Archive for June, 2009

First off, if you’re in the New York area this weekend, June 26-28, come visit us in Long Island City at Socrates Sculpture Park. It’s their Makers Market, and lots of folks will be there with stuff that they’ve, you know, made. Friday night is the big kick-off and should be lots of fun; in addition to showing some hot new bikes we’ve been working on, we’ll be selling schwag like t-shirts, pint glasses, and posters! Click on the flyer to make it bigger:

You can find more details here.

Meanwhile, Jen’s 26″ world-tourer is ready for paint. Here are some pix of the construction:

  

   

One of the goals with Jen’s bike is to make it as retro-compatible as possible. If she’s in the middle of nowhere, she needs to be able to use whatever parts are on hand. So there are down-tube shifter bosses and semi-horizontal Henry James dropouts that will allow her to turn it into a single speed if her derailleur blows up. That’s also why we chose 26″ wheels – it’s the most common size on the planet. Although she’ll generally be running slicks, I wanted to make sure she could fit full-on mountain bike tires in case that’s all that’s available:

  

Here are some more frame details; I’m putting through-holes in the fork for a Tubus low-rider rack:

  

I also did a rear-end treatment on Jonathan’s Marinoni. New dropouts and a wishbone monostay. I’m trying a new technique to avoid the “cookie cutter” problem of the monostay punching a hole in the back of the seat tube: I weld a cap on the end of the monostay, grind it smooth, and then silver braze the capped end to the seat tube:

   

   

Next: Jascha’s tubes and lugs have arrived for the first disc-brake single speed Circle A! Construction starts this week!

So certainly the most dramatic event of our open house was Reba taking delivery of what she calls “the coolest f**king bike I’ve ever seen.” And are you going to argue? No, I didn’t think so.

Stealthy and sleek, it’s got metallic black lettering on black, save for the silver wheat on the seat tube, a loving nod to Reba’s home state of Oklahoma. If you can’t make out the script on the top tube: “To the place I belong…” Note the leather Brooks bar tape – the Brooks saddle is on it’s way.

  

  

I also sent out AJ’s tourer, here are some shots of that, and of the built up bike in it’s natural habitat:

  

  

  

 

Also, Eric finally rode away on his belt drive commuter:

   

I painted an Icarus for Ian:

And finally, I started a 26″ touring bike for Jen. It’ll primarily be welded, but with old-school capped seat stays:

  

  

Next: Finishing Jen’s, and Jascha’s disc-brake single speed!