Monday, December 29, 2014

420mm ATC fork

The end caps on this one are 6.3mm thick and milled out in the center. This makes the outer edges much tougher and can be ground/grinded without distorting.  
This brace might get welded in place... (depends on where it goes). This makes sense for a suspension corrected fork as its a torsionally stiffer structure. In the BMX+ application it makes footjams possible and probably safer on one's toes than any other fork.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

FSFG 26

75HA, 71 SA, +7mm BB, 27.2mm post, clears a 28t sprocket and a 2.3" tire at 15", 14X120mm dropouts

Sunday, December 14, 2014

I saw Jason's bike up on the FB

Thursday, December 11, 2014

X-mas

 X-mas present on its way: 24" BMX. 74.5 HA and 14" chainstay (13.75" slammed with small 2.0 tire)

 Blue vein Stout 24" fork
 I've been swapping parts around and decided to try the Ti frame out as a dirt jumper. I aimed for it to be a do-it-all frame but it has worked out surprisingly well as a single speed (despite the vertical dropouts). I used a pre-stretched chain and my normal gearing and its sitting tight. The longer 15.75" chainstay and lower BB height make it harder to manual on the street but I was on the back wheel through rollers at the trails with little effort. The lack of a HT gusset and the .89mm thick (thin) downtube have me a little cautious. I would have preferred to build with a 1mm or 1.2mm thick downtube but they weren't available when I built this frame. I have a new welding machine with a better pulse function that I intend to use for some Ti BMX race frames soon.




Sunday, December 7, 2014

Hilltop Weekend at Bernies with special guest John Stamos

Had a good weekend on the Hilltop except for the part where Nathan's foot went the wrong way. He's the one doing threes, cans, bars, trucks and whips:

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/389378/

Friday, December 5, 2014

22 XL fork

A 22" fork with loafs of tire clearance for the 2.425" tires and a super strong, 24X1mm threaded, one piece machined steerer. Its heavier but much less likely to bend than the alternatives:
I stuck a steel tubing insert in Todd's new fork to prevent bending, though his old butted fork had an Aluminum insert and still bent that much. This steerer is about 3mm to start with, so it should last longer than the fork legs.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

Did a couple Stout 22"s last week but only got pics of John's- clear sparkle


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Gregs 24MTBX

This one is a halfsy designed around a 60mm fork, with lighter tubes and smaller tire clearances for racing.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Work/Play

Some dirt just a few miles away from me, happens to be the best around.


Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Knuckle guides have worked well, though they do require some modification (slots) to make it easier to insert the housing. With the slots cut, it was possible to insert/remove the dropper post and mechanical brake without loosening any Allen bolts.

The biggest benefit to these is the fact that they reduce any chance of rust, in a rust prone area. They also keep the cables a bit further from the top tube, so there isn't any housing scuff or annoying cable slap noise.

They aren't the best choice for hydraulic brakes or interrupted housing lines obviously.


Friday, November 7, 2014

Fatty

3.75" rise bars because I like my bars way up there (better on the back) and 22.2mm because I can swap them out between bikes.
 I'v got my fatty set up single speed at the moment. I'll probably make a suspension fork for this thing some day. There are 10X more sand trails than bicycle only trails here in east Texas, so I can actually see riding this a lot. I am pondering filling the frame with yellow stuff insulation to make it water proof.


Monday, November 3, 2014

Scottys 22 is coated. Gotta wait a few days for the dryer weather to finish fatty and Greg's 24MTBMX  racer.




The dropouts usually need a little tweeking to fit the seat stay angles (regardless of the frame). The super low BB drop on a fat bike made the angles pretty far off so I decided to tweek the seatstsays with an additional bend.
Going to try these removable knuckle guides out on the top tube


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Long weekend at the Freekride fest in Dripping springs (near Austin) and a dirt jump build day today, only a few miles from the house.

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/384260/

the go pro shot from last April:

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/357574/


Friday, October 24, 2014

20" BMX, Fat bike and a hybrid 24" MTBMX racer
100mm Euro for the Fatty

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Monday, September 22, 2014


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My Ti bike has the same geometry as my steel bike but the lighter weight makes them feel pretty different. I still need to round up a narrow/wide chainring to be able to trust this geared bike.


Thursday, September 18, 2014

Monday, September 15, 2014

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

 Two machines that have made work so much easier. The Baleigh manual bender makes repeatable bends and can bend very heavy duty tubes as well. 




This little mill has two important features for coping. The first is an "R8" type spindle which uses collets that easily enable the use of 3/4" hole saw arbors. The second important feature is a motor with infinitely adjustable RPMs.