29er Fixie?

It turns out that 29er wheel sizes can run 700c tires. I recently came upon a 29er INO frame, and have been playing with it as a fixie with the 27-1/2 wheels off my OTHER fixie. I got a set of 29" wheels and want to set up that bike proper! The rear wheel is a take-off from a Red Line monocog 29er.

It's a single speed hub - no chance to run gears on it. The good news is that it has a mount for a disc brake, and one new-ish technology is rotor mounted cogs. After doing some research, this blog showed me that I can use an existing single speed cog for this!

Here's a single speed cog, marked from a disc brake rotor, on the drill press:

Using a multi-purpose bit

The only thing that this drill bit was make smoke and turn purple. It is a well used bit better suited for drilling holes in wood, drywall, Styrofoam, soap bubbles, water, air, etc. 

Foiled again!

Time to get a bit hard enough to drill this material, so off to the hardware store I go...

Hardened steel drill bit challenge

 wish I had more to report on this contest, but the ARTU bit was working so well I didn't swap them out. 

Success!

 There's a bit of a lip on the hub, so I filed down some washers and used them to take up the space. The more hack-y this thing is, the better.

Washers in Place

All bolted up

After the washers were filed to fit the hub, the cog went on pretty well. The holes weren't perfectly lined up, but they were so close you couldn't tell. Once concern was that the set of holes would be off center from the axle, and I'd have a tight spot in the chain, but that wasn't an issue. 

All put together

I took it for a spin this morning, and it works well! it's a long comfortable frame, The only complaint I would register is that the crank arms are 175's so they tend to clip the ground if I turn too tightly. The fork and brake are another fun project, stay tunes for that update!

Spring Poject: Infused Vodka part 2!

   Well, it turns out that you don't have to infuse vodka for very long for it to be tasty! Here's some reports from the tastier of the mixtures:

   The pepperonchini was super spicy! Next time we could use about 2/3 or half as many peppers. It is pretty good on it's own, but really shines in a bloody mary! with this mix, you really don't even need much else besides the mix! What a Sunday morning that was!

Breakfast of champions

   Next was the favorite all around: Cucumber! This was super smooth and a little sweet. This was a good mixture and very drinkable straight. I'd say this will be the first one that we make again. 

Pickles come from cucumbers

Next was the pickle. Not being a huge fan of pickle, this was predictably pickl-y. It is pretty good as a change of pace drink, and not a terrible thing to compare the rest of the mixes to. I wouldn't make a bunch more of it. 

The Billy Baldwin of infused vodka

Last for this post is strawberry, which was surprisingly bad straight! It was starts out kind of sweet and good but ends up tasking like rubbing alcohol. BUT there was a saving grace! Mixed with a little 7up! it was deeeee-licious! This was something that I would drink on a hot day or try to get freshmen drunk with. 

Winner of the mixer category

That's about it for this project! I recommend everyone trying this as it's only as expensive as some empty pasta sauce jars and some vodka! Now, off to the rest of the flavors!

Mystery Tube...

Pop quiz asshole hot shot

What is that tube for on this Commencal frame? Chain guide? Bottom bracket? Seat post?

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That is to mount the front derialleur on! bam! Many of these bikes use alternative designs that don't use a traditional seat tube, but the derailleur still needs to be mounted somewhere that doesn't move around a lot. There you go.

"YEEEEE HAAAAW!"

Crazy Bianchi Suspension System

Man, look at all that linkage!

More bars in more places

Bianchi has a great history of road bikes, and has some pretty solid single speed and geared hard tail bikes, but I'm skeptical that this design is going to catch on. Bianchi, if you're reading this, I'm sorry that you got dragged in this horrible blog. On the plus side, the chain on this doesn't go through the frame, so changing it must be a snap (other than the derailleur). 

I Wish I Could Do That of the Day

Coincidentally, all the people that sent me this saying, "Check this out!" are the people that look at this blog, so thanks guys.

"I'm the captain of this ship!"

Campy and Electronic Shifting

A while back, Shimano came out with their DI-2 electronic shifting system, which was met with pretty good reviews. People I know who have it have no complaints. Campagnolo recently announced that they are also releasing an electronic shifting package for their 11 speed group.
   The biggest claims by Campy are that it shifts faster than a mechanical system, and shifts under higher torque.

Front derailleur

Rear derailleur

Price is supposed to be on par with Shimano's system, which is still pretty steep at around $4k for everything. Little fact from the Bicycling review, '...it took all three spots on the Tour de France podium this year.' Pretty impressive roll out!

eBay You Creepy Weirdos

Hey, that's cool, eBay, you're customizing my ads to my recent purchases. But what is going on with that bike?

uh, am I drunk? ENHANCE.

Yes! I am that drunk!

Reminds me of Trek's ill fated Sixty-niner, a bike with a 26" wheel in the back, and a 29" wheel in the front. 

Made solely for the '69' joke

Because everyone likes carrying 2 sizes of tube. It supposedly spins up fast and then rolls even faster, but it looks like a penny farthing. 

Good day sir.

But I digress, where did eBay get this picture? Can't they find a picture of a normal bike?! Am I the only one that cares about the rules?

Spring Poject: Infused Vodka!

My financier told me vodka was a great investment this quarter, so we quartered up some fruits and veggies and started out own moonshine operation. 

The ingredients!

We chose New Amsterdam Vodka because we both like their gin, it doesn't have a very overpowering flavor and it's not terribly expensive. This is some very middle of the road Vodka, great for mixing with.

The booze!

King Soopers (City Market to you western slope readers) sells these Ball jars that are perfect for this.

400ml of goodness

A sight to behold!

Nature takes it's course

Every morning when I'm brushing my teeth, I give each bottle a flip and make sure everything looks tasty. and so far, it looks tasty as hell! Results to come!