Cool people I know; Taliah Lempert

I am lucky to know a lot of really cool people. Some are like family to me and others are simply acquaintances that I am lucky to have made. I have been blessed over the years to get to know lots of people in many different fields/ areas of expertise. In short; I'm spoiled.

Taliah Lempert is somebody I have mentioned many times here over the years. I am a huge fan of her paintings and have often spread the news of her work here, sharing flyers about her shows or other projects. I first learned of Taliah's work several years ago when I was helping to edit a magazine (iheartbikes) that she and I both were contributing to. It was then that I fell in love with her style and her paintings. Since that time, we've stayed loosely in touch and I am always searching for a way for her and I to work together on some sort of project (and I'm not giving up).

On a recent trip to her website, I saw her t-shirts again and looked through the new designs... which I really need to have. But upon further digging, past the coloring book that I love so much, I noticed she is now also making caps. I love caps and hats of nearly all types... LOVE THEM... and am now in love with her caps. I will posess them... oh yes, I will.

So, for those of you new to Taliah, you really need to go check out her fantastic bicycle paintings. For those of you who are already familiar, I hope you'll dig a little deeper into her site as well... there's good stuff there!

And Taliah, keep up the great work- I always get a rush of inspiration from your paintings.

Tim

More pictures from Japan, Tokyo Cycle-Mode

More pictures and a little commentary from my recent trip to Tokyo;


Yep, that bottom shelf has a complete and unused Campy 50th group in it... I was slobbering on myself when I saw it last year in this same shop (that now carries Masi)- Friend Bike Shop.



This was possibly my favorite bike sighting in Tokyo. I saw it last year, riding by me before I could get my camera out. This year I caught it in repose. I LOVE utility bikes. I love what Surly and Kona have done with their long wheelbase cargo bikes, but this is really cool with the sidecar. I would love to do a cool cargo bike with Masi... so you never know what you might see in the future.


This is so cool! I love the cool motorcycles and scooters they have running the steets of Japan. This old Suzuki was just too cool to walk by without getting a photo- I love the modern rettro lines of it.


This thing... Batman's water ferry. I mean... it's really cool.


Rin Project- some of the coolest of Japanese urban uber hip design. Dig the modern hairnet helmets! I need to get in touch with these guys and get a hook up!


Tomoni is another of the really, really cool urban gear brands. The bags, etc, were incredible. Really amazing stuff... and I just had to refrain myself from buying one of everything.


Here is the same chef at teppenyaki that we had last year; it was an honor to sit as his grill again. AND... it was exceptionally delicious again! I was actually lucky enough to eat at the same great sushi restaurant, the same great teppenyaki grill and the same great tempura restaurant; yes, I am way beyond a little spoiled.


I really, REALLY want both of these helmets. They are so cool- total carbon fiber shell for lightweight and strength. I've always been a fan of the OGK helmets and these were spectacular. They had a full line of road helmets that were also really great. But these two are on my short list of "must have" helmets for track races. Now I need to befriend somebody at OGK!

That's it for tonight. I have tons more, but my eyes are crossing and I need to get some sleep. More to follow... promise.

Tim

More Taipei '08- Cool Products

Now we move on to the product section of our Taipei 2008 coverage. Our intrepid reporter picks up where he finished and continues with the highlights of the products that made Taipei Cycle Show 2008 so exciting...

Thanks for your patience- let's get to the good stuff now!


As a race nerd, I still seriously geek-out on cool stuff like these wheels. I never did find out who the actual manufacturer is, but several brands had their labels on them. They were pretty cool and light though.


There are many very talented frame makers in Taiwan. This particular one struck me for its very fluid lines and nice structural features- check out the beefy dropout area and the ridge by the seat collar area. The frame had a lot of great and complex shapes.


Biomega continues to make some of the coolest bikes I've seen. I just love their simple designs and creative touches. This bike just made me smile when I saw it.


One of my favorite trends developing right now is painted/ colored bars, stems and seatposts. Sure the finishes may scratch over time, but when you are creating a really beautiful bike and can add some awesome colored accents... parts like this are a great thing to have available. Keep your eyes open for a few well-known companies to be doing this... trust me on this one.


It's no secret that I'm a big SRAM fan. I still love my Shimano and Campagnolo parts too- in fact I just finished building a new steel sample frame with my Dura Ace parts (pictures later) and rode it tonight. But I've been one of the folks who claimed that SRAM's entry into the road market would be a good thing for all of us. Well, the venerable Rival group is getting nice updates like a black finish to match the Force and Red groups and is also getting a new carbon fiber brake lever. What was already a good looking group for the money is now a drop-dead-sexy group for the money. (Don't worry though... the folks from Japan are not going quietly into the night... not at all... but I can't say anything yet.)

One of the biggest product highlights of the show was these guys; Grammo.


I'm a true racing geek and love cool looking race gear, but these wheels were simply off the charts!


Thing is, they spun incredibly smoothly and felt very nice in the hands. The large carbon bladded spokes were very cool with two steel threaded spokes that went in to the rim and used regular spoke nipples.


These babies were just simply stunning- they really did a great job on the cosmetics.


I pretty much fell in love with them and fondled them each time I walked by the booth. They were starting to get a little concerned.


I'd love to say I talked my way in to a set of the wheels to test and report on for you, my faithful and wonderful readers... but I failed to even get any words out of my mouth because I could hardly breath from the hyperventilating.

So those are the product highlights that I'm allowed to tell you about... (nudge, nudge, wink, wink...). Next up will be some of the people who make going to the Taipei show such a good time.

So until the next time- good night!

Tim

Spy shots...

My new personal brakes... amazing light and very, very smooth action.

7005 series aluminum track cog (16t for those who need to know). Super, super light. I am curious to see how well it holds up before the teeth get really worn or sheer off. The tooth profile is really stout and the cog is reinforced around the area where the chain contacts it. It just might work... so I will let you know. I promised the vendor I would give him real world feedback.

The brakes and the cog are made by the same person. He is very passionate about his work and his products. I can relate to that. We hit it off pretty well and I am very happy to have met him and seen his various products. One of the highlights of the trip so far.

Ok, gotta run downstairs to the taxi.

Tim