What Does This Look Like?

Two old guys fighting over who won the Preparation H prime.

First 29er Test

Here is Yancey on the maiden voyage of the one and only MEECH 29er.  Damn Pastrana, I said take it out for an easy "break-in" ride, not a "break-it" ride.  It reminds me of what my dad use to say to me when I was a kid, "Do you have to try and tear up everything?"  That whole blog about jumping garbage cans was supposed to be a joke.  He doesn't even have any suspension.  I guess he figures the garbage can will soak it all up.  Next week the garbage man is gonna find a garbage can in the garbage can. I think that is some sort of  ordinance violation, you're not supposed to throw away garbage cans in the garbage, they have to be disposed of properly.  I'm all sure that trying to climb that tree is probably most definitely gonna void the warranty of that fork.  I don't know what the White Brothers are gonna say about this, however,  if the fork stands up to all this abuse  maybe we can get some sort of sponsorship or something, we're gonna need it. Those are brand new Stan's No Tube Race Gold wheels, they only weigh like 9 ounces, they're gonna look like Pringles tomorrow.  Stan is gonna be pissed.  Enjoy the ride. Why does this frame look so blue in the pics when it is clearly supposed to be purple?

Break Out The Paint

Here is Rich's road frameset ready for the paint booth.  This is the largest frame that I have built since I started building frames however we built it in a way that doesn't make it look overly large.  The frame only weighs a mere 4.1 pounds and this is a size 62 cm frame with a whole lotta head tube and a beefy down tube.  I'll let Rich give me the low-down on the ride and if he thinks we can go lighter then on the next one we'll shave some more off.  Hopefully here in a couple of weeks we'll have some pics with color.  Check back.

Jess Parker, Cross Racer Extraordinare

Here is a photo of one of my old riding buddies from Jonesboro.  This is Jess Parker and he was one of my first paying customers as well as a really good test pilot.   He's put some hard miles on his MEECH and I'm pretty sure its been on a couple of podiums.  I just want to say thanks to Jess and everyone else out there who ride and race my frames.  I truly enjoy building bike frames and you guys are making the dream come true.  Keep on Rockin n Rollin! Cross season is here.  PAIN PARTY!!!  Love Ya.  Chao. 

I Want One

This is Ryan Trebon's cross racing machine.  His legs must be longer than mine.  This saddle to bar height ratio is crazy, I thought mine was bad. The only thing that would make this ride any sweeter was if it said MEECH on the down tube.  I love it.

A Little Fillet Work

I have been running behind on getting my posts up lately but here are a couple of shots of the fillet-brazing on Rich's road frame.  Striving to make them better and better on each and every frame.  The fork is finished so just a little more clean-up work and I'll leave it up to Paul and company to put the color on.  Check back for the finished product.  Thanks.

Rich's Road Racer

A quick tacking of the tubes and Rich's frame is all ready for the final brazing after I install the brake bridge and check the alignment.  This is a pretty big frame, the largest one I've built to date.  Rich is roughly 6'6" but he knows the riding style and frame measurements that work for him so it made it fairly easy for me drawing it up. The goal was to build a "big boyz" bike yet keep it tight and not have that unproportional look that a lot of big frames have.  Today, all the carbon frames have those super-fat mega-tubes that makes the largest frames look pretty compact but it isn't quite so easy with steel tubing when you are trying to keep the weight down as well.  This frame here is roughly a 62 cm frame with a little longer head tube (238 mm) to accommodate his preferred riding position.  The head tube is 1 1/8" and I used one of my favorite down tubes, the Pear to Penta, while the top tube is an OX Platinum 31.8 mm.  We put about a 5 degree slope on the tt and it tightened the whole thing up quite a bit.  Should be plenty strong for those outta the saddle digs when you go on the attack.  We also decided on some s-bend chain and seat stays because everyone loves a curvy rear end and it gives Rich a little extra space for running larger tires.  In the winter time I love training on 28-30c tires.  We are gonna put a steel fork on this frame as well so I'm thinking this bike is just gonna roll like a Cadillac.  I am really curious to see what kind of paint scheme Rich chooses for this.  We'll just have to wait and see.  Stay tuned.  Chao.

Ready To Jump Some Garbage Cans

Finally got the 29er back from paint.  It was actually done over 2 weeks ago, and while it was painted exactly like I asked, my bright idea to leave the name off the down tube just left it looking a little plain.  Paul agreed with me so we took a little longer with it but now its right.  I went way back for the paint scheme on this frame.  Purple and white was the color of my first new bike, a Western Flyer with a big banana seat and an Evel Knievel sticker running down the side of it.  It was the bike that I did my first ramp jump on. Slammed straight into my mom's '73 Monte Carlo.  Did I get a spanking?  You know it, just one of the many, didn't hurt though,  it just taught me to back the ramp up and then i could fly that much farther.  Man, what a smart kid I was.  This frame is fully rigid as of now.  We're gonna test it out with the White Brothers Rock Solid rigid fork because its just so much lighter.  The frame came out a tad over 4 lbs. and with the carbon fork its right at 6 lbs., but as far as I can tell this frame rivals all the other 29er steel frames and is just roughly a pound heavier than the carbon and aluminum frames out there, but the real concern is the ride quality and that test will be coming soon enough.  Yancey and I are gonna bolt on a slew of Sram Double-X components along with a set of Stan's No Tube Gold Pro wheels and take it out to the Broken Bricks where, "... you gotta jump over water but you land in oil, climb the ladder of a broken crane yeah, yeah, yeah."  Can you name that song?  If so, you'll win a brand new pair of slightly used taco'ed wheels with jenuwhine Specialized hubs, or I will knock a couple  hundred bucks off a set of new wheels of your choice. The steering on this purple people-eater is carbonified with some Easton bars and an FSA stem, so light that they were floating around the shop until I bolted them down. Those bars may look wide but you'll need it all when you're hanging on during that Superman-Air over fifteen garbage cans. Sshhhh, don't tell'm but I actually put seventeen.  Virginia, did he paint that seat lug purple?  Brilliant!

Pic From EuroBike

I would wear this helmet, at least in the winter months.