Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Blech...



Ok, so after 9 days of feeling horrible with shortness of breath, sore throat, icky gobs of coughed up green goup, conjunctivitis and ear aches, I finally called a truce yesterday and went to the doctor...diagnosis, bacterial pneumonia. 

I've been pushing through shifts at the fd and working in the shop a handful of hours at a time, but am now taking a couple of days off from both until the antibiotics kick in and I'm able to be around folks without being contagious.

I've got three ti bars to complete to finish up the March run and will work on those tomorrow, hope to finish Dirks race build, and working on the seat stay coupler for Martin's Ti belt drive.  If I can get all that done by the end of the week, I'll feel like I accomplished something.

cheers,

rody

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

curved or straight...what cha like?

Playing with some rolled titanium tubing to determine the aesthetic value for Martins build, thanks to Hub for the assistance.

Seat tube on bottom, top tube above...
The top tube rolls out pretty easily, only slightly more pressure required than the steel cousin.  The seat tube requires Cerrobend to keep the wall from collapsing, even with well fitting dies.  Even after, it leaves a hint of shaping at the terminus ends.

Been wanting to do a curved seat tube just to confirm my suspicions that it adds a butt load of labor for a mostly cosmetic value, but what the heck, that's the fun of it...gonna check in with Martin to see which he prefers.

rody

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Dirks race frame...

A pretty straight forward 29er race build...steel frame, direct mount front derailleur, full length down tube cable routing and a chainstay mounted disc mount.  I've been slammed for time, juggling a number of projects in the shop as well as working 80 hours at the FD this week, so the pics are lacking some steps, but there is enough for those of you who enjoy watching the process...

The frame, done in fab, ready for media blasting...

The frame was primered with two sanded layers of DP40 and the colors sorted.  Dirk is young and has a lot of energy, so we went with some bright, racy colors with a silver pinstripe.  This paint took a lot of masking, wrapping, un wrapping, re masking, etc...  As this is a sponsored frame, I tried some new tapes and techniques...some worked well, others not so much.  Better to play now than with a customers piece  :)

I've already laid down a two part green on the rear end, a base silver, and now have the frame masked for a grandeur blue candy...
 Blue candy on, getting ready to mask for the orange glow...

 Starting to take off the masking...all the colors are separated by a silver metallic pinstripe...
 The 3m tape I normally use; very defined lines and good edge to the color breaks...
 The base colors all in place.  I used some Kustom House tape on the rear...pulled and left some edges in the corner transitions open to over spray.  Gonna have to clean them up a tad cause I know it's there.
 First coat of clear on...


12 hours into the paint thus far with a couple more coats of clear to go.  She looks fast, so Dirk will need to rider her that way too  ;)

Grumpy Disclaimer:  Hear me now, believe me later...this is the LAST sponsored frame to come out of the Groovy shop.  As much as I believe in supporting grass roots racing, the time required to keep wheels under a team and to participate in running 10 races a year is just too much, taking away from my opportunities to meet my obligations to my customers.  So a big thanks to all those who've rode for us through the years, you're family and we luv ya. Good luck to Carey, Dirk, and Kalten this season as they rip up the single track.

That said, next post will show more work on Martin's frame...today I played with some rolled Ti tubing for the seat tube and top tube, trying to define what direction aesthetically I want to take.  Pics tomorrow.

cheers,

rody

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Fork post mount fixture..

One of Martin's desires for his Ti build is to have a rigid ti fork that is 15mm thru axle compatible with post mount disc attachments, allowing him to swap between rigid and suspended if the feeling strikes.  I've made some post mount set ups in the past, simply using mock up brakes for the fitment, but I wanted to go ahead and invest some time into a fixture that can be used in the future that would guarantee accuracy and repeatability.

I drew of the "print" of the specs for the fixture then set to work on the mill.

The raw materials, ready to start cutting into...
 Beginning the through hole for the axle...
 Hand milling the shape...
 The final product, lots of shaping and reliefs to insure that I can use it on all the dropouts I use for either Ti or Steel forks...

 And mocked up on the years old prototype Ti fork that continues to offer service around the shop :)
Another hurdle down, another fixture to find a place for on the shelving.

cheers,

rody

Friday, March 16, 2012

Martins fork...

A quick walk through building some Ti forks...

Cutting to rough length on the cold saw...

 Once cut, into the die bender it goes to get the unicrown shape...
 All bent up to the same degree tolerance so they maintain symetry...
 Loading the blades into the horizontal mill with the fork fixture set up for the offset...
 After the cut and all cleaned up...
 A nice tight fit, should make for a strong joint...
 Time to work on the crown race base, milling out the inner diameter to press fit on the steer tube...
 The final id as measured with a T mic...
 The next step is the careful turning of the outer diameter to a very tight tolerance to permit the crown race to press tightly in place.  Too much material and the race will not press on, too loose and it will warp after welding or not hold the race at all...
 Once the od is set, using a parting tool to separate the crown base...
 The finished piece, ready to press on the steer tube and weld in place...
 Three forks started, two standard 9mm dropouts, the last (on the left) shows Martin's fork stock, which will allow me to machine out a 15mm axel dropout with an adjustable insert to allow for fine tuning of the quick release position...
 Mitering the dropout end to meet the axle to crown dimension...

 All mitered up, cleaned, and ready for tacking in the fixture.  These pieces will be plugged and purged before the welder is turned on...

A closer look at the crown base welded and machined, ready for the blades to be attached...

On hot single pass on the forks, watching the keyhole open up and closing it up with the filler wire...




Next up, making the post mount fixture...

cheers,

rody

Friday, March 9, 2012

Show leftovers...anyone want a helping?

Ok folks, as most of you know, I only like to bring customer bikes to the show, but as Gates was the sponsor this year I threw together a belt drive bike to bring along and now it needs to go to a new home.

This build really exemplifies my philosophy; clean lines, designed for efficiency and performance, and a bit of style to make you smile.  I like the combination of the steel frame and the ti components, as it provides a ride that is well balanced and just plain fun.
 
- Groovy Bigwheel Steel frame built with a mix of Dedda, Columbus, and a custom bi-ovalized down tube, belt drive compatible with removable gate and swinger dropouts, custom vanilla shake base with retro rectangles in pink, brown and blue.

- Stats...24.5 ETT, 16.5 ST, CS @17.25 with tight 115t belt , 71.5/72.5 angles.

- Groovy one piece Ti Luv handle bar/stem combo, 27" width, 110 reach
- Groovy titanium unicrown fork with disc tab, suspension corrected to 80mm
- Groovy Disco Stick titanium seat post
- Groovy Hot Rods, 175mm with Centertrack ring
- King headset
- King bottom bracket
- King SS hubs, DT spokes, Stans new EX Arch rims, Conti Race King tires
- Carbon drive center track belt drivetrain, geared just under 2:1
- Magura MT-8 carbon brakes, painted to match
- Saddle of your choice or you can have the Antique Brown Brooks that has been on two rides
- Candy pedals
- $5K





I also had this guy sold at the show, but the customer never came back to pay for it or pick it up...no responses to email so this bar stem combo is up for grabs.  I normally only offer these with a complete build, but you can snag this one now.

110 reach
26.75" wide Luv Handle
Small surface blemish from swaging die on top of stem/bar intersect...I know it's there so I'm mentioning it.
$400
Give us a hollar at rody@groovycycleworks.com if you are interested.

cheers,

rody

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Nahbs 2012 wrap up

Every year I say I'll never do this to myself again, the lack of sleep, stress, and expense is just not worth it...but two weeks later at the close of the show I find myself filling out the registration sheet and telling Leslie and Don "I'll see ya next year".

So what the hell is wrong with me?  I think it's a mixture of sleep deprived euphoria, being immersed in a positive vibe with encouraging attendees, and the warmth of being surrounded by friends I only get to see once a year that shoots me into a tailspin and ends me up facing 180 degrees from my prior perspective.  Seems to be a formula I can't break...nor wish to.

Sacramento was an awesome event; a city full of enthusiasm for everything cycling, a clean easily accessed venue, and folks who were interested in all aspects of the cycling genre, not just their chosen niche they pursue.  That combination made for stimulating conversation all weekend long, keeping me fueled and upright for those long days on the floor.

So, now that it's over, lets rewind a bit and work forward.

A tight work schedule at the fire department coupled with a back injury kept me from getting many of the projects completed that I wanted to share at the show and made for just getting the minimum completed an arduous task. 

Pushing out the steel and ti bars, welding like a madman...

And a one piece bar/stem combo for the belt drive bike...



The last kick in the balls was when I was building the retro belt drive bike I built for Gates, as they were the sponsor this year.  Besides pushing to fabricate the frame, ti fork, ti bar/stem combo, ti seat post, paint and get the wheels built, the final straw were the Magura MT-8 brakes.  Around 2300 hours Wednesday night I pulled them out of their box to put them on and was blindsided by the fact that the brakes, normally a subtle black and silver, had bright red highlights...quite the contrast to the vanilla base with pink, brown and blue frame I had prepared.  Sh*t!!!

One of the blessings of being able to fabricate the entire build in my shop is that I could disassemble the brakes, remove the painted graphics, sand the parts, and airbrush them all a complimentary color...the downside is that to do that all takes time.  Regardless, it had to be done.


I pushed right up until 0100 Thursday morning, pulling the last of the parts out of the bake box before wrapping everything up and heading for the airport at 0400. 

Once in California, Ty, who had driven out the other bikes and the booth, met us at the airport and shuttled us right into the city so we could begin setting up...

We had a great spot, adjacent to the lovely ladies at Rickshaw Bags (Crystal, Lisa, and Christi) who make custom messenger bags and commuting gear, across from Baum Cycles (Darren and Ryan), and caddy corner from the Dirt Rag crew.

The hall was packed all three days.  It was a pleasure to spend time chatting with all the fine folks who stopped by the booth, but was especially pleased to meet many of our VRC crowd and a few folks that I've looked up to through the years and were an inspiration to me.

One of the draw backs to the show is that I tend to spend the majority of the day inside, so I only get to see the sunrise and exit in the dark...
Not really into the beer swilling party scene, I amuse myself by ferreting out the most desirable, honest food in the city.  The adventure of getting into the local neighborhoods, meeting the fine folks who welcome us here, and chowing down some spectacular grub more than makes up for not seeing the sun each day.  This year was no exception...we were able to dig out some true nuggets.

Jim Denny's hosted us for breakfast day one.  With only 20 stools, no bathrooms, and huge tasty cakes and omelets, I'd go back to Sac just to experience this eatery again.
 Kalten took on the mini stack of cakes...that's a 12" diameter plate under that mass of fluffy goodness!
For supper, one of our great finds was Luigi's Pizzeria...established in 1952 in what was the Italian neighborhood, it now is in the heart of Sac's Latino district.  We piled 9 brave souls into the Toyota truck and headed out. When we arrived in the dirt parking lot, those brave souls in the back were greeted with a head pounding bounce into the truck cap as Ty failed to negotiate the 2' deep pot holes.  Pouring out of the truck bed, dizzy and a bit confused after the parking lot pummeling, we looked like a group of day laborers emptying out.  It was about this time a round face female at the door started yelling...   "look out!  there's white people coming in here!"  Regardless, it was a warm welcome, super awesome food (home made garlic sausage rocked!), and warm friends.  By fate, Steve was celebrating his birthday...the same year Luigi's was established, how cool is that?
Other places not to miss...Chando's Tacos, who's grill is outside on the sidewalk, make tasty, authentic tacos.  There's no dining room, but you can eat around back on some picnic tables.  Totally tasty fish, abodabo, and carne asada with pico and chips that made you want to fill up your dessert side too.

A nod to back home, we finished out breakfast at the Stagecoach...a gritty 70's cowboy themed diner with the cutest ghetto waitresses around.  Killer food, big portions and lots of unneeded gravy covered calories, fueled us up for the last day...
evidenced by the home made country fried steak, home fries, eggs (minimum of three to an order), and the 6 pieces of toast I could not fit in the picture.  Kudo's to Bo for going big and cleaning his plate, a disappointing frowny face to Steve for ordering from the senior menu, and a hearty "hell yeah" to Pete for diving in and trying the fried grits.  Andy, had on his girly panties that morning and choose not to partake  :)

Thoughts on the show, in no particular order of importance...

Sac was a great venue and the producers continue to refine the brew, making it an enjoyable show for all. 

The booths continue to be filled with "show specials", bikes built not for the customer base but to catch the eye...frustrating, as I've always believed you should show up with examples of what come out of your shop every day, not what you can make given no constraints.  Many of these builders, desperate to find a place in the industry, are selling their work at prices that do not support a stable business model, thus the reason you see many of these folks closing their doors after the shine has worn off.

So heartening to spend time with like minded folks who desire to share information, to see each other prosper, rather than hold their techniques close to their chests.  This is how it should be.  Kudos, you guys, you know who you are.

When will "Best Finish" actually go to the guy who paints the frame, rather than the builder who sub contracted the work?

Denver next year...I like the state, don't particularly care for the city.  Given that we are coming up on our 9th iteration of Nahbs, it would be nice to see it come east again...7 to 2 hardly seems balanced.

In speaking with a friend on the Nahbs board, it was disconcerting that we could only name two builders present who complete the entire fabrication process themselves...our industry is changing from a mastery of all the aspects of the process to the methodical commissioning of sub contracted parts and paint from others to complete the finished product. 

Funny how we develop our individual techniques and it's hard to break out of the mold due to customer demand...Joe Bell asked me to share some airbrush techniques with him.  In return I'd love to know his tips on traditional pin striping.  In the same industry but so different.

Kalten really stepped up this year and was in the booth working his butt off...when he wasn't chatting and dancing with the girls next door at Rickshaw.  Oh to be 17 again :)

See y'all next year in Denver.

rody