Aluminum 29er tandem

 This is a first on a couple of levels. This is the first aluminum tandem I have made and it is also the first 29er tandem as well. I had some mis-steps and re-do's in the process as one would expect with something that is pretty much a prototype but the result seems to work.

The riders here are friends and they were very helpful through the process. After one short test ride they piloted this bike to a win at the Sea Otter classic- a race they got second place in last year. You can see that the height difference in the riders made for a challenging build but it looks to be successful. This frame has given me inspiration to build a gravel version some time this summer if I have the time.

Last frame of 2017

 Awhile ago I got the idea to build and/or re-purpose some frames to make fun of classic collector bicycles. Yes, this might not be that popular of a thing to do but my distaste for fanatical over-zealous collectors of all stripes has driven me to do this. Yes, I was a fanatical collector of things-just as bad as the people I am lampooning but somewhere in my earlier years I saw the whole neurotic insanity of 'aquisition-disorder' for what it was.....a sickness.

 Here's something I created to get the attention of bike collectors at the Eroica, California. No....I do not see anything wrong with bicycle collecting when it is by people who genuinely love bikes-That is a pure and unassailable thing. My beef is with the folks that will really tear you apart if you have the wrong valve caps, spoke nipples, tubing decal, toe straps, cable housing......you name it. They are the self appointed guardians of 'period correctness'. O.K , high standards for show bikes is something I do understand but I have the distinct feeling that a few individuals are merely trying to elevate themselves above other vintage bicycle enthusiasts in an endless battle over period-correct bicycle parts. To these few sad folks I present this priceless Cyrus Mego frameset. Since it is the only one ever made it has the distinction of being rarer than any other bike on the planet-except for the ones that don't actually exist.....those are indeed harder to come by.

 I made this frame from lugs that must have been at least 50 years old. It amazes me the amount of old frame building stuff out there- bits that were created to produce a real distinctive rolling statement....but somehow these bits sat unused for decades. I spent many hours on this little wonder and it did really well on the 130 mile route at the Eroica ridden by one of my team riders.

 Now I am putting it up for sale......sad to do this but the expense in sending a whole team to the Eroica has to be dealt with. You can read about it at cyclesheroic.blogspot.com  there's a lot of sarcasm there- hope that everyone enjoys the humor.

I have loved old bikes since they were not old bikes- I raced with a hair net and wool shorts, toe clips and all the stuff that is considered 'classic' these days. I'm not a newcomer to this old-bike world and anyone who thinks I don't appreciate old bikes has not come to my shop and seen all the relics hanging from the rafters. A couple of years ago I rode the mid-distance of the Eroica and wrote about it. A person who read what I wrote was offended and urged me not to come back as I did not understand the event.
I did come back, I did enjoy myself and I brought a team of about 10 riders who rode mostly on a fleet of old bikes that I had restored just for the occasion. What I understand about the event is that you are supposed to show up with an older bike, some appropriate clothing and have a good time. That's exactly what we did and no doubt we will be back again.

Special 650 aluminum commuter with steel fork

 This is what custom frames are all about in my opinion. Just try to find something like this in a store-or anywhere, for that matter ! An aluminum frame that can take a tapered fork, Di II, fenders and generator lights F&R. Here it is- with a steel fork made for a special rack that has a straight steerer with a converter crown race to fit the oversize headset. Not only that, the color is a chocolate brown with some coarse gold metalflake. The only conservative touch are the original black and yellow logos, just like the ones on bikes I built in the mid '80's. I really hop that the customer in Brooklyn , N.Y. is happy with the work I did to make all these ideas become a reality.

Light aluminum road bike

 This one will wind up on the website whenever I get my act together and have all the photos.

 The tube set is Dedaccai 7.9, pretty much the lightest stuff I'll use. The integrated headset and tapered fork are becoming a staple on nearly all of my aluminum frames. This bike without pedals weighed 15 lb. 9 oz. with mostly Dura Ace 7900 , an Ultegra cassette and a Praxis crankset. The tires are not particularly light so getting this thing under 15 lbs. would only take putting on some fancier tires and a Dura Ace cassette, not that I'm going to do that soon. I want to put some miles on it as is.

The Garbage Kanza

 This ride was an idea I had a few months ago- really had to wait for the good weather but the wait was worth it. With only a week to go until the Eroica California the newly assembled 'Cycles Heroic' team gathered for an all day excursion of Monterey and San Benito counties took shape in the parking lot of a market in San Juan Bautista.

 The ride was originally set to go over a dirt road to the Salinas valley but the previous few days of rain scuttled that plan-instead we headed over the venerable San Juan Grade to the old stage road. We had a wine and cookies stop at Amanda's parents house-then it was south to Gonzales and Gloria road- the one dirt stretch on the route.

 Gloria road is a sandy track that rises about 2,000 ft. above the Salinas valley. This is a pretty tough climb on a modern bike but doubly so on a '70's road bike with tall gearing. I think we all got a good workout on this one and by the time we reached the summit most people were out of food and water.The group broke up predictably on the climb and again on the descent but on Hwy. 25 it was 'Trasho-compatto' again.

The next stop with any store was Paicines, down Hwy. 25 about 20 miles. It was into the wind but the headwind was thankfully not that bad and there were many riders to help with the pace. The remaining 18-odd miles back to San Juan got pretty speedy to the end so after the ride it was decided that a big Mexican meal at El Jardine was the call. 14 of us invaded the place and spent nearly two hours replenishing the 2600 calorie deficit from the lengthy days ride. This coming weekend the same cast of characters will be in Paso Robles, drinking Chardonnay and racking up the vintage casual coastal experience on the ride with the greatest number of bike collectors on the continent.

Very small aluminum CX frame for bay area rider

 This is probably the smallest 700c wheel CX frame I have built in aluminum. It is going to be raced and I hope that the owner finds it to be the right tool for the job . I had to order the tiny head tube from Italy-I got a few of them so I will have them on hand for more tiny frames.

 This one weighs in at 2 lb. 15 oz. so it should build up to be a very light bike. The frame will be fitted to an Enve CX fork and the build will be a 1X shifting setup. I'll be hoping to have some photos of the built bike in the coming weeks.

Aluminum MTB tandem

 Didn't know that I made tandems ? Well, that is understandable as I have only made 9 so far. The last one I built was about 14 years ago-I don't have any of my old tandem jig stuff so I had to make some tooling for the newer jig. The process of figuring all this stuff out was really interesting-it was a challenge and proved very frustrating at times but I think the end result will be really good.

 The fame isn't quite done as all the guides and the brake mount and braces are yet to be welded on. I figured that this frame is pretty much a prototype so a photo of the not-yet-finished product was proper. This is the first aluminum tandem of my career and I'm sure that there will be more. This one is for a 160 mm shock fork and is a 29er.

My next one will be a gravel tandem and I will make a steel fork with a tapered steerer for it. I have not seen one yet so it might be up to me to be on the cutting edge of this kind of bike-even if I never sell one. I just think it would be a fun thing to ride so I might as well build one-especially after working out all the bugs on this one.