Carlos Garcia's Road Racer

Got started on a new road frame for Carlos Garcia this week and I wanted to post a few pics for him and anyone else to check out.  This frame is a size 50 with a sloping top tube so light and tight will be the end result.  Carlos told me he gets in some spirited rides with his riding budding that can end in a sprint so this should keep him up front.  As usual I start things off with a Yamaguchiesque hand drawing, afterall, a computer is not gonna build the frame is it?

I know, computers make for those real pretty printed off sheets of paper with all sorts of dimensions and highlights, blah, blah, blah.  This is handmade!

Water-tight miters all the way around the estate.

Blurry picture courtesy of your's truly.

50 with a slight slope.

Beefy chain stays.  I've been using these on most all my recent road frames and I've gotten some good feedback from the riders so I'm gonna stick with 'em.  I just like'em cause they look so cool.

Using Henry James plug dropouts on this frame.  You can see the little access hole I drill in the tips in order to get plenty of silver in there.  Fill it up and top it off.  It really doesn't take that much.  You just file the plug down until the stay slides over it snuggly, warm it up to about 1200 degrees, and melt a little silver butter in it and you're good to go.  I'm actually waiting on my silver butter to arrive so hopefully in a couple of days I'll have it all brazed up.

Thanks for checking things out now go ride.  Tour of Spain is coming.  Oooh, la-la.  My favorite race.  There is no way it could be as good as last year's but you never know.  Anyway, the landscape is beautiful, las chicas son hermosas, and the stages are short and tough, so who would want to miss something like that.  Chris Horner has been coming back from injury and is scheduled to start if you're a Chris Horner fan.  The other day I was reading an interview with him and his recovery training and he said he went out for 130 miles without problem.  I'm hurting after just 30 and I'm holding onto the back of the mail truck for part of it.  Sheesh, I'm lucky to get past the neighbor's mailbox without problems.  Chao.