Martha ruins the blue/white snow-demon effect with the red tape. Cute dog doesn't help, either.
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Red bar tape?!?
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Ibert!
Apparently a fatbike works well for mellow trails with a baby! Thanks to Miguelito for the pics!
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Overexposed: Miguelito
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WW at NAHBS?
I never go to bike shows, but apparently that hasn't stopped my stuff from showing up. Check it out.
A note for those who are curious: I don't attend NAHBS or any other shows because I'm a busy guy with a lot of frames to build, and in my free time I like to hang out with my family and go for rides. Those priorities pretty much rule out spending a lot of money and time to travel to a show, no matter how cool it might be.
A note for those who are curious: I don't attend NAHBS or any other shows because I'm a busy guy with a lot of frames to build, and in my free time I like to hang out with my family and go for rides. Those priorities pretty much rule out spending a lot of money and time to travel to a show, no matter how cool it might be.
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Still here!
I have really slacked off on blogging and answering email as I'm now starting move-mode, which involves fixing/cleaning our current house for renters (no small task when a 2 year old has been coloring/smashing/spilling/bodily-functioning-on the place), packing up our piles of junk (man, we have twice as much stuff as before we had kids!), and of course moving all the piles of tubes and tools in the shop.
So anyway, don't expect much blog action for a few weeks. I think Luis' frame will be the first Park City one but I *might* be able to sneak it in before the shop gets packed up.
I'm finishing Tom's frame now - he stopped by to watch me do some welding (I've got spare safety equipment so you are welcome to come see your frame being built) and took a few "action" shots. Yes, a motionless person hunched over a bike frame for half an hour is apparently considered action these days... but it's de rigeur to have some welding pictures on your website, so eat your hearts out!
So anyway, don't expect much blog action for a few weeks. I think Luis' frame will be the first Park City one but I *might* be able to sneak it in before the shop gets packed up.
I'm finishing Tom's frame now - he stopped by to watch me do some welding (I've got spare safety equipment so you are welcome to come see your frame being built) and took a few "action" shots. Yes, a motionless person hunched over a bike frame for half an hour is apparently considered action these days... but it's de rigeur to have some welding pictures on your website, so eat your hearts out!
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| Tacking the downtube to the BB. |
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| Yes, gardening gloves. My old welding instructor from college would murder me. |
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| Tacking the downtube. Shop even messier than usual as I have stopped even pretending to clean up. |
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Quick pics for Tom
Geometry geekery tomorrow, I am exhausted.
Also: as of tomorrow evening I am officially in full move-mode. No more work on actual frames or forks will get done until everything is squared away at the new house. I am guessing that will be 2 weeks (but hoping to be done quicker). Feel free to call and email and I'll get back to you as best I can, but don't expect hours-long conversations about the fine points of fork offset until I am done schlepping heavy things up the canyon.
Also: as of tomorrow evening I am officially in full move-mode. No more work on actual frames or forks will get done until everything is squared away at the new house. I am guessing that will be 2 weeks (but hoping to be done quicker). Feel free to call and email and I'll get back to you as best I can, but don't expect hours-long conversations about the fine points of fork offset until I am done schlepping heavy things up the canyon.
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| Crotch shot |
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| The Beast |
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| BB cluster |
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Up the hill!
Old system for moving a mill: pay riggers way too much money
New system for moving a mill: 1" sched40 pipe, 6' pry bar, lift bed trailer from Sunbelt, and a Ram3500 from Rugged Rentals... total damage, $200. Plus a bunch of help from Travis, Paz, and Tom. Thanks dudes!
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New system for moving a mill: 1" sched40 pipe, 6' pry bar, lift bed trailer from Sunbelt, and a Ram3500 from Rugged Rentals... total damage, $200. Plus a bunch of help from Travis, Paz, and Tom. Thanks dudes!
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Tubing!
It gets to live in the basement now. This is why you'll never see a "tubes on order!" on the waitlist. Man, me and my tube hoarding problem...
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Up and running!
Power is on! I am hoping to get a bunch of stuff done on Luis' frame tomorrow.
For folks waiting for stuff from the powdercoater - it's not done yet. They took me at my word that I'd be out of commission for 2 weeks and didn't coat anything. They did loan me a sweet 6' pry bar for moving the milling machine, though!
So bottom line - things should be back to "normal" next week. If you haven't gotten a return phone call or email, expect one soon. Thanks for your patience as we transition away from the smog!
For folks waiting for stuff from the powdercoater - it's not done yet. They took me at my word that I'd be out of commission for 2 weeks and didn't coat anything. They did loan me a sweet 6' pry bar for moving the milling machine, though!
So bottom line - things should be back to "normal" next week. If you haven't gotten a return phone call or email, expect one soon. Thanks for your patience as we transition away from the smog!
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The first Park City frame...
...will belong to Luis. Once I finish the seatstays and it's powdercoated, that is. Things are *almost* back up and running normally, except that I spend 10 minutes searching for a tool or part that I packed somewhere odd about every 5 minutes. Aargh.
New shop needs some help on the lighting front, too! Eventually the ~25 foot tall garage will get lofted and I'll install some big fluorescents, but for now, it's some floodlights way up there (no idea how I'd swap bulbs if they burned out...) and some clip-on lights moved around as needed.
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New shop needs some help on the lighting front, too! Eventually the ~25 foot tall garage will get lofted and I'll install some big fluorescents, but for now, it's some floodlights way up there (no idea how I'd swap bulbs if they burned out...) and some clip-on lights moved around as needed.
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Pretty much sums it up...
I see the old chestnut bumper sticker every once in a while on a rusty pickup - "Bad roads, good people". The "dirt road" sign is another favorite.
Thanks to Jason for the photo. The bike has to come back for a new set of chainstays thanks to my tire sizing assumptions not working out quite right (you'd think I'd have learned this lesson by now... sigh), but he's still having fun with her.
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Thanks to Jason for the photo. The bike has to come back for a new set of chainstays thanks to my tire sizing assumptions not working out quite right (you'd think I'd have learned this lesson by now... sigh), but he's still having fun with her.
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Nothing getting done today, folks.
After yesterday was lost to a plumbing stoppage that required professional attention and 4 hours of my time and a 2 year old doctor's appointment.
Today the power is out to a circuit in the house but the breaker didn't trip, plus the daycare is closed because someone has strep. Sooo... nothing will happen today either.
Just FYI. There are many people waiting for many things, and I do apologize. The move is a continuing nightmare thus far.
Edit: Look, bike content. Here's a pic of Andrew's stealthy new 1x CX/dirt/"gravel" bike. Cobbled together poorman's CX1 ftw (literally - huge win on $ and pretty identical function!)
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Today the power is out to a circuit in the house but the breaker didn't trip, plus the daycare is closed because someone has strep. Sooo... nothing will happen today either.
Just FYI. There are many people waiting for many things, and I do apologize. The move is a continuing nightmare thus far.
Edit: Look, bike content. Here's a pic of Andrew's stealthy new 1x CX/dirt/"gravel" bike. Cobbled together poorman's CX1 ftw (literally - huge win on $ and pretty identical function!)
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It sort of surprises me...
That more folks aren't asking for this. Back in the day, EVERYONE who was a rigid SS rider rode the Weirwolf 2.55 tires for their balloony cush - but on the front only, as they were a pretty crap rear tire.
I figured people would be doing the same with the Knards and I'd be building a bunch of rigid forks specifically to fit the big rubber, but I think Minh's is the only one I've built. 100mm axle spacing and 100mm of clearance for the tire, so the blades actually angle outward.
Pulling the chariot might not seem like a job for a 3" front tire... but maybe the commute to preschool is more gnar than we realize.
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I figured people would be doing the same with the Knards and I'd be building a bunch of rigid forks specifically to fit the big rubber, but I think Minh's is the only one I've built. 100mm axle spacing and 100mm of clearance for the tire, so the blades actually angle outward.
Pulling the chariot might not seem like a job for a 3" front tire... but maybe the commute to preschool is more gnar than we realize.
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No bike news today - RIP Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I'll pour out a Pisco sour for him (well, pour out a smidge, anyway, that stuff's too good to waste). And maybe resolve to actually sit down and read a book again. Man, kids hurt your reading time bad...
For those folks who couldn't manage 100 years of Solitude and gave up on him - try Love in the Time of Cholera. The first 20 or 30 pages are dense but if you manage that introduction you'll be laughing/crying your ass off.
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Synergy?
I met this dude Chuck recently, and inexplicably he decided he'd do a nice writeup about me on his blog.
He's a bike nerd, he makes neat custom stuff to order in Park City and hangs out with his kids, rides bikes, and drinks beer. Sorta like me.
So naturally I hate the bastard. Lucky jerk works from his home and lives in a mountain town. Especially since he's multi-talented and can actually work with more than one material - he builds awesome furniture from wood *and* metal. Some of you have seen my pathetic attempts at working with wood. Or plastic. Or, well, anything that isn't a bicycle. I'm ok with canes, I guess.
Anyway, check his stuff out. If you're a PC person and you need something awesome made out of wood, made by an overeducated weirdo who isn't too stuck up to drink PBR, Chuck is probably your guy. He and I are already working on a mutually beneficial trade.
Modern American Design
He's a bike nerd, he makes neat custom stuff to order in Park City and hangs out with his kids, rides bikes, and drinks beer. Sorta like me.
So naturally I hate the bastard. Lucky jerk works from his home and lives in a mountain town. Especially since he's multi-talented and can actually work with more than one material - he builds awesome furniture from wood *and* metal. Some of you have seen my pathetic attempts at working with wood. Or plastic. Or, well, anything that isn't a bicycle. I'm ok with canes, I guess.
Anyway, check his stuff out. If you're a PC person and you need something awesome made out of wood, made by an overeducated weirdo who isn't too stuck up to drink PBR, Chuck is probably your guy. He and I are already working on a mutually beneficial trade.
Modern American Design
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| Unlike most of my stuff, this is not covered with 2 year old excretions. |
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| Probably too nice for my shabby house. |
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| Bike content! |
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| Murphy Bed! |
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Photo dump for Jackson
Another slack/short 29er checked off the list - this is a fun one and I'll do a geometry post tomorrow if I have time. Still getting settled in in Park City so things are hectic (especially with all the great riding out the back door!)
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| New shop, not yet a giant mess. |
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| Head tube. |
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| BB cluster |
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| Watch your fingers! |
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| Water bottle boss... probably should have used more flux on the tube here. |
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| Cable guide. TIG is hard with these tiny pieces of sheet metal. |
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| Aspens in the front yard! |
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At long last: a geometry post!
Interestingly enough, I've had people start asking me *not* to do the shortest possible chainstays they can get. I tallied up the last 6 months or so worth of 29ers and the favorite length seems to be settling in around 420-425mm... which is funny, since that's what every single bike available from about 1990-2003 had. History repeats itself... but is it tragedy or farce this time around with chainstay length?
Yeah, I just dropped Karl Marx on y'all. How do you like me now?
Ok, so back to the topic at hand, which is Jackson's frame. Jackson wanted something that would inspire confidence when *charging* stuff - and didn't care too much if it suffered when ridden slowly or timidly. I have a feeling riding with Jackson is never easy.
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So, the vitals:
-68.5 HTA and 98mm of trail. 65.5cm front center. Should be good if you're in attack mode, not so good for spinning slowly up a steep climb.
-60cm toptube
-42.5cm chainstays (or you can use the sliders to go back to 44.5cm)
-For a 120mm fork with a tapered steerer
-Boring 305mm/12" BB height. Jackson's local terrain would normally favor a higher BB but he doesn't like the bikes he has that sit higher so this was as low as I was willing to go.
-Clearance for fattish (2.4) tires if he wants and cable routing for 1x or SS use. Does anyone use front derailleurs anymore?
-Relatively normal XC tubeset. This bike is for hard fast riding but not hucking or taking on the chairlift.
So in short, a bike that likes to be ridden hard and fast. And a HUGE change from what he's used to (relatively steep angle XC bikes with long chainstays), so we'll hope he likes it as much as we both think he will.
Yeah, I just dropped Karl Marx on y'all. How do you like me now?
Ok, so back to the topic at hand, which is Jackson's frame. Jackson wanted something that would inspire confidence when *charging* stuff - and didn't care too much if it suffered when ridden slowly or timidly. I have a feeling riding with Jackson is never easy.
So, the vitals:
-68.5 HTA and 98mm of trail. 65.5cm front center. Should be good if you're in attack mode, not so good for spinning slowly up a steep climb.
-60cm toptube
-42.5cm chainstays (or you can use the sliders to go back to 44.5cm)
-For a 120mm fork with a tapered steerer
-Boring 305mm/12" BB height. Jackson's local terrain would normally favor a higher BB but he doesn't like the bikes he has that sit higher so this was as low as I was willing to go.
-Clearance for fattish (2.4) tires if he wants and cable routing for 1x or SS use. Does anyone use front derailleurs anymore?
-Relatively normal XC tubeset. This bike is for hard fast riding but not hucking or taking on the chairlift.
So in short, a bike that likes to be ridden hard and fast. And a HUGE change from what he's used to (relatively steep angle XC bikes with long chainstays), so we'll hope he likes it as much as we both think he will.
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Photo dump for Rodney
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Sunday Photo - Front Range Fun
Thanks to Lee - and welcome to CO! Fort Collins is a freaking amazing place to be a mountain biker (or a beer snob - man do I miss the CO beer scene now that we're in UT).
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Photo Dump 2 for Rodney
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