Almost forgot...

...the before picture.

From Potts

(What's playing: Johnny Paycheck Take This Job and Shove It)

What's in the stand...

Steve Potts custom from the late 80's early 90's. It's a 6-speed bike which would, on paper, put it in the 80's, but one could still get 6-speed parts new from Shimano into the early 90's so the parts aren't necessarily a good indicator of the year of the bike. The brake levers are later (and original to the bike) than the shifters and derailleurs, so I'm thinking early 90's.

Local bike. Lots of miles in its tubes. Lots of miles in its future. The bike had been sitting in neglect for the past couple of years and needed a throrough cleaning, new cables, fresh grease in all the Grease Guard ports, and new bar tape.

From Potts

From Potts

From Potts

(What's playing: Bob Dylan Song to Woody)

Things that make you scratch your head...

I recently had a repair in the shop. The bike had experienced one of those moments when something catches in the rear derailleur and eventually rips off the derailleur hanger and twists the rear derailleur into a pretzel. Easy fix, but when I got the parts together to do the install, I realized that both the rear derailleur and derailleur hanger cost the same. Actually, that's not correct, the hanger cost me more than the derailleur. A derailleur with at least 30 parts that required someone to assemble it costs more than a piece of machined aluminum. Kinda makes ya scratch your head.

Something else that should make you scratch your head: this sells for more than this. Go figure.

(What's playing: Tom Russell If Daddy Don't Sing Danny Boy Tonight)

Rawland, Surly, Salsa frame sale...

I should probably use this here blog thing to actually "sell" stuff. So, here are some frames that have been attached to the wall and should be built up and under you - yes, you. The prices below include shipping to anywhere in the lower 48. First come, first served.

Up first is a medium Rawland dSogn. New w/ fork. $395 (includes shipping).
Next is another Rawland - a large dSogn. Gone.

Since it's cross season, I'll include this black Surly Cross Check frame. It's a Surly. It's a 56cm size. It's versatile. It's cool. It's black. Black is the new black. Run it single or geared. It's yours for $395 shipped to the lower 48 states.

Finally, I've got a couple of Salsa Fargo framesets. One's a medium and the other is an XXL - man-sized. Both include forks and seat collars. Fun Guy green and ready to be built into your vision of a 29"er that can do it all. Yours for $595 shipped to your home (or place of business) in the lower 48 states.
Well, that's it. Please don't ask about one of these frames in a size that's not listed here because what you see is what you get. Only these sizes. Only these colors. Thanks for reading. E-mail or call to place your order. The contact info is up there on the upper right side.

(What's playing: Rev. Horton Heat Baby I'm Drunk)

Snake in the pumps...

This little critter was snaking its way under the door when as I was locking up last night. Kind of freaked out the dog. Well, made him nervous. He doesn't much care for snakes. Probably a good thing.

(What's playing: The Hangdogs Alcohol of Fame)

One for Ben...

Ben's waiting for his very own Steve Potts titanium frameset, so I thought I'd throw him a bone. Here is the first Potts 650b frame that is in the stand right now getting boxed to be sent to it's new home. It turned out pretty sweet. It's designed around a Fox 100mm travel fork and by adjusting the travel of the fork down to 80mm, it could also be run with a full-sized 29" wheel up front.

From Potts

Good clearance with the Pacenti 2.35 Neo-Moto (Neo and Quasi Moto and Kenda Nevegal 650b in stock, by the way).

From Potts

From Potts

From Potts

From Potts

The brakes the owner sent me were for IS mounting, but luckily Shimano makes a nifty adapter that allows an IS caliper to be mounted to a post mount by using a 180mm rotor - a good idea with the bigger wheels as well.

From Potts

And just because I can, here's another Potts 29"er that came in yesterday for service.

From Potts

(What's playing: Luther Wright and the Wrongs Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2)

Almost forgot...

...the best quote of the day during Biketoberfest. A guy was checking out the OS Blackbuck single-speed mountain bike. He turned the crank backwards and said, "it's like a fixie with a freewheel." Uh, okay.

(What's playing: Hank Thompson Six-Pack To Go)

Random good links and Biketoberfest pictures...

I've been collecting links that I've been meaning to comment on or just post them because I find them interesting. Some of them are a little dated, but they are still timeless. So, here's a post about posts that I like.

Bring Back Engraved Polished C-Record
I like this concept. I want high-end, but I don't want to spend the dollars for high-end carbon components. I also ride simple steel frames and want to maintain the classic look of aluminum cranks, brake levers, derailleurs... With companies such as Colnago and DeRosa continuing to produce lugged steel frames for riders who want the look of the classic lugged frame. Check out the link. The author did a great job of creating the look of a neo-retro component group.

I enjoyed the interview with Steve Hampsten of Hampsten Cycles on Patrick Brady's Red Kite Prayer website. What I particularly liked is Steve's like of bigger tired road bikes. Reminds me of the piece on Andy Hampsten's bike on bikeradar.com and the Supersize Me post I made last year. Read the Steve Hampsten interview Part I and Part II.

While I still follow racing, it doesn't much interest me much these days. The races seem very formulaic with the outcomes all but determined well before the racers line up. This is most evidently seen in the longer stage races where racers (and their directors) plot and plan to position their racer for the ultimate win. It's not who wins the battle, it's who wins the war (and does best in the time trial). The Tour of California is Levi Leipheimer's. The Tour de France is Alberto Contador's. The warriors are directed by back stage generals via radios so that tactics are reduced to following orders dictated by the generals.

Recently the UCI has voted to ban race radios. Personally, I like the concept. And even more interesting, Michael Barry, racer with Team Columbia-HTC, came out and voiced his support of the ban. Interesting because his boss appears to be in favor of using radios to control his racers. Read Michael Barry's VeloNews diary posts here and here. They're good reads.

And in the I-sure-hope-the-paycheck-is-worth-it category, America's favorite (only known?) road racer, Lance Armstrong inked a deal with Michelob Ultra to be their new spokesman and ambassador. Now, I'm sure the deal included more zeroes than I'll make in my lifetime, but imagine this for a moment. You are in a bar or restaurant and you want to order a local brew. But no, you can't because you are Michelob Ultra's spokesman and ambassador so you have to order a Michelob Ultra. Ick. I'm sure Michelob Ultra is a fine beer. Notice I didn't write "fine tating beer." There will be no more public ales, porters, IPAs for Mr. Armstrong. The dollar is a mighty opponent that has felled many a good man.

Bikerader.com recently posted stories about the local Dino Ride and last weekend's Biketoberfest. Read my buddy Gary B's stories here and here. And here are some pictures I took during Biketoberfest. I had a booth there with my road bike and monster cross bike. I also shared space with Mark Slate's OS Brand bikes and exhibited Bruce Gordon's new BLT frame.

A couple of Black Mountain Cycles frames and the OS Blackbuck.

From Biketoberfest 09

From Biketoberfest 09

Mark from Rivendell and some Rivendell bikes.

From Biketoberfest 09

Brent Steelman was there with this sweet fixed gear bike that is owned by a customer of mine who puts in a lot of miles on this beauty.

From Biketoberfest 09

Sean from Soulcraft and Brent Steelman.

From Biketoberfest 09

A nice old Chris Chance road bike was making its way through the festival.

From Biketoberfest 09

This guy was tooling around on his red Potts mountain bike.

From Biketoberfest 09

A Fairfax local and his wife on their Pedersen's

From Biketoberfest 09

This guy was walking his Cunningham through the grounds.

From Biketoberfest 09

A neat old Mountain Goat.

From Biketoberfest 09

Two more Cunninghams that were produced roughly together in the last batch of frames Charlie made.

From Biketoberfest 09

From Biketoberfest 09

(What's playing: KWMR and Roadhouse Twang)

New post - gotta make it good...

If one is not going to slack off and not post for a couple of weeks, one better come back with some good stuff. It doesn't get any better than working on nice old bikes and getting to work on a Cunningham tops that list. My friend Noah sent his Cunningham to Charlie to get some repair work done to the frame and the fork and stem were sent down to Joe Bell for some classic silver Imron paint. I got the frame back and set about with its rebuild. Pictures are worth a thousand words so I'll just shut up and let the pictures speak for themselves.

From Cunningham

Lots of bosses for installing the WTB B-52 bottle cage for 1.5l water bottles.

From Cunningham

The brakes were originally roller-cam. Charlie sent the toggle-cam linkage with the frame, but I had to modify them to get the length of the adjuster just right.

From Cunningham

From Cunningham

Hand filed freewheel cogs predate the stamped and machined cassette cogs. Charlie was modifying existing parts to make them function better years ago.

From Cunningham

From Cunningham

There's a custom mud guard back there to keep the brakes clean. The riveted stainless cable guide there is wide with hooded ends to keep the brake cable running smoothly. It's open because as the toggle-cam goes through it's motion, the cable will naturally move slightly across the guide from left to right. Only about 5-8mm. It would work okay with the cable moving through a traditional closed guide, but works oh so much better when it's open. It's the little things like this that make the Cunningham bike unique.

From Cunningham

From Cunningham

Attention to detail - got to make the gap in the handlebar shim line up perfectly with the stem gap, otherwise, why even show up for work.

From Cunningham

(What's playing: Merle Haggard Working Man Blues)

Closed Saturday Oct. 10...

It's time for Biketoberfest in Fairfax this Saturday, October 10 and I'll be there with a booth showing of the samples of my new road and cross frames. I'll also be sharing space with Mark Slate of OS Brand bikes where he'll have a couple of his Blackbuck bikes. I'll also have one of the new Bruce Gordon Basic Loaded Touring frames on display. This is a really great touring frame with custom painted Gordon racks. Come on out, over, down, or up to Fairfax to check out a bunch of cool bikes and sample some great beers. There will be a lot of great frame builders and bike companies there: Soulcraft, Steelman, Inglis/Retrotec, Rivendell, Hunter, Sycip, Ahrens...

(What's playing: Jerry Lee Lewis One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart))