trek procaliber 6 cena

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Trek Procaliber 6 review

Can this ‘scissor’ frame cut fatigue and add speed?

Mick Kirkman

Guy Kesteven

Stiff, accurate frame; dropper and bigger-tyre friendly; Judy fork and Eagle gears; shock-shrugging IsoSpeed

IsoSpeed takes a wallop to start moving and then a while to stop; backswept bar and seat tube won’t suit all; surprisingly slow tyres

Trek introduced its unique ‘IsoSpeed’ frame technology to its alloy MTBs last year, and the Procal 6 adds 12-speed SRAM Eagle shifting and RockShox’s impressive new Judy fork to the mix.

• The Specialized Stumpjumper Evo Pro Carbon has landed
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Trek Procaliber 6 frame

The IsoSpeed system uses a small pivot to ‘decouple’ the seat tube and top tube, allowing them to articulate back and forwards independently. The bottom of the dramatically offset asymmetric seat tube is also almost completely flattened to form a leaf spring segment, to help soften blows from the trail.

Other distinctive frame details include the ‘waist’ on the head tube and the extensively shaped and tapered top tube.

There’s a cable port for a Shimano side-swing front mech in case you want to swap the single chainring for a double, plus two mounting stubs that’ll also work for a chain guide.

A seat-tube exit hole and ‘spare’ internal down-tube routing allow you to upgrade to a stealth dropper, and the 31.6mm seat tube diameter gives you a full choice of posts, compared to the limited options available in 27.2mm.

You get mounts for two bottle-cages too. The rear stays have no braces, to give max mud clearance. They end at neat Boost-width dropouts for a through-axle (with a QR lever on the end, for tool-free wheel removal/insertion), with a brake mount that bridges between the stays.

Trek Procaliber 6 kit

Despite its complex frame and low price, the Procal 6 has a good spec. The Judy Gold is smooth, well-controlled and relatively light, thanks to its full-alloy construction.

It has a through-axle for accurate tracking and a shifter-style ‘OneLoc’ remote lockout. The only downside is the plastic ‘flag’ adjuster that makes rebound adjustment crude.

Drive is provided by a full SRAM NX Eagle set-up, with an oversized DUB axle rotating in broad-spaced press-fit bearings, which maximise stiffness but can be a pain to service.

The XG-1230 cassette is heavy in weight and feel compared to Shimano, but the shifting through the 11-50t gear range is simplicity itself and gives great drive efficiency.

Brakes are the basic but utterly dependable Shimano MT400s. The rest of the kit is Bontrager, including the distinctively backswept bar.

Trek Procaliber 6 ride

That bar makes a huge difference. By sweeping your hands further back, it mimics the effect of a shorter stem, so the 90mm unit feels more like 60-70mm.

As a result, the Trek feels twitchier and lighter, and there’s less weight on the front tyre. That’s compounded by an unusually slack seat tube, which also shifts your weight backward. This is handy for popping the wheel up over obstacles or off drops, but makes the front end more ‘fussy’ in terms of wandering about and losing the line, particularly on climbs.

As for the IsoSpeed system, it definitely, visibly works. If you hit a big lump, the seat tube bulges forward and the post sways back to help you ride out the blow. That’s useful if you get caught in the saddle by a big wallop, but most of the time you’ll be up and on the pedals anyway.

The shock-absorbing advantage while you’re powering a seated gear is also tempered by obvious rebound bounce, which can continue distractingly long after the initial impact. It takes a lot to get it moving too.

Bontrager’s X2 tyres are slower and less forgiving than their looks suggest — the ride was noticeably quicker and smoother when I swapped in the Chisel’s wheels.

The Trek still gets power down firmly though, without being as bruising as the Cube, and the accurate-tracking frame and quality fork mean you can drive the front end hard, once you’re used to the bar. Dropper compatibility and the ability to fit fatter tyres give the Procal 6 more aggressive-terrain potential too.

Trek Procaliber 6 specifications and geometry

• Sizes (*tested): 13.5, 15.5, 17.5, 18.5, 19.5*, 21.5, 23in
• Weight: 12.42kg
• Frame: ‘Alpha Platinum’ aluminium alloy
• Fork: RockShox Judy Gold RL Solo Air w/ OneLoc remote, 100mm (3.9in) travel
• Chainset: SRAM NX Eagle DUB, 30t
• Bottom bracket: SRAM DUB PF92
• Cassette: SRAM XG-1230, 11-50t
• Chain: SRAM NX Eagle
• Mech: SRAM NX Eagle
• Shifters: SRAM NX Eagle (1x12)
• Hubs: Bontrager
• Axles: 15x110 Boost (f), 12x148mm Boost (r)
• Rims: Bontrager Kovee
• Spokes: 28 stainless
• Tyres: Bontrager XR2 Team Issue 29x2.2in (54mm measured)
• Wheel weight: 1.97kg (f), 2.83kg (r), inc tyres
• Stem: Bontrager Elite, 90mm
• Bar: Bontrager Comp, 720mm
• Grips: Bontrager XR Trail Comp
• Headset: FSA IS-2
• Saddle: Bontrager Arvada
• Seatpost: Bontrager rigid
• Brakes: Shimano MT400, 180/160mm rotors

Trek Procaliber 6 geometry

• Seat angle: 72°
• Head angle: 69.5°
• Chainstay: 43.5cm / 17.13"
• Seat tube: 47cm / 18.5"
• Top tube: 64cm / 25.2"
• Head tube: 10cm / 3.94"
• Fork offset: 5.1cm / 2.01"
• Trail: 8.3cm / 3.27"
• Bottom-bracket drop: 5.8cm / 2.28"
• Bottom-bracket height: 31cm / 12.2"
• Wheelbase: 113cm / 44.49"
• Stack: 60.4cm / 23.78"
• Reach: 44cm / 17.32"

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• Procaliber 6

Trek Procaliber 6

Procaliber 6 is a fast cross country mountain bike and the most affordable MTB model with IsoSpeed—a decoupler at the top tube/seat tube junction that provides additional compliance on rough courses. IsoSpeed gives you a unique and substantial advantage over a traditional hardtail because it cuts down on the trail's fatiguing bumps and delivers a smoother, faster ride. It's right for you if... You like to go fast, and also love the idea of a hardtail with frame tech designed to take the edge off rough singletrack. Speed is your main consideration, but comfort is right up there, too. The tech you get A durable and light Alpha Platinum Aluminum frame with IsoSpeed, a mixed SRAM SX and NX Eagle 1x12 drivetrain, and Shimano hydraulic disc brakes. Plus, Bontrager Kovee 28-hole Tubeless Ready wheels and an adjustable RockShox Judy Gold air fork with Motion Control damper and remote lockout that lets you lock out the fork without taking your hands off the bars. The final word A lightweight cross-country ride with advanced IsoSpeed tech that just isn't available anywhere else. With a 1x12 drivetrain, the trail-smoothing IsoSpeed decoupler, and powerful hydraulic disc brakes, Procaliber 6 gives you a fast, efficient ride that can't be matched for this price. Why you'll love it - The IsoSpeed decoupler makes it ride smoother than any other hardtail, so your body doesn't get beat up by trail chatter - It's a great bike for someone who's just getting into serious racing—you get high-end XC parts on an awesome frame with enough cash left over for entry fees - Internal cable routing extends the life of your cables and adds to the bike's sleek look - The 1x12 drivetrain gives you a super wide range of gears in a simple setup

Wheel size: Sizes X-Small – Small: 27.5-inch Sizes Medium – XX-Large: 29-inch

* Subject to change without notice.

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Trek Procaliber 6

• AUS $ NZD $ USD $ CAD $ GBP £ EUR €

Size / SM, MD, MD/LG, LG, XL

At a glance

Where to buy.

Specifications

• Frame Alpha Platinum Aluminium, tapered head tube, internal routing, BSA 73, hidden rack and kickstand mounts, UDH, Boost148, 12 mm thru axle
• Fork RockShox Judy Silver, Solo Air spring, TurnKey lockout, tapered steerer, 42mm offset, Boost110, 15 mm Maxle Stealth, 120 mm travel
• Hubs Shimano TC500 alloy, CentreLock, 148x12 mm thru axle
• Wheels Bontrager Kovee, double-wall, Tubeless-Ready, 28-hole, 23 mm width, Presta valve
• Wheel Size 29"
• Tires Bontrager Sainte-Anne Pro XR, Tubeless Ready, dual compound, aramid bead, 60 tpi, 29x2.20""
• Chain Shimano Deore M6100, 12-speed
• Crank Size: S, M, Shimano MT512, 30T ring, 55 mm chain line, 170 mm length; Size: M/L, L, XL, Shimano MT512, 30T ring, 55 mm chain line, 175 mm length
• Bottom Bracket Shimano BB-MT501 BSA
• Rear Derailleur Shimano XT M8100, long cage
• Shifters Shimano Deore M6100, 12-speed
• Brakeset Shimano MT200 hydraulic disc
• Handlebar Size: S, M, Bontrager alloy, 31.8 mm, 5 mm rise, 720 mm width; Size: M/L, L, XL, Bontrager alloy, 31.8 mm, 15 mm rise, 750 mm width
• Saddle Verse Short, steel rails, 145 mm width
• Seatpost Size: S, M, Bontrager Line Dropper, 100mm travel, MaxFlow, internal routing, 31.6 mm, 310 mm length; Size: M/L, L, Bontrager Line Dropper, 150mm travel, MaxFlow, internal routing, 31.6 mm, 410 mm length; Size: XL, Bontrager Line Dropper, 170 mm travel, MaxFlow, internal routing, 31.6 mm, 450 mm length
• Stem Size: S, Bontrager alloy, 31.8 mm, Blendr-compatible, 7-degree, 50 mm length; Size: M, M/L, Bontrager Elite, 31.8 mm, Blendr-compatible, 7-degree, 60 mm length; Size: L, Bontrager Elite, 31.8 mm, Blendr-compatible, 7-degree, 70 mm length; Size: XL, Bontrager Elite, 31.8 mm, Blendr-compatible, 7-degree, 80 mm length
• Grips Bontrager XR Trail Comp, nylon lock-on

Q: How much is a 2024 Trek Procaliber 6?

A 2024 Trek Procaliber 6 is typically priced around €1,299 EUR when new. Be sure to shop around for the best price, and also look to the used market for a great deal.

Q: Where to buy a 2024 Trek Procaliber 6?

The 2024 Trek Procaliber 6 may be purchased directly from Trek .

Q: What size wheels does the 2024 Trek Procaliber 6 have?

The 2024 Trek Procaliber 6 has 29" wheels.

Q: What size 2024 Trek Procaliber 6 should I get?

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Trek Procaliber 6 2020

About the Trek Procaliber 6 2020

The Trek Procaliber 6 2020 is a Hardtail Cross Country Mountain Bike with a alloy frame. Equipped with a SRAM NX Eagle drivetrain of 12 gears (1x12). Its features include boost 110 , boost 148, and e-thru axle. The bike weighs approximately 12,21 kg.

E-THRU AXLE

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• Buyers Guide

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Trek Procaliber 6 Review

• High-end aluminum frame
• benchmark bike in this price range
• strong in the uphills
• very good wheels
• 25 years warranty

OVERALL BIKE CHECK

The most importanten ratings of the Procaliber 6 ⬤ in comparison to the competitor bikes of following categorie: (Allround-Hardtail up to 1500 €) ⬤ .

VALUE for MONEY CHECK

If you are keen on value for money, this is your chart. It shows you at a glance how many bike you get for 1299 €.

Expirience with the Trek Procaliber 6

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Je steiler der Winkel des Sitzrohrs ist, desto effizienter können Sie in die Pedale treten.

• Frame Procaliber alu Alpha Platinum Aluminium, konisches Steuerrohr, interne Zugführung, BSA 73, versteckte Gepäckträger- und Seitenständeraufnahmen, UDH, Boost148, 12 mm Steckachse
• Frame Material Aluminium
• Fork RockShox Judy Silver, Solo Air-Luftfeder, TurnKey-Lockout, konischer Gabelschaft, 42 mm Versatz, Boost110, 15 mm Maxle Stealth-Achse, 120 mm Federweg
• Spring Unit air
• Remote-Lockout yes
• Gearrange 510%
• Drivetrain 1x12
• Gear Lever Shimano Deore M6100, 12fach
• Rear Derailleur Shimano XT M8100, langer Käfig
• Crank Shimano MT512, 30 Z, 55 mm Kettenlinie, 175 mm Kurbelarmlänge
• Cassette Shimano Deore M6100, 10-51 Z., 12fach
• Chain Shimano Deore M6100, 12fach
• Brake Set Hydraulische Scheibenbremse Shimano MT200
• Brake Rotors 180/160
• Rims Bontrager Kovee, Hohlkammerfelge, Tubeless Ready, 28-Loch, 23 mm Innenweite, Presta-Ventil
• Front Hub Shimano TC500, Aluminium, Center Lock-Scheibenaufnahme, 110 x 15 mm Steckachse
• Rear Hub Shimano TC500, Aluminium, Center Lock-Scheibenaufnahme, 148 x 12 mm Steckachse
• Tires Front Bontrager Sainte-Anne Pro XR, Tubeless-Ready, Zweikomponenten-Mischung, Aramidwulstkern, 60 TPI, 29 x 2.20
• Tires Rear Bontrager Sainte-Anne Pro XR, Tubeless-Ready, Zweikomponenten-Mischung, Aramidwulstkern, 60 TPI, 29 x 2.20
• Saddle Verse Short, Stahlstreben, 145 mm Breite
• Seat Post Bontrager Line Dropper
• Stem Bontrager Elite, 31,8 mm Klemmdurchmesser, Blendr-kompatibel, 7 Grad, 70 mm Länge
• Handle Bar Bontrager, Aluminium, 31,8 mm, 15 mm Rise, 750 mm Breite
• Handle Bar Width 750
• Head Set Semi-integriertes, offenes Kugellager, 1 1/8" oben, 1,5" unten

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• Rider Notes

2024 Trek Procaliber 6

A 29″ aluminum frame hardtail trail bike with upper mid-range components. Compare the full range

Procaliber 6

In Stock: SM, MD, MD/LG, LG, & XL

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Jun 2023 · Ben Haworth

Sure, you can ride the Trek Procaliber 9.6 whenever and wherever you like but the raison d’être of this bike is to perform between race tape.

Read Review

Last updated 6 April

Trek Procaliber 9.6 Review

by Ben Haworth June 11, 2023 0

Sure, you can ride the Trek Procaliber 9.6 whenever and wherever you like but the raison d’être of the Trek Procaliber is to perform between the race tape.

• Brand : Trek
• Product : Procaliber 9.6
• Price : £2,550.00
• From : trekbikes.com
• Tested by : Benji for Singletrackworld Magazine Issue 149

The other two hardtails in our ‘ Double Yer Money Hardtails ‘ test are all-rounder Traily McTrailface mountain bikes. This Trek Procaliber is decidedly not an all-rounder.

Rather than include a £2,400+ all-rounder trail hardtail, of which there are legion, we think it’s more illuminating and useful to go niche. To highlight the option of buying a very specific tool-for-the-job type of mountain bike.

The job for this Procaliber tool is cross-country racing. This is the sort of machine where the rides that aren’t actual races are called ‘training rides’.

The USP of the Trek Procaliber 9.6 is Trek’s IsoSpeed feature. First seen on Trek’s road racing bikes designed for the cobbled ways of Flanders, IsoSpeed basically detaches the seat tube from the top tube, allowing it to flex fore-aft. It’s a very modern take on ye olde soft-tail designs that did the rounds in the nineties and noughties.

Whereas those older designs typically had some sort of spring placed inside a wishbone seat stay arrangement, the Trek Procaliber has a fixing placed just in front of the seat tube and below the top tube and a wedge of elastomery material in the join. I’ll get into how it feels on the trail shortly.

The frame is made from Trek’s OCLV Mountain grade of carbon and, quite frankly, it looks really rad. The waspish black and yellow colourway is particularly pleasing. The aesthetic helps offset the relatively unexciting build kit. The own-brand finishing kit, mid-tier Shimano stuff and fairly nondescript RockShox Recon fork are all fine but hardly set the pulse racing.

In some ways all these rather uninspiring black bits actually help the bike (frame) look as great as it does. The bars are suitably cross-country narrow. The stem is similarly cross-country-tastically lengthy (80mm). The Bontrager XR2 Team Issue tyres are thrillingly bald. The MT410 brakes and the Recon fork are the two main disappointing spec choices. It just looks a bit too cost-cutting on a bike that otherwise looks so fine.

Looking at the rest of the Procaliber range you’d have to spend £3,775 to get a spec that looks suitably snazzy (Procaliber 9.8 with Fox fork, carbon wheelset, Shimano XT and so on).

The geometry of the Procaliber is on the less progressive side of things, even for a cross-country bike: steep 68.8° head angle, short 450mm reach (Large), dinky 90mm head tube length (Large). Oh and no, there is no dropper seatpost.

It can be hard to explain what makes a bike good at cross-country. It’s not just about being light and stiff. For trail riders, the geometry of cross-country race bikes is often entirely baffling. Steep head angles? Long stems? Narrow bars? Haven’t we left all that sort of stuff behind us?

The thing is, such geometry is not meant to be all-round effective. Cross-country geometry is principally meant to feel fast on climbs (the key word there being ‘feel’; racing is almost as much a mental exercise as physical). The narrow bars are arguably mainly there for aerodynamic reasons as much as anything. And if you have narrow bars (with a steep head angle) you need a lengthy stem to keep the front end from flailing madly when you’re redline drooling.

Why not put a slacker head angle on to cure everything? It’s hard to explain. The best explanation I can say is that it’s about pumping the terrain for even more speed. Cross-country races are won on anything that isn’t a descent. Descending speed is very much not important. Being fast downhill doesn’t win you races really. You can certainly lose races by being poor downhill, but you can’t win ’em. As such, the steep head angle is there to keep the front tyre contact patch nearer to you (usually a Really Bad Idea for Normal MTBing) so you can work the terrain underneath it for increased momentum.

Cross-country races are won primarily on the climbs, but the flatter and contouring stuff also matters a lot. Cross-country race geometry is a very specific system and the Trek Procaliber is more specific than most. And the Trek Procaliber is fast AF where and when it has to be. Sure, the downhills are more an exercise of holding-on rather than grinning-through, but the Procaliber’s grins can be found on race day podiums or (whisper it) Strava leaderboards.

All the boring black bits bolted to the Trek Procaliber 9.6 work fine. The fork is surprisingly active and combined with the IsoSpeed ‘rear suspension’ (when seated) actually makes for a remarkably un-punishing ride feel. There’s a reason the Procaliber is used by a lot of marathon endurance racers instead of a full-suspension bike. Also, by judicious use of the fork lockout, the Procaliber does the whole stood-up stamp-attack mode thing very well too.

I did think overall it would be even better with a dropper seatpost. Just a little one. The IsoSpeed system seems serendipitously perfect for dropper posts; droppers have zero fore-aft flex to them (unlike static seatposts) so IsoSpeed means you can run a dropper and still have a flexy perch experience.

This Trek Procaliber 9.6 is a great example of how an increase in budget can gain you access to a world of specificity. I wouldn’t recommend the Procaliber for everyone. It’s not a bike I personally would have. But if anyone is looking for an effective weapon for cross-country racing (whether real world racing or imaginary online Strava racing) then this is very probably one of the best bikes for going as hard as possible for as long as possible on the tracks and terrain that the stopwatch unsparingly demands.

It is a bike that can attack tracks with the best of them, yet it is perfectly capable of having a recovery breather on when you need one. The active fork, supple tyres and undoubtedly the IsoSpeed ‘soft-tail’ feature afford you a pleasing respite from the sheer brutality of the bike’s out-of-the-saddle efficiency of propulsion. It’s something of a Lycra-clad Jekyll and Hyde creation. Sat down, it’s comfy and polite. Stood up, it’s a freaking monster.

• Frame // OCLV Mountain Carbon
• Fork // RockShox Recon Gold RL LockOut, 100mm
• Wheels // Bontrager Kovee Comp 23
• Front tyre // Bontrager XR2 Team Issue 29×2.2
• Rear tyre // Bontrager XR2 Team Issue 29×2.2
• Chainset // Shimano MT611, 30T, 175mm
• Drivetrain // Shimano SLX/XT, 12-speed, 10–51T
• Brakes // Shimano MT410, 180/160mm
• Stem // Bontrager Rhythm Comp, 80mm, 31.8mm
• Bars // Bontrager Rhythm Comp, 750 x 15mm, 31.8mm
• Grips // Bontrager XR Trail Comp Lock-on
• Seatpost // Bontrager Comp, 31.6mm
• Saddle // Bontrager Arvada
• BB // Shimano MT500 PF92
• Size tested // L
• Sizes available // S, M, ML, L, XL, XXL
• Head angle // 68.8°
• Effective seat angle // 73.8°
• Seat tube length // 470mm
• Head tube length // 90mm
• Effective top tube // 625mm
• BB height // 60mm BB drop
• Reach // 450mm
• Chainstay // 432mm
• Wheelbase // 1,133mm
• Weight // 11.7kg

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Orange Switch 6er. Stif Squatcher. Schwalbe Magic Mary Purple Addix front. Maxxis DHR II 3C MaxxTerra rear. Coil fan. Ebikes are not evil. I have been a writer for nigh on 20 years, a photographer for 25 years and a mountain biker for 30 years. I have written countless magazine and website features and route guides for the UK mountain bike press, most notably for the esteemed and highly regarded Singletrackworld. Although I am a Lancastrian, I freely admit that West Yorkshire is my favourite place to ride. Rarely a week goes by without me riding and exploring the South Pennines.

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Shooter Files by f.d. walker

Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides

Apr 24 2017

City Street Guides by f.d. walker: A Street Photography Guide to Moscow, Russia

*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, street walks, street tips, safety concerns, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!

At over 12 million people, Moscow is the largest city in Russia and second largest in Europe by population ( Istanbul is #1). An urban, cosmopolitan metropolis with more than enough glitz and glam to cater to the elite, but without losing its fair share of Soviet era roughness around the edges. It can be fast paced, brash, busy, and trendy like other big cities, but it has its blend of West meets Russia atmosphere and beauty that provides plenty of unique interest. The Red Square is as famous as it gets, but there’s so much more to this city, including the most beautiful subway system you’ve ever seen. It would take years to capture all of Moscow, but that means you have an endless amount of areas to discover.

So here’s a Street Photography guide so you can be ready to capture all that Moscow has to offer before you even arrive!

• Patriarch’s Pond
• Old Arbat Street
• Maroseyka Street
• Tverskoy Boulevard

Top 5 Street Spots:

1. red square.

The Red Square is the most famous square in not just Russia, but all of Eastern Europe. The name actually doesn’t come from the color of the bricks or communism, but from the name in Russian, Krásnaya, once meaning “beautiful” before its meaning changed to “red.” This large plaza is what you see on the cover of guide books and magazines for Moscow, with St. Basil’s Cathedral being the center piece next to Lenin’s Mausoleum surrounded by the Kremlin Wall. Of course, the Red Square attracts hordes of tourist due to the main attractions, but all that activity around an interesting atmosphere does provide street photo opportunities. It’s also the central square connecting to the city’s major streets, providing a good starting point to explore outward.

You’ll also find the popular pedestrian only Nikolskaya Street connecting the Red Square to Lubyanka Square. This line of expensive shops includes plenty of activity, while also leading you to another popular square. Filled with history rivaling any city, the Red Square and surrounding areas are the heart and soul of Russia.

2. Patriarch’s Ponds

Patriarch’s Ponds is one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Moscow. Despite the name being plural, there’s only one large pond, but it’s worth a visit with your camera. It’s a popular spot for locals and expats to come relax or take a stroll around the pond. You get an interesting mix of young and old too, from young love to “babushkas” feeding pigeons. It’s a very peaceful park atmosphere in one of the nicer areas within the city center, while bringing enough activity for street photography. 

The pond is shallow and in the winter becomes a popular spot for ice-skating too. The area is also well-known for the location in the famous Russian novel, The Master and Margarita. 

3. Old Arbat (Stary Arbat)

Old Arbat is the most famous pedestrian street in Moscow, and dating back to the 15th century, also one of its oldest. Originally, it was an area of trade, but soon became the most prestigious residential area in Moscow. During the 18th century, Arbat started attracting the city’s scholars and artists, including Alexander Pushkin. Cafes lined the streets and impressive homes filled the neighborhood. Since then, New Arbat street was created as a highway in the area, while Old Arbat was paved for a 1km pedestrian only walkway.

Due to the historic buildings, famous artists that lived here, and the bohemian atmosphere, Old Arbat has become a big attraction for tourists today. Now, there’s a mix of cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, street performers, street merchants and other attractions for visitors, and some locals, to come enjoy. It can get really busy here and there’s usually something interesting going on so it’s a good street to come walk with your camera for guaranteed life.

4. Gorky Park

One of the most famous places in Moscow is Gorky Park. The official name is Maxim Gorky’s Central Park of Culture & Leisure, which gives you an idea of what goes on here. When built, it was the first of its kind in the Soviet Union. Divided into two parts, it stretches along Moscow River. One end contains fair rides, foods stands, tennis courts, a sports club, a lake for boat rides, and more. This end brings more active life due to its number of attractions, while the other end is more relaxed, where you’ll find gardens, trees, older buildings, and an outdoor amphitheater.

Gorky Park attracts mostly locals so it’s a good spot to capture the non-tourist side of Moscow life. Muscovites come here to escape the city and unwind in a picturesque setting. The park remains alive outside of the warmer months too, especially when the lake turns into the city’s largest outdoor skating rink. I’d recommend taking the metro out here to spend at least half a day exploring the massive park’s life with your camera.

5. Maroseyka Street

Maroseyka Street is a popular area not too far from the Red Square. The long, winding street turns into Pokrovka and is lined with restaurants, cafes, bars and places to stay. It’s actually where I like to stay when I’m in Moscow due to its location and solid street photography opportunities itself. You have Kitay-gorod station near and if you keep walking southwest, you’ll get to the Red Square. But if you walk northwest, as it changes to Pokrovka, you can find a long street of activity for photography with its own interesting atmosphere.

6. Tverskoy Boulevard

Tverskoy Boulevard is the oldest and longest boulevard in Moscow, beginning at the end of Nikitsky Boulevard, and finishing at Pushkin Square, a spot to come for activity itself. The boulevard is made up of two avenues, with pedestrian walkways in-between. You’ll find grass, shrubbery, trees, benches and more walking it’s almost kilometer length. Many people come here to enjoy some relaxation, walk their dog, or just to use it to walk wherever they’re going. Its center location also provides a nice place to walk with your camera near plenty of other spots you’ll want to check out anyway.

Sample Street Walk:

For a full day of Street Photography, covering some of the best spots, you can follow this sample street walk for Moscow:

• Start your morning walking around the Red Square (1), while exploring the surrounding area, including Nikolskaya Street
• Then walk northwest to Patriarch’s Ponds (2) and slowly walk the pond and surrounding area with your camera
• Next, walk east to the Pushkin Monument and stroll down Tverskoy Boulevard (6)
• Once Tverskoy Boulevard (6) ends, it will turn into Nikitsky Boulevard. Follow this down until you get to the start of Old Arbat Street (3), across from Arbatskaya station
• After you’re done walking down Old Arbat Street (3) for more street photography, spend some time checking out Moscow’s beautiful metro stations
• To finish off the day with more street photography, get off the metro near Red Square (1) again, Maroseyka Street (5) or wherever you’re staying for the night.

3 Things I’ll Remember about Shooting in Moscow:

1. museum metro.

The Moscow metro system was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union and today includes 203 stations across 340km of routes. The elaborate system has some of the deepest stations in the world too, with escalators that seem to go on forever. None of this is what makes it so special, though. Many of its stations feel like stepping inside a museum, making it without a doubt the most interesting and beautiful metro system I’ve been in.

When built, Stalin wanted to make the metro stations “palaces for the people” with marble, chandeliers, and grand architecture. The best part is the variety of architecture and styles used, making many of the stations a completely different experience visually. You could easily spend a whole day traveling the stations and there are even tours available for people who wish to do just that. My advice, though, would be just to buy a ticket and hop on and off at different stations, while exploring different lines. The museum-like surrounding mixed with the crowds of characters can make for a great photography experience.

Since there are so many stations, here are some of my favorites to check out:

• Novoslobodskaya
• Mayakovskaya
• Elektrozavodskaya
• Komsomolskaya
• Ploschad Revolyutsii
• Dostoyevskaya
• Prospekt Mira

2. Moscow is Big

It’s no secret that Moscow is a big city, but it can feel even bigger with how spread out much of it is. This is especially true if you compare it to cities outside of Asia. If I compared it to cities in Europe, I’d probably say only Istanbul would warrant more time to really discover the depths of this city. Most only explore around the Red Square and surrounding area, but that is such a small part of the city. Although, that central area does give you plenty to see on its own.

Fortunately, I had a good friend living in the city to show me around, but it opened up my eyes even more to how much there is to discover in Moscow. It’s a big city with a variety of atmosphere that can take you from “east” to “west” and trendy to rugged depending on where you go. I’d imagine you’d have to live here a while to really know the city.

3. Cosmopolitan Mix of East meets West

Modern skyscrapers mixed with amazing architecture, a world-class metro system with museum-like beauty, trendy fashion and chic clubs, Moscow is a rich mix of Russian culture and history in a more western cosmopolitan package. There is a push to keep the Russian culture, while also pushing forward with a modern metropolis the whole world will envy. This comes with an impressive skyline, that continues to grow, and endless modernities, but with soviet nostalgia and atmosphere mixed in for good measure.

Mixed in with this grand western cosmopolitan atmosphere, is a strong national pride in Russia. This includes their famous leader, Vladimir Putin. Maybe no other place will you see a country’s leader more often. All over, from the pricey tourist shops to the underground walkway stalls, you’ll find goods with Putin’s likeness covering them. From t-shirts to magnets to Matryoshka dolls. There’s a strong national pride that can be seen around the city, which also extends to their leader. Moscow is many things. It’s East meets West, modernizations meets Soviet era, and a whole lot more.

What To Do For a Street Photography Break?:

Eat at a stolovaya.

Stolovayas are Russian cafeterias that became popular in the Soviet days. You grab a tray and walk down the line of freshly prepared local dishes, and select whatever you want from the chefs. They’re usually inexpensive and a much better value than restaurants, while giving you the opportunity to try from a wide selection of everyday Russian food. They’re also very tasty. I always include some borsch on my tray and go from there. The places themselves are all over Moscow and usually come with Soviet-era aesthetics to complete the experience.

Street Safety Score: 7

*As always, no place is completely safe! So when I talk about safety, I’m speaking in general comparison to other places. Always take precaution, be smart, observe your surroundings and trust your instincts anywhere you go!

Being the 2nd largest city in Europe with over 12 million people, you’re going to have your dangerous areas, but for the most part, it feels safe walking around. Russia is statistically higher in crime compared to most of Europe, but this generally doesn’t apply to tourists and visitors. Around the Red Square and surrounding city center, you should feel completely safe walking around. Pick pocketing can happen, but no more than other touristic places. I always explore Moscow freely without coming across too much to worry about. It’s a spread out city, though, so of course it matters where you are. Just use basic street smarts, know where you are and Moscow shouldn’t give you a problem. 

People’s Reaction Score: 7

Moscow is fast paced, big city life, which usually means people aren’t too concerned with you, or your camera. I don’t find people notice or pay much attention to me when I’m out taking photos in Moscow. For the most part, people just go about their day. You shouldn’t get too many looks or concern. But it can depend on the area you are in. The more you stick out, the more you might get noticed with suspicions. I’ve never had any problems in Moscow, or Russia, but just be careful who you’re taking a photo of if you get out of the city center. Other than that, it’s about average for reactions. 

Street Tips:

Learn the alphabet .

Much of Moscow, including the metro system, doesn’t use english. The Russian alphabet uses letters from the Cyrillic script, which if you aren’t familiar with it and don’t know the sounds, can be hard to decipher the words. This is most important for street names and metro stops when trying to get around. It can save confusion and make it easier getting around if you learn the basic alphabet. At the very least then, you can sound out the words to see which are similar in the english conversion, which can help matching them to maps. When out shooting street photography, getting around is as important as anything. So save yourself some time and frustration by learning the Russian Alphabet.

Use the metro

While Saint-Petersburg feels very walkable for a city its size, Moscow can feel very spread out, even for its bigger size. Outside of the Red Square area, you can have plenty of walking before getting anywhere very interesting, so you’ll need to take the metro a lot if you really want to explore the city. Maps are deceiving here too, it will always be further than it looks.

Another reason it’s less walkable than Saint-Petersburg is its completely different set-up. Moscow’s streets are mostly contstructed in rings with narrow, winding streets in-between. This is common with medieval city cities that used to be confined by walls, but you usually don’t have it in a city this massive. Saint-Petersburg has a more grid-like pattern that also uses the canals to help you know your way around. When it comes to navigating on foot in Moscow, it can be more difficult, so bring a map and take the metro when needed. It’s why Moscow’s metro carries more passengers per day than the London and Paris subways combined.

Explore other areas if you have time

Moscow is really big. While most people stay around the Red Square within the Boulevard Ring, there’s so much more to the city. I covered some other spots outside of this circle, but if you really want to see the city, you’ll need time. If you do have time, some other areas I’d check out first are Zamoskvarechye, along some of the south and western Moscow.

Inspiration:

For some more inspiration, you can look through the Street Photography of Moscow photographer Artem Zhitenev  and check out 33 of my photos taken in Moscow .

Conclusion:

Moscow’s name brings a certain mystique, but once you’re there it might bring a different atmosphere than you expect. It’s big and sprawling, but beautiful in many ways. It can feel like a European capital on a grand scale, but you can definitely find its Russian side in there.

The urban sprawl of Moscow can be intimidating, but give it enough time and you’ll be rewarded with plenty to discover. All with the world’s best metro system to take you around.

I hope this guide can help you start to experience some of what Moscow contains. So grab your camera and capture all that Moscow has to offer for Street Photography!

If you still have any questions about shooting in Moscow, feel free to comment below or email me!

(I want to make these guides as valuable as possible for all of you so add any ideas on improvements, including addition requests, in the comment section!)

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In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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