.

We’re looking forward to pictures and stories about the next ride to come walking in the door. The next Coaster Brake Challenge ride in the series will take place on Sunday, July 11, 2010. For more details check out the Coaster Brake Challenge page on Atomic Cycles’ web-site.