Monday gets very much better indeed!

[572cv]

The man in brown stopped in this afternoon with a brown box, about the size of a frame.... a northeastern stoner bike has landed. The unveiling has more than matched the anticipation. It will be assembled deliberately. My best ever Halloween treat, gotta say!

[vav]

Very nice!!. What fork and other bits?

[Mzilliox]

badass, can't wait to see more

[kingpin75s]

Very Nice! You will enjoy it!

Mini-V brakes?

[572cv]

Very nice!!. What fork and other bits?

thanks.... what is on hand or coming are a DA 9000 group, ENVE tapered CX fork, Paul Minimoto's, Zipp SLC handlebars, Thomson stem, King ti cages, a Hawk BB. Some old ATAC pedals for the moment, a spare saddle, and I'll start out with the WI T11/PacentiSL23 wheels I have with some Sammy Slicks and see how they run. That's generally it, except for what I might have forgotten.

[onsight512]

sweet. that'll make a fine stoner bike!

[maxn]

Awesome! Congratulations

[Tickdoc]

Wow that is going to make one fine bike. Congrats and can't wait to see it built!

[12snap]

That's some interesting chainstay manipulation. You don't see much of that on Kent's work.

[SpeedyChix]

Very nice and those are some meaty 1" chain stays on there too!

[tiretrax]

best ever Halloween treat...!
AND, dentist approved. That is beauti....SWEEEET!

Looking forward to the fully-built pictures.

[drewellison]

... It will be assembled deliberately.

That's good. I always hate it when they're assembled accidentally.

Campagnolo, I presume?

[572cv]

Very nice and those are some meaty 1" chain stays on there too!

Yes indeedy, they are. Kent suggested this as a really useful place for stiffness. It was the same strategy he used for Velotel's bike. Along with the large down tube... And then he said the proportions looked better with the beefy head tube, so I said yes. Let's do this.

[572cv]

That's some interesting chainstay manipulation. You don't see much of that on Kent's work.

He told me he was going to have to form the chain stays carefully to maintain good clearances. Very true.

[572cv]

AND, dentist approved. That is beauti....SWEEEET!

Looking forward to the fully-built pictures.

:)

[572cv]

That's good. I always hate it when they're assembled accidentally.

Campagnolo, I presume?

Ah, yes. Accidents. Waiting to happen.

Actually, not Campagnolo. I've been on Shimano for years, and I do mean years, and as an ahem mature cyclist in Vermont, I use more gear than Campy commonly provides. So, it will be Shimano, a mix of dura-ace and ultegra.

[velotel]

You're going to love it. Those fat tubes provide a great ride. My first reaction to Kent's proposal for the 1" stays, the fat down tube, the oversized head tube with the tapered fork was I don't need any of that! I'm old, not some super strong young pup on a bike mission. But he convinced me in the end, or rather I just said to myself Kent knows of what he speaks so just shut up and do it. And I love the result! Never had such a solid, sweet ride, especially in fast descents on hopping around pavement. But even better is the performance in the dirt. I'm talking a bike that goes exactly where I point it, flicking it around obstacles, lifting the front wheel over rocks and logs, braking on loose gravel, beautifully solid ride all the way. You'll love it, even if it is running Shimano! Just kidding. I well understand the gearing needs and am super happy that at last Campy has a 32-cog option for me. Cheers and congrats on a good buy.

And by the by, don't hesitate to go fat in the tire department. I started out on 33's and have already moved up to 37's and am enjoying the hell out of the extra size. Currently running WTB Riddlers, tubeless, nice tires. I think tubeless is definitely the way to go because I noticed with the Challenge Almanzo tires I was running, which I liked quite a bit, some tire creep when running them at low pressure, where they seemed to perform the best in fact. That tire creep sucks because eventually the valve stem gets ripped. With tubeless, no creep problems.

[Fatty]

Cool shop. Like the drafting table and the wood-burner.

[NHAero]

Looks great, Rob, rubber side down! I hope someday we get to ride together, either up in VT or here on MV. I'm running Vittoria Voyager Hyper tires, 37mm, on my Anderson, love them!

[572cv]

You're going to love it. Those fat tubes provide a great ride. My first reaction to Kent's proposal for the 1" stays, the fat down tube, the oversized head tube with the tapered fork was I don't need any of that! I'm old, not some super strong young pup on a bike mission. But he convinced me in the end, or rather I just said to myself Kent knows of what he speaks so just shut up and do it. And I love the result! Never had such a solid, sweet ride, especially in fast descents on hopping around pavement. But even better is the performance in the dirt. I'm talking a bike that goes exactly where I point it, flicking it around obstacles, lifting the front wheel over rocks and logs, braking on loose gravel, beautifully solid ride all the way. You'll love it, even if it is running Shimano! Just kidding. I well understand the gearing needs and am super happy that at last Campy has a 32-cog option for me. Cheers and congrats on a good buy.

And by the by, don't hesitate to go fat in the tire department. I started out on 33's and have already moved up to 37's and am enjoying the hell out of the extra size. Currently running WTB Riddlers, tubeless, nice tires. I think tubeless is definitely the way to go because I noticed with the Challenge Almanzo tires I was running, which I liked quite a bit, some tire creep when running them at low pressure, where they seemed to perform the best in fact. That tire creep sucks because eventually the valve stem gets ripped. With tubeless, no creep problems.

Thanks, Hank. I am so looking forward to riding the Eriksen! The handlebars (last missing piece) show up tomorrow, so I can finish the build tomorrow night and Friday night. Saturday should see some sun and "warmth" into the high 40's F. I can already feel how centered and smooth the headset and fork action are going to be. And I did go with Kent's suggestions. He was very patient in listening to what I had to say, so I felt obliged to reciprocate. I have a sense that this will have been a good move. As to the tires, the Schwalbe 'Sammy Slicks' that I have are 35's, the rubber is virtually new, so that will be my starting point. I'll experiment with bigger and smaller varieties as i can. And for the moment, they will have to have tubes, but I'll look into the tubeless option later too. Some pictures will come along when I have things ready. Cheers, hope all continues to roll well chez vous.

[572cv]

Cool shop. Like the drafting table and the wood-burner.

Thanks.... some cool things about the drafting table. It is old enough to have a really elegant cast iron base, and this fabulous faux metal black paint on the wood stretcher. If you study the top, though, the age really comes home. there is an oak strip on the top and bottom edges, held in with a number of small screws. It turns out that this was to hold canvas, which could then be sized/gesso'd to be taut and smooth. This was a PRE_VINYL solution for a smooth drawing surface! Then, if you look at the corners, there are all of these tiny holes.... well, back in the day, one held drawings in place with pins! Not tape, which came much later. There is so much history built into the table. That's why I've held on to it.

[572cv]

Looks great, Rob, rubber side down! I hope someday we get to ride together, either up in VT or here on MV. I'm running Vittoria Voyager Hyper tires, 37mm, on my Anderson, love them!

Thanks Marc ! It would be great to craft a ride, though if you come up here in February again for the conference, I'm hoping for actual cold weather and snow and such. Maybe over at Yestermorrow if you make it up there next year, or on MV. We come down once in a while to see wife's brother when he is there in the summer. I'd love to see the actual set up at your place. Thanks for the tip on the tires. Now I have a little list...

[572cv]

Just back from a first ride on one of my favorite dirt road loops in the area. It was immensely satisfactory. I guess I'll put a few pics together for the custom bikes section.

[Mzilliox]

Just back from a first ride on one of my favorite dirt road loops in the area. It was immensely satisfactory. I guess I'll put a few pics together for the custom bikes section.

badass bike

[AllanVarcoe]

Those chainstays are like cannon barrels! LOVE that!

[vav]

Well done. What bar tape is it wearing? :beer:

[coffeecake]

Well done. What bar tape is it wearing? :beer:

I believe that is the Manual for Speed bar tape.

http://shop.manualforspeed.com/product/reach-for-the-dream-space-tape