Big Bike Little Bike

The bike we built for the Rapha Continental project is up on their site with an interview of Chris and me. Lots of pics and interviews of all the builders and the bikes. Also check out the rides for one nearest you, print out a cue sheet, and then suffer in the saddle like they did. Fun, right?

Steph’s bike is polished, painted, and finished. This update is overdue but I’ve been updating the slideshow all along. This is a single speed cross frame with dropouts from Paragon Machine Works and rack mounts for touring. She described this as her cross frame but also as her escape vehicle if she decides to go on a long tour (hence the derailleur hanger). I worked with our mutual friend and auto paint master, Jay Nutini, on the finish. I’m very happy with the way it came out.

 
 
 
  
  
See the full slideshow.

Last weekend we had a fundraiser for the Circle A Cycles MS 150 team (the MS 150 is June 21 and 22). We were giving bicycle tune-ups to people who donated to the cause. Here are a couple of shots from the event courtesy of Hilary. If you would like to help us reach our goal and support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, show your support here. Thanks.

  
  
See the full slideshow.

I’ve been working on a frame non-stop since my last post but haven’t said a word about it yet. This is Ron’s road frame. I used Richard Sachs lugs with a Dedacciai Zero tubeset, Henry James dropouts, capped stays, extra cut-outs on the BB shell, etc., etc. And of course the same amount of love that goes into every frame. I’ll have pictures of the painted bike very soon as it’s already painted, just not photographed.

  
  
See the full slideshow.

Jeff came by the shop last week via boxcar, thumb, and foot. He lives out in Western Massachusetts right now and came to the shop to build up his frame and ride it away. The concept was so simple and perfect. If I wasn’t building my own frames, I’d do it the same way. I have a feeling this bike is going to see a LOT of miles. Here’s a happy Jeff and his new touring rig.

See the full slideshow.

Among other things at the shop, there was a Girl Scout troop who came by on a cold Saturday afternoon and learned the ins and outs of bike repair. They were all very eager to learn and willing to get their hands a little greasy. A lot of them brought their bikes and were doing basic bike maintenance by the end of the class.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people out there on the topic of bicycles but Sheldon seemed to be the most widely known because of his web site which contains more bike information than than any other. I hope it stays up and running in his honor. My thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Read more about Sheldon here.

So today is the big day for the founding father of Circle A. Happy day, brother.

Also, Stephen’s frame is done, primed, painted, cleared, polished, and ready for parts which should be here in a day or two. When I painted this bike, I tried out a new technique using a liquid mask around the lugs and bottom bracket. It was fun to work with and I plan on using it more on future frames. I’ll have a full photo shoot with it very soon but for now here’s where it’s at.

 
  
 
 
 
 

It’s been abnormally warm so far this January. So much so that we’ve actually had the garage door open some days. The weather has made it possible for Chris to put a new carburetor on his 1960-something Volvo without losing the shop’s precious heat.

 

Micah’s frame is very close to completion. The front end is all brazed together and the fork is complete. I anticipate finishing up by the end of the week. I just need to do a bunch of sanding and filing and then work with him on the paint.



And Michelle’s bike was built up and looks incredible! I’m happy with the silver and green combo. This is one classy ride.



Among other things going on at the shop, we have no real heat so this guy has become our best friend.



We tried running it on vegetable oil because it says that it can run on almost any fuel. It really just smoked a lot and spat hot oil out the front. After trying several kerosene/vegetable cocktails, we decided that heat was overrated. Or that Garrett needs to get about a dozen more full size espresso machines in the shop and leave ‘em on 24 hours a day.

Sarah (who’s on the list to get a frame) stopped by the shop recently out of the blue and brought us some amazing cupcakes. I ate three and left the birthday boy one. I’m trying to bulk up.

Next on the agenda is a 3RENSHO repair, my beard attempt, cyclocross race season wrap up, and more! Woo hoo!

Garrett, who shares the space at Circle A repairing espresso machines, stripped his bike and had us repaint it and make it new again. Here are the pictures of it in all it’s classiness.

  
 

I had a small photo shoot with Michelle’s bike at the same time so here are some more pictures of that. I’ll have even MORE pictures of it when it’s all built up.

  
  
 

She brought in a birthday/xmas/thanks-for-building-me-a-bike present which was a bottle of Jameson 18 year old whiskey complete with whiskey dog decanter! Thank you, thank you, thank you!



And Mike Taylor has been in the shop painting an amazing bearded woman on the big white wall near the entrance. I’m so happy to see her every morning. Makes me smile. Here she is in all her glory.

This week was dedicated to building a track frame that will be traveling halfway around the world to Hong Kong when it’s done. I was unaware of the fixed gear bike culture in Hong Kong but was made aware by Brian Fu who will be the proud owner of this Circle A. There was one non-standard request for this frame which was that he wants the bars to be able to spin 360°. This requires super long top tube, steep seat tube and head tube angles, and little to no rake on the fork. Exciting stuff but the challenge lies in the restrictions of it being a lugged frame. Lots of grinding and shaping to get the right angles. It’s made using Henry James’ lugs, Paul Components’ dropouts with integrated tensioners, and Columbus’ new Spirit for Lugs tubeset. Here are some pics of the progress so far.

 
 

So I should’ve mentioned this here BEFORE it happened but today was the big Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween Alleycat here in Providence, RI. I’m sorry I spaced. There was a great turnout nonetheless. Mike Bike won it and chose a Circle A repaint as his prize. Hannah was first for women. Congratulations! I brought out the cross bike and rode almost the whole race with Marty from Geekhouse. It was such a good time. Bobby runs a tight ship. Keep up the great work!

 
 
 

Emily wanted to see some pics of my built up cross bike on here so here they are. It’s only been raced once so far (unless you count the alleycat) but that will be changing very soon. Clearly built up with lots of Ritchey stuff and a Campy Centaur drivetrain.

 
 

Even though we only gave a week and a half of notice, a lot of people still managed to come out to the open house on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who came out and made it a great time. A special thanks to Alan for leading the group ride around Lincoln, RI in the afternoon. Definitely a great way to spend a summer-ish autumn day.

 
 
 
 


On a separate note, Brent built his bike up today at the shop and it is GORGEOUS! He did a great job selecting the colors. The black components go very well with the orange and blue. I borrowed these pictures from his blog.

And finally, mark your calendar as Circuit BMX is hosting a BMX Swap Meet and Footdown World Championships going down on November 3rd. If you’re a BMX’er of any kind and you miss this, you’re dead to me.

All right, sorry for the late notice but for all interested, Circle A is having an open house on Sunday the 21st. Here are the details from Chris:

“That’s right, it’s been six years in Providence, and after a few months we’re more or less settled at the new space on Charles Street.

Come by on Sunday and we’ll recall fondly our tales of road rash, homicidal drivers, tours de beer, and that time you got your cuff stuck in your crank and it pulled your pants off.

Oh wait that was me.

Garrett will be rocking out the fancy espresso drinks and I’m sure there will be beer and pretzels from Job Lot or something.

2 PM - weather permitting, come early with your bike and we’ll have a nice leasurely ride, maybe to Lincoln Woods or Blackstone or something.

4-7 PM This would be the actual event with the coffee and beer and stuff.

Tell your friends, bring your bike, and especially bring your Circle A if you have one, we’d love to get a good group grope. I mean photo.

523 Charles Street, just south of Branch Ave., walk past the garden and there we are. If you’re driving, park on Charles.

Questions, comments, etc, call us. 401-831-5221.

Thanks! Chris, Brian and Emily will be there too!”

On a separate note, Brent’s frame is done. Just need to add Frame Saver and polish the badge. Here are some pics and if you come to the open house, you can see it in person. More pics can be seen here.

 
 
 

Hannah’s paint is finished and I’ll add pictures to the gallery soon enough. But for now, here’s a sneak peak at the finished product.

 
 

Last September I had built a frame for Dan Langlois but never had the chance to take pictures of it. After a season of cross and doing a bunch of traveling, the well-used frame returned to the shop. so here’s a shot of Dan getting it back together. I painted a stem to match it as well. The cross season technically starts on Sunday for Dan with a race up in Agawam, MA. Good luck, man.

Speaking of bikes returning to the shop, this red star fade bike has been making the rounds. It’s temporary home is for now at the shop. The original owner bent the seat stay and he sold it to a friend who had us replace the stay and repaint it. I should say right now that I will never do a paint job like this again.



Two more cross bikes to do this week including one for Jack at the Hub and one for ME! Yes, me. I will be thoroughly testing one of my fillet brazed cross frames this year. Can’t wait. More pics to come soon.