No baby ... so baby is coming tomorrow

Dr. says the little lady is not growing anymore and is past her due date too far so she's coming out tomorrow unless Sarah goes into labor before that. Wish us luck!

I will probably not be answering emails or phone calls this week, be warned. I'll be slowly working my way back into a regular schedule as we adjust to having 2 kids instead of just one.

Just to keep you all from thinking you'll have to put up with nothing but baby pictures for the next few weeks, here are some pictures Luke sent of his short-stay 29er. And the apparently obligatory beer picture... not cool enough for PBR, eh Luke?

Fonzie says that's not enough thumbs

Still no baby

I am madly packing and shipping stuff so that (hopefully) not too much is hanging over my head for Alice's (yes, we're lame and found out her gender in advance, she's named for my mother) first few weeks of life. But she has not shown any signs of being ready to join us in the real world yet!

Andre forwarded a picture of his *finally* built up (long story short: the wrong tires showed up and delayed things) CX/"gravel grinder" bike.

I'm hoping the next post will be baby pictures...no offense, Andre, but my new baby will be cuter.

Things I want today

-A daughter. Due date tomorrow!

-USA 10, Germany 1. I'll settle for USA 1 Germany 1. Or Germany whatever, USA zero as long as Ghana doesn't get another goal and knock us out.

-A through axle rear end from Ventana. Oh, wait... I have it! Yep, available now in 650b, soon in 29". Not sure if they will do a 26" but I could easily use the 650 parts if you want to go old-school. Extra $100 (axle itself is included with the frame, of course). Wish they'd done postmount, but you can't have everything I suppose.

Getting close to baby time - and a few small items for sale.

I am only doing rides where I can be back at the house within about 10 minutes (so really, just one ride) in case Sarah goes into labor. Doing a little cleanup today and I've got a few things for sale, please email or call if you're interested in anything.

-Thomson Masterpiece 27.2x250mm seatpost. Brand new, never installed or used. Ordered the wrong length for a customer. $70.

-SRAM X7 175mm 2x10 crankset (26/39) with GXP BB. Brand new, never even out of the box. Another ordering screwup! $85

-Red I7 King headset. Brand new. $100.

Edit: Here's a picture of Jude's new 650b frame waiting for some parts from Ventana to get finished up. Gnarly old 29er rear end pressed into service to get pivot positioned only.

Random photos from Mike

Baby imminent. Parents (especially 9 month pregnant mom) tired. 2 year old not comprehending the disaster that is about to befall him. And yet, I am designing bikes. And building bikes. As best I can.

Here are some random photos from Mike to make this post more interesting.

Things are getting hectic... but bikes are still getting built!

Sarah is not particularly enjoying having a stomach that looks like there's a basketball shoved in it, but she's still riding her bike to the bus to go to work - pretty badass!

That being said: we could have a new baby at any moment, basically, with the official due date only 2 weeks off. So if I drop off the radar for a few days - that's what's happening. We will have a steady stream of helpers here for the first month or so so I'll be able to continue working and getting bikes out the door, never fear. You'll be subjected to baby pictures, probably.

Here's a shot of William's replacement 29" freeride frame, done and ready to head to sunny Australia. 40cm effective chainstays and clearance for 2.4, baby... but man, why couldn't I screw something up for someone who lives next door?

A picture of a bike!

And it's a doozy, too! Aaron asked for this, and I delivered. But delivered... what?

Consider, if you will:
-Fixed 29er.
-Non suspension corrected with a curvy fork and curvy toptube to match.
-So compact that I had to build a weird yoke-like seatstay cluster (the idea was to match the fork visually a little bit... not sure I succeeded) to get the tire to clear.

Aaron is a serious dude, so it doesn't even have a way to *mount* a rear brake. He wussed out and let me put a front brake tab on, though.

Geometry for the curious, bored, and criminally insane who might want something similar:
-71.5 HTA, 48mm fork offset, 73mm trail. 62.9cm front center. Twitchy, yo. But fixed, you aren't going to be going *that* fast - so the lower speed handling in the tight stuff is the priority.
-42cm chainstays, clearance for pretty big rubber.
-About 305mm/12" BB height. Aaron's on 170mm cranks so this would normally be on the high side by a smidge - but he's riding *fixed* so pedal clearance matters just a tad more than usual.
-68.5cm/27" standover. Yes, that low. Aaron's not the tallest fellow and when riding fixed... it's good to be able to get off the bike suddenly. Or so I hear. Rumors that I have attempted off-road fixed gear riding and humiliated myself are complete fabrications.
-1 1/8 head tube. Man, these have started to look weird to me. Everyone and their cousin is on tapered.