Ride Lugged » JINX

Bikes save lives….

JINX — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:33:02 +0000

I was reading some news on the BBC site and found this interesting piece on a bicycle ambulance.
Dig it….

The STASH

JINX — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:57:01 +0000

Recently I saw this post on Retro-Bike and am not sure if you, the readers of all things lugged, have also seen this. Apparently this guy has the ultimate collection of all things 90′s and mountain bike.

Ultimate Collection?

Here’s a teaser pic.

The Safety bike revisited

JINX — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:04:21 +0000

Sometimes when you work in a shop too long, ideas can be thought to be good ones. Like the day an employee decided he was gonna leave his bike in the work area in a stand overnight, and well into the next day as well. When two childish shop employees went about their daily ritual of building up comfort bikes and found the employee bike blatantly parked in a work stand…, well, they put the large box of chaingaurds and reflectors to good use.

The best part was when the offending employee came in to install some tape on the bars so he could go for a quick ride…., it took him over an hour to remove all the newly installed safety features.

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun putting reflectors on a bike.

Hang ‘em high

JINX — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:44:57 +0000

So as I sit in a flu-induced funk surrounded by achiness and tiredness, fueled by Pandora and Soy Nuts…?, I figured, “Why not post something on RideLugged!?!”
So recently I decided I was gonna do something about all my bikes laying around amongst each other with pedals sticking in spokes and handlebars mingling like drunken high schoolers. It seemed like such a lowly existence for something that obviously consumes my life. I treat them worse when not riding them! I decided to start poking around the interwebs for bike storage solutions and I found some really interesting ideas and methods, but no one method had all the features I was looking for. I took a little bit from each of the ideas I had found to my liking and started drawing out some plans. Using the space in my workshop to the utmost meant hanging the bikes on a vertical holder with two per rack. Since all the bikes I was trying to store are different in size and style, this meant using some customizing and guesstimation at it’s best. I did some super scientific measurements and ended up with the plan I wanted. Surprisingly, it would cost the same for me to build three racks that would hold six bikes and all my accessories as it would to buy ONE vertical gravity rack with no place to hang helmets or put gloves, seat covers, water bottles, etc. . That sealed the deal. I went to the local superstore where you can’t find anything due to the overwhelming stock and nonsensical placement of said stock. I managed to build and stain and install my three custom bike racks in three days. I can hang up my bikes on their own special rack and there is a stainless basket for accessories between the lower arms. On the sides of the lower arms are two hooks for the helmets. My bikes have never been happier and I can freely move about my workshop now without bikes falling on me. Check out the finished product.

The overview of the three racks…

A close up view of the road rack…

A close up of the basket and helmet hooks…

So for $75 US dollars I purchased the lumber, stain, baskets, hooks, jig saw blades, brushes, and wood screws to build all three racks.

Photo project – need some input

JINX — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:34:25 +0000

I’m trying to get better with photography and I started posting a photo a day on my blog. I’m taking lots of photos and choosing one to post in hopes that I can get some feedback from folks. There will be some bike photos…like this one taken for yesterdays post…

please take some time and provide some guidance or comment on a photo or two…

Everyday Pictures – each day, one shot

thanks,
Rob

Track Team

JINX — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 12:42:05 +0000

Know some history and read some cool news.

Team GB Track Cyclists on the BBC

Other cool cycling links are to be had from that page.
Dig some and read.
BMX is in there!
HISTORY.
Rob

The 93′ Bridgestone MB-2 build – UPDATED!

JINX — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:56:29 +0000

UPDATED!
here’s the newest and most likely the final build specs. Well, except for the gearing.

Frame- Bridgestone MB-2 93′
Fork- Ritchey Logic ( from MB-3 of same year)
Headset- Tange with Tange Head-Lock
Stem- Nitto mountain, 80cm
Bars- SIC race
Grips- A’me Americans, black/red
Levers- Dia-Compe SC-7′s
Seat- WTB laser sighted
Post- Kalloy 27.2
Pedals- KKT AMX
Cranks- Shimano LX, 175mm
BB – Shimano UN-54, 68X113
Chainring- Spot 34 tooth, 110bcd with gaurd
Chain- KMC NP-710, half-link
Brakes- Shimano
Cables- Jagwire
Rr. Hangar- Surly
Pads- Shimano
Fr. Tire- WTB All-Terrainasaurus 2.1
Rr. Tire- Bontrager 2.1
Fr. Rim- Salsa Delgado, 32 hole
Fr.Hub- Suntour XC pro, 32 hole, silver
Rr. Rim- Salsa Delgado, 32 hole
Rr. Hub- White Industries Eccentric ENO, 32 hole
Spokes- DT Swiss Competition 266mm, silver
Freewheel- Suntour 16 tooth

RobQ

Pump Track night aka. JOHN 7:15

JINX — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:19:44 +0000

So last night Hutch and I drove out to Johns house for Pump Track night. Damien also came out and rode it with us. It was a fun night with the four of us riding and taking pictures and laughing.
Since you’ve never seen it. Here’s the track…, it’s hard to really see it’s layout without an aerial view.

You can go around the track clockwise or counter-clockwise, either way is basically the same as far as effort. It’s just a preference of which direction you feel comfortable going around the berm. Which, if you want to make it up-hill and finish the lap, you have to go through at a pace I describe as “very frightened”…in other words, you gotta be Hall n’ Oats through that berm like a fighter pilot wondering if the tires will hold or if your gonna high-side it and shoot out into the yard at speed or just wash out and pile up into it. Here’s a close up…

The berm will hold you at speed…if you trust your tires…and technique. It feels like mach speed going through, but is really only like 15-20 mph tops. The idea is you have to exit the berm with enough momentum to pump up the whoops to the top of the hill. It’s hard. I can go around for a couple-three or four of laps in either direction, without pedaling…but it’s effort. I leave here tired and feel it the next day. It’s like a good day at a skatepark basically. Hutch has a blast and can make it down the hill into the berm either direction and hold his speed through the berm, even goofing off like this…

I got a bunch of good riding shots of Damien while we were there. Some will hopefully make it onto the Clark Custom website…, like this one.

and this one,

where you can see the dirt being thrown up from his front wheel barely holding it’s line through the turn. Ok, he actually shot up and over the berm close to the exit and right after shooting past me for this pic. I still think it’s rad. Damien was kind enough to get a few goof shots of me riding through the berm. Here’s my favourite one, he called it “Game Face”…,

I got as close to the camara as I could without head-butting it out of Damiens hand as I shot through the corner. I made a goofy face as I went by and tried to look directly into the lens. We ended the evening drinking brews up on the porch and ate brownie’s in a muffin cup with a Reese’s p-nut butter cup in the center…DOPE. Here’s the scene we gazed at while talking story and sipping beers. I call it JOHN 7:15 … it’s remenicient of a church pamphlet.

It was a fun time as usual, and hopefully this will inspire you to come out sometime and ride with us…and pick up a shovel of course too. Stay tuned for who will be the second person to make it all the way around the track. I’m proposing taking the chain off a bike to make it legit.
RobQ

You can dance if you want to….

JINX — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:18:56 +0000

S24O : Summer Solstice

JINX — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:28:44 +0000

The Sub 24 hour Overnight during the pivotal point of summer. The longest day of the year with a full moon to boot. We ( Casey and I ) cycled up into the Frederick Watershed and camped out at a well known site at the bottom of the drop trails.

My Hercules was all ready to go, until the pedals went wonky and dried up on me and started skweeking…I didn’t realize how easy it is to rebuild the Shimano AX-600 integrated pedals until we returned. In true Cory fashion, I rode Christines late 80′s Bianchi Strada LX which was too small for me and was geared for flying on flats…not climbing. We loaded up with gear and some bottled spirits and headed out from my house in downtown. We rode out toward the Fishing creek reservoir and headed up the gravel into the shed. We pretty much rode up the entire climb. I did need to push a couple of times due to no granny gear front ring and Casey walked with me once until he realized that pedaling his bike was easier than pushing.

Arriving at the site at the fall of night, we had a great mild night of camp fire, brewha-ha, and talk. We decided to set up the tent around 1am and were awoken the thud-thud of what was either a trail runner or a sasquatch at 5am. After the most powerful and bitter black coffee EVER brewed, we packed up and got ready to head out. BUT, of course…, Casey had a flat. We climbed up the rest of the gravel to Hamburg road and descended at MACH 3 back into the village. It was awesome.
See more of the pics on flickr.
Rob