what is oil, anyway?
Here’s a question i’ve wondered about myself. It seems unlikely that there were that many dinosaurs or layers of algae piled up over the millenia in just the right conditions to create lakes of oil underground. Here’s a short, interesting discussion of the idea that it’s either abiogenic in origin (according to the Russians), or generated by bacteria. You’d think that after 100+ years of oil research that we’d have a better answer to this. It’s sort of a core question in the whole peak oil debate.
Between this and the recent bacteria-powered batteries, it looks more and more like the next wave of tech advances are going to come from some of our tiniest co-habitators. How dumb will we look for the whole antibacterial soap thing when we’re embracing and farming bacteria as a way of life?
I love the whole idea of science coming full circle, that the more we learn about our planet, plants and animals, the more solutions we find right under our noses (or in them, as the case may be). Our future might indeed not be a computerized, mechanized world, but a world that looks much simpler and more agrarian than we have had in centuries.
campy, film at 11
So now Campagnolo stuff goes to 11. Meh. I say 8 is enough plenty.
(ok, so my road bike came with 9, so there)
burgled, and a remembrance
This past Friday, someone got into my garage and took two of my bikes. I found out about it from an early morning call from my neighbor on the next block Benita, whose 2-door-down neighbor found my Surly in their driveway. I went out back to find my main garage door open and the two bikes gone. No other bikes (no kid bikes, thank goodness), and no tools or anything else seem to be missing, thank goodness, just the u-lock that had been in my Surly’s saddlebag.
The missing bike is a 1991 1990 (edit: found the manual) Bridgestone MB-4, repainted white in front, green in the back, with the original MB4 sticker on the seat tube. Here’s a picture of it as stolen, except it now has riser handlebars:
I bought the bike new, and it was my only bike from then until about 4 years ago when i got back into road bikes. It raced the 24 hours of Afton twice, did a few other races and countless miles commuting and riding around the cities and surrounding bike trails. Countless because though i often had a cyclometer on the bike, i didn’t track miles then like i do now and have no idea how many it has.
The only thing that didn’t break or wear out over 16+ years is the frame. The last to go was the fork, just last year, when the threading for the top nut of the headset stripped out and it wouldn’t stay tight. The only parts worth a damn, really, are the brakes (Avid 2.0 V-brakes and levers, a wedding present from friend Ted) and the wheels (Ritchey Comp rims/Deore LX hubs); the rest was solid but non-flashy stuff. Oh, and the almost brand-new Superflash blinkie on it. And good Continental/Michelin tires. Damn, those were pretty nice tires.
It’s also ironic that this is the bike gone missing because this bike was itself bought with insurance money from another bike theft long ago. While in college living in a duplex, some miscreant broke into our place and stole not only 2 of my bikes, but some of my clothes and my roommate’s stereo gear. It’s not even like i had really nice clothes or anything, that part is just mystifying. One of the bikes stolen then was my 6-month-old Specialized MTB, and since i didn’t bother replacing the clothes (and couldn’t, sentimentally, replace my dad’s Robin Hood 3-speed that was also stolen), the insurance check covered the Bridgestone which, though it was a middle-of-the-line model, handled much nicer than the one it replaced.
I have replacement coverage, but it’s not really worth reporting. The deductible would eat up half of the replacement cost, and the risk of higher rates aren’t worth it. It’s just a bike, there are millions of others in the world, and all that. I set up the old Lotus i have as a singlespeed dirt bike, and i’ll give that a try, but with its Raleigh Roadster-like angles it just won’t have the snap that the B’stone had through the twisty stuff.
So… if anyone has a decently quick-handling 21-22″ or so rigid steel mountain bike or frameset laying around, i might have a couple hundred bucks to trade for it…
tuning up and dropping out
Despite the optimism of my last post, i’ve had to drop out of the Ragnarok 105 for this year. Since i wrote last, i got me 2nd nasty bout of the flu for this year, and i’m still coughing crap out of my lungs. So even if i had a chance of building up a little fitness, i think my reeling immune system would probably conspire to put me back in bed yet again. So, i’m out, and not all that happy about it. I’m trying to think long-term though, and it’s not all THAT nice out yet anyway, right?
As a way to help keep my mind off riding for a bit, i decided to finish building a wheel i’d been collecting parts for. It’s a motley collection of weird parts; used Mavic G40 rim, NOS generic Suntour hub, used Simplex Q/R, and new Wheelsmith spokes; so i decided to give it an equally odd lacing pattern. Here is is:
It’s a 2-leading, 2-trailing pattern, a take-off of the much cooler-looking 3-leading, 3-trailing pattern that requires a 36-hole wheel. Alas, this is a 32-hole, so i get a 4-point cross instead of a big triangle. Still kinda neat, and seems pretty solid so far.
This will be the front wheel on my city fixed gear, to go with the nice rear wheel i built earlier this winter. Unlike that wheel, with its shiny new parts, this one only cost about $40. The rim isn’t perfect, but i’ll happily live with the 1mm dip it has in one spot for a cheap, experimental wheel. Now to just get healthy enough to put some miles on it…
Icebike Mittens and battle axe pedals
Kevin wrote a short post on the IceBike mittens, and it reminded me that i need to write a mini review of a couple of new bits of cycling gear. I did a nice 17 miles with Chris, Gina, Steve and biker7 (who’s name i’m blanking on, sorry) from the Como streetcar station over to mipples and back. It was a lovely day for a ride, all the way up in the low 20s for a change, with little wind. The roads were mostly clear, but icy and sloppy enough for a good test.
First is the IceBike mitts. Warmest cycling gloves i’ve ever owned, and arguably overkill for most people and conditions. My hands tend to get cold though, so i was willing to risk sweating a bit to keep the feeling in my digits. They work as advertised, very warm, and nice details for cycling. There’s a huge fleece snotpad, for starters, and a big swath of reflective striping on the back, great for signaling turns. The gauntlet part comes 1/2-way up to my elbow (i wear 36″ sleeves), so a lot of the warmth comes from simply trapping the air from the forearm on down. I ride drop bars on my winter bike, and there’s no problem operating brakes. It’s a singlespeed so I don’t shift, but they would be fine with most shifters too, aside from downtube or stem levers. They’re also a very simple design, so there aren’t any zippers to mess with or straps to adjust every time easy on and off. They’re big enough inside to easily ball up fingers if they need a warmup, and plenty of room for liner gloves for colder days, or when you’ll be taking them off often. Well-worth the $70 if choppers from Fleet Farm aren’t doing it for you (and really, that’s a good way to go too).
Next up, the Grip King pedal, a new Rivendell design made by MKS, also known (by some, including my 6-year-old) as the Gimli Battle Axe pedal. These were a splurge, for sure, but they’re in fact really nice pedals. I have no interest in toeclips & straps, and i like the MKS touring pedals i’ve been riding for plain pedals, but they do tend to slip in the wet. The Grip Kings have such a long platform you could probably ride barefoot, so much of the foot is supported. The surface grips aren’t of the meat-tenderizing sort, but they gripped well on a recent 20-mile ride in wet slushy snow with my regular light hiker shoes. They’re also pretty darn light pedals - about 440grams for the pair, if you’re the gram-counter type. I’m looking forward to comfortably riding these with Chaco sandals this summer, i think they’ll be the perfect pedal for them.
cue the mad scientist laugh track
I got this fantastic surprise in the mail from my Dad the other day:
It’s most of a Victor portable oxy-acetylene torch set - we didn’t think the USPS would take the tanks, so i’ll find a set here. I don’t know much about it, but it should be perfect for the small projects i’m planning to build. First up will be tracking down some scrap steel to practice with, then on to a bike rack or two, then maybe bigger things. Oh yes, there are plans afoot…
If you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by to talk bike hackery.
my new leopard skin pillbox hat
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I picked up a new cycling cap over the weekend at Hiawatha. It’s made by local sewer/recyler Holly Magner, her business is GroveCraft. It’s cool, can’t wait until she has some woolie hats with earflaps, i’m gettin’ me one.
(hat photo stolen from a shot of the weekend freeride, Nomad stop) update! - Holly says the winter merino hats should be around sometime in October. |
handlebar mount bottle cage
Inspired by a fantastic 1/2-day class i took this spring, i’ve been wanting to make stuff out of metal for a while now. I finally picked up a cheap MAPP gas torch and some (overpriced, mild) steel stock from the local home warehouse and started re-learning how to braze steel.
I took metal shop back in high school, but i haven’t actually brazed anything in the 20 years since then. It came back surprisingly quickly (re-plumbing the basement with copper was good practice), though i won’t claim that my work is in any way clean. I will claim that the joints are sufficient to hold a full water bottle, because it has done so. Whee! Anyway, here’s the first little project:
Maybe i’ll take more detail pictures tomorrow, this is the best my pencam could do in the midnight garage light, and i couldn’t find the regular digicam.
It’s all built of 3/16″ steel rod, brass brazed joints. The design just evolved as i played around, trying to get a smooth round bend and working out how to mount it to the bars. The original plan called for strangely bent tubing to more firmly anchor it to the stem, but the tubes bent badly (no bender yet), and it would have been massive overkill… not like this isn’t. The two horizontal bars for the mount were originally going to be a flat steel strip, but i just couldn’t get it hot enough along with the rod to braze well, too much mass to heat efficiently, and no flux. It was interesting to see how much longer it took for the last couple of joints than for the first joints, as the heatsink mass of it increased.
The mounts are 1″ copper plumbing pipe straps, and they work quite well. The holes may stretch, in which case i’ll use the hose clamps i was going to use at first. It’s pretty rigid now, though i haven’t really tested it well yet. Weight is 150 grams, not including the mounting hardware.
It’s designed mostly for my Raleigh Sports, which has no other way to carry a bottle, and i thought this would be a nicer solution than strapping on a regular modern cage to the frame. It was inspired by the old French bar-mount bottle cages, though i designed it on my own, no attempt to copy anything.
Now to do a little 3-speed touring!
Next project: a rear rack - will require buying some good chro-mo tubes and some decent flux. The pre-fluxed brazing rods are pretty lousy.
local TC framebuilders
Rivendell lower head lug, sitting on my desk at work.
While riding along the Greenway trail last week, i passed by an guy riding a fixed gear bike with a frame with the name Domínguez on it. I said hi, but didn’t really chat because i was on my way to a meeting. The web being the web, and it being a small world and all, when i saw the name Domínguez on the Mpls Bike Love forum the next day, i decided to follow-up, found a website, and as it turns out, i’d passed Vincent Domínguez himself, local framebuilder and nice guy to boot.
I’m periodically reminded what a fantastic cycling hub the Twin Cities really are when this sort of thing happens. I’ve met a couple of other local builders, and they’re both really nice too, aside from doing amazing metal work. There are a lot of great bike shops in town, and a lot of cool people riding bikes, but probably not that many people realize what great talent this area has in bicycle framebuilders. I’ve known of a few for a while, but it seems like i’m constantly hearing on new ones in the last couple of years. It’s exacting work; part metallurgy, part craft, part art, and when done well the result is a beautiful and useful machine.
To keep track of them, I have started a page listing local framebuilders, at least as many as i can find (10 so far), always linked on this site. I’m hoping someday to throw some business their way for my own custom frame, but i also hope to build my own frame someday. Let me know in comments if i’ve missed any and i’ll gladly update the list.
The Holland Bike Invasion
The German exchange student staying with us this year is also an avid cyclist, so it’s natural that we talk about bikes and cycling in the US -vs- in Germany. He says that there aren’t a lot of daily cyclists where he’s from (in the North), and most of them do it for sport rather than transportation. The few that do ride for transport or leisure though, ride what they call Holland bikes. They’re the typical roadster/english 3-speed-style bikes a lot of our parents and grandparents had, but haven’t been sold here new in 25 years. Well, they’re coming back. Here are a couple of interesting ones i’ve seen pop up in the last few months.
KHS Green
$270, 3-speed with coaster brake, includes fenders, rack, kickstand, bell and chaincase. It even uses the same tire size as the old Raleigh 3-speeds (ISO 590), but with a Shimano geared hub. This is the one that most recently caught my attention and made me realize that it’s becoming more of a trend.
Electra Amsterdam
(Not a direct link, stupid flash-based website. BTW, damn i hate flash websites that resize my browser. sheesh already)
Announced last year, now available, though i haven’t seen on in person yet. $550, with some nice additional features over the KHS, like alloy wheels and a generator-powered light. It’s a more modern approach in some ways, using 700c wheels, and a little more style-oriented, (I wonder know how long ‘leatherette’ grips will last) but it looks like a pretty solid deal overall.
I couldn’t help but also add this one:
Clever Cycles Bakfiets
From the clever folks who brought you the Stokemonkey. These will apparently be more in the $2500 range, but a whole lot more useful for the small family. Not a bad price when you consider it would replace a decent bike + Burley trailer or Xtracycle. Those are good solutions too, but the unified bakfiets design seems better for a dedicated bike.
There are other good commuter bikes coming out too; the new Specialized Globe, the Bianchi Castro Valley (they should have kept the drop bars), Novara Fusion, and most of the Breezer models. Most of those city bikes try to be more sporty though, and what i find interesting about the couple of bikes pictured above is that they are simple and functional, with really no pretense to be fast or sporty. This is probably what will doom them in the US market, but this is the sort of bike that anyone who is bike shopping at Target or WalMart should be buying instead. People, $270 is CHEAP for a bike - a $90 bike from a department store is simply cheap, and it simply won’t work well or last.