Tool time.

I just read a note on a forum saying that you should ask oneself wether or not you are a 'tool-snob'. This seemed to me like a very important question so I thought, 'well I probably am a tool snob'. I know the differences between numerous brands. Take screwdrivers: Klein, Wiha, Craftsman, SK, Proto, Snap-On, Matco, & PB Swiss-among others. Holy smokes that's just screwdrivers! There are LOTS more brands. I mostly prefer the Wihas for screwdrivers. See, I'm already showing tool snobbishness. Then there are bike specific tool companies: Park, Pedros, Cyclus, JA Stein and the venerable Campagnolo. All have numerous advantages and disadvantages.

I have preferences definitely. Campagnolo finish quality sets the bar-very high. With that level comes a corresponding but not commensurate increase in cost. The equivalent to a Park bottom bracket tap is two-and-a-half times more money! That puts a park at ~$250.00 and the Campy at close to $675.00! And a fully equipped pro-bicycle shop should have three of them! That's just to cover the bottom-bracket threads. Add an additional $450.00 to handle the facing tasks of the bottom bracket shell.

So I bought a set of Cyclus tools for the job. I own a Campy but just the dies are more than the entire Park or Cyclus tool. The Cyclus tool works great. Not as easy to start as the Campy but nice clean cutting surfaces on the taps. The design is actually a bit better (longer cutting surfaces) for extended chasing of difficult threads. It does a great job.

The forum thread then diverged into talk about having the right tool for the job. I agree whole heartedly. I've heard of a bike shop using a rubber mallet to insert headset cups! It could work if we were in a Mad-Maxesque-post-holocaust situation where that was the only option available. But we, thankfully, are not. So your headset should not be installed with a rubber mallet - ever. I've also read comments that a tool for such a simple task should not cost upwards of $400.00. I do agree with this as well. But I also know I can consistently do a much better job of cleanly pressing in a headset with my Efficient Velo Tools press than anyone else can with a home-made bolt, washer and nut apparatus or a bench vise and 2 x 4's. I can also cleanly press cups into an extremely wide range of frame sizes-possibly as large as 70 cm. Bring on Shaquille's bike! A very good tool by Park for pressing headset cups would have cost me $230.00. I bought the EVT headset press for close to $400.00.

So I don't think that every recreational rider needs a set of Wiha screwdrivers for $150.00 when the $19.99 set of Craftsmans will work fine and the reality is probably closer to a $2.00 Stanley. Heck, I bought the Cyclus stuff rather than the Campy tools. The ultimate result of those tools is the quality of the product that results from the tools available.

I could build a lot of things and they would look cobbly and chunky by comparison to a true craftsman at that given set of skills-regardless of what was available to me while building it. For me and the work I do on bicycles, tools are not only fun but a vital extension of how the idea I have visualized can be transformed into the desired outcome. The result has to be consistent, repeatable, and timely. Which is a bicycle that is aesthetically and functionally at the peak of it's mechanical potential. So if I'm sporting a rainbow-colored set of PB Swiss hexes that emptied my pockets to the tune of $80.00 you can feel free to go ahead and call me out-as the tool geek that I am.

What race?

The first race of the season is just four weeks away. Way too little time for those of us that are sorely lacking fitness but plan to go out and flounder anyway. It's the Red Rock Rampage in St. George, UT. People from the warmer climes have been riding and will out in force to remind us that we should have stayed in our cold-northern hibernation.

Fully aware of the likely outcome, we'll be toeing the start line anyway. Casualties may occur. We'll probably come back licking our wounds but hopefully be better as we start to get some weather that cooperates with our training efforts.

Right now, the intentions are to be in racing shape for most of the season. That is said before the 60 hour work weeks hit us and we have little time for anything other than keeping bikes running for folks. And it is said as another snow flurry is coming down. At least the cold might numb some of our fitness shortcomings.

Winter has created too much time for my mind to roam.

Do bikes have a soul? I don’t think so. This is an old argument and I’ve heard numerous philosophical positions on this topic but lately nobody seems to care. Some say that any bike coming from a mass-produced factory in the Orient can’t possibly have a soul. They argue that only a bike crafted by an artisan in ways secret and sacred can be infused with a soul from the builders’ hands.

Gary Fisher once commented that the ‘soul’ is not in the bike but in the experiences relating to that specific bike. That seems to gel with me but it avoids the argument altogether and diverges into making the bicycle a vehicle for an experience rather than an inanimate object seeming to posses life.

So while I don’t think a bike has a soul, there are a few among the 50 or so nice bicycles that I have owned that I really miss. One of those was my Serotta Ti-Max. It was just all-around bicycle goodness. It was titanium when titanium was the new wonder stuff that Zeus’ staff must have been made from. Waay lighter than any steel. But, noticeably more compliant than any aluminum bike (all mountain bikes were hard tails at this time). A co-worker bought and pimped out a custom Independent Fabrications Deluxe. Shimano XTR brand new Crossmax wheels, Syncros crome-moly crank, etc. It was a beautiful bike and one of the first crafted from Reynolds 853 steel. We rode the same pedals and swapped bikes one ride. We kept our observations to ourselves until the end and then compared notes. We both thought my bike was noticeably stiffer and quicker.

Those that think titanium is whippy have not ridden all titanium. I’ve ridden ti that is as stiff as the numerous Kleins I’ve owned. The Ti-Max was not uber stiff but just right. Fast, lively and solid. Straight-gauge tubing manipulated by Serotta into Colorado Concept shapes. I had great rides on that bike and was probably at the peak of my strength as far as being a go-fast rider. It’s green and plum colored. A weird color combination yes, it was done as a one-off paint to be a show bike.

It is now happily being ridden about by an intrepid local cyclist. Let’s call him ‘Jim’. If you see it out there take note, it’s a great example of how alive a bike can be.

Cool new goodies to have fun with.

So we have a couple of new additions to the shop in the way of product offerings. We are happy to offer Rocky Mountain Bicycles as well as Pinarello Italian road bicycles.

Rocky Mountain has been at this bike stuff for a long time. I have a Rocky Mountain mug I picked up at Interbike that says ‘Total Commitment for 15 years’. That was in 1996. Handmade frames from Canada using designs that have been refined and improved to create a great ride.

Pinarello almost needs no introduction. Pure Italian speed machines. History and lore-all of it is there. The Pinarello Prince was my pick as the run-away sexiest bike at the Interbike trade show. As much as I love it all when it comes to bikes: handmade steel from the artisan shops to cutting edge carbon; the Prince simply left me speechless. For those of you that know me that is an accomplishment when it comes to bikes. Our Pinarello representative was talking about the technical merits of the bike and his voice just kind of faded into the Charlie Brown adult voice of ‘wawaawaawaa’. I just stared, no sounds registered in my brain. The lines, the finish and color palette were done like only the Italians can. Think Ducati. Think Moto Guzzi. Or some cool shoes if I knew the brands. It’s not the lightest or any of those other technical adjectives ending in ‘est’. But it was just ‘right’. It was really fun for me because I haven’t had a bike actually speak to me like that in a long, long time.

Good times and 60 degrees in Phoenix.

I got to spend nine days in sunny Phoenix, AZ after Christmas. I made it through the Holidays and couldn’t wait to get away to where I could actually ride some bikes. I was able to remember that I really like my Bianchi Rita 29er single speed, road biking is really fun, and my Scott Ransom rules.

I also bumped into the crew from BH/Pivot bikes. I rendezvoused with Jeff Baugh of Al’s Cyclery fame and glory and we went out and tackled South Mountain. The Pivot crew saw me and I said 'hi' and I knew would be roped into a ride with them. So a couple of days later I went out with Chris Cocalis of Titus/Pivot fame and Kenny-national sales manager for DT Swiss. Chris Cocalis goes down hill really fast. On bikes that are more XC with only 4” of travel and 2.35” tires, I definitely had no chance-no prayer of staying with him. Granted, his trails, his bikes but he is a smooth, skilled rider. At least I would have been faster on any climbs if there were any.

Rode the Pivot Cycles Mach 4. This is a 4” XC DW Link bike. Rides great. I had a chance to ride one at Interbike as well. The second ride told me I wasn’t totally in tune with the bike but a few more rides and I think I would have been as comfortable as I am on anything.

I also got a cooks' tour of the Pivot Cycles facility. It’s new, clean and tidy. Pivot is prototyping a big-hit bike as well as a full-sus 29er. You heard it here first! Should have some cool stuff by next fall. BH bikes looks good as well. The new G4 will be under a Pro-Tour squad this year. Kenny showed us a new DT Swiss full-carbon xc race wheel: holy smokes.

So my take of the vacation: getting to take some time off at Christmas-well worth it; nine days in 50-70 weather-very nice, riding with industry influencers because they all want me as their customer? Priceless.

Fun year round.

We’re all cut from the same cloth. Think about it, all of us that bike often like other similar activities. We ski or snowboard. We love the backcountry. We love looking at the world from a summit. A mountain biker is equally at home going sideways down the mountain through the powder. A committed road racer is likely to be skate skiing the groomed in the off season. I’m not sure about where tele people come from.

Many mountain bikers also motorcycle. Some may hide it, but all those with 5+ inches of full-suspension travel secretly have combustion envy. I mean 70 horsepower in a light, flickable two-wheel package is just cool joy. 65 mph on my road bike feels way cooler but sometimes a motorcycle will do.

Is it the process of taking a journey? Is it the competitive itch? Does the sensation of a mini-exodus fulfill our inner wanderlust? Are we all just geeks that find that biking pushes all of our buttons so we love the two-wheeled experience?

And what is it with dogs? How many dogs do you see at a trailhead or bike area? Big dogs, fast dogs, slow dogs, nervous dogs, but mostly just bright-eyed, happy dogs in their element running behind us. Are the dogs on to something? It has to have something to do with the dogs doesn't it?

NAHMBS.

North American Handmade Bike Show, Portland, OR, Feb. 8-10, 2008

I want to go so bad. I’ve wanted to go ever since I saw pictures of it when it was in San Jose, CA. I want to see the stuff Richard Sachs is crazy enough to sweat and labor over and then go race it in the mud and sweat of cyclocross. I want to see the emerald paint of Keith Anderson’s work. I want to see the new-school spit-polish of Sacha White. I want to talk with the personalities like Jeff Jones and John Castellano. I want to see the insight of designers like David Kirk and Tom Kellog. When you are talking with Steve Potts you are talking to one of the founders of the mountain bike sport! From new to tradition, anyone who loves the beauty and feeling of stillness one of these bikes evokes should make the trip.

I had planned to go this year. A friend’s (Cookie) uncle has a place in Portland where we were going to crash. Dreams of deep and luminous paint. Ornate stainless steel lugs cradling Reynolds 953 tubing. Organic and invisible fillet-brazed joints.

They moved the show up by a month this year. I won't be going. So if you love these things, that is the place to be next month. Just be sure to bring me back a show guide.