Redwoods and Red Wine

I haven't had much lately to report about. I ended up getting whatever California cold is sweeping through lately, and have mostly been puttering around the apartment, watching documentaries on Hulu, and getting some shop class machining instruction from Tubalcain on YouTube.

This guy is great. I'd adopt him as my grandpa if I could. And since my high school didn't have any sort of shop class, I'm now finally starting to learn some basics. Then, it's a couple machinist books to read up on the theory behind it all. Hopefully, by the time we get settled into a house somewhere, I'll be ready to get a lathe and a mill, and at least have a good start on how to use the things. I just can't contain myself when I think of the ability to make my own dropouts, hubs, braze-ons, task-specific tools... oh man!

My sister came to visit, so I got to play tourist and explore a bit more around here. I took her to see a couple trails through the redwoods within a few miles of where we live. I don't think I could ever get tired of walking through redwoods.

This is a gnarly redwood in the local state park that they say suffers from some sort of gigantism. It barely resembles the other redwoods, but I think it's still pretty awesome.

This is inside of a redwood, that had been turned into a honeymoon suite back in the mid-late 1800's, and it's still alive. You can see where there was once a window carved out in the tree, but it has since healed back shut. These are some pretty incredible trees.

After that, we went for a little wine tasting. My sister has run various bars over the years, and has become quite the expert in cocktails, beers, and wines. She had carried one particular wine from David Bruce, and wanted to try out some of his other offerings. We of course went along, and man am I sorry I did. I don't think I can ever look at wine the same again, after having at least two of the best tasting wines that I've had in my life. I try not to be a snob, and still believe that there are great wines to be had in the $8-$12 range. But tasting a particular $55 bottle of a dry Syrah/Petit Syrah mix ... all I can say is that it blew my mind, and I didn't know wine could do what this one did. It's flavors were so pronounced, yet balanced and not overpowering... yea, all I can say is now I understand why anyone would ever want to pay that much. Not that I can/will anytime soon.

Some of David Bruce's vineyards.

Twisty Road Ahead

Now that we've been here about a month now, we're kinda settling into a routine. Most of the boxes are unpacked. (well, the ones that didn't have to go into storage) Melissae is well into her science writing program, and I'm... well I have a lot of time on my hands.

It's crazy going from trying to have two jobs and a life, to being un-employed in one week. I try to keep busy. But I don't want to get too deep in a project or hobby, as (hopefully) I'll have a job soon, and it will just be put on hold again. So what have I been up to for a month? Well after un-loading, un-packing, organizing, re-organizing, I've put in some time working on updating the old shops' website. It's needed it for a while, and now that I have the time to do it, it's a way to help out some good friends. But I tell ya, I am not cut out for the office. I can only handle a couple hours here, a few hours there, before my brain feels like it's fallen asleep in a caffeine high I can't come down from. And it's not the caffeine, as I only have a cup a day. I don't know how office people handle sitting in front of a computer screen all day, clicking on tabs, week after week... I guess I'm glad some can, as that's how people come up with, and maintain cool

sites like blogpost :) But once again, I've remembered one of the reasons that drove me into the bicycle business. Not that I'm never in front of a computer, nor am I allergic. I just can't do it all day long.

But once I've gotten my fill of that, and done at least most of the chores around the place, I've been riding or hiking in the amazing redwood mountains. The scenery is spectacular, and the huge trees aren't the only thing that'll make you feel humble out here. The climbs are (at least by my St. Louis standards) epic. There's a road just a few miles from our place that climbs nonstop for 3.7 miles and something like 1,600 vertical feet. It's the sort of climb that reminds me why people get compacts or triples for their race bikes. On my first attack, I only made it 2 miles before my heart felt like it was about to break my ribs, forcing me to turn back. But I've learned to not climb like I was used to in Missouri, but settle in for the 1/2 hour that it took me to finally make it to the top. Here's a view from one of the more photogenic turns in what we've come to call "Twisty Road":

(and the funny thing is: This isn't even one of the steeper sections.)

We Made It

It was a hell of a week leading up to the 2,200 mi drive to Santa Cruz, CA. Aside from wrapping up the usual work and friend things before taking off to the other side of the country, I had yet to finish Matt's frame. After a few real long days, and the usual cuts and burns, I managed to both finish the frame, and make one stupid blunder that ended up scrapping the fork. Hopefully, it will be soon after this year that I can set up shop again, and start over on that fork. But until then, Matt will have to settle for a carbon substitute.

The frame came together at the last minute, giving me just a few days to pack up my entire workshop and some of the house. Luckily, Melissae was more than awesome in packing up most of the house while I finished the frame. Overall, I think the frame turned out quite well. It's one of those frames that I'm kind of reluctant to give up to someone else. But that's the name of the game. Matt was quite pleased, and I'm still waiting to see what it looks like painted and built up. (You have to send pictures!!!)

The move itself went pretty well considering moving a 2 bedroom house and workshop in a total DIY fashion. A day of loading up the truck tetris style, 4 days of driving a 25 foot truck, averaging between 54 and 58 mph, with mountain passes getting around 35 mph. If anything, it gave us plenty of time to appreciate our great country's landscape. From nothing to see in Kansas but a whole county whose painted road lines have worse alignment than a Huffy:

...to the beautiful mountain passes and amazing geology of Colorado and Utah.:

We're now just outside of Santa Cruz, in the redwoods for the next 9 months to a year. I'll keep posting about goings on, rides, bike news, cool things around here, and life in general. But it will be a while before I've got another frame to show off. But as soon as that happens, I'll be back at it for sure. Thanks again to all the friends back in St. Louis for all the help and love we got while we were there. We definitely feel like we were/are welcome there. Maybe I'll meet up at a race with you guys. Until then, take care.

Looking Up From Home

Well folks, some big things have happened. My wife has gotten into a science writing program in UC Santa Cruz. The plan was for me to stay here and build that year, but after her 3 month stay in Germany, and running some numbers when she got back home, we've both decided it makes more sense to go out there together. This is pretty exciting for me, as I am originally from San Diego. So this move is going back to many things I love about that state.

The only downsides are leaving some really good folks that I've come to call my friends, and leaving our little house with a basement workshop. With cost of living out there, there's no way we can afford a place with enough room to set up shop. So for the next year, (unless something crazy happens) I won't be building any frames. I'll contact everyone on my list to let you know personally, and I will be keeping that list to start up again after we get settled again. But for now, I've got until September 10th to tie up loose ends, pack up, and finish Matt's frame.

Even though a large part of me feels like I'm finally going home, there will always be a part of me left behind. I have met a ton of really great folks in the greater St. Louis area. From bosses and co-workers, to customers, to friends, and every combination of the above. Thanks to all who've helped us make this our home for the past handful of years. Your midwestern friendliness won't be forgotten.

And for the next year, I'll still keep the blog updated with what's going on in my life. There won't be a whole lot of frame building for a while, but once I can get it going again, this is were to look for it.

Looking up at the Redwoods, through a burnt out 'stump' (which was taller than me).

This is the stuff that makes me think of home.

Work and Fun

Since Melissae has come home from Germany, I haven't really posted much. But I have started picking up the work pace. It's kind of odd that I seem to get more done with her around than when she's gone. Between picking up the extra slack at home, and not having my moral boosting buddy, I haven't really got much to say for the three months that she's been gone.

But Matt's frame is coming right along. And lately, some good progress has been made. But that also didn't stop me from being dragged by the good guys of Team Seagal out to the Thursday night dirt crit series at Castlewood State Park. Man was that a blast. That was despite half of the B's crashing each other (or themselves) out in an adrenaline powered orgy, clawing at dirt and grass, on their ultimate quest for a slightly lower place number in their second tier class standings of local notoriety. I managed to keep the rubber side down in my personal quest for checking out and having as much fun as possible in the local scene. And it really was a great scene. A ton of people out to have a good time, mixed with free food, beer, riders of young and old, bikes ranging from mtn tandems, kids bikes, and bmx's, to full carbon race machines, finely tuned for local dominance. It really was great to get out, ride, and see people of all sorts sharing what it is to ride a bike through the woods.

But enough fun, back to work:

Main frame is all mitered and ready to rock.

Seat stays shaped, and with caps brazed on top.

Second section of seat stays brazed and cleaned.

Showing how the segmented seat stays will come together with the wishbone. This is the idea that Matt helped me come up with. I really like this look, and may have to re-visit it in the future.

Days of Hard Work, To Save Time

Well, that's the idea anyhow. The last three days that I've spent frame building (which translates into the last two weeks), I haven't built much in the ways of frames. Instead, I've built what I hope will save me a great amount of time in the future: A front derailleur braze-on mount jig. That is, I built a thing that will allow me to (in a matter of minutes) braze on a front derailleur braze-on tab to a road bike seat tube.

Before I braze the front triangle of the frame together, I like to do the braze-ons. That way, any distortion made to the tubing happens before the frame is together. Because any distortion after the frame is together could cause misalignment, and add further stress preload to the tubes. But this makes it really hard to get the braze-ons exactly where I want them, as there is no other part of the frame to reference. Many braze-ons can be off by a millimeter or two, and not really affect anything. Just think of the travesty that would occur if your water bottle mounts were another millimeter further for you to reach whilst riding. Not to say that I don't spend entirely too much time making sure they're exactly where I want them. But if they were a tick higher or lower on the tube, I wouldn't exactly scrap the whole project. But if your fancy front derailleur needs to be one or two millimeters higher so you won't shift it straight into your chainrings, but can't because the mount is just a hair off... well that pretty much sucks. So normally, I spend about a half of a day measuring, re-measuring, checking, re-measuring, tacking, checking, and brazing to make sure that darn thing is exactly where I need it.

But now, once I make the BB miter on the seat tube, I hook up my modified bottom bracket shell into my frame jig, bolt on the derailleur braze-on tab, load up the seat tube (held in place on the top by my frame jig, and on the bottom by the braze-on tab itself and another bit of steel welded to the faux BB), and braze away. It should be dead on to both handle compact road cranks, and the typical 39-53 combo. If a customer does want to make it custom to handle something outside that range, I can use only one of the two tab mounting bolts, and go higher or lower. But no matter where I put it, the tab mounts square and flush to the seat tube, and only a few minutes to set up! Oh man, I can't even tell you how excited this makes me. And no, I won't build you one! (maybe one day when I have a full machine shop, and I can make something like this a little quicker)

Three days of hard work, and this odd little thing is what I ended up with.

A mitered out bit of extra down tube helps hold the seat tube in parallel.

Here it is in action, mounted up in the frame jig, just after I used it for the first time.

And after all that, there it is. Right exactly where I wanted it, and square to the BB shell. (when it is in there)

Then, and now...

Ok, so I've been gone for some time now. Well, not literally. Over the winter, I was working on getting my motorcycle kit up and running. Most of it went pretty smoothly. But I quickly learned that I am not an electrician. All the mechanical bits seemed to be a logical combination of my background of working on my own cars, along with working on bicycles of all trades. But when it came to the wiring, I had never really learned much past the couple weeks my high school physics class talked about circuits and V=IR. But I can now say after re-wiring it a few times, and one electrical fire, I know a ton more than I did before. The bike is now running, and I just have to jump through some legal hoops to get it legal.

My wife, Melissae (finally) graduated her PHD in chemistry at Washington University of St. Louis in the spring. So the lead up to that got life a little crazy. After that, we got her ready and packed for a three month internship in Germany. During which time, we moved a buddy and co-worker in to help me pay the rent while Melissae is gone. This is going a long way, as not too long after the internship is over, she has gotten into a science writing program in Santa Cruz for a year. You can read about her adventures at her blog:

Weltanschauung

After a bunch of life hitting all at once, I'm back and ready to tear into some frames. Thanks to those of you hanging in there with me and my delayed posts/builds. First up, is Matt's commuter bike, with clearance for some cyclocross tires. Kind of a go anywhere, from home to work, to going for a dirt ride on the katy trail. It will be a mix of lugs and a fillet brazed BB junction to allow me to direct the chain stays however I need to, to best gain chainring/tire clearance. The first two miters are made, and I spent half the day re-shaping the top tube / head tube lug. Nothing overly fancy or ornate, but I like how it turned out.

As always, more pictures on my Flickr site

Oh The Places You'll Go... (long post)

So instead of another post talking about how I've been super busy, life's hectic, I haven't done as much frame building, but stay tuned.... I thought I'd spend a little time talking about product differentiation. It's never a bad thing for a company (or individual) to come up with new ideas, push limits and boundaries, and try to keep things moving forward. And with every progression comes a time when that person or business can say "Hey, check this out! It's cooler and better than the other guys!" But when the differentiation is either just plain different to be different, or possibly even comes with a downside, then why bother? That is, unless we reallyneed to be different so badly, that it's worth paying more to have a thing of less quality. Before I get to some examples, don't get me wrong here. I'll be the first to admit that it's cool having things that set me apart from all the other 25-30 year old, middle class, caucasian, males out there. But not when doing so sets me apart in a negative way.

I was looking through the wonderful eye candy of the 2010 NAHBS pictures, and came across some gorgeous examples of skill, creativity, ingenuity, and of course, many ways of differentiating one builders frames from another's. There is the obvious material differences, paint differences, component selection, and tube shaping. But there is also differences of welding in extra tubes or bits to either enhance the strength, ride, or even nothing but aesthetics. However, I also saw a few examples of doing something negative, just to get attention. I borrowed a few pictures from Dirt Rag's coverage of the event to illustrate what I feel to be a negative direction for frame building as a whole.

I don't mean to call anyone out in particular, or start a rapper style war. But when I see things like this seat tube cutout, leaving just a hair of material left, I have to wonder about the intentions. Strength/stiffness/weight, this is definitely worse off. Aesthetics, well that's a bit objective, but if I were to sacrifice that much for looks, I'd at least want the curve of the cutout to match up with the curve of the wheel. Would having a plated 29er with track bike clearances set you appart? Absolutely. In a good way?.... well, I'm sure you could find someone out there that would think this is cool.

Again, I fully appreciate the fact that from 20 feet away, most steel frames start to look pretty similar. And I'm all for something neat to set you apart. Hell, even if it adds a few grams, as long as it really makes you happy. But sometimes paint matching and shape matching the "power bulge" of your Rock Shox fork on your head tube, and adding what appear to be cable rubbing bars, so the cables rub a different part of your expensive paint, doesn't seem to be a progression and argument to buy custom.

Working in the bike industry, I get to see plenty of examples of details that set one companies frames apart from each other, but add nothing to the actual performance/weight/functionality of the bike, and sometimes end up making one of those aspects worse. I understand the cutthroat nature of corporate production, and appreciate being able to stay competitive. And hell, at this point, I'd expect a corporation to do change things on a frame without truly understanding the consequences that change could have on either riding or working on that particular bike. It's not like everyone in a business that large rides and works on their own bikes. But when a small frame builder - with hopefully a passion for bicycles and the desire to balance the drawbacks of a design to the minimum - starts doing things like this, I'm personally disappointed.

Everyone has their own flavors, and that's what makes getting a custom frame awesome. You can match up with someone of similar taste/personality, and get exactly what YOU want. But what I'm afraid of, is that the NAHBS (while doing a great service of bringing custom frame building to the people/media) is, or could go in the direction of creating even more of an incentive for a builder to do something outlandish, just to get some attention at their tiny booth in the sea of like minded competitors.

As beautiful as some of these things are, compromises are being made. And there's nothing wrong with that, just so long as you know and appreciate them. I just hope that the circus aspect of this sort of thing doesn't push the builders out there that take it upon themselves to design a well fitting, well riding, and functional piece of artwork, out to the fringe of the already niche market they are a part of. I try to keep in mind the origin of a custom hand built frame, when it was appreciated as the best sort of frame one could own. I also try to keep in mind how much a custom steel frame has improved over the years, with new steel blends, heat treatments, fillers and fluxes, and even modern components that help the frame become what could still be a high performance machine. The progression is there, however hidden it may become, beneath the marketing hype, and lets face it, the need for product differentiation.

(Thanks to Dirt Rag for the pictures. Hopefully my lack of making money off of them keeps this from violating some sort of copyright)

No, I'm not dead...

I'm still working out the final details of Matt's big tire'd commuter/cross frame and fork. I've got all the shiny bits here already, and should be pretty awesome. More on that soon. I've also been trying to look up what all I have to go through to get a business license, insurance, and maybe even hook up a dealership status for some components to offer complete bikes when the time comes.

I've also had a winter project that is just about done. I've been trying to wrap that up, so it doesn't distract me from frame building once I start filing. It's a 200cc motorcycle kit from Kikker 5150. I've wanted a motorcycle since I was a kid. And now that I'm getting old and married, I figure I better get one before life gets any crazier, or I have to be a responsible dad or something. I figured I'd give this one a try, hoping the building would teach me a thing or two about motorcycles, plus they're pretty affordable.

All in all, I've definitely learned a bunch trying to work out all the kinks and problems. I figure it's about on the moto level of a mid to upper priced wallymart bike. However, if you strip them down, and re-build them from the ground up, doing every step correctly (not how local high-school Joe built it), and even replaced a few parts (that won't even work right no matter how much "tuning" you give them), you won't end up with a great bike. But if you do the work yourself, it will still be affordable, and it will be good enough to get you around for a while. I'll just have to keep in mind that the riding experience will most likely be better with a "real" motorcycle.

I've already sorted out all the mechanical issues keeping me from giving her a first ride, but a major electrical issue is keeping me from getting any spark. I was really hoping that the electrical would go together smoothly, because that's one thing I really don't know enough about. But hopefully I'll sort it out soon. And either way, the next frame will be coming together shortly.

(As it came, once I unpacked it. The handlebars and a pile of other parts are not in this picture.)

Sparkle Sparkle

Man, it's been a while. But I've finally got Eddie's 650b hardtail and suspension corrected segmented fork done, painted, reamed, faced, chased, frame saved, stickered, and delivered. Definitely a learning experience, this frame and fork turned out pretty well. New things that I've learned include S-bend seat stays, chain stay and down tube (or really anywhere) gussets, and working with super tight clearances. All in all, a success!

Eddie went with me to the painter to choose a color, and we both discovered that he does metal flake paint! So on went a two coat "emerald green" that looks unassuming inside or on a cloudy day, but out comes the sun and BAM! She lights up like Oz's Emerald City. I've got some pictures, and even one with a high powered flash to simulate being outside. But really nothing does it justice like seeing it in person on a good day.

Now on to the next project. A commuter styled cyclocross inspired road bike of versatility and awesomeness for Matt. Just a couple more details to iron out, and then building begins! So untill I've got some build shots to tease you with, here are some of Eddie's bike. (more on my flickr site)


(With the flash to try to simulate the sun hitting the flakes... trust me, it looks way better in person)

Staying Busy + Good Book

Sorry I haven't posted in a good while. While the swine flue did knock me out pretty good for a few weeks, lately I've just been busy catching up with life. I do think (even though this is a bit different for my blog) I should mention a book that I managed to read while sick. Shop Craft as Soulcraft was one of those books (for me) that seemed to put into words, things and ideas that I've been mulling over since people first asked me as a kid "What do you want to do when you grow up?" While not exactly my words, it seemed to express the deeper reasons that I've come to appreciate while deciding to get into bicycle repair and frame building, as opposed to following my Economics degree or Philosophy minor. Not that this book is for everyone, but I feel that there are a handfull of good ideas that even office dwellers can appreciate.

But not to get too caught up in a good book, I have managed to get some more work done on Eddie's frame. I went a bit out of order on this one, and chaced/faced the B.B. shell. That way, I could install some cranks, and check the exact tire/chainring clearance that I've fretted about since first drawing up the blueprint for this frame. There wasn't much room for error when threading the drive side chainstay between the tire and chainring. (only a couple millimeters on each side) So it was a great relief to see everything go from blueprint to finalized function. I've also got both seatstays with custom S-bends fitted and mitered. Just a couple braze-ons, weld the stays, make a seat stay bridge, and some finishing work, and she's getting close to paint.




More pictures here.

I Have the Swine Flue!

That's right... after feeling like $#*! for the last week, I finally went to the doc. (hoping it would be another infection, so I could get some anti-biotics, and be done with it) But after some questions, and shoving a q-tip sort of device up my nose - farther than any finger has previously gone - my test came back with H1 N1. Woo hoo! I have no idea where I got it, (I swear I haven't made out with any pigs lately) but now I get to keep taking it easy untill this all goes away. And I'm allready borred out of my mind...

In other news, here's what I was up to with Eddie's frame: Chainstays were mitered, gussets were shaped, and braze-ons were brazed on with the help of some fancy new clamps from Sputnik Tools. (handmade in the U.S.) Let me say how excited I am to be using these! No more fiddling around with bending spokes to hold the braze-ons where I want them, eyeing things up to make sure they're straight and alligned, and heating with one hand and twisting with some pliers with my other hand if they didn't end up straight. Clamp on the tube, slap the braze on under the arm, and it holds it securely, centered, and alligned. I've easily saved 5-10 minutes per brazeon.

After that, drilled all the vent holes quickly and precisely with a fancy new drill press, thanks to my buddy Jason. Then I spent a day sanding, scrubbing, cleaning, welding, soaking, and a little smoothing. Now the main frame is all together, and alignment looking fine. I was worried about the clearance, threading the chainstays between the bigger 2.3" 650b tires and the chainrings. But it came out very nicely. I'm also trying something new with chainstay gussets, instead of a chain stay bridge. My brown bike has no bridge, but I figured the lugged BB was plenty of re-inforcement. With the lugless frame, I wanted to do something to keep that junction strong. And just for kicks, I made a bridge anyhow, and weighed it compaired to the gussets. (not that I'm worried about it, but the gussets ended up saving a few grams) But probably more relevant, they're going to be tough, and cool looking.

Dropping Out

Well Burning at the Bluff was pretty awesome. My team ended up 9th in our class, and 36th overall. This, despite about 7 cold ass creek crossings per lap, and two guys dropping out before their third lap. (if you want a more thorough race report, I refer you to Team Seagal) But the point was to do my three laps, have a good time, and to get excited about getting back into racing. If you know me, or read this blog, you may know this past year has had some setbacks. Breaking my collar bone, surgery, bronchitis/nasal infection, getting married, and going to Germany, are some of the things that broke my momentum and my motivation to train hard for something. But after finally getting back into it (even if I wasn't super fast), I'm totally excited again. And Greg, I owe you one hell of a PBR for spanking my lap times!

Aside from that, I've got the chainstays mated to their respective sliding dropouts at just the right angle for 650b tire clearance. Now a couple miters, some braze-ons, and the main frame will be ready for assembly.

Steel Kickin'

This fork has taken me a bit longer than I was hoping, but I do think it turned out pretty well. There were a couple times that I ended up doing second steps first, and then it would take longer to go back and do the first steps. For example, brazing the whole fork together, before putting the caps on the fork legs. It was harder to match up the exact angles, not to mention hard to get the file in there to make the miters as well as clean it up post braze. None of it has to do with the end result, just the fact that it may have taken me twice as long to get there. But all in all, I think my first go at a segmented fork turned out pretty well.




Aside from that, I'm officially on a three-man team to do "Burnin' at the Bluff" - a twelve hour mountain bike race. This will be my first race in three years, and I'm in no peak performance, but I'm hoping to catch the bug again, and make a serious (for me) solo attempt in '10. I've realized that - for me - having races to train for keep me motivated to ride more, harder, and generally keep me inspired to make these machines with as much attention to their use as to their aesthetic. As much as I love the renaissance of making and refurbishing "old steel frames," I really do believe that there is still room for steel in the cutting edge technology of the bicycle world. With modern steel, as well as modern components, even steel framed bikes can get down into the 15-16lb range.

Not to say that there is no use for other materials. However, with the market pushing those materials to the limits of weight and strength, I think the pendulum must swing a bit back the other way. This past year, it seems that I have seen a good number of bicycle companies making something just able to handle a 130lb rider coasting along on a smooth flat road, and no more. In the ever increasing push for lighter weight, frames must be made stiffer to not deflect enough to break. Aside from sometimes having a "dead" ride quality, that extra stiffness can lead to extra fragility, or brittleness. Many companies are now pushing the "high-mod" carbon as a way to edge out the competitors. Basically, that means making the carbon stiffer, so you can use less of it, thus saving weight. However stiffening up carbon makes it more brittle. And using less of it doesn't help either. Breaking seat masts, seat stays, head tube joints, and even top tubes being crushed when hit with a knee or a chamois covered posterior - after slipping when trying to clip in - all come in as things I've seen in '09.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's awesome someone with enough cash can walk in and buy a bike that doesn't meet the weight limit of the UCI regulations. I have heard a few stories of pro's having to go as far as gluing on weights, or even dropping an extra chain down the seat tube to meet those regulations. But keep in mind why the regulations were invented in the first place. To keep things from being pushed so far that they were no longer reliable, putting the rider at risk. Plus, when putting extra strength and stiffness in certain areas is being marketed as making you go faster, why spend that weight in lead weights, instead of making the frame or other components strong enough to handle the rigors of racing. Again, I'm not totally against, making crazy light bikes. It's pretty cool riding something less than 14 lbs. But if I'm not getting paid a salary, and getting a couple free frames every season, it doesn't make much sense for someone like me to ride one.

One step down...

...many to go!

Got some good work done these last two days. The first miters were done for the front dropouts, as well as mitering the disk brake tab. Then it all went together with some brass. I think I was a little rusty after all the time off, so things went a bit on the lumpy side. But aside from a bit more work smoothing it out, it's tough as nails. (I guess tougher, as nails are usually a pretty mild steel) I will say I'm pretty excited getting this project going. So excited, I ended up waking up at 6:30 and starting into it today, just because I couldn't sleep thinking about how cool this is going to be. It's fun doing something as custom as a 650b specific mountain bike. Also, this will be my first try at a from-scratch, segmented fork design. After doing a little research, a little calculation, I called up my favorite aviation parts/supply company to order some stock 4130 steel tubing. It's pretty cool to see a few lengths of tubing that might have ended up building a piper cub, slowly turn into a rigid mountain bike fork that will have the crap ridden out of it.

(stock tubing... nothing special here)


(...but do a little miter work,)


(...check the angles,)


(...and now it's starting to look familiar.)