Site Stirrings

Best laid plans and all of that stuff...

Creative work is a funny thing.  You need to be patient but not passive. Driven but not mindless. You need to set a direction and speed, but honor the unexpected and embrace those shifts which clarify. 

But stepping too far from the original impetus for action often causes a sudden loss of momentum.  The reverse slingshot effect as when you fall just outside the protected slipstream on a fast group ride. 

Which is kinda where this whole Cyclofiend.com project currently sits.

With the acceleration of other efforts and focus over that last year or few, it kinda got spat out the back and is now just poking along by itself.  There are a litany of excuses, which are all, ultimately merely excuses.   I guess that means that it just doesn't matter how things got derailed.  That doesn't mean I won't mention them now and again.  It just means that they are getting examined and articulated without a lot of value judgement upon them.  The question just keeps coming back to "what now"?

That's what has me a bit stumped.  The internet, the web, online, social media have all changed dramatically since this project began (itself the morphing of a reasonably unrelated project itself.)  There are venues such as Pinterest which didn't even exist when this started.  Flickr has gone through a chunk-o-changes.  The very nature of online discussion has morphed, acted upon by the major magnetic poles of twitter and facebook.

All of which I use, of course.  So I'm not against any one of those ideas by itself - say the way I'm reasonably unimpressed by disc brakes on road bikes.  They all have their places and their strengths.

That thought has me thinking about precisely what the strength of the cyclofiend.com galleries is. And few things I really like about it include:

• the "hands-on" nature of it - the fact that someone had to site down and deliberately choose 5 images which captured their bicycle.  

• that the layout is simple and stark, with the emphasis on the bike and the words in each gallery, rather than the slickness of the frame. 

• the unexpected friendships which have come from the interactions of receiving, processing and posting the photos.  

• the 2009 Calendar project.  

It would probably make sense to mention the things I didn't like.  But, those really don't come to mind.  Most of the "not likes" have to do with frustration at not posting my way through the backlog.  Of there being a few folks who have patiently waited for their bikes to be posted, or updated or have errors in their listing fixed.  And while there are "reasons" those things didn't occur, ultimately those are the types of excuses which I mentioned at the outset of this post.  But, they do bug me. 

They also cease to matter once action begins again.  So, there's that.

I'm also reconsidering the scope and focus of things.  This blog - cyclofiend.blogspot.com - was originally going to only focus on the new listings in the galleries.  I'd played with some methods of generating an RSS of the four gallery update pages, but none of them worked particularly well.  And though I still use and enjoy RSS, it's become a slightly neglected aspect of design and implementation in the broader sense these days. (Though I'll just pause a second here to say that feedly has happily replaced the retired google Reader.   It's not the same, but has taken what I like about RSS and incorporated some slick, intuitive interface design.)  It's ended up with a more varied set of posts - again, mostly because there just haven't been any posts to share. 

My other blog - ramblings.cyclofiend.com has chugged along.  There's almost 500 posts there.  But, the technology of very much off the back. Again, back in  I should probably just bite the bullet and shift over to a wordpress-based setup. Back in 2005, it was a nice benefit of my hosting company to include the blogging option, but the interface hasn't really gotten a face lift for way too long.  And I haven't slapped on the coveralls and dug under the hood in at least 2 or three.  It gets an ungodly amount of spam comment attempts - one of the benefit of being active since 2005 - but lacks anything remotely resembling a useful blocking tool. 

The Ramblings blog has always been about more personal thoughts and topics, ride reports and such.  I do like that separation and it's likely it will continue.  For some reason, I've been a harsher editor there in the past year.  Much of what got written didn't make the cut to be posted.  Doesn't necessarily mean that what got posted was all that good, of course.   Just that the stuff which got trashed was probably trying too hard, or read too forced, or just caught me wrong when I went back through it. 

Or it was just that I was trying to make it do too much.  Like voice acting, sometimes it ends up much better if you just let it roll.  Which is really the only step that matters right now.

Thanks for being patient!   Here's to the new year!












 

Get on a Bike with MCBC

Earlier in the year, I spent the latter half of a day with some other riders, being filmed around the MMWD watershed - finally saw the result!  Nice video on the varied cycling and culture in Marin County.  My "cameo" is at 6 minutes when the camera follows me  on the Bridgestone singlespeed, then another quick clip at 9:52 (I'm the guy in the middle there).   There was a boom shot on the Lagunitas dam which didn't make the cut - but these things happen.

Get on a bike with MCBC from John Vigran on Vimeo.
A short film about the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC), advocates for cycling in Marin County, California by filmmaker John Vigran, and www.WildheartPictures.com

Singlespeed Tuesday - 5 "New" Entries

"New" in quotes because I'm sure the folks who sent in these fine images have all but given up hope that their submissions would ever see the light of day.  To further mock my efforts, the five singlespeed bicycles which got posted today precisely equals the total number of singlespeeds which got added to the Gallery in 2011.  But, hey, as I said, it's time to just keep taking small bites and pedaling...
 

#331 - Cat Daddy's Specialized Hardrock
This one catches my attention for three reasons -
First, there's something wonderful to my eye about a large-tired rigid fork mountain bike from the early 90's.  In the days before suspension became prevalent, the design teams focused on getting the best out of the a simple system. The frame tubes were not overwhelmingly huge or formed and the lines remain clean and strong. The Hardrock wasn't as fancy as it's sibling the Stumpjumper, but a lot of the differences at this point had to do with stem size/angle offerings and componentry - the Hardrock was a tremendous value. 
Second, it's one of the types of bicycles which I actually lament not having nabbed when I worked in the industry (actually, my specifically egregious failure to snap up an amazing value was not getting one of the last steel Stumpjumpers - we had bought the last of the runs of these maroon, rigid-forked models which IIRC was destined for the European market. But, I digress).  When the quality steel mtb's started to dwindle, most of us just didn't notice - overcome by lust for titanium, exotic aluminums and the just-appearring carbon fiber.
Third, Bill managed to get his neighbor's rescue dog into the final photo.  Now, I ask you, how can you not feature an entry which does that?

New Entries to the Current Classics Gallery -
#330 - Shawn Mullenix's Schwinn Continental
#331 - Bill/Cat Daddy's Specialized Hardrock
#332 - Kenny Sargent's KHS Urban Soul
#333 - Laurent Savard's Cambio Rino
#334 - Brad Ingermann's Schwinn World Sport

Five Singlespeed Bicycles

I feel like I've shown up at a group ride well after the time agreed upon, only to find that everyone waited rather than just rolled out.  A little shame, a bit of embarrassment.  That sort of thing.  Suffice to say that if you are among those who have patiently waited for new updates, or the few who took the time to send a polite email, I truly appreciate your patience. 

While there have been a number of internal updates and pruning of the underbrush, this is the first Gallery update of the year.  As you might guess, there's a pretty decent backlog of images, and a few submissions from later last year which got stuck on a hard drive for a while. My plan is to hunker down, take small bites and keep chewing. We'll see how that works out.

So... with no further delays.  Here are five singlespeeds for your enjoyment.

Three of the five are Raleigh-labeled, which should not really be a surprise given the length and reach of that particular bicycle crafting dynasty (even more).  In fact, I have a Raleigh in the rafters, though it's most likely destined to becoming a grocery/farmer's market bicycle - might end up as a singlespeed, but I digress.







Philip De Ritis' Gazelle

Philip De Ritis' Gazelle on Cyclofiend.com

Now "Gazelle" is not a brand which you encounter quite so frequently - at least stateside.  It's one of those brand names, like Ibis and Kestrel, which embodies speed and nimbleness.  In my mind, there's something very art deco and 1930's about those names - in the sense of appropriate imagery and dynamic claims.

In addition to some very dramatic images, Peter has built up this frame using a strong "early days of cycling" aesthetic - "scorcher" style handlebar setup, stripped down components and a beautiful polished look to the parts. There's a lot to catch your attention with this bike, and it looks like it would fit in rolling slowly along a promenade or heading for the horizon at high speed kicking up a cloud of dust.

New Entries to the Singlespeed Gallery - 
#325 - Richard Sheets' Raleigh
#326 - Peter Van Dine's Bianchi
#327 - Leon's Retro Raleigh
#328 - Philip De Ritis' Gazelle
#329 -  Scott Taylor's Raleigh Sportif

Singlespeeds For a Short Week

Everyone is supposed to be tying off work quickly this week and gathering for contemplation around an unfortunate bird.  Which means you're probably stuck in some airport, listlessly overhearing folks complain about the TSA intimate frisking they just endured. Hopefully, the addition of eight new entries to the Singlespeed Gallery will help you divert your attention to something fun and healthy...

It seems to be getting more difficult each time to choose one entry to highlight, mostly because each and every bicycle has something unique and intriguing about it.  This selection of single speed bicycles is particularly diverse - including purpose built commuters, repurposed mountain bikes, and stripped down road machines.  The wonderful thing is that these bicycles are all getting enjoyed and used now.
In the end, the nod went to a fine example of early mtb history...

Jeromy Hewitt's Fat Chance Buck Shaver
As I've mentioned before, it was from the writings of Mike Ferrintino back in the inky newsprint pages of California Bicyclist that first made me aware of single speed cycling. At that time, I recall thinking "why would you want to get rid of the gears?"

But, somehow as I read through the article, in which he talked about the weight which would be jettisoned and the simplicity which would be attained, there was an attractive kernel of resonance.  At that time, even seeing a singlespeed was a rare thing. 

Since that time, I've always thought of mountain bikes first when someone spoke about singlespeeds. On the roads with a single geared setup, you do sometimes have to accept the multi-geared folk whisking past you now and again, when you are spinning along at just under the butt-bumping cadence.  But, on the trails, there's that sublime flow and near-silence, the simplicity of knowing that speed comes only from effort, and momentum must be maintained.

The Buck Shaver came from the east coast, and was a move to bring out a less expensive offering from the workshop of Chris Chance and company. At the time, hard to remember now, there was the talk of "east coast geometry" - a tighter wheelbase and sometimes higher bottom bracket which gave those relatively unknown bicycles kind of a bad rap out where the sun set.  We liked our 44" wheelbases and slack-angled frames.

Of course, looking at that bicycle now, none of that comes to mind.  The Fat looks like a lean and ready trails machine. The TIG-welded steel and jaunty straight fork promises nothing other than a ready companion to help you get lost on the trails for hours. 


Additions to the Singlespeed Gallery:
#317 - Allan James' Schwinn World Traveler
#318 - Vince Santiago's No Name Singlespeed
#319 - Guiseppe Rosalia's Assiolo
#320 - Lee Chae's Rivendell Quickbeam
#321 - Jeromy Hewitt's Fat Chance Buck Shaver
#322 - Mark Elam's Schwinn Moab
#323 - Gilles Landry's Raleigh
#324 - Joe's Univega Viva Sport

Also, there were some Updates to these previous entries:
CC #656 -  Don Genovese's Miyata 1000 Touring
CC #654 - Randy Pugh's Trek 1500

Catching Up - CX, Working Bikes & Updates

Finally put on the headlamp, took a shovel and pick, and started digging into the morass of confusion which are the "Updates & Revisions" to previous gallery submissions.  At some point a year ago, I figured out something clever, then promptly forgot about it until a few months back.  By then, things had gotten relatively confused and out of synch, so I've had to chip away the grunge and refind them.  Which has occurred.  So, here's the first batch:

Singlespeed Gallery Revisions:
John Busteed's Rivendell Quickbeam
Jim Mather's Rivendell Quickbeam
Gary Passmore's Trek 420
Joe Huddelston's Nishiki Sport
Bert's Bianchi

Current Classics Gallery Revisions:
Mark Rosenberg's Rivendell Road
Stu Wemhoener's Raleigh Resurrectio
Stu Wemhoener's Burley Tandem
George Dickerson's Motobecane
Robert Hill's Richard Sachs #16

So, if you sent in a Revision to a previous Gallery Submission, hang in there!  I've got them queued up and am starting to move through them.  (And if you are thinking of sending in a Revision or Update, please take a second to reference the Gallery Number of the original submission - that helps me find it more quickly.)

In the past week, there were also updates to the Working Bicycle Gallery and the CX Bicycle Gallery. 

Working Bicycle - Daniel Dahlquist's Robin Hood

Now, I'll admit that I've kinda got twin top tubes on the brain - with the evolution of Grant Petersen's Rivendell Sam Hillborne, Hunquapillar and Bombadil models all acquiring additional and entirely non-trendy tubing.  When they've appeared on various bicycle designs, whether taller framesets or more load-bearing-oriented models, I've tried to consider what the tube does, how it does it, and how it will be viewed in another 5 years or so.

Needless to say, Grant is not the first frame designer who has taken this approach.  This laid-back Robin Hood brings a stylish sweep to the genre of Working Bicycles.  Robin Hood was a brand originally acquired by Raleigh back in 1906, and was part of their bicycle manufacturing empire.

Here, Daniel has added a stylish front Porteur-style platform rack and simple but functional VO chaincase.  The additional racks allow him to use this as a camping bicycle, and it looks like it's ready to roll out into the woods.

Additions to the Working Bicycle Gallery:
#130 - Daniel Dahlquist's Robin Hood
#131 - J. Tackett's Trek Loaded Fuel 80
#132 - Lee Chae's Kogswell P/R
#133 - Robert Clark's Brompton

CX - Kevin Mulcahy's Bruce Gordon Rock-n-Road

Bruce Gordon has been steadily designing and building bikes for over a quarter century.  He has always crafted framesets which were more than happy to roll offroad, or carry whatever you asked of them.  Whether passing out pocket protectors with the phrase "Bruce Gordon Cycles - Where the Touring Nerd is King!" or engaging in the Interbike pranksterism which was SOPWAMTOS, he was making quality bikes when most people didn't care or notice, and every current builder owes him an acknowledgment of thanks.

Ooops - how did I end up on this soapbox...

Anyway, this Rock-n-Road has all the aspects of what I like in a CX bike - a stripped down robustness, the clearances which can only be found in a steel frame and an understated finish.  Plus, there's a chicken on the stem. Can't beat that!

Updates to the Cyclocross Bicycle Gallery:
#64 - Esteban Diaz's Trek 700 Conversion
#65 - Kevin Mulcahy's Bruce Gordon Rock-n-Road

Seven Singlespeeds

Kind of a crazy start to a week that is now almost over. Between the San Francisco Giants winning the world series on Monday, those wacky elections on Tuesday and the resultant political hangover and celebratory national pastime parade in the city, I guess it was easy to forget I'd posted some updates to the Singlespeed Gallery Monday morning. I mean, here it is all Thursday and everything...

The updates also include an "oopsey!" on my part - sometime in the delay of receiving Jeffrey Brodersen's email with information about his 1974 Raleigh singlespeed project and actually getting it posted to the Gallery, his description got separated from his images, and I'm left with no way to contact him to ask for his text again. So, Jeffrey, if you are reading this, zap me an email with the specifics and I'll get it updated. Cool ride, by the way.

Also, a special mention for John Spurny's Fuji, which includes a great image of two happy dogs:

There's been a dearth of dog-buddy pix in submissions recently, and they are always appreciated when included.

This set of seven new bikes really had a nice assortment of projects and rides, with a number of countries represented.  It seems like all of them had a compelling reason for appreciation, but I said I'd only pick one each update... So,

Ian Roop's Saronni

There's really something about clean hardware and a fresh powdercoat... 

There's a simplicity about this build which is fairly deceptive, but captures a great deal of the allure of this type of bicycle. A bike with a single gear setup, whether fixed or coastable, has stripped away the confusion of extra cables and wiring, the complexity of on-the-fly gear choice and now reminds us of that easy and direct act of getting on and going.

The high flange hubs are gorgeous, the newly updated powder coat  smooth and creamy, but below it all lies the promise of the bicycle - easy and simple freedom.


New Additions to the Singlespeed Bicycle Gallery


#310 - Jeffrey Brodersen's '74 Raleigh
#311 - Balu Ramananda's Dahon Jetstream
#312 - George's Big Red Singlespeed
#313 - John Spurny's Fuji Grand SE
#314 - Ian Roop's Saronni
#315 - Paul Popescu's Prophette
#316 - Dean Watkinson's Schwinn Voyager 11.8

Also  Updates to the following Singlespeed Gallery entries:

#106 - Bert's Bianchi
#301 - Joe Huddleston's Nishiki

*A quick word about "Updates" - these have been languishing significantly, and honestly, they are a little cantankerous in terms of the workflow.  I'm making a concerted effort to include a couple with each update now, so if you sent in new images of your existing entry, hang in there!  Also, if you are sending in an update - please reference the Gallery # of your original in the email - that will save me a bit of time and make it more likely to see the updated version more quickly.

Shaking Off The Dust - Beth's "Stompy v2.0"

It seems appropriate to reinvigorate the updates with bicycles that share a simple design and construction.  Until we decide to take the big step back to the Draisine, the singlespeed is still about as simple as you can go.  And as anyone who tries it may (well...sometimes begrudgingly) admit, simple is often times good.

I know that a single drive sprocket keeps calling me back - even when I might curse its inflexibility as the pitch of the climbs increase.  Tonight I scooted out after a day too long rooted in front of the  computer, and as the solid, windless heat lay upon the earth, the fixed drivetrain of my ride made no sound.  A tangent onto some narrow trails supplied the perfect challenge to momentum and balance. Single geared bikes rock.

And speaking of rocking, long time contributor to the Galleries, Beth H. has gotten a good chomp from the singlespeed bug.  Her first rig of recent years was a singleated mtb which somewhere along the line I seem to have dubbed "Stompy".  After shaking that down on the Portland short track and cyclocross scene, she has ended up with a more purpose built model, a Redline Monocog with snazzy bits of pink for accent.  Cool bike!

In addition to wrenching at CityBikes up in Portland, she keeps an interesting blog - bikelovejones 

Updates to the Singlespeed Bicycle Gallery

#306 - idotel's Raleigh Grand Prix
#307 - Gina's "Milk Runner" Nishiki Custom Sport Mixte
#308 - B. Saul's Motobecane Touring
#309 - Beth Hamon's "Stompy 2.0" Redline Monocog

The Imprecision of Identification

Back in 2005 when starting the whole Current Classics Gallery, it struck me that three genres of bicycle were underrepresented - "Current" Classics, Cyclocross and Singlespeed bicycles. (Working Bikes came along a little later.)  I figured that Singlespeeds would end up being mountain bikes for the most part and that Classics would be "road" bikes.
Certainly, the definitions have changed since then - there is little in the way of topography and surface that I wouldn't take my "road" bike onto, and more people have begun to appreciate what a simple and appropriate drivetrain can do for their enjoyment of cycling.  Nothing like getting on a bike and just pedaling to remind you of the ease and freedom of that first solo bike ride.

Ritchey Mountain Bikes occupy a certain special place for me.  It is (again) one of those bicycles I've always wanted but never owned.  (Though my Gary Fisher Montare did state that it was "Designed by Tom Ritchey").  But, back when mountain bikes were oddities, I remember crossing paths with my friend Eric.  He was zipping through town on his new Ritchey and the coolness of that bicycle cannot be overstated. Anything from the early days through the P-19's still catch my breath.

Jeromy Hewitt's Ritchey Outback

 Singlespeed Gallery #302

The Outback comes from the initial period of mountain bike design when looooong wheelbases were favored, as the design blueprint grew from the Schwinn Excelsiors and similar models which hurtled down trails in Fairfax, CA (see SeeKay's site for more info on that period).  There's something about these long frames which make them ride exceedingly smoothly and hold their lines in the sketchiest of terrain.

That also makes them one of the more stable and comfortable bikes to ride on road.  It's one of the reasons mtb's caught on so widely in places where there were no mountains.  They were - wait for it - comfortable and fun.  Like bikes are supposed to be.

And so, what we end up with here is a Classic, converted to a Singlespeed, so that it can be used in a Work Bike role...  blurring the lines between each with style.

Updates to the Singlespeed Bicycle Gallery

#301 - Joe Huddleston's Nishiki Royal
#302 - Jeromy Hewitt's Ritchey Outback
#303 - Ted Burnell's Nishiki Prestige
#304 - Michael Gibian's Zebra
#305 - Dan Artley's Surly Steamroller

Single Speed Gallery Reaches 300 Bicycles!

With today's update, the Single Speed Gallery has notched itself up to 300 entries. A pretty impressive number of one-speeds. A quick shout out to Mike Ferrentino, author of the Grimy Handshake column in BIKE magazine.  It was his article some mumble-mumble years ago back in California Bicyclist which made me actually aware of the focused and self-flagellatory world of single speed mountain biking. Taking gears off your bike? That seemed crazy talk when I first heard of it, and yet it was oddly enticing.  That article was one of the things way back when which gave the weather vane a good and hearty spin away from the normal and accepted practices.

It's been interesting too, to see the number of singlespeeds which would be considered more "road" bike oriented.  As readers of my main blog know, a comfortable and reliable frame designed for good clearances and large tires blurs the distinctions between on or off road, but the trend of this gallery has been more towards drop bar equipped models than a traditional mountain bike setups.

But, enough about trends and theorizing...

Ron Hampel's Rivendell Quickbeam - Gallery Entry #300

Singlespeed Gallery #300

I was really pleased to see this bike come into the queue at #300 (though I was equally chagrined that it wasn't Paul Germain's stunning custom Ellis).  As most folks know, I own a Quickbeam as well, and consider it to be one of the best riding and most versatile bicycles I've ridden.

But Ron's has some unique aspects to it - first of all, it reminded me of some of Grant Petersen's writings about how he sees Rivendell designs in the bigger scheme of things.  He wrote some time ago that he hopes that his bikes stand the test of time, specifically that they will be recognized, sans paint and decals, in the future.  That there are certain hallmarks of design and philosophy which will make people say, "...hey! That's a Rivendell!"

And here, underneath a gorgeous clear powdercoat, is evidence of just that.  The clean and simple lug lines. The good clearances.  The useful braze-ons. Those robust and cleverly angled rear fork ends.  Yep, that's a Quickbeam.

 New Singlespeed Gallery Entries:
#297 - Ana Semijalac's Unis Sprint - 
#298 -  Paul Germain's Ellis
#299 - Evan Wilson's Spicer
#300 - Ron Hampel's Rivendell Quickbeam

Six Pack O' Singlespeeds

Welcome to your Wednesday!

The Singlespeed Gallery seems to run such a wide gamut. It's always interesting to see what people's ingenuity and creativity, combined with a parts pile and a bit of spare time will produce. Obviously, there are purpose-built frames which are near and dear to my heart, but because my first was a project bike, my appreciation is firmly rooted in the DIY approach. And, as I've written before, resurrecting an old, disused frame is always an honorable task.

Plus, I always love to get bicycles submitted from outside the US. It does kind of blow my mind when I consider that someone on the other side of the globe visits the site, gets inspired by what they see, and then renders their own ride.

Which brings us to Nico's "Going Merry" -

Singlespeed Gallery #293

It's always interesting to see a theme evolve on a bike build. Whether the Green Oury
grips triggered the search for the other parts, or some quirk of retail display put them near enough so that the visual harmony was created, I like the cheery chromatic statement against the weather-worn and rust dotted frameset. (I'm also drawn to that crankset, which remains un-branded and alluring...)

The other cool thing is that this bike is enjoying the winter weather in Bologna, Italy. Makes me wish I'd started paying closer attention when bikes arrived from distant regions. Maybe I'll start keeping track now, and backfill the info as I get time.

So, Italy = 1



New additions to the Single Speed Gallery:
Isaac Enloe's Rivendell Quickbeam
Rocky B's Rivendell Quickbeam
Nicola Guglielmi's "Going Merry"
David Vega's Cannondale M600
David Vega's Salsa Cassaroll
Mark Elam's Bianchi Broadway