Rock 'N' Raw

Finally finished (sort of) the Asong Asero project. Ave took his time in building this frame set but it's worth every minute of the wait.

As most of you know already, the geometry of this bike was inspired by the ASKAL. For the unfamiliar, askal is slang for asong kalye which means street dog or stray dog. And indeed it is snappy, agile and always ready to pounce. Just like a real askal.

Even on temporary set-up and raw finish, it never fails to slap a smile on my face whenever i ride this iron dog. I suspect the cantilevered one-off-made-to-measure track ends and the off-set seattube/BB/downtube junction -which results to a slammed rear wheel, are the reason for the very responsive "feel" of the ride. Plus the 77º HTA with the 20mm fork rake.

More after the break.

Arf!

\m/

Lagarista Re-edit

Due to a reader's request, I'm inserting a very short story of how this frame came to be.

"Lagarista" is a term used to describe movie house couriers whose only job is to pick up and deliver rolls of films all over the metro's countless cinema houses in strict adherence to each cinema's showing schedule. They have to deliver rain or shine thru traffic and sludge just so the show can go on.

Now, I've no aspirations of being a "lagarista" even if i think it's a cool job, but I was inspired by the practicality of their process. Weaving thru bad traffic and leaving everybody behind sounds like very good idea to me. Hence the REKTA Lagarista. With an aggressive geometry and twitchy enough handling, it gets you to your destination thru what little space our congested streets will allow. And it gets you there fast. This is the inspiration behind the Lagarista.

This particular build have some rare and nasty NJS components on it but you can tell from the images that this bike was built to be ridden and lovingly abused. It is one of my favorite framesets. One of my best collaborations with Ave.

More pics and the specs after the jump.

Manila Animal

Image by Wham.

Of Bikes And Dogs

Okto paid a visit yesterday to deliver some screens and yours truly will be forever grateful to him for his priceless help on a project i'm working on.

Check out Manila Stronghold to see the whole set.

Nothing Fancy, Just Quick And Easy

REKTA Lagarista II Custom frameset
Columbus Cromor tubeset with Dedacciai round fork blades and chainstays
Investment cast lugs and track fork crown
Custom track ends with stainless steel facings
540 top tube
525 seat tube
76 degree head tube angle
75 degree seat tube angle
46mm bottom bracket drop
385 chainstay
20mm fork rake

This frame set was custom built for Kiko Escora by Ave Maldea

Bike Check

Kiko's REKTA Lagarista

Custom Dedacciai oversized tubing. 53TT x 53ST, 76º HT, ST 76º, 50mm BB drop, 390 CS, 20mm fork rake

Dura Ace headset - 1"
Tange bottom bracket - 107
Kashimax Aero saddles
Dura Ace Easton seatpost - 26.8
Nitto Jaguar stem - 100
Nitto B123 CroMo bars - 34
Sugino 75 cranks - 165
Dura Ace chainring - 54t
Gran Compe cog - 16t
D.I.D. chain
Gran Compe hubset - 36h
Araya CTL-385 rims - 700c 
Vittoria Zaffiro tires - 700c x 25c

Made in Manila by Ave Maldea