Roleur’s Guy Andrews delivers a new book, The Custom Road Bike, looks to be a new guide on building the greatest road bike possible – this is something which I think all our readers will appreciate it. The best!

“This book is the complete guide to specifying and buying your dream bike. Each chapter covers a particular part of the bike, from the frame, to forks, headsets, wheels, tyres, hubs, gear components, chains, brakes, saddles, handlebars, pedals, water bottle cages, and accessories. Including beautiful studio images of the latest kit, the chapters feature interviews with the top designers and manufacturers, and maintenance tips from professional mechanics.”

Pre-order now from Amazon.

A solid tweed offering from the Penfield “Tweed” collection. Their Underhill backpack would have seemed dated some decades past but, hell, we’re in the age of throwback. You can pull it off. “Tote bag / back pack. Fabric: 100% Cotton canvas & Penfield tweed. Canvas body with leather trim, cotton webbing shoulder straps, traditional tote look, large main compartment”

More looks at the Penfield Tweed “Underhill” Backpack after the click.

Dickies, the leading global work wear brand is introducing the Detroit 874, a limited-edition, U.S. made work pant benefiting unemployed workers in Detroit. For every pair of Detroit 874s sold, Dickies will donate a pair of Original 874® Work Pants to the Salvation Army of Metro Detroit to assist workers in need.

Titled “874 vs. Unemployment,” the special program provides Detroit workers with a basic necessity to help secure a job and stay protected on the job site – a good, tough, reliable pair of work pants. Starting today, 5,000 pairs of the Detroit 874s are available for the purchase price of $50 (with free shipping) at www.dickies.com.

We support real music, so couldn’t help following on Curated’s report of this bit of graphic design. “Canadian firm Rethink Agency has produced an engaging campaign for Sparrow Guitars designed to remind of the power of real instruments. “In 2009, more Guitar Hero guitars were sold than actual ones. We thought that was kinda crazy, so we created this poster campaign for Sparrow Guitars to remind people there’s just no substitute for the real thing.” They called the campaign posters “Teen Spirit/ Shine/ Mom” respectively and released them to the world last month.”

See the remaining posters here.

We know it’s hard to do, but imagine it’s hot right now. And not in the Paris Hilton sense either. Done that? Good. Now imagine these Vera shoes on your feet.  They feel good don’t they? They’re made by Neil Morris, the man who founded Drooghi, and the styles are perfect for summer – lace up espadrilles, mesh slip ons, perforated suede – that sort of thing. Look for them to hit your favourite stores, including the likes of Oi Polloi, next summer.

We reported on Martine Rose’s upcoming collaboration with Timberland a while back, but here’s a look at the jacket itself. It’s pretty much what we expected (that’s a good thing) with Martine putting her signature touches on this Timberland piece. It was all organised with the help of Wallpaper, who’ve been following the collaboration since its inception. It’s also a nice sporty alternative to the varsity, which has gone from ‘nice piece’ to ‘played out’ in record time.

Take a leap to see some close up looks at the jacket.

01. First, care.
“You “focus” on the one thing you care about, as you “unfocus” on everything else. If not for every minute of your life, at least for the time you set aside to pursue the thing that matters. If that sounds fancy and oversimplified, then you “care” about too many things. Period.” (43f)

02. Choosing Wines at the Touch of a Screen
“The devices seem to be spurring deeper interest in wine and empowering bolder, more confident selections, they say, potentially revolutionizing the psychology of dining’s most intimidating passage.” (nyt)

03. One Week From Now
“I go to the shows for odd reasons. I just like to see all the people digging it. I like to see how they pull off the goofy tricks. I like to see Wayne noodling with everything, maniacal about every little detail. I like to see Steven pull off all those weird guitar parts, although, I wish he was still on drums. (My favorite.) I like to see confetti falling down. Yeah, confetti. After years and years of watching bands with folded arms, you just get to free the limbs up with these guys. We dig.” [Editors' note: We know this feeling.] (ddc)

04. 102 year old lens on a Canon 5D Mark II (above)
“My friend, a Russian lens technician, who loves nothing more than to frankenstein equipment, was assisting me in building the 4×5 camera. After we abandoned the 4×5 solution, i put the project on back burner. This morning he called me into his store on NYC. He has something for me…. He found in a box of random parts, hidden inside anther lens this gem. A circa 1908 ( possibly earlier) 35mm lens. Still functioning, mostly brass, and not nearly as much dust or fungus as one would think after sitting in a box for over a hundred years. This lens is a piece of motion picture history, and at this point rare beyond words. So i say to him, “Wow… what do you have in mind?” he smiles, and says, (in the thickest russian accent you can imagine) “I can make this fit EF you know…” my eye twinkled, and then 6 nail biting hours later,he had it finished.” (cinema5d)

Mr. Touitou dips into a new outlet for “creativity” with the help of Jessica Ogden. “The quilt project was started by Jessica Ogden and Jean Touitou’s shared personal interest of the craft. It was also inspired by the years of archived A.P.C. fabrics available to work with and trying to find a way to recycle them. Jessica is a passionate quilt and patchwork collector and has used them in her own collections. She was even named “the patchwork queen” by the press.”

Seven quilts will be produced in India in runs of 30. They hit stores October 28th.
More looks from the A.P.C. Quilt Project by Jessica Ogden & Jean Touitou after the click.