Nightmare scenario-
Since I'm still working a day a week at Trophy, I've been using that as a 'reliable' place to ship stuff, since they're always open during delivery hours. Last week my Dad shipped a bike from a customer of his who had broken the frame. It arrived on Wednesday, and I stopped by to check out the box. Things seemed to have arrived intact, the frame would have been an easy fix, probably one of the easier ones I've done. I hung out at the shop a bit on my lunch break, and I opted to leave the frame at work to come and get later. It was still in the shipping box, which was in the area of the floor where boxes are often received from the shipper. I knew that it would have been better to take it with me, but it was raining and I had to get back to my office job, so I left it.
On Friday I came by the shop to pick up the frame, and couldn't find it. Not entirely unusual, since things get moved all the time over the course of the day. I asked around, and nobody had any answer. I though that it might have been taken to the basement, so I checked there. Nothing. I checked in the the storage room, the bathroom, the pile of boxes outside in the dumpster, the dumpster itself and everywhere I could think. I called all of the other employees, I had them go to look in case I am blind. Nothing. The frame was gone. No one had any idea of where it might have gone. We only knew that it was gone.
The current theory is that the frame was picked up on that Wednesday, like 2 hours after it had arrived by the recyclers. It was still in a box, but it boggles the mind to think that they would have decided that an open box with a frame sticking out of it was garbage. I have no idea.
I would have felt pretty pissed if it were my own stuff, but this was not even mine, and though it was in my care, I had no actual hand in its demise. What a crap deal. I've offered to make appropriate reparations to the owner, and am still waiting to figure out what we're going to do.
Goddamn recyclers. Get your stoner asses together!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Repair Season
I've been busy doing some repairs. I have the benefit of a team full of guys who love racing, and sometimes crashing their bikes. This is a recent one referred by a friend. The seat stay was completely blown out, and there was another crack as well in the seat stay from the flexion of the break. 
I've also just managed to replace Jennifer's downtube. I'm finally getting the hang of laying down a nice finished carbon layer for aesthetics. I did a good job with that on my dad's bike, and have started perfecting it now that I've got some thinner silicone sheets.
I've also just managed to replace Jennifer's downtube. I'm finally getting the hang of laying down a nice finished carbon layer for aesthetics. I did a good job with that on my dad's bike, and have started perfecting it now that I've got some thinner silicone sheets.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Test Report: Daruma Cycles Super Awesome Custom for ME!!
I had meant to post a quick first impressions of my bike when I first put it together 3 weeks ago, but never got the chance. Here is my moderately extended test in the style of modern bike reviews:
Geometry and handling
I designed this bike custom for myself, and that means accommodation for two things: 180mm cranks and an arch cleat position. To accommodate for these fit features, I made the top tube longer than my normal 59 cm and the bottom bracket slightly higher. I also moved the rear wheel as close as I could to the bottom bracket, the wheelbase is about 40 cm. Head tube angle is 73.75 with a 43mm fork rake, making the front end stiff, light and quick. Tubing for the bike follows my current formula of carbon head tube, down tube and chainstays. The downtube is an oversized 2 inch tube that I got on super discount from ACS composites. A bargain, and totally suited to excellent road bikes.
Build Kit
I built the bike up with a great deal of parts that I've obtained over the years, along with some new bits of componentry to complement the unique features of the frame such as the 1.5 to 1 1/8 headtube and the BB30 bottom bracket. The fork is an excellent Edge Composites tapered steer tube model with full carbon dropouts. Light and totally easy to deal with. Edge has my eternal respect. In early April I ordered up a set of Lightning carbon cranks and eagerly waited for them to come in. Then I waited some more, called them to hear that the cranks were still 2 weeks from production, then I waited some more, then I called them, and they said another week, then I put up a stink, and then waited another week, and then I finally received the cranks. While waiting through the terrible customer service at Lightning, I decided that I could wait no longer and purchased a BB30 to English bottom bracket adapter and decided to build the bike up with my Rival cranks.
Other items in the build kit include:
Campy Veloce Shifters
Chorus R. Der
Record braze on F. Der
Cane Creek AER headset
Wipperman Chain
FSA seatpost
Flite Saddle, recovered in leather that I snagged from a sofa left on the curb for a week.
Easton EC90 Bars
Cannondale C4 stem
Origin 8 super light brakes
Lightning carbon cranks
Overall, the build suited me just fine, which makes sense, as I picked all the parts. It took about a week of fiddling to figure out the fit with the new geometry, but it feels great now.
The wins: I love the ergonomics of the new Campy shifters. They're really comfy with great actuation on the brake levers. I am also totally impressed with the Origin 8 Torq Lite brakes. They work well, are super light and look great.
Here are my list of gripes with the parts: The EC 90 handlebars are not really the optimal shape for me, as I prefer a standard round drops, but they're stupid light and I got them for free. I picked the AER headset because it's again ridiculously light and I got it in a trade, so didn't need to pay for it directly, always a way to get more than you bargain for. My problem with the headset is that given the aggressive geometry of the front end, there is a bit too much stiction in the steering; particularly since at first I had allowed the teflon bushing to slip out of alignment somehow, making for the worst headset experience ever, too tight or too loose but nothing in between. After re-seating it, things improved greatly, but I still get a slightly unnerving sense of hesitation in the steering when going solo on straight courses. I'm planning on switching the top portion with the teflon bushing for a ball bearing unit this week to see if there is any noticeable difference. We shall see.
My last gripe is with the 2008 Campy shifting mechanism. Apparently there was an initial batch that had a less positive feeling ratchet design. Basically the upshift to easier gears feels pretty mushy and has not been very consistent. They have replacement guts that would do the trick, but I have not yet bought and installed those.
The finish
What can I say, I did an excellent job here. Metal flake brown, Bazooka Joe pink and raw carbon, plus walnut-brown tinted bamboo. Looks pretty damn good, as long as one is willing to concede that pink is indeed a manly color.
The ride
After about 250 miles and 2 races including one 77 mile Tour of Somerset County through some of the more scenic but less well paved roads of NJ, I can truly say that this is a comfortable bike. A ridiculously comfortable bike. Perhaps it's the combination of the A23 rims and nice tires, but the road vibration is almost imperceptible through the bamboo. Part of this may be my design: I used some light(ish) weight curved bamboo segments for the seatstays, and a full bamboo seattube, but I think it's just the organic nature of the bamboo that keeps things smooth.
Additionally, the oversized fork, headtube and downtube along with the BB30 setup produce a solid feeling of efficiency that I can't quite figure out. On one hand there is minimal road feedback, but I seem to be able to sprint with aplomb and the balance of the bike is really good. I need to build up Pinky, my Cannondale to compare head to head again. I have the feeling that the Bamboozle is nearly as stiff in the ways that count as Pinky, but I need to ride them both in the same day to figure out the truth. Hard to quantify the sensations of riding it: my current analogy is to compare the feel to listening to the radio with the treble and mids turned all the way down. It's like all of the high pitches just disappear. I have yet to send the bike out under other riders of different stature to see what they think, but I will do that for sure once I get the steering and shifting issues worked out. For me those two things really distracted from enjoying the ride for the first week or so, and I had a terrible time thinking of how nicely the frame rode in comparison to the shifting and steering problems I was having. Now that those are mostly sorted out, I'm having a much better time riding, and am truly looking forward to getting some results on one of my bikes.
If I were a bike magazine I would write the following about the DC4:
Pros: Unique frame, with uniquely comfortable ride quality.
Cons: Strangely compliant rear triangle makes it hard to quantify power output from the mere sensations of riding. Steering not as good as with a standard headset.
Buy If: You are looking for an awesomely comfortable bike that no one else has.
Avoid If: You want the lightest, stiffest bike out there.
Geometry and handling
I designed this bike custom for myself, and that means accommodation for two things: 180mm cranks and an arch cleat position. To accommodate for these fit features, I made the top tube longer than my normal 59 cm and the bottom bracket slightly higher. I also moved the rear wheel as close as I could to the bottom bracket, the wheelbase is about 40 cm. Head tube angle is 73.75 with a 43mm fork rake, making the front end stiff, light and quick. Tubing for the bike follows my current formula of carbon head tube, down tube and chainstays. The downtube is an oversized 2 inch tube that I got on super discount from ACS composites. A bargain, and totally suited to excellent road bikes.
Build Kit
I built the bike up with a great deal of parts that I've obtained over the years, along with some new bits of componentry to complement the unique features of the frame such as the 1.5 to 1 1/8 headtube and the BB30 bottom bracket. The fork is an excellent Edge Composites tapered steer tube model with full carbon dropouts. Light and totally easy to deal with. Edge has my eternal respect. In early April I ordered up a set of Lightning carbon cranks and eagerly waited for them to come in. Then I waited some more, called them to hear that the cranks were still 2 weeks from production, then I waited some more, then I called them, and they said another week, then I put up a stink, and then waited another week, and then I finally received the cranks. While waiting through the terrible customer service at Lightning, I decided that I could wait no longer and purchased a BB30 to English bottom bracket adapter and decided to build the bike up with my Rival cranks.
Other items in the build kit include:
Campy Veloce Shifters
Chorus R. Der
Record braze on F. Der
Cane Creek AER headset
Wipperman Chain
FSA seatpost
Flite Saddle, recovered in leather that I snagged from a sofa left on the curb for a week.
Easton EC90 Bars
Cannondale C4 stem
Origin 8 super light brakes
Lightning carbon cranks
Overall, the build suited me just fine, which makes sense, as I picked all the parts. It took about a week of fiddling to figure out the fit with the new geometry, but it feels great now.
The wins: I love the ergonomics of the new Campy shifters. They're really comfy with great actuation on the brake levers. I am also totally impressed with the Origin 8 Torq Lite brakes. They work well, are super light and look great.
Here are my list of gripes with the parts: The EC 90 handlebars are not really the optimal shape for me, as I prefer a standard round drops, but they're stupid light and I got them for free. I picked the AER headset because it's again ridiculously light and I got it in a trade, so didn't need to pay for it directly, always a way to get more than you bargain for. My problem with the headset is that given the aggressive geometry of the front end, there is a bit too much stiction in the steering; particularly since at first I had allowed the teflon bushing to slip out of alignment somehow, making for the worst headset experience ever, too tight or too loose but nothing in between. After re-seating it, things improved greatly, but I still get a slightly unnerving sense of hesitation in the steering when going solo on straight courses. I'm planning on switching the top portion with the teflon bushing for a ball bearing unit this week to see if there is any noticeable difference. We shall see.
My last gripe is with the 2008 Campy shifting mechanism. Apparently there was an initial batch that had a less positive feeling ratchet design. Basically the upshift to easier gears feels pretty mushy and has not been very consistent. They have replacement guts that would do the trick, but I have not yet bought and installed those.
The finish
What can I say, I did an excellent job here. Metal flake brown, Bazooka Joe pink and raw carbon, plus walnut-brown tinted bamboo. Looks pretty damn good, as long as one is willing to concede that pink is indeed a manly color.
The ride
After about 250 miles and 2 races including one 77 mile Tour of Somerset County through some of the more scenic but less well paved roads of NJ, I can truly say that this is a comfortable bike. A ridiculously comfortable bike. Perhaps it's the combination of the A23 rims and nice tires, but the road vibration is almost imperceptible through the bamboo. Part of this may be my design: I used some light(ish) weight curved bamboo segments for the seatstays, and a full bamboo seattube, but I think it's just the organic nature of the bamboo that keeps things smooth.
Additionally, the oversized fork, headtube and downtube along with the BB30 setup produce a solid feeling of efficiency that I can't quite figure out. On one hand there is minimal road feedback, but I seem to be able to sprint with aplomb and the balance of the bike is really good. I need to build up Pinky, my Cannondale to compare head to head again. I have the feeling that the Bamboozle is nearly as stiff in the ways that count as Pinky, but I need to ride them both in the same day to figure out the truth. Hard to quantify the sensations of riding it: my current analogy is to compare the feel to listening to the radio with the treble and mids turned all the way down. It's like all of the high pitches just disappear. I have yet to send the bike out under other riders of different stature to see what they think, but I will do that for sure once I get the steering and shifting issues worked out. For me those two things really distracted from enjoying the ride for the first week or so, and I had a terrible time thinking of how nicely the frame rode in comparison to the shifting and steering problems I was having. Now that those are mostly sorted out, I'm having a much better time riding, and am truly looking forward to getting some results on one of my bikes.
If I were a bike magazine I would write the following about the DC4:
Pros: Unique frame, with uniquely comfortable ride quality.
Cons: Strangely compliant rear triangle makes it hard to quantify power output from the mere sensations of riding. Steering not as good as with a standard headset.
Buy If: You are looking for an awesomely comfortable bike that no one else has.
Avoid If: You want the lightest, stiffest bike out there.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Drop Box
Finally built up. This is the picture that I took in case I crashed on it first race. Despite some of the best efforts of my peers, I am unscathed and so is my bike.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Dammit!
So I started putting my bike together last night, and things were looking good until I attached the rear brake. Then,I rather quickly reaized that I made the brake arch ever-so-slightly too high. The damn rear brakes don't reach! I measured a gazillion times and it seemed to be the right height.
Dammit.
I will try to re-drill the brake hole at a slight angle, which should put the brake at an appropriate height, if at a little bit of an odd angle. My fingers are crossed.
Dammit.
I will try to re-drill the brake hole at a slight angle, which should put the brake at an appropriate height, if at a little bit of an odd angle. My fingers are crossed.
Monday, May 3, 2010
New Wheels
Ever since I read about the HED Bastogne wheels last year in Cyclingnews, I was intrigued by the idea of a wider rim width, and I finally had a chance to put a set to the test.
I was determined to get a set of the totally cool, totally new Velocity A23 rims, and I ordered up a pair last week. As per usual though, it was to be a wheelset with my standard klugey sensibilities. I inherited a broken Bontrager Race Lite tubular wheelset, with a damaged rim and some tweaked spokes, but otherwise A-OK. These are paired spoke wheels, however, so I knew that building the wheel to a standard-drilled rim would be odd, though not necessarily unstable.
I built up the set last week, the front being no problem whatsoever, as it was a simple radial lace with a standard 24 hole setup. The rear was a bit tricky, but worked out surprisingly easily. I was able to build up the wheel using some of the existing bladed spokes (DT Aerolites no less) by switching the non-drive spokes of the deeper Bontrager wheel to the drive side and then picking some new non drive spokes on the left. Easy enough. Then I just tensioned and trued as normal, and with some minor pain was able to make a straight enough wheel.
I took them out for a ride last night with about 85-90 psi in the tires, and they were good, really good. Smooth, just as you'd expect, and they accelerated well with some pretty amazing traction up the steep little kickers that I found on a golf course trail. It was good stuff, and I'm looking forward to putting them on the new bike, once my damn cranks arrive that is!
I was determined to get a set of the totally cool, totally new Velocity A23 rims, and I ordered up a pair last week. As per usual though, it was to be a wheelset with my standard klugey sensibilities. I inherited a broken Bontrager Race Lite tubular wheelset, with a damaged rim and some tweaked spokes, but otherwise A-OK. These are paired spoke wheels, however, so I knew that building the wheel to a standard-drilled rim would be odd, though not necessarily unstable.
I built up the set last week, the front being no problem whatsoever, as it was a simple radial lace with a standard 24 hole setup. The rear was a bit tricky, but worked out surprisingly easily. I was able to build up the wheel using some of the existing bladed spokes (DT Aerolites no less) by switching the non-drive spokes of the deeper Bontrager wheel to the drive side and then picking some new non drive spokes on the left. Easy enough. Then I just tensioned and trued as normal, and with some minor pain was able to make a straight enough wheel.
I took them out for a ride last night with about 85-90 psi in the tires, and they were good, really good. Smooth, just as you'd expect, and they accelerated well with some pretty amazing traction up the steep little kickers that I found on a golf course trail. It was good stuff, and I'm looking forward to putting them on the new bike, once my damn cranks arrive that is!
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