Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Steel CX race frame for Alabama

 This one is a classic style-level top tube and rim brakes. The panels really set it off well.The crowned fork is also a nod to tradition and really blends well with the whole theme of the bike. That said, it is all meant to be beaten severely on the CX courses of the south and I'm sure that it will get some very hard miles.


Single speed/geared CX frame for Brooklyn

 There's quite a bit going on with this one. There's Paul's track dropouts so that either a single speed or internally geared hub can be used. There's also an added rear der. hanger . The frame and fork also have full fender and race eyelets.
 This bike will have a lot of uses no doubt. The finish is a flat car coat over a tan powder coat-pretty industrial look, very utilitarian. The frame is also fitted with a polished silver Cane Creek 110 headset-had to wait a few weeks for this item to show up but it was worth it.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Studio shots of the new CX bike

Eventually we all have to grow up......I finally got some studio shots of one of my bikes. Get used to  seeing stuff like this on my website as I have been getting great photos from Paul Schraub, a local photographer who I have known for many years but was too cheap to use his services -that is until  now.
 I'm sorry that I waited so long ! It really makes a difference when you can see all the details of the bike clearly. Hopefully by mid-summer I'll have enough new photos to re-do the website.



Monday, April 4, 2016

big tire CX frame and fork for So-Cal

 This steel frame and fork should be able to take at least a 700x43 tire. There's a good chance that this very yellow edition will be putting in miles in the Angeles Crest forest above the L.A. basin-a good way to get above the smog .
 The disc mounts are post style front and rear and the frame has a third set of bottle mounts under the down tube. I used to only do these about once a year. Now, every third frame I build has them. Seems like folks are riding further out into the wilderness than before, either that or global warming has simulated a nation wide thirst.
This frame set is also set up with thru-axles front and rear with the front in this case a 15 mm. The dropouts can also accommodate 12 mm .

Friday, April 1, 2016

Whiskey-6 display bike comes home

After about 16 seasons of riding on rim brakes, 11 of them on the same bike I now have a new CX bike and it is much more current than what I have been on since 2005. The folks at Whiskey set me up with a pretty impressive build-the wheels alone are impressive: Whiskey carbon clincher rims on Industry 9 hubs. These are parts I have not had in the shop until now. I'm impressed.
 This bike is just under 20 lbs. and is a full 2 1/2 lbs. heavier than my 2005 bike but for some reason I can't figure out it feels faster !  The wheel/ire combo really is a smooth ride. I have some other tires they sent me that I am itching to try.
Disc brakes, one-by drive train, thru axles........have I gone to the dark side at last ? Well, I'm probably not going back soon !  All of this stuff really works well and simplifies riding in a way that makes for a bit more fun.......maybe its just the new bike thing.....but still, this is a great build and I thank Whiskey and Salsa folks for making it happen.

Alfie frame and fork-this time it is Di II

Shimano introduced a Di II  Alfine hub a couple of years ago and that will be the transmission on this frame. No cables, just one wire and one hydraulic line to the rear disc brake. There will be a generator hub in the front.
 This should be a nice way to get around town. The bike might also see some touring duty and there's all the fittings for racks and fenders. The sliding dropouts will make wheel removal easier and chain tensioning on the road side no problem.