Omph...what a week!

Ever have one of those weeks that just absorbs your focus and before you know it, you have not slept more than a handful of hours and you're gazing blurry eyed into the mirror wondering where it all went? Yeah, me too.

So, busy week recap. Built up a geared 29er with a mix of Columbus, Dedda, custom drawn down tube, gently s-bent 4130 stays and breezer dropouts. Add on a curved stay brace and custom disc tab and this is one Sweeeeeet bike. The build went very smooth and am looking forward to getting this one built up into a full bike before shipping it off. Unfortunately, I don't get to paint this one, as it is destined for a metallic jollypop powdercoat.

The first HO Down DJ fork came back from powder and was installed on one of our local fly guy's rigs. He is going to take it up to Ray's Indoor Bike Park this weekend and give 'er what fer! Already impressed with the lightness of the front end after taking off the Rock Shox Pike...a weight reduction of 2.5 pounds...should be able to sail high off the table top!

The week wound down the last two days with some 16 hour pushes to finish 6 forks; a custom Ho Down xc for Jim in Cali...destined for his classic YO, a custom Ho Down xc for Roy's build...destined for Holland, another Ho Down in 1.0" for Dicks retro build, a cross 29er fork for the Black Jellybean Bigwheel for Cubby, and 2 more DJ forks as I had the fixtures already set...need a fork for big air or a tough 29er trail fork? Email me, I've got two left.

Gonna slow down for the week of Thanksgiving to see my kids and run out to see a showing of Spamalot, a stage production loosely based on all good things Monty Python.

Enjoy the Holidays,

rody

a lil' FAT loving...

Well, can't believe that November is already here, the last week has totally disapeared on me.

I cranked out a couple of forks and got started on Zach's Bigwheel geary since the last post, but the time in the shop today was interesting...

Today I had a chance to work on another retro project. Brian was lucky enough to find a fairly mint Yo Eddy from 94 that has spent the better part of the last 10 years in storage...it needed a good repack and cleaning. I do not typically wrench much anymore, as I've been very busy with the fabrication end, but took on this project for two reasons; Brian is an enthusiastic personality that you can't help but like, and I've got a soft spot for old kit.

The frame is in very nice shape, sporting a team violet to yellow paint with only minor blemishes at the right chainstay and under the down tube (from the Manitou's crown).

As I started disassembly, I could see that even though it did not have many miles on her, she was showing the years. As typical with so many Fat's, the bottom bracket/seat tube area had taken a beating due to the sealed tubes trapping condensation. The bottom bracket on this Yo had mucho rust inside with scaling present.

The bearings were toast and the spindle needed some time on the wire wheel to clean it up.

The seat tube was not as bad, but needed some luv as well. Ended up reaming the areas, chasing the bb threads, drilling a weep hole from the inside of the bb to the inside of the seat tube and then coating it all with LPS rust inhibitor; should be good for another 13 years.

If you own a Fat, you owe it to yourself to get aggressive with the preventative measures...it'll thank you for a lifetime.

New press in bearings and NOS collars finished out the attention for the heart of the bike's drive train.



The rest of the repack was quite enjoyable...M730 XT parts and lots of Phil grease, smooth!

Now it looks like Brian is thinking of building a Big One Inch fork, custom stem, and adorning her with love handles...all painted to match. This will definitely take this cool ride into the stratosphere.

cheers,

rody

Picking up where a master let off...

This was a pretty cool project. A customer out of Washington state contacted me about finishing some early 80's Bontrager Switchblade forks. Somehow, he had come across two pair of fork legs that had dropouts, but no canti bosses or paint. How cool would it be to work on a project started by Keith himself?

When I received the blades, they were pretty rusty, but some time in the blast cabinet and alot of fine scrubbing with Scotchbrite pads shined them right up. What struck me was just how simple the fabrication is; truly a knod to the roots of the developement of our sport.

A bit of weld magic and some gloss black powder loving, and the finished product should do both Keith and myself proud.

cheers,

rody

Marketing the world...the times of a small builder.

A thread on Frameforum ( www.frameforum.net ), an excellent resource for those interested in the process of framebuilding, recently discussed how to market for the small framebuilder. The original poster was curious how to sell his prospective frames in his area. What I found curious was the response from some of the pros...that few frames are actually sold in the area they are built.

This is not a revelation to me, as it has been a common thread throughout my business career...let me explain.

I work out of a small town, population of 28,000, not really close to any "hot bed" of cycling activity. No Sedona, Moab, or Whistler here. The closest large City, Cleveland, is better known for it's rusting steel industry than for custom bicycle fabrication. So, looking for potential customers, it is a given that I have to look beyond my geographic boarders. The internet has definately been the tool of choice.

Looking over my past months receipts, I was surprised, however, to see how much global business I do. In fact, I've sold more overseas products in the last month than domestic. The countries shipped to include; Norway, Japan, Germany, Scotland, UK, and Austrailia. No wonder the chic at the Post office smiles whenever I show up :^)

Certainly, I'd love more local business, but am just fine with sending the love across the world. I'll consider it my little part for global harmony ;^) .

So, if you happen to be traipsing across the US and want to stop in for a green tea and some social chatter, please do. I'll keep the comfy chair cleaned off for ya.

Cheers,

rody

The Groovy Ho Down Fork...fresh fabrication

Most of you that know me through the internet have learned that I'm a bit of a vintage/retro nut...I really appreciate and respect the fathers of the industry and the designs they embraced. So when I wanted to build a new / distinctive fork for customers that wanted something unique, I looked back to some of my favorites for borrowed inspiration. Some of my favorite classic forks were the Fat City Cycles Yo Eddy and the Grove Innovations Hardcore. I blended a bit of each into the new Groovy Ho Down fork...

The Ho Down is a rigid straight blade design that uses 1.0" blades, scalloped tabbed dropouts, a rectangular box crown and gently curved blade tops to give a visually unique look.

The fork offers just the right amount of flex in the lower third of the legs to absorb trail chatter while remaining stiff enough in the crown for dead straight tracking.

So, what's the origin of the name? Pondering what to call this piece, I wanted to relay two things; a name that reflected the large shape and surface area of the crown and the feeling of euphoric dancing through a wicked single track. Then it hit me, kinda reminded me of an old fashioned southern square dance or Ho Down. Got it!

This will be the first customer fork, a rigid disc 29er that will be going on Zach's Bigwheel. It's going to get a lush Jollipop red metallic finish today, should be awesome!

cheers,

rody

Ok, trial post here...

Hey folks,

Well, I thought I try to keep in better contact with y'all through the blog option. It's a bit easier to update daily than the web page and gives everyone an idea what's been going on in the shop.





Today, I worked on finishing up Cubby's cross frame prep for paint. Got it all nailed down and am ready to send it to the blast cabinet for a little abrasive loving prior to paint.



This one is slated for a gloss black powder coat. When finished, airbrushed red/yellow/green jelly beans will be added as a nod to Scoboni's classic work.

Should be pretty trick when finished.

This frame is also getting a matching custom fork and stem, more on this later...