Looks like the car's going to go over backwards...

We do the weird stuff

I look like I've been hit by a car...

 135 fork with 17.5 offset for a 5" tire?

No problem.

We do the weird stuff.

Anyone for a nice normal road bike? Anyone? 73/73? Nice parallel toptube miters? 23c tire clearance so I don't have to bend every tube on the bike? What's that? You want a full Super Record Group to go with it?

Nope, next project is a boost 148 freeride 27.5... with a ton of cool stuff. Sometimes I'm jealous of folks who get to build $10k roadies all day... but man, you gotta love having something weird and new to take on every day.

Aaaand... we're out.

And just in time. Ugh. It's supposed to be 114 in St. George this weekend!

For those who are curious, this week was devoted to fulfilling my promise of a wedding tandem to Redcoat and Smoyle, who got married a little over a year ago. Logistics (they live in Switzerland) and inertia kept it from happening until now, but I'm finally (almost) done. Yes, it's coupled to fit in an S&S case.

Bungee cords are crucial when figuring out where to put the couplers to fit into a case...

Note that I will only sell tandems to WW frame owners (ie repeat customers) and UT locals. I am FAR from a tandem expert and in many cases talking to Santana or Davinci is a better plan but I am pretty happy with how this one came out and I'd be comfortable selling you one if you're interested. Cost for a frame will be around $3000 but will depend on details so please call or email for a quote.

I'll try to get one more photo tonight of the finished frame.

We'll be back from VT on the 8th of July, don't expect quick (or any) replies to email/phone until then.

Photography fail

I promised some sort of real bike building post for Monday, but I failed to follow through. So you'll have to settle for a late-night (Sarah is writing grant proposals) effort with some of my worst photography yet.

This is Chris' huge "cross" frame. I used the "airquotes" because he has no intention of doing any racing on it. He described it as a "fun bike". As in, not sure what kind of ride you want to do, just grab the bike and go. Sounds fun to me, but I can't call it that or the weekend warriors (sigh, I'm now one of them) won't cough up their hard-earned money for my bikes...

At WW World HQ, we take "fun" seriously. Apparently we can't say the same for "composition" or "lighting"

So 'cross bike it is.

Here's the geometry rundown:
-Built for a VERY large rider with very long legs. It's impolite to mention exact numbers here but I'll say that Chris is twice the man I am. Consequently the tubing is pretty beefy - True Temper Supertherm pipes and a 44mm/tapered headtube matched up to a set of NOS tandem chainstays and some BD cargo bike seatstays. Total frame weight, amazingly (at least IMO) is about 5.5 pounds.
-Takes a 31.6 post. No, not so Chris can run a dropper (though that would be hilarious and awesome and due to the fact that he works in the bike industry he'd have no trouble sourcing one). Just so he can run a bit stronger post than 27.2.
-71.5 head and 73 seat angles. Pretty boring numbers there, but she should be pretty stable for most types of "fun" riding (ie gravel, easy singletrack, pavement, farmer's market, work, bar, etc).
-66mm of trail (with a tapered-steerer Enve disc cross fork) and 637mm front center.
-61cm seat tube and 20cm (!!) head tube. Chris runs an amazing 85cm saddle height - so this is actually a *compact* frame at 61cm!
-About a 28cm BB height with 35-40c tires (it'll clear up to about 45, depending on the exact tire, with fenders).
-45cm chainstays.
-Ready for 1x or multiple front chainrings, disc only.

Sounds fun to me, assuming you've got long enough legs to actually jump on.