Tuesday, September 23, 2025

Very delayed restoration project


 I bought this Bianchi just as a frame in 1978. It took me about a year to find a fork and headset pieces to build it up. Although it is a racing bike I built it up as a tourer with a triple crank and front and rear racks. I took the bike on several bike tours, one of them the longest tour I have ever ridden, three weeks of mountain passes going from Denver to the Canadian border. Not long after that I leant the bike to a girlfriend for about 5 years. 

When the bike got returned I really didn't ride it much and it wound up hanging from a hook in my shop gathering dust and cobwebs. About 7 years ago I got the urge to restore it. The paint and chrome were shot and the bike never rode quite straight- the fork needed to be aligned. Over the next few weeks I took the bike apart, fixed a big dent in the fork and aligned it. I brought the frame to the powdercoat shop and ordered decals. I looked through my old boxes of parts and this time tried to build it period-correct as much as possible with what I had. I got it 90% done then hung it back up. I just finished it today and rode it for the first time in many years. It rides straight and other than a lumpy front tire it is ready for the ride I will take it on over the weekend- a ride composed of people riding bikes like this- old and archaic but with that great old style that modern bikes don't seem to have . I might have to put on another saddle though.....this one is really spent.



Saturday, September 20, 2025

Big tire gravel for Fox gravel fork



Yes- big tires- 700x50 to be exact. This one will be well suited to fairly rough riding as the big tires and shock fork should make it sure footed on the washboard and rocky terrain. The rider is pretty tall at 6'3" .
 

Friday, September 12, 2025

Large steel 29er for San Jose, Calif.


 Yes, this is a big one for a 6'4" rider. It might not look that big in the photo but the top tube is really long. The frame is made to take 2.4" tires and will be set up with mechanical shifting and an internal dropper post. I had to get a little creative with the disc mount so that it was optimized for a 180 rotor. No adapter will be needed. 


Friday, September 5, 2025

Small 650 boost MTB frame in steel


 This rider is just a bit over 5'5"  so standover is important. I accomplished this with a low top tube and a short integrated 95 mm head tube. The frame will use a 120 mm fork and can take 2.45 " tires so it should be good for semi rough conditions. 


Monday, September 1, 2025

WCCX frame for a member of the junior team.

This kid was tiny when he joined the team a few years back but now he's over 6'. His dad also races on the team -the frame will be set up with mechanical shifting . I hope that he can get to the front of the race with this one and get some podium finishes- he has the speed.
 


WCCX SSCX frame for a team rider in Fairfax, Calif.


 I just dropped this one off yesterday when I went on a road trip north. This one will work Di II with gears or SS. The rider has been riding SS on the team since 2013 so he's an old salt. I'm hoping that he will make the trip to Arkansas to the nationals and be in the grand parade that is the single speed class there- always a spectacle. This one has a SQUID EBB, pretty much the choice of the team for the last decade or so.


7005 time trial frame for Indiana

Just waiting on the seatpost to arrive before I box this one up and send it off . I have not built a TT frame in a number of years but I do have a lot of materials in stock to do so. This is my first disc brake version-that probably gives you an idea how long ago I built the most recent one. This one is built mostly from NOS Easton Elite 7005 US made tubing. I hope that the owner gets really aero on it and smashes some personal records-