Some random photos some of which I may or may not have posted before.
DOUBLE DEAN
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Euro Asia Imports
Hi everybody!
welcome to an exclusive little post i have been meaning to post in the past four frecking months.
Last October, i got the opportunity to visit one of the most amazing bicycle wholesaler while Visiting the United States of America with my beloved girlfriend Sarah.
I mention Sarah because while i was doing my little visit i had lost track of time and spent 3 hours taking photos and getting my mind blown away by the sheer amount of cycling history that those dry californian walls are hiding.
Anyway, the whole visit is all thanks to Twhites Bikes and our ‘amazing’ communications skills and professionalism. Actually, we just asked them if i could come check the place out and they said yes.
It took a while to find the place as it was so inconspicuous and bare of any big signage. For all you bike nerds out there, that’s how you recognize quality in the business industry, not via tons of hype and colours and showmanship, except the japanese, they can do whatever they want. i’m talking crap right now.
So! let’s get going with this visit. i’ll keep it short and succinct in order to appreciate the images. they’re not really in good chronological order but bare with me.
their offices are sitting above a chiropractor ( just in case you guys try to look it up on google maps)
that’s their main entrance door. minimalistic to the bone
The man in charge: Dave Lundegard
He showed me around and made sure i got to have a view of every tiny corners of the place.
the view when entering
they still use punch cards, crazy cool!
Memorabilia everywhere!
sweet shwinnn clock (not for sale)
This is the view of one the 3-4 warehouses they have filled with New Old Stock parts. they also have a couple of containers sitting outside packed to the rafters because they needed more space. the amount of stock was acquired sometimes via bike distributor closing down and getting rid of their old stock. EAI would get told and they would just buy it.
the way it works is that the office has a small warehouse with most of the parts. the other warehouses are like ‘back-up pantries’. if the main warehouse run of an item, they just waltz to the other building and re-stock the main one. you wouldn’t believe the quantity i’m talking about.
Hubset especially made for Eddy Merckx when he was destroying the hour record. Dave believes that there are only about 6 or 12 pairs ever made of those and euro-asia has 3 deadstock of them! stilll in box with seals still on. be prepared to pay the right price for those.
Yes people! i did get close to their gold pro chainring. still in production but good things take time. the finish on them is insanity.
Oh! that? it’s the office tarantula. no big deal
and his leftover skin
You want Cinelli lazer? they might have a few NOS frames lying around getting built up.
How about a track Lazer? those were just pristine to the max. drooling material indeed.
couple of panorama shots for the sake of it.
Lunch time in the warehouse.
Drawers full of cogs
just plain cool
anyone for a campy 60t track?
or maybe a taste of the ultra rare campy -i don’t know what they’re called- chainring. double pitch? skip teeth? i should ask Dave Benson.
EAI were the 1st campagnolo distributor in the USA in the 70s and they have kept a super strong relationship with the italian brand over the years.
Anyway, nothing beats a tequila shot while visiting the warehouses
it’s a fax machine.
If you want to see more mind-blowing stuff click on this link. it’s my flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_tchong
Anawhata to Bethells Beach
Taking a knife to a gun fight was Dave Benson’s apt description of taking a cyclocross bike into serious singletrack. Seeing Teva roll up on his awesome Yeti for our overnight excursion into the Waitakere Ranges made me wonder what I was getting myself into. But the weather was crystal clear and not too hot, so off we went.
The last time I rode this trail, it was really boggy. I’d hoped the week or so of fine, dry weather would have dried the trail out and made it more ridable. It hadn’t.
After bashing through mud pits, bogs, mud holes and some fun sections, we came to a junction. The choice was blast down a trail that put us 5kms from Bethells Beach or try to find a sneaky route through some private land that would spit us out a bit closer. We tried the latter. It wasn’t all bad. The downhill at the start was rad. It was fairly wide but with deep rain ruts snaking all the way down. Negotiating it was a process of trying not to slide into and out of the ruts. Too much fun. This was the wrong way though, so we had to push back up the other side. After a lot of bike pushing we made it back to the junction.
The blast down the last downhill through the bush was the best part of the ride. I got caught out by the rocky sections, blowing through my inch of Continental Cycloking travel at the front and pinch flatting. The pic above is me pumping up my front tyre at the end of the trail. I’d have to do that another half-dozen times — knife in a gunfight.
The Waitakere Ranges at the end of the trail.
We made it to Bethells Beach eventually and then over to Oneil’s Bay where we made camp among some old pohutukawas just off the beach. I got to try out my Hennesy Hammock. I took a bit longer than the dude in the video to set it up, but it happened.
Teva went ultra-light with this snazzy paracord-camo tarp bivy set up.
Cooked a feed, drank some whisky, chilled out.
Thanks for the photos Teva!
Edit: that’s the last photo i took of the evening that i forgot to send justin -teva-
They don’t have mince&cheese pies in australia.
You might have noticed but i was in the affluent and creative city of Melbourne recently. Evidently my inside bike nerd pushed me to check out the cycling landscape and ‘test’ out the different bike shops around whilst riding Rowan’s bike of Pavement Destruction. So here I am at fancy “Saint Cloud” checking paintjobs on Somec and all. Having a Chat with moustachy dude (Rowan knows who i’m talking about) and perving at parts as per usual. 
The moment the talk started to get a bit to jazzy for my liking i took it as a cue for me to leave. But that’s the moment Chris thought of taking me to Anchor Bmx. Just my luck! as i thought sarcastically to myself. Anyhow, i had nothing else planned for the day and i could always bolt away if it got a bit awkward. Nonetheless, here we go riding around checking out the side streets for street art and random galleries that Chris wanted to show me.
After about 20mins, he took me on this small street where arty kids were hanging out in an empty lot with a veggie garden. Across the road from the organic children was an industrial building with metal and wood junk lying about. Chris proceeded to knock on the door of 47 Chapel st and a gentleman in a engineer’s overall came out and had a wee chat.
I found out that this Chap in question is Jesse Geisler and has been making bike frames and tools for frame builder for the past 20years! His brand is called ‘Bike Bar’ and from what i have seen he used to lived in Sydney a while back.
Having only a few mins to ask questions and take pictures (chris was rushing me a bit), here is what i got from the amazing workshop.
Apparently Jesse does not use much of the internet medias to get known. He mostly relies on word of mouth and business doesn’t seem to stop for him. However, If you want to talk to him or contact him he does have a website http://www.bikebar.com.au/
Rock Lobster
So the other day i visited Rowan and Shanelle in Melbourne. Did you know that you have to a plane to go to melbourne? can’t even ride there. Evidently, we decided to squat their apartment for handful of evenings. His pad is Big, and i’m not talking Tom Hanks in ‘Big’, I’m talking Mr. Big from Sex and the City BIG. there is so much space that you can stumble drunk around the whole place without hitting anything. love it. And if you bring some, you can do lines in the bathroom because they have a bench in there, a bench i tell you! Quite Miami if you ask me. But the place has so much flair and style which is not shocking given the people who live there.
Then proceeded to visit Browan at his job and check out the hype. The place is a room tucked away on the ground floor of a 50′s building (i’m guessing it’s from that era, don’t quote me on it). They have a choice as set up, a maître d’hôte (aka mason), a show Colnago kitted out with Dura Ace ax, stuff in a cabinet, barber chairs, a tv cranking sports, toys, a beer fridge (surprisingly full). So they do fades, shaving, conversations and drinking. The Nec plus Ultra is that those son of a guns are sponsored by Rapha! casual
The Maître d’hôte
Obviously i couldn’t turn up in melbourne empty handed. notice how Rowan’s love for camo extends to his bench seat.
Once again, thanks Rowan and Shanelle for putting up with us, especially when Shanelle was a couple of weeks from finishing her semester at school. Sleep well you two.
favorite flavour
Bobby took this pic of me bobbys and jammys bikes at the shop.
These dudes have got some pimp bikes Ill do a bike check with them soon.
Party at the shop this Friday
Free beer will have every Auckland SBC’er in the shop at 7pm Friday night!!! get into it.
homework
boy! waking up on sunday morning before 8 am is hard. but when it is to make history it deserve to wake up at 8.36 am. and i did participate in history.
we finally managed to ride the harbour bridge. i have been waiting for this for a whole hour.
jah man.
wazman got into the leading group by jumping over the fence followed by tim who threw his bike over. hamona disappeared in the crowd. brian was all over the show also disappeared and re-appeared in the late afternoon at the shop. and i was stuck with the back of the crowd walking and riding slow as krusty the clown.
it seemed like this sunday morning it all came together, everybody was happy and the temperature was perfect, sun was shining, girls were waiting to be picked up.
Oh! and justin was on foot taking a stroll like a troll…
When the daylight saving goes off…
…the booze cruise goes off.
well here are some photos of another booze cruise.
all in all a pretty calm ride around town. just the usual. nothing extravagant or haven’t done.
let the pictures talk.