More progress...

Things are cooking right along with the production of the US/Falconer made cross frames.  Cameron sent over and update yesterday.  

Mitering tubes.

Mitered tubes.  

All the forks are done.

Cameron made a heat sink for the dropouts.  The aluminum inserts absorb some of the heat during the welding process to eliminate deformation and burn through.

The s-bend chainstays will have clearance for the 43mm Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road tires and any compact road crankset, including Dura Ace, Ultegra, and any from Campagnolo.

Cameron is working his ass off on the frame production.  Now, I need to get my ass in gear to get the head badge and decals made.  

(What's playing:  Led Zeppelin D'yer Mak'er)

Closed Sunday May 12...

Like the title says, I'll be closed Sunday, May 12.  It's Mother's Day and I'm going for a ride.  And visit my mom too.  Hope you're doing the same.

(What's playing:  The Sadies A#1)

Progress...

A lot of good progress has been made on the Falconer Cycles made Black Mountain Cycles cross frames.  One of the more difficult aspects of producing a frame that has clearance for low q-factor cranks and clearance for fat tires is the chainstay shape.  Easy to design one.  Not so easy as one would think to produce.  However, between a few pretty smart guys including Sean at Soulcraft, Cameron Falconer, and myself (I'll throw myself in the mix just because), a design for a clean looking S-bend chainstay that has clearance for any 50/34 compact road crank, including Campagnolo and Shimano Dura Ace, Ultegra, or 105, and Bruce Gordon Rock 'n Road tires. 

The sample fork was also powder coated to make sure the color was proper.  There are several "International Orange" shades and the Golden Gate bridge color is different that some of the other shades.  This is what we came up with and I like it.  It's definitely more pumpkin/brown than the orange on the current frames.  The powder coat is a bit thick on the crown.  Crowns like this are a tough job to get the powder thin enough for crisp edges while still coating everything within the crown's cavity.  Our goal is to have the powder be a bit thinner than this sample so the edges of the crown are a bit more defined.

The sample frame should be ready this week and powder coated soon after.  Stay tuned.  Additionally, there are still spots available to pick yourself up one of these in size 56cm, 59cm, or 62cm.  About half are spoken for.  If you want one, get in touch with me soon.

(What's playing:  Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys Power of the 45 (Pt. 1))

New road frames on order...

As I mentioned in the previous post, I have a new road frame order placed.  I'm anticipating the frames will be here around the end of July into August.  The sooner the better I say.  In anticipation of the new frames, I'm looking at a new color.  All the trends are indicating a light blue is the new hot color for the year and as it happens I had already been thinking about a similar shade of blue as one of the colors.  

This new production of road frames will have no surprises.  Same geometry.  Same tubeset.  Same clearance for big, fat road tires.  Same long reach brake caliper requirement.  The one change I made is the same one I made to the last run of 'cross frames:  a reinforced, machined head tube.  Just a nice little addition.  

Color.  Here's the new blue color against the orange frame.  I think it will make a great looking road frame color.  

For the second color, I'm waffling on more orange or maybe black.  What do you think?  

(What's playing:  Bill Kirchin Truck Stop At The End of The World)

No news is good news...

I guess no news is good news, but wouldn't any news be welcome? However, sometimes there's so much new news that it's hard to get it all out.  Or rather, it's difficult to figure out how to get it out.  Sometimes your "to do" list is so lengthy and every item is equally important, but getting started is difficult because where do you start.  You start by just diving in.  Head first.  

I have a new tumblr account.  Actually, I have two.  Yes, more things to manage.  Tumblr seems to be a simple, clean method of posting photos or words.  In the world of the internet, the way I see it, there is a hierarchical order of social media medium I now manage.  This here blog is reserved for writing more lengthy informational pieces (and for keeping my parents apprised of what I'm doing).  The Facebook page is used for posting links and/or photos of daily shop things.  The tumblr page will have a singular focus of highlighting "what's in the stand," hence the name of the page:  What's In The Stand.  Not fully understanding what I was doing when signing up for tumblr, I also created a Black Mountain Cycles tumblr page, but probably won't be adding much there.  It's probably a good thing to keep for future use.  My Flickr page (what is it about misspelling a common word by removing a vowel?) is used mainly to host photos that I use in the blog.

In other news, 56cm road frames are sold out.  In addition to the 59cm road frames being out of stock, the last 56 left the building last week.  There are still several 50cm, 53cm, and 62cm frames in orange (and one 62 in champagne) available.  I did place an order for more road frames several weeks ago.  I've got a new color in the works and will dedicate a full blog post to the road frame order and color soon.  

The new cross frames have been selling like gangbusters.  I'm pretty surprised and excited at their popularity.  I'm sure there is big potential to ramp up production and marketing for Black Mountain Cycles and turn this thing into the next Specialized, but I don't want to.  I want to remain small and keep doing what I've been doing.  I don't need the headache of growth for growth's sake.  

Regarding the availability of the cross frames, gray is sold out in all sizes except 65cm.  As of yesterday, the 50cm size is sold out in orange too.  There are only two 53cm orange and one 62cm orange available.  There still are a couple of 62cm root beer still available.  I really like the root beer.  There are a few 56cm orange.  I've got a lot of 59cm orange frames because they were the first to sell out during the first run, so I bumped up the quantity I had made by a few.  First to sell out in the first run, slowest mover in the second.  Go figure.  

The US made frames are moving along.  We are building one sample frame and fork to verify clearance - form, fit, function test.  The sample fork has been finished and powder coated and the frame will be finished next week.  It's taken a little longer that originally intended, but it's coming along nicely.  I'm really looking forward to building a new bike for myself.  

(What's playing:  Howard Jones What Is Love)

When did $1,100 become reasonable...

For $1,100 one could purchase a lot of things.  Heck, some families in the world make due with less than that to support themselves for the whole year.  According to VeloNews dot com, the new series of wheels from DT Swiss "hits a reasonable price point between $1,060 - $1,140."  Reasonable.  Maybe compared to the über expensive wheels that seem to be everywhere.  Eleven hundred dollars is still a lot of money.  I'm sure the wheels are very nice.  DT Swiss makes some great hubs and spokes and rims.  I use a lot of their parts.  Heck, a friend I've known for years works at DT Swiss in Switzerland.  

One thing I do like about these wheels is that it is essentially one wheelset that is offered in different sizes and widths.  They didn't try to reinvent the wheel for each option.  Three diameters, three widths.  About $1,100.  Reasonable.

Now, I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  For $852, I can build you a set of wheels with the excellent White Industries MI6 hubs, No Tubes ZTR rims (Crest, Arch EX, or Flow EX in 26", 27.5", or 29"), DT Swiss black Competition butted spokes with DT Swiss black brass nipples.  That's also complete with NoTubes yellow rim tape and valves.  Tubeless ready for $250 to $300 less than that DT wheelset and with a spoke system that can be serviced anywhere, unlike this one.  Heck, with that savings, you can get yourself set up with new tires, cassette and still have money left over for beer and burgers for all your friends post-ride.  

Okay, one thing you will need.  Depending on the way your wheel fits into your bike, you may need quick releases.  

(What's playing:   Pixies Hey)

Rims...

I alluded to receiving some new rims that aren't available anywhere else.  That's not an entirely true statement.  They are available.  It's just that you have to order them direct from the manufacturer in China and pay $35 shipping per rim.  That puts that rim at $105 each.  Not bad as there are rims that cost more and rims that cost less.  

What rim is this?  It's the H Plus Son TB14 rim in 36 hole.  Currently, this rim is only available from US distributors in 32 hole.  After receiving a couple requests from folks for this rim in 36 hole, I ordered a couple boxes of 36 hole rims in polished silver, black, and hard anodized finishes direct from China.  Seems there's quite a few folks looking to rebuild their old 36 hole wheels with a silver box section rim to keep the classic look of their bike intact.  Box section rims in the old Mavic MA2/MA40 style are about as rare as hen's teeth. The TB14 rim is a rim that is a natural extension of the old Mavic classic rims.  The profile matches the Mavic rims to a "T," while bringing it into the 21st century with a 23mm wide cross-section that is great when running 25 and 28 tires.  It even gives a 23mm wide tire a more voluminous shape.  The rim joint is welded and the brake track is machined.  I've built a few of the 32h TB14 rims and they do build into nice wheels.  Weight?  Don't know for sure as my scale is broken, but they weigh what they weigh - not too heavy, not too light.  According to the website, they're supposed to weigh 490 grams. 

The guys at H Plus Son were great to work with and only a few days after they received payment, I had a FedEx delivery of rims.  The good news is that the 36h TB14 rims I have are only a couple dollar upcharge over the 32h rims at $82 for polished silver or all black and $94 for hard anodized.  So, there ya go.  They say the aluminum box section rim is dead.  I say long live the aluminum box section rim!

(What's playing:  Johnny Cash I Won't Back Down)

Wheels and bikes oh my...

It's a good thing I don't set myself a regular schedule for posting to the blog.  I would have failed miserably seeing that the last post was about 2 weeks ago.  That's not because I've been sitting my hands, not doing anything.  On the contrary, it seems that the addition of the custom wheel page has sparked quite a bit of interest in handbuilt wheels.  Several sets have gone out the door and more are in the queue.  This is in addition to the bike builds that are going on.  I've also got some rims coming into the shop that seem to not be available anywhere else.  

On the bike front, a 62cm road bike with a SRAM Apex/Rival build went out as well as a 65cm cross bike that was built with parts transferred from a 63cm Bianchi Vigorelli. 

 And this 59cm cross bike was wrapped up today for a weekend of fun on Bay Area roads and trails.  The bar tape is a nod to Guitar Ted.

And I'll end it with a couple of wheels.  The new rims showed up today, but I'll leave that for another blog post.  Spread things out a touch.  

This White Industries T11 hubset built into Velocity Dyad rims was one of those wheelsets that turns out so right that I just wanted to keep them for myself.  But alas, they should be tearing up the terrain in Austin, TX this weekend.  

One does not automatically associate the HED Belgium rim with a 29"er.  However, the HED rim is a perfect candidate for a rim brake 29"er.  The width of the rim will support a 2.1, it has a nice tall brake track, and the overall quality and build feel is perfect for a 29"er with rim brakes.  This single-speed wheelset built with King hubs and Sapim CX-Ray spokes will see many miles around Marin's trails.

(What's playing:  KWMR Friday Funkfest with the Fairfax Funkateer - check this out for a great funk radio show  http://kwmr.org/show/57)

Closing shop for a couple days...

Taking a few days off.  No bike, but maybe a run or two.  The shop will be closed Sunday, March 31 through Tuesday April 2.  Back to things on Wednesday.  In the mean time, these two builds will keep me busy today.  

(What's playing:  Johnny Cash Mean Eyed Cat)

Custom wheels...

I added a Custom Wheels page to the website quite a while ago.  Then I promptly left it blank for many months.  Been meaning add info to that page for quite some time and the inspiration finally hit me this morning.  Well, inspiration and realizing I'd neglected that page on the site.  There you have it.  If you're in the market for some custom, hand-built wheels, drop me a line.

(What's playing:  Elvis Costello Sleepless Nights)