To Live & Ride in L.A. just received a great write-up on BikeMinimalism for their 2011 year-in-review article. We definitely made a splash in 2011, becoming the #1 Sports movie downloaded on iTunes and releasing in 16 countries across the globe. Stay tuned, there is more to come from TRAFIK as Global Fixed Gear Culture reaches new heights!

Read the full article HERE…

To Live & Ride in L.A. collectors edition DVD is available HERE! With over 40 minutes of Bonus Features, a glossy insert and original artwork, the DVD now ships with a TRAFIK vinyl cut decal and spoke card. Get yours today!

Over the holidays TRAFIK had the chance to catch up with Canada’s own Tom Mosher. A Champion “foot bagger”, urban spelunker, FGFS Rider, and YNOT front man, he was gracious enough to welcome our cameras into the YNOT global headquarters and talk about the fixed gear crowd up North.

TRAFIK: It’s fucking cold out. How do you guys ride up here?

Mosher: You get used to it. Toronto has a lot of messengers, dudes just plowing through the snow. They don’t bitch out, so you just bundle up and go for it.

TRAFIK: Speaking about messengers, when you hear about riders back East, people are always talking about New York messengers, do you guys ever feel like you’re overlooked?

Mosher: I think that Toronto is overlooked a bit. We are the biggest city in Canada but I guess NY is cooler and older. But riders in both cities are equally grizzled, dealing with the traffic and the shit weather.

TRAFIK: You are known all over the interwebs as a FGFS rider. What is the fixed gear scene like up here?

Mosher: Toronto has a ton of casual commuter FG riders. I think we have the highest percentage of fixed gear commuters than any city I’ve been to. I got into FGFS a few years back with a Tuesday night ride called T.O. Track Tricks held in a public ice rink. But now we have evolved and mostly hit up street spots. I also started a race series called “Hell Track” that we’ve been doing every summer. We held one around a public school with a stair and off-road section, check out the video. (Below)

TRAFIK: That’s cool, is T.O. a good city to race in?

Mosher: Actually, Toronto invented the alley-cat race. Underground street races were originally held here through the alleys back in the 80′s and it caught on with messengers all over.
(No bullshit…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alleycat_races)

TRAFIK: Shit, I didn’t know that. “Toronto – Home of the Alley-Cat Race”.

TRAFIK: YNOT has been making some moves, your products are in stores worldwide. What’s next for you?

Mosher: In the past year YNOT has grown considerably. We just moved into this space and it’s already too small. You might have seen us at Interbike this past summer, that really set things off for us. We design everything in house and cut and sew each piece. Canadian quality. Our newest product is called the Cobra Bag – it has wings that expand and can carry any load. You can fill it up and still strap a frame and wheelset to it. Made in Toronto.

TRAFIK: Can we get one for free?

Mosher: No, but how about a wallet?

TRAFIK: Thanks Tom, it was great meeting you. Looking forward to more things from yourself and YNOT in the coming year.

Check out Tom’s blog “The Moshpit” at… http://tommosher.wordpress.com/
…And his FGFS forum TRICK TRACK

To Live & Ride in L.A. is now on CANADA iTUNES! Check it out HERE and download! …http://itunes.apple.com/ca/movie/to-live-ride-in-l-a/id438592723

Spotted in Toronto…

Yooooo, the new 2012 poster for Team Kagero featuring the homie Jesus, just dropped! A beast in the street, Jesus reps TRAFIK, Leader Bike, Pedal Consumption, and H Plus Son!  This poster would make a great decoration to any female cyclist’s bedroom (wink wink).

Team Kagero consists of 6 riders from all over the world: Patrick Thames from Portland, Faz Adhili from Malaysia, Jason Yim from SF, Irfan “Ippe” Wahyudi from Indonesia and Gypsy from Australia.

Look for more to come from Jesus and Team Kagero in 2012!

Our friends over at State Bicycle Co. are running around the nation on the LOOPS tour, bringing together fixed gear riders from across the USA to do what we do best…ride bikes and drink beer. TRAFIK is a proud sponsor of this debauchery, although we never drink (light) beer and ride. The first installment of this event will take place in the weird capital of Texas, Austin…

Check out the FB event here, according to the organizers this event should be BIG/ROWDY/FUN. Sounds just about right. So come out to Austin and support the FG scene.

Thanks to everyone who came out on Sunday and appeared in the latest TRAFIK video shoot. LEEN killed it with the artwork, Jesus was there to rep Leader bike and Team Kagero, Tito & Geo got to stuntin’, the homies from Store 13 dropped by. Here are some of the behind-the-scenes pics, more on TRAFIK’s FLICKR. Pics by Allaudin Hightower.

Be on the lookout for the video to drop in the New Year.
Get an original Burner Bottle for FREE until the end of the year when you spend $25 or more at our SHOP.

Jesus shows off his track stand skills

Just in time for the Holidays! TRAFIK is happy to introduce our new WATER BOTTLE as a special Thank You gift to our fans. Get it FREE when you order $25 or more worth of merch from our online SHOP!

Did we say WATER BOTTLE? We meant Motha F*ckin’ Sticker Pack! You heard right, this beautiful piece of art not only quenches your thirst it comes with stickers that give your bike swag….instantly. Free swag, brah! GET IT NOW!

Designed by L.A. graf artist LEEN, this bottle is a So Cal original printed only in limited quantities. This offer is good only till the end of the year. Buy anything over 25 bucks and own this dope piece of art.

Our friend Pnut was recently involved in a hit & run on his bike but never stops repping To Live & Ride in L.A.

Heal up quick homie!

TRAFIK coming at ya with another contest for our online friends! This one is called #BIKEFAIL Friday – rules are simple:

• Post up a picture or video of a BIKE FAIL on our Facebook Page – with hashtag #BIKEFAIL.
• Get as many friends to LIKE your wallpost.
• Most LIKES wins!

This contest is open to anyone in the world…ANYONE! The fan with the most LIKES will win a TRAFIK prize pack that includes a To Live & Ride in L.A. DVD, our new water-bottle designed by LEEN, hip-pouch and foot-straps from Famli, Skully lights, TRAFIK vinyls, and an official TRAFIK tee! We ship worldwide!

#BIKEFAIL – Hey foo, you made it on the blog.

Be one of the first in the world to own a TRAFIK water bottle!

Participating in the contest is as easy as skidding with no hands – all you have to do is a quick search on Google, find something funny, post it on our wall and get some likes! Get creative, find something that no one has seen yet. And here’s a hint to increase your chances of winning: share with your friends!

Contest ends this weekend. Winner will be announced on Monday. Goodluck everyone!

Post your #BIKEFAIL’s to our FB page!

 
Since we released To Live & Ride in L.A. on International iTunes we’ve been hearing from riders from all across the world. We caught up with some of the guys from Switzerland to see what was up with fixed gear culture over there…

Bastien Raoux is a FGFS rider based out of Geneva & Fabian Wespe runs a shop outside the city. In a country that is serious about its cycling, fixed gear riding, especially FGFS, is starting to take hold…

TRAFIK: What’s up guys? What’s going on in the world of fixed gear in Switzerland?

Fabian:
There is definitely a growing fixed gear scene in Switzerland. Big towns like Bern, Zürich, and Geneva are where most of the riders are, but it’s more of an underground scene.

Bastien:
In Switzerland cycling is a religion and there are many riders who like to race on a fixed gear. In Geneva there are many fixed freestyle riders and a big group of racers too.

TRAFIK: Where would you take a rider visiting from a foreign country?

Bastien:
To ride and chill with freestyle fixed come to Geneva!! There are so many good spots and in 1 year we will have the newest big skate-park in the country. We are a big freestyle group in Geneva and all the day one of us is ready to ride.

Fabian:
Myself I live in the country and there is only me and my roommate on FGFS. If we wanna meet people we go to Geneva. The scene is very different depending on what city you are in, some places you are welcomed with open arms and in others it’s very hard to get in. But that is just my opinion. I am riding and selling FG-Bikes because its fun to ride. Thats all.

TRAFIK: What FGFS riders do you look to for inspiration?

Bastien:
I think i have 3 riders who inspire me. My favorite rider for the grind is of course Mike Shmitt, i like his nervous style. My other favorite is Tom Lamarche, this guy is awesome, i love his wall ride and many big 360′s. I think his last edit is the best of the freestyle scene. But for me the most crazy is my friend Simon Andraca (GOMOK), he is a rider who can ride everywhere, he is very complete (barspin, big gap, grind, wall ride) plus he’s a cool guy.

TRAFIK: Wanna shout out any local crews or websites?

Bastien:
Yeah, my riding crew is MILKYCE with Quentin Oddo, Marc Wuarin, Florian Ferrier and Me. Shout out to the Shred crew, with David, Laurent Pili, and Pepy Todesky. You have ONEGEAR (my sponsor) run by Fabian, the best website for FGFS in Switzerland. Also check out FixedGearGeneva on Facebook where everybody can come to speak about fixed gear.

TRAFIK: Thanks for chatting with us, any final comments?

Fabian:
I don’t speak for everyone here, but we don’t care if you’re a messenger, a fakenger or a hipster. We just love to build and ride our bikes an meet people with the same passion. Its all about having fun, not making a statement.

Bastien:
Check out some of our websites!

http://www.onegear.ch
http://milkycecrew.blogspot.com/
http://www.shredcrew.com/
http://ww.fixedgeargeneva.com
http://www.fixedgearswitzerland.ch

TRAFIK: Fa Sho! Remember to tell your friends to download To Live & Ride in L.A. on Swiss iTunes. Peace.

Here’s a quick recap/results of the King of Hollywood race:

1st: Hern (Right)
2nd: Andrew (Middle)
3rd: Pnut (Left)

The 5 checkpoint race – one of five – was started off with one of LA’s most recognizable hills – Cahuenga Pass to Universal City. This hill alone was enough to drop some of the racers! 20+ racers came out on Friday to give it their best, blazing through some of the most traffic-congested streets LA has to offer.

It was a free-for-all and in-depth knowledge of the city was required in order to complete the race.

George is in the midst of setting up several “King of (insert part of city here)” races, tallying up to a “King of LA” race which will have all previous winners go at it.

More pics from the race…..here!
Photos by Allaudin Hightower

Shout out to all the sponsors of the race:

TRAFIK, of course.

Maestro’s Bicycle Shop

Orange 20 Bicycle Shop

Takeover Los Angeles

Engine11

Knice Clothing 

CrankLA Clothing