GIDDY UP

Finally back from paint

Stainless photo-etched badges for the head & seat tubes..

DETAILS

Clearance for 2.5+ tires, 16.75" stays and an additional 2" of top tube clearance from the previous version..
Welds are starting to come together. Not happy with the heat effected zones here-but as Ted Jokes "It'll be ah-right.. It's just your frame."
Still have to add the jewelry and disk mount as well as shorten the top of the seatpost/slot it. But you get the idea here. Lots of stand over clearance, fairly active and compliant rear triangle and lots of tire clearance. This one was a challenge to put together that is for sure. But, that's what makes things interesting. I'd like to make the bends in the seat stays a little more gradual/sweeping but tooling on hand did not allow for this. We shall see when I move to production quality tubing. Still using 4130 strait gauge tubing to experiment with angles, etc. So far so good. Can't wait to finish this up and go for a ride.

29er V2

So after close to a year of riding the 1st prototype 29er...



I've gathered sufficient feedback to feel confident to put that to good use in a second revised version. Revisions include a slightly tightened head angle, lower bottom bracket height, longer tt to increase the cockpit just a bit, shorter chainstays, custom formed chainstays with room to spare for 2.5 tires, more stand over (approximately 2 more inches..), shortened the seattube length by an inch, headtube grew by about .125" and bottom bracket is now 73mm. New drops allow you to run single/gear setup. To achieve the16.75" chainstay length, (yes 16.75 with 29" with 29" wheels and a 2.5" tire..) the seat tube needed a radius. A few trial and error methods, a lot of feedback from very generous builders from all over the globe, and I got what I was after. Stoked.

Can't wait to fit the seat stays and put all the jewelry on-this should be a unique ride for sure.

This is pretty much the look I was after with the first one, but time and tooling did not permit. Side note: Another thing that's been in Ted's shop have been a bunch of motorcycles. I recently learned that Ted was quite the accomplished flat track racer at one time. But a good friend of his races vintage motorcycles and he stores them every so often at Ted's shop. I finally remembered my camera to take a shot or two of them. Unfortunately only 2 of the 4 were present this past friday, but my favorite was still there.



This little honda is pretty damned cool for its lack of size..

Try and Try again..

I had to make a lot of these...

To get one like this.

But I can repeat it. So that's a good thing. Can't wait to miter this and build the mainframe. This will be the seat tube. Stoked.

SILVER

As in brazing. Steel is very different from silver/gold (I was a goldsmith for a number of years before I went back to school for an industrial design degree.) So I'm finding I'm re-learning what I already know in terms of silver brazing/soldering with steel. Always great to learn new things, to refine your process and perfect your craft. With time, I'm confident I can leave no room for cleanup. I was taught that each step in your process should be held to the highest degree of quality. Every file stroke matters. Each time you perform a task, its in relation to the finished product so less work means more time and a more efficient craft. Each part matters-and this is not just in the design, but in the process of fabrication as well. The end result is not only a reflection of the time you spent but also the time you saved by perfecting your process.

LPS 3

I wrangled a Bridgeport J-Head a year ago and have been slowly getting it prepped. But in the meantime, its in storage so I've been rustproofing all the dials, handles etc. to protect it against moisture and corrosion. Enter LPS 3.. Spray on, wipe clean, let dry. Apparently you can let the part out in open sea spray for 2+ years and it won't corrode. We'll see as it tends to get some high moisture content in my shop. I hope to change that with a bunch of planned long term renovations. Pictured are some dials and goodies prepped and ready for LPS3-ification. Gotta love US Made Steel. Only way to go.

RIDE NOTES

Been doing a lot of riding locally as there is just so much right here under my nose. Found some trails but was informed that there were indeed much more-just well hidden from the common folk.. So I was given a tour this past week and man, what a ride!! The trails were beautiful, classic New England singletrack. This section here rolls through a descent inside a stand of managed Red Pine. I was white eyes and white teeth the whole way through-the whole ride I should say too. Simple rolling singletrack, great climbs with plenty of rocks, roots and tech. Some really nice sections and the locals have definitely been at it and building these very well. I'm stoked to have met some fine riders to have shown me around. Funny part is they often pop out in peoples driveways or backyards only to go back into the woods. So goes it in Live Free or Die Land. People are pretty supportive of bicycles around these neck of the woods which is great.