Bicycle

More Blackbird parts are going through the system. It’s so good to see this all come toghether. This is getting very close to happening. Soon. TurboRamJet, baby. The power at the heart of the beast. After the monster job of getting chainstay yokes completed, it’s now on to the smaller parts. Head tubes will be … Read more

It’s no secret what’s been going on in the land of PVD. Lots of design work. I’ve been working on a ton of new parts and new bikes. Moving development through the Red Five, Lightning, and Baron class bikes, a new class is born. The SR-71 Blackbird class. driven to go higher. Faster. Radder. This … Read more

Up & Down Mountains is a marketing thing from Transition bikes. It’s nice. It sounds like what we do on mountain bikes. I’ve been shopping around for a new squish bike recently. I sold my older 2016 Scott Genius LT 710. It was a monster, modified and pushed out to 180F/170R and a lot longer … Read more

Ron Andrews is a bike industry legend. He’s been around longer than almost anybody. From the early days of Fat City Cycles to Yeti, and today, he’s the man behind King Cage, pretty much the nicest water bottle cages and accessories you can get. Besides his tooling prowess he’s a fun guy to be around … Read more

Currently, the next “big thing” in mountain bike marketing. High trail MTB. Specialized, Transition, and White have already begun marketing 29er bikes with 42mm offset forks, thus, higer trail than the 51mm forks produce. I’m sure many more marketing departments will be pushing this soon as well. This is another topic that Chris Porter has … Read more

Singlespeed bikes suck. I say that on every ride that I’m riding one. They suck especially when they are singlespeed mountain bikes. They hurt and make me feel dumb. I try to chase down enduro bros and I run out of gearing. spun out, I watch them pull away…helplessly. That sucks the worst. It always … Read more

This is a cool little tool. It’s often a simple task to swap out remotes on RS Reverb systems without a full bleed. I’ve done it many times. If you’re careful, you really wont spoil the bleed. It works. One thing that helps considerably is a fully bled remote going into the process. This isn’t … Read more

The Red Baron is a hell of a bike. Even without a front brake it is a far more capable beast than I initially figured. It goes so fast and in control that it’s tempting to go too fast. Faster than I can steer around the next tree. No sudden stops will be made without … Read more

The voting for new inductees to the Mountain Biking Hall of Fame has begun for 2017. Several very qualified parties have been nominated including the great frame designer Brent Foes and legendary racer Steve Peat. This is a year with some strong contenders. Among them, Mark Norstad. To many, his name may not come to mind. … Read more

♬It seems I gotta start the explaining, bust it♬ For the Red Baron project, I’ve been working with some custom steel forks. It’s been a while but forks are fun little projects that don’t involve the same investment of time or money that a full frame does. For high performance, carbon is the way to … Read more

Riding the Red Baron is an exercise in pure terror. When I’m not in fear for my life, I’m in dire agony. This bike is for stripped down, hardcore, black leather riding. Kill or be killed. Wartime. I’ve had the chance to do three laps around Tamarancho and a run up Loma Alta (1,600 ft) and down Solstice. Basic … Read more

Here is the Fokker Dr.I 425/17. The triplane of WW1 Ace Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (The Red Baron) which he flew for the last 19 of his 80 kills. Legend status: 100. The Fokker Dr.1 is the namesake for this bike. Lovingly nicknamed The Red Baron. This bike is about style and chill, not being the fastest. The … Read more

Porn is an awesome thing. People doing the most incredible things with incredible bodies. Big boobs and cocks going in every direction. Upside down and backwards for hours on end. It is inspiring. It makes folks want to do good deeds. The problem with what we see in porn, and a really big problem for young people … Read more

I went down for my annual visit to La Tortuga Torteria this weekend. The food there necessitates a pilgrimage.  And while I was there I stopped by the Sea Otter Classic. The cycling industry is going a little insane. I don’t think anyone can make any sense of it. Every component manufacturer has 12 colors of … Read more

This is coming together…. I had to think a little bit to make my new fork right for the current BMX Klunker project. Proper dropouts are key for this kind of bike. It also has to be totally modern. Otherwise, it will just look like a lame old singlespeed. Water cut from 0.250 4130 plate. … Read more

I was young once a long time ago. I used to be more driven than I am now. It’s harder these days. I’m not as punk as I used to be. I just try to do my best. Today is a rainy day and a good one to get this old bike fully measured for the … Read more

I got to see something fun yesterday. A Shimano prototype drum brake hub. Very cool.

I’ve been saying it for a while but yesterday it happened (again)… We were about to start a mountain bike ride on Sunday. My third in as many days and all deep into poaching territory. Thanks Cesar Chavez! (SF Official holiday) The morning turned into an utter train-wreck. I like to be very prepared before rides. … Read more

Fit is something few cyclists pay any real attention to. Dispite all of the chatter. Despite how important it is that a rider be placed well over a bike (and the bike placed well beneath them) very few riders or shops put much effort into the subject. Rarely do I have a conversation that leaves … Read more

I didn’t come up with the idea of Forward Geometry. Sure, I’d been working on improving how my bikes worked and getting them to a modern state for a while. Still, other folks have led this particular charge. Quite a few people have been working on moving this concept forward. The two people in the … Read more

2017 NAHBS. March 10-14, 2017. I wasn’t sure about going to NAHBS this year. I’ve had a very busy year building a few new bikes. I got married. It’s been a good ski season. Money has been running a bit thin. I didn’t see that my usual trip, taking nice detail photos (2016, 2014, 2012, … Read more

From Voltaire: “Dans ses écrits, d’un sage Italien Dit que le mieux est l’ennemi du bien” “In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of good.” The perfect is really the enemy of the good. The perfect fender is a wonderful thing. Water from the ground gets loaded onto the … Read more

The GEN11. The younger generation won’t get this reference. Way back, when I was very young, the kids loved this car. The wonderful flying car that would save the day and cause everyone to sing. It’s probably the song I heard most sung in grade school. Mary Poppins was big back then as well. The … Read more

You gotta love SRAM X-Horizon rear derailleurs. They are the best choice for any rider looking to go to a 1×11 or 1×12 setup on their bike. From the GX level on up, the derailleurs use SRAM X-Sync Pulley Assembly (11.7518.032.000) as spare parts. The MSRP on these is an ungodly $44.00. This is because of … Read more

Like many expert mountain bikers, I put my dropper post through it’s paces. I couldn’t count how many times I use it during a ride but it can’t be too far off the amount I use my derailleur. It’s a very dynamic tool on a ride and should be. Because of this, I’ve been surprised … Read more