Bike Tinker

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  • guu watanabe bike saddle bag



    tan1524, originally uploaded by guuwatanabe.

    Possibly the prettiest bike bag I’ve ever seen. Pretty isn’t my style per se, but I do appreciate it when I see it.

  • Grip King vs Grip King Supreme



    Grip King vs Grip King Supreme, originally uploaded by Hillbubba.

    Friend Hillbubba / Tapebubba mods the Grip King pedals for more… grip. And support. Nicely done.
    He’s selling the modifiers for $25 a pair – get in touch via Flickr to see if he has any left.

  • “Show Me Yours” NAHBS preview PDX

    “Show Me Yours” NAHBS preview PDX

    Winter stainless, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    The Oregon builders going to NAHBS staged a preview of their bikes in Portland at the Ace Hotel. They’ll have a block of booths at NAHBS, which is a good idea for regional builders.
    More on the Flickr, and Bike Portland has nice daylight shots.

    metrofiets, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.
    Pereira electric-assist, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.
    Looks like the Oregon Manifest winner. Nice bike, massive front box and a sound system.
    Vendetta NAHBS bike, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.
    I talked to Conor of Vendetta about cameras. He noticed the Biotar on the Nex (which really takes far superior images compared to the Nex lens). And also about the Vendetta* bike – lots of detail, cool chainguard, and the light mount is shaved to fit exactly where it goes.
    DiNucci, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    Another pretty DiNucci. Curtis Odom hubs and cranks. Yow. The new highwater mark in pretty hubs.

    Ira Ryan / Trucker trailer. Two perpendicular King headsets make the u-joint for the trailer. Pretty cool.

    signal mixte rack, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    The Signal mixte was maybe the prettiest bike at the show.

    ahearne, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    Monster. The fenders are rubber (inner tube?) over a framework. Racks and cages for days. Flasks galore. Plexi rack tops.

    Winter stainless seat cluster, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.
    Winter Bicycles’ matte stainless bike. Unusual seat cluster, and the stem has a light mount.
    *I called Vendetta “Ventana” like 40 times – Vulture busted me on it. Thanks.

  • Soma Tradesman Cargo Bike



    Soma Tradesman Cargo Bike, originally uploaded by somaflickrations.

    Cool new bike I didn’t know about. It looks like you could carry a fridge on that. I’d like to see a Cargo Bike Challenge at the next Oregon Manifest!

  • my Quickbeam

    Pre-funky hubs. Someone favorited it on Flickr, which brought the picture back to my attention.
    Wilderness Trail dirt drop bars, home-painted fenders and Salsa stem, skate-deck pedals.

  • Podcast Interviews with Bike People

    I just heard about this archive of interviews with bike industry folk (thanks!) that Tandemgeeks has archived. Dian Lees of the Outspoken Cyclist interviews all the brightest stars of the cycling-nerd galaxy. I’m looking forward to listening to them, and I thought I’d pass them along. They’re all from 2011 and late 2010, and the list includes some people I really respect.

    Cycling Interviews on Tandemgeek v. 1

    • Don Walker, Builder & Founder of NAHBS
    • Craig Calfee, Calfee Design & Bamboosero
    • Dr. Gabe Mirkin, Nutrition & Fitness
    • Gary Fisher, On Gary Fisher
    • Diane Lees, “The” Outspoken Cyclist: The Outspoken Cyclist takes an opportunity to get better acquainted with our host, Diane Lees. Diane has been interviewing personalities from all corners of the cycling universe for some time now. Diane isn’t your typical artist or writer; and although she’s a bicycle dealer, Hubbub Custom Bicycles isn’t your average bike shop.
    • Richard Schwinn, Waterford/Gunnar
    • Steven Bilenky, Bilenky Cycle Works
    • Jacquie Phelan, MTB Legend
    • Ben Serotta, Serotta Cycles

    Tandemgeek’s Interviews with Cycling Luminaries v.2

    • Rob Vandermark, Seven Cycles
    • Keith Bontrager, Bontrager
    • Richard Sachs, Richard Sachs Cycles
    • Brent Steelman, Steelman Cycles
    • Paul Price, Paul Components
    • David & Brenda Vandevelde, MBS Tandems
    • Maynard Herson
    • Mark Livingood, TheTandemLink.com
    • Joe Breeze, Breezer Bikes

    Visit Tandemgeek to listen to the podcast interviews.

  • Great SheDevil build from Fairmount Bicycles in Philly.

    Pretty bike! Handsome Devil “SheDevil” with reverso levers and a nice rear brake setup.

  • No opener?

    No opener?

    Just a free idea for opening beer when you’ve left your pocket knife at home. No knife (TSA), no keys (why bring them? my car and my home are 4300 miles away). No lighter (you know the lighter trick, right?), and my asthma inhaler was looking like it wasn’t going to open any more bottles lighter-style without bursting. Not really worth the risk.

    I bought this Petaluma-brewed Lagunitas in a New York City drugstore, and my boss suggested the door-closing device in our hotel room as an opener. The other boss suggested a super-painful way involving my wedding ring (super-not-recommended).

    Beer cap goes over the lower bar of the door-closer, and the top bar acts as the fulcrum. Perfect. I used the trick in the Javits Center, too.

  • the Thinny pedal?



    New things just in., originally uploaded by brantrichards.

    Hmm… that pedal looks really good to me.

  • Bombadil frame with fenders



    Bombadil frame with fenders, originally uploaded by cat1788.

  • Bell at sunset on the bridge



    Bell at sunset on the bridge, originally uploaded by olipop.

    I love this picture.
    (btw I’m really into pinterest all of a sudden)

  • first use of the new park stand



    first use of the new park stand, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    I tightened up the S3X cog carrier (using a tool, not my fingers), which will hopefully get rid of that “bzzzrp!” sound at low-speed high-torque right-pedal revolutions. Also made a tiny adjustment to the shifter tension, which was much much easier with the rear wheel off the ground.
    I’m still viscerally uncomfortable with leaving a fixed gear bike in a stand, so I’m going to go put it on the ground now…

  • Joe’s Legolas

    Legolas, originally uploaded by joe_bunik.

    WTB Dirt Drops, Nitto cant-mount rack, sweet “cobalt glass” blue. What a beautiful bike!

  • Bike hood ornaments – Lil Fender Friends

    Bike hood ornaments – Lil Fender Friends

    Beaver fender ornament - by Maїwenn CastellanThe rough-hewn look of these is really* appealing and a bit affecting. I like this beaver one, since I’m in Oregon (there’s a Duck, too, I think), but they’re all good. Jump to the MocoLoco post I saw, or poke around the web. Maiwenn’s “Liam” mailbox is really good, too.

    There’s an acorn I like, too. I think food items would be great hood ornaments – you could always be chasing that carrot. Cupcakes. I think I’m going to steal the idea and put zero work into it – just glue a sturdy plastic pig to my front fender. That idea just cracks me up.

    *Superlatives are just lazy writing. Sorry

  • Bubba’s barcon hack



    Best Barcons…..EVER?, originally uploaded by Hillbubba.

    Short and sweet top-line barcons, made out of Rivendell thumbshifters and Silver barcon bodies. See more in Hillbubba’s flickr stream.

  • Grognard bars from NAHBS 2008



    grognard bars, originally uploaded by BikeTinker.

    Flat bars in every sense of the word! Integrated single brake lever, and tubular bar-ends welded (fillet brazed?) on.

    I think they’re kind of ugly, especially in contrast to the sweet lines of the rest of the bike (the stem extension itself, for example), but I really like that Grognard is trying something new.

    I wonder if you could build LED lights into those extensions…