I assume Matt was arrested for loitering shortly after this picture was taken, but apparently he likes the bike. A nice smart build - X9, King, Stan's, Fox, Thomson. Pretty much what I would use.
Friday, November 04, 2011
Picture from Matt
I assume Matt was arrested for loitering shortly after this picture was taken, but apparently he likes the bike. A nice smart build - X9, King, Stan's, Fox, Thomson. Pretty much what I would use.
Random pictures for Andy
Random photos of Andy's (you guessed it) 29er. He's breaking the bank and going full XTR, so this thing should be pretty sick!
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Extended...
The torture continues - Sarah has an extension to Sunday evening to finish her dissertation.
Expect more posts next week when I no longer have to spend all my time trying to get my wife to eat/sleep/stay sane.
Expect more posts next week when I no longer have to spend all my time trying to get my wife to eat/sleep/stay sane.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Quick picture for Steven
All I have to say is that S&S couplers AND sliding dropouts makes for a heavy frame - but at least you can keep your wallet a little fatter when you fly with your bike. As usual, geometry breakdown:
-Geared or SS
-71* HT, 73.5* ST, 12.2" BB
-Built for 80mm travel or (not pictured) a rigid fork
-Taper-ready
-425-445mm chainstays (adjustable with the sliders)
-Plenty of clearance for any XC-ish tire (ie, 2.4 or smaller will fit)
This is an all-around XC setup for Steven's upcoming trip to Guam, and then to wherever his travels take him after that.
Also, quick announcement: Garro and Dicky won the pop quiz. But it does not seem like either of them wants the fine, fine sleeveless jersey... should I do some modeling to change their minds?
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
1am Pop Quiz!
Sarah is working late, and so am I. At this rate we'll both be vampires by spring...
Quiz: What did I have to do to my bike to get home from the climbing gym tonight?
Hint: I did it within 100 feet of the police station, and if I'd been seen, I probably would have gotten in a bit of trouble.
Hint2: I'm a pretty big dirtbag.
First correct answer wins a free pair of socks or a metro-tacular sleeveless Waltworks jersey (worn a few times but nice and clean. I swear.)
We lose
Councilman Appelbaum pretty much summed it up:
I do not even know where to begin calling out the hypocrisy in Mr. Appelbaum's statements, but I'm almost too angry about the whole process to write coherently, so I'll say this: vote for the BMA/BOA endorsements for City Council.
I expect that a lot of people will throw up their hands at this point and just start poaching trails. I cannot say I blame them, though I don't condone it. CC has made an enemy out of every reasonable mountain biker in Boulder.
Councilman Matt Appelbaum went a step further and said he doesn't want any human access to the property.
"It's not that mountain bikes are the problem," he said. "It's anything that's the problem."
I do not even know where to begin calling out the hypocrisy in Mr. Appelbaum's statements, but I'm almost too angry about the whole process to write coherently, so I'll say this: vote for the BMA/BOA endorsements for City Council.
I expect that a lot of people will throw up their hands at this point and just start poaching trails. I cannot say I blame them, though I don't condone it. CC has made an enemy out of every reasonable mountain biker in Boulder.
Friday, October 21, 2011
From the BMA - City Council Meeting + FREE BEER
City Council Considers Bike Trails On Anemone Hill
This is our last and best opportunity for a close-to-town trail accessible by bike so you can ride to your ride. It would also provide an opportunity to connect a single track loop on Anemone Hill to the trails at Betasso Preserve. We have an opportunity to create an excellent trail experience for EVERYONE, hikers, trail runners, and dog walkers included.
BMA needs YOU and YOUR friends to show up to support BMA's ask Council to approve the OSBT loop trail and the connector:
City Council Chambers
Broadway and Canyon
Tuesday, October 25 at 6pm
If you cannot show up,email your thoughts to city council (click here).
BMA has some talking points below.
The main point you should convey =
ask Council to approve both the OSBT loop trail and the connector.
City Council We need to thank the City Council for making OSMP take a second look at Anenome Hill and ask that they create a professionally designed, sustainable and fun trail system in this area that will work for hikers, runners, cyclists and equestrians. We need to be positive, logical and thoughtful to these volunteer leaders of our community. It was Council that kept the hope of access in the West TSA alive by instructing OSMP to hire a professional trail designer to do their own evaluation of the area.
What you should know:
OSBT map The Open Space Board of Trustees has approved 4 to 1 a professionally designed loop trail that will
* Manage User Conflict: Separate no-bike trail segments are available for dog walkers, kids, and the elderly who may get spooked by bikes. Directional use is explicitly called for by OSBT. These are the right things to do.
* Protect the Resource: OSBT explicitly calls for on-trail use for everyone on Anenome Hill. Social Trails in the area will be reclaimed and restored. Neighboring property to the north and the south have no human access to provide refugia for the same critters that *could* be affected by a trail on Anemone Hill. We support these environmental values of our open space lands.
* Provide a Positive Recreation Experience: The OSBT recommended loop provides a 45 minute loop ride through a forest for bikes who have no place else to go w/o getting in a car or riding on paths and roads for long distances. It provides alternate routes for hikers, equestrians, and others. It has beautiful views of the city and the continental divide. This trail will be a valuable recreational asset for the citizens of Boulder.
Sounds perfect, right? Sadly, there's a catch.
Staff recommendation OSMP Staff recommended ONLY a connector trail to Four Mile Canyon only and doesn't want the OSBT approved loop at all. They want Council to approve a loop loaded up with switchbacks that would exclude bikes from the user mix. There's plenty of reasons to believe this is a BAD idea.
* The Four Mile Connector would coincide with the OSMP switchback loop trail for about 25% of it's length. Bikes, hikers and equestrians going both directions on this trail segment would be a user conflict nightmare.
* The link trail would serve stronger, faster, long-distance riders, but not the families of Boulder or the quick after work ride that keeps us all sane after a hard day in a cubicle.
* Perceived crowding and bike on bike user conflict will be significant on the connector.... you'll see everyone on your way out and once again on your way back. This will reduce the quality of the recreation experience significantly.
BMA believes we should combine the OSBT Loop with the Four Mile Connector...this is why:
* Cyclists are a responsible user group - in 2011 alone we've contributed over 2400 hours in volunteer bike patrolling and 2000 volunteer hours doing trail work. We've proven mountain bikers can help make this opportunity successful.
* We know how to manage our own user group - and providing the diversity of experiences people are looking for through both the OSBT loop and the Four Mile Connector provides the greatest value to our community for the least impact on other trail users and the environment.
* These trails link in to our existing multi-modal transportation network (e.g., the Boulder Creek Path), allowing us to ride to our ride, be it short or long.
* There are some 100 miles of hiker-only trail available in the West TSA - we're only asking for a handful of miles to accomplish these important objectives.
* Both trails are critical for our long term vision of a "peaks-to-plains" trail that allows you to go from Nederland to Boulder by bicycle. Right now city open space forms a brick wall that forces us onto roads when we want a long distance adventure.
* Having both trails serves the families, children, and casual riders of Boulder as well as the uber-atheletes of Boulder.
o The OSBT loop provides an excellent recreation experience for people who live in Boulder and don't want to get into their cars and drive to a trail head.
o Stronger riders will be less likely to do laps. If they've got the time and energy, they can take the connector to Betasso for a longer and more remote trail experience.
o This area is bordered to the north by Sunshine Canyon and to the south by Boulder Canyon... no temptation for cyclists to ride where they shouldn't.
o This trail sits next to the core of Boulder. Whether it be from your front door or from your office downtown, cyclists will warm up on the way to the trailhead (no driving to the trailhead!) and get that 45 to 90 minute experience that is missing from the trail offerings in Boulder now
The OSBT loop with the Four Mile Connector provides the greatest management flexibility and the best trail experience for all users. It reduces or eliminates user conflict by providing hiker-only trail segments, the possibility of directional travel for bikes, and a connection to leverage this access into Betasso Preserve, thus dispersing use. The entire trail system is 8.2 miles, approximately 6 miles would form a shared-use loop and connector trail, the rest would be hiker-only.
Staff's switchback loop (they call it the "ridge loop") is a poor user experience for everyone. Two way bike traffic on 25% of this trail will increase perceived crowding and user conflict on the trail. Switchbacks are always a management nightmare because of "cutting" caused predominantly by hikers and because of conflict caused by limited sightlines between different user groups. OSMP has repeatedly denied or threatened to reduce bike access because of user conflict concerns, so let's not engineer user conflict into the system!
SEE YOU THERE!
ALSO (this is Walt) if you want all the brews you want (be reasonable!) ON ME before the meeting, we'll meet up at 4:30 at the Mountain Sun downtown. If you're interested, drop me an email or post a comment. If I don't hear from anyone, I'll just hope to see you at the meeting!
This is our last and best opportunity for a close-to-town trail accessible by bike so you can ride to your ride. It would also provide an opportunity to connect a single track loop on Anemone Hill to the trails at Betasso Preserve. We have an opportunity to create an excellent trail experience for EVERYONE, hikers, trail runners, and dog walkers included.
BMA needs YOU and YOUR friends to show up to support BMA's ask Council to approve the OSBT loop trail and the connector:
City Council Chambers
Broadway and Canyon
Tuesday, October 25 at 6pm
If you cannot show up,email your thoughts to city council (click here).
BMA has some talking points below.
The main point you should convey =
ask Council to approve both the OSBT loop trail and the connector.
City Council We need to thank the City Council for making OSMP take a second look at Anenome Hill and ask that they create a professionally designed, sustainable and fun trail system in this area that will work for hikers, runners, cyclists and equestrians. We need to be positive, logical and thoughtful to these volunteer leaders of our community. It was Council that kept the hope of access in the West TSA alive by instructing OSMP to hire a professional trail designer to do their own evaluation of the area.
What you should know:
OSBT map The Open Space Board of Trustees has approved 4 to 1 a professionally designed loop trail that will
* Manage User Conflict: Separate no-bike trail segments are available for dog walkers, kids, and the elderly who may get spooked by bikes. Directional use is explicitly called for by OSBT. These are the right things to do.
* Protect the Resource: OSBT explicitly calls for on-trail use for everyone on Anenome Hill. Social Trails in the area will be reclaimed and restored. Neighboring property to the north and the south have no human access to provide refugia for the same critters that *could* be affected by a trail on Anemone Hill. We support these environmental values of our open space lands.
* Provide a Positive Recreation Experience: The OSBT recommended loop provides a 45 minute loop ride through a forest for bikes who have no place else to go w/o getting in a car or riding on paths and roads for long distances. It provides alternate routes for hikers, equestrians, and others. It has beautiful views of the city and the continental divide. This trail will be a valuable recreational asset for the citizens of Boulder.
Sounds perfect, right? Sadly, there's a catch.
Staff recommendation OSMP Staff recommended ONLY a connector trail to Four Mile Canyon only and doesn't want the OSBT approved loop at all. They want Council to approve a loop loaded up with switchbacks that would exclude bikes from the user mix. There's plenty of reasons to believe this is a BAD idea.
* The Four Mile Connector would coincide with the OSMP switchback loop trail for about 25% of it's length. Bikes, hikers and equestrians going both directions on this trail segment would be a user conflict nightmare.
* The link trail would serve stronger, faster, long-distance riders, but not the families of Boulder or the quick after work ride that keeps us all sane after a hard day in a cubicle.
* Perceived crowding and bike on bike user conflict will be significant on the connector.... you'll see everyone on your way out and once again on your way back. This will reduce the quality of the recreation experience significantly.
BMA believes we should combine the OSBT Loop with the Four Mile Connector...this is why:
* Cyclists are a responsible user group - in 2011 alone we've contributed over 2400 hours in volunteer bike patrolling and 2000 volunteer hours doing trail work. We've proven mountain bikers can help make this opportunity successful.
* We know how to manage our own user group - and providing the diversity of experiences people are looking for through both the OSBT loop and the Four Mile Connector provides the greatest value to our community for the least impact on other trail users and the environment.
* These trails link in to our existing multi-modal transportation network (e.g., the Boulder Creek Path), allowing us to ride to our ride, be it short or long.
* There are some 100 miles of hiker-only trail available in the West TSA - we're only asking for a handful of miles to accomplish these important objectives.
* Both trails are critical for our long term vision of a "peaks-to-plains" trail that allows you to go from Nederland to Boulder by bicycle. Right now city open space forms a brick wall that forces us onto roads when we want a long distance adventure.
* Having both trails serves the families, children, and casual riders of Boulder as well as the uber-atheletes of Boulder.
o The OSBT loop provides an excellent recreation experience for people who live in Boulder and don't want to get into their cars and drive to a trail head.
o Stronger riders will be less likely to do laps. If they've got the time and energy, they can take the connector to Betasso for a longer and more remote trail experience.
o This area is bordered to the north by Sunshine Canyon and to the south by Boulder Canyon... no temptation for cyclists to ride where they shouldn't.
o This trail sits next to the core of Boulder. Whether it be from your front door or from your office downtown, cyclists will warm up on the way to the trailhead (no driving to the trailhead!) and get that 45 to 90 minute experience that is missing from the trail offerings in Boulder now
The OSBT loop with the Four Mile Connector provides the greatest management flexibility and the best trail experience for all users. It reduces or eliminates user conflict by providing hiker-only trail segments, the possibility of directional travel for bikes, and a connection to leverage this access into Betasso Preserve, thus dispersing use. The entire trail system is 8.2 miles, approximately 6 miles would form a shared-use loop and connector trail, the rest would be hiker-only.
Staff's switchback loop (they call it the "ridge loop") is a poor user experience for everyone. Two way bike traffic on 25% of this trail will increase perceived crowding and user conflict on the trail. Switchbacks are always a management nightmare because of "cutting" caused predominantly by hikers and because of conflict caused by limited sightlines between different user groups. OSMP has repeatedly denied or threatened to reduce bike access because of user conflict concerns, so let's not engineer user conflict into the system!
SEE YOU THERE!
ALSO (this is Walt) if you want all the brews you want (be reasonable!) ON ME before the meeting, we'll meet up at 4:30 at the Mountain Sun downtown. If you're interested, drop me an email or post a comment. If I don't hear from anyone, I'll just hope to see you at the meeting!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Jon's Frame or... Trogdor the Burninator!
First, if you're somehow not familiar with him, educate yourself on Trogdor. How is this relevant? Well, really, it's not. But if I had built this bike for myself (and, trust me, I wish my legs were shorter, or Jon's were longer, so that I could just steal it from him) I would name it Trogdor. It's crazy, it's over the top, and it's arguably gone way beyond any semblance of good judgement.
Here were the goals for this bike:
-29" wheels
-Shortest possible chainstays
-Ability to run a bashguard and 1x9 or 1x10 drivetrain (no front derailleur)
-Slack/stable steering geometry
-Good standover
Well, I think we got there (apologies for the Craigslist-quality photo - it's dark. I'll try to get a better one in the morning.) Small painting in the background is by my good friend Chris (drop him a line and have him paint your favorite mountain!)-27" standover. Excessive? Probably. But great for, like, throwing tricks, or, um, unplanned dismounts on off-camber terrain. Not that I'm suggesting anything like that would happen.
-400mm effective chainstay length. Yes, that's right. 15.75" It will be a wheelie/manual machine, so much so that it's arguable that it'll be hard to keep the front wheel down when going uphill.
-83mm BB shell for 56mm chainline and clearance for a big 2.4-ish tire.
-Offset dropouts (5mm to the driveside) and 135mm spacing for a straight chainline and no-dish rear wheel.
-69 degree head tube angle, set up for a tapered steerer, 100mm travel fork. Throw a 120mm fork on there and go to 68 HTA if needed.
Are there drawbacks? Sure. Honestly, I'm still not sure if the chainline will allow smooth shifting at the very high and very low range on the cassette (Shimano designs their mountain bike components for ~425mm chainstays). The frame isn't particularly light (it'll probably just barely break 5 pounds when the powdercoat is on), and some folks wouldn't like the wider q-factor on the cranks necessitated by the 83mm BB shell. Oh, and you need a freeride crank to fit, as well as a rear wheel that's been built or re-dished to fit the offset dropouts. 
But for burninating the peasants in their thatched... er, I mean ripping it up on the singletrack, this might be just right. And only Jon will ever know, since the thing is too darn small for me to steal from him. Picture of the housing guide was just because it looked nice, and I usually don't get them to look quite that perfect. The darn things are way thin/light/lacking in thermal mass, so they want to instantly turn into a little ball of molten metal if you throw just a little bit too much heat at them.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Mountain bike trails on Anemone Hill - time to get involved!
Background info: Anemone Hill is just south of Mt. Sanitas. The ridge runs all the way to 4mile Canyon to the West, and would allow access to Betasso, Logan Mill, Sugarloaf, Gold Hill, Switzerland trail. Good stuff. The Boulder Open Space Board of Trustees recently voted to recommend a trail there, and now it's up to us to make sure the city council makes it happen.
Some background:
Daily Camera article about a less-awesome staff proposal (but still more awesome than nothing)
Boulder Mountainbike Alliance info.
So, what can you do?
1. Come down to the BMA Membership party tonight! Join up and get some schwag, renew your existing membership (or join for the first time), and drink beer with other mountain bikers. TONIGHT, 6pm, at Full Cycle on Pearl.
2. Come make your voice heard and your presence felt at the October 25th City Council meeting where this will be discussed. It's at 6pm, at the Municipal building, 1777 Broadway. If you're interested in meeting up beforehand for a drink at the Mountain Sun, you can join me for that (beer on me if you come to the meeting!) too around 5pm.
Some background:
Daily Camera article about a less-awesome staff proposal (but still more awesome than nothing)
Boulder Mountainbike Alliance info.
So, what can you do?
1. Come down to the BMA Membership party tonight! Join up and get some schwag, renew your existing membership (or join for the first time), and drink beer with other mountain bikers. TONIGHT, 6pm, at Full Cycle on Pearl.
2. Come make your voice heard and your presence felt at the October 25th City Council meeting where this will be discussed. It's at 6pm, at the Municipal building, 1777 Broadway. If you're interested in meeting up beforehand for a drink at the Mountain Sun, you can join me for that (beer on me if you come to the meeting!) too around 5pm.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Sunday Rant: Sponsorships
Wu and Todd and I went for a nice ride this morning and among the varied subjects that came up was sponsorship - we've both gotten some hilarious sponsorship proposals due to the fact that we own (incredibly small) bike companies.
So, here's my rant.
-Sponsorships are about selling bikes. You might be pretty fast, you might think you're pretty cool, but can you sell bikes? Do you go to a race, get on the podium, and go straight home, in order to rest so that you can train more? If so, you might be a good rider to sponsor - in about a decade, assuming you start winning World Cups or something where someone other than your bros will notice what bike you're riding. On the other hand, if you're a lady who is SLOW AS DIRT who is at the trail building day, has a cool and interesting blog or website, hangs out with all the other racers at the BBQ, can and will put down a cold one if it's handed to you at the top of Kebler, and stick around after your race is over to cheer for the juniors and talk to their parents - you might actually sell a bike. Speed is frosting on the cake, but honestly, fast people are a dime a dozen. Bike racers tend to be pretty one-dimensional - your job is to be the one that stands out even if you're not winning the race.
-Figure out if you actually want to represent a product before you ask for it. I've been sponsored by a ton of companies in the past (and, um, zero now) and I honestly can't even remember what products I used or whether I even ever tried to promote their stuff. I know (because I was one) the neo-pros are mostly just looking for free schwag - from *anyone* - your job if you're looking for a sponsorship is to convince me that you actually like my company. Form letters are NOT a good way to do this!
-Don't ask for the moon. I can't and won't pay all your entry fees or buy you plane tickets. If you deserved those things, you'd already have been offered them by a company orders of magnitude bigger than mine.
-Remember that every 19 year old with a mountain bike (including yours truly) has dreamed of being world champion. You probably won't be. Racing is a blast, but if you let it become your only focus in life, you'll be sorry when you're 35 and turning a wrench so you can pay your share of the rent.
-Be nice. I see "pros" yell at hikers, cut the trail, refuse to yield to other riders, poach illegal stuff in full view of the general public, and generally act like spoiled children. Remember, if your job is to sell bikes, that 45 year old out for his only bike ride of the week, who just had to jump into the bushes to dodge you, is now a lost sale. Stop and say hi on the trail. Yield. Tell the fat lady how cute her hideous pug is. Pick up Gu wrappers. Smile all the time. There are plenty of places far from the madding crowd where you can get your shred on. Marshall Mesa isn't one of them.
I often offer this deal to people seeking a sponsorship: Pay me full price, up front, for a custom frame. For every person who you refer that orders a bike, I'll give you $100 back. Not one person has ever taken me up on it - which I think speaks volumes about the mindset of many "sponsored" riders.
Bonus points for anyone who can 'splain how the image at the top is relevant here. Edit: James figured it out in like 45 seconds. It the Casa Sanchez logo.
So, here's my rant.
-Sponsorships are about selling bikes. You might be pretty fast, you might think you're pretty cool, but can you sell bikes? Do you go to a race, get on the podium, and go straight home, in order to rest so that you can train more? If so, you might be a good rider to sponsor - in about a decade, assuming you start winning World Cups or something where someone other than your bros will notice what bike you're riding. On the other hand, if you're a lady who is SLOW AS DIRT who is at the trail building day, has a cool and interesting blog or website, hangs out with all the other racers at the BBQ, can and will put down a cold one if it's handed to you at the top of Kebler, and stick around after your race is over to cheer for the juniors and talk to their parents - you might actually sell a bike. Speed is frosting on the cake, but honestly, fast people are a dime a dozen. Bike racers tend to be pretty one-dimensional - your job is to be the one that stands out even if you're not winning the race. -Figure out if you actually want to represent a product before you ask for it. I've been sponsored by a ton of companies in the past (and, um, zero now) and I honestly can't even remember what products I used or whether I even ever tried to promote their stuff. I know (because I was one) the neo-pros are mostly just looking for free schwag - from *anyone* - your job if you're looking for a sponsorship is to convince me that you actually like my company. Form letters are NOT a good way to do this!
-Don't ask for the moon. I can't and won't pay all your entry fees or buy you plane tickets. If you deserved those things, you'd already have been offered them by a company orders of magnitude bigger than mine.
-Remember that every 19 year old with a mountain bike (including yours truly) has dreamed of being world champion. You probably won't be. Racing is a blast, but if you let it become your only focus in life, you'll be sorry when you're 35 and turning a wrench so you can pay your share of the rent.
-Be nice. I see "pros" yell at hikers, cut the trail, refuse to yield to other riders, poach illegal stuff in full view of the general public, and generally act like spoiled children. Remember, if your job is to sell bikes, that 45 year old out for his only bike ride of the week, who just had to jump into the bushes to dodge you, is now a lost sale. Stop and say hi on the trail. Yield. Tell the fat lady how cute her hideous pug is. Pick up Gu wrappers. Smile all the time. There are plenty of places far from the madding crowd where you can get your shred on. Marshall Mesa isn't one of them. I often offer this deal to people seeking a sponsorship: Pay me full price, up front, for a custom frame. For every person who you refer that orders a bike, I'll give you $100 back. Not one person has ever taken me up on it - which I think speaks volumes about the mindset of many "sponsored" riders.
Bonus points for anyone who can 'splain how the image at the top is relevant here. Edit: James figured it out in like 45 seconds. It the Casa Sanchez logo.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
A picture from Matt
Happy Saturday, everyone... as usual, I'll be working while Sarah slaves away on her thesis. Only 2 more weeks of this and I can go back to being married/a normal person. Well, at least as much of a normal person as I ever am, anyway.
Matt forwarded this picture of his bike overlooking San Diego (up in the Mission trails area somewhere?).
Friday, October 14, 2011
MTBR poll - 36er tires
I'm involved in a project to get some "real" tires made for 36ers, and we're assessing interest, so if this is something that interests you (ie, if you are a big weirdo) please click on over and vote:
If you're not an MTBR member (ie, you are a big weirdo with a life) you can just post a comment and let me know how many tires you think you'd buy.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Maintain radio silence!
Y'all may have noticed that the blog is pretty slow recently. There's a reason for that - as some of you know, my wife is a huge nerd (who will probably kill me if she ever finds out I posted a link to that bio from 10 years ago). In any case, she is finishing her PhD dissertation (she studies proteins related to telomeres using NMR, among other things).
Why should you care? Well, because while Sarah is in freak-out mode finishing her PhD, yours truly is in cooking/cleaning/nagging Sarah to actually sleep mode. This leaves limited time blogging after work, and hence you can expect less posting until mid-November (the defense!)
Why should you care? Well, because while Sarah is in freak-out mode finishing her PhD, yours truly is in cooking/cleaning/nagging Sarah to actually sleep mode. This leaves limited time blogging after work, and hence you can expect less posting until mid-November (the defense!)
Monday, October 10, 2011
Waltworks on video!
No, it's not a berry picker. Matt made a cool video of some riding in WA. Check it out.
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Interviewed!
I've been interviewed over at Cycloculture, for those who are bored on a Sunday evening.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Congratulations are in order...
...to my good friend and Alchemist head-honcho/errand boy Wu for taking a solid 5th place at 24 hour nats!
...to my sometimes teammate Cameron and long-lost friend Nina for *winning* the mixed duo at the same race! 20 freaking laps!
...to Millertime, for going around the sun 30 times. Keep spinning, dude - it's good for your knees!
...to my sometimes teammate Cameron and long-lost friend Nina for *winning* the mixed duo at the same race! 20 freaking laps!
...to Millertime, for going around the sun 30 times. Keep spinning, dude - it's good for your knees!
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Headshok Part 2
Some of you may remember that, way back when, I used to build frame/fork combos that used the Actiontec suspension systems (a single piston, with the internals inside the steerer/head tube). They weren't the greatest suspension (50-ish mm of not-so-buttery travel) but they did have a big advantage in the customization (any length/rake/style you want!) and weight (~3 pounds) departments.
I stopped building those forks because I had a lot of problems with the bearings (the AT system uses a sort of splined piston with bearings running in the grooves) wearing out their grooves - the forks would develop horrible *angular* play, which was *really* disconcerting. They had to be sent in constantly for rebuilds, and I eventually decided that the hassle was not worth it.
Fast forward a few years and I'm now playing with a slightly different option which I think will work out better - using Cannondale Headshok suspension units with custom lowers to build a custom suspension fork. I did one earlier this year and it went well, but required a lot of extra effort to tear down/cryofit/rebuild the suspension unit. I thought I'd see, with this project (experiment/prototype/dumb idea) if I could build a clamp-on set of lowers that would hold up to serious mountain bike use.
And, to be honest, I think I actually have. The suspension unit here is from an old Fatty Ultra (thanks to Cory for the donated old headshoks that I've been playing with!) which, unfortunately, does not seem to hold air. So for actual testing purposes, I'll need to deal with that. Regardless, I turned down some 1.5 x .120" 4130 on the lathe to make the steerer sleeve (and make a lip for the shock boot to fit over as well), welded a ring into the bottom as a stop, then split it and brazed on 2 beefy M6 pinch bolts. From there, it was just a matter of building a standard (albeit shorter than I'm used to) 29er fork.
I did manage to outsmart myself a couple of times and learned a couple of lessons about welding fork blades to split rings, as well as figuring out that boring out a Paragon hooded dropout does NOT work well for a through axle (after some futzing around, the fork now takes a 9mm QR axle instead, c'est la vie) but the end result is still pretty good - a 1400g suspension fork with 80mm of relatively functional (if I can get it to hold air...) travel.
And of course, you can build around any size wheel you want. 650b? No problem. 24"? Sure! 36er? Just wait!
The downsides, though, are numerous. The fork requires an oversized head tube (a 44mm ID one will work, which is nice) and the axle to crown length is quite ridiculous for 80mm of travel - 520mm or so. That's equivalent to a 120mm travel Fox, for example, and it means that these things are really only practical for very tall people who want something really light without much travel. Pretty limited group, there. And of course, acquiring the headshok unit to begin with can be tricky. So long story short, I'm not really expecting to sell a lot (or any?) of these, even if I decide this one is a worthy fork. But it was a fun project to build when I was sick on a weekend.
Unfortunately, now I need to build myself a frame to actually ride it...
I stopped building those forks because I had a lot of problems with the bearings (the AT system uses a sort of splined piston with bearings running in the grooves) wearing out their grooves - the forks would develop horrible *angular* play, which was *really* disconcerting. They had to be sent in constantly for rebuilds, and I eventually decided that the hassle was not worth it.
Fast forward a few years and I'm now playing with a slightly different option which I think will work out better - using Cannondale Headshok suspension units with custom lowers to build a custom suspension fork. I did one earlier this year and it went well, but required a lot of extra effort to tear down/cryofit/rebuild the suspension unit. I thought I'd see, with this project (experiment/prototype/dumb idea) if I could build a clamp-on set of lowers that would hold up to serious mountain bike use.
And, to be honest, I think I actually have. The suspension unit here is from an old Fatty Ultra (thanks to Cory for the donated old headshoks that I've been playing with!) which, unfortunately, does not seem to hold air. So for actual testing purposes, I'll need to deal with that. Regardless, I turned down some 1.5 x .120" 4130 on the lathe to make the steerer sleeve (and make a lip for the shock boot to fit over as well), welded a ring into the bottom as a stop, then split it and brazed on 2 beefy M6 pinch bolts. From there, it was just a matter of building a standard (albeit shorter than I'm used to) 29er fork.
I did manage to outsmart myself a couple of times and learned a couple of lessons about welding fork blades to split rings, as well as figuring out that boring out a Paragon hooded dropout does NOT work well for a through axle (after some futzing around, the fork now takes a 9mm QR axle instead, c'est la vie) but the end result is still pretty good - a 1400g suspension fork with 80mm of relatively functional (if I can get it to hold air...) travel.
And of course, you can build around any size wheel you want. 650b? No problem. 24"? Sure! 36er? Just wait!
The downsides, though, are numerous. The fork requires an oversized head tube (a 44mm ID one will work, which is nice) and the axle to crown length is quite ridiculous for 80mm of travel - 520mm or so. That's equivalent to a 120mm travel Fox, for example, and it means that these things are really only practical for very tall people who want something really light without much travel. Pretty limited group, there. And of course, acquiring the headshok unit to begin with can be tricky. So long story short, I'm not really expecting to sell a lot (or any?) of these, even if I decide this one is a worthy fork. But it was a fun project to build when I was sick on a weekend.
Unfortunately, now I need to build myself a frame to actually ride it...
Head's up - my phone is dead
And, not the "forgot to charge it" kind of dead. I'm working on getting a new one, but in the meantime, don't be surprised if I don't answer. Email is the best way to get a hold of me until further notice.
Later today: a more interesting post about custom headshoks!
Later today: a more interesting post about custom headshoks!
Friday, September 30, 2011
Fall Garage Sale (AKA, Walt's on antibiotics and can't really work)
Puttering around the house and the shop, I've got the following items for sale (some hard goods, mostly clothes, no pictures, contact me if you have questions). I'll update the list as things sell (or don't).
Don't see what you want? Click on over to the Alchemist/Waltworks team store and buy buy buy!
Hard goods:
Avid Elixir 9 (X.9) brakes. Brand new, 160mm front/rear. $300 for the set (front and rear).
E.13/Hive SSV Singlespeed cranks/bb. Brand new in the box. 175mm, no chainrings. $175, shipping included.
XTR 11-34 9 speed cassette. Brand new. $180 shipped.
XTR 180 and 160mm centerlock rotors. Brand new. $35 each, or $60 for the set, shipping included.
XT M781 front derailleur. 34.9/31.8 clamp-on, dual pull. Brand new. $30.
Clothes:
Womens:
Waltworks shorts: 4 medium. $25 each
Mens:
Waltworks jerseys: 2 small, 1 medium. $35 each
Sleeveless Waltworks/Fuentesdesign jerseys: 1 medium blue/white. $20
Waltworks t-shirt (Alchemist edition) size small. $20
Unisex:
"Nobody cares that your ride a 29er" T-shirts: 1 S.
Don't see what you want? Click on over to the Alchemist/Waltworks team store and buy buy buy!
Hard goods:
Avid Elixir 9 (X.9) brakes. Brand new, 160mm front/rear. $300 for the set (front and rear).
E.13/Hive SSV Singlespeed cranks/bb. Brand new in the box. 175mm, no chainrings. $175, shipping included.
XTR 11-34 9 speed cassette. Brand new. $180 shipped.
XTR 180 and 160mm centerlock rotors. Brand new. $35 each, or $60 for the set, shipping included.
XT M781 front derailleur. 34.9/31.8 clamp-on, dual pull. Brand new. $30.
Clothes:
Womens:
Waltworks shorts: 4 medium. $25 each
Mens:
Waltworks jerseys: 2 small, 1 medium. $35 each
Sleeveless Waltworks/Fuentesdesign jerseys: 1 medium blue/white. $20
Waltworks t-shirt (Alchemist edition) size small. $20
Unisex:
"Nobody cares that your ride a 29er" T-shirts: 1 S.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sicker
My fairly benign cold is rapidly turning into what feels like pneumonia, so if you thought not much work was getting done earlier in the week...
I am going to try to get a few hours in today, but if I feel as crappy as I do right now, even that is unlikely to happen. Apologies to everyone who is patiently waiting.
I am going to try to get a few hours in today, but if I feel as crappy as I do right now, even that is unlikely to happen. Apologies to everyone who is patiently waiting.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Simply Sublime Singlespeed Studio Shots for Stu
Ok, not a studio. Actually a fence. And sublime is a great overstatement of my photography skills.
I'm about as under the weather as I can be (a trip to Costco *in the car* turned out to be all I could handle and then some...) so I did very minimal work today, but I did manage to finish up Stu's frame and fork. A bit of a break from the norm (ie, 29ers) for me - this is a *singlespeed road* frame. In fact, come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever done one before. Track bikes? Sure. Fixies? Yes. But SS road? Nope.
I've only even ridden on the road on a singlespeed once - a Carter Lake ride with Adam and the Avery boys. Man, it was a butt kicking. I had my mountain bike with something like a 48x16, and a little 1.5" slick on the back, but a 2.5 Weirwolf on the front. I sat up like a big skinny sail and threw out just about the biggest draft in history. Then we rolled back to the brewery for stage 2 (the Carter Lake ride is ~70 miles), and they drank me under the table (actually, it only took about a pint at that point).
So, long story short, I have fond memories of my one and only singlespeed road ride. I hope this bike helps Stu create some great memories of his own.
I'm about as under the weather as I can be (a trip to Costco *in the car* turned out to be all I could handle and then some...) so I did very minimal work today, but I did manage to finish up Stu's frame and fork. A bit of a break from the norm (ie, 29ers) for me - this is a *singlespeed road* frame. In fact, come to think of it, I'm not sure I've ever done one before. Track bikes? Sure. Fixies? Yes. But SS road? Nope.
I've only even ridden on the road on a singlespeed once - a Carter Lake ride with Adam and the Avery boys. Man, it was a butt kicking. I had my mountain bike with something like a 48x16, and a little 1.5" slick on the back, but a 2.5 Weirwolf on the front. I sat up like a big skinny sail and threw out just about the biggest draft in history. Then we rolled back to the brewery for stage 2 (the Carter Lake ride is ~70 miles), and they drank me under the table (actually, it only took about a pint at that point).
So, long story short, I have fond memories of my one and only singlespeed road ride. I hope this bike helps Stu create some great memories of his own.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sick... also, anyone for 24 hours of Moab?
I'm coming down with a cold, so work may be slow this week. You've been warned.
Also, anyone need a rider for 24 hours of Moab? My usual buddies all have one excuse or another this year (pansies!) and I'd be psyched to ride with a team of any composition or speed - drop me a line.
Also, anyone need a rider for 24 hours of Moab? My usual buddies all have one excuse or another this year (pansies!) and I'd be psyched to ride with a team of any composition or speed - drop me a line.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
The Waltworks Headshok!
Don't try to order this, yet. It is still very much a prototype - but it does open up the possibility of lightweight 29er (or 36er!) suspension forks, without all the problems of the Actiontec (short travel, poor bearing/piston life, etc). Of course, the difficulty is getting your hands on the actual hydraulic unit/steerer to begin with - in this case Dave found a used one somewhere and had it stripped down in order to cryofit (ie, dunk in liquid N2, then press into the lowers).
Note that I did not make the frame (it's a Cannondale, natch) and I had nothing to do with those flames!
Thanks to Dave for the photos. I'm going to try to find myself an old headshok to play with for a 36er project sometime soon, so if you've got something, drop me a line - maybe we can make a deal.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Bicycles and decision fatigue
First, homework: NYT article on decision fatigue (warning, it's long). Done? Good.
I read this article and immediately thought about how it applies to something I deal with every day - that is, the myriad decisions needed to get a custom bicycle. Setting aside the decision to buy a bike in the first place, there is an awful lot that goes into the frame design (how should the bike fit? How should it handle?) but the parts and compatibility of said parts as well. There are numerous wheel, fork, headset, bottom bracket, and even seatpost standards to choose from - I could go on and on. Not to mention the fact that as the builder, I also have to make decisions about what to recommend, what size/shape of tubes to use, etc.
That's a lot of decisions, and the research seems to suggest a couple of things:
-If you make all of the decisions about the bike at the same time, you'll make good/thoughtful decisions on the early choices, but run out of mental energy to do the same for decisions that are made later in the process.
-Making decisions late in the day or on an empty stomach is probably a dumb idea.
-It's easy to get talked into things the longer you spend on the process, and the more tired/hungry you are, especially if your job requires a lot of the same kind of decisionmaking (and most of y'all reading this are smart cookies, so I'm guessing your jobs require a lot).
Sounds silly, doesn't it? But science isn't always intuitive. Taking that information into account, there are some easy steps that should help you (and me) make good decisions when designing a bike. I'm actually going to try to do this, too, so don't be surprised if I tell you to call back in the morning!
-Do design work/decisionmaking early in the day and/or after rest or a meal. That will mean call me to discuss after a nice breakfast, or at the end of your lunch break - not in the evening or the middle of the afternoon.
-Don't get caught up in minor details at the beginning of the process. If we spend a bunch of time discussing colors, or which height-adjust seatpost is best, that's probably going to detract from the more important decisions, like what combination of seat tube angle/toptube length/stem length will put you in a good position to feel comfortable on the bike, or what trail number/chainstay length/BB height is going to ride the way you want. Here's a quick list I came up with of priorities (comment if you disagree with the order, or have something I forgot to include):
1: Fit - BB/saddle/bar positioning.
2: Handling - positioning of wheels (front center, trail, bb height, chainstay length)
3: Frame rigidity/flexibility/strength - selecting appropriate tubes
4: Dropouts/brazeon configurations and parts compatibility (ie, direct mount derailleur? tapered steerer? through axle?)
5: For complete bikes, parts choices and backup options
6: Colors, decals, misc other details
-Make a list of priorities to discuss a day or two before making any decisions and prioritize them by importance. Then check them off in order and try not to deviate too much from your list. Of course new questions will come up and some will end up out of order, but a list is probably a good idea.
-If a discussion/decisionmaking session is going on longer than about half an hour to 45 minutes, stop and start again the next morning, or after lunch, so that you're refreshed and ready to devote mental energy to the task again. If the process takes several sessions, that's ok.
So, am I crazy to think a custom bike customer can actually end up with a better bike this way? You tell me, I personally think it's worth a shot.
I read this article and immediately thought about how it applies to something I deal with every day - that is, the myriad decisions needed to get a custom bicycle. Setting aside the decision to buy a bike in the first place, there is an awful lot that goes into the frame design (how should the bike fit? How should it handle?) but the parts and compatibility of said parts as well. There are numerous wheel, fork, headset, bottom bracket, and even seatpost standards to choose from - I could go on and on. Not to mention the fact that as the builder, I also have to make decisions about what to recommend, what size/shape of tubes to use, etc.
That's a lot of decisions, and the research seems to suggest a couple of things:
-If you make all of the decisions about the bike at the same time, you'll make good/thoughtful decisions on the early choices, but run out of mental energy to do the same for decisions that are made later in the process.
-Making decisions late in the day or on an empty stomach is probably a dumb idea.
-It's easy to get talked into things the longer you spend on the process, and the more tired/hungry you are, especially if your job requires a lot of the same kind of decisionmaking (and most of y'all reading this are smart cookies, so I'm guessing your jobs require a lot).
Sounds silly, doesn't it? But science isn't always intuitive. Taking that information into account, there are some easy steps that should help you (and me) make good decisions when designing a bike. I'm actually going to try to do this, too, so don't be surprised if I tell you to call back in the morning!
-Do design work/decisionmaking early in the day and/or after rest or a meal. That will mean call me to discuss after a nice breakfast, or at the end of your lunch break - not in the evening or the middle of the afternoon.
-Don't get caught up in minor details at the beginning of the process. If we spend a bunch of time discussing colors, or which height-adjust seatpost is best, that's probably going to detract from the more important decisions, like what combination of seat tube angle/toptube length/stem length will put you in a good position to feel comfortable on the bike, or what trail number/chainstay length/BB height is going to ride the way you want. Here's a quick list I came up with of priorities (comment if you disagree with the order, or have something I forgot to include):
1: Fit - BB/saddle/bar positioning.
2: Handling - positioning of wheels (front center, trail, bb height, chainstay length)
3: Frame rigidity/flexibility/strength - selecting appropriate tubes
4: Dropouts/brazeon configurations and parts compatibility (ie, direct mount derailleur? tapered steerer? through axle?)
5: For complete bikes, parts choices and backup options
6: Colors, decals, misc other details
-Make a list of priorities to discuss a day or two before making any decisions and prioritize them by importance. Then check them off in order and try not to deviate too much from your list. Of course new questions will come up and some will end up out of order, but a list is probably a good idea.
-If a discussion/decisionmaking session is going on longer than about half an hour to 45 minutes, stop and start again the next morning, or after lunch, so that you're refreshed and ready to devote mental energy to the task again. If the process takes several sessions, that's ok.
So, am I crazy to think a custom bike customer can actually end up with a better bike this way? You tell me, I personally think it's worth a shot.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Direct mount 411
This is for the folks out there who are patiently waiting (or not so patiently waiting) for Mark at Paragon to get some more direct mount front derailleur mounts made. In other words, the framebuilders will be more interested than the rest of y'all, probably.
You don't have to wait, folks. In fact, you can very easily make your own mount from some bits of scrap. No special tools (other than normal framebuilder stuff) needed.
First, why use a direct mount front derailleur? I've written about it a bit in the past - suffice to say, if you're building full suspension bikes, short-chainstay bikes, or just want a bit crisper front shifting, direct mounts rock. You can do all kinds of weird and unconventional things with your seat tube, and still run a front derailleur. Good stuff.
Now that I've talked you into it, here's how I make a mount. There are many other ways to do it, you can get as creative as you want (I might note that the front side of the mount is a perfect spot for an always-popular *bottle opener* if you roll that way).
First, get some 1/4" plate. I used some cheap bar stock from the hardware store (some kind of mild steel); you could also use 4130 or whatever else you think is worthwhile. Remember that you've got to thread the derailleur onto this plate with an M6 bolt - so doing a lot thinner than 1/4" is probably a bad idea if you want to keep from stripping things or having the derailleur fall off.
The specs for where to drill/tap your mounting hole are here. You'll want a minimum of 25mm or so worth of edge for the derailleur to mount up to, anything shorter will allow the derailleur to rotate around the bolt and cause problems.
Once you've drilled and tapped your piece of plate, weld or braze an old piece of seatstay/chainstay/whatever to the back side. Make sure the mounting bolt can thread through the hole freely! Now miter to fit your seat tube and put the derailleur in the correct location. This is easy with a mill and a small fixture (if you want a picture of the fixture, post a comment and I'll get one up - I forgot to take any) or alternately it can pretty easily be done by hand. You'll need to do a little bit of trig to figure out what angle to cut the miter at (and how much, if at all, to offset it if you're doing something odd with the seat tube) but if you've gotten this far, you can probably handle that.
To mount the mount to the frame, I use an old piece of aluminum plate, bolted to the bb, with a second bolt to hold the mount in place on the seat tube (no picture, sorry). The only tricky bit here is to make sure you attach the mount parallel to the BB shell face, so that the derailleur will sit straight when you bolt it on.
You don't have to wait, folks. In fact, you can very easily make your own mount from some bits of scrap. No special tools (other than normal framebuilder stuff) needed.
First, why use a direct mount front derailleur? I've written about it a bit in the past - suffice to say, if you're building full suspension bikes, short-chainstay bikes, or just want a bit crisper front shifting, direct mounts rock. You can do all kinds of weird and unconventional things with your seat tube, and still run a front derailleur. Good stuff.
Now that I've talked you into it, here's how I make a mount. There are many other ways to do it, you can get as creative as you want (I might note that the front side of the mount is a perfect spot for an always-popular *bottle opener* if you roll that way).
First, get some 1/4" plate. I used some cheap bar stock from the hardware store (some kind of mild steel); you could also use 4130 or whatever else you think is worthwhile. Remember that you've got to thread the derailleur onto this plate with an M6 bolt - so doing a lot thinner than 1/4" is probably a bad idea if you want to keep from stripping things or having the derailleur fall off. 
The specs for where to drill/tap your mounting hole are here. You'll want a minimum of 25mm or so worth of edge for the derailleur to mount up to, anything shorter will allow the derailleur to rotate around the bolt and cause problems. 
Once you've drilled and tapped your piece of plate, weld or braze an old piece of seatstay/chainstay/whatever to the back side. Make sure the mounting bolt can thread through the hole freely! Now miter to fit your seat tube and put the derailleur in the correct location. This is easy with a mill and a small fixture (if you want a picture of the fixture, post a comment and I'll get one up - I forgot to take any) or alternately it can pretty easily be done by hand. You'll need to do a little bit of trig to figure out what angle to cut the miter at (and how much, if at all, to offset it if you're doing something odd with the seat tube) but if you've gotten this far, you can probably handle that. 
To mount the mount to the frame, I use an old piece of aluminum plate, bolted to the bb, with a second bolt to hold the mount in place on the seat tube (no picture, sorry). The only tricky bit here is to make sure you attach the mount parallel to the BB shell face, so that the derailleur will sit straight when you bolt it on.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Apropos of nothing, a rant
No, it's not a rant related to bikes. Sorry.
Background: Read this article in the NYtimes about a "Mother's War on Germs".
Several things about this article, and this woman's bizarre crusade, strike me as odd and/or wrong.
To whit:
1. Mrs. Carr-Jordan, supposedly a child-development expert (she's a developmental psychology "professor", though it's not clear from the article if she has a PhD) apparently regularly takes her children to fast food restaurants. I'm pretty sure that eating anything that any of the restaurants mentioned serves is quite a bit worse for your child than the bacteria in the play area, but maybe that's just me. What kind of mother regularly buys her kids that kind of crap? Heck, the Times itself just recently published their big takedown on sugar - do you know how much sugar is in just a BUN from one of those places?
2. As someone who isn't familiar with microbiology, it sounds like Carr-Jordan is unaware that there is a LOT of bacteria *everywhere* (in fact, they are by orders of magnitude the dominant form of life on earth by both number and mass). There's quite a bit of evidence that a *lack of exposure* to pathogens as a child can lead to asthma, allergies, and other autoimmune disorders. Yes, some of the stuff kids like to play in/crawl on/eat is pretty gross - but that doesn't mean it's harmful. Both Carr-Jordan and the writer of the article fail miserably to put any kind of context on the findings - someone with little knowledge of science might conclude that play areas that aren't constantly sterilized are unsafe - when in fact that's not true at all.
3. Gross things are not usually dangerous, they're just gross. If Carr-Jordan was presenting this as a simple issue of not wanting the play areas to be disgusting, that would be one thing, but calling it a safety issue (when in fact there is not a shred of evidence presented that it is) is irresponsible.
4. A responsible journalist would have spoken to the folks mentioned at the end of the article (a representative of the CDC and the Maricopa Environmental Services Department) and then dropped the story idea. When you have one nutbar who isn't trained in any relevant science, and a whole slew of scientists and experts who say there's not a problem, publishing an article like this is irresponsible - the Times should hold itself to a higher standard. Kids play areas, whether located inside Chik-Fil-A or anywhere else, have been gross for decades, and we have not seen any epidemics due to them that I'm aware of.
Background: Read this article in the NYtimes about a "Mother's War on Germs".
Several things about this article, and this woman's bizarre crusade, strike me as odd and/or wrong.
To whit:
1. Mrs. Carr-Jordan, supposedly a child-development expert (she's a developmental psychology "professor", though it's not clear from the article if she has a PhD) apparently regularly takes her children to fast food restaurants. I'm pretty sure that eating anything that any of the restaurants mentioned serves is quite a bit worse for your child than the bacteria in the play area, but maybe that's just me. What kind of mother regularly buys her kids that kind of crap? Heck, the Times itself just recently published their big takedown on sugar - do you know how much sugar is in just a BUN from one of those places?
2. As someone who isn't familiar with microbiology, it sounds like Carr-Jordan is unaware that there is a LOT of bacteria *everywhere* (in fact, they are by orders of magnitude the dominant form of life on earth by both number and mass). There's quite a bit of evidence that a *lack of exposure* to pathogens as a child can lead to asthma, allergies, and other autoimmune disorders. Yes, some of the stuff kids like to play in/crawl on/eat is pretty gross - but that doesn't mean it's harmful. Both Carr-Jordan and the writer of the article fail miserably to put any kind of context on the findings - someone with little knowledge of science might conclude that play areas that aren't constantly sterilized are unsafe - when in fact that's not true at all.
3. Gross things are not usually dangerous, they're just gross. If Carr-Jordan was presenting this as a simple issue of not wanting the play areas to be disgusting, that would be one thing, but calling it a safety issue (when in fact there is not a shred of evidence presented that it is) is irresponsible.
4. A responsible journalist would have spoken to the folks mentioned at the end of the article (a representative of the CDC and the Maricopa Environmental Services Department) and then dropped the story idea. When you have one nutbar who isn't trained in any relevant science, and a whole slew of scientists and experts who say there's not a problem, publishing an article like this is irresponsible - the Times should hold itself to a higher standard. Kids play areas, whether located inside Chik-Fil-A or anywhere else, have been gross for decades, and we have not seen any epidemics due to them that I'm aware of.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Quick pictures for David
Just a couple of random ones of the BB area, really. What I had time to snap last night. Note the offset seat tube - good stuff for tire clearance, though in David's case, the stays aren't really goofy short (44cm) anyway.
As an aside, I occasionally get asked NOT to post pictures of someone's frame/fork/bike on the blog. I have no problem with that, but just make sure you inform me beforehand - if I don't hear from you, I'll assume your bike is fair game for pictures, analysis, bad jokes, and possibly mockery of some kind from your friends/the peanut gallery.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Picture for Phil, fork updates
First, a quick picture for Phil. Yep, I was too lazy to pose the frame anywhere more exciting than the top of the recycle bin. C'est la vie.
As usual, I'll do a quick run-through of the geometry for those who are curious:
71/73 angles, built around a Fox 100mm travel fork
59.5cm toptube, 37cm seat tube, 42.5cm (effective) chainstays
30.5cm BB height with 2.1" tires and fork sag
Direct mount front derailleur, built for discs and full gears, etc, etc.
This is basically my standard XC geometry (angle-wise, that is) and yes, it's boring. But boring can be good - this is the geometry that works pretty well for most people on most terrain. Is it what I ride? Not really, but that's not the point. I think Phil will be psyched!
Now, on a less fun note - those folks who have forks on order, or are thinking of ordering a fork (or have a frame/fork combo in the queue)- be aware that I'm all out of my nice OXPLATMSRD-LT steerer tubes, and I've been waiting several months now for True Temper to fill my order for a couple more boxes. That means nothing in some cases - I use a different steerer for bigger and/or abusive riders. But it probably affects at least 80% of the people in line. I can't build any forks for you guys until I get those steerers (well, I can, but they'll have 100g of extra metal sitting there doing nothing useful). Should I have planned ahead better? Probably. But I did make the order *months* in advance, for a pretty popular and widely-used part, so to some extent this is also bad luck.
In any case, I apologize to everyone who is waiting on a fork. I'll do my best to harass TT into getting them to me as quickly as possible.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
I have a problem...
...with tubing deals that are too good to pass up. So I spent about half of the day unpacking $2k worth of tubes. Driver of the delivery truck was amused that I didn't have a loading dock.
Thursday, September 08, 2011
Done with Willie!
Long and low - Willie's got a 24.8" toptube but only 18.5" seat tube and a pretty short (~4") head tube. Why? Ape arms!
It's also got short-ish (425mm) chainstays and a moderately high BB for Willie's long cranks, but plenty of standover.
Non-suspension corrected rigid fork, sliders, singlespeed only - this is a hardcore bike. In fact, probably too hardcore for me, these days. I'm a suspension sissy more and more - though if I lived somewhere a bit less rocky, I might reconsider. Willie also kept it old school by requesting/demanding *single bend* chain and seatstays. Whew! Takes me back to, say, 2008 or so!
Just kidding. Almost everyone wants s-bends these days, though. I almost didn't remember how to do the single bends!
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
I'm baaaack...
Rested and refreshed, ready to do some work.
Random thoughts about the trip:
-Bend is like Boulder without as many people. Which is nice, because it means you can share the trails and not get in constant yelling matches about who has the right of way.
-The only trail worth riding down at Phil's is Ben's. All of the others get boring.
-Mrazek is better to climb than descend.
-It is not safe to ride full speed up Kent's on a weekday after 5pm. And I managed to cover almost 23 miles in 1.5 hours out there... crazy.
-Flagline and South Fork are freaking awesome.
-Having access to an air compressor is really nice when you want to set up your tubeless tires on your travel bike.
-Parilla Grill is in an ideal spot to serve hungry bike riders.
-Master's road nationals is a ridiculous parade of blinged-out road bikes.
-Jumping in the Deschutes after a long ride is freaking heaven.
-Smith Rock inspires me to get my harness back out and sport climb.
Picture courtesy of Brian at Chris King. Thanks man!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Why Waltworks is like the Celtics
Check out this article by everyone's favorite/least favorite geek, Malcolm Gladwell, about owning an NBA team.
Now think about the "psychic value" of being a framebuilder... the money is a lot less, but in some ways, it's the same story for a lot of folks - loving bikes means they'll do it practically for free.
Just thought that was interesting. See y'all in 10 days or so!
Now think about the "psychic value" of being a framebuilder... the money is a lot less, but in some ways, it's the same story for a lot of folks - loving bikes means they'll do it practically for free.
Just thought that was interesting. See y'all in 10 days or so!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
First shot of Willie's fork
...along with a bunch of other forks. Normally I'm not much of a fan of the assembly-line system of building stuff, but I am all out of the steerer tube I use the most of the time (the excellent OXPLATMSRD-LT that I pestered True Temper into making 5 years ago), so I spent the day mitering things up. Not shown are the disc mounts and crown races, but those are all prepped and ready to go too - which means I will have a long day of welding ahead of me when I get back from Bend.
I'll probably do a few posts from Bend, and Sarah is going to be spending some of her time working on finishing writing (due November first!) her doctoral biochemistry thesis, so I'll also have some time to answer emails and do design work (and even order parts for folks).
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011
KVA - the followup (or the postmortem?)
Edited: I decided it wasn't particularly fair of me to say bad things about KVA's tubes, when my experience with them (or any stainless) is very limited. Suffice to say that Chris's cross (Kris Kross?) bike never saw the light of day; I built him an OX Platinum bike instead after having numerous problems with the KVA stuff, and I am not offering bikes made with any form of stainless tubing at this time. There are some great builders out there who work with it and do awesome stuff - if you're excited about that, I encourage you to contact one of them.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
My 15 minutes of fame...
The meeting was, as these things go, a big success. Only about 20 people turned out, but it was something like 18 mountain bikers and 2 grumpy NIMBYs, so for once we had the advantage of numbers.
Long story short, the Open Space Board of Trustees voted to recommend a bike-accessible trail on Anemone hill. This is a really big deal - kudos to everyone who showed up and made their voices heard.
As an aside, I got quoted in the Daily Camera article. And they took out all the "um" and "uh" so that I sound smart!
Long story short, the Open Space Board of Trustees voted to recommend a bike-accessible trail on Anemone hill. This is a really big deal - kudos to everyone who showed up and made their voices heard.
As an aside, I got quoted in the Daily Camera article. And they took out all the "um" and "uh" so that I sound smart!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Miguel's Race Report: Soggy Bottom 100
Why do we have a tendency to script events of our lives? We imagine how an event will occur and then play it out in our minds. Often we forget the details of what would actually take place and just focus on the end result of our script.
Today was a good example of a script that I had written for myself. The goal: win the Soggy Bottom Bike Race. It sounds simple to put these words on paper but in reality the task is much, much, much more difficult. The Soggy Bottom is a 101 mile bike race in Alaska. In actuality it is 108 miles because a section of the race on road is not tallied as part of the actual course distance. In addition I had never ridden the course, had no support crew, which is a huge disadvantage, and the weather could always be unpredictable, which would also favor the local racers.
Going into the first checkpoint (at the top of the first climb up Resurrection Pass) I was in first place but this part of the race does not require much more description than this. Long ago when I was a distance runner a wise man told me that the half marathon was the boy and the full marathon was the man. Needless to say I hadn't even reached the boy stage of the race; essentially the entire race was ahead of me.
On the first of three major downhills I literally took a turn for the worse. This wrong turn resulted in riding an additional three miles and losing about ten places. I basically watched them pass me as I rode in the opposite direction. One of the riders that I passed going the wrong way actually told me that I was going the right way, and this helped continue my misdirection. I was stopped by another first time Soggy Bottom racer from the Yukon who told me that I was going the wrong way. I was defeated. A hundred mile race is difficult enough to race well, let alone win, and here I was riding extra needless mileage when I was supposed to be saving all of my energy to race the actual course. I half heartedly started going the right way, the Yukon rider racing past me and I hobbled with my broken pride to the next checkpoint.
The checkpoint at mile 42 was where the race actually began. The first thing that I asked when rolling into the checkpoint was where the water was. All of the other riders in the race had support so I assume that this was the first time that the race staff had gotten this question. Slowly rolling over to the back of the pickup that served as an aid station I unscrewed my water bottles slowly so that the mud would not spill in and I began to fill up with water while shoving food down my throat. While doing this I heard someone say "where's the water?”
I knew that there was one other person out on course that did not have support - my reason for racing the Soggy Bottom had just rolled into the aid station. Chris and I used to call each other frequently but since he moved to Anchorage a year or so ago the phone calls became less frequent and the possibility to ring his doorbell was no longer available. As with all good friendships that are far apart the things that once held us close; the roadtrips, the epic mountain biking, and the summiting of peaks were now distant memories. But when I heard "where's the water" I smiled knowing that we were now in this together.
We topped off our water bottles and we agreed to work together. Just knowing that we were together I knew that the remaining two climbs and the remaining three descents would be much easier with my compadre. Almost immediately we began catching riders on the ascent back to Resurrection Pass. I could feel that our collective spirits had been raised and we had the possibility of working ourselves back into a podium position.
As I paced Chris up to the top of Resurrection the steady rain began to come down. The only thing keeping me warm at this point was the effort of going uphill. Near the top of the pass Chris took over being the lead rider on trail and I followed him to the next aid station. On this descent the mud on the trail was becoming a factor; our gears began to shift erratically, the braking became more difficult and the traction was becoming more and more slippery. We reached the aid station at mile 72 and as we were shoving food in our mouths people stopped to help us since they realized these mud covered racers before them had no outside support. While we were at the check point the fifth place racer sped off. He had a slight lead on us when we checked out a couple of minutes later.
Again I set the pace up the climb with the intention of getting our podium spots, but unfortunately we did not catch anyone during the climb up to Resurrection for the third and last time. We were at approximately mile 80 in the race and my body was cold, muddy and tired, fighting nausea, basically all around miserable. Even faced with this we knew that the last descent was the only obstacle left in our race.
We put on all the clothes that we had left in our pockets on our bodies and Chris took the lead down the last descent. We knew that this was it, our last chance to fly to that finish line and get a podium spot.
Around the first corner there was a rider with a flat tire - it was the rider who steered me in the wrong direction - the only racer deserving to have a flat tire at the side of the trail out of the entire field that was racing. Moving up to 4th and 5th position gave us new wings down this last descent; well maybe it was this and the red bull/coke that we had just slammed were giving us the winged effect.
We began to take huge risks on the downhill and in reality our frozen fingers could not have effectively stopped us anyway. The trail at this point was flowing like a creek and the mud was quickly sealing up my glasses, jumping into my mouth and flowing freely in the air around me. Chris still had his foot on the gas; we were flying down this descent. Being from Colorado I never ride in the mud, and the two wheel slides into corners were outside of my comfort zone, but seeing Chris do it gave me the belief that I could also do it too. Through the high velocity of our descent Chris told me that he was getting tunnel vision, and I realized that my vision was also starting to tunnel, so naturally I told him to keep pressing the pace.
We caught the 3rd place rider on the final uphill with a great individual effort from the both of us. The final miles of open road were now before us and we could draft off of each other - we knew that no one else would catch us from behind.
We crossed the finish line together, tied for third place. I hurried to the bathroom and I began to think about it while waiting in line: "why do we script the events of our lives before they happen?"
I know that I will always script things before they happen, it's because it’s in my nature and this will likely never change. This race, however, was the rare occasion when reality was better than the script that I had imagined. Although this race was just a day in my life the beginning of the script was written long ago. It evoked the decade of memories that we had shared when we lived in the same city. During this time was when our friendship was forged, the desert single tracks of Utah, the aspen and pine forest trails of Colorado and the rain soaked roads when we crossed the eastern United States together. It was based on two friends riding together, feeding off of each other and racing together - the perfect script.
Today was a good example of a script that I had written for myself. The goal: win the Soggy Bottom Bike Race. It sounds simple to put these words on paper but in reality the task is much, much, much more difficult. The Soggy Bottom is a 101 mile bike race in Alaska. In actuality it is 108 miles because a section of the race on road is not tallied as part of the actual course distance. In addition I had never ridden the course, had no support crew, which is a huge disadvantage, and the weather could always be unpredictable, which would also favor the local racers.
Going into the first checkpoint (at the top of the first climb up Resurrection Pass) I was in first place but this part of the race does not require much more description than this. Long ago when I was a distance runner a wise man told me that the half marathon was the boy and the full marathon was the man. Needless to say I hadn't even reached the boy stage of the race; essentially the entire race was ahead of me.
On the first of three major downhills I literally took a turn for the worse. This wrong turn resulted in riding an additional three miles and losing about ten places. I basically watched them pass me as I rode in the opposite direction. One of the riders that I passed going the wrong way actually told me that I was going the right way, and this helped continue my misdirection. I was stopped by another first time Soggy Bottom racer from the Yukon who told me that I was going the wrong way. I was defeated. A hundred mile race is difficult enough to race well, let alone win, and here I was riding extra needless mileage when I was supposed to be saving all of my energy to race the actual course. I half heartedly started going the right way, the Yukon rider racing past me and I hobbled with my broken pride to the next checkpoint.
The checkpoint at mile 42 was where the race actually began. The first thing that I asked when rolling into the checkpoint was where the water was. All of the other riders in the race had support so I assume that this was the first time that the race staff had gotten this question. Slowly rolling over to the back of the pickup that served as an aid station I unscrewed my water bottles slowly so that the mud would not spill in and I began to fill up with water while shoving food down my throat. While doing this I heard someone say "where's the water?”
I knew that there was one other person out on course that did not have support - my reason for racing the Soggy Bottom had just rolled into the aid station. Chris and I used to call each other frequently but since he moved to Anchorage a year or so ago the phone calls became less frequent and the possibility to ring his doorbell was no longer available. As with all good friendships that are far apart the things that once held us close; the roadtrips, the epic mountain biking, and the summiting of peaks were now distant memories. But when I heard "where's the water" I smiled knowing that we were now in this together.
We topped off our water bottles and we agreed to work together. Just knowing that we were together I knew that the remaining two climbs and the remaining three descents would be much easier with my compadre. Almost immediately we began catching riders on the ascent back to Resurrection Pass. I could feel that our collective spirits had been raised and we had the possibility of working ourselves back into a podium position.
As I paced Chris up to the top of Resurrection the steady rain began to come down. The only thing keeping me warm at this point was the effort of going uphill. Near the top of the pass Chris took over being the lead rider on trail and I followed him to the next aid station. On this descent the mud on the trail was becoming a factor; our gears began to shift erratically, the braking became more difficult and the traction was becoming more and more slippery. We reached the aid station at mile 72 and as we were shoving food in our mouths people stopped to help us since they realized these mud covered racers before them had no outside support. While we were at the check point the fifth place racer sped off. He had a slight lead on us when we checked out a couple of minutes later.
Again I set the pace up the climb with the intention of getting our podium spots, but unfortunately we did not catch anyone during the climb up to Resurrection for the third and last time. We were at approximately mile 80 in the race and my body was cold, muddy and tired, fighting nausea, basically all around miserable. Even faced with this we knew that the last descent was the only obstacle left in our race.
We put on all the clothes that we had left in our pockets on our bodies and Chris took the lead down the last descent. We knew that this was it, our last chance to fly to that finish line and get a podium spot.
Around the first corner there was a rider with a flat tire - it was the rider who steered me in the wrong direction - the only racer deserving to have a flat tire at the side of the trail out of the entire field that was racing. Moving up to 4th and 5th position gave us new wings down this last descent; well maybe it was this and the red bull/coke that we had just slammed were giving us the winged effect.
We began to take huge risks on the downhill and in reality our frozen fingers could not have effectively stopped us anyway. The trail at this point was flowing like a creek and the mud was quickly sealing up my glasses, jumping into my mouth and flowing freely in the air around me. Chris still had his foot on the gas; we were flying down this descent. Being from Colorado I never ride in the mud, and the two wheel slides into corners were outside of my comfort zone, but seeing Chris do it gave me the belief that I could also do it too. Through the high velocity of our descent Chris told me that he was getting tunnel vision, and I realized that my vision was also starting to tunnel, so naturally I told him to keep pressing the pace.
We caught the 3rd place rider on the final uphill with a great individual effort from the both of us. The final miles of open road were now before us and we could draft off of each other - we knew that no one else would catch us from behind.
We crossed the finish line together, tied for third place. I hurried to the bathroom and I began to think about it while waiting in line: "why do we script the events of our lives before they happen?"
I know that I will always script things before they happen, it's because it’s in my nature and this will likely never change. This race, however, was the rare occasion when reality was better than the script that I had imagined. Although this race was just a day in my life the beginning of the script was written long ago. It evoked the decade of memories that we had shared when we lived in the same city. During this time was when our friendship was forged, the desert single tracks of Utah, the aspen and pine forest trails of Colorado and the rain soaked roads when we crossed the eastern United States together. It was based on two friends riding together, feeding off of each other and racing together - the perfect script.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Another chance - maybe, for more trails in Boulder
Time to get involved, folks.
-Click here to email the OSBT and City Council (it's a BMA page, you'll be asked to copy a list of email addresses into your mail client). The BMA has a nice list of talking points to use, but don't just copy and paste.
-Show up at Wednesday's OSBT meeting 8/17 at 6pm at the Utility Maintenance Center, 5050 Pearl Street. City council will meet on this topic on Tuesday, September 6th.
We got completely shut down on the west TSA, but IMO the OSBT is open to considering the Anemone Hill area for some trails (as of now, it's a bunch of rutted out social trails, homeless campsites, and garbage, so if we can't get a trail there, we can't get one anywhere...) So this is well worth your time, even if you're burned out/pissed off about the West TSA.
-Click here to email the OSBT and City Council (it's a BMA page, you'll be asked to copy a list of email addresses into your mail client). The BMA has a nice list of talking points to use, but don't just copy and paste.
-Show up at Wednesday's OSBT meeting 8/17 at 6pm at the Utility Maintenance Center, 5050 Pearl Street. City council will meet on this topic on Tuesday, September 6th.
We got completely shut down on the west TSA, but IMO the OSBT is open to considering the Anemone Hill area for some trails (as of now, it's a bunch of rutted out social trails, homeless campsites, and garbage, so if we can't get a trail there, we can't get one anywhere...) So this is well worth your time, even if you're burned out/pissed off about the West TSA.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Sunday Quick Rant: Mismatched Rims Rule!
Folks, front wheels don't see nearly the kind of heavy loads or abuse that rear wheels do. It's not silly or weird to use different rims on the front and rear of your bike - for example, I run a Crest on the front, and an Arch on the rear on my XC bikes, because that way I don't have to build a new rear wheel every year, and I save some weight on the front wheel. And in my experience, front wheels are basically unkillable unless you run into a tree, or land sideways off a jump, and at that point, ALL front wheels taco, no matter what rim you're on.
You can of course use rims from different manufacturers, beefier rims, whatever. I sell *custom* frames, and with that, you can get a *custom* wheelset - that means mismatched rims are not a problem at all. If your friends give you too much crap about it, just take the stickers off, and nobody will ever know.
You can of course use rims from different manufacturers, beefier rims, whatever. I sell *custom* frames, and with that, you can get a *custom* wheelset - that means mismatched rims are not a problem at all. If your friends give you too much crap about it, just take the stickers off, and nobody will ever know.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Moody Blues... I mean greens?
Obligatory self-deprecating intro: I once attended a Moody Blues concert. And thought it was cool. God I was lame when I was 15.
Sorry. The title was an attempt at a joke, since this bike's owner's surname is Moody. Apparently I am just as lame now.
On to the bike. This is a classic "squeeze a small person onto 29" wheels" XC setup:
-59cm/23.2" toptube
-96mm head tube/39cm seat tube/29" standover
-71/73 angles. I am not a believer in slacking back the head tube angle and steepening the seat tube angle to make a bike appear smaller in terms of effective toptube (size small production 29ers are notorious for this - many of them have LONGER wheelbases than the medium size). You end up with a bike that *fits*, but handles like crap with wheels way too far in front/behind the rider.
-Nice shortish 43cm chainstays, with a direct mount front derailleur mount (though there's no derailleur right now) and 2.3+ tire clearance.
Sorry. The title was an attempt at a joke, since this bike's owner's surname is Moody. Apparently I am just as lame now.
On to the bike. This is a classic "squeeze a small person onto 29" wheels" XC setup:
-59cm/23.2" toptube
-96mm head tube/39cm seat tube/29" standover
-71/73 angles. I am not a believer in slacking back the head tube angle and steepening the seat tube angle to make a bike appear smaller in terms of effective toptube (size small production 29ers are notorious for this - many of them have LONGER wheelbases than the medium size). You end up with a bike that *fits*, but handles like crap with wheels way too far in front/behind the rider.
-Nice shortish 43cm chainstays, with a direct mount front derailleur mount (though there's no derailleur right now) and 2.3+ tire clearance.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Downhill Introspection
Chris emailed me with an interesting question about my old 29er downhill bike (if you don't remember it, you can read about it here):
How would I do a bike today for DH and 29" wheels differently than I did 4 years ago? Given how excited I was about the old one, I was surprised how much it seems totally obsolete to me now:
Hi Chris -
Some stuff I'd do differently:
-Design for 140-160mm fork (the current one is built for a 180, and it's WAY too much fork for me), with a tapered steerer (so 44ID head tube).
-ISCG mount (shoulda done that on mine, but was planning to run a front derailleur).
-Shorter chainstays (probably in the 43cm range?) for more manualing/wheelie fun (currently they're 45cm).
-6" or 6.5" rear travel rather than 7" - once again, too much travel for the way I ride, especially with the big wheels.
-Supertherm throughout (mine is only partially Supertherm, as True Temper did not make it in 29er-friendly configurations back then) to save weight and add some strength.
-31.6 or 30.9 seatpost for Joplin/other height adjust posts. Mine is 27.2, and the GravityDropper is a crappy post, IMO.
-Slacker front end (mine is 69 degrees, I'd probably go 67 or 68, especially if using the Fox34 140 Talas so I could crank it down if/when I wanted it to steer quicker).
-1"/25.4 main pivot axle. Mine is 24mm and it's annoying to do the preload. With the 25.4 I could just drive some 1" star nuts into the (hollow) axle and then use 1" headset end caps instead - lighter and stiffer, and easier to work on.
-135 or 142 maxle, rather than non-threaded 150x12. Lighter, just as stiff, easier to deal with when installing the rear wheel.
That's probably about it, but as you can see, it's a pretty extensive list! If I were doing a light-duty DH setup, I'd probably just use a Ventana rear end modified for 6" travel (I just use a longer stroke shock and longer rocker with a normal rear end) and build around a 140 Talas fork. That would be the ultimate freeride setup - 68 degree HTA that goes to 69.5 with the talas cranked down, tapered, ISCG or even Hammerschmidt...
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
24 hours in the Sage - anyone need a rider or two?
So my friends are all lame, and nobody wants to race the 24 Hours in the Sage with me - anyone need a rider for their team? I'm happy to race until my lungs bleed, or take a lap and then a few beers and party - I can be as serious (or not) as you want. Sarah might be interested too - so if you need another couple to fill out a 4-person mixed team, cool.
If anyone's interested, drop me a line.
If anyone's interested, drop me a line.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Al's 36er, complete!
It almost looks like a trials bike with the in-line seatstays and toptube. Pretty neat looking bike, and hopefully it'll be super fun to ride, too. Interestingly, because it's pretty small (and I've figured some stuff out every time I build one to simplify things) I think this is the lightest 36er frame I've done - about 5.5 pounds (that's mostly due to the fact that it was small enough that I was able to use a butted downtube, rather than straightgauge). Of course, once you add the ~20 pounds of wheels and tires, it's not going to end up being a light bike, so the weight is pretty irrelevant, really.
More congratulations!
To Chris and Aaron, who appear to have finished together at 5:18 in the CTR (who won the sprint, guys?) as well as other folks who gave a great effort (including Kimberly and Jefe) but had to drop out. Nice work everyone!
Also, just to keep you entertained, here is a picture of Martha on her first spin on her new Waltworks 29er. I hope she put a helmet on shortly after the picture was taken...
Saturday, August 06, 2011
Congrats to Eszter!
Yes, she took a DAY off of her old record!!!Now, all you bike industry people out there - don't you think Eszter needs someone to pay her to ride her bike at this point? I mean, the Waltworks sponsorship is great, but seriously - she's one of the best female long-distance mountain bikers *ever*. She writes an awesome blog. She lives in CB and lives the life, she's friendly as all get-out - this is your chance to get in on the ground floor. This girl needs some real sponsors, instead of some guy who builds bikes in a garage. Step up, and drop her a line.
Friday, August 05, 2011
I (heart) Carte Blanche
Unlike some people, Al basically told me to do whatever I thought would work best for his new 36er - so here's the current state of the art (keep in mind, he's 5'10" tall - no huge dude by any means).
-69 degree HTA, 90mm rake fork.
-510mm chainstays, plenty of tire clearance, 83mm BB shell and kinked seat tube.
-Paragon sliders to allow geared/single use.
-1 1/8 head tube - I see no reason to do a tapered setup when the odds of being able to build a tapered rigid fork anytime soon are next to zero. Plus, it's rigid.
-23.8" effective toptube (yes, that's right). Yes, there will be some toe overlap. Acceptable price to pay, IMO - if you're riding super-gnar chundery switchbacks, you should probably not be on this bike. It's for XC.
-33" standover (it's possible to get a little lower, but not a whole lot - once again, you gotta just deal - the darn wheels are just too big to have lots of standover for most folks).
I seem to be doing more and more of these - maybe it's time to start hassling WTB about doing a run of a "real" 36er tire...
Addendum: Feldman points out, quite correctly, that for many people, the state of the art head tube would be a 44mm ID version with an inset/zerostack headset, to get the bars lower. Not a concern for Al, so not necessary in this case, but a great idea for smaller riders who run their bars closer to saddle height.
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