Whole lotta political blah blah blah going on...thankfully I'm Canadian which means I'm awesome.

And so is this Italian-made steed:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-E...00588ps_sm.jpg

This is my regular fair-weather commuter and sees as many commuting miles as any other bike in my stable. It's also more of Sixty-Fiver's handiwork. If anyone gives this a "Not", I will reach through your computer monitor and rip out your esophagus.

Re Acidfast7
Koga Does that too, some EU Bike companies Paint TW China Frames so as to have more Local Content.

in certain German circles, KM is still seen as the #1 bike maker, for obvious reasons.

edit: reasons being a very competent finally assembly with a very nice set of production controls.

it's definitely interesting with legacy. if I see another Surly/Salsa/Kona, I'll vomit.

Some day soon I will own a Bianchi in Celeste .... so this is a Hot for me :)

I see a smudge on the drive side seat stay. :innocent:

Came very close to buying one for my wife last year but it was a little too big for me... I mean her.

I'm glad to see this thread is getting back on track. I shall do my best to keep it that way. Here's a new submission although I have to confess that it is not my bike. I just saw it at lunch today.http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps1c11658f.jpg

The helmet is a nice touch.

@tjspiel :) .... LOL

I've lusted for a Celeste Bianchi since I was a kid (not joking) .... it's definitely a grail bike for me :)

There's a red one on the local CL lately ... but it's red ... so that's a no go

Sometimes, I still can't believe Sixty sold it to me. I won't be putting mine up for sale anytime soon.

Yeah, see, I don't know if a guy like me really deserves a bike like this. I'm brutal at maintaining my own bikes, and worse at keeping them clean. Once a year or so, when I bring the bike back to Sixty for maintenance, it gets a good cleaning too. This pic must've been partway between oil changes.

Oh, to be so blissfully indifferent to people's opinion of me.

You're right. You don't deserve it. Send it to me and you will sleep better at night. You have my address. I promise not to put animal heads on it.

The Italian Trek? That is a not..

I do find it hilarious when people go gaga over a Bianchi. It's like when people discover Aperol Spritz for the first time.

An NSU Fahrrad I can understand, a Bianchi not so much. Maybe it's the same people who buy "Italian" shoes.

https://www.google.com/search?q=nsu+...w=1280&bih=622

1. Beer.
2. Food.
3. Music.

PS: Most of the world finds the use of "America" as a term for the United States to be demeaning.

beer ... those are fighting words ... anyone who drinks "coffee" flavoured beer should be shot on sight.

food is debatable ... German cuisine is great but very limited

i agree with music but Scorpions are quite good, no?

most of the world uses "the states" most, "America" quite a bit (especially in the context of American) and no one (in English at least) says United States. in other languages most spell "U", "S" and "A"

1. Beer..there are some miro-brews in the States that are really awesome but generally no.
2. Food..meh in traditional dishes it's a toss-up, in what people actually eat it goes to Germany, and German baking is better than 99% of the world
3. Music..I listen to punk so yea that goes tips to the USA..

Now I've had limited experience in central America and none in South America other that dating an Argentine 20 years ago but if were are going to encompass all the Americas it changes the food, not the beer, and not the music.

Definitely hot!

Glad to see the thread back on track too.

I do what I can.

1. When I travel in Germany (or the UK) the thing I miss the most is the diversity of beer that is common in the PNW. Even dive bars in PDX often have a dozen beers on tap. Moreover, there are entire categories of ale that are simply not to be found in Europe (unless imported). When it comes to beer innovation and variety there is no place in the world that is the equal of the PNW.

http://beermapping.com/maps/citymaps...4206542969&z=6

2. While I agree that USAnian fast food sucks, the USA is nation of large cities with some of the best food in the world. IMO, the best examples of syncretism in Europe pale in comparison to the way USAnians have adopted and adapted chinese, mexican, salvadorian, japanese, korean, thai, lebanese, vietnamese, cuban, etc. And then there are the great regional cuisines of the USA (e.g new mexican, tex-mex, creole, deep south, SF chinese, north east italian, "kali"fornian etc). Try telling the average euro that the burrito is a purely USAnian food...

A specific example:
When I have lived or travelled in Europe for a period, the very first thing I do when I return to the USA is pig out on Thai. There are 5 Thai restaurants within a 10 minute walk of my home that are far better than any I've been to in Europe. There are dozens of Thai restaurants within walking distance of my home.

So you are going to open it up, then I'll say food here is better. No I cannot get as good Mexican food here that would be the end. Asian food here is better not by a little bit, the African foods here are better not by just a little bit, and that doesn't eve speak of central Asia and the former Soviet satellites.

Beers in the states are variations on beers here on the continent. If there is a beer style your feel your missing when you come here then you're not looking hard enough. In one respect you are correct Germans tend to drink local, very local and it seems to span the generations. If I bring a Winkler Bräu home to Frankonia I'll be the only one who drinks it.

quick thoughts:

i am not interested in different beer. i don't want diversity, i want high quality.

i feel the same way about food. it's great that you have 5 thai places within walking distance. if it's not street food quality made correctly, i'm not interested.

i'd sacrifice convenience every day of the week and twice on sunday for high-quality results.

example: i don't drink wheat beer outside of Bavaria, why, because it usually sucks. even in Frankfurt it's piss poor and that's only a few 100km away. in America, you guys still drink Blue Moon and pay for it :lol:

this is what makes me that saddest about america :(

it was so great at so many things and now it's just mediocre at a huge battery of things ... whatever happened to sticking with your core competencies. the space race! the big3 in Detroit! the best universities on the planet! :( it just makes me sad (and most of the rest of the world).

We still have the hottest bikes:

http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/f...ps1c11658f.jpg

seriously, that thing is working way too hard to be cool

just be cool ... don't work so hard.

and grab some break at the nice, albeit slightly commercial/trendy, bakery next to my CPH flat.

cool is a state of mind, not a successful attempt at "coolness"

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=335917