3 Cool Bits: Masi, Smith, and Relive.cc

Dec 7, 2016 – This week we have three items for you from the Peloton Service Course – Two items that will have you relishing in your enjoyment of cycling and one to add some serious style to your melon (a.k.a your head).

Peloton

NINETY YEARS OF MASI.

This gorgeous coffee-table book was a labor of love for Dominic Phipps: “Unearthing a story that essentially exists in the memories of a distant community of people who are perishing, or have rarely ever spoken on the subject, was fascinating and very satisfying. I often referred to the research process as being more akin to an investigation. The book became simply a vessel for a story that became my obsession for 18 months.” From the rise of the bicycle in Italy and Falerio Masi’s baptism on two wheels in Sesto Fiorentino, to the star-studded list of riders that piloted Masi bikes, frequently re-badged for Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx or Tom Simpson, “Ninety Years of Masi” is more than the definitive history of the Masi brand, it is a brilliant look back at the influence Masi and Italy in general have had on the sport we all love. In the latter half of the book, Phipps turns his attention to the brand’s rebirth in California 25 years ago and the successful effort to ensure Masi craftsmanship and expertise made the journey too. $39.99; masibikes.com

SMITH X BICICLETA SEM FREIO.

A bike with no brakes implies many things: taking risks, skill, speed, flying headlong into whatever might come; no Plan B. The Brazilian street-artists-collective’s name, Bicicleta Sem Freio, means “bicycle with no brakes” and that aptly describes their work. It is vibrant, edgy and risk-taking, and beautifully echoes life in the colorful and chaotic favelas and streets of Rio de Janeiro. Smith looked to Bicicleta Sem Freio to help design graphics for limited, Rio-inspired editions of Overtake helmets, PivLock and Lowdown sunglasses. The graphic, cartoonish style with garish colors exists somewhere between a Brazilian dream and a nightmare, all based on Smith athletes’ own photos. It is textbook Bicicleta Sem Freio work minus, of course, the more explicit themes in some of the collective’s street art. These are very-limited- edition products and potential collectors’ items. $499; Smith x BSF Collab; smithoptics.com

RELIVE.CC.

What happens when a computer scientist, mechanical engineer and industrial design engineer go for a bike ride in Tenerife? While there might be a great punch line to this set-up, we prefer to talk about what actually happened: Relive.cc. Being Dutch, these three friends don’t get to ride mountains frequently, so they spent each evening poring over ride files. They quickly wished for a way to relive and share the rides with friends that was less data centric, but still provided key metrics. Using the skills they possessed their evening sessions quickly turned into development sessions. The result is Relive.cc. Simply link your Strava account and a few hours after your ride you’ll receive a short video in your inbox that gives you a bird’s-eye perspective on your ride as it is traced across satellite imagery with data such as top speed, highest elevation and max power populated at the exact moment it happened. Just a few months old, Relive.cc already has some big-name fans. Giant-Alpecin’s Laurens Ten Dam shared the final stage of the Tour de France with Relive.cc. Free; relive.cc