Chava Jimenez - Escalador de Leyenda

Minute 11:00 is good clip. Muy Bien!

Little Gravel Road Side Project

Been casually working on a gravel road bike with flat-mount brakes.  I've been softly filing away this chain stay to make the brake mount fit. This is one of the trickier pieces that I've had to make fit and you definitely need to have your head on straight (not building a house) in order to get it right. Needless to say, it's still not done and won't be for a few more weeks until my head gets back to Planet Bicycle. 

At first it seemed a little hard, or rather dangerous, to eliminate this much of the chain stay however when you look at the thickness and weight of the piece that will be brazed in I don't think there should be a problem. Even with almost half the tube filed out, it still seems rather strong.

Paragon top-shelf componentry. 

They now have dropouts with the flat-mount already built in however when I started this frame they did not. And to be perfectly honest, I've just kinda been making this thing up as I go. Initially I wasn't planning on flat-mount style brakes but after looking into it further it seemed like the way to go.

It's close, but I'm not lighting any cigars yet.

Few more pics of the carbon frame I finished up a while back. I may have already posted these. I can't remember, much, of, anything, at all, these days. I'm secretly hoping that the part of my mind that has been taken from me over this last year will somehow gradually start to come back. Some people have told me it won't and to let it go, but you know me, I like to dream. Just remember, as the once famous Jack Handy wrote, "If you're ever walking around the rim of a volcano, and you drop your keys down into the molten lava, just forget'em man, cause they're gone."

Dedacciai carbon dropouts.

I had to look at this for a while before I even realized what it was. Have fun.

This turned out nice.

I'll probably be away for a while but I'll try to come up with something to post. It'll probably be something like a Santa riding a bike because at the moment I've got nothing.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cycling Explained

I Can See Daylight Up Ahead

I know it's been a while since you've heard from me and I'm not about to say that I'm back just yet but I just wanted to share this antsy feeling I have right now. I'm guessing you all thought I had abandoned building frames since it's been so long since I've posted anything. The house that we've been working on for the better part of 2016 is almost done. It's been a nightmare as far as I'm concerned. I know in some ways we're very fortunate to have the opportunity to build a house and for that I'm thankful, however, it also feels as though I've been robbed of my creative spirit and I've definitely felt the effects both physically and mentally, mostly mentally since I'm a pretty mental type person. What can I say? When I'm on, I'm on, and when I'm not, well, it can get ugly real quick. Is the suffering real if it's only in your head? Is a dream only a dream? All I know is that I'm doing the best I can to get back to bicycle frame building. I almost feel as if I'm gonna have to start my business from scratch because it's all but dissipated. I've got a couple of projects to finish and paint that I've been toying with during this whole house building nightmare. I just wasn't able to build a house and bike frames with any sort of efficiency and so I just quit taking orders. I'm close to having a new shop (our old house) that is heated and cooled and I will be able to paint year round without issue. I'll have a stove to cook on and there is even an indoor toilet to use on the really cold days, although I still like peeing outside on occasion when nobody is looking. I've missed blogging and didn't know if I would ever get started back, but I've already written more this evening than I had planned to so that's a good sign. I even feel obligated to find a picture or two to post.

For anybody out there who may still be listening for a whisper on the jungle drum, I'm happy to have you here. I hope to get back here real soon. Give me a couple more weeks and I'll see if I can start taking some steps to resurrect MEECH Custom Bicycles.  Thanks for stopping by.

MEECH

No press-fit, BB whatever crap here. English thread, creak-free titanium bottom bracket. Sometimes I think about picking up a modern carbon frame to ride, mainly just Time, but everything has the new style bottom brackets and after talking to so many mechanics, who have all told me the same thing, I can't bring myself to do it.

Been so long since I've been here I'm not sure if I posted these pics or not. 

This frame is sitting out in the shop waiting on nothing more than a headset, but I've been waiting

to build it up because I hoped to get it painted first before riding.

I can't wait to test it out because I plan on building more of these in the future.

Also, I'm in desperate need of a new bike. Hard to imagine I know but it's true.

I've actually gotten back in to motocrossing a small bit this past year. I think I bought

this thing in order to feel like my old self. Spending so much time doing things that I'm not accustomed to

all the while not doing any of the things that I have done my entire life started weighing heavily on me. This was

an outlet for me. It's been proper therapy. I might even have another bike hidden at Yancey's house in Austin. Those

are the perks when you're a full-time factory MEECH rider.

Hopefully this spring I'll get to see it. I  plan on doing a little RM 250 restoration project.

Not a great pic as my old iphone was worn out. Jack had thrown it too many times.

Anyway, the little man has grown, with an attitude as well. 

S.O.S.