The Snot Rocket / Iggy's Words

Alfred Bobe is New York City bike messenger who's been riding this Tonic for the past 2.5 years. This frame has won Monster Track twice, and is used everyday in one of the hardest environments I'm aware of. Alfred's been a huge supporter of Tonic, and I'm very grateful to have such a quality individual riding for us. He's really encouraged us to go forward with our track frame, and that's exactly what we are doing.


Here's a little nugget from Iggy Pop:

21st Birthday

On my 21st birthday we opened for Cream. I had spent the day transporting a two-hundred-gallon oil drum from Ann Arbor to Detroit so that we could put a contact mike on it and Jimmy Silver would hit it on the one beat of our best song. I got it up three flights of stairs into the Grande Ballroom, by myself, and then we discovered that our amps didn't work. And when we went out onstage everybody yelled, "We want Cream! We want Cream! Get off, we want Cream!"

I'm standing there, having taken two hits of orange acid, going, "Fuck you!" It was one of our worst gigs ever.

I went back to Dave's Alexander's house with him. I was heartbroken. I thought, My god, this is 21. This is it. things are not going well.

Dave's mom served me a cheeseburger with a candle in the middle of it. The idea was to keep going and things would get better. Don't give up.

7000 Words!

The great thing about photos is that each one is worth 1000 words.

These 7 photos represent 7000 words. It would take a long time to read 7000 words. Even if those words somehow created a story to make reading them more interesting.

Anyway, here's a cool old BMX brand I've recently become aware of. RRC. 4 Great Ideas.

Greg Melms checks in with some updates, including a new fork for his 26" bike.


These drop-outs are incredible.


Greg's also got a 24" super-cruiser in the works. Them's 13.75" chainstays.


Still buzzing about the pump track. Sooo fun.


OK. I know what you are thinking.."What's with all the frame-on-a-scale photos? That's lame." OK, you are right. This is last one. It's a painted Fall Guy.


Chaz at speed.


Raya, checking out the dirt work.


-L

All pumped up and nowhere to go...

I've never ridden a pump track, so this was all new. Tony and I went over to Aaron's place to give it shot. It's a lot of fun, and completely exhausting.

P Funk. Oregon's top ranked DH rider "in his category." P Funk, I don't what that means, but you set a blistering pace on this course.



Tony with a spot of bother in one of the berms.



Tony did have some clean runs. Nothing like "Moon-Eyes" in the back of your head.


My pump-track summary: Lean into the front wheel, get sucked into a berm, and then immediately pull-up for a couple rollers. Don't breath. Repeat 4 times and pass-out.



Alex loves Fixed Gear "Collabos", and can get around the track at a good clip.



Here is Tonic Fab. Seth, Tony and Myself. Our bikes are old.



A new Fall Guy all buttoned up and ready to go. Our new coating doesn't add much weight, covers the frame inside and out, and "looks cool" if you into that sort of thing.


-L

Random New Products (Not Tonic)

Not much of anything going on.
Actually, a great deal is happening here, but it's boring.

Here are a few new bike products that are exceptional.

Something I've picked up on is that touring bikes / racks are trendy right now. At the hand built show "Touring Bikes" out-numbered Mustaches and Man Capri Pants, combined!
They can look great, but jeez..what a rotten way to carry stuff! Especially with the fashionably flimsy bikes the racks are attached to. I've ridden a loaded bike with a 1" top tube. Surpise! What was terrible in the 70's still is.

I've done some bike touring with both panniers and a BOB trailer. The trailer wins, no question. The only thing that could beat a trailer for touring is a friend carrying everything in a car.

Anyway, bike riders tend to be a very opinionated crowd, and I'm no exception. I just love my trailer. Loved..it was stolen.

This is the most exciting bike product I've seen since the Thomson Seat Post Clamp. It's a trailer which converts to rolling luggage, has fitted bags, and can be configured as a chair and table. And has a solar panel for charging your gagets. This has to be the most deluxe article of touring equipment ever. $1100 Canadian.

The Koga Trailer.


Profile is up to some good stuff. Extra Hollow BB spindles are in the works.


A 130mm 6 speed road hub. Talk about a niche product!


Big-Dog. This is possibly one of the most frightening and amazing "product" I've ever seen. So many smart people to create something with the function of a donkey.


-L

Plowed

Homesteading, along with guns and germs, used to be a perfectly legal means of claiming land (from native people.) Move-in, take care of it, and it's yours. In a way, trail builders carry on that tradition, especially those who live near big cities and private land.

GJ's trails got plowed. Here's pre-plow edit from destoybmx.


Washington Trails BMX from anchors bmx on Vimeo.




-L

Carded and Blacked Out

A bunch (for us) of bikes are going out the door. Thanks to everyone who is getting a bike from a company with out any readily accessible legitimate product information. You are a contrast to the "information age."

We decided to go completely nuts with the frame graphics.

We placed a request for quote on a popular design website and recieved 10 different proposals..8 of which came from China! We also approached local street artist and Friend of Tonic, Quad-XL, for a possible "collabo." He declined immediately.

Some of the more interesting proposals focused on the fact that most customers choose remove their frame stickers immediately.

One solution was to substitute adhesives for velcro, making the job quick, painless and reversible if the customer changes their mind.

Another idea was printing the stickers with a light sensitive ink that fades completely upon exposure to sunlight. Take the frame out of the box, and the stickers are gone in seconds.

There was also the proposal to screen our logos with dry-erase board marker ink, which could be wiped off with a cloth while the customer assembles their frame.

Ulitmately we settled on something self-generated and as boring as the day is long. The upside is that the frames are shipping with an envelope containing something you can carry around in your wallet.

Yes, a black frame..not to into these, but I guess it doesn't look bad.


The Tonic Owner Card.


-L

Team Robot

Howdy.

Chaz, The Baaron and PFunk have a Blog, here.

As far as racing goes, Chaz is foiled again by this country's lack of infastructure to accomodate anyone who can't drive.

He can fly to a national, but without anyone to pick him up from the airport and transport him to the race location, he's hosed. He's not old enough to rent a car, and doesn't have the budget to hire a private limo to get him around after he arrives.

So, if anyone reading this might be able to help Charlie get to Mt. Snow (Vermont?) you'll be rewarded with enough hilarity to make going out of your way worth it. If you can help him out..contact me.

Looch sends this in from a trip to Eastern Washington. Cranked enough?


-L

Life is Killing my Rock and Roll

Vice Mag's Do's and Don'ts have really lost their teeth. Mean and funny takes commitment. "Sorta funny" is not funny, and if you are just a little mean..well you aren't mean at all.

Here are a couple of photos from Cory Tepper that speak to the sort of commitment a bike can ask of you.



Cornering. Been paying a great deal more attention to it recently.


In other news..although a date hasn't been set, I think our Jam is going to be amazing. Our team and some local heavies are in for one hell of a good time. Cory on the lens, so it should be very well documented.

Pairing the largest bike company with the smallest, Giant Bikes is helping Los Tonics (P-Funk, The Baaron and Chaz) with DH race rigs this season. Expect at least one of them to break the sound barrier.

Finally, big congrats to my sister for getting a full ride to grad school.



-L

Handy / Machines / Weird

What's new? Had my butt handed to me in a very kind fashion yesterday on an XC ride, and you know what? It felt great. I probably should have been working, or attempting to put a new headliner in my car, but the phone rang with an offer I couldn't refuse.
Rode with some good people including Greg who has ridden the Rapha Continental. Got introduced to some very tough new trails. Good stuff. Looch claims he's going to ride XC with me sometime soon, and I'll be ready for it.

What else? We will actually be shipping some frames soon. And for those recieving a Tonic..please, please, please, please do not use hand tools to "prep" your frame. Our headtubes and seat tubes are finished with machines. You simply can't improve on that with a hand tool. Photo from Teisuke.


Here's a typically great Cory Tepper photo of Nathan gliding throught the fog at Woodward. Nathan and Charlie look strangely alike on their Fall Guys.


Old, weird, and at one time terribly expensive bike parts. What to do with them?



-L

Fall Guys / Ninja Condors

Getting some of these wrapped up. The new Fall Guy.


These guys are little lighter than the Howies. Paint adds about 1/4#.


Here's Dex out of Cali getting his Fall Guy over.


Finally, a film that makes Picasso Trigger look like Apocalypse Now.
Ninja Condors 13. Charlie, I think this movie was made specifically for you.


-L

Short Baaron Vid

Song: Black Grease by the Black Angels.

The Baaron. A Bike Check.

I met Aaron at his trails the other day to do some digging. One look at these trails will tell you that Aaron no stranger to hard work. He rides smooth and fast (Semi-Pro DH racer), pays for his own bike parts, and believes in the power of Black Jeans. Aaron sticks to the old-fashion notion of buying good stuff, and taking care of it. It's safe to assume he'll be riding this set-up for years to come.
If you like these bike checks, we'll try and run through the Tonic Posse.

Here's a list of the parts:

Frame:Tonic Fab Howie #1. He's got the first one.

Fork: Manitou Sherman Jumper. What went wrong with Manitou?

Stem: Thomson 25.4 50mm.

Bar: Easton EA70 (very) Low Rise. Might switch to something taller.

Grips: ODI Longnecks.

Brakes: Hope Mini. 140mm Rotor.

Seat: Odyssey Junior.

Seat Post: Thomson.

Headset: FSA Impact.

Front Wheel: Profile Non-Disc Hub / Sun Rhynolite / DT Butted Spokes.

Rear Wheel: Profile Single Speed / Ti Cassette / 12t cog / Rhynolite / DT Spokes.

Front Tire: DMR Moto Digger.

Rear Tire: DMR Moto R/T or Tioga FS100

Cranks: Profile Race / Mid BB.

Chainwheel: Profile Imperial 28t.

Pedals: Specialized Mags.

Aaron's low-slung trails machine.


Production bikes have a degree steeper ST angle for a little more tire and seat slamming clearance. Aaron rides the rear wheels slammed, and a big tire is a snug fit against the seat tube. This is probably my favorite feature of the Howie.


Profile hubs sound good. Aaron's partial to Hope brakes.


Profile disc free front.


Mid-BB.


Thomson Stem...good stuff.


Aaron at his trails.


Same caption, different photo...


-L

Ivy League Vs. Street Knowledge.

Shovel Graveyard at Aaron and Charlie's Trails.


Here's some street action Charlie and PFunk rolled together:


-L

Thinking about Summer

The Helter Belter was really good. We are going putting together another little Jam in about a month. It will be on dirt, in the Ivy.


Billy..alley-oop foot plant over a street hip. Looking forward to riding with our team again.


Westside Invite from a couple years ago. Jon's navigating a horrible industrial pond.


-L

Smashing Good Times

Did a bit of this last week-end...


...to do this.
I just learned this area is at risk of closing down to bikes. These are XC trails, but can be shuttled. The noise, automobile traffic, riding style, and sharply increrased volume of users are reasons given why shuttling is bad for this area.
There are places for shuttling; I'm not sure this is one of them. You can find out more here.



Looch, at his local trails. Tongue Out.



-L