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26″ Rims!
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12/9/22 Pre-order closed, until next time…. I’ve been smitten by the combination of the 26″ x 2.3″ Rene Herse Rat Trap Pass tire on a flexible rim brake fork.  The only catch is rim selection.  I’ve been using the Velocity A23 as it’s the only lightweight 26″ rim brake rim option out there.  This rim is ok but something wider would be nice. For 650b...

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Sans Decaleur
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Look, I love a handlebar bag set up with a good decaleur, in particular the Rene Herse one.  Add a small support rack for the bag and you have an unbeatable setup. However, there are a couple of requirements that can be deal breakers. The height of the bag has to be relatively close to the height of the handle bars and you need...

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Jonny 99
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Presenting Jonny 99, what a bike!  John and I worked to design a bike he could use for commuting around Madison, WI and touring/exploring the countryside.  We obsessed over the details and the result speaks for itself. When John realized the bike was serial number 99 he named it after one of his favorite songs, Johnny 99 by Bruce Springsteen. Sadly, the most important...

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inSLator
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Tired of taping your truing stand so you can build or true a wheel with the connector-less SON SL generator hub? I was, so I made these little adaptors that clip on the hub end caps and insulate them from shorting out on the truing stand. As an added bonus they work for using the wheel in the bike to check fit up when...

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Norther-Lyon Rescue
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Bill wanted a new fork for his Norther-Lyon bike.  There wasn’t anything wrong with the original fork, he just didn’t like the handling of the low trail design, which is understandable.  I love low trail bikes, but bike handling can be subjective.   I’ve also been curious to check out this collaboration between Jeff Lyon and Norther Cycles so I took on the project.  I made Bill a new fork with...

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Custom Racks
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There are a lot of benefits of a custom bike: Fit, tubing selection, picking the perfect tire size…blah blah blah. You know what one of the best things is? Custom racks designed to fit the bike, the bag, and the intended use perfectly. No adjustable struts, no compromise to make it fit all bikes, just the perfect rack for this particular bike. When I...

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The Eli
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A classy all road rando bike for touring, commuting, and general ridin’ around.   650b wheels with 42mm wide tires (the new road bike standard), my favorite “vintage” 10 speed Shimano drivetrain, integrated lighting/charging system, and a full complement of custom racks (Cerakote by Black Magic Paint).  In addition to the handlebar bag support rack I made a lowrider rack to carry pannier and my dropanier...

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Adventures with Michael’s New Bike
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The maiden voyage on an adventure bike should be adventurous.  Michael and Adam from NYF Paint drove up from Madison to pick up Michaels new bike and do a little overnight trip through the Chequamegon National Forest to Minocqua.  We chose a mildly challenging 107 mile route, only one “road” did not go through, no bikes were harmed, and fun was had by all.  ...

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Michael’s Fatty B
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An all road adventure bike collaboration between Michael, Adam at NYF paint, and myself.  A bike equally at home on commutes, day rides as well as longer loaded touring.  Lots of neat little details on this one: A 3 way switch to control the lights and charger,  stem clamp Garmin mount, seat tube mounted blinky holder, lowrider-esque dry bag carriers (Cerakote by Black Magic Paint), along with...

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Jonny 99, process photos
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“Well the city supplied a public defender but the judge was Mean John BrownHe came into the courtroom and stared poor Johnny downWell the evidence is clear gonna let the sentence son fit the crimePrison for ninety eight and a year and we’ll call it even Johnny 99” Bruce Springsteen A great classic rando styled all road bike with a focus on function and...

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J’s Touring Bike
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In a word, fun. A great setup for adventuring with a comfortable upright riding position made even better by a set of Jones H-bars and a nice sprung Brooks saddle. Add to that a well curated build kit that ties in perfectly with the bike.  Graphics and paint with perfectly crisp edges by Jason at Sanchez Paintshop in Milwaukee with Black Magic Paint in Portland stepping in to finish the...

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Build photos:  Michaels Fatty B
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Lightweight low trail all road 650b superbike built around 48mm wide tires and disc brakes. SON SL dyno hub powering an Edelux light and Sinewave Cycles Revolution charger controlled by custom three way stem switch: On|Off|Charge. Custom racks w/custom bags. Gevenalle controlled 11 speed drive train. Neat! View the finished bike over here – https://www.jonny-cycles.com/michaels-fatty-b/ No...

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Number 11 Comes Home
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Kevin, an old friend of mine from Madison (now in Sacramento) has a few Jonny Cycles frames. Jonny Cycles #2 (black track bike, brakeless of course), a nice Reynolds 953 stainless steel touring bike, and this bike, Jonny Cycles #11 which was made for his father Tim in 2004. Tim’s bike has been given to Kevin’s wife Ellen, but they hit a snag: the...

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Jen’s Porteur
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Jen was looking for a comfortable bike with a generous amount of standover clearance. She was also interested in a bike that could easily carry a lot of stuff for her daily commute/grocery trips/car-free lifestyle. The Wald 137 front basket has enough capacity and it’s easy enough to just simply toss things in (like a grocery bag or two). We also had Reload make...

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Dropanniers
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Dropout panniers, aka Dropanniers: Experiments in bikepacking with low trail geometry. Grant has a pretty minimal touring setup and wanted some extra carrying capacity without resorting to the weight and stiffness of a lowrider rack and panniers. Attempt #1: Simply hanging some custom made bags under the platform rack. Everything fit, but with so much weight up high the handling was subpar. Back to...

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Disc Brake Protytype
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Unkle! Sort of, not really. I’m not giving into anything, rather I think disc brakes might be a good idea on some of my bikes, specifically those with wide tires (48mm and wider) intended for rougher more off road terrain. The question I have: Can I integrate them into the bike in a way that still results in a relatively light, nice riding bike?...

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New Shop!
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I’ve had the wonderful experience of building a new shop with some (ok, a lot of) help from my dad.  I’ve been through a lot of spaces over the years:  From my start in the Yellow Jersey basement on State Street in Madison, WI, to an unheated warehouse space,  then a slightly better space behind Revolution Cycles (leaky roof, but it had a little...

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Road to Roubaix
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For the past several years, my friend Grant has been doing a ride from Madison to Wyalusing State Park and back for the Dairy Roubaix ride that starts in the park on Saturday.  I joined him for the ride out last year, but this year I had the chance to do the whole thing.  Preparation was a bit hectic as Nate’s bike arrived back...

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The Nate
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A low trail, all-road bike to be used for all the things it’s good for:  road rides, gravel rides, commuting, touring, and the occasional northern Wisconsin off road adventure. Thin wall, small diameter tubing so it planes, and light fork blades with narrow tips so it floats over the rough stuff.  Nate’s fit dimensions are pretty close to mine so I was able to...

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Side Project:  Fitz Rando build with custom racks
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Will from up in the Keweenaw Peninsula was looking for someone to build up his 2nd hand Fitz Cyclez frameset with some custom racks and caught me at the perfect time between projects.  I was curious to have a closer look at John Fitzgerald’s work (it’s very nice), Will had a pretty respectable list of parts and is a nice guy so I took...

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Decaleur Improvement Project
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I’ve been using the Rene Herse decaleur and it’s great.  The most solid, secure, and easy to use handlebar bag securing setup I’ve found.  Jan’s blog post on the limited edition ultra light Giles Berthoud handlebar bag (https://www.renehersecycles.com/ultralight-handlebar-bag-pre-order/) inspired me to improve on the design a little.  I’ve been using a large Swift Industries handlebar bag on my personal bike and I really like it,...

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Lesley’s All Road
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The perfect bike for the daily commute, road rides, exploring the gravel roads and trails of northern Wisconsin, and multi day tours.   The build: Designed around the Compass Cycles Rat Trap Pass 26″ x 2.3″ tires, a go anywhere bike. Campagnolo 11 speed drivetrain:  These shifters/brake levers are great for smaller hands The new Compass ramped and pinned 11 speed chainrings:  One of...

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Gravel in Paradise
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For the past several years my friend Andy Swartz has been hosting a spring and fall series of rides up here in northern Wisconsin called Gravel in Paradise.  I find the paradise part debatable as my definition of paradise includes warm weather, shorts, and a fruity drink.  Instead we are usually presented with cool weather, shorts over tights, and a brandy old fashioned at...

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Build Photos – Nate’s All Road
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Low trail, all road bike to be used for all the things it’s good for:  Road rides, gravel rides, commuting, touring, and the occasional northern Wisconsin off road adventure. Thin wall, small diameter tubing so it planes and light fork blades with narrow tips so it floats over the rough stuff. 650b x 42mm wide Compass Babyshoe pass tires to suit all types of...

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Grant’s New Stem
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Navigation system: Phone mount on the front of the stem with a key to resist rotation. Back of the phone rests on the headset cap/Sinewave Cycles Reactor charger for additional support. Bag support: Better integration of the Compass Cycles decaleur Brakes: While the original cable routing through the stem was cute, this works a little better. No...

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This One’s a Keeper
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Prototype #1 The design challenge: Make a bike inspired by the classic randonneur bike without falling into the trap of vintage reproduction. Aesthetics: Thanks in part to the ingenuity and artistry of Jason Sanchez /Sanchez Paintshop I think we accomplished the goal- modern, striking, and unique. Function: The geometry and tubing of the classic bikes is hard to improve upon. Thin wall narrow diameter...

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First Jonny Cycles since 2009!
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We’re back, and in my opinion better than ever. Grant was looking for a bike to use for commuting, road riding, and on/off road adventures.   This bike does it all and then some.   In the first year of having this bike, Grant rode over 7,000 miles- commuting to work every day, doing all day gravel adventures, riding multi-day tours, and completing a cross-state tour...

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Super Skinny
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From the archives.  Significant bikes from the past, precursors to what I’m currently doing. Super Skinny, the counterpoint to the other bike Trevor commissioned, Big Pink.   A road bike with classic diameter thin wall tubing to produce a fantastic ride.   Planing before I knew what planing was.  Taking things one step further this one has round, extra skinny, 22 mm fork blades with a Zeus track...

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Big Pink
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From the archives.  Significant bikes from the past, precursors to what I’m currently doing. Big pink.  The counterpoint to the other bike Trevor commissioned, Super Skinny.  Among other things, this bike has the first twin plate fork crown I ever made (the start of an obsession that has still not ended!), which was out of necessity as at the time no mountain bike width...

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Jason’s NAHBS Award Winning Track Bike
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From the archives.  Significant bikes from the past, precursors to what I’m currently doing. Another lesson in trusting your painter, he knows what he’s doing.   We made this one for the second annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show back in 2006.  Since it was also going to be Jason’s personal bike we had complete creative freedom.  The top tube holes along with most of...

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Khai’s S & S Coupled Road Bike
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From the archives.  Significant bikes from the past, precursors to what I’m currently doing. One of the first bikes where everything just clicked.  Frame design, color, graphics, and parts all working harmoniously together.  If I was still building skinny tire road bikes they would look a lot like this....

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Hammerhead
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From the archives.  Significant bikes from the past, precursors to what I’m currently doing. To this day one of the best collaborations between Sanchez Paintshop and myself.  Impractical, yet...

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Jeffrey’s 3-Speed
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From the archives.  Significant bikes from the past, precursors to what I’m currently doing. A tribute to the ubiquitous Raleigh Sport 3-Speed.  This bike was my first introduction to how nice it is to ride wide and supple...

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