Sunday, January 29, 2012

From Miguel


Apparently a problem with his suspension fork forced Miguel to put an ancient rigid fork that I made 7 or 8 years ago on his dualie for his Chile trip - and he claims to have liked it!

Welcome to 2005

...that is, if you're Dom Mason. Read through the article - it's hilarious that it's been published in 2012, with these types of 2005-esque quotes (also notice the awesome artsy photo with matching frame decals, t-shirt, and color-coordinated Swatch):

"The 29er is a packaging nightmare. You know exactly where you want to put all the centres and contact points for it to ride right but there are many physical barriers to doing that. Key areas to get right are chainstay length, BB height, stack height and trail. The large wheel size throws up all sorts of problems you just don’t get with a 26in wheel, like front mech, chainring and toe clearance."

"A steep head angle keeps the trail dimension as close to a small-wheeled Maxlight as possible and ensures lively handling."

"I found that by putting a 2.5° radius bend on the base of the seat tube I could increase mech clearance and tyre clearance, and shorten the stays to lighten up the front end."

"We know 29ers are capable of steamrollering trails and going rather fast over the bumpy downhill stuff, so adding a dollop of legendary Maxlight handling into the mix might just lead to a trail destroyer!"


And then, my personal favorite:

"New thinking on geometry and vastly improved suspension forks, wheelsets, tyres, headsets and also the acceptance of 2x10 drivetrains has turned the idea of the big-wheeled bike from an eyebrow raiser into a really exciting new branch on the riding tree. Now it’s worth sitting up and taking notice."


Translation: "Please, please let us on the bandwagon that we apparently missed half a decade ago. We desperately need to make money by selling something popular and we hear 29ers are popular. If everyone was riding 12-inch-wheeled Oscar Meyer weinermobiles, we'd try to make those too."

As a side note, what the heck do 2x10 drivetrains have to do with 29ers suddenly becoming an "exciting new branch on the riding tree"?

Sunday Rant: CU Tuition!

Keep in mind, this isn't personal. I never paid a dime of tuition (scholarships and stipends FTW!) to CU and neither did Sarah.

Still, this DC article distressed me. For those who don't want to read the whole thing:
CU has consistently raised tuition by ~10% a year for at least a decade (this year, the proposal is a 15.7% increase!) At the same time, they have given massive raises to (and hired more) administrators. Ostensibly high administrator pay is necessary to "keep pace" with "peer institutions" (other state flagship universities).

Here's my take: nobody goes to college because the chancellor is awesome. Most college students couldn't name the chancellor, vice chancellor, or even president of CU (nor the board of regents, who make the actual decisions, of course). When you think of awesome CU employees, you think of people like Carl Wieman, or Tom Cech. People who do awesome research, who do great teaching. Not figureheads. Not paper-pushers or bean counters. Do you need paper pushers and bean counters? Of course! Do you need to pay them $389,000 a year? Heck no!

So my proposal - simply make it part of the CU bylaws that no administrator can make more money than the average full-time, active (ie, doing research and teaching) professor. We have freaking NOBEL LAUREATES who make considerably less than some administrators - that's pathetic. No more than 1 administrator per 10 active faculty members, too! When I want to brag to someone about CU, I talk about Carl Wieman, not Bruce Benson or Phil DiStefano. They're glorified paper-pushers at best, but really more like figurehead leeches who seem to continually multiply.

There - a nice simple salary cap. Might be worth applying it to the athletic department as well while we're at it - I love sports, but we don't need coaches who make millions of dollars a year while top-notch teachers and researchers quit to join the private sector because they get paid peanuts.

Here's the other thing - if you actually paid the people who make CU great, cut administrative spending to the bone, and cut tuition, CU would be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. Parents would fight tooth and nail to get their kids a spot here. "Peer" institutions would have no choice but to follow along - or have their best potential students cherrypicked by CU.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Pat's Curvy Seat Tube

No, it's not really necessary. But thanks to me posting pictures of my silly new FS bike, everyone and their cousin wants a curved seat tube. And so I spent a couple of hours this morning cursing a Supertherm 1/7/1x31.8 "seat" tube. Yes, you can curve butted tubes - but only if the center section is thick enough, which this one is. And it needed to be pretty beefy, this frame is a bit of a monster.


Exhibit 1: The downtube is a 44.5mm Supertherm job, so big that it swallows the seat tube miter whole! After trimming the ears down, it just barely can be welded in without looking weird.

The toptube, too, is Supertherm, and the head tube is a big 44mm ID for a tapered steerer fork. All this big beefy tubing almost makes the Deda 30x16mm/1mm wall s-bend chainstays look wimpy (they're not - not at all). The plan is to use some beefcake seatstays too, with rack mounts for adventure touring/Great Divide/etc.


Should be a fun all-around adventure bike. Here's the relevant geometry for curious people:
-70 degree HTA with a 128mm head tube. Built for 100mm travel tapered steerer fork.
-75 actual/73 effective seat tube. 49.5cm/19.5" curved. Neato.
-Clearance for 2.5+" tires.
-44cm chainstays (at the forward-most adjustment of the sliders), 315mm (12.4") bb height.
-Supertherm tubes throughout, way beefy. For a 12x135 Maxle (Paragon sliders).
-S-bends, direct mount front derailleur (not on there yet!), rack mounts, 3 H20 cages, ready to rock for carrying a big load far from civilization.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

New FS ride report

Ride reports are inherently kinda dumb - lots of words like "flow" and "flickable" and "plush" that don't really mean much to anyone but the person writing the review.

However, I will say that I'm very happy with my new frame. It indeed rides very quickly both uphill and down, the suspension keeps the wheels stuck to the trail when I'm attempting to get around corners quickly, and I even managed to put a second or two into Steiny (he must have been taking it easy on me) on a *descent* today.

So, thus far, a smashing success. It's easy to get air, it's easy to throw around in corners, but it's pretty good at holding a line on the fast rough stuff too thanks to the slack head tube and big trail number. Exactly what I like for riding around here.

That being said, I've done a single 2 hour ride, which had maybe 5 minutes of downhill singletrack in it. But the curved seat tube did not disintegrate, the bike handles like a dream so far, and nothing even came loose, despite the fact that I assembled the thing in a hurry late at night. Great Success!

Monday, January 23, 2012

"Weekend" Project

This is something I've been dabbling with on and off for months and months, but this weekend, I decided I'd finally finish it. Of course, the "weekend" ended up including a decent amount of Monday, but it's finally (almost) done - my geeked-out FS racer-boy frame.

Yes, I know that as recently as a few years ago I was getting outsprinted at the line on my super-core rigid singlespeed (damn you, Mitch!) Then I graduated to a suspension fork. Lame. Finally, I raced 24 hours of Moab on a full suspension bike that I inherited after DHL did it's best to destroy it... and loved it. The transition to oldness and lameness (let's not forget: slowness) had begun.

And that process culminates here, in my attempt to build/buy back some of the extra weight around my middle. As usual, it probably won't work, but what the heck.

Another reason for building this was that I had an old "superlight" Ventana rear end lying around that it had become clear nobody was ever going to buy from me. So I figured what the heck... I'll do a super light FS bike, and use my new tube bender to make a sweet bent seat tube.

So, here she is. First, geometry:
-69 HTA, effective 73 STA
-60cm/23.2" effective toptube
-48.2cm/19" seat tube, curved like buttah!
-335mm/13.2" unsprung BB height - yes, low
-100mm travel front/rear
-43.3cm/17" chainstays
-108.6cm/42.7" wheelbase (!!!)
-150mm head tube
-1x only right now, I might add a direct mount for a front derailleur at some point (or not, we'll see).

And the kicker... 2625g, or 5.8# (edit: now 2600g/5.7# with machined-down rockers) with the shock and all the hardware. That's by far the lightest FS bike I've ever built - and it's not even small. Nothing crazy with the tubing, either - the seat tube is Supertherm, and the TT and DT are 8/5/8 OX platinum. Should be durable enough for everday riding, albeit not for a huge rider or big hucking craziness.

The geometry is weird, I know. I went super short, and super slack. And the standover, for most people, would be kinda sucky. But for leggy me, it's fine. I did a similar geometry on my 2011 hardtail and loved it - so why not do it with a dualie? Could I easily sell it to someone if I don't like it? Well, no. But that wasn't a major concern.

Before you flip out and email me wanting this frame, or one like it (perhaps with less kooky geometry) keep a couple of things in mind:
-As far as I know, Ventana won't do these superlight rear ends anymore. So add 200g or so for that - meaning that a medium-ish frame would be in the 6.2# range right off the bat.
-Most people would probably want a bigger head tube for a tapered steerer - which will also add some weight. I used a 1mm wall 36mm OD OX platinum tube here, partially because I was geeking out about weight, and partially because I already have a fork to fit and am not fat enough (yet) to feel that I need a tapered steerer.


Here's a quick shot of the bike built up (24.5# with my old junky parts) that I snapped quickly before heading inside to cook up a batch of green chile stew. Ride report soon, assuming the weather holds.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Live 50 feet from WW World HQ!

My neighbor Charlie is renting his place (2 doors down from us):

We are renting our townhouse in East Boulder (Arapahoe and 55th area, across from the golf course). We have had great tenants and would love to find some responsible solid tenants again. Please pass this to anyone you know who may be interested.

East Boulder Townhouse for rent
· Two bedroom, 1050 square feet total
· 1.5 bathroom
· Two-car garage
· Air conditioning
· Washer/Dryer
· New furnace with whole-house humidifier and whole-house fan
· Small backyard with great patio
· Recent improvements include: new bamboo floor, new deck/patio, new island countertop, redone 1/2 bath
· Quiet neighborhood across 55th Street from the Flatirons Golf Course
· Pets allowed
· Rent: $1450
Boulder SmartRegs Rental Certified

Available March 1. If interested, contact Walt and he'll put you in touch with me.

A little tip...


If your wife is pregnant, and riding the trainer isn't comfortable anymore, even with a stem extender - this is a great solution. It does make it a little bit weird to shift, though!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Waltworks in Architect magazine

Fuentes is a huge poser (warning: do not follow the link if you're on a slow connection.)

Dirtbag 2012

First, a warning. This is not a true "dirtbag" build. Some parts (notably fork, wheels) are actually quite nice and you could cut several hundred dollars off just by changing them out (or going rigid). But I figure if you're spending 4 figures on a frame, spending <$200 on a suspension fork doesn't make a ton of sense. You might disagree, and that's fine - you can come up with your own dirtbag build.

Dirtbag Build 2012

Frame: Waltworks Custom and Johnny Cash black PC ($900 more for full suspension)
Fork: Rockshox Reba RL
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Stem: Kalloy Ultralite
Handlebar: Truvativ aluminum flat
Brake levers: FR-5
Shifters: X-7
Front derailleur: XT direct mount
Rear derailleur: X-7
Chain: PC1031
Cassette: PG1050
Crankset: Shimano Deore w/BB
Seatpost: Kalloy
Brakes: Avid BB-7
Wheelset: ZTR hubs/any Stan's rim
Tubes: Tubeless goop
Tires: Nanoraptor steel bead
Grips/tape: WCS
Saddle: Speed V comp

Damage: $2500, or maybe as low as $2100 or so if you go cheap on the fork and wheels.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Smart Money 2012

Ok, yesterday was the Dream Build. Most of us aren't about to spend $5-6k on a bike, so today's build is the "smart money" setup - the best stuff that doesn't cost a fortune. This isn't a cheap bike, by any means, but nobody is going to look at it and laugh at you for your 92 gram unpadded carbon fiber saddle, either.

Without further ado:

Frame: Waltworks Custom (we'll assume Johnny Cash black, because "smart" money don't care about color, yo. Add $900 for FS version)
Fork: Fox F100 15mm RLC
Headset: King (black)
Stem: Thomson X4
Handlebar: Easton EC70 or Haven Carbon
Shifters: X-9
Front derailleur: XT or X9 direct mount
Rear derailleur: X-9
Chain: PC1051
Cassette: XT
Crankset: XT
Pedals: None
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Brakes: Magura MT-2
Skewers: Bolt-on rear, front 15mm
Wheelset: 240s hubs/any Stan's rims
Tubes: Quart of Stan's slime
Tires: Ignitor front/rear
Grips/tape: WCS
Saddle: Speed V pro

The Damage: $3500, or $4400 for the FS version.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Dream Build 2012

I've spent almost a whole year looking at other people's fancy bikes and wishing they were mine, so it's about time for a dream-build update for 2012.

Keep in mind that this is all stuff that I would actually buy and use. No Tune, no AX-lightness, nothing hand-polished by blind Germans with organic q-tips. I like light stuff, I like strong stuff, and I like American-made, gosh darn it.

Without further ado:

Frame: WW custom hardtail (for FS frames, add $900)
Fork: Fox F29 taper steerer, 15mm axle (travel is up to you)
Headset: King taper
Stem: Thomson X4, or for the weight weenies, Ritchey WCS 4-axis
Bar: Easton EC70 or Haven Carbon
Shifters: X-9 trigger (or gripshift, hopefully, if the darn things are ever released!)
Front derailleur: XT or X-9 2x direct mount
Rear derailleur: XX medium cage
Chain: PC1091
Cassette: XX 11-32 or 11-36
Cranks: XTR 2x and XTR BB
Seatpost: Thomson Masterpiece
Brakes: Magura MT-6 w/Storm SL rotors
Skewers: Front included, rear 10mm DT through-bolt
Wheels: Enve XC or AM tubeless rims laced to DT 240 or King hubs
Tubes: None, 1 qt of Stan's goop, baby!
Tires: Maxxis Ikon, Ardent, Ignitor, or any combo you like
Grips: Ritchey WCS foam
Saddle: WTB Speed V ti

The good news? That's a ~21# bike (or less, if it's a 650b or 26er - this assumes 29" wheels) that will actually handle most anything you can throw at it. The bad? It'll set you back a cool $5600 (or $6500 for the full suspension version).

I'll do the SS, smart-money, and dirtbag 2012 builds over the next week or so, so stay tuned if you're looking for something configured a little more affordably.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Go Ned!


I didn't even know he was doing the race, but my old college buddy and riding partner (both motorized and non, I'll let you guess who was better at which...) from back in the day, Ned Suesse, finished as the the #1 American at the Dakar Rally!

You can check out some blog entries of his about the race here, if you're into the moto/enduro thing. Nice job Ned!!!

More links:
Pictures at Boston.com
Video from Ned (not of the race, though)
REALLY long thread on Adventurerider

Friday, January 13, 2012

The end of the CDTA

I just got an email (read it here) from the Continental Divide Trail Alliance that says they are ceasing operations, which is a shame, since the CDT is IMO potentially the coolest trail in the United States.

I do wonder how well the organization was run, though. Despite getting lots of pleas for donations and literature from the CDTA, I never really felt that I was connected to the trail in any way - partially because it's not clear to me where the trail even *goes* exactly in Colorado. I know the general gist of it, but when I hear "CDT" I don't think of any specific sections that I love or hate, or parts that I hope will be constructed soon. It seems to me that the CDTA did a pretty poor job making the trail relevant to the people who live near/on it, and without local support, it's hard to make something so long and involved into a concrete reality.

In contrast, when you mention the Colorado Trail, most mountain bikers eyes will light up (even many who don't live in the state). Everyone's got a favorite section (and least favorite) and the route is well marked and pretty well maintained as well. The trail joins destinations that people actually want to go to (Denver-Durango, with stops in the South Platte, Breck, Salida, etc) Maybe that's a function of A) the shorter distance) and B) the much higher population densities in CO as compared to WY, MT, and NM. Or maybe the CDT needed to be less about following the actual continental divide and more about linking locations that make good travel destinations, while sticking with the general north-south theme.

In any case, it's sad to see the organization die, but with the growing popularity of outdoor sports in general, and mountain biking in particular, I think the momentum still exists to improve and connect the sections of the trail that exist. Only time will tell.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Stay off the D*$% trails!

This was really upsetting to me - the Valmont bike park has to be closed to the public because of damage to the trails caused by people riding/running/etc on them in the wet/snow/mud.

Here's the thing (and I see this all the time at lots of other parks and trails as well) - in Colorado, if the soil is wet, being on the trails is going to trash them. Going around the muddy bits (always popular as well) will also trash them. And usually, your drivetrain and brakes will get mangled pretty well in the process.

So it baffles me when I see cars with bikes turning into the Marshall Mesa parking lot on a sunny 55 degree day after a big snowstorm, when everyone with half a brain is out for a road ride. Why does anyone think that riding in slush and mud is a good idea?

Feh. At this point, I'm all for closing any trail that's muddy, and handing out $500 tickets (or maybe impounding bikes?) for violations. At the rate things are going, there won't be anything but rutted-out triple-track to ride around here after the winter mud morons get done with it.

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Silly bike of the week!

Check it out - meet your $5600 townie!

To be fair, this looks like a nice bike, and I'm sure it would be a blast to ride around town on. But the price just makes me laugh - and I especially like that the company has the audacity to charge $750 for an Alfine hub (which retails for something like half that).

No, it doesn't beat the infamous Firefly that BSNYC mocked... at least you can mount fenders. And I'm guessing it's half the price. But it still makes me laugh.

Changing of the guard



It's official now, because the fridge says so. Sarah is the smart one around here.

Friday, January 06, 2012

Guillaume



It's finally finished (I had to call in a favor to get some tire specs, then the holidays interrupted). Here's the rundown for the geeks:
-71/73 head and seat angles
-58cm toptube, 49cm seat tube
-45.5cm chainstays, 305mm BB height
-Set up for 1x use with 170mm rear hub spacing and Paragon low mount dropouts
-Clearance for a Big Fat Larry (110+mm) tire on a 90+mm rim
-About 4.6# (2100g)

This is the first time I've done a 170mm spacing frame (good thing Anvil makes a 172 dummy axle!) as well as by far the largest tire clearance I've ever built for. I can stick my *head* between the stays (should have gotten a picture of that...) I think it'll be a fun bike to bounce around in the snow!

Thursday, January 05, 2012

In which I sell out


For the record:
-Nobody pestered me into this.
-This is actually Walt, and not his evil clone.
-I am aware of my previous statements regarding curvy-swervy tubes and how I think they're silly.
-I await your taunts and cruel japes in the comments.

That said:

I got a tubing roller. Yes, the kind of device you use to make long, smooth curves in things like seat tubes (the main impetus for the purchase), toptubes (gah!) and even twin toptube/seatstays (double gah!)

I thought long and hard about whether I should just build the darn thing (it's basically two plates that sandwich some rollers, with a threaded rod to push down on the drive roller, so not that complex) but the siren song of Harbor Freight was too strong to resist. $150 later (plus about $300 worth of decent rollers to replace the junk HF ones from the good folks at Swag Offroad, I can bend stuff over long radii. In fact, I was excited enough that I curved some .035x1" tube just for fun... which was probably a bit silly, since that tubing has other uses and now I have to order more.

My main use for this will be for 36ers and super short stay 29ers where I need the seat tube out of the way of the tire. Yes, I have been kinking them, but some people hate the look, and I want the option not to have to weld the toptube in to the same spot as the kink in order to reinforce everything.

I actually counted them up, and I have 4 different seat tube-moving techiques:
-Offset the seat tube on the BB shell, or even move it to the downtube.
-Cut/weld the seat tube to kink it.
-Do a cutout on the seat tube.
-And now, curve the seat tube.

Anyhow, if you've got a project in mind that involves curves, I'm now equipped to do it.

I'm also equipped to suffer everyone's mockery for my blatant hypocrisy.

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Reven



Finally done, now that I have seatstays (I apparently need to learn the "order WAY in advance" lesson over and over again when it comes to frame tubing...)

Quick rundown for the curious and bored. Ok, really, you guys are all just bored:
-71.5 HTA, 72 STA
-42cm chainstays (adjusts up to 44cm with the sliders)
-Non suspension corrected, for a 425mm/43mm rake rigid fork
-60cm toptube, 42cm seat tube
-12" BB height
-S-bends, singlespeed specific

Pretty much an "updated for the modern world" version of Reven's old suspension-corrected v-brake singlespeed from 7 or so years ago. Interestingly, the frame is under 4 pounds, which has to be close to a record for me for frames with sliders. Of course, there's no paint on it yet (Reven is going to do something wild, I think).

And yes, the frame is sitting on a pretty beat up changing table that Sarah's brother gave us. Nothing is cooler than posing your frames on an old changing table. I rock.

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Vacation photo



By popular demand. A gold star to the first person to figure out where we went. Your only clue is this photo - perhaps the most awful and terrifying company logo I have ever seen, which I took while we were there.

Edit: Nobody got it, so here's another clue.

Monday, January 02, 2012

I'm baaaaack...


Catching up on email and dealing with all the mail and packages that piled up in my absence - should be fully back at work tomorrow to finish Guillaume and Reven's frames up.

I'm happy to be back in Colorado. Sitting on a beach is fun, but it's not worth the travel headaches. Never again.

Thanks to Eric for the awesome pictures (not of my vacation, sadly).

Happy New Year, everyone!