Saturday, November 15
Make it your own
I took this picture in the neighborhood of Roppongi in Tokyo. [It is kind of the nightlife center of Tokyo...and the mecca for foreigners looking to have fun (with a bunch of other ex-pats). I have a bad attitude about the area, but its not really worth going into.] My girl recently started going to a new salon there, and I discovered this little playground festooned with robots nearby. It was dope and I hope to tag alone again next month and snap some more pics.
As anyone who has read this blog for a minute will know, I have a little thing for track bikes. I continue to see them in the streets and outside shops more and more often. The fad/movement shows no signs of flagging with the release of a new toy. (JB...that is the bike I was trying to explain the other day.)
That's right, now you can buy your own 1/9 scale track bike from PedalMafia for a measly $30. Not only that, but they sell optional parts you can get to customize your mini-ride.
[via: PedalMafia blog]
If and when I see this in the shops, I might have a hard time not throwing away some hard-earned cash on it. I have resisted buying toys for a while, and there is only one good way to reward myself for such good behavior – buy some toys! Until then, I have will to settle for PedalMafia's online application.
Yup, you can build your own virtual track bike. So far I have thrown together four, but I will show some restraint and only show you my two favorites. And it is very possible that, since I have no practical knowledge of these bikes, that I have embarrassingly misplaced some part. That would be really sad, but if that is the case...please do tell. (I'm looking at you JB) I would hate to remain ignorant.
You can try it out yourself HERE. All the items are way on the left, so make sure to scroll on over. If anyone wastes as much time as I did, feel free to send the pics my way.
So customization seem to be the name of the game, from bikes, mobile phones, and all the way to cars – see Ferrari's Carrozzeria Scaglietti program for evidence.) And let's not forget sneakers! Nike introduced their NikeiD program years ago, and now Puma has its Mongolian shoe BBQ, and Reebok and Adidas have both had different schemes running in the last year or so. Well...not to ruin the suspense, but I finally did it after debating about it for a long time.
I have to explain, there are two different types of NikeiD's you can do: (1) you can use their Web site and select from the options available or (2) you can go to a NikeiD Studio and have a "Design Consultant" help you and there are "special" options that are not available online. Wanting only the best, I always hesitated going the online route but there was a problem – there was not iD Studio in Tokyo. (Well, after I had mine made...one just opened last month in the new Nike Sportswear store in Harajuku, but that's a story for another time.)
Until very recently the only iD Studio has been in Osaka. And wouldn't you know it, I had an opportunity to go there this past September for the first time since 2002. I knew I would only have one afternoon there...after spending time with my girl's family and before heading back to Tokyo. My only goal was to go to the NikeStore...never imagining that I would have a chance to make a shoe.
But...since we didn't really have much to do, my girl and her brother encouraged me to go bananas. But I knew they would be patient only for so long...I figured an hour max before there would be trouble. (Not really enough time...but since I didn't even make a reservation and it was such a spur of the moment thing, I was game!)
So, with no real time to prepare I sat down at the terminal and started working. It was a given I would make an Air Max 90 (if there had been the Air Max 87 I would have had to make a tough decision) the only real question was whether or not they had mesh available: and boy did they ever!
They had white and black mesh available so those were easy bases to work from. But I quickly ended up wasting quite a bit of time trying out some wacky lime-centered colorways. After regaining my senses, I decided to take a more conservative path. The Design Consultant was not all that helpful and I have no idea if I used any of the "studio only" options. But at that point I was getting signals to wrap things up, so I said I was done.
All of the colors came out a little darker than what I had expected, but I can't really complain. I am pretty happy with the results. They provide two lace options and I was sure I would like the blue better than the red...but I like the red a lot. And of course any sneakerhead worth his sole can see the influence the original Infrared 90 colorway had on my shoe. What can I say...I like the classics.
In addition to the two laces that came with it, I can easily see some crisp white or black laces spending some quality time in there. But for now, I am really enjoying the red.
I am not sure if I will ever do another pair of iD's again...but I am happy I did at least one. I to think that at some point, you will be able to customize shoes even more – either online or in a studio and more options and colors would be a nice start.
Music
Here is a great video for my favorite track of DJ /Rupture's new mix album Uproot. I might do a more complete review of the album in the near future. For now...enjoy.
That's it and I'm out.
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5 comments:
Other than those robot "signs" are there other robots at the park?
There were some robot tower things...but I couldn't get a good shot of them. I should be going back there soon, so I will try again.
Green Bianchi, very cool. White Vivalo, never heard of 'em!?! I guessed Ciocc which is very Italian and very cool. I was wrong... As for your creations, flat bars rule and while mag wheels are cool, they just aren't my style. I'll have to play around a bit and see if I can build the ultimate fixie for you on your linked site. Good to see some bikes on your blog after a long hiatus. Now when are we gonna see some killer cars again?
-JB
LOVED the robot park pic...eager to see and hear more about it the next time you go.
Also fun to see the bike pics.
Custom sneakers what a hoot!!! Must be agonizing decisions to make though.
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