3rd annual Monterey vintage bike ride

After spending a bunch of time and effort to restore my old Bianchi , it made sense to follow my fellow Bianchi riding friend Brent to the nearest vintage bike ride. This one has only been going for three years but it has grown from a handful of enthusiasts to nearly 70 riders this year. There were mostly classic bikes from the '70's but there was one single speed bike that had to be at least 100 years old- there's a photo here of the head tube of that bike. 

Brent and I probably had the only bikes from the '50's as most of the people there were big into the Masi and Colnago marks, along with a few Cinelli's. There were some super high end French touring bikes from Singer and Rene Herse but this Wilier below really stole the show for the most detailed build. The woman who owns this bike could tell the story of every nut and bolt on it- her dedication to doing a build that would be a winner at any bike show was impressive, but even more impressive that she bought the bike to ride, not just to show it off. 

The route was from the city of Marina to Pebble Beach and back, taking in much of the famous 17 mile drive past the most storied golf courses and dwellings of the west coast. The pace was faster than I expected , given that the bikes and riders were all senior citizens for the most part. I really enjoyed the ride and all the eccentric bike enthusiasts- these people obsessed about their bikes but in a healthier way than most antique bike people I have met in my years of being in the business. Put it on your calendar for next year if you want to take part- usually the second weekend of September. I'll be back.

 

All road steel frame and fork

 This one is a bit unusual in that it has a 142x12 rear spacing with a 110x15 front spacing. The fork is built this way as the customer has a wheel with a generator hub that he wants to use that came from a mountain bike. The frame will take 650x52 tires and will spend more time on dirt than on pavement. 

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.

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" .
 

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. 

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. 

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-