My friend asked how often we cleaned our bikes. I said maybe twice a year? I’ll hose it off sometimes I guess.
After the ride, I went home, gave her a Yakima millstone I’ve had for years, and cleaned my bike*. I also straightened up the rack*.
I didn’t clean my bike so OCD strangers would think I wasn’t “a poor,” or without taste, or a garbage person. Those fuckers make me want to ride the dirtiest bike I can stand. Don’t confuse OCD for integrity. Don’t conflate a different brand of OCD from yours with a moral failing.
Bike runs drives and stops but the shifting isn’t great. Halfway through the build I thought it wasn’t even possible with this crank but I took a break and then it was all fine.
Kind of sexy in the tall weeds.
Gearing is a 3×1, Jimmy Warren style from the old Riv Reader. Will at Rivendell builds “triple singlespeeds” this way.
24/36/46 chainrings and a 17t cog on a 26”x54mm tire gives 37, 56, and 71 gear inches.
I was really lucky to find an $8 17y Surly cog at Community yesterday.
Jimmy said to use an old derailleur, and when I tried with a singlespeed tensioner, sure enough no good. I ran the H and L screws all the way in, and used the “road” end off a double-ended brake cable to set the pulley wheels under the cog. I recall people swap the guide pulley for the… other… pulley but I haven’t yet.
This was the less nice junk drawer derailleur but the other 600 had a stuck H limit. Which probably wouldn’t matter here…
Brakes brake great! I had to true the rear wheel for the XT parallel-push not to drag, but… true wheel! Avid SD in the front. Kooka levers from the Cannondale as donated. I love the minimal shape, but I was worried they wouldn’t pull enough cable. 35mm from the anchor to the pivot is the lower limit of V-brake cable pull. The opposite: they’re awesome.
Kooka!
The pedals are from the junk drawer. Someone gave me some mixed pedals with cages in various states of wreckage. I sawed on cage to match another one and mounted them on the best bodies to make fake Suntour “track” pedals like Bridgestone(?) spec’d back in the ‘80s. They match the wear and color of the bike, and someone could have conceivably done the same thing 30 years ago, not in 2025.
Suntour XC Comp pedals chopped and channeled with Suntour XC Pro cranks and Suntour “Accushift” rings.
Build pics:
Mockup with Java Boy bars, mullet setup, 90% clean frame. Fresh BB, hottest headset
Crizzle called this PW PROTO 1 which is very funny for those who know. Then he gave me a 1 1/4” King headset, black on black sotto voce, like the nicest headset that exists.
Daaang son – oversized King headset
Hilariously I was so stoked to find a 1 1/4” fork with a long enough steerer that… I bought a 700c (Rodriguez tandem?) fork instead of a 26”. Right there in the description, 100% my fault. Then I missed out on a 26” Pepperoni fork.
Venmo $5 for 3 stickers to @biketinker – I’ll add some kind of sticker gallery here of new and old stickers.
Biketinker Blowpop 4” stickers Glow in the dark mojo valve 3” stickers
I sold off most of my stock of stickers and patches recently to clear the way for new and weirder designs.
Main changes are adding the Biketinker name, and not being constrained by a bicycle theme. And I use “Sticky Brand” for production, not that old donkey brand.
UPDATE: About 150 people came out for the ride, I led it, and some deputized citizens ran sweep and kept things on track. I want you to think about stepping in and making something happen when you see a need.
Unity poster for Alex Pretti courtesy of Angry Catfish and Champagne Rodman(more…)
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