R. Herse Chainring for sale

I have this R. Herse chainring for sale. It has 50 teeth and less than 50 miles on it. Thats less than a mile a tooth! I'd gladly sell it for 70$ shipping included. If your reading this, it is still for sale.

Graeme Obree on bicycle building

I thought I would re-post this short video here, as more of a archive to the works that influence me. I really appreciate the insight that Obree has in his approach to designing bicycles. That, his kitchen workshop, and his no frills I'll source parts from this sauce pan style ingenuity. Simple and genius.

Graeme Obree: Hand-building the fastest bicycle in the world from Humans Invent on Vimeo.

MAP Sportif

The first proper photos of my new MAP randonneur project bike showed up on Mitch's flickr page last night. I'm calling this bike a sportif, as that was the subcategory of randonneur style bicycle we were going for. Originally when I was helping out in the Ahearne/MAP space Mitch proposed to build me a 700c rando bike as long as it could be tested by Bicycle Quarterly. Being a sort of opportunist, well I couldn't decline the offer. He had some ideas he wanted to try out, and as far as those the rest of the design was left up to me. Of course Mitch had the last say and executed everything to the best of his ability, which in my regard is hard to match. Instead of making a more versatile randonneur bike that would be suitable for light tours, I decided I wanted a lightweight, fendered bike capable of carrying a handlebar bag and lighting my way. Pretty much an event bike. I figure the touring bike I built can and will continue to work well for tours heavy or light, or rides where 650b is needed. When I started thinking about this new bike, this old one came to mind:



The inspiration comes through rather clearly in the MAP:













Of course this is the initial MAP build, not much will change when I get it though. Seat, seatpost, and pedals will go first of course, seeing at they are Mitch's prop parts. The preliminary black bar tape will probably be swapped at some point for something a little more fitting. I didn't want to pick out an expensive leather tape without living with the bike for a little while first. The gearing is also subject to change, if it doesn't quite feel right for the ride. As it turns out the test for Bicycle Quarterly fell through. Meaning I will have my bike sooner, so I can't complain. There will be a follow up article or two once the bike has arrived.

John Buck Wilkin - Screaming Metatphysical Blues

Found: Mixtapes

Relics of a lost social art.


"Moon On My Mind"


Songs Summer - Fall 9-11-91 (retape)

Shell Game

Back in Wisconsin. Travels over for a bit. Like Mountain biking a whole lot now. Can't say I know much else at this point. Oh and Jerry Jeff Walker.

April Come She Will

Well, I've moved out of my dusty dog haired sublet in Portland and into the great expanse of my van. The apprenticeship with Ahearne and MAP is pretty much over. It sort of fizzled out during these last few weeks. I've gotten a lot out of the whole experience, including two new friends namely Joseph and Mitch. My suspicions that I'm not quite cut out for the heroic and somewhat self sacrificial role of the full time custom bicycle builder have been confirmed. I did indeed learn a lot about the craft but probably more so about myself, what I'm better suited for, and what I want to do in this world. Like how and what I want to provide to a community. And the community itself? How will that be shaped? Will it look like spotty over spray from a paint can over a map of the world. Or will it be concentrated locally in a face to face, day to day sort of way? I think I know which direction I'm headed. What it will look like when I get there? I have a vague idea but that is about it. And thats just fine at this point. Onward, down the road.

Basket bike returns, with paint.

Here is the basket bike, all painted and ready to go. There's a Wald basket Mitch and I can be proud of. Not to mention the rest of the bike. Photo by Mitch

Road trip

A little video I made on the way out to Portland.

Wisconsin to Oregon Part I from Andrew Mc on Vimeo.

Wisconsin to Oregon Part II from Andrew Mc on Vimeo.

Pants Modification

I knew there was a simpler way to constrict pant legs for riding. I just had to think of it! Simple snap buttons. Not much explaining to do. Pretty easy to tell whats going on from the photos.

Making a quill style seatpost

Today we have a pretty simple project. The quill seatpost. Some may find these useful for their french constructeur bicycles, others to save a frame with a mangled or broken binder boss. I decided to build my touring frame for use with a Suntour quill seatpost. After about 4500 miles of touring (+ its life on a previous bike) the post developed a crack. I held it all together with an unsightly hose clamp until now.











I picked up a couple of old these old SR seatposts with the closed tops. They work well because the top provides a good bolt seat and after drilling it out to the correct size, the bolt fits snugly in place. A regular plain old seatpost could be used as well with washers or a little machined cap to hold the bolt in the center. Seatposts with a built in clamp will work but you must be choosy about finding one with enough area and material for an added bolt hole. I made a previous quill seatpost using this same Kalloy model pictures in this Yellow Jersey article on this same subject.

Yellow Jersey Quill Seatpost Article









I also picked up some old 1 1/8" stem quills. Their o.d. is larger than 27.2 so they were perfect for milling down to size.









To hold the wedge simple screw it onto the stem bolt and vice it up in the chuck. Adding a spacer provides some room for the cutter to pass.









Then you'll need to cut the post at a 35° angle. Or whatever angle your wedge is. I cut mine at a 45° angle mistakenly and then cut it to 35°. That is why a little too much bolt is protruding. It will work but it is even shorter now. I recommend trying to find stem bolts that are 9 inches or longer, if such things exist.














A little more searching for longer stem bolts, and I will make some more.

Long Awaited Update

Preface:

I've moved to Portland for a sort of frame builder residency or apprenticeship. I've been fortunate enough to land a position in the shared shop of Joseph Ahearne of Ahearne cycles and Mitch Pyror of MAP bicycles. Its a sort of mini dream come true. Although I'm not doing a lot of work with frames right now I'm happy to be building racks again, working on my brazing skills, and generally crafting things with my hands. I feel at home standing beside my new rolling cart bench.

This week Mitch asked me to help him construct a rack for a city bike he'd recently built. I was happy to accept the project. Mitch pretty much gave me authority over the design which was an honor, though I consulted him on my thoughts and ideas along the way. It was a collaboration right up until the end. We even solved some problems together that Mitch himself wasn't excited to solve on his own. The main problem being that the basket was just too big to make sense on the bike. The rack would have had to have been way out over the front wheel in a precarious and ridiculous fashion, or the handle bars would have to be jacked to the sky to clear it. The end result was something we both were proud to send out the door. Though it hasn't actually left the building yet.