Winner, chicken dinner!

Chris just texted me - congrats to Eszter for winning the SS race at the Whiskey 50 (and a free trip to Ireland for SS worlds!)

Hopefully we'll have a race report at some point, most likely over at Gooney Riders. I'll post a link if/when that happens.

Demo bikes

I got a question recently about whether or not Waltworks bikes are available to demo - and believe it or not, the answer is yes.

The caveats, of course, are several:
-You gotta come pick up the bike from me in person in Boulder.
-You have to make arrangements with me in advance, and return the bike on time.
-All of the bikes available belong to me, so if I'm using one - you're out of luck.

That said, here's what's available:

-29er hardtail with 69 degree HTA, 73 STA, 41.5cm chainstays, and a 23.4" effective toptube. It's usually set up as a 1x or singlespeed, with a 100mm travel fox fork. Fine for anyone up to 200#.

-29er freeride/trail bike with 68.5 HTA, 73 STA, 43cm chainstays, and 23.2" effective toptube. 6" travel in the rear, 5" in front. 1x9 (soon to be 10, if SRAM ever makes a gripshifter) setup, so you'll need some legs on you to get up the hills around here. If you're under 250#, you're good to go on this one.

-29er full suspension XC bike with 70.5 HTA, 73 STA, 43cm chainstays, and 22.6" effective toptube (and 28" standover). 100mm travel front and rear. This one's only ok for folks under 160#, though. Set up as a 2x9.

-Track bike with 54cm effective toptube, 74/74 angles. Only available at Boulder Indoor Cycling, for folks who are track-certified.

Don't see anything that fits/interests you? Sorry, that's what's available.

Quick shots for Anthony...

I saw a picture quite a while ago that Steve Garro over at Coconino took of a frame that he was holding up at an angle. Looked super cool. So I tried to imitate it.



Lessons learned:
-The kitchen is not a very appealing backdrop.
-My left arm gets very tired after a while. It's a lot harder to hold the frame really still than you might think.
-I suck at taking pictures. Well, that's a lesson learned again, I guess. I already knew that.

So anyway, I did a little mixed-media composition to make up for it. I call it "Bicycle, crappy deck, old shoes, and potting soil."

Today: No Bicycle Content

Instead, I invite you to read the story of the science book worth over $20 million.

Seriously. Read it. It's awesome.

Almost famous...

I have been interviewed by 303cycling.com, so go read it, if you're bored this morning.

Also, the picture in the interview is not of me (though that's what the caption says). That's Chris Miller. I am much more handsome.

Tyler... in a compromising position

A hilarious series of (unfortunately small, I'll see if I can get some bigger ones) images from Tyler, our newest WW team rider...

Weekend recipe: Quinoa-Lime Salad

This is a great base for the Orange-Chipotle Tofu recipe that I posted way back when.

Make 2 cups of quinoa with your rice cooker. Make it with a couple teaspoons of concentrated veggie stock or a little salt.

Now add (while it's still hot)
-2 tsp cumin seeds
-1/4c lime juice
-One big chopped up tomato
-One bunch of green onions, chopped
-1 cup of corn kernels
-1 can of black beans, drained
-3 tablespoons of olive oil
-1 chopped up avocado

Mix, serve!

Arne's Fixie - Belt Drive and Bar Spins!

The odds of me surviving an attempted bar spin approach zero, but I am impressed with Arne's solution - though I think I would have routed the hose through the top of the steerer cap instead to avoid putting a hole in the stem.

The Paragon coupler for the dropout/seatstay is a nice low-profile way to set up the belt drive, I think. Thanks to Arne for the pictures!

Lost and found

Sarah and I got a new (finally) bed, and while moving out the old one, I discovered this rare first-edition (circa 2004) Waltworks team, um, hat-like object. They are one-size-doesn't-fit-anyone, make you look like a complete clown (ok, I was already on my way without the hat...) and give me a splitting headache for some reason if I wear one for more than 2 or 3 minutes.

But I don't care. This baby is rare! It'll be worth a fortune someday!

I'll just put it in the airtight container with my pogs.

What's on the bench today...

Actually, this is stuff scattered on my welding table, which doubles as a workbench a lot of the time. Hassan's main triangle (mostly mitered, but not quite done), a seat tube for Anthony, some seatstays - and a bunch of random tools. Yes, I use cotton gardening gloves to weld. Yes, I regularly catch them on fire. And finally, yes, my old welding teacher would probably have a heart attack if he saw me TIG welding in a t-shirt and shorts, with gardening gloves. C'est la vie. Believe it or not, you can use the argon from the welding torch to put your hand back out really nicely - you just have to be careful about the arc...

Moving along

I'm working a little slowly this week because I lost Monday (procrastinator!) to taxes, then lost part of today as well (quarterly Colorado sales taxes are due on 4/20, bro!)

But things are moving along. If Hassan the greasy, squinty statistician would bother to answer his email every once in a while, I could probably even build his frame... I'm doing a couple of forks in the meantime.

In other news, I feel a bit better about riding rigid, after a humiliating crash on Saturday. Lack of sleep + a year or so of riding bikes with suspension + overconfidence = big scabby knee and bruised ego. My friend Matt calls rigid singlespeed bikes "fun haters" and I was definitely agreeing with him for a while there. After a second ride (and a bit less tire pressure) I feel better about myself, but I'll definitely keep the suspension fork around.

Quick shot of Greg's bike

Ok, the bike is not the main attraction here - the cool graffiti is. Neat stuff in NYC somewhere, in the midst of an urban assault ride.

Anyone need a sweet Hope wheelset?

Jorah got very excited about DT Swiss hubs, just too late to cancel his wheel order - so I have a set of silver Hope Pro 2 hubs (front 15mm) laced up to Stan's Arch rims available to anyone interested. $500 (shipping included in the lower 48) takes 'em. Help Jorah out of a bind and drop me a line if you want them!

Edit: They are 29er wheels.

Almost done with Jorah's frame - a few pictures

I stayed up until 1am building myself a rigid fork (long story, I managed to end up with no combination of fork/wheel that would work and had to build something) to go for a ride today, got up and managed to turn my legs for 7 hours (man, I'm beat!) and now I'm getting Jorah's frame finished up.

Numbers for the curious and/or bored
-5" front and rear travel.
-Tapered steerer.
-20.5" seat tube, 24.4" toptube, very slack 71 degree seat angle (Jorah has HUGE long legs). 71 head tube too (though it'll be a bit slacker with a rider on the bike, depending on sag).
-13.9" BB height.
-45cm chainstays.

My life is complete

...for I have had a letter published on Hot Chicks with Douchebags.

Ted's new fork - artistic!

Ted needed a very short fork (~400mm) with big (well, ok, 2.1) tire clearance for his Primus Mootry (another Boulder bike builder). Then he apparently needed to take some really over the top artsy photos!

My day in pictures

Waltworks Design Services

I recently designed a bike for a fellow who needed something quicker than I could build it - but wanted me to do the design work so that he could find a fabricator with a shorter waitlist.

For the record, I'm happy to do this. I have designed over 400 road, mountain, cross, track, and even BMX bikes at this point, with probably 90% of those being 29ers - which just might make me the most experienced 29er builder on the planet. Got a unique fit question or want a bike designed for you (or a significant other)? Not a problem at all.

Complete custom designs, including phone and email consultation, start at $150. I will provide a frame design spreadsheet specifying every detail (including mitering angles and all tube specs) with sufficient information for any experienced framebuilder to construct your bike. I will also be happy to recommend stock frames which may be close matches to your design. If you're a large bike manufacturer or company, I consult on design questions on an hourly basis.

Satisfaction is guaranteed - if you are not happy with the fit or handling of the end product, I'll refund your money.

To get started, simply send me an email and ask for a fit sheet/explain your project.

James' new ride

CX bike, sliders, the works. Silly, silly rotor cranks!

Apparently James is trying to wheeze on my gig with his identical garage door.

Edit: by popular request, some basic dimensions:
Head tube: 150mm at 71 degrees (fork rake is 48mm, trail is roughly 68mm with 35c tires)
Seat tube: 56cm (to top) at 73 degrees
Toptube: 55cm effective, 8 degree slope
BB drop: 70mm
Chainstays: 43-45cm (min/max range of sliders)

The frame is built for 40c tire clearance and racks for nasty weather if needed. For all-around riding as well as hitting the dirt, of course.

Anyone need a wheel box?

Man, I have been building a ton of complete bikes for folks - and hence a ton of wheels have come through here in the last few weeks. Not shown are the 3 or 4 that are folded up inside the recycle bin, plus the 3 or 4 that blew away in another one of our standard Boulder spring windstorms (today was probably the least pleasant 70 degree day for riding ever, or at least it would have been, if my back was ok to ride).

I'm able to work again, btw, and the back is de-clenching slowly.

This is probably a contender for most boring blog picture of all time. Wow. I can't believe I bothered to upload it...

Bad back...

I did something (I still don't know what) to my back on Saturday, and today I can barely walk, let alone do any serious work, so I just wanted to let everyone know - nothing is going to get done today (well, I'll do some computer work and some taxes or something, but I can't lift anything, so no cutting/welding/shipping/etc). Hopefully it will start loosening up soon and I'll be able to say, pick up objects that are below waist height, or go up and down stairs without using my arms...stupid back.

Back to the Future!

Aaron brought his old WW from 2004 or 2005 (I don't remember exactly) with him when he came to pick up his new bike, so I snapped a quick picture. A lot has changed - suspension, through axle, disc brakes, 10 speed, tubeless tires, direct mount front derailleur. Neat to see how things have evolved (ok, to be fair, Aaron's old bike was a bit anachronistic when it was new, but still). Or devolved. Depends on your point of view, I suppose.

As an aside, I think the two most important things that have happened to mountain bikes in the last 15 years or so are - 1) tubeless tires and 2) 29" wheels. I was arguing with a friend just the other day - if you had to give up one of those, which one would it be?

Personally, I was pretty torn, and I initially said I'd give up the big wheels to keep tubeless... but now I'm not sure. Luckily, I don't need to actually make that decision!

Edit: Buzz says he'd ditch suspension. I'm not sure that counts, since the first suspension forks are considerably older than 15 years, but for what it's worth, I agree. I'd happily ride rigid in order to keep my big wheels and tubeless tires.