Fixture mods today...

Since the 44 headtube evolution has finally solidly landed on firm ground, I decided to make some time today to create new head tube pieces for the frame fixture. 

For y'all that are a bit in the rears...the 44 ID headtube allows for a diverse selection of potential steerer sizes to be utilized within the space of a single frame. From straight 1.125 in a zero stack setting, to tapered 1.125 to 1.5 steerers with just an exchange of lower cups. It'll do more, but thats the meat on the plate.


I modified the old fixture for the first few frames that used this new headtube, but it was time to get the main fixture up and running.  The new pieces are designed to be compatible with the bottom release puck and the micro adjust upper cone..all purge capable.

Here's a shot of the lower puck..the insert extends far enough internally to support the head tube and act as a heat sink for the downtube joint.  It is drilled, tapped, and relieved on the bottom to accept the drop away bolt on the bottom of the fixture to allow the frame to slide out freely after welding.

 The upper cone has purge reliefs drilled into it and utilizes a small milled slot that orients it in the fixture and limits it's micro adjust vertical height.

All together in the fixture with Keith's 44 head tube in place. 

Shot through some office work and placed lot's of orders for material and parts.  Off to the FD for a three day tour, see y'all soon.

rody

Wheels in motion, one human motor, one not...

For those of you who don't follow the Groovy Facebook page, the Ti road frame is completed in fabrication and we're gonna finish it in a mixture of paint, ceramic and blasted graphics to show the spectrum of finish possibilities with Ti.

Also, Kalten and I did a massive 24  hour road trip and picked up another restoration project for the future...1958 Zundapp Bella scooter. 

Thanks to Dick up in Michigan for finding her and getting her functional.  We're going to ride her for a few years then do a complete resto job, should be a hoot.

cheers,

rody

28 days, finally finished...

Hard to believe that a simple cold can turn into so much more.  Bacterial pneumonia, that morphed into strep throat, that morphed into sinus infection and ear aches...is finally over.  I got back to the fire department last week and worked 120 hours in seven days, then felt shitty again.  Today is the first day that I feel really good, I think 3 solids nights of solid sleep really helped.

In the interim, I've been piddling through the shop work, trying to keep at it a few hours at a time.  Not a lot to share that is earth shattering, but can update y'all a bit.

I was able to get the balance of the March bars sprayed up in ceramic and out, thanks everyone for their patience...

I had posted pics of Dirks race bike in the paint booth, but I also got it assembled and delivered in time for his first race of the season, which he took 6th overall in the Open Expert category...way to go Dirk!

Kalten forged a friendship with the nice folks from Rickshaw Bags while at Nahbs.  As he commutes 10 miles each way to school daily they kindly selected him to beta test one of their new designs for 30 days to help them dial in any changes that are needed in the "real world".  Thanks to Christy and the team for making such sweet products.  I'll have Kalten post up a review here at the end of the testing period...

I've had a pile of tubes set aside to build me a road bike for about 3 years now, so I started piecing it together the last two days to get me back into the shop groove.  A Ti road bike with a beefy bi ovalized down tube, .875 stays and a little higher front end than my last bike built 18 years ago as I'm not as flexy as I once was.  I single pass welded the frame in the fixture and put it on the alignment table...dead on tight.  No cold setting, no witch wanding, no magic fairy dust needed.  Proper weld sequence, good penetration and heat control, and the right fixturing make all the difference.

If y'all follow me on Facebook, you'll know that the Groovy Jerseys arrived and look dandy.  It would be nice to see them bopping around the local trails and by ways...but alas, most went to my adoring customers afar.  Thanks for flying the colors y'all.  Here's Carey in all his enthusiastic glory...

 Glad to be back in the saddle, gonna work hard to catch up on communication, shop work, and taking better care of myself (soon).

cheers,

rody

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

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

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