Everyone has them and worse, every designer or design studio has them - the ten things that they think are cool. So without wanting to sound like complete wankers, here are our top 10 things, revised for 2007, that we at Mig Pilot think are cool. Giving you an insight into what makes us tick…or at very least, what yanks our chains.
In no particular order…..
1. Atomic coffee maker: Circa 1950. A true icon of Italian design, the stove top Atomic coffee maker was designed by Milan based Graphic/Industrial designer Giordano Robbiatti in 1947 and was made from around 1948 and in decreasing numbers until the late seventies, when the factory burnt down. Made from a single piece aluminium casting, the Atomic embodied the post war modernism design sense that was sweeping the world as well as what made and still makes Italian design cool. With a simple operation - pour water in, top up the coffee ‘gun’ and insert, put on stove; the Atomic has become a true collector’s item the world over with good second hand machines fetching in excess of US$400. The ideal Atomic to have is the early production model with the smooth, high polished surface, though many second hand units have a battered and worn appearance. Later and less desirable models, had a rough cast surface and had an enamel orange finish. The rough cast surface finish was produced in order to save on costs, as the polished surfaces were expensive to produce.A cool, yet somewhat annoying feature is that the ‘gasket’ used to seal the frothing valve knob was actually made from waxed twine, as rubber was hard to come by in early post war Italy. Rest assured, 40 or so years on, the twine will break down and the Atomic will bubble and hiss water in all the places it is not supposed to!
2. Nicolai bikes: If there is anyone in the modern cycling world that needs to be admired for his dedication, sheer ingenuity and engineering prowess, it’s Karl Nicolai. The Nicolai TFR is one of two new frames from Nicolai that incorporates the G-Boxx technology, which essentially dispenses with the old fashioned derailleur system, replacing it instead with what is essentially a 27 speed gearbox.
Free from damage, mud, dust, and all the usual pitfalls of current drive train systems, the G-Boxx locates all the bike’s transmission components in one simple ‘cassette’ unit, located in the centre of the frame; positioning it in the ideal location for massing the centre of gravity of the bike, improving the overall handling. The G-Boxx unit also allows the rear wheel to be free of any shifting hardware, thus lowing the unsprung mass of the wheel and also allowing the wheel to be free of any dish, making for avery strong wheel build.
All of this comes at a price though and the Nicolai TRF starts at around 4500 Euros for the frame and G-Boxx unit. Small price to pay for a piece of true engineering and fabrication beauty.
3. Rolhoff Speedhub: Hot on the heels in the coolness stakes in our eyes is the Rolhoff Speedhub. This is where is all started for Nicolai and certainly early Nicolai frames incorporated Speedhubs before the G-Boxx concept was ready to go.
The Speedhub is an internally geared 27 ratio rear hub system, which like the G-Boxx eliminates the need for any other shifting mechanism on a bicycle. On any form of off road bicycle, not having parts that hang off and be prone to damage, mud, grime and wear, is a wonderful thing. The Speedhub, though not as cool as the G-Boxx is still a fantastic product and has a slightly greater appeal as it can be fitted to any bicycle.
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5. 2000 Ducati 748: Without a doubt, the 2000 year model 748 is cool, the one before they smoothed out the fairing.The little brother of the 916 and later the 996, the 748 was lighter and more nimble, despite the fact that physically it’s the same size as bigger brother. While many claimed that its higher reving mill lacked the low down tractor pull of the 916/996, many acknowleged it for being more being more friendly on the street and more fun on the twisties.What makes the 748 cool though is that there are several companies (Vee Two in Australia being one) that will take your 748 and add new cylinder heads and pistons, turning the 748 into a snarling 853…. the bike that many think Ducati should have made. What you end up with is all the grunt of a big Ducati mill in a light, agile package and of course you can keep on going and add in lighter everything else to cause real trouble….Yum!
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5. Addict Snow Cammo G-Shock:In an age were everyone has the same stuff, anything in true ‘limited edition’ form is cool. Even cooler than this though is when small UK street wear clothing company ‘Addict’ manages to team up with Japanese electronics giant Casio for a second time to produce no more than 500 state of the art G-Shock ‘Frogman’ watches in a custom designed ’snow cammo’ pattern.While it would have been easy to do something like this on a bottom of the line G-Shock, the Addict LTD uses the top of the range ‘Frogman’ G-Shock with full titanium case, which has never been sold outside Japan!
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6. Ducati M900 Monster:
With it now well over ten years old, the Ducati Monster is still way cool. Designed
in the Morrazonne studio that also designed the ST2, Cagiva Raptor and River as
well as the fleet of Husqavarna dirt bikes, the Monster to this day is a bike
that the Japanese try, and fail, to copy.
Basic in its premise, the Monster showed the world that a fast, sporty and agile bike did not need to be a crotch rocket festooned with plastic fairings. With a simple chassis borne from Ducati’s decades of experience designing racing machines, the Monster embodied everything that a cafe racer stood for but in a new and very different package.
Today the Monster has progressed with a bigger and more modern mills powering it as well as a range of variants including the nutso SP2 and SP4 but we still think that the two valve 900cc Monsters, without the extra radiator, are still the cool ones to own. Best of all, the Monster has a global network of aftermarket parts and modifications, making it the one of the few ideal machines to truly personalise. Pull up at any set of lights and the Monster with its growing twin and distinctive looks still turns heads.
7. Carbon Fibre: To have a material that can be engineered to do whatever you need it to do is something any designer would have to call a wonder material. With it able to be mixed with a huge number of epoxy systems as well as a multitude of weaves and fibre types, carbon fibre can literally be designed to do just about anything. Used in everything from bicycle frames and components to aircraft and boats, carbon fibre is still the wonder material it was claimed to be when it first hit the non-military world, combining strength and lightweight, two attributes vital to any performance driven product.
8. Any form of digital camera:
Big or small, the freedom from film that digital cameras afford the user is second
to none. At Lab-Gear we love our Nikon D100. Shoot, download, edit and use. Something that used to take days now takes hours or less and anyone that used to deal with film or old fashioned photo shoots will tell you just how cool digital cameras are. Sounds dull but the coolness of digital always amazes us.
9. Deus ex Machina: Too many people associate custom motorcycles with those pile-o-crap machines, Harley Davidson. What’s worse, when they think custom motos, most people think West Coast Copper (see aforementioned statement) thanks to those somewhat tragic cable series (franchised and merchandised for your consumer pleasures).What you don’t see or hear of any more are cafe racers, or cafe customs. Well blow me down, but we seem to have our very own of cafe custom cool right here in Australia… Camperdown, Sydney no less.
With one of the founding members being Dare Jennings of Mambo Surfwear fame, Deus ex Machina is boud to become a temple of cafe style moto goodness and by checking it out I have to say that it is a most drool worthy place to be heading - if you into that sort of thing.
10. The Internet: It might sound bleeding obvious but the Internet, the intangible thing that exists only in cables that cover the globe, the thing everyone, everywhere takes for granted, is super cool.
Without is Lab-Gear would not exist and sure as shit you would not be reading this.
