Breakaway back from powder

I think this thing came out really nicely (with the exception of a boo-boo I inadvertently caused on the seat tube, then had to sleeve...doh - Dave is getting some serious free stuff thanks to *that* little blunder...)

-It's shockingly light. The coupling system probably only adds 80g or something - it's really a lot lighter than the S&S coupler system. Easier to put together, too, since you don't need a special coupler wrench.

-The parts are much, much cheaper. I charge $250 for the breakaway setup, as opposed to $500 for the S&S. That's a nice chunk of change.

-I am not a huge fan of the upper sleeve/lug parts, but those are easy to just make here, and the lower coupler has to be modified to be used with a 29er frame, c'est la vie.



Here's a closeup shot of the seat cluster with the coupler. Came out looking pretty decent, I think - unless you are specifically looking for it, you'd never know the downtube is 38mm below the coupler and 35mm above.

Yes, that's my favorite Paula Pezzo saddle from back in the day. Ew. Now it (and the grimy seatpost) are used exclusively to be clamped into the workstand when I'm prepping or assembling frames.

The Stein-flu moves to Moab

He sent this nice picture. We'll miss ya, Matt!

Rumors of my demise...

...have been greatly exaggerated. I've heard from a couple of people recently that I am apparently getting out of the bike business. Not sure how that happened - I can only assume some kind of bizarre internet-fueled game of telephone that went something like this:
Walt: Sarah and I are having a baby, then we are moving to Utah.
MTBR guy 1: Walt's wife has twins and they are converting to Mormonism.
MTBR guy 2: Walt's many wives are all having children and he is going on a mission to Zambia.
MTBR guy 3: Walt has been arrested for polygamy and running a Nigerian internet scam.
MTBR guy 4: Walt's been murdered by his Nigerian love child.
MTBR guy 5: Darn, I wanted to get a bike from him, but I hear he's out of business...

Sorry, folks, you're not getting rid of me that easily (yes, that's me, btw). I will most likely be building *slower* for a while as I deal with these big changes, but I'll keep plugging away building neat frames and forks and also doing repairs and modifications for all your weird old bikes that need to be made compatible with disc brakes, or have dents removed, or get turned into singlespeeds.

I'll have a new shop (most likely one with *heat* and *insulation* ... good lord I've gone soft!) and I am tentatively planning to do what I've always wanted to - which is offer a much more awesome "experience" of getting a custom frame. I imagine it working something like this:
-Do design work with me on the phone/email and finalize everything.
-I order in your parts (or you ship them out if you've already got them)
-Fly to Salt Lake. The airport is #1 for on time flights in the US, and it's super non-congested and easy to get around.
-Rent a hotel room or *possibly* stay in our detached guest house (note that we don't have this yet, but it's fairly likely that we will) for a nominal fee.
-Watch and *maybe* help a little (this will depend on how ham-handed you are, though) as I build your frame. If you're really excited about building one for yourself someday, I can also give a few basic lessons in mitering, tube selection, TIG welding, and brazing. If you want a full-on weeklong framebuilding lesson (one on one) I may offer something like that as well for a few more bucks.
-We'll assemble your frame (unpainted for now) with all your parts and you get to go test ride it on the world class singletrack right out the back door (Bonneville Shoreline Trail is ~3 miles, and the hundreds of miles of Park City/Deer Valley singletrack are a 20 minute drive).
-When the visit is over (you can stay longer than a week if you want to ride more) you'll fly home and I'll disassemble, powdercoat, and then ship your bike to you.
-WW new world headquarters is (tentatively) going to be located a few blocks from 9th and 9th, right near a great bike shop (Contender), tasty restaurants, and the historic Tower theater. Several breweries are an easy bike ride away as well.
-I'll have my fleet of random (ie, you're in luck if they fit you, and not if they don't) bikes available to demo, too, if you want to just go for a ride instead of watching me melt metal.

Pricing is TBD on that whole package, but I'm guessing it'll be in the neighborhood of $2000 for the frame+shop experience+vacation package. You pay for the plane tickets, of course. And if you don't like kids, dogs, beer, or awesome singletrack, it might not be your thing...

Just in time for... spring?

Dave's new fat frame/fork (the sweet, sweet 250g stem is all mine) - just in time for all the snow to melt off (plus Dave's in the throes of finishing his PhD - why is it that I seem to build bikes for so many people who are smarter than me?)



In any case, as usual, a quick geometry breakdown:
-71/73 angles
-62cm toptube, 52cm seat tube, 14.3cm head tube
-12.4" BB height, 45.5cm chainstays
-For a 150x12 maxle rear hub. I actually think a 170mm rear is the way to go in the future, but for the maxle option, this was also a good choice.
-Clearance for 115mm tires (a BFL will fit, depending on the rim a bit)
-Sort-of s-bend stays (only minimal bending could be done to keep the tire clearance we wanted, so it's fairly subtle)
-Rack mounts front and rear.

Yep, it's a fatbike! The fork on this baby is long enough that you can install an 80mm travel 29er fork (and 29er wheels) and it'll do an able job as a "normal" mountain bike as well, if Dave wants to roll without the fatties. I imagine it would look a little silly, but it could be fun.

Thanks Andrea!

Yes, Andrea strikes again.

Rad. I like the little bicycles. Tasty, too.

Cody blows up my ego

Got this email this morning:

Walt,
I wanted to let you know that I am very happy with my frame that you built for me. All the tweaks you made have yielded exactly what I wanted and it rides amazing. The handling is quite different (more stable but turns faster like you said it would) and seems telepathic at times. It is stiff climbing out of the saddle (much more so than my Indy fab) but still compliant like steel is (oddly more so than my Indy Fab). Your fork is confusing!! I never expected it to ride better than my current fork on my IF(their brand) but, it does (way more supple!!). I'm not hitting my heels on the stays either! I can't thank you enough for an awesome experience and a bike that exceeds all my expectations! You definitely know your frame building Walt!!



I included some build pics for your amusement.. Here is a list of what I built it with, as if you were interested! If you have read this far I know you must be high or something!!

- King/crest 32 cross 3 build wheels with weight weenie racing ralph tires.
- Thompson fare.
- White Industries cranks and BB
- Comfy San Marco saddle (yes, its comfortable to me..)
- Edge handle bar
- BB7 brakes (i like simple)
- Paul levers
- What does it weigh you ask.. I have no idea and I don't care, I'll shit the difference and win anyway! Lol!

Beers!!

Don't call it a comeback...because it's only for 6 months

Big news: Sarah was a huge hit, has been offered a job, and... we're moving to Salt Lake. But not for 5 or 6 months.

We loved it there, and even made an offer on a house (sadly, we were outbid, so we're still looking for a place near the U with room for me to build bikes).

Bottom line: in Salt Lake, you can ride your bike on basically any trail you want. You can take your well-behaved dog out on the trails without getting the stinkeye from the rich NIMBYs who drove alone to the trailhead in their giant cars, and the mountains themselves aren't covered with houses and no trespassing signs. The air pollution is a bummer, and we'll miss the bike paths here, but the bottom line is that after visiting, it's really hard to choose Boulder if you like the outdoors.

It's also pretty clear that CU loses badly to UofU in a direct comparison. While CU is raising tuition 15% a year (and giving giant raises to their administrators) and research is being done in crappy 60 year old buildings, the UofU has new, nice facilities designed specifically for the kind of research Sarah does (ie, you can move around without knocking things over, the climate controls work right, sinks are big enough for washing stuff, etc). We were super impressed with the professors and the facilities, and the overall morale of the students and postdocs. CU is great, but on the trajectory they're on now, they're being left behind.

Likely ETA in Salt Lake is mid to late August. I'm hoping the move will be relatively painless. I'm told, weirdly enough, that there is not a single framebuilder in the Salt Lake area, so if you're excited to work with a local guy and live in Salt Lake, get on the waitlist now!

BTW, the picture is of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, which IMO *by itself* (all the locals say they only ride it when all the other trails are snowed in) beats the riding that you can do from town in Boulder.

Random thoughts about Salt Lake City

-Bumpy airplane flight + pregnant wife = no fun. I'm glad it was only an hour!
-Salt Lake is freaking huge!
-The BST is darn cool. Like someone combined our own local Green Mountain with the geology of, say Fruita or something. Favorite "you would never hear this in Boulder" quote: "This is strictly a downhill - it is not recomended riding uphill on the Bobsled. In 2007 a new approach was constructed that is not as steep and rocky, a lot of work was also done in the bottom of the ravine to enable higher speeds." Boo-yah!
-Apparently skateboarding is unknown in Utah. I did not see a single skater or frat boy on a longboard in the entire 2 hours I wandered around the campus. Note that I'm not particularly complaining about that, it just seemed weird.
-The mountains are on the wrong side. Someone should be informed that mountains are supposed to be to the West.

In less than an hour, I will have my first non-Moab Utah food and beer experience... we'll see how it goes.

Random thoughts about Salt Lake City

Off to Salt Lake!

No work this week, folks, I'm in Salt Lake with Sarah. She's getting interviewed for postdocs, I'm scouting the city for houses, trails, climbing, and beer. I think I got the better end of the deal...

I'll check email and feel free to call - but if I don't answer, don't be too surprised. Things are pretty hectic right now!

May you live in interesting times...

It seems that I seldom get to build "normal" bikes. I guess that's to be expected, since I do build custom bikes, but sometimes I wish I was a bearded, wool-knicker wearing lug builder who only did 73/73 road frames. I seem to end up with all the weirdos (no offense, you freaks) who want really unusual and often really cool stuff, and so I end up spending all my time figuring out how to do it.

Witness Dave's bike. You may remember him as the nutbar who wanted me to build him a custom headshok. Apparently that project wasn't weird enough, as he then decided to have me build him a breakaway 29er singlespeed - with a headshok.

Long story short, the headshok got nixed because we couldn't get the bars low enough for Dave's preferences (even with a -20 degree stem!) and we decided to roll with a conventional suspension fork, but the rest of the setup is still pretty odd.

As far as I know, there are no other breakaway 29ers on earth - and I soon figured out why. The lower coupler/hinge clamp assembly is too short to allow a bike with a tall front end/steep downtube angle to fit a seat tube miter (check out the awful picture and you'll get the idea) so I was forced improvise. A lathe, an old BB shell, and a few hours later, the coupler has all the room it needs.





I also had to sacrifice an old Titec seatpost to allow me to clamp the upper seat sleeve/lug assembly together. The lower lug is silver brazed in, and I'm planning to TIG weld the toptube and seatstays - though it's looking like I'll destroy the Ritchey logo in the process... c'est la vie. Should be a fun bike when it's done, and the Ritchey system is both cheaper and lighter than S&S - but there's not much flexibility in terms of tube diameters or butting.

Robert

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Garage sale 2013!

Updated 3/16/13

Non-Framebuilding:

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

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

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

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

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

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


FREE STUFF!

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

Framebuilding:

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

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

Random picture submissions!

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

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

An Awesome Race in Pisgah

From my good pal Eric Wever:

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

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

Bad timing, but... Men of Routesetting 2012!

Why the LT11 guys didn't get this done *before* Valentines Day, I don't know, but the newest edition of the Men of Routesetting calendar is now available. $3, proceeds to the Access fund. A great gift for your GF (or BF), as long as you've got abs like Carlo's!

Sign up for Odin's Revenge!

Yes, 180 miles of gravel in Nebraska. Check it out here:

Odin's Revenge

Here are some Nebraska bike pictures to get you psyched, courtesy of Kyle (who is also the race promoter)

Ian's 29er

Just a quick picture and a few words. This is only the second time I have been asked for a brown frame - but I actually think it looks pretty good. And it certainly won't show dirt as well as, say, white or something.



In any case, quick geometry rundown. Ian lives in Boulder so he rides the same stuff I do, and he wanted something similar to his old 26" Fisher in the handling department, but with 29" wheels and parts that weren't totally trashed from 10 years of abuse.

So:
-71 head tube, 73 seat tube
-61cm (24") effective toptube, 43.8cm (17.2") seat tube
-12.2" bb height, 43cm chainstays (42.5cm effective)
-Extra H20 bosses under the downtube for extra H20 on epics

In short, an all-around XC setup for Boulder. Good stuff, nothing crazy. Ian even took my advice on the mismatched rims (Crest front, Arch EX rear) if you look closely. Ian is supposed to bring his saddle when he comes to pick the bike up, as of now it's a super-light standing-up only race machine!

Also: flat bar with bar ends?!? Haven't seen that in a while.

I lied! Weekend Recipe: Quinoa Risotto

Ok, no bike post. Sorry. Wait, no I'm not. You're not paying me to write this.

Fact: Risotto rules.
Fact: Quinoa rules.
Fact: Making Risotto sort of sucks. All that standing, and mixing, and pouring tiny amounts of broth...ugh.

Solution, make this.

Quinoa Risotto
1c quinoa
4c broth, of whatever kind you like
1c dry sherry
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
5 cloves of garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp nutmeg
A whole bunch of spinach, or other nice veggies
4oz of goat cheese
zest and juice of one lemon

-Get out a big saucepan, and cook up the oil/garlic/pepper flakes for a couple of minutes until things are fragrant.
-Add quinoa (dry) and cook for 1 minute or so.
-Add the sherry, and bring to a boil.
-When the mix is almost dried out, add the broth and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until it's a wet slush and the quinoa isn't crunchy anymore.
-Add all the other ingredients, mix up well (the goat cheese is to make everything creamy and risotto-y), cook for another 5 minutes until the spinach is wilted, and serve!

Jeremy Lin > Kobe

That's really all there is to say. Dang.

Sorry, had to get the yearly basketball post out of the way. Bike stuff tomorrow.

Pictures and words for Cody

I figured if Garro can throw frames in the snow to take pictures of them, so can I, darn it!

Seriously, Cody, don't freak out, it won't hurt anything.

This is a singlespeed, rigid, no-suspension-ever-no-matter-how-much-you-whine XC bike. It's an interesting case (and I'll be very interested to hear how Cody likes it) because of how it compares to his previous frame (not built by me) which he likes pretty well, but I sort of think is not the best design.

So, for reference, here's the old geometry. Keep in mind, Cody's not super tall, rides twisty/tight trails, and likes his setup pretty stiff out of the saddle.

As you can see, the bike has a pretty low trail number (73mm) and shortish front center (63cm). So far, basically so good. I did some tweaks to lengthen the front center and add some trail (71 HTA instead of 72), and we decided to lengthen the head tube as well for a tiny bit more upright position/less need for spacers. Both of those changes were intended to address Cody's feeling that on steep downhill stuff, the bike was a bit scary and he felt like he was potentially headed OTB. So front wheel moves forward, maybe bars go up a little, but not that much. We didn't want TOO long of a front center or high of a trail number, since the majority of the time, the riding won't be on super steep DH.

It's at the rear end that I felt the bike was really odd. 45cm chainstays (that number isn't shown on the drawing, but that's what they are) for a rider whose saddle height is 70cm, riding singlespeed on tight terrain? A wheelbase of 107.3cm? IMO, that's criminally long in this case, so I whacked a full 25mm off of the chainstay length.

The end result is a frame with a bit higher trail number and less tucked-under front wheel that should reduce anxiety a bit in steep terrain. A much shorter overall wheelbase should allow quite a bit better maneuverability on the tight stuff, as well as much easier front wheel lifting and general front-to-back weight shifts (or, if you're either very talented or very stupid or both and showing off in the parking lot/tossing the rear end around a switchback, back-to-front).

Here's the whole set of numbers:
-71 degree HTA, 73 STA
-12.4" BB height, 635mm front center, 82mm trail
-59cm toptube, 45cm seat tube
-Rigid only (didn't get a picture of the fork, doh) and SS only
-105.2cm wheelbase, 42.5cm chainstays (actual, that's 42cm effective)
-S-bends (this was the fallback, I had a hard time with doing segmented stays and bailed to what I know, I'll have to spend some time working on the segmented thing before I sell any to customers) and clearance for a 2.4" tire in the rear/2.5"+ in the front.

Hopefully the end result will handle pretty much all terrain better than the old geometry - we'll find out in a few weeks. Could we have gone even shorter on the rear? Yes, definitely. But Cody does like his existing bike pretty well, so I didn't want to go completely nuts - 25mm shorter is already a huge amount, and at the length we ended up at, life is easy (relatively) for component compatibility and chainring/tire/etc clearance.

Auspicious Announcements - and Upcoming Changes

First off, if you're not on the waitlist or contemplating getting on, this isn't super relevant, and it's not going to be super entertaining, so click back over to Bikesnob now...

Ok.

Item 1: Sarah and I are expecting a baby boy (our first child; code name "The Bean") in mid-April. We will probably be pretty incompetent and sleep deprived for a while.

Item 2: Sarah has completed her biochemistry PhD and is applying for postdoctoral positions at several universities in the mountain west kinda area, but none in Boulder. If she's hired for one of them, which is likely, she'd start in Fall 2012 or thereabouts.

What does this mean? It means a couple of things. I expect to complete the next 8 or 9 frames on the waitlist with no trouble (barring an unexpected early appearance.) After that point, all bets are off for a while. I will certainly attempt to get some work done when we bring The Bean home and start learning how to take care of him, but I am not going to make any hard guarantees.

As of June, things should be back to normal, but by that point, we may also be in the midst of preparing to move to another state for Sarah's postdoc. That will mean *more* potential delays, of course, because I'll be working to build bikes and also preparing to try to get several thousand pounds of tools and parts, along with all our other possessions, moved to our new location (for those who are curious, it will most likely be Salt Lake City, but possibly Fort Collins - or, you never know, we might stay in Boulder).

The bottom line is this: I am not guaranteeing delivery times for new orders right now. My family is very important to me and if you're in a big rush to get a bike or need your frame by a specific date in 2012, you may want to look elsewhere. I may be able to stay on my 1 frame/week schedule, and I will certainly try, but if Sarah and The Bean need my full attention, they will get it and bike work will wait. I will, of course, keep everyone updated on my progress via the waitlist and the blog if for some reason I'm not able to work for any significant period of time.

Thanks Steve... I think?

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

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

Yes, the counter is filthy.

Eszter wins Arrowhead 135!

And in record time, no less! Congrats E!

Pat's bendy stuff

Pele is not impressed.

Dorkery of the day

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

OED Online Word of the Day

Your word for today is: baller, n.2

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

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

From Miguel

Apparently a problem with his suspension fork forced Miguel to put an ancient rigid fork that I made 7 or 8 years ago on his dualie for his Chile trip - and he claims to have liked it!

Welcome to 2005

...that is, if you're Dom Mason. Read through the article - it's hilarious that it's been published in 2012, with these types of 2005-esque quotes (also notice the awesome artsy photo with matching frame decals, t-shirt, and color-coordinated Swatch):

"The 29er is a packaging nightmare. You know exactly where you want to put all the centres and contact points for it to ride right but there are many physical barriers to doing that. Key areas to get right are chainstay length, BB height, stack height and trail. The large wheel size throws up all sorts of problems you just don’t get with a 26in wheel, like front mech, chainring and toe clearance."

"A steep head angle keeps the trail dimension as close to a small-wheeled Maxlight as possible and ensures lively handling."

"I found that by putting a 2.5° radius bend on the base of the seat tube I could increase mech clearance and tyre clearance, and shorten the stays to lighten up the front end."

"We know 29ers are capable of steamrollering trails and going rather fast over the bumpy downhill stuff, so adding a dollop of legendary Maxlight handling into the mix might just lead to a trail destroyer!"

And then, my personal favorite:

"New thinking on geometry and vastly improved suspension forks, wheelsets, tyres, headsets and also the acceptance of 2x10 drivetrains has turned the idea of the big-wheeled bike from an eyebrow raiser into a really exciting new branch on the riding tree. Now it’s worth sitting up and taking notice."

Translation: "Please, please let us on the bandwagon that we apparently missed half a decade ago. We desperately need to make money by selling something popular and we hear 29ers are popular. If everyone was riding 12-inch-wheeled Oscar Meyer weinermobiles, we'd try to make those too."

As a side note, what the heck do 2x10 drivetrains have to do with 29ers suddenly becoming an "exciting new branch on the riding tree"?

Sunday Rant: CU Tuition!

Keep in mind, this isn't personal. I never paid a dime of tuition (scholarships and stipends FTW!) to CU and neither did Sarah.

Still, this DC article distressed me. For those who don't want to read the whole thing:
CU has consistently raised tuition by ~10% a year for at least a decade (this year, the proposal is a 15.7% increase!) At the same time, they have given massive raises to (and hired more) administrators. Ostensibly high administrator pay is necessary to "keep pace" with "peer institutions" (other state flagship universities).

Here's my take: nobody goes to college because the chancellor is awesome. Most college students couldn't name the chancellor, vice chancellor, or even president of CU (nor the board of regents, who make the actual decisions, of course). When you think of awesome CU employees, you think of people like Carl Wieman, or Tom Cech. People who do awesome research, who do great teaching. Not figureheads. Not paper-pushers or bean counters. Do you need paper pushers and bean counters? Of course! Do you need to pay them $389,000 a year? Heck no!

So my proposal - simply make it part of the CU bylaws that no administrator can make more money than the average full-time, active (ie, doing research and teaching) professor. We have freaking NOBEL LAUREATES who make considerably less than some administrators - that's pathetic. No more than 1 administrator per 10 active faculty members, too! When I want to brag to someone about CU, I talk about Carl Wieman, not Bruce Benson or Phil DiStefano. They're glorified paper-pushers at best, but really more like figurehead leeches who seem to continually multiply.

There - a nice simple salary cap. Might be worth applying it to the athletic department as well while we're at it - I love sports, but we don't need coaches who make millions of dollars a year while top-notch teachers and researchers quit to join the private sector because they get paid peanuts.

Here's the other thing - if you actually paid the people who make CU great, cut administrative spending to the bone, and cut tuition, CU would be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. Parents would fight tooth and nail to get their kids a spot here. "Peer" institutions would have no choice but to follow along - or have their best potential students cherrypicked by CU.

Pat's Curvy Seat Tube

No, it's not really necessary. But thanks to me posting pictures of my silly new FS bike, everyone and their cousin wants a curved seat tube. And so I spent a couple of hours this morning cursing a Supertherm 1/7/1x31.8 "seat" tube. Yes, you can curve butted tubes - but only if the center section is thick enough, which this one is. And it needed to be pretty beefy, this frame is a bit of a monster.


Exhibit 1: The downtube is a 44.5mm Supertherm job, so big that it swallows the seat tube miter whole! After trimming the ears down, it just barely can be welded in without looking weird.

The toptube, too, is Supertherm, and the head tube is a big 44mm ID for a tapered steerer fork. All this big beefy tubing almost makes the Deda 30x16mm/1mm wall s-bend chainstays look wimpy (they're not - not at all). The plan is to use some beefcake seatstays too, with rack mounts for adventure touring/Great Divide/etc.


Should be a fun all-around adventure bike. Here's the relevant geometry for curious people:
-70 degree HTA with a 128mm head tube. Built for 100mm travel tapered steerer fork.
-75 actual/73 effective seat tube. 49.5cm/19.5" curved. Neato.
-Clearance for 2.5+" tires.
-44cm chainstays (at the forward-most adjustment of the sliders), 315mm (12.4") bb height.
-Supertherm tubes throughout, way beefy. For a 12x135 Maxle (Paragon sliders).
-S-bends, direct mount front derailleur (not on there yet!), rack mounts, 3 H20 cages, ready to rock for carrying a big load far from civilization.

New FS ride report

Ride reports are inherently kinda dumb - lots of words like "flow" and "flickable" and "plush" that don't really mean much to anyone but the person writing the review.

However, I will say that I'm very happy with my new frame. It indeed rides very quickly both uphill and down, the suspension keeps the wheels stuck to the trail when I'm attempting to get around corners quickly, and I even managed to put a second or two into Steiny (he must have been taking it easy on me) on a *descent* today.

So, thus far, a smashing success. It's easy to get air, it's easy to throw around in corners, but it's pretty good at holding a line on the fast rough stuff too thanks to the slack head tube and big trail number. Exactly what I like for riding around here.

That being said, I've done a single 2 hour ride, which had maybe 5 minutes of downhill singletrack in it. But the curved seat tube did not disintegrate, the bike handles like a dream so far, and nothing even came loose, despite the fact that I assembled the thing in a hurry late at night. Great Success!

"Weekend" Project

This is something I've been dabbling with on and off for months and months, but this weekend, I decided I'd finally finish it. Of course, the "weekend" ended up including a decent amount of Monday, but it's finally (almost) done - my geeked-out FS racer-boy frame.

Yes, I know that as recently as a few years ago I was getting outsprinted at the line on my super-core rigid singlespeed (damn you, Mitch!) Then I graduated to a suspension fork. Lame. Finally, I raced 24 hours of Moab on a full suspension bike that I inherited after DHL did it's best to destroy it... and loved it. The transition to oldness and lameness (let's not forget: slowness) had begun.

And that process culminates here, in my attempt to build/buy back some of the extra weight around my middle. As usual, it probably won't work, but what the heck.

Another reason for building this was that I had an old "superlight" Ventana rear end lying around that it had become clear nobody was ever going to buy from me. So I figured what the heck... I'll do a super light FS bike, and use my new tube bender to make a sweet bent seat tube.

So, here she is. First, geometry:
-69 HTA, effective 73 STA
-60cm/23.2" effective toptube
-48.2cm/19" seat tube, curved like buttah!
-335mm/13.2" unsprung BB height - yes, low
-100mm travel front/rear
-43.3cm/17" chainstays
-108.6cm/42.7" wheelbase (!!!)
-150mm head tube
-1x only right now, I might add a direct mount for a front derailleur at some point (or not, we'll see).

And the kicker... 2625g, or 5.8# (edit: now 2600g/5.7# with machined-down rockers) with the shock and all the hardware. That's by far the lightest FS bike I've ever built - and it's not even small. Nothing crazy with the tubing, either - the seat tube is Supertherm, and the TT and DT are 8/5/8 OX platinum. Should be durable enough for everday riding, albeit not for a huge rider or big hucking craziness.

The geometry is weird, I know. I went super short, and super slack. And the standover, for most people, would be kinda sucky. But for leggy me, it's fine. I did a similar geometry on my 2011 hardtail and loved it - so why not do it with a dualie? Could I easily sell it to someone if I don't like it? Well, no. But that wasn't a major concern.

Before you flip out and email me wanting this frame, or one like it (perhaps with less kooky geometry) keep a couple of things in mind:
-As far as I know, Ventana won't do these superlight rear ends anymore. So add 200g or so for that - meaning that a medium-ish frame would be in the 6.2# range right off the bat.
-Most people would probably want a bigger head tube for a tapered steerer - which will also add some weight. I used a 1mm wall 36mm OD OX platinum tube here, partially because I was geeking out about weight, and partially because I already have a fork to fit and am not fat enough (yet) to feel that I need a tapered steerer.


Here's a quick shot of the bike built up (24.5# with my old junky parts) that I snapped quickly before heading inside to cook up a batch of green chile stew. Ride report soon, assuming the weather holds.

Live 50 feet from WW World HQ!

My neighbor Charlie is renting his place (2 doors down from us):

We are renting our townhouse in East Boulder (Arapahoe and 55th area, across from the golf course). We have had great tenants and would love to find some responsible solid tenants again. Please pass this to anyone you know who may be interested.

East Boulder Townhouse for rent
· Two bedroom, 1050 square feet total
· 1.5 bathroom
· Two-car garage
· Air conditioning
· Washer/Dryer
· New furnace with whole-house humidifier and whole-house fan
· Small backyard with great patio
· Recent improvements include: new bamboo floor, new deck/patio, new island countertop, redone 1/2 bath
· Quiet neighborhood across 55th Street from the Flatirons Golf Course
· Pets allowed
· Rent: $1450
Boulder SmartRegs Rental Certified

Available March 1. If interested, contact Walt and he'll put you in touch with me.

A little tip...

If your wife is pregnant, and riding the trainer isn't comfortable anymore, even with a stem extender - this is a great solution. It does make it a little bit weird to shift, though!

Waltworks in Architect magazine

Fuentes is a huge poser (warning: do not follow the link if you're on a slow connection.)

Dirtbag 2012

First, a warning. This is not a true "dirtbag" build. Some parts (notably fork, wheels) are actually quite nice and you could cut several hundred dollars off just by changing them out (or going rigid). But I figure if you're spending 4 figures on a frame, spending <$200 on a suspension fork doesn't make a ton of sense. You might disagree, and that's fine - you can come up with your own dirtbag build.

Dirtbag Build 2012

Frame: Waltworks Custom and Johnny Cash black PC ($900 more for full suspension)
Fork: Rockshox Reba RL
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Stem: Kalloy Ultralite
Handlebar: Truvativ aluminum flat
Brake levers: FR-5
Shifters: X-7
Front derailleur: XT direct mount
Rear derailleur: X-7
Chain: PC1031
Cassette: PG1050
Crankset: Shimano Deore w/BB
Seatpost: Kalloy
Brakes: Avid BB-7
Wheelset: ZTR hubs/any Stan's rim
Tubes: Tubeless goop
Tires: Nanoraptor steel bead
Grips/tape: WCS
Saddle: Speed V comp

Damage: $2500, or maybe as low as $2100 or so if you go cheap on the fork and wheels.

Smart Money 2012

Ok, yesterday was the Dream Build. Most of us aren't about to spend $5-6k on a bike, so today's build is the "smart money" setup - the best stuff that doesn't cost a fortune. This isn't a cheap bike, by any means, but nobody is going to look at it and laugh at you for your 92 gram unpadded carbon fiber saddle, either.

Without further ado:

Frame: Waltworks Custom (we'll assume Johnny Cash black, because "smart" money don't care about color, yo. Add $900 for FS version)
Fork: Fox F100 15mm RLC
Headset: King (black)
Stem: Thomson X4
Handlebar: Easton EC70 or Haven Carbon
Shifters: X-9
Front derailleur: XT or X9 direct mount
Rear derailleur: X-9
Chain: PC1051
Cassette: XT
Crankset: XT
Pedals: None
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Brakes: Magura MT-2
Skewers: Bolt-on rear, front 15mm
Wheelset: 240s hubs/any Stan's rims
Tubes: Quart of Stan's slime
Tires: Ignitor front/rear
Grips/tape: WCS
Saddle: Speed V pro

The Damage: $3500, or $4400 for the FS version.

Dream Build 2012

I've spent almost a whole year looking at other people's fancy bikes and wishing they were mine, so it's about time for a dream-build update for 2012.

Keep in mind that this is all stuff that I would actually buy and use. No Tune, no AX-lightness, nothing hand-polished by blind Germans with organic q-tips. I like light stuff, I like strong stuff, and I like American-made, gosh darn it.

Without further ado:

Frame: WW custom hardtail (for FS frames, add $900)
Fork: Fox F29 taper steerer, 15mm axle (travel is up to you)
Headset: King taper
Stem: Thomson X4, or for the weight weenies, Ritchey WCS 4-axis
Bar: Easton EC70 or Haven Carbon
Shifters: X-9 trigger (or gripshift, hopefully, if the darn things are ever released!)
Front derailleur: XT or X-9 2x direct mount
Rear derailleur: XX medium cage
Chain: PC1091
Cassette: XX 11-32 or 11-36
Cranks: XTR 2x and XTR BB
Seatpost: Thomson Masterpiece
Brakes: Magura MT-6 w/Storm SL rotors
Skewers: Front included, rear 10mm DT through-bolt
Wheels: Enve XC or AM tubeless rims laced to DT 240 or King hubs
Tubes: None, 1 qt of Stan's goop, baby!
Tires: Maxxis Ikon, Ardent, Ignitor, or any combo you like
Grips: Ritchey WCS foam
Saddle: WTB Speed V ti

The good news? That's a ~21# bike (or less, if it's a 650b or 26er - this assumes 29" wheels) that will actually handle most anything you can throw at it. The bad? It'll set you back a cool $5600 (or $6500 for the full suspension version).

I'll do the SS, smart-money, and dirtbag 2012 builds over the next week or so, so stay tuned if you're looking for something configured a little more affordably.

Go Ned!

I didn't even know he was doing the race, but my old college buddy and riding partner (both motorized and non, I'll let you guess who was better at which...) from back in the day, Ned Suesse, finished as the the #1 American at the Dakar Rally!

You can check out some blog entries of his about the race here, if you're into the moto/enduro thing. Nice job Ned!!!

More links:
Pictures at Boston.com
Video from Ned (not of the race, though)
REALLY long thread on Adventurerider

The end of the CDTA

I just got an email (read it here) from the Continental Divide Trail Alliance that says they are ceasing operations, which is a shame, since the CDT is IMO potentially the coolest trail in the United States.

I do wonder how well the organization was run, though. Despite getting lots of pleas for donations and literature from the CDTA, I never really felt that I was connected to the trail in any way - partially because it's not clear to me where the trail even *goes* exactly in Colorado. I know the general gist of it, but when I hear "CDT" I don't think of any specific sections that I love or hate, or parts that I hope will be constructed soon. It seems to me that the CDTA did a pretty poor job making the trail relevant to the people who live near/on it, and without local support, it's hard to make something so long and involved into a concrete reality.

In contrast, when you mention the Colorado Trail, most mountain bikers eyes will light up (even many who don't live in the state). Everyone's got a favorite section (and least favorite) and the route is well marked and pretty well maintained as well. The trail joins destinations that people actually want to go to (Denver-Durango, with stops in the South Platte, Breck, Salida, etc) Maybe that's a function of A) the shorter distance) and B) the much higher population densities in CO as compared to WY, MT, and NM. Or maybe the CDT needed to be less about following the actual continental divide and more about linking locations that make good travel destinations, while sticking with the general north-south theme.

In any case, it's sad to see the organization die, but with the growing popularity of outdoor sports in general, and mountain biking in particular, I think the momentum still exists to improve and connect the sections of the trail that exist. Only time will tell.

Stay off the D*$% trails!

This was really upsetting to me - the Valmont bike park has to be closed to the public because of damage to the trails caused by people riding/running/etc on them in the wet/snow/mud.

Here's the thing (and I see this all the time at lots of other parks and trails as well) - in Colorado, if the soil is wet, being on the trails is going to trash them. Going around the muddy bits (always popular as well) will also trash them. And usually, your drivetrain and brakes will get mangled pretty well in the process.

So it baffles me when I see cars with bikes turning into the Marshall Mesa parking lot on a sunny 55 degree day after a big snowstorm, when everyone with half a brain is out for a road ride. Why does anyone think that riding in slush and mud is a good idea?

Feh. At this point, I'm all for closing any trail that's muddy, and handing out $500 tickets (or maybe impounding bikes?) for violations. At the rate things are going, there won't be anything but rutted-out triple-track to ride around here after the winter mud morons get done with it.

Silly bike of the week!

Check it out - meet your $5600 townie!

To be fair, this looks like a nice bike, and I'm sure it would be a blast to ride around town on. But the price just makes me laugh - and I especially like that the company has the audacity to charge $750 for an Alfine hub (which retails for something like half that).

No, it doesn't beat the infamous Firefly that BSNYC mocked... at least you can mount fenders. And I'm guessing it's half the price. But it still makes me laugh.

Changing of the guard

It's official now, because the fridge says so. Sarah is the smart one around here.

Guillaume

It's finally finished (I had to call in a favor to get some tire specs, then the holidays interrupted). Here's the rundown for the geeks:
-71/73 head and seat angles
-58cm toptube, 49cm seat tube
-45.5cm chainstays, 305mm BB height
-Set up for 1x use with 170mm rear hub spacing and Paragon low mount dropouts
-Clearance for a Big Fat Larry (110+mm) tire on a 90+mm rim
-About 4.6# (2100g)

This is the first time I've done a 170mm spacing frame (good thing Anvil makes a 172 dummy axle!) as well as by far the largest tire clearance I've ever built for. I can stick my *head* between the stays (should have gotten a picture of that...) I think it'll be a fun bike to bounce around in the snow!

In which I sell out

For the record:
-Nobody pestered me into this.
-This is actually Walt, and not his evil clone.
-I am aware of my previous statements regarding curvy-swervy tubes and how I think they're silly.
-I await your taunts and cruel japes in the comments.

That said:

I got a tubing roller. Yes, the kind of device you use to make long, smooth curves in things like seat tubes (the main impetus for the purchase), toptubes (gah!) and even twin toptube/seatstays (double gah!)

I thought long and hard about whether I should just build the darn thing (it's basically two plates that sandwich some rollers, with a threaded rod to push down on the drive roller, so not that complex) but the siren song of Harbor Freight was too strong to resist. $150 later (plus about $300 worth of decent rollers to replace the junk HF ones from the good folks at Swag Offroad, I can bend stuff over long radii. In fact, I was excited enough that I curved some .035x1" tube just for fun... which was probably a bit silly, since that tubing has other uses and now I have to order more.

My main use for this will be for 36ers and super short stay 29ers where I need the seat tube out of the way of the tire. Yes, I have been kinking them, but some people hate the look, and I want the option not to have to weld the toptube in to the same spot as the kink in order to reinforce everything.

I actually counted them up, and I have 4 different seat tube-moving techiques:
-Offset the seat tube on the BB shell, or even move it to the downtube.
-Cut/weld the seat tube to kink it.
-Do a cutout on the seat tube.
-And now, curve the seat tube.

Anyhow, if you've got a project in mind that involves curves, I'm now equipped to do it.

I'm also equipped to suffer everyone's mockery for my blatant hypocrisy.

Reven

Finally done, now that I have seatstays (I apparently need to learn the "order WAY in advance" lesson over and over again when it comes to frame tubing...)

Quick rundown for the curious and bored. Ok, really, you guys are all just bored:
-71.5 HTA, 72 STA
-42cm chainstays (adjusts up to 44cm with the sliders)
-Non suspension corrected, for a 425mm/43mm rake rigid fork
-60cm toptube, 42cm seat tube
-12" BB height
-S-bends, singlespeed specific

Pretty much an "updated for the modern world" version of Reven's old suspension-corrected v-brake singlespeed from 7 or so years ago. Interestingly, the frame is under 4 pounds, which has to be close to a record for me for frames with sliders. Of course, there's no paint on it yet (Reven is going to do something wild, I think).

And yes, the frame is sitting on a pretty beat up changing table that Sarah's brother gave us. Nothing is cooler than posing your frames on an old changing table. I rock.

Vacation photo

By popular demand. A gold star to the first person to figure out where we went. Your only clue is this photo - perhaps the most awful and terrifying company logo I have ever seen, which I took while we were there.

Edit: Nobody got it, so here's another clue.

I'm baaaaack...

Catching up on email and dealing with all the mail and packages that piled up in my absence - should be fully back at work tomorrow to finish Guillaume and Reven's frames up.

I'm happy to be back in Colorado. Sitting on a beach is fun, but it's not worth the travel headaches. Never again.

Thanks to Eric for the awesome pictures (not of my vacation, sadly).

Happy New Year, everyone!