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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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?...
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...
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...
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,...
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...