We have ordered a few FlyingVelo leather saddlebags. They are en-route now. Once we get the bags and the shipping/duties invoice we will be able to offer them for sale. It should take a couple of weeks. The price should be $150-$200. Our first shipment will consist of bags in the three colors that match the Brooks saddles.

These bags are made of heavy leather and, in size, they are inbetween the small Brooks bags and the Carradice bags.

FlyingVelo is a small factory in S Korea. They have a few folding-bike items and some other small pieces. We have been trying one of these saddlebags for a week and are impressed with the quality.

honey Millbrook left, brown Glenbrook right

Brooks is offering a limited run of their popular Milbrook and Glenbrook saddlebgs in antique brown or honey leather. The leather versions will include a shoulder strap. MSRP is 300 for the leather Millbrook and 450 for the leather Glenbrook.

I am told that total production of these two bags is two-hundred pieces . We have our order placed and are hoping for delivery some time in April.

UPDATE 5/7/09: These bags are at the US distributor’s warehouse. We will probably have ours here in 1-2 weeks.

new Team Pro variation

Brooks has introduced a Team Professional saddle that uses  machine-set tubular-steel rivets instead of the hand set copper rivets traditional to this model. The streamlined production technique brings the price down to a very reasonable $119.

(Team Pro, plated steel frame, copper rivets: $187. Team Pro, titanium frame, copper rivets: $375)

These new Team Pro versions come in black and honey with chrome plated steel frames. This saddle has the same leather and the same chrome frame as the traditional Team Professional. The only difference is the skirt is not shaved and the rivets. The machine set rivets are common to many Brooks models, including the B.17 Standard  and the B.67.

Brooks prices have been taking large leaps in the last couple of years. We are happy to offer this old favorite at such an attractive price.

Tags: bargain

Hebie bipod stand

I ordered some Hebie stuff from Germany to evaluate and it came today. I just mounted this stand on my bike. Can’t argue that it looks good but it seems pretty useful. First test will be the short trip home tonight. It comes in two lengths for 26″ and 700c and the price would be around $55.

UPDATE 3/17/09 – I have ordered a few of the bipod stands to sell plus some accessories. They should get here next week. We’ll see how they do.

Tags: hebie, stand, ugly, useful

two fork-mount light brackets

These two new light brackets come from Charlie Buchalter at ATOC. The lower one threads onto the hub skewer, replacing the  skewer end, and the higher one bolts onto a lowrider boss.

I got a couple of these brackets for evaluation and my conclusion is that they are pretty nifty. I used the lower one over the weekend and not only did it get the battery-light off my handlebars but the lower mounting made a nice, illuminating pool of light on the road. These hollow tubes weigh less than one ounce.

Now that they are evaluated we should have these brackets in stock in a couple of weeks. The lower one will cost around $25 while the mid-fork bracket will be around $20.

UPDATE 2/2/08 – LiteBeams now in stock.

Tags: bracket, light, new