My Yay Area friend Alex at Homeroom makes the kind of gear you see on dudes from ‘Ye on down the line, and he’s blowing out his summer stock. Although being based in SF, isn’t the summer colder than the winter, according to Mark Twain? So is he selling SF summer clothes, aka winter clothes?

John Igei is pro skater for Western Edition that kills it just as hard on a bike.

When did you decide to take the brakes off?
Spring ’04. I never had a track bike with brakes.

What was the hardest part about adjusting to a fixed gear?
Finding good shoes to fit in the straps.

What kind of bike are you riding right now with what parts?
Samson, Keirin Frame with all Japanese stuff.

What is your favorite city to ride your bike in and why?
SF, NYC and Tokyo. I like riding in new cities and meeting new people.

Did skating affect the way you ride?
It did affect my riding. When I first started, I treated it like skating. I wanted to do tricks on it like wheelies and backwards circles. But now I prefer just riding.

Listen to “Black Mags.”

Mike Tran is a graphic artist for Street Corner Distribution (City, Venture, Hubba).

When did you start riding without brakes?
I always had a bike in the city for transportation, but when a friend came through with his track bike about four or five years ago, I had to have one, too. I put together a cheap conversion and once I learned to skid on it, I bought a real track frame without mounts and that was it.

What was the hardest part about adjusting to a fixed gear?
Stopping?

What kind of bike are you riding right now with what parts?
Cannondale x Univega frame, Phil Wood, Chris King, Sugino. But I also ride a Vitus built as a coaster to keep it classy—that’s right.

What is your favorite city to ride your bike in and why?
They’re all fun, and even better with homies.

Do you or did you ever skateboard?
Never skated. But I know enough to not compare boards to bikes.

Describe your current bike, in detail, like you’re narrating a bike porno.

Oh, the CSBC Patriot? It was liberated from Tony awhile back. Actually, I traded him for it in exchange for a complete Allen key set, some Bud Light tall cans and a handsome lamp from Ikea. Quite the bargain. The Patriot is an anonymous custom-built 52cm aluminum road frame with these interesting fixed dropouts, meaning the hub can only specifically bolt on with absolute zero adjustments. Yeah I know, not sick. So then there’s Alex DH22 hoops, Suzue hubs, Continental rubber, a questionable headset, KMC Z-chain rigged with two half links, bargain basement MKS pedals, random footstraps, a handy aluminum water bottle cage, 165 Shimanos, some bent forks that pull to the left, Brooks saddle, mystery bull horn/chainring/cog/stem/post ?group? via Bicycle Kitchen (yeah, dudes!). Proudly, a 100 percent non-NJS build. 42 x 14 grown man gear ratio. Quite sobering when non-mashing up La Brea. I also hold an aluminum 24” GT box tube, an Invisible Man Shadow 24 someplace, a crappy lunch runner Haro 24” and a PK Ripper but those are long stories as well so we’ll keep it at that.

Why do you bike?

Actually, for about four months I’ve been out with a four-piece collarbone shatter and surgery, compliments of snowdorking. The five months prior to that, nights at the Dime, Cha Cha and Teddy’s got in the way a lot. So in current reality I don’t bike.

Why do you think razor scooters never made it big?

I just saw dudes filming and jumping down a long eight the other weekend at Pershing Square on them. With that let’s reconsider.

If you had to pick one thing to ride the rest of your life, would it be bikes, skateboards, or girls?

Well, considering I discovered all three in that exact order I may return to the beginning and end my life on a bike. However, Smith grinds are utterly unexplainable, so I’ll choose the skateboard.

]]> http://www.vaporsmagazine.com/2008/07/jupiter-desphy-undefeated-la/feed/ 1 http://www.vaporsmagazine.com/2008/07/peddy-cash-chicagos-ruling-class/ http://www.vaporsmagazine.com/2008/07/peddy-cash-chicagos-ruling-class/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:02:05 +0000 Streetwear Bernie http://www.vaporsmagazine.com/?p=1410

“We take our jokes seriously,” says Alex Gvojic of the Peddy Cash moped gang. We’re standing in Chicago’s Warbux Mopeds storefront, staring at his appropriately named “Peddy Kruger,” in the style of the villain from A Nightmare on Elm Street—complete with a metal-clawed leather glove resting on the headlamp and a striped army green and crimson sweater stretched over the seat and frame. The Peddy Cash crew was founded in 2002 by Warbux co-owner Patrick Turner and Flosstradamus DJ Curt Cameruci, both natives of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Kalamazoo is home of the 19-branch Moped Army, and, according to Turner, “the mecca of the modern moped movement.” But Peddy Cash is no movement, unless its members are uniting to flummox small town locals like a band of moped carnies. “To them, we’re assholes,” says Cameruci. “But it’s fun.”

What’s the first thing people need to know about mopeds? 

Pat Turner: If you want to get into vintage mopeds, you definitely need to know that your level of involvement goes up drastically. If you buy a new moped, it’s like getting a new car. You can jump on it in the rain and it will take off whenever, wherever. Vintage ones, your level of involvement goes way up because it’s 30-something years old. But that’s one of the things that attracts people to it.

Curt Cameruci: Another thing to know, too, is anywhere you go you will be asked so many questions about it—“Where’d you get that? How much does it cost? How fast does it go? How many miles per gallon? Is that an engine?” There are tons of questions that you get asked about it, but every red light you stop at, there’s always someone, like, “Whoa!” It blows their mind.

Why mopeds?

CC: Originally, because it was fun and it was so cheap. Back when Pat and I started doing this, we could buy a ’ped for $75. And you’d just have to tweak it a little bit to get around. No one really even cared about mopeds except for 40-year-old guys in the suburbs.

You two are responsible for getting moped culture off of the ground here in Chicago, and it’s a major scene right now.

PT: I would have never seen it going this way, you know? Like, we’re standing in my moped shop right now, but I would have never seen it going that way.

CC: We were doing this just for fun, and then it got bigger from all of that. Me and Nigel [Hollywood Holt] were both touring all over the place—all around the world—and started getting in magazines and everything talking about this whole moped movement. And then we got the Cool Kids on mopeds and it really started blowing up from there.

PT: We kind of pushed a lot of things within the Moped Army and people stepped their game up. More gangs saw what we were doing and started getting into it. Chicago has definitely become a hotbed for mopeds since we started.

Describe your first bike.

Huffy Pro Thunder, red on white.

Describe your current bike.

24 inches strong.

Why do you bike?

’Cause when I was little I couldn’t put girls on my skateboard.

Why do you think razor scooters never made it big?

They ain’t big? You know anybody that wants to buy a collection for cheap?

What’s your sign?

Middle finger up.

Who would win in a fight between Lance Armstrong and Lance Mountain?

Well, Armstrong can take a kick to the nuts, so he gets odds.

What’s the greatest bike song ever?

“Pass the 40” by Black Sheep. “Don’t sleep on the side thinkin’ I’m easy to beat/’Cause I’ll be up in that ass like a bike seat.”

How come you don’t wear a helmet?

What? I always wear protection.

Hello my name is…
Brendt Barbur.

Aka…
Brother Brendt.

I was raised in…
The land where everyone is your best friend, but the next time you meet them they forget your name, which is strange because they just told you their whole life story. Northern California is so beautiful, but ever since I moved to the greatest city in the world (NYC, nine years ago), I can’t stop missing avocados, tacos, synchronicity, and the trees.

The reason that you’re reading about me is…
I was hit by a bus riding my bike in NYC. My friends and I wanted to do something positive after this negative experience, so we started the Bicycle Film Festival in NYC in 2001. We had movies, parties, and art shows about all kinds of bikes. Not only did we know everyone on a track bike, we knew anyone on a bike. It’s exciting to see a lot more people on bikes. Now we’re in 17 cities worldwide, with 100,000 attendees.

I work for…
The Bicycle Film Festival staff and bikers everywhere.

But I’d rather be…
Riding my bike.

My most prized possessions are…
Photos of my family. Over a decade ago, a U-Haul truck crashed onto its side in front of my house in San Francisco, erupting into flames and threatening to burn our building. We had to get out. My roommate and I went for the animals and photos.

But I’d give it all away for…
Some new video equipment.

The first thing I do in the morning is…
I try to remember to floss.

The last thing I do at night is…
I always try to brush my teeth.

The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen is…
California in the ‘70s. Sadly most of you missed that window in time. Northern California was the most beautiful place you have ever seen.

The ugliest thing I’ve ever seen is…
What happened to California since the ‘70s.

I am what I drive, which is…
A Cinelli SuperCorsa.

If you ever see me walking down the street…
You’ll probably see me walking if my bike has a flat tire. Please feel free to take a walk with me.

My most notable run-in with the law
I left my sister’s house in Florence. I was hitchhiking to the south of France, but I somehow ended up in Zurich, Switzerland. I was picked up by three guys who had a passion for weed and were headed the same direction. They generously smoked me out with the deadliest hash, which put me to sleep. I awoke at a train station in an empty car, with no idea where I was. Seconds later I was surrounded by cops. We were all busted for drug dealing. It was like a movie, we were searched and interrogated. Luckily they released me, recognizing that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If I had to say sorry it would be because…
I didn’t give my all.

I lose control when…
I think I can control everything.

The last time I swore I’d never drink was after a night of…
Getting arrested in a Swiss train station for being a drug dealer.

Future projects and plans…
Producing the Bicycle Film Festival in 17 cities, curating the Joy Ride art show, producing a few movies, learning how to be a businessman, bicycle world domination.

And before I leave I’d like to give a shout out to…
The Bicycle Film Festival international staff and volunteers, 300 strong. One of our main rules is no making-out on the job. I appreciate them sticking with me after that rule.