Bad timing, but... Men of Routesetting 2012!

Why the LT11 guys didn't get this done *before* Valentines Day, I don't know, but the newest edition of the Men of Routesetting calendar is now available. $3, proceeds to the Access fund. A great gift for your GF (or BF), as long as you've got abs like Carlo's!

Sign up for Odin's Revenge!

Yes, 180 miles of gravel in Nebraska. Check it out here:

Odin's Revenge

Here are some Nebraska bike pictures to get you psyched, courtesy of Kyle (who is also the race promoter)

Ian's 29er

Just a quick picture and a few words. This is only the second time I have been asked for a brown frame - but I actually think it looks pretty good. And it certainly won't show dirt as well as, say, white or something.



In any case, quick geometry rundown. Ian lives in Boulder so he rides the same stuff I do, and he wanted something similar to his old 26" Fisher in the handling department, but with 29" wheels and parts that weren't totally trashed from 10 years of abuse.

So:
-71 head tube, 73 seat tube
-61cm (24") effective toptube, 43.8cm (17.2") seat tube
-12.2" bb height, 43cm chainstays (42.5cm effective)
-Extra H20 bosses under the downtube for extra H20 on epics

In short, an all-around XC setup for Boulder. Good stuff, nothing crazy. Ian even took my advice on the mismatched rims (Crest front, Arch EX rear) if you look closely. Ian is supposed to bring his saddle when he comes to pick the bike up, as of now it's a super-light standing-up only race machine!

Also: flat bar with bar ends?!? Haven't seen that in a while.

I lied! Weekend Recipe: Quinoa Risotto

Ok, no bike post. Sorry. Wait, no I'm not. You're not paying me to write this.

Fact: Risotto rules.
Fact: Quinoa rules.
Fact: Making Risotto sort of sucks. All that standing, and mixing, and pouring tiny amounts of broth...ugh.

Solution, make this.

Quinoa Risotto
1c quinoa
4c broth, of whatever kind you like
1c dry sherry
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
5 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
A whole bunch of spinach, or other nice veggies
4oz of goat cheese
zest and juice of one lemon

-Get out a big saucepan, and cook up the oil/garlic/pepper flakes for a couple of minutes until things are fragrant.
-Add quinoa (dry) and cook for 1 minute or so.
-Add the sherry, and bring to a boil.
-When the mix is almost dried out, add the broth and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until it's a wet slush and the quinoa isn't crunchy anymore.
-Add all the other ingredients, mix up well (the goat cheese is to make everything creamy and risotto-y), cook for another 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted, and serve!

Jeremy Lin > Kobe

That's really all there is to say. Dang.

Sorry, had to get the yearly basketball post out of the way. Bike stuff tomorrow.

Pictures and words for Cody

I figured if Garro can throw frames in the snow to take pictures of them, so can I, darn it!

Seriously, Cody, don't freak out, it won't hurt anything.

This is a singlespeed, rigid, no-suspension-ever-no-matter-how-much-you-whine XC bike. It's an interesting case (and I'll be very interested to hear how Cody likes it) because of how it compares to his previous frame (not built by me) which he likes pretty well, but I sort of think is not the best design.

So, for reference, here's the old geometry. Keep in mind, Cody's not super tall, rides twisty/tight trails, and likes his setup pretty stiff out of the saddle.

As you can see, the bike has a pretty low trail number (73mm) and shortish front center (63cm). So far, basically so good. I did some tweaks to lengthen the front center and add some trail (71 HTA instead of 72), and we decided to lengthen the head tube as well for a tiny bit more upright position/less need for spacers. Both of those changes were intended to address Cody's feeling that on steep downhill stuff, the bike was a bit scary and he felt like he was potentially headed OTB. So front wheel moves forward, maybe bars go up a little, but not that much. We didn't want TOO long of a front center or high of a trail number, since the majority of the time, the riding won't be on super steep DH.

It's at the rear end that I felt the bike was really odd. 45cm chainstays (that number isn't shown on the drawing, but that's what they are) for a rider whose saddle height is 70cm, riding singlespeed on tight terrain? A wheelbase of 107.3cm? IMO, that's criminally long in this case, so I whacked a full 25mm off of the chainstay length.

The end result is a frame with a bit higher trail number and less tucked-under front wheel that should reduce anxiety a bit in steep terrain. A much shorter overall wheelbase should allow quite a bit better maneuverability on the tight stuff, as well as much easier front wheel lifting and general front-to-back weight shifts (or, if you're either very talented or very stupid or both and showing off in the parking lot/tossing the rear end around a switchback, back-to-front).

Here's the whole set of numbers:
-71 degree HTA, 73 STA
-12.4" BB height, 635mm front center, 82mm trail
-59cm toptube, 45cm seat tube
-Rigid only (didn't get a picture of the fork, doh) and SS only
-105.2cm wheelbase, 42.5cm chainstays (actual, that's 42cm effective)
-S-bends (this was the fallback, I had a hard time with doing segmented stays and bailed to what I know, I'll have to spend some time working on the segmented thing before I sell any to customers) and clearance for a 2.4" tire in the rear/2.5"+ in the front.

Hopefully the end result will handle pretty much all terrain better than the old geometry - we'll find out in a few weeks. Could we have gone even shorter on the rear? Yes, definitely. But Cody does like his existing bike pretty well, so I didn't want to go completely nuts - 25mm shorter is already a huge amount, and at the length we ended up at, life is easy (relatively) for component compatibility and chainring/tire/etc clearance.

Auspicious Announcements - and Upcoming Changes

First off, if you're not on the waitlist or contemplating getting on, this isn't super relevant, and it's not going to be super entertaining, so click back over to Bikesnob now...

Ok.

Item 1: Sarah and I are expecting a baby boy (our first child; code name "The Bean") in mid-April. We will probably be pretty incompetent and sleep deprived for a while.

Item 2: Sarah has completed her biochemistry PhD and is applying for postdoctoral positions at several universities in the mountain west kinda area, but none in Boulder. If she's hired for one of them, which is likely, she'd start in Fall 2012 or thereabouts.

What does this mean? It means a couple of things. I expect to complete the next 8 or 9 frames on the waitlist with no trouble (barring an unexpected early appearance.) After that point, all bets are off for a while. I will certainly attempt to get some work done when we bring The Bean home and start learning how to take care of him, but I am not going to make any hard guarantees.

As of June, things should be back to normal, but by that point, we may also be in the midst of preparing to move to another state for Sarah's postdoc. That will mean *more* potential delays, of course, because I'll be working to build bikes and also preparing to try to get several thousand pounds of tools and parts, along with all our other possessions, moved to our new location (for those who are curious, it will most likely be Salt Lake City, but possibly Fort Collins - or, you never know, we might stay in Boulder).

The bottom line is this: I am not guaranteeing delivery times for new orders right now. My family is very important to me and if you're in a big rush to get a bike or need your frame by a specific date in 2012, you may want to look elsewhere. I may be able to stay on my 1 frame/week schedule, and I will certainly try, but if Sarah and The Bean need my full attention, they will get it and bike work will wait. I will, of course, keep everyone updated on my progress via the waitlist and the blog if for some reason I'm not able to work for any significant period of time.