Yo Man, Get Down!

My wife Anne spends her days off working with various forms of art.  Sketching, painting, mixed-media, and even soap making are some of the things she enjoys.  There is always some type of creating going on in this household.  Even the dog and cats do some creating of their own.  Pinky, who is our Shih-tzu, enjoys chewing the arms and legs off of babies, (not real babies, stuffed animal babies), and likes to occasionally paint the floor with puke while Louis and Smokey, aka "Screw-Us Louis" and "The Silent Assassin", like to decorate the house with a more modern, destructive approach, basically broken stuff.  They all keep things interesting around here and I love every minute of it.  These photos here are from a little bicycle inspiration Anne had.  Where would she get that from?  Anyway, my 'fro catches a lot of air and slows me down when I'm on the bike but it looks so  funky cool that its worth it.  Roll with it. The cat with the machine gun is not ours, I took that off the web, but on any given day the boys can give that cat a run for his money.  Did I mention my wife is also an excellent cook.  Love ya Baby!

Noah's Tourer

Here are a couple of pics of Noah's buildup.  This was a frame that I took to a show in Austin a while back and I put a one-off fork on it that mimicked a fork that I saw on a friend's old Raleigh.  I had no idea how it would feel but Noah said, "Solid and stable.", so thats what i like to hear.  This frame is unique because it was built similar to a Long Haul Trucker by Surly, which seems to be a very popular bike, however I used True Temper OX Platinum tubing to lighten the frame up.  I know absolutely nothing about touring and this was my first attempt at building a touring frame and according to what Noah told me it does exactly what I had hoped, solid enough for the long treks and light enough for a quick spin in the group ride or local cross race.  I love the look of the custom fork and the fat tires.  Roll on Noah.

The Perfect Job!

This is Steven Ward, ex-pro road racer and one of my good riding buddies from the past.  This guy is a blast to hang out with unless its the final corner of a crit and then you'll get popped like a plastic bag.  Steve put the bike down for a while and did a little globetrotting but it looks like when he got to Dacca, Bangladesh that old riding itch got the best of him.  Obviously what happened here is he was getting a ride from the "rickshaw driver", (I didn't know they were called that but I got educated), and the dude wasn't going as fast as Steven is used to going so he told him, "Get in the back seat and let me show you how its done."  The guy is smiling now but I wonder what he looked like when the ride was over.  I bet the bike was in pieces. This is one of the coolest photos I have seen in a while.  Love it! Its always good to see you Steve.  Chao amigo.

Light and Tight

The carbon water bottle cages just arrived.  I am not exactly a bicycle "weight-weenie" but I like shaving the grams when I can.  I just wish they were on my frame.

Its Ready Scoot

I had to take a few more photos of Scott's frame before I let him come pick it up.  I have some sweet carbon water bottle cages coming that would've added a little flare but they haven't made it yet.  Anyway Scoot you can come and get it and start training for the Bicycle Tour of Colorado. I've got to say thanks again to Paul and Wayne from Ace's Wild Custom for laying down some excellent paint work.  Its always nice to have some talented folks backing you up.  Thanks guys. Enjoy.

Scoot's Synergy Green

Couple of pics from Scott Taylor's road bike fresh back from Ace's Wild Custom.  This is Synergy Green and its the color Chevy chose for their Camaro this year. The only other place you'll find it is on Scoot's ride. Hey Scoot, just waiting on a headset and a couple of other little bolt-ons to get it looking race ready.  Check back in a couple of days.

I knew it wasn't my fault.

After finally figuring out how to shoot a decent photo with our camera my wife goes out and gets a different one, however, not gonna complain about it one bit because its so much better than the old one. It even shows the dust on your frame unfortunately.  Maybe I can start to produce some high-end amatuer photography.  Here are a couple of samples, of course she took them and not me.  I have to go back to 'How to use your camera school' again.

Fork Makeover

Here are a couple of shots of a fork makeover I did last week for Phil Passantino.  The fork on the right is obviously the new one and has zero miles on it while the one on the left has been to the moon and back and is gonna be set free in the pasture for the New Year.  Phil was a customer of MEECH in my rookie year so I included a photo of the frame I built for him.  He put the finishing touches on this beautiful bike and as you can see he has classy taste. I have stayed in touch with Phil over the last couple of years and I am glad to have worked with him.  Repeat business is always a good thing. Thanks Phil! I am finishing up my third year as a frame builder and I have learned alot and looking forward to the years to come.  I have been playing with carbon fiber a little bit in my spare time for the fun of it and hopefully will have a frame built sometime around spring, but, I am all sure that there is nothing that will ever ride as good as a steel frame with a steel fork so the torch is always gonna be burning here at MEECH.  Thanks to everyone who has helped me out in my business; customers, friends, and family alike.  I hope everyone has a Happy New Year.  Cheers!

Shoot It Already

Holidays slowed me down a little Scoot but I finished up the stem yesterday and its finally ready for paint. The saddle is just for looks although it doesn't look so hot after 40,000 miles. Its not the first Avocet O2 Air saddle that I bought but its seen my arse more than any of the others. Check back to see Scoot's ride.  I feel synergy coming on.

Scoot's Custom Frame

Here are a couple shots of a frame I just finished up for a buddy of mine, Scott Taylor, aka Scoot.  A couple of years ago he talked me into doing the Bicycle Tour of Colorado with him.  Definitely a memorable and  worthwhile experience, alot of flat stuff out there, you should go check it out.  It was around the time I had started my frame building business and I rode the first frame that I actually built for myself.  Screaming down a Rocky Mountain pass at over 50mph for close to a half hour is a good way to test your frame and fork.  I have been working on better  fillet-brazing techniques and here are some of the results. This frame tipped the scale at 3.3 lbs with no paint.  Stay tuned to see what kind of paint Scoot likes.