I spent Sunday in the shop and decided to make another time lapse video. I'm working on Dave's bike, which is going to be a lugged commuter-style machine, with some cool features. This time lapse is of the front triangle being mitered and brazed, and then drilled for water bottle mounts, which I braze in right at the end. I hope you enjoy.
Here's a video of mitering and brazing the front triangle of Dave G.'s bicycle frame. Also shows three sets of water bottle bosses drilled and brazed in.
The Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show was in Bend, Oregon this past weekend. The event was coupled with the big cyclocross Halloween race, which draws a pretty large crowd every year. The race has been at the coast, in Astoria, for the past few years. They moved it to Bend this time for a change of scenery. I didn’t make it over to the race, but I heard part of the course was too dusty to see.
The bike show was held at the GoodLife Brewery. I’m not sure of the exact number, but I think there were about 35 or so booths. I liked that it was a smaller show. A steady stream of people came through, and nobody seemed overwhelmed. At the larger shows you can see peoples eyes turn to spirals from goggling at bikes for too many hours. It’s a particular form of melt down that affects the insatiable bike nerds.
If you haven't seen the article by Tom Clynes in this months' Bicycling Magazine, you ought to check it out. The article is titled, Cargo Bikes: Is This The Coolest Bike Ever Made? It's a perspective on the growing interest in -- you guessed it -- cargo bikes. It's a pretty comprehensive article, covering a variety of facets of interest, and he checks in with manufacturers both large and small.
I quote here the final paragraph, which gives insight into the rest of the article:
It's then that I see, in the parents' faces, what Dave Cohen calls "the politics of possibility." I could tell them all how green my bike is, how cost-effective and healthy. But in the end, what they see—and take away—is how much fun it is to carry people and things around under your own power. In the delighted faces that surround me, I can see the possibilities opening up. In practicality, it seems, there is joy.
Also, there is a somewhat breathless quote in the article by yours truly:
For eco-conscious cyclists like Joseph Ahearne, a Portland bike builder, part of the allure is making a statement. "Every time I'm on my bike with a big load of stuff on it," Ahearne says, "I can only hope that some people in cars see me and are already so frustrated with traffic and the costs of fuel and car payments and the roll of fat falling over their belts that they look at me taking care of business on my bike and feel something like envy. It plants a seed."
Here is my entry to the 2011 Oregon Manifest. The 50 mile ride was good. The weather was just about perfect, even if a little hot, and the route took us through some awesome backroads. There was a combination of paved roads and gravel, with a lot of climbing along the way. I was very pleased with the bike. It was solid, quiet, had the gears I wanted for climbing and it carried the load without a hitch. I ran some pretty large tires so that the gravel sections weren't a problem, and descending with weight the bike felt sure and stable. The bike did everything I asked of it, and did it well.
There were a lot of great entries in this event. I can't imagine having been a judge, trying to decide which bikes were winners. I think a congratulation should go out to everyone who did the work building the bikes, and for all those who rode the ride. And a special congrats to Tony Pereira for taking the cake. Nice job Tony!
Here are photos of the Ahearne entry with a summary of features to follow.
Oregon Manifest Bike
This is the Ahearne Cycles entry to the 2011 Oregon Manifest competition. There were several criteria that the all the entrants were supposed to fulfill, most of which were in the realm of bikes that I often build. The bikes are to have lights, fenders, a locking system, a way to carry things besides the rider, etc. Here's a quick list of the features this bike offeres:
24 inch front wheel, 700c rear. The rack is fixed to the frame and is rated at about 50 lbs. maximum capacity. The small front wheel allows the basket to be lower, which drops the center of gravity and makes for a more stable ride with a load.
The basket has an integrated lock holder (no rattle), a bottle opener, corner bumpers (dead tire), a weatherproof DiBond base (aluminum sheet with a dense plastic core -- light-weight & bomb-proof), a large waterproof bag by Inside Line Equipment, and shown here there are 2 speaker mounts and a water bottle cage (also on the basket). There is also a bolt-on utility bag on the rack which is for spare tubes, tools, straps and bungee cords, etc.
There is an insanely bright lighting system (600 lumens!) that runs off a rechargeable battery pack hidden under the rack, which is charged off the generator hub. It's a prototype lighting system by Light On! lights. The wired tail light is internally routed, and if you look closely, it is mounted to a bolt that runs through the seat tube and serves the double purpose of being a seat post lock -- the seat post is slotted, and can't be removed without taking out the light mount bolt.
Speaking of security, there's a hidden lock for the kickstand so that, when the kickstand is open and the lock engaged the stand can not be retracted. I'd love to see a thief try and ride off on the bike, but not be able to figure out why the stand won't go up.
The bike has clearance for very large tires. The fenders are full wrap, with a 26 inch rear fender covering the front wheel. There's a supplementary blinky tail light and reflector on the rear fender by Portland Design Works.
Beyond these features, the bike has a lot of the little things I believe should be standard on a hard core commuter bike: full gear range, bell, pump, disc brakes (advisable, especially for rainy climates), wide puncture resistant tires, comfortable upright riding position, wide flat pedals, etc.
The final thing is the aesthetic, which is subdued and classy. I didn't want to over-invent a machine that has been designed & refined for well over a hundred years.
Mr. Goodman's Bicycle Tubes