When Volume first started buzzing about their commuter bike, the Generator, it was a whole different beast. They started out by putting an 8-speed Alfine hub on one of their fixed freestyle frames but knew they had to put more thought into it before pushing it through to production. By replacing the calipers with disk brakes and running internal routing, the Generator quickly became an all-purpose, curb-hopping, around town, bar and cafe bike for people who want a little more fun in their morning commute. I got my hands on one a few weeks back and have been enjoying the ride so far.

Check out more below!

This week saw a good amount of fixed freestyle videos, mixed in with some other gems. Check out the PiNP Week in Review:

01. SYD_
I'm in Sydney, doing my thing and this week, I'll be visiting shops, going on rides and meeting many new people. Keep an eye on the blog and apologies for the strange posting schedule.

02. Wolf Drawn: LBC 2 ATX
Matt unleashed the beast this week, documenting the LBC 2 ATX trip. Unfortunately, now we have to carry a measuring tape with us when we ride.

03. 44RN 144#47 Raidô Contest
In Elder Futhark, an Old Norwegian language, Raidô means ride or journey. This contest wants you to share yours through a photo.

04. Jonathan Davis Into the Unknown
This dude rips it up to none other than Electric Wizard.

05. Riding the Long White Cloud
Our favorite skaters from days of yore got on some bikes for a little tour.

06. Beautiful Bicycle: Gus' SE 26" Fixed
SE's new 26" fixed frameset has been getting rad underneath Gus for the past few months. I gave it some lens love at House Park while he was visiting in Austin.

07. ILE Inside Line Equipment: Prime DSLR Backpack
The new bag from ILE takes on a smaller package, much like your Prime lenses.

08. Bmore Fixed: Druids Path
Bmore Fixed does their thing in the streets of Charm City.

09. Balhogs Wax
It's wax, made from the fat of the swine and will turn any ledge into a shredding shrine.

10. Product Review: Laplander City Panniers
After weeks of use, I finally got around to shooting photos of Lauren's Laplander City Panniers.

To make her Tokyo Fixed Dream Machine Cargo complete, Lauren really wanted a rear rack and panniers. Now I know I push the handmade in the USA thing a lot here but what I really care about are quality products made by people who give a damn about what they're doing. When I met Shane from Laplander at the Philly Bike Expo, I was very impressed with these City Panniers.

Laplander makes all their bags in Philadelphia and I opted for the waxed cotton model for Lauren. After a few weeks of use, she loves them. Matched with the Wald rack and they add a whole new level of simplicity to her daily routine.

Check out more below!

Numerous readers have sent in one request over the past year: a week in review post. I know I post a lot, so it's hard to sift through it all. Each Sunday afternoon, I'll compile a list of the highlights from the week.

01. Matt Spencer Take Over
This week, I unleashed all the photos I took of Matt Spencer while he was here in Austin visiting. After a bike check and a video featuring Pissy's wreck, we hit some spots. We started on 6th street, checked out a spot, hit a large street gap, blasted some x-ups and we ended with a nice, fast gap.

02. Beautiful Bicycle: My Milwaukee Bicycle Co. Orange One Road
After a series of funky builds, my MKE Orange One is looking good as my only road bike.

03. Giro Makes Great Cycling Shoes
Giro's line of cycling shoes just keeps getting better. Two models were reviewed, one for road and one for dirt.

04. Flag Hatchet Approved: NME Knife & Tool - BWB-01T
Zodiak branches off into the tool machining market and the BWB-01T is their first offering.

05. 12 Hour SOPA Blackout
Protesting was never this easy.

06. Mission Workshop: Eiger Waterproof Field Jacket
Mission Workshop's new technical apparel offerings are looking sharp, with a price tag to match.

07. Merckx Mondays
A classic category on the site got some fresh new content.

08. More from Grime in SF
Mike from Grime is in SF, enjoying those Cali vibes and filming for a new edit.

09. AJ Austin is a RIPPER
My boy AJ got a lot of love on the blog this week. His new edit was a hit and his crank arm stall to fakie had the FGFS community buzzing.

10. Condition NYC: Macaframa on the Williamsburg Bridge
Chris caught some of those nostalgic NYC vibes that everyone loves.

This poor bike. It's been embarrassed numerous times on this blog. It went from that goofy stem to the goofier bar and lever setup. I look back at those photos with shame. What the hell was I thinking? My only guess is that this bike was never a real necessity. I had my Merckx and so I barely rode the MKE. When I sold my Merckx to fund the Bishop, the MKE became my only road bike. I've been putting in miles on it and even with the SRAM Apex and FSA cranks, this bike rides and handles a lot better than any other road bike I've owned.

Check out more below.

I love Giro's shoes. I've taken my Prolight SLX road shoes across the globe, on a fully-loaded tour and they're still kicking. When I saw their new line at Interbike, I had to try out their new models, the Privateer MTB and the Factor road.

Check out more below.

This marks probably the 10th time I've purchased something Burning Witch-related. Over the last ten years, I've bought numerous CD releases and a few t-shirts from this Seattle doom band. I first heard them in highschool and couldn't get over how intense their music was. In fact, it's one of those bands whose work can't be appreciated on anything other than vinyl. Which is why when Southern Lord announced they finally got the Burning Witch 4xLP and DVD set together, I sprung for it.

Check out more below.

I've been meaning to replace my long-reach calipers on the MKE since I first built it up. They sucked for mud and leaf clearance but I just couldn't spring for the Paul Racer Mediums at the time. Since I'm bringing this bike to Sydney in a few days, I wanted something that would fit fenders, cross tires or road tires and still have all the braking power I needed. Oh and they had to be black.

The Paul Racer Mediums fit perfectly on this bike. While the center pull can be deceiving, they mount through the brake drillings on the crown and brake bridge. When compared to the long-reach calipers, I was very impressed by their stopping power.

Full bike shots to come.

Yeah, I know this is just a commercial for a rather expensive GPS that's big enough to let you check your Facebook status on but I can't get over how well it's done. I used the Garmin 800 on my tour and it was extremely helpful. Not so much for the GPS, but for the elevation readouts and virtual riding partner. Every morning, I'd set the pace at 10mph and try to maintain that average.

Now, on my road bike here in Austin, I've been using it to do the same. Not that I'm training for stage races but I like to see progress in my riding. This is coming across as a review for a product that's way too expensive to buy unless you've got a way to get it wholesale but I have enjoyed mine. When paired with the heart rate, cadence and speed monitors, it's the perfect way to stay on top of your riding.

When I got my new Bruiser, I swore off any tire smaller than a 2" but since riding BMX more and more, I kind of like the way a 45c tire feels on a fixed freestyle bike, especially with a wider rim. When Resist posted about their new Nomad tires in a gumwall, I had to have them. I love gumwall tires and almost all of my bikes are rolling on them.

Today we rode around and pending further abuse, I can say that these feel great. They skid super consistent, which was a big change from my Michelin City tire I had on the back. I only wish they made these in a 50c+ size because I like to ride with a bigger tire on the front.

Next up is a pair of 35c for the touring bike! Check out more photos at my Flickr.

If you buy one death metal album this year, you should highly consider Vallenfyre's A Fragile King. This album, from beginning to end is nothing but the best in breaks, wailing riffage and brutal, spine tingling vocals. I haven't been such a fanboy about a death doom act since Hooded Menace! But what makes this music so moving? It's the story behind it. Vocalist and guitarist Gregor Mackintosh's father died from cancer and A Fragile King was born from the grief and torment. As you can imagine, A Fragile King is a journey through pain and despair. Gregor (how metal of a name is that?) almost intentionally makes his vocals clear to share with us his pain. This album packs a fucking serious punch. He walks us through this tormented landscape with a razor blade collar, yanking if we begin to fall behind.

Check out more from this Tuesday Teardown below!

"Time to Repent" from from Time to Repent

Last year when they put out their EP, Magister Mundi Xum , Devil became an instant hit. This NWOBHM band came out of nowhere with a refreshing and addicting sound. Everything about Devil embodied doom and heavy metal at its finest. You really can't go wrong here. When the band released their new full-length, Time to Repent, my palms began to sweat. After many rotations, one thing is obvious: Time to Repent is void of any ostentation. There's no futile attempts at creating anything epic or over-produced. What we have here is down to Earth (or under-Earth) doom metal.

Coming hot off "The Welcome (intro)" is "Break the Curse" and it's a scorcher. Its tempo and the fact that the solo kicks in at the right moment jump starts the album with confidence. Next up is "Blood Is Boiling," a catchy and melodic trip into doom! One familiar track is "Time to Repent", the cover track. This was by far my favorite cut off Magister Mundi Xum and the re-recording sounds better than ever!

Check out more below!

Lauren wanted to be able to commute without a sweaty backpack so I picked up a Velo Orange porteur rack for her Dream Machine Cargo. Once the mounting bracket comes in, I'll put her rear rack on as well. Her commute is completely flat, so this bike has been perfect for her. If it ever rains here, we'll put fenders on it too!

Check out more at my Flickr.

I feel like since I posted about the Fairdale Pannier Skaterack a while back, it's been everywhere. From skate blogs to streetwear feeds, it made quite the splash. Why it took so long for someone to figure out the link between bikes and skateboards is a mystery to me but when Taj sat down to design this unique rack accessory, he did a great job.

Yesterday at the Fairdale facilities here in Austin, I got to take a detailed look at the Pannier Skaterack.

Check out more below!

"This Horrifying Force (the Desire To Kill)" off Forever Abomination

I'm really beginning to wonder when Chance Garnette begins to lose his luster because as of now, Skeletonwitch is three albums deep in a stomping circle pit of blackened thrash anthems. Like many, my introduction to Skeletonwitch was their 2007 release Beyond the Permafrost, which was trumped by Breathing the Fire in 2009 and now, Forever Abomination attempts to mark their catalog as the best release under their spiked belts.

And it's doing just that. Forever Abomination is a no bullshit experience. 11 tracks and 32 minutes of blackened thrash that is only trumped by their live show and chants of "EAT SOME FUCKING PUSSY". "This Horrifying Force (the Desire To Kill)" and "Reduced To The Failure Of Prayer" introduce Skeletonwitch's almost comedic song titles. I say comedic because when you watch them live, you can tell these guys are all about a fun time. Behind the sneer is a beer.

Check out more below!

"Astral Blood" off Celestial Lineage

Ok, so it's been a while but what a perfect album to bring about the return of Tuesday Teardown!

I'm a hypocrite. When Oregon-based Wolves In the Throne Room released Black Cascade, their homage to the Cascade Mountains of their home state, I sang praises for weeks about it. Then I started to really listen to the album and after putting it on heavy rotation, I lost interest. Why? I still don't know. Maybe because there were much better black metal releases that year, or because I felt like they were getting too much praise for too little work. Years later, I'm back into Black Cascade but I've yet to warm up to their Two Hunters EP. Again, I'm not exactly sure why.

This year, the whole metal industry has been salivating for the release of Celestial Lineage, the new Wolves album. People wondered what they'd cook up for this release and me being the cynical fuck that I tend to be when it comes to overhyped music, already had an idea what it would be like. Was I right? Kind of. Wolves makes such an effort to break up their music with angelic singing and other sounds, focusing on the composition more so, at least in my opinion, than on their actual music. Celestial Lineage has, in many ways, lived up to my preconceived opinion.

"Thuja Magus Imperium" begins with windchimes and a harmony sung by a women, straight out of Lord of the Rings. This creates a contrast that in my opinion, muddles the album as it morphs from this introduction to Wolves' signature tremelo picking and distortion. And it's like a beast escaped from a cage. This is a whole new Wolves. The writing has improved immensely, the drums, guitars and basslines are fucking sharp and before you know it, it's a jam fest. Now if only this momentum would continue.

Check out more below!

As part of what I'm calling the bastardization of a period correct race machine, aka modernizing my vintage Eddy Merckx road bike, I was looking for a new, modern road saddle. I've tried other Fizik saddles before and aside from the Arione, I was never really sold on their shapes. When I was Interbike, I talked with the Fizik marketing manager about how I love my Brooks Swift and vintage Cinelli Unicanitors because of the right amount of flex you can achieve after breaking them in.

Check out more below!

Talk to any machinist or bicycle component manufacturer and they'll tell you that a chainring is one of the more difficult components to machine. The rings have to be absolutely round and perfect or you'll get tight areas upon rotation. For this reason, many machining houses simply won't fabricate them. That was just one of the hurdles industrial designer and fabricator Aaron Panone had to jump when producing his 144#47 Track Chainrings. Aaron showed me various versions of this ring and when I finally received one in the mail, I was blown away at the quality of machining.

Check out more below!

I was really bummed when I got to Portland and wasn't able to pick up a Kershaw knife in time to leave for my tour. Instead, I bought a Gerber, which is a perfectly fine knife but there's nothing like an American made product like a Kershaw. I picked up one at the Mash store yesterday and while the "limited edition" anodizing might not be everyone's cup of tea, these knives are a quality product. You'll find yourself using a knife more often than you'd think while on tour. From cutting fruit to trimming rope down to hang your food and even the occasional splinter, having a sharp and solid product like this is well worth the money.

Check out the entire Kershaw line here and there are more photos at my Flickr!

This day was hell for me as a photographer and I can only imagine how hellish it was for the each of the 26 teams of 6 riders that participated. Slate and the Rapha NW team pulled together one grueling course for the 2011 NW Rapha Gentlemen's Race. With over 130 miles and upwards of 6,000 feet of elevation, everyone took to their bikes to hit the hills, gravel and in some cases, their asses!

Check out a killer slideshow below!