Wednesday, April 30, 2014

That's...

...more like it. Sadly the organization of the tubing makes it not look like I have as much. But now I can actually find things!




Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Sunday Photo - Front Range Fun

Thanks to Lee - and welcome to CO! Fort Collins is a freaking amazing place to be a mountain biker (or a beer snob - man do I miss the CO beer scene now that we're in UT).


Saturday, April 26, 2014

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

At long last: a geometry post!

Interestingly enough, I've had people start asking me *not* to do the shortest possible chainstays they can get. I tallied up the last 6 months or so worth of 29ers and the favorite length seems to be settling in around 420-425mm... which is funny, since that's what every single bike available from about 1990-2003 had. History repeats itself... but is it tragedy or farce this time around with chainstay length?

Yeah, I just dropped Karl Marx on y'all. How do you like me now?

Ok, so back to the topic at hand, which is Jackson's frame. Jackson wanted something that would inspire confidence when *charging* stuff - and didn't care too much if it suffered when ridden slowly or timidly. I have a feeling riding with Jackson is never easy.




So, the vitals:
-68.5 HTA and 98mm of trail. 65.5cm front center. Should be good if you're in attack mode, not so good for spinning slowly up a steep climb.
-60cm toptube
-42.5cm chainstays (or you can use the sliders to go back to 44.5cm)
-For a 120mm fork with a tapered steerer
-Boring 305mm/12" BB height. Jackson's local terrain would normally favor a higher BB but he doesn't like the bikes he has that sit higher so this was as low as I was willing to go.
-Clearance for fattish (2.4) tires if he wants and cable routing for 1x or SS use. Does anyone use front derailleurs anymore?
-Relatively normal XC tubeset. This bike is for hard fast riding but not hucking or taking on the chairlift.

So in short, a bike that likes to be ridden hard and fast. And a HUGE change from what he's used to (relatively steep angle XC bikes with long chainstays), so we'll hope he likes it as much as we both think he will.


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Photo dump for Jackson

Another slack/short 29er checked off the list - this is a fun one and I'll do a geometry post tomorrow if I have time. Still getting settled in in Park City so things are hectic (especially with all the great riding out the back door!)

New shop, not yet a giant mess.

Head tube.

BB cluster

Watch your fingers!

Water bottle boss... probably should have used more flux on the tube here.



Cable guide. TIG is hard with these tiny pieces of sheet metal.

Aspens in the front yard!

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Synergy?

I met this dude Chuck recently, and inexplicably he decided he'd do a nice writeup about me on his blog.

He's a bike nerd, he makes neat custom stuff to order in Park City and hangs out with his kids, rides bikes, and drinks beer. Sorta like me.

So naturally I hate the bastard. Lucky jerk works from his home and lives in a mountain town. Especially since he's multi-talented and can actually work with more than one material - he builds awesome furniture from wood *and* metal. Some of you have seen my pathetic attempts at working with wood. Or plastic. Or, well, anything that isn't a bicycle. I'm ok with canes, I guess.

Anyway, check his stuff out. If you're a PC person and you need something awesome made out of wood, made by an overeducated weirdo who isn't too stuck up to drink PBR, Chuck is probably your guy. He and I are already working on a mutually beneficial trade. 

Modern American Design

Unlike most of my stuff, this is not covered with 2 year old excretions.

Probably too nice for my shabby house. 
Bike content!

Murphy Bed!

Thursday, April 17, 2014

No bike news today - RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I don't know which makes me more sad - that he is dead, or that I actually didn't know he was still alive and was caught by surprise by the news.

I'll pour out a Pisco sour for him (well, pour out a smidge, anyway, that stuff's too good to waste). And maybe resolve to actually sit down and read a book again. Man, kids hurt your reading time bad...

For those folks who couldn't manage 100 years of Solitude and gave up on him - try Love in the Time of Cholera. The first 20 or 30 pages are dense but if you manage that introduction you'll be laughing/crying your ass off.

Monday, April 14, 2014

It sort of surprises me...

That more folks aren't asking for this. Back in the day, EVERYONE who was a rigid SS rider rode the Weirwolf 2.55 tires for their balloony cush - but on the front only, as they were a pretty crap rear tire.

I figured people would be doing the same with the Knards and I'd be building a bunch of rigid forks specifically to fit the big rubber, but I think Minh's is the only one I've built. 100mm axle spacing and 100mm of clearance for the tire, so the blades actually angle outward.

Pulling the chariot might not seem like a job for a 3" front tire... but maybe the commute to preschool is more gnar than we realize.


Thursday, April 10, 2014

Nothing getting done today, folks.

After yesterday was lost to a plumbing stoppage that required professional attention and 4 hours of my time and a 2 year old doctor's appointment.

Today the power is out to a circuit in the house but the breaker didn't trip, plus the daycare is closed because someone has strep. Sooo... nothing will happen today either.

Just FYI. There are many people waiting for many things, and I do apologize. The move is a continuing nightmare thus far.

Edit: Look, bike content. Here's a pic of Andrew's stealthy new 1x CX/dirt/"gravel" bike. Cobbled together poorman's CX1 ftw (literally - huge win on $ and pretty identical function!)



Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Pretty much sums it up...

I see the old chestnut bumper sticker every once in a while on a rusty pickup - "Bad roads, good people". The "dirt road" sign is another favorite.

Thanks to Jason for the photo. The bike has to come back for a new set of chainstays thanks to my tire sizing assumptions not working out quite right (you'd think I'd have learned this lesson by now... sigh), but he's still having fun with her.


Sunday, April 06, 2014

The first Park City frame...

...will belong to Luis. Once I finish the seatstays and it's powdercoated, that is. Things are *almost* back up and running normally, except that I spend 10 minutes searching for a tool or part that I packed somewhere odd about every 5 minutes. Aargh.

New shop needs some help on the lighting front, too! Eventually the ~25 foot tall garage will get lofted and I'll install some big fluorescents, but for now, it's some floodlights way up there (no idea how I'd swap bulbs if they burned out...) and some clip-on lights moved around as needed.


Wednesday, April 02, 2014

Up and running!

Power is on! I am hoping to get a bunch of stuff done on Luis' frame tomorrow.

For folks waiting for stuff from the powdercoater - it's not done yet. They took me at my word that I'd be out of commission for 2 weeks and didn't coat anything. They did loan me a sweet 6' pry bar for moving the milling machine, though!

So bottom line - things should be back to "normal" next week. If you haven't gotten a return phone call or email, expect one soon. Thanks for your patience as we transition away from the smog!