Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Robert

Ready (well, once it's powdercoated and has things like wheels and a fork) for the GDR, baby!

Here's the breakdown:
-51cm seat tube at 73 degrees. Oversized 31.8 with a stainless top sleeve for the first 2" or so where the post inserts (it takes a 27.2).
-145mm head tube at 70.5 degrees, ready for a tapered Fox 100mm fork.
-63cm effective toptube, 67.8cm front-center, and longish 45cm chainstays for a 112cm wheelbase. We wanted long and stable on this big fellow.
-12.2" BB height, clearance for 2.5" tires, Rohloff hub specific!
-S-bend Deda chainstays (beef!) and some NOS Burly cargo bike seatstays (ditto) that I bent to match.

Robert is a big dude, and he wants reliability over light weight, so the bike is made almost entirely of True Temper Supertherm (BMX) tubing. It's not light - almost 6# with the slider inserts bolted on. But when you're pulling a trailer on the Great Divide - an extra pound of frame weight is probably worthwhile.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Spring Cleaning 2: Looking for a fatbike on short notice?

I built this front triangle and fork more than 6 months ago, but the customer (if you're out there, you know who you are - drop me a line!) wanted to get some measurements for potential minor changes to the rear end. My last contact was 5 months ago, and I'm tired of looking at these sitting in the shop gathering dust.

So, looking for a fatbike? This might be your lucky day - take a look at the basic geometry:
-52cm/20.5" seat tube, center to top
-62cm/24.4" effective toptube
-71 degree head/73 degree seat angles
-143mm head tube, for 1 1/8" steerer
-12.4" BB height
-For 465mm/44mm rake fork (pictured) so that you can swap to a 29er suspension fork in the summer.
-Beefy enough for anyone under 220# (32mm toptube, 38mm downtube)
-100mm BB shell
-Fork has ample clearance (125mm) for any existing tire including the BFL. Rear clearance can be built to whatever spec you want!

Rear end geometry is constrained by the front triangle, but you can still customize things like the chainstay length, tire clearance, rack/fender/etc mounts, dropouts, cable routing, color, etc. If you're willing to play with the angles a little bit, we can also change the BB height to a limited extent.

Bottom line: I'll sell you this (finished) frame and fork for the low, low price of $1000 (plus or minus a few bucks depending on dropout choice) in any color you want. Complete parts packages are available at my usual super-low OEM prices, of course, and I can finish this sucker pretty quickly (I'll burn some midnight oil) - so you won't have to be on the waitlist. The downside, of course, is that it's not really "custom" for you. C'est la vie. My standard warranty will apply, of course.

For the anonymous customer who has disappeared - I hope you're ok. If you drop me a line, let's get this finished *for you*, eh?

And yes, this would be sort of close to fitting me, so if I don't get any takers, maybe I'll end up being a fatbike owner after all...

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Garage sale 2013!

Updated 3/16/13

Non-Framebuilding:

SRAM XX1 170mm GXP Q156 cranks. Got the wrong Q for a customer. Brand new, never installed or ridden. Includes 32t ring. No BB. $180.

Magura MT-2 brakes (front+rear). Used, need a bleed and a new plug/screw for the rear master cylinder. No rotors. $50.

King 1 1/8 gold headset, brand new. $95

Magura MT-2 brakes (front/rear). Used, functional, but need a bleed and a new reservoir screw for the rear lever assembly. $50 for the set.

XTR M985 post mount brake caliper. Brand new. No pads, hoses, etc, just the caliper. It's a rear. $25.

XTR M970 crankset. 175mm. Used and beat up, but mechanically perfect. Includes a smooth Shimano BB and extractor tool. $100.


FREE STUFF!

-"3-finger" hydro guides (steel). I have a big bag of these, please take them.

Framebuilding:

-Reynolds 953 stainless mountain bike chainstays. These are round/ovalish/round and single taper, 22.2x440, "cranked" (bent) to 10 degrees. Not sure if they are still made. $40.

-True Temper HOXPLAT05 (7/4/7 28.6 toptube). I've got 9 left. $15 each.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Random picture submissions!

From James, Reven, and Pat. Pat's frame makes those 29" wheels look tiny!

I'm not sure what the idea is with Reven's snake - maybe she will share details with me to pass on. And James' bike apparently hates it's life so much that it's trying to hang itself...




Monday, February 20, 2012

An Awesome Race in Pisgah

From my good pal Eric Wever:

Here's the story: Jeff Papenfus (local racer/race promoter/all around nice guy, pictured above) completed the Leadville 100 last year and came home to North Carolina with an idea, to run a similar race here. He asked if he would be stepping on my toes by doing so. I said no because my races are all 'single sport adventure races' and not the conventional chase the arrows type. I gave him all my contacts with the forest service, permit applications, etc. and he was bouncing route ideas off me when he died of a heart attack while riding and training for the Trans North Georgia. Erinna and I decided to run the race in his honor and give all the profits to his widow. So..... Pisgah Productions is proud to announce the Pisgah 111K mountain bike race.


There's not really a better cause than this, folks, and the race sounds completely awesome. Go check it out.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

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!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

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)

Monday, February 13, 2012

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.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

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!

Friday, February 10, 2012

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.

Wednesday, February 08, 2012

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.

Tuesday, February 07, 2012

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.

Sunday, February 05, 2012

Thanks Steve... I think?

I have not yet gone blind, so that's good. Homebrew is always a welcome tip at WW world HQ - as long as you don't poison me.

Seriously, tasty cider. Goes well with an aged gouda. Thanks Steve!

Yes, the counter is filthy.

Saturday, February 04, 2012

Friday, February 03, 2012

Pat's bendy stuff

Pele is not impressed.

Dorkery of the day

And here I thought Little Troy wanted to play basketball all the time. Once again, the Oxford English Dictionary has blown my mind, and set the record straight. He was obviously thinking of the Earl of Rochester.

OED Online Word of the Day

Your word for today is: baller, n.2

baller, n.2
Pronunciation: Brit. /ˈbɔːləː/, U.S. /ˈbɔlər/, /ˈbɑlər/
Etymology: < either ball n.2 or ball v.3 + -er suffix1.
A person who takes part in a ball; spec. (in pl., usually with capital initial) the name given to a group of rakes of the Restoration Court, led by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, and renowned for their dissolute behaviour.
The group is known chiefly through Pepys's Diary: see quot. 1668.
1668 S. Pepys Diary 30 May (1976) IX. 218 Here I first understood‥the meaning of the company that lately were called ‘Ballers’; Harris telling how it was by a meeting of some young blades‥and my Lady Bennet and her ladies; and there dancing naked, and all the roguish things in the world.
1671 H. Savile Let. 26 Jan. in Rochester-Savile Lett. (1941) 31 [Your Lordship] is chosen Generall in this warr betwixt the Ballers & ye farmers, nor shall peace by my consent ever bee made till they grant us our wine and Ds custome free.
1673 Coll. Poems Several Persons (rev. ed.) 108 The Ballers life‥. With dangerous Damsels we dally, [etc.].

1946 Rev. Eng. Stud. 22 341 [Frank Newport and Harry Killigrew] were members of the obscene company of ‘Ballers’, to which Savile, Sedley, Rochester, and others of the Court Wits also belonged.