Bike Tinker

Author: philip

  • rivendell garage sale haul

    rivendell garage sale haul

    This is the first Rivendell Garage Sale I’ve been to.

    I got to meet Flickr, forum and facebook friends I’d never met in person: Manny, Joe, and Harry. It seems like it should be weird to meet online friends in the real world, but it never turns out to be weird. It’s normal and good.

    Rivendell is really hard to find. I’d been there before, but my landmark had been completely remodeled. I kept seeing the bicycles descending, but I couldn’t quite see where they were disappearing to! I drove around the same three blocks about four times. Google Maps is kind of misleading. Basically, you have to find Dirito Automotive (giant), and make a right into the driveway between the Hertz place and the Pho place. Up the hill, left, park. I’d like to paint a giant bicycle on the street, with a big arrow.

    There were some great deals, and a $400 SimpleOne frame that had been repaired. Too small for me. I heard someone got a $400 Atlantis frame right out of the gate, but I didn’t see it.

    I got some good stuff for very little money. Here’s my haul at home – click through for notations. 

    rivendell garage sale haul, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    I felt like I’d made out like a bandit, with Rivendell virtually paying me to take things away, so I asked, “Is there a tip jar?” Joe said, “No, but there’s a pile of money on the counter.” I threw down my last three dollars, and prepared to leave. Harry gave me directions, and reminded me that you can’t get out of the East Bay for free. Whoops. Every bridge in is free, but the same bridge out costs $5. Rather than retrieve dollars from the pile of money (that can’t be okay), or sell back the Nitto prototype Dove bars, I walked two block to the ATM and bailed myself out of Walnut Creek.

     

  • How to break a stem

    Put a 25.4 mountain-diameter bar in an old road-diameter stem. Tighten it enough to keep the bars from rotating, and SNAP! oops. Leave the bike in your garage for years.

    I’m pleased – my friend moved from Portland to Petaluma, and now I can fix the bike I fixed up for her before. I turned her road bike into a city bike, broke the stem, bought a new stem and kept it in a box for YEARS. Jeeez. So now the new stem holds new drop bars, and the city bike is turning back into a road bike,  but with fenders.

  • Hillbubba Grip King Mod



    Hillbubba Grip King Mod, originally uploaded by Snug Harborman.

    I’m addicted to pedal hacks, and even though I don’t have the Rivendell Grip King pedals, Hillbubba’s side plate mod for them is right up my alley.
    They provide side support for wide feet, and a little extrao gription.

    You can hunt him down on Flickr, Etsy, or the Rivendell Google Group.

  • Magic

    “Finally trimmed off that spare cm of steertube. Kind of like a Bris for my MAP rando bike.”

    Not mine. I wish. Both the fork setup and the photo.

  • Bilenky Metroluxe 14 Stainless Steel

    Somehow this bike seems all over the place to me. It’s appealing, but I actually want to see more like the Thompson seatpost.

    Like a shiny black riser stem, maybe.

    I do love that chainguard. It’s got a steam engine vibe.

  • New Rene Herse book,, sneak peek………..

    Click on through to see a bunch of beautiful spy shots of the new Rene Herse book taken by JP Weigle at the Philly Bike Expo

  • Today is “Greg LeMond was Right the Whole Effing Time” Day

  • SimpleOne with FSA Metropolis

    Bobby B’s 2-speed crank on the SimpleOne. He says it has a 28t direct low gear, and a geared-up 44t equivalent.

    So a 17t cog would give a nice 72″ high and 45″ low. I like that spread.

  • Doping

    Apparently, professional cycling is imploding in a ball of fire, like a TIE fighter in a Death Star trench. Oddly enough, my life goes on.

    I once again drove my bike to work, didn’t ride it, and drove it home. I’m embarrassed for myself. I get to work a little before nine, poke at stuff, get really rolling on something at 11:10, and go on that while everyone else is at lunch. About the time I think I can get away for an hour, I realize I can finish up three things before the afternoon meeting that might get into those issues. I do that, have the meeting, work on the things that came up at the meeting, do the team building thing, then work more, then go home late, all without having ridden my bike. Total fail.

    The CEO was at the meeting, wearing his half-marathon shirt and shorts, since he actually knows how to put the big rocks in the jar first, and went for a run about the time I should’ve gotten the bike out of the car. I really need to work on that.

    Oh yeah, Lance. I actually like him better now that everyone hates him. Maybe deep down I really am a Democrat! Dammit. I’m reminded of arguing with family members whose only knowledge of cycling AT ALL was “Lance is clean!” “You weigh 400 lbs and swerve to hit cyclists like they’re armadillos, and you’re telling me Lance is clean? Tell me about the WMDs, so I can calm down a minute.”

    So. In summation, Sinead O’Connor was right about the Pope, and Greg LeMond was right about Lance. On Sunday, I’m going to go into the Trek store and ask them if they can special order me a Lemond ‘cross bike. Then I will laugh in their face and send that money to the Oregon tax board.

  • Quickbeam FS 62cm



    Quickbeam, originally uploaded by Bingomck.

    If I wasn’t still paying off taxes I would definitely buy this bike, and build a Quickbeam stable, with each horse set for a different course. This one is bigger than my 60cm QB, and definitely in the realm of fitting me. The Phil hubs and Paul brakes are a cut above my current gear, as well.
    Ah, maybe next year I’ll get a chance to buy it off whomever buys it this year.
    It’s in Mill Valley, CA (my hometown), and the seller wants $1300. Plus shipping, if it comes to that.

  • 47mm Schwalbe Marathon Quickbeam clearance

    marathon quickbeam clearance, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    Some cropping might be in order for this picture… the picture part is in the bottom fifth.

    This is the maximum size I’m willing to run on a Quickbeam – “47mm” (41) Marathon. It works in all three gears (44t ring, 15, 17, 21 cogs), but only if nothing goes wrong. There’s plenty of clearance at the brake bridge and the fork. By “plenty,” I mean “more than here, but I wouldn’t want to run anything bigger.”

    I’m about to roll the setup back to Darktime Commuter, with fenders, dynohub, basket and narrower tires. *sigh* I really think the naked Quickbeam is Bad Ass.

    Fenders keep the chain much much much cleaner. That’s putting it mildly. Fenders keep the chain clean; no fenders filth it up right away if you ride on dirt.

    marathon quickbeam clearance, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

  • First Time Bike Building Advice PSA

    You’re a bike tinker. You might not be a Real Mechanic, but people know you like bikes and can poke at them with a blunt stick. People might ask you for advice sometime, about how to build up a bike from a bare frame?

    Before you answer, you might want to ask a few questions first:

    • Are you doing this for fun, or do you feel obligated in some way? (e.g., saving money, proving manliness)
    • Are you at all mechanically inclined? Do you enjoy solving problems?
    • Is there a local shop you trust for final adjustments? Are you humble enough to take the half-built bike to them and say “I got in over my head?”
    • If something goes wrong will you blame me for this advice?
    Maybe they can all be summed up in the question, “Do you enjoy buying new tools?” or “Why wouldn’t you just pay someone else to build the bike for you?”

  • Tarik Bike Club

    Tarik Bike Club, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    I got my sticker and buttons a little while ago, but just now got settled enough to really join the club.

  • Ordinary Goat

    Ordinary Goat

    Sharon Eisely painting, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    My friend Sharon is a fantastic painter. This was on display at some kind of Bike Moustache Rides expo for withered hipsters held in a parking garage. It was the only thing that didn’t make me feel uncomfortable, and it’s pretty weird.

  • Cunningham Mini-Cam, guides and bosses


    Mini-Cam, originally uploaded by BMC Mike.

    Couture.
    Check out Black Mountain Cycles’ blog and Flickr stream for some brain-rattling classics. And fresh new takes on classic bicycle ideals.

  • A crazy bike from Santa Rosa

    A crazy bike from Santa Rosa

    uh... 14 bikes to make this one?

    I talked to the creator of this bike (Herr Doktor Frankenstein, I believe), and really want to see his studio. Each of the different colors shows that piece is from a different bike. Except red – all the red pieces are from different bikes, too.

    You sit on the seat, put your feet on the pedals, and I believe the bars are under the helmet. The whole front end turns, like a pennyfarthing. There’s a “floating chainwheel” in the chain as a tensioner. Cool. He says he goes out to the dump and buys a pickup load of bikes to cut up for these rolling sculptures. “$10 or $20, depending on what they have.”

    The builder said he considered a second drivetrain to the rear, and a second seat, but thought that was too crazy. I’d kind of like him to look at my “hinge-in-the-middle” tandem design…

    There were a couple of other “small wheel, high-saddle” bikes at the Bike Expo. Chain-drive ordinaries, of a sort. I complimented one of the guys on his bike, and he just gave me the barest nod of acknowledgement. Classy.

    This other guy seemed genuine and cool. Plus his bike was nicer.

    Tall bike, but not a tallbike.