29er V3

In process welding non-drive side chainstay to bottom bracket..
Tacks..
cut, mitered and ready for the jig..

First I bend and form both chainstays. Then I miter the dropout/chainstay junction and tack those in place. Once that is complete, these two sub assemblies get loaded into the jig for the mitering of the chainstay to bottom bracket junction. Last step is to clean it all up, remove all the dirt/grime, measure 4000 times throughout the whole ordeal, while squinting at it making sure it passes the stink eye test and then load everything into the frame jig to be tacked and welded. Just a few steps naturally..

44 Logo 2009

Been working on refining the overall logo of 44 for a while. Slowly but surely getting there-kind of like the cobblers kids have no shoes scenerio... I do this sort of thing for a living, but naturally, when it comes to your own stuff it takes 10 times longer to figure it out. But I'm pretty stoked on the next generation and wanted to somehow incorporate a heart shaped/shield thing going on. That and move to a double headed eagle and push more duality. A little wikipedia research and those pesky double headed eagles have been around for a while.. and apparently have their origins in the representation of tradesman. That kind of works. That and masonic ritual.. Which reminds me of a great story that my grandfather told me before he passed away. So he and bunch of friends were going through the whole indoctrination in some sort of society, and the fellow ahead of him was sorting through 4 stations of the ceremony. He absolutely had a passion for frosty beverages, the hops kind of beve. Anyway, when he got to a certain part in the ceremony the gentleman would ask him "What do you seek?" The answer was supposed to be "Light!" Well when he got to that part, he had forgotten the words and when asked "What do you seek?" he blurted out: "BEER." The gentleman behind the question wispered, "No, LIGHT, you seek light..." His reply: "Light... Dark. As long as it's BEER". Couldn't agree more myself. New site too btw.

SNAKE DRIVER: Ride Report

Went for a ride on some unmaintained roads the other day. Great ride. Nice to be out on the Snake Driver and soak in the sun / cool air. Starting the new 29er for the spring. Should be interesting. Subtle changes again with a slightly lower bottom bracket, steeper head angle and a cockpit of 23.25" which I've found coupled with a 90mm /0 deg. rise stem is just right for me. More to follow in the coming weeks.