Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Steel single speed CX frame for So-Cal

 This bike could wear a few different hats but primarily it is a S/S CX race bike. I call the color "Hot rod orange" but the photos don't really do it justice.
The color has so much going on that matching the fork was out of the question. There are layers of metal-flake and pearlescence that add tremendous depth to the color.

The tapered fork is an Enve and the headset is a special model I get from King that fits the tapered steel head tube from Solid BMX.

Sunday, March 13, 2016

1984 Rock Lobster MTB

 Yes, that's not a typo. This is Rock Lobster # 2 , not the second ever frame that I built but the second mountain bike. The fork was built four years ago as the original one got lost by the third owner. I am now the first and subsequently fourth owner as I got the frame back about 2011 and restored it for the 2012 NAHBS in Sacramento.
The equipment is almost exactly what I put on the bike when I first built it up. The pedals are modern as the originals are long gone and were not all that great anyway. The bike first had a Campagnolo rally rear der. but a stick destroyed it after a year of riding in the forests around Santa Cruz.                
It is doubtful that this bike has seen the dirt since the mid '90's. This coming weekend it will see plenty, as long as the weather is good.
There's a mountain bike race in the southern Sierra foothills called the Keyesville Classic. They have a vintage MTB category and two of us will compete on pre-1986 bikes in that class. Should be pretty funny trying to ride these dinosaurs over the rocks .                                             

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Steel big tire CX frame for Fullerton, Ca.

 Nice sparkle black on this one. More traditional than a lot of frames I have been building this winter, this one has rim brakes and regular Q.R. dropouts. Nothing wrong with the stuff that has served well for generations.
 The only modern feature is the tapered steerer front end-not a bad idea for the rigors of CX riding and racing. The Enve fork has been painted to match and the blue decals are custom ordered and not a stock item.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Another 'Alfie' , this one will be Di II

 Yes, Di II. Shimano makes the Alfine rear hub in Di II and this customer has one. The Alfie bike is usually sold as a town bike but this one will also have touring duties as the rack and fender mounts indicate. There's also three sets of bottle bosses as well. This is probably the nicest edition of this model I have built to date. Hopefully I'll get pictures of the complete build next month.
 For those of you wondering why photos have not been put up as often, I have been much more diligent with the Rock Lobster Facebook site, putting up photos almost daily. I promise that I'll be a bit better here, though. This is a better and more established spot for my photos and reports.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Steel road frame, fork and stem for a local

 I built the wheels this bike-her Belgium+ rims. The stem is one that I built and the whole bike has a feel of confidence.....steel does that like no other material. It is a solid ride.
 The Dura Ace 9000 group has top be the best performing setup out of any on the market . I doubt that I have ever ridden any stuff as good as this......I have had it on my own bike for about 1 1/2 years now.
There's no carbon anywhere on this bike except in the shifters. Hopefully this bike will be ridden from the Canadian border to the Mexican border this summer.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Steel road frame, fork and stem for a local

 This is for an old customer who has a bike from me that is almost 20 years old. He will replace it with this frame set and it will be built with Dura Ace 9000, my second such build in the last couple of weeks. I like working with the 9000 group-I think that it represents the nicest functioning bicycle components that I have used in my nearly 40 years in the bike business.
 The steel stem should be mega-stiff and the fork is matched to the head angle to give the bike really nice handling speed. I have always liked the look of the straight blade crowned fork.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

20" wheel disc brake CX frame

Yes, that's what this is. A small child will begin his racing career on this little blue steel monster.
 I built the frame using some True Temper BMX tubes and an assortment of steel that was too short for any other build. I have built a few kids bikes over the years but this one might be the best one yet.