Build Bikes. Eat Cookies.

Here is the bike for Jen Corace.

Fun to build, even more fun to ride. She even took the time to design her own  head badge, to try to use up some of the space on the massive head tube.

It’s a funny thing to leave your friends, and the family you’ve been able to choose, to move to a big and unwelcoming city. But that is what I have done. A while ago, to be honest (as I have not exactly been prompt on my updates). I have left my Providence home and ventured off into a world I never thought would hold any interest to me: New York City. Or as one of my friends so “lovingly” put it: the place you go when you are young, college graduate, or an artist. I am currently trying my hand at the later.

Five years ago, the thought crossed my mind that I would like to build my own bike. I (roughly) had the skills (if not the specific knowledge of how to). It took another year for me to act on that thought and approach Chris about an apprenticeship. He asked me such lofty questions as, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” over our first of many coffee/bagel’s at the neighborhood coffee shop. Despite my mumbling through the answer of that question, he graciously took me under the proverbial wing.

Five years later, I am sitting here staring at a screen trying to come up with the words to express my gratitude for that time. I am trying to sum up an apprenticeship that without mincing words, changed my life. What stated out as a simple means to an end; a person who could teach me a set of skills in exchange for work, turned into an ever present and non-removable part of my life. Now the bikes and the friends are part of me, and that is a wonderful thing.

Here are some pictures of the bike I am currently working on, the first Circle A step through! All fillet brazed, all the time.
The head tube is massively tall so that Jen (it’s her bike!) can sit as upright as she wants. The seat stays were kind of fun, I mitered and brazed on a piece of tubing to the tops to mimic a classic look, without the weight of a cast seat stay cap.
OK, more later. It’s off to put in the support strut from the seat tube to the top tube.

(Thanks Brian, for the pictures.)

A couple of weeks ago, a friend severely injured after getting hit by a van. Although there is a lot to say about this, I can’t seem to write it out. There is just an overwhelming shock of what can happen so suddenly, and too often. Help out if you can, or just be aware and send good thoughts his way (it can’t hurt).

Be careful, and watch out for each other.

This lil beauty was built using the Paramount lugs from Kirk Pacenti. He recommended using brass for the lugs, since they are a bit smaller than even the bikini lugs that we often use. Using the brass with lugs was a new challenge, but easily allowed me to put the seat stays onto the seat tube lug with a nice fillet.

The paint was “fun” too. I got the idea for the masking from this beautiful bike.

Yesterday marked the very last day of Circle A residing in Carpenter Mills. And along with some mild harassment from the building manager, we also received a tour of the old Corliss flywheel that used to run the joint. Awesome. I think we missed out on the opportunity to hook these up and power them by bicycle though. Just for frame of reference, the flywheel is at least 15 feet in diameter.*

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*Chris will tell you 20.

OK, so it is stupid late and I can’t sleep, don’t have a book at the moment, and here I am blogging. I know it may seem lame, but reallly it’s…no it’s lame. Oh well. This is how to build a bike. Again/Still.

I think it worked. I am now tired.

Here is Ed’s finished bike, minus the parts. and the fork. Can’t wait to see it all built up/under a Montreal sky. Hope it treats you well Ed! (Thanks for the book.)

Here is Rebecca’s finished repainted bike. Now we are waiting on the gold parts…

This bike came in for a repaint, and was apparently in some sort of collision, as the rear end is way out of allignment. And had huge dent in the down tube. Rebecca has no knowledge of what actually happened, except that it may have happened on Cinco de Mayo, perhaps while some drinking took place. And that is why you go smashy on your bike. I realligned the bike and made her look real good again. But you don’t get to see that yet…

Yes, that’s right. A sweet gold fade with bright blue designs.