A bunch of boxes arrived at the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop this week, and I thought that busting out the ol’ smart phone and showing everyone what we got would be a fun idea (a la Peter Coco’s Inventory Series)
The bike above is something we’ve been waiting for since seeing it at Interbike last fall: the Torker KB2.
The KB2 comes equipped, for the most part, as a typical single speed bike. It’s bigger than average 700x38c tires would seem to be the only remarkable thing about the bike – until you look at the back hub. The KB2 has a Sturmey-Archer Kick-Back 2-speed rear hub – and it is the pure essence of fun to swing these big wheels around the block, looking for mischief.
Kick your foot back, hear a little “tick”, and now you’re in an hard gear. Kick back once more, “tick”, and now you’re in an easy gear. It makes life feel like an old track and field video game with button mashing substituted for pedal mashing. Fun, smooth, no cables and two gears.
MSRP is $375.
They come in sizes from 44cm to 56cm, so almost everybody is covered. We’ve got one 50cm frame at the shop, more will arrive in the Spring. What a bike!
The Retrack coat, $75, is from Toronto, Canada based Modrobes. Made of recycled soda bottles, which is awesome. Available in grey or the tan you see above.
T-shirt a custom-made Flying Pigeon print by Carly Veronica on an American Apparel shirt, $20 (we’ve got a random selection of American Apparel shirts with this logo on them).
Mens’ Riding Jacket from Modarchy, $175. Bicycle Fixation hemp knickers, $110 (hemp blended with recycled soda bottle polyester).
This is a Public M3, Orange, Small w. rack – a popular bike this month. This bike sold to a customer in Pasadena for $795. We’ve sold quite a few Public J7’s this month as well. The J7 is a down-spec’d version of the M, with a deeper step-through frame and a much lower price: $495.
We’re waiting for a package from Peter White Cycles this week (B&M Retro LEDs, Spanniga fender-mounted tail lights, and a bunch of wiring, mounts, and other stuff). Oh! It looks like we’ve finally found the magic source for spare skirt guards (jasbeschermers), chain cases (kettingkasts), and old-school looking LED headlamps in Germany. That is a story for another day, however.