Fork Crown Cronicles: A Preview

Eons ago I cast two fork crowns.

I made two because it was recommended I make an extra just in case the first one failed.  I didn't make more because I wanted to be certain that they would work before I sold any internal organs to produce a bunch.  So the twin crown wasn't going to go to just anyone, it would have to go to someone special.  And it did. 

Today I was shown this photo, and initially it didn't even register.

Image Via Hrrundel's Flickr.

 That's my crown on that fork.  

Needless to say, I'm psyched to see more of this Colnago, excited that a successful build came of my crown, and happy that it means more of these are coming in the future.

I guess I need to finish the frame that goes with the other crown...

I'm still torn though - fillet brazed, or lugged?

Old Vintage Steel

I can't stress enough just how awesome the online cycling community is, and how many cool people I meet.

Recently I was contacted regarding Takhion parts by a man named Alex, who very obviously shares a passion for bikes from the Soviet Union.  He's found some amazing buried treasures all over his home country of Belarus and many surrounding areas - I almost couldn't believe my eyes at photographs of bikes that had remained hidden, possibly forgotten, for so long.  

Wanting to share these bikes with people who would respect them and understood the significance of their history, he started Old Vintage Steel, and can also be found on Instagram under the same name.

Of course, he currently has a Takhion he wants to get to a good home.

It's a 58cm road frame, and it comes with three (yes three) forks, handlebars, and a BB.  

Check out this beauty!  Lots more photos on the Facebook page.

The third fork is also a Takhion fork with the TT clamps.  

Columbus SLX tubing.

And of course, there are other gems for sale, like these XB3s.  

Such a pretty color.

And this lovely set of Fluidisks!

Amazing.

Go check it out on Facebook or IG, and check back often for new cool treasures. 

Something Precious

If there's one thing to be said about the online bicycle community, it's that they're honestly some of the best people around.  Over the years I've made so many wonderful friends and have learned so much.  People here are always willing to help, to offer advice, even to sometimes do things that I thought were impossible.  

I received a gift today from one of these people.  

A fully restored XB3 Српинт.

I know what this frame meant to the friend who I received it from, and I can honestly say that receiving it moved me to tears.  Thank you, Alex, for being such a good friend and letting me question you to death about Soviet bikes.  You have no idea how much it means to me!  

Everything, down to the decals, is perfect.

I will do my best to do this frame justice.  And I will pay this forward in the future, somehow! 

1980 Moscow Olympics decal!!

There are a few more photos of this lovely frame over on Flickr, and I'll be searching for more XB3 parts to get it built up.  Every time I look at this XB3 I'll be reminded of how fortunate I am to have made such amazing friends - and that is truly what's precious.  

Gorgeous Rossin Art on Kickstarter

If you love lo-pro pursuit bikes like I do, you're going to love what Michael has been working on for the past few months.

Mitch from Meisturwek displays the Rossin Canvas next to his collection.

I've been following Michael on Instagram for a while now, watching intently as he perfected his model for the original Rossin pursuit bike.  He's got amazing skills and hasn't stopped refining his design until it was perfect.

Amazing work.  Trust me, this is not easy to do, and Michael killed it!

As Michael puts it: "As I see it, there are really only two types of people in this world; those who own a Rossin pursuit frame, and those who want a Rossin pursuit frame. Whichever category you fit into, I've got you covered."  The rarity of frames like this is astonishing, and many people spend years searching to no avail.  I feel like Rossins are rarer than Takhions, so for this specific bike (which I have seen maybe three or four of) I know how hard they are to find.


But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy this design yourself.  Check out Michael's Kickstarter and get yourself a Rossin Canvas print or a Rossin shirt!


Already got a Rossin?  Well, you're luck, and you can get a custom canvas with your bike on it!

One of the many options you can get!

No wall space?  That's fine - everyone has space for a t-shirt!

I know how much work has been put into this project, and I would love to see it backed.  Please give it some lo-pro bike love if you haven't already.  

Takhion + Tsubasa MASS

A while back I had heard plans for a collaborative project, and was really, really excited for where it was going.  Recently I not only got an update, but was given permission to show some of the photos here and do a little feature on this awesome project.  I'm psyched to bring you a preview of this collaboration between Edinvas Vavilovas of Tsubasa Bicycles and Mr. Reginald Vorontsov of Takhion!

Used with permission from http://www.tsubasabicycles.com/

I highly encourage you to visit Edinvas' site to read the whole story of this project, because this is far more than just about building a bicycle.  

"Takhion and I, founder of Tsubasa, are auctioning the Takhion+Tsubasa Mass to raise money for the war victims of Ukraine. 

Takhion lives in the Ukraine; I am Lithuanian now living in London. Having both felt the cruel hand of war we wanted to help. Takhion+Tsubasa Mass takes its name from the belief that together we are strong, even in times of hardship.

We’re working with The International Committee of The Red Cross to ensure that all money raised provides food and shelter for the orphans and victims of war."

If you are interested in donating, or bidding on this frame, please visit the donation page here, or visit their Thunderclap page here.

Used with permission from http://www.tsubasabicycles.com/

More information on the cause can also be found on Tsubasa Bicycle's facebook page.

Used with permission from http://www.tsubasabicycles.com/

As for the construction of this bike, Edinvas told me more about his single piece technology: "they [the frames] don't have joints, pieces aren't glued together as today's carbon frames are. It's made in a way, that if you'll follow one fiber, you will notice that fiber runs through entire frame i.e. BB to chain stays, chain stays to seat stays, seat stays to top tube and son on. This way of making a frame eliminates weak point and maximises durability and performance of the frame as the web of fibers of entire frame responding to the stress instead of glue at the joint." 

"Bottom part of the frame is internally bridged, including chain stays, which increase torsional and bending stiffness of up to 300% when comparing with regular economy class bicycle frame.  Frames are made using High Modulus and Ultra High Modulus unidirectional carbon fiber."

His frames also come with a lifetime warranty.  

Here are some in progress shots: 

Stainless steel headtube insert.  Used with permission from http://www.tsubasabicycles.com/

Dropouts!  Used with permission from http://www.tsubasabicycles.com/

Check out some of Tsubasa Bicycles' previous work as well.

Happy Halloween!

There were some great Halloween festivities today at work, and my friend showed up with an awesome costume (that not enough people seemed to get, unfortunately!)

Though I'm not sure if he spent the day pretending he was Italian.

Even Moonboy is decorated!

Whether it includes a costume ride, trick or treating, or horror flicks, have a safe and happy Halloween!

Things I Find On My Commute: Sci-Fi Edition

Sometimes when I'm on the bike trail I let my mind wander a bit.  Often I'll be daydreaming and think I see a giant bird or a gnarly creature out of the corner of my eye, but it turns out to be a sign, or a log, or something.  So I was pretty sure my eyes were deceiving my on a recent ride into work - there's no way...that isn't...wait...

Yep, that's a Dalek.

"Can I please take a photo of you and your Dalek" is not a phrase I say very often.  

This awesome guy had built a full size, fully functional Dalek that he could pilot around.  It had a camera, voice changer, a motor, you name it!  And in my geeky excitement, I completely forgot the name of the artist who built it.  So, if you stumble across this Mr. Dalek Builder, thank you for the Dr. Who history lesson and the information about the Dalek building community!

"EXTERMINAAAAAAATE"

Things like this are one of the many reasons I love bike commuting.  Though I can't say I run into many characters from sci-fi shows, I can at least add a Dalek to the awesome-things-found-while-commuting list.  It's definitely one of the weirder ones on that list!

An Incredible Rossin

When about a year and a half ago a friend of mine sent me a picture of a beautiful and strangely unique Rossin frame that he had acquired, I knew the finished result would be nothing short of amazing.  I see a lot of great photos of bikes, but this stunning rarity is now easily in my top ten.  And though there are still some parts that will be added and swapped out, the attention to detail and components on this bike are pretty damn amazing as is.

This frame is somewhat of a mystery - it's in nearly perfect shape and is a color scheme that neither of us have ever seen replicated.  Does anyone have any insight as to its history??   

I'm just going to post a teaser here, since you should all take the time to visit both Preilauskas' Tumblr set with a full write up and his Pedal Room profile for full specs and to see the full photoshoot!

The proud owner with his incredible Rossin.  Image from Preilaukas' Tumblr.

I love the color and decals!  Image from Pedal Room.

My personal favorite - what a great photo!  Image from Preilauskas' Tumblr.

Just...killer bike!

Loose Goose

Brad Marshall, a pretty incredible industrial industrial designer and overall cool guy, created this masterpiece recently.

Photo via Cycle Exif

The whole write up and a few more stellar photos can be found here, and if you're anywhere near Brisbane you'll be able to see this bike in person at Pushies Galore this coming weekend.  Aside from the design being modeled after other similar style pursuit frames, this bike is made even more special by the fact that many of the parts were 3D printed!

I remember those bars!  Photo via Cycle Exif.

Seeing this bike finished is extra cool, as I found out that Brad was up to something when he inquired about these bars.  I got to see a sneak peak of some of what he was working on, but when this popped up today I was blown away.  I'd love to see this in action at a velodrome...and even though it looks quite too large for me, I'd love to ride it! 

Brad, if you're reading this, I sure hope you have more bike related projects in mind for the future :D!!

I meet cool people on the train sometimes

Friday morning I was on the train to work, on complete autopilot, when another lady cyclist commented that we both matched our bikes.

I asked her if it was intentional - she was wearing teal leggings with a black shirt and a teal backpack that matched an older teal Specialized (I think, I hadn't had coffee yet) that she said she had been using as a beater.  She said it was pure coincidence, but it was a pretty awesome accident! 

I was in an orange tank with orange gloves and an orange helmet, which is all intentional on my part - visibility, a cool color combo, and appeasing Giants fans and all that.  We got to talking a bit about bikes and commuting in style, and then parted ways at the next stop.

Thank you, rad stranger.  It was a brief but excellent encounter that made my day!

The Bikes (And Bike People) of Maker Faire

Maker Faire has been described as many things, and it's tagline "The greatest show and tell on earth" is pretty accurate.  Today I also heard it as a "Burning Man for tech people," which is also spot on.  

What surprised me about Maker Faire was the prevalence of bicycles, bike powered objects, and bike related exhibits.  I tried to grab as many photos as I could, starting with the valet bike parking that was almost completely full when I arrived.  There were thousands of bikes!

Big thank you to the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition for organizing this!

This was organized and managed by the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, an excellent organization that I've worked with before.  The fair was located along a bike route and bike parking was free, so people of all ages were riding in.

Parked and ready for the fun!

Parking was a short walk away from the entrance to Maker Faire, where a fire breathing octopus greeted everyone, and many bicycle related contraptions were being demonstrated.  This guy below was using this machine to do really cool geometric chalk drawings.

Many contraptions and robots had bike parts.

Next I met the awesome folks of V-Lock, who showed me their prototype lock and bicycle storage device.  It's beautiful, efficient, really well made, and I'm excited to get in on their Kickstarter when it launches!  I also got to speak with one of the designers who also builds frames - check out how beautiful they are.  It wasn't until after that I realized I was so excited talking about the V Lock that I didn't manage to get any of my own photos, so here's one from their site!  

Bike lock and bike rack - how cool is this?!  Via VLock's site.

Another booth was displaying frames made locally and advertising a summer course to build your own.  Hopefully I can have my frames at a booth next year too! 

Student made frames.

Right then, I found the Whiskeydrome: a mini velodrome where you ride single speed cruiser type bikes.  What a blast!

Everyone was curious to either watch or ride.

Inside the drome!

Now that's a steep bank.

We're rooting for you, Larry.

There were a few bikes, races, and events being put on by the Fun Bike Unicorn Club.

I would very much like to join this club.

These were some of the bikes that they had on display.  I'm not sure how functional these particular bikes were because they weren't being ridden, but there were many that were much more ridiculous that were being ridden.  

Wandering into a nearby building, I ran into the MonkeyLectric booth!  They were having a deal on one of their models and had many others on display, including an activity where you could draw something and transfer it to one of their wheels.  I really want to get one of these eventually.

Here's what they look like off the bike.

These thing are bright!  And they're becoming more affordable.

Impossible to miss this on the street at night.

And everyone knows that a VR exhibition wouldn't be complete without a bicycle simulator.  There was a demo of a bike controlled sim/video game that I watched for a bit.  It reminded me a lot of Mario Kart!

It was a single speed, but the brakes did interact with the game, which was pretty cool.

Riding the streets of Italy in your living room.

Bicycles were also *powering* some of the exhibits - there was a smoothie booth where you had to bicycle-blend your own drink, and of course the pedal powered stage, where the audience rides bikes to power the instruments!

Bikes of all kinds - even a cargo bike!

I wandered around a bit more looking at all of the bikes and contraptions.  There were so many, with bikes made of wood, electric bikes, burning man bikes, and sometimes things that were completely different, like this interesting take on a spokeless wheel:

Never seen anything like this before!

A close-up.

On my way out, I found a few of the electric bikes were grouped in the electric vehicle section, like these two!  I was really hoping to get a demo, but things were winding down and I had to leave.  

That wheelbase...

If you're in the Bay Area, Maker Fair is going on through this weekend, so I highly recommend you bike over and check it out!  There is way, way more than what I was able to feature here, and many interactive exhibits.  They have robots, 3D printing, mech battles, Game of Drones, and an agricultural exhibit where they were giving out baby plants.

Made it home in one piece!

Thanks to everyone who made Maker Faire possible - I'll update with any bike related Kickstarters as they launch in the next coming months.

Not Quite Monday

There was a feature a while back on Prolly's site for these excellent Eddy Merckx shirts.  I managed to e-mail the artist just in time and snag one of the very last smalls!  

Too cool.

I don't get into too much cycling history on here because there are many other blogs that do it much better than this one, but that's not to say I don't love and respect it!  Eddy Merckx has always been one of my favorites, and this is actually the second Merckx shirt that I own.

Unfortunately these were a limited run and the artist doesn't have anymore right now, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out the rest of his awesome work here.