This is true for a number of reasons but here is one that you probably haven’t heard of. THEY LISTEN. I deal with lot’s of technology and meticulous setups on bicycles. I find problems and issues with bicycles and components often (but not in this case) long before others even know it is the case. … Read more
The Firefly/PVD Serenity. After designing the new titanium road and mountain bike dropouts for they guys at Firefly Bicycles in Boston, it was time for my payback. A nice titanium mountain bike. Of course, the design of the bike would be as specific as the dropout designs. I had a vision of exactly what I … Read more
I got down to finally replacing the Heavy Buffers Modified AR10 Buffer Spring on my AR-10. I’ve been having some cycling issues that have outlasted the break in period on the gun and I want to get that resolved. I had initially wanted to put a DPMS LR-308 Rifle Buffer Spring (#308-BS-10B) into the gun … Read more
My new bike is going together. More on that later… Working on PF30 for the first time is not going well. I’m a known BB92 guy. I know it’s the best way of doing things. The world, it seems, doesn’t agree with me. Thus, PF30 is taking over. Grrr… The new bike has a PF30 … Read more
I finished working on the forks from my GSX-R750 K8 this Sunday. I was able to take a short ride on the bike that afternoon and a longer ride on the way to work this morning. The results are simply awesome. Not just in the functioning of the forks themselves but completing the whole bike … Read more
I’ve got an amazing motorcycle. A 2008 GSX-R750! It’s pretty well modded and specifically put together for my needs and goals. I’ve done everything to it that I’ve wanted to except for one last detail, the fork. Typically, tuning the fork of a motorcycle is one of the first things that I do, not the … Read more
This is an apology to Lorri Lee Lown. I was wrong about something and insisted that I was right. I argued that the increased friction caused by heavier riders and the increased drag due to their larger size overcame the increased downward forces generated from gravitational pull compared to smaller lighter riders making the heavier slower. Doubts … Read more
Ask anybody that has studied physics about springs. They’ll tell you about Hooke’s Law, the linearity of coil springs, and brush them off as the most simple topic. They probably got great grades. Some of them probably got masters degrees or PhDs. The problem is is that they don’t know what they are talking about … Read more
It’s happened again… I joined up with the guys at Firefly Bicycles to get another dropout done. This time it’s for road bikes. Firefly makes a lot of extremely elegent and fast road bikes. The craftsmanship put into them is borderline obscene. The pride the owners of these bikes take is about the same. Any … Read more
I was at the Fontana City Nationals this weekend. A great venue and a great event. Aaron Gwin was in the house during Saturday’s DH practice. I got to meet him and take some pictures. He’s a pretty low key guy. He didn’t race on Sunday. The bike was essentially stock other than the obvious … Read more
This showed up on the interwebs. I can’t possibly imagine what’s coming…
Chips are flying this week. Lot’s of stuff to do. Crazy computer cutting robots! 2012 PVD Chainguides for Santa Cruz V-10. More bomber. Stealth layout. 2X compatable (for TR, Butcher & Nomad).
The mountain biking season is entering it’s second phase, summer. The first rains in the late fall mark the first phase, the racing season marks the second. The Sea Otter Classic is just around the corner and the 1st National Series Race is even closer than that and the Pietermaritzburg UCI WC is this weekend. … Read more
You never know anything unless it’s been measured. That’s the rule any engineer lives by. Most people think of suspension systems and tuning them as some sort of voodoo or black art. The #1 problem with these folks is that they really never understood the role that springs play in the system or how springs work in a … Read more
When a spring in a shock is compressed two things happen; the spring twists and the spring cocks. When this happens, the spring needs the freedom to do this otherwise the restriction results in mechanical friction in the shock, slowing it down in an uncontrolled and unpredictable way. In motorsport, you would use a hydraulic … Read more
Hey folks. Here are my pictures from the 2012 North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Sacramento California. Enjoy!
***THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN RESOLVED – SEE THIS POST*** I like my Santa Cruz Butcher. It’s a fun, solid, no-frills trailbike. I got it for that reason. I didn’t want to mess with it and I wanted solid.A creak had developed in the main pivot. I hate that. I hadn’t taken it apart when I … Read more
I just made a few of these little dandys. They are shims that are placed within the split bolt of the Ruger 77/22 to adjust the chamber headspace. A 22LR firearm should be headspaced to the absolute minimum to get the most accuracy possible from the gun. Many guns will come with far too much … Read more
So, I ordered up a nice little 22lr rifle to reduce my shooting costs and light enough to practice some off bench shooting. It’s a Ruger 77/22 All-Weather. It’s a gun slightly more expensive than it’s competition, but it’s got a great reputation for use, it’s made in America, and it looks awesome. Plus, it’s super light … Read more
Today I stumbled on the proverbial pot of gold for bike folks, an early Wicked Fat Chance at a local pawn shop. The bike apears to be a late 80’s or very early 90’s frame. It’s still got the pressed in BB bearings that were phased out in 1991. Honestly, I don’t need it but … Read more
Mary was re-gearing her Nomad this morning. Putting a 26 tooth ring up front to give here knees a break climbing on the, now heavy, bike. We were checking the ring spacing when we found something off. I really hope that this is the only one that slipped through QC. #Y1LR26000, Chainring 26T-AH, FC-M980 It’s as if … Read more
I made a neat little spider chuck. It’s for machining the bolt of the 308AR for accuracy. A spider chuck allows me to locate the bolt exactly according to the several features that I decide are important regardless of the shape of the part. Since these parts are forged and then machined in very elaborate … Read more
I wasn’t happy shooting my Ruger LCR +P for a few reasons. Shooting outdoors was ok, but indoors wasn’t so hot. Josh Orlando and I were shooting at Bullseye and we both agreed that a change should be made. It was very difficult to sight in with the stock sight. I got parts ordered while doing … Read more
The dedicated marksman rifle (DMR) – A rifle designed to fill the gap between an assault and sniper rifle. A battle rifle that can maintain accurate rapid fire at ranges up to 600 yards. I decided that it was time to invest in a nice rifle. Something that I could shoot long range (up to … Read more
Early this morning, local MTB talent Ben Cruz and one of his bro’s were in the woods in Novato. They were getting a hit lined up involving a stump or tree of some sort. In the stump, they discovered a duffel bag with a few Japanese war rifles in it. Arisakas. This is a boy dream. … Read more
***Update 2017-02-23*** Time has proven that the spike configuration seen below is one of the best ways of accomplishing the goal. The importance of the fender washer stack can’t be emphasized enough. It spreads the load of the spike and reduces failure. Very long spikes are hard to justify. Most often, the result in a … Read more
I’ve been geeking out on guns lately. Sourcing parts to assemble a nice SR-25 Type rifle. More on that later. Here’s a nice print of a NATO 7.62×52 / Winchester .308 round.
This is a pretty special bike. A juvenile DH race bike for my friend Bryan Harrell’s son Jake. Jake has been racing ABA BMX (ranked 4th district CA04) for the past two seasons and is absolutely killing it. As mountain bikers and living in the best place you can for riding trail, it is only natural … Read more
This is a quick little thing. Most folks have seen this before but it’s nice to remember. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RGB_color_model http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CMYK_color_model A fun project to get working correctly in Ai. Give it a try. Obviously, I had to convert the CMYK colors to RGB for this demonstration to be seen on a light emitting source.
Since getting my wrist completely shattered at RFT and not being able to do much of anything, I dropped my motorcycle off to BRG Racing to have some work finished that I had started on my motorcycle. I had the motor half apart already but there was no way that I’d be able to continue the job … Read more