I'm running a little behind again. Last week I had a head cold that robbed me of three good days work so I'm just now getting things back rolling in the right direction. Here are a couple of pics of the stem I finished up for Mike. I've had these for a week now but just never got them posted up. He's already got the stem on a bike. It turned out pretty nice and I think he's happy with it so all is well. "Good, then try to keep it going, and keep on time!"
Last night I started throwing parts on the carbon frame and got it all put together. I wasn't shooting for any particular look with this frame as its only the second carbon frame I've built, I just wanted a good solid frame with some nice layup around the joints. Then I decided to let a buddy of mine do some hand pinstriping on it just so that it wouldn't look like raw carbon. I'm pretty tired of that look. I took the fork off my other frame and wasn't gonna paint it but I decided to go ahead since painting a fork is rather easy. The fork turned out so glossy looking from the clear coat that I decided I needed to clear the frame just so they would look a bit uniform. After thinking for way too long about how to paint the fork, I just scratched every idea and completed winged it. All that work and all I wanted to do was test ride it. Oh well, I'll probably be riding this bike for a long time as I don't switch'em out as often as I used to. Decided to roll the 'silla amarillo' Avocet on this one.
I put my Chinese wheels on this frame. Check out those skewers. If thats not Chinese I don't know what is.
I was gonna paint the stem yellow but had to draw the line somewhere, besides the hubs are red. They're not an exact match but I don't want to be a super-dork, afterall this is a prototype.
Finally got a much needed rear derailleur. The other one was kinda hangin at a 45, making my shifting a little unprecise. I got some new treads also, Vredestein Gran Fondos. You're in trouble now.
"Oh no! What is that? Did someone throw up on your fork?"
I know. Like I said, I totally winged it and it turned out looking like something crapped circus on it. Its totally Rock Star and way ahead of its time. Thats a cool name for a custom frame right there, ROCK STAR frames. You saw it here first. Who says that? Thats just one name, I've got plenty more. Are you a new frame builder and looking for a name? Well lets see if I can help you out. MOTO-BICI? No, I've already been there. How bout SOUL KATT? Don't even think about it, I've got the trademark pending on that one. You can have LOVE if you want it. MAMACITA? How bout DRAGON LADY? CHAVA? FLY? YO DADDY? ARMSTRONG? Gotcha! Might as well use TITANTIC or TRASH CANN.
"What kind of frame is that?"
"Its a TRASH CANN, and thats with two N's, not one."
How bout KINGSHEAD? FUKKA SUKKA? SWANK? Don't try to use any indian names or those Redskins will be breaking out the war paint and doing a rain dance on your company's arse. Ahh, the perfect name, STUPID INDIAN. Well, I'm outta names at the moment but I'll try and think of some more later. I'm afraid I broke the promise I made to myself, the one where I told myself I would try not to offend any more people on this blog. Luckily there are only about 9 indians left in the world so at least I didn't offend too many people, unless you count all those people that are part indian and then I might be in trouble again. Actually I didn't promise myself that as I don't make promises, but if I do I'll keep it. STUPID INDIAN is probably not a very good name to use on your frames anyway, its too long and wouldn't fit very well on the down tube, but it does have a ring to it. Just for the record, I don't have anything against indians except for the fact that they can't hold their liquor very well. "What kind of bike is that guy riding?" Its a STUPID INDIAN. Talk about screaming custom. How bout a frame called JOSEY WALES?
This surprised me a bit. I know there are lighter bikes out there but I wasn't even going for weight on this one. This is the lightest bike I've owned. Just 'weight' until I start using titanium in them.
This really surprised me. The other day Mike Wurster texted me that I had a plug in Road Bike Action magazine. Its from my buddy Steve Hanchett, who I built a frame for last year. Its great to get some exposure and have my name amongst all those other great frame builders. I'll try not to let the fame go to my head. If I was really famous, I would go speeding around town in my Lamborghini all jacked up on smack, and maybe wrap it around a telephone pole or something, you know, like a true rock star. But for now, I'll have to settle for driving over the curb at the local Dairy Queen drive-thru in my Nissan Frontier. They love it when I do that.
Thanks Steve!
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