Current Work

Stem and Post

Jeff's mini post and stem for his cross bike.

Jeff's CX bike 008

Jeff's CX bike 009

I hope to finish up the stem before the weekend ends and get the frame done next week. Then onto Wade's cross bike for the Texas cross season.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,
Drew

Deckel

German Engineering at its finest!

Deckel

The ever so famous Deckel FP-1. This is one heck of a machine for how small the footprint it has. It kind of fell in my lap and I could not pass up the opportunity to own a Deckel. The machine has a million extras that can be had but I probably won't worry about acquiring them. It has the vertical head attachment (a major plus) and the standard overhead arm for an arbor support.

I need to become an electrician (or get my electrician John S. in here) and figure out the crazy electric box that controls the 2 speed motor.

It is a bit of a distraction but only for the day. Back to the cross bike after I get it put away and not right inside the bay and in the way.

Cheers,
Drew

Jeff's CX bike

Humble beginnings of a CX bike.

I like to build the fork, stem and post before beginning the frame. Something rewarding about finishing the frame and knowing the project is complete. Getting a frame done and having a few more days of work on that project always seems defeating.

Here are Jeff's fork blades getting mitered. They are first pre-cut on the cold saw so they fit in the fixture.

Jeff's CX bike 002

Jeff's CX bike 003

That is a modified Anvil seat stay fixture. It no longer works for stays but I can set up both road/cross blades and MTB blades depending on the clearance I am looking for. It works rather well even though it looks kind of weird.

Here is Jeff's fork ready to have everything prepped and cleaned:

Jeff's CX bike 004

Cheers,
Drew

Comments

Sorry...

Submitted by nickuni on Sat, 02/13/2010 - 2:01pm.

Sorry for the spam this morning. Steps have been taken to prevent this from happening in the future.

And so it begins...

Submitted by Haye on Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:25pm.

Off to a great start, thank you for documenting the progress! It is truly a great concept for displaying your art.

Cross Bikes

Received some requests for my definition of a cross bike

What is a cross bike? Why can't I use my cross bike for touring and commuting? Can a cross bike be my only bike?

I will start with these three questions and explain my answers:
1) A cross bike by definition is a race bike that can ride road, off-road, gravel and dirt. The bike is intended for hard use and for a rather short duration in comparison to other types of bikes. The bike was originally created, or more or less hacked together, for winter training. Now though, cyclocross racing has taken off and for some people cross racing is their primary goal.

2) A cross bike in its true form will not have bottle mounts, rack mounts, fender mounts or any other extras that help make a commuter a proper commuting bike. The position is not optimal for road use. You could get a commuter that COULD be used in the occasional cross race. I would rather have a commuter that is a dedicated commuter that COULD work twice a year as a cross bike.

A touring bike is a touring bike. Very low center of gravity and totally unique geometry specific to loaded riding. Bikes not designed to hold 50 lbs will ride funny when loaded and vice versa.

3) If I had to choose one bike it would be my cross bike. That however is not for everyone. It is kind of a pig on the road after 20 miles or so, it can somewhat ride off-road but not as fast as a MTB and it requires a hydration pack for those epic gravel road journeys. Still I love cross and will always have a special place in my collection for one or two of them.

If I missed some issues people were curious about feel free to ask.

Cheers,
Drew