Rigid is flexible: the versatility of steel, all terrain bikes

I took a train up to Santa Fe yesterday and rode uphill out of town for a few miles into a beautiful trail system called Dale Ball.  The trails transitioned in and out of varying states of smooth and flowy, gradual to steep climbing/descending with rocky and technical sections throughout.  I rode about 8 miles total (of trail) and another 7 or so of pavement.  The ride was amazingly fun, I suffered no flats, my bike performed flawlessly, and riding at my own pace made for a great outing with no stress to rush; though I did ride somewhat quickly overall.  I enjoyed the ride on my beautiful, fully rigid 1985 Kuwahara All terrain bike (yes I did just use that term).  The bike is no frills.  Cromo steel, friction shifting and utilizing "old" technology by today's standards.  I rode on 26" x 2.25" tires inflated to low pressure.  Wide handlebars and a brooks.  No nonsense, good-ol time tested stuff that has worked well for me.  I find myself returning more and more to this style of riding.  A good pavement push up toward some wonderful dirt trail is followed by a ride on yes, the same bike.  You might be thinking "One bike.. for pavement and dirt trail rides?".  The thing is that I like to keep things simple these days.  There is something about riding a diversified bike for multiple disciplines that just keeps you honest.  I don't want to make this post about gear as much as I want to make it about riding fully rigid steel bikes, the type that will get you from your door, to the trail for riding/hiking and back to the place where you started from.

One of the earliest versions of the mountain bike beautifully made by Tom Ritchey.
A fine bike capable of doing just about any kind of riding.  Load it with gear and you have a camping/touring bike.

Wanderlust

I come from a background of riding pavement and lots of it.  My first real interest in bikes began with thin tired road/fixed gear/single speed bikes and thus all my riding was on pavement.  I learned the value of pacing myself, negotiating big hills, maintaining a healthy cadence for my not so amazing knees and overall good riding etiquette.  I loved road bikes and the freedom they provided me but I wanted more exploration.  I knew of vast trail systems that existed in my front and back yard with no real way of riding them on the bikes that I was building and using up until that point. Eventually at one of my local bike hangouts I found an early 90's, fully rigid rock hopper frame/fork and built it up as a single speed with plush 2.3" tires.  I subsequently gave it the full gear treatment, rode it everywhere and loved it.  I was surprised at how amazingly well the bike did for city riding as it did on the loose stuff.  I could roll over massive cracks and breakups in the roads, hop on and off sidewalks if needed, roll over just about any imperfection in the streets and feel very comfortable doing it all.  I definitely noticed a slight gain in weight and reduction in speed with the new "mountain bike" but was having so much fun and enjoying the new freedom on the thing that it didn't much matter at the time.  The bug bit me and I started really getting into off road riding.  I started looking all over and around town for single track, fire road and new hiking trails to explore.

One of the only photos I have of my first ATB.
preparing to carefully descend the rocky La Bajada

Doing it all

 

My skills as a rider went through the roof when I started riding rigid bikes on dirt.  The bike control learned by riding off road was something that would directly translate to my ability on pavement as well.  Conversely my endurance, pacing and technique from riding long road rides greatly enhanced my abilities on the dirt just as well.  It was as if both disciplines of riding mutually benefited one another.  The best part was when I started incorporating road and dirt into long adventurous rides without any particular theme.  Riding paved roads on these bikes to trail heads opened the door to out and back trip that gave me a little bit of everything in one ride.  It was engaging in this style of cycling that began to lay to waste to the mentality of the necessity for dedicated genre bikes.  I was discovering that I could do it all on one modest machine while challenging myself in the process.  Having a jack of all trades bike inevitably slowed me down on both the road and dirt, but as I became more comfortable with doing everything just a little bit slower and stopped comparing my speed with others, I knew that I could have a ton of fun with fewer bikes for fewer dollars.

 Much of this approach came from a time when I started to critically take note of how and why we cyclists endure so much pressure from the cycling industry and cycling culture as a whole.  The pressure to fit into boxes.  The pressure to look the part.  The pressure to be taken seriously as a cyclist by other cyclists.  I wanted to break free from the gear obsessed, mile counting, weight pinching, high speed at all costs culture and enjoy riding with what was accessible, affordable, and easily repairable.  It was and still is in a way to me a form of silent protest, a proverbial middle finger to the marketeers that have often tried to sell us lower quality versions of the bikes that we sometimes had all along.  Like so many others I only felt that I needed more, newer, ever so subtly differing bikes and gear when I allowed myself to be sold the idea that it was a necessity.

Fetishizing the bicycle-toy in the name of the "greenness"

So I wrote a post earlier this year titled "The Green Paradox" that asked some questions about the seemingly ass backwards mentality that pushes some of use to buy a labor intensive, cost prohibitive, toxic in production methods/materials and often disposable bicycle as a form of "transportation" in the name of greenness.  It talked about the act of mindless upgrading, the pressure to have the most future-tech bike possible and all of the issues that come to mind when contemplating the nature of mindless consumption for the promise of lighter, better and stronger.  You might almost forget that we are talking about bicycles here, but the lets remember that this is happening all around us in the typical guise of "green cycling".  You know, spending that $3k+ on a full suspension mountain bike or full carbon road bike is full of anti global warming merit after all; because when we aren't busy commuting for work, family life and leisure purposes in our 20-something mile to the gallon petrol guzzlers, gallivanting about on our mostly-plastic framed, hydraulic hosed, electronic filled, suspension oiled play toys is synonymous with a truly green pastime.  Yeah...

I was once visited by vaguely cyclist-looking riders that told me I needed to ride my local trails like this

Bikes are great.. mostly

Obviously I enjoy bikes and riding them, just as nearly anyone who is probably reading this does; but one of the biggest aspects that underscores the differentiating factor between sensible and "green" purchasing habits vs the contrary is a semi-concise awareness of the resource sapping that incurs in the form of labor, mining/extraction, refinement, manufacturing, packaging, advertisement, reallocation and upkeep/repair of such produced bicycles.  I am talking about the foresight that comes with knowing that the hobby (for most people) that is cycling comes both literally and figuratively at a massively exhaustive cost.  Getting out on the road with this years new play-thing is in every sense of the word taxing, and I can't seem to see it in any other light here.  Of course the input/output (resources used to miles traveled) of nearly any bicycle will stand strong against the automobile if leveraged in terms of miles per dollar, but that seems to be the equivalent of comparing the efficacy of a leaf blower to a rake made of pure gold, or ivory for that matter: as if to say that there is inherent goodness based on the fact that one uses human power vs some form of hydrocarbon-whatever.  Just because we are pedaling our way around neighborhood and trail systems with our expensive "green machines" does not mean that it holds enviro-clout under the scrutinizing eye.  

So where do we really draw the line?  What does the all too subjective notion of greenness really amount to anyway?  Its difficult to answer in short, and my observations above are certainly just that; subjective.  They come from places of personal observation, weighing moral values, asking challenging questions and embracing new changes.  Though the realizations that I come to and adhere by may be differing to many, I have to think that there can be a fairly general consensus as to what the hell we are really doing with bikes, what the cost/value of it all is and if it is really "green" at the end of the day.  My goal here is not so much to sit down and crunch various metrics, to shame any particular person or to encourage people to get off their already acquired bikes (be it the aforementioned varietal or not) as much as it is to encourage positive steps in forward thinking with regard to future consumption.  I am talking about embracing new ideas revolving around increased longevity, enhanced foresight, reduced redundancy and having a higher understanding of what goes into our "hobbies" and what in turn comes out of them.

non-fitness model female cyclists get rad on
 relatively normal/useful/repairable/affordable bikes!!!?
That KOM jersey on the right though... :)

We can't all be commuters.. but...

There is a huge number of people out there who would love nothing more than to commute by bike but for varying reasons can not.  From epic millage between the work place and home to physically debilitating conditions that prevent them from extended periods in the saddle, it is not my place or anyone else to shame and blame here.  Most people will only ever mount a saddle (or recumbent/"adaptive" bike seat for that matter) on the weekends, days off, after work or whatever else downtime is available.  Though we cant all be commuters, we can certainly exercise discerning levels of educated purchasing for these equally important times of cycling.  Maybe its just a short ride for exercise, a long ride from one cafe to another, or simply trying to develop good balance; a modestly priced, realistically designed, comfortably setup, repairable, strong and replaceable bike can and certainly will get the job done.  

We seem to forget that we can exercise, get around short distances, be outdoors and embrace cycling altogether with out subscribing to the notion that we need the ultra expensive, toxic bike toys that we are being sold as we try to look the part of the "serious" cyclist.  By attempting to "hang with the guys" we sell ourselves the notion that recreation riding "for fun" needs to be synonymous with ultra-luxury oriented bicycle/component consumption habits.  There is no reason why we can't get out there on a non-race-machine and get exercise, adventure, traverse from place to place and most importantly have a good time doing it all. 

Two years blogging

As of this month I have consistently been writing this blog for two years now, with posts initially spanning book reviews and mechanic tidbits to more of a short essay style series of posts that gravitate heavily on ideals that often dictate the marketing, attitudes, goals, appearance and overall philosophy of cyclists and the companies that manufacture cycling related goods.  Contemplating bike related design, ideology, politics and philosophy has become one of my favorite things to write about on the blog and has enabled me to develop new ideas, abandon old ones, forge new attitudes and grow overall as a cyclist, writer, mechanic and teacher.  Though not many know about or read this blog, it has served more as a personal journal that documents ideas and questions that float around as I become inspired and curious by everything spanning bike related conversation, reading online forums and blogs, observing cyclists, my own personal trial and error, mistakes and Epiphanies in the workshop, observing cycling marketing/design and mostly just going out and riding my bike.  Though a lot has come to me during my rides, it is usually slightly afterward that many of my questions and curiosity unfurl and derive themselves from personal experience and my own conjecture. 

New experiences

Over the last two years I have had a lot of new and inspiring experiences in many different contexts.  From rides with new friends to different environments in bike shops, I have met many new faces and had a lot of time to contemplate differing points of views regarding bike stuffs. From full-tilt nu-gear motivated technocrats to die-hard Vintage iconoclasts, I have been offered many different cups of kool-aid of which to taste, guzzle, and more often than not spit back out entirely.  Black and white forms of compartmentalizing seem to split the bike community fairly well into little chunks of the bigger pie and I want nothing to do with it.  As the last two years has come and gone, one of my biggest developing goals has been to disassociate myself from any "type" of cyclist (see my "Not a roadie, not a mountain biker, just a cyclist").  Regardless of what I ride, whenever I choose to ride it, wearing whatever clothes I choose to wear in the process of doing so; I hope to be seen as someone who loves riding bikes, studying its vast culture and history, advocating for its use for various purposes and being involved in the cycling community abroad.

Its time for us all to grow up and bury the hatchet once and for all...

Still learning, still blogging

I have seen, heard, and though about a lot of stuff; but it in no way rivals the amount of things I have yet to experience and hopefully learn.  Growing my skills as a cyclist, writer, mechanic and teacher I hope to move forward in a positive and progressive fashion, continuing to exercise discerning levels of skepticism, willingness to embrace new things and opening up to new dialogue.  I hope to become versed in all of the aforementioned realms and wish to do so by listening carefully, learning well from my mistakes and those of others as well.  Receiving both positive and negative feedback from my peers in a way that opens up healthy dialogue along the way are things that I will look fore more and more.  Having actual conversations as opposed to the heated, emotionally driven arguments that tend to fall flat on their faces from their own dizzying cyclical nature are what I hope to experience the most as I will do my best to foster a good sense of acceptance in being forthcoming.

 I want to thank everyone who has ever read this blog and been supportive in the process of me continuing to write.  Those of you who have taken the time to flesh out ideas, engage in intelligent discussion and make friendly, non vehement suggestions: thank you.  Those of you who don't even read my blog or care much to ponder the topics of the blog but have been friendly, supporting and loving along the way: thank you for these things.  I look forward to more of this and am excited about this crazy future of all of ours.  Cheers everyone! 

Car culture, illusions of safety and commuting alternatives

I have been cycling in a city environment now for 9 years, 6 of which has been commuting without a car.  During that time I have lived all over my city of Albuquerque and noted the differences in city planning and infrastructure, driver behavioral patterns, bike lanes and lack thereof, traffic density and overall reception to the cyclist.  Though I have had spills, been hit by cars and been harassed/threatened: I have conversely had amazingly positive experiences and been welcomed and embraced as a cyclist in various ways and places.  I have also seen more bike lanes appear, vehicular apprehension to cyclists diminish somewhat, cyclists exercising more critical thinking in behavior and the outright number of bikes on the road increase.  Though inner city cycling has taken a big leap as more and more individuals commute to and from work, school, the grocery etc; our inherent danger as cyclists has not substantially changed with the increase in the previously mentioned.  The risk factor of being an object riding on the fringes of city streets (with or without a white-line-painted bike lane or a perforated half shell of foam on your head) with 4,000 lb + boxes of steel passing us at an average of 4 to 5 times the velocity is simply dangerous any way you want to look at it.

This guy is hanging out on the razors edge of safety.  It only takes a quick distraction of a driver to cause an accident
when we are so closely married with cars for space on open roads.

Car culture

When observing the aforementioned risks to riding one can't help but ponder the options to help mitigate the danger factor of cycling.  Some say more bike lanes, others say compulsory helmet laws and some even suggest the cessation of trying to function as a cyclist-commuter in a city setting altogether.  The bottom line is that none of the above embodies the answer to our problems.  The fact at hand here is that our cities, already as developed as they ever will be for the most part, were developed by those who had interests to cater to the advent of the automobile and its predicted proliferation.  Powerful lobbying and ease the of accessibility gave rise to the perceived need for a car culture to flourish and so became the de facto mode of thinking for civil engineers and city planners world wide.  The automobile was embraced as godsend and virtually everyone who could afford one acquired one and commuted daily with it.  The car shaped the genetics of the cities that we all live in bar certain notable places in the Netherlands for example.

Fast forward to 2017 and we see a large resurgence in cycling and its use not just as recreation but as a legitimate mode of transportation altogether.  The only problem with this growing trend in bicycle commuters is that we are growing in a way that is not supported by the environment that we are a part of.  We as cyclists are something like amphibians that are longing for the ability to exercise our limbs in a more useful way that transcends the realm of water.  Though we need and want a better, safer, more consistent place to dwell; it seems to be that it is sadly not as much within the confines of these cities as we had hoped.

its time for us to wake up a bit and face reality, our almost purely car-centric city infrastructure
 won't transform into this overnight, or any time soon (Copenhagen)

Alternatives

So you want to divorce yourself from car culture and commute more by bike and foot but see the dangerous nature of this option for what it is.  You understand the implications that exist and have come to terms with the fact that there are fundamental risk factors at present when you decide to live such a life.  So whats next?  You can do one of either two things: stop cycling altogether and throw in the towel, or look for options and alternatives for sustaining a safer and more consistent method of traversing the cities that we all live in.  If you opt for the latter, here are a few of the not-so-obvious things that come to my mind when thinking of how to work with all of this.

#1 - Neighborhood Riding

To the best degree that you can, riding on smaller neighborhoods is one of the best options.  It usually takes more time and planning to devise a more neighborhood and side road oriented method of commuting, but the payoff is huge in that you are contending with vehicles that are often driving at 2/3rd the speed of those on non-freeway city roads (35-45 mph).  You have a substantially better chance of being seen by slower automobiles and if an impact with a vehicle does occur, the difference is greatly reduced.

#2 - Travel when traffic is low

If possible, try to ride when you know traffic is going to be at its slow points.  Though you may not be able to dictate the time and place of destination for your commutes, you can certainly try and get that hour head start before traffic becomes frighteningly high paced and dense. 

#3 - Get some wide tires

There are going to be times when you simply cant help but have to do everything in your power to evade an accident.  Often times that means swerving out of harms way without taking into consideration things like irregularities in the road.  With all the cracks and bumps that exist in the road it is easy to get thin tires caught in these places which can pitch you clean off your bike (I speak from multiple personal experiences).  This one isn't about personal preference for the ride quality or speed factor of skinny vs big tires as much as it is about fundamental stability and the ability to evade harms way suddenly.

#4 - Be confident and assertive

If you make it clear to motorists that you know what you are doing on the road by demonstrating assertiveness and confidence in your riding, it is my opinion that drivers will become acclimated to the presence of safe and smart cyclists.  An example being you approaching a four way stop with a vehicle behind and holding the the entirety of a one-car lain: you are definitively making your intentions clear and have every right to be doing so.  Though this is very different from deliberately blocking the flow of traffic, it does allows you to assert your presence in a much more intimate, 1 on 1 way with drivers.  Making it clear that you are just as much a meaningful and discerning part of traffic as vehicles are is massively needed and in our best interest to show it.

#5 - Unplug and open up your senses

Perhaps this should have been the first part of my list here.  Nothing hinders our ability to exercise  preventive measure more than literally stripping ourselves away from our senses.  Be it texting or having headphones in your ears during riding, you are endangering yourself and others while riding.  Though you cant always see coming whats coming you can often hear it (and vice versa for that matter) by allowing yourself to be receptive via opening up all of your main senses.  Its also never fun to have to shout at the top of your lungs at a fellow cyclist who is wearing headphones that you are passing or having one swerve into you as they are texting or stravaing, or instagrming or whatevering on their phone.

Retro geeks and carbon freaks: My experience vending at The Denver VeloSwap

The month before last my friend Jim mentions to me that he is going up to Denver again with his friend to the VeloSwap; this time to sell things as a vendor.  I ask him when it is, how long the event goes on for and if it costs much to sell stuff.  He answers my questions, and ends up alluding to me tagging along.  I tell him that I would love to drive up with him and his friend (who I unknowingly knew) and that was that.  Fast forward a month and I am back in town after having had an exciting, hurried at times, snail paced at others, delightful and informative experience In Denver, CO.  

The company

My trip to the VeloSwap was with two down to earth, friendly fellows: Mike and Jim.  Jim is a volunteer that I met and got to know fairly well at my current place of work (Esperonza Community Bike Shop).  He is a super mild mannered guy in his late 60's who is an avid enthusiast of road, mountain and commuter bikes.  His taste in bikes somewhat reflects his age, pedigree and overall attitude towards bikes; I say this with zero negative connotation.  Suffice it to say that Jim has a comprehensive collection of bikes spanning the ranks of Lennard Zin, Bruce Gordon and Ben Serotta and Fastab, to Titus, Voodoo, Ibis and Yeti; and thats just scratching the surface.  He likes bikes of all sorts, and it was undeniably evident long before I stepped foot in his bikeshop (I mean house).  Jim is the kind of guy who can share a lot of interesting, heady information about bikes and their history without coming off cocksure and snobby in even the slightly way.  We hit it off on day one and it has been nothing but good laughs, shared stories and info, and parts swapping ever since.

When Jim told me about his friend mike I didn't know much about him or what to expect.  He talked a bit about his affinity for Schwinns and Cinellis as I began to paint a mental picture of the guy.  Roughly two weeks before out trip I met Mike for what I thought was going to be the first time, only to discover that not only had I seen him around before, but I had previously sold him Campagnolo bits at a bike swap something like five or so years prior.  Never the less I got to learn about Mike and his next-lever bike lust soon after.  On the drive I was told of how he would often spend what sounds like over a year building one single bike at a time, often waiting patiently for the perfect parts for that era correct build or ultra-specific look to compliment the overall project.  He told me that he once spent over a thousand dollars on a nearly one of a kind, Handmade, glass Cinelli stem badge (yes I said stem).  The guy likes his bikes and he likes the to be very specific about what he buys (he also happens to ride a steel Ibis mountain bike like Jim).  If there was one thing that Jim and Mike had in common it was their ability to come off as being completely down to earth about their passion for bikes while being totally inclusive and cordial regardless of differences in taste.  I knew this was going to be a fun trip, and it sure as hell was.

Getting loaded up as we prepared to leave from my appartment.  A Mercian, Spicer, Zin, Bennoto and Pogliaghi
grace the back end of Mike's truck with bags and boxes stuffed in between.

The Swap

The event was broken down for us into two days; the initial entry and booth setup on Friday and the actual Swap on Saturday that was open to the public.  Unfortunately I did not have my camera with me on the day of the swap but I was able to take a good amount of photos from the Vendor-only setup day of Friday.  It was pretty incredible seeing the turn out for this event.  I was told by some and read online that this was considered the biggest bike swap in the country.  The event itself proved to be a huge with very small vendors juxtaposed with some of the biggest bicycle, component and accessory manufactures in the market.

The event was held in the huge National Western Complex Convention Center and was basically divided into two main rooms.  The entrance room had huge dealer booths selling new and discounted offerings from their company in the form of complete bikes, parts, swag and promotional handouts.
The second portion of the event had all types of vendors selling used and new everything.  Some came out with nothing but clothing and accessories and others with massive fleets of complete bikes.  There were sellers with a table full of parts and a few bikes like ourselves as well as some very eager sellers who were in buy-and-flip mode, gobbling up good deals left and right.  One guy was so caught up in his buying spree that he literally forgot his giant bag of cash on top of some old bike clothes as my friend Jim soon found the loot.  Shortly thereafter he discovered who it belonged to and made it right.  I was happy to see so many small local and domestic sellers with everything from purely modern, high end road/mtb kit for sale to old jerseys and bike parts, memorabilia, ephemera and paraphernalia.

It was a stark contrast to see many former bike shop owners selling the remaining stuff from their once-shop and share the event space with many of the proprietors that possibly helped put them out of business.  But more on that another time, as for now: a much warranted photo dump.

we sat in this line for what must have been nearly two hours just to get in, and we were
 relatively early..good thing there was a dispensary just around the corner...joking.. but seriously 
there was one right in front of the convention center 

Before we even finished setting up we were met by Mike, the owner of Boulder and Rene Herse Cycles
(maker of randonneur style bicycles frames and used vintage parts seller) as he raided
 our table with Campy boxes and small bits in hand.  Jim on the left (blue shift) and Mike on the right 

Two very friendly individuals who I discovered run a Denver community bicycle shop setup their
zone and discuss parts while some of the early vendors arrive.

before long lots of carbon begins to appear...

the guy on the right and four or so of his local, Armature Enduro-Racer friends each had their own tent, 
a few bikes to sell, tons of take off tires that were hardly used, and lots of parts. 
 At the end one of them offered me a lot of 10 or so used 27.5 x 2.6" tires for 10 dollars 
just to get them out of his hair.  I didn't have room in the truck..

a sea of moderately priced, vintage cycling caps

The loneliest bike at the show

this pooch about embodied my level of exhaustion by the end of the day.. awake and attentive, but just barely..

our zone all set up.. mostly.  The right side of the table represents my offerings as well as the bottom section
of frames, books and bits.  The bikes in the back are all Jims

A lot of early run 3-bolt White industries disc hubs.... wow

I don't believe that this guy was selling anything, but must have bought a booth
space just to get early dibs on the vendors setup day.  Doing laps around
 the event hunting those good deals

this lady came from California with her partner to sell tons of stuff.  They had multiple tents if I remember correctly

more carbon begins to appear, the boingy varietal this time

Nikki, the owner of Mobius cycles is now the owner of my once very loved Serotta 

yeti fox racing box

A coupple of gorgeous Mercian builds

someones really cool fleet of bikes for sale.. very reasonably priced

omg so much wheelz

and then this vintage Retrotec appeared that I should have purchased.
1" head tube, segmented fork... what was i thinking :(

Campy box and bike locks

Toshi, the founder/owner of Vintage Mountain Bike Project getting weird with
his unique Don McClun.. 

NOS oldies but goodies

 one of many former bike shop owners selling their remaining stash 

high dollar mtbs literally laying around

Justyne, owner/founder of Bike Recyclerly just before selling off the entire booth in one go to
a seriously ambitious buyer.  The same guy bought someone else's entire booth as well.

the second most lonely bike at the swap

Nikki at our booth again.  She also bought my Bontrager frame to build up for her own personal use.

Overall the event was an incredibly positive and fun experience for a super bike enthusiast/nerd such as myself.  I met a ton of friendly faces and saw some amazing, interesting, confusing, and unbelievably downright strange stuff.  The reception was outstanding and the buyers were friendly and willing to play ball with lots of haggle factor.  We all did some good sales and I was able to pretty much brake even on the trip.  I came back with a few extra dollars in pocket, scored a couple of very cool bits, a very unique and useful tool that I have been seeking for almost two years well as some awesome memories I wont be forgetting anytime soon.  Being a vendor was really fun but made the trips focus a lot more bike swap oriented and lacking in adventuring somewhat.  Lots of driving and repeated loading/unloading took place over the four days of our trip and had the thing feeling like half work, half vacation.  We all talked about doing the event as "buyers" next year so as to enjoy more walking around, adventuring, parts swapping and picture taking.

A special thanks to Jim and Mike for allowing me to tag along and putting up with my crazy ass!  If any of you from the swap somehow manage to read this, a big thanks for helping make the event so fun.  If so you know who you are!

Demystifying the bike mechanic and observing ethics in the bike industry

Bikes are a mystical thing.  As are the creatures who build them, repair them, build wheels, wrench at shops and work on pro riders bikes.  They posses alchemist like abilities to diagnose and prescribe remedies to solve any bike related mystery with a seemingly divination like methodology.  This is what myself and many others at one point believed in; that bike mechanics are wizards who do things beyond "normal" peoples abilities.  But how wrong we were...

Bikes are simple objects in principle

When I initially got into working on my own bikes I suffered from the preconceived notion that this stuff was half magic, half science.  The multi speed drive train was an enigma to me and working on bikes beyond the basics of single speed and fixed gear was daunting.  I didn't really know what I was doing until I started to dive in and get my hands dirty, only to discover that with some homework, elbow grease, perseverance and patience I could take care of most basic bike related mechanics with fairly basic tools.  Sure, if I wanted to press in a new headset or overhaul a bottom bracket there was an initial investment in the proper tools, but once the principles were understood and applied it started to become clear that even with so many different bikes with different designs out there in the world, I could wrap my head around how to work on them by understanding the fundamental parallels.  If these people out there in books and on the internet we able to do it, from novices to professionals; so could I and so can you.

There is a problem though; The multi-national, mega profiteering bicycle and component manufactures that spin this little bike world round are not doing everything they can to help make these things do able for the average DIY person, if anything at all.  It has become increasingly difficult to open up and repair bikes and their components as getting inside requires newer proprietary tools and highly specialized bits for such products.  Lets not even get started on Suspensions, hydraulics and electronics in the bike world.

Some badwomen showing the men that they can get it done solo

The less you understand, the more they profit

 Most bicycles today are designed and manufactured in a blackbox fashion that makes simple tasks far more complex than they need to be in the name of supposed convenience.  As a stark example, when brake levers and shifters are integrated into one large, enclosed unit of rubber and plastic it is no wonder that most people look at the thing and believe that its function is beyond their realm of knowledge.  Push a lever and get a gear shift with an audible "CLICK"; drop a gear and vice versa.  Look for an answer of how it works and you probably won't find an easy answer in the jungle of springs, cir clips, pawls, detents and more plastic. All of these facets are deliberately contained in a nice, smooth and seemingly featureless body of rubber and plastic.  The outward appearance is simplicity and seamless function, but the inner workings are a delicate dance of the razors edge of precision.  All of this stuff does indeed work initially; but when things get gummy and gooey inside as they inevitably will, springs loose tension, detents stop grabbing, pawls get stuck and operating on these these things can be a daunting task even for skilled mechanics.  The cost-benefit of such labor is so highly inverted in most bike shops that if the brifter (as Sheldon Brown coined the integrated shifter/brake lever term) can not function again with a basic flush and re-lubrication, the thing is often tossed and replaced with a new unit.

 It is not in the manufacturer's best interest that your repair comes cheap and easy, especially in the case of $200+ brifters that are wedded to your groupo or 7/8/9/10/11/12 speed drive train from such manufacturer (as of this blog post Performance Bikes sells the mid level, Shimano ST-5700 10 speed brifters for $200 on sale and $300 for the Ultegra 11 speed counterpart).  Usually by the time someone's brifter wears out there is already a new, "better" upgrade to have hit the market with 1 more gear, or a new pull rate or new cog spacing that requires a new brifter, derailleur or cassette. If the upgrade doesn't occur, its just as lucrative to have the product disposed of only to pressure the consumer into buying a replacement if they wish to continue the drive train marriage that they initially invested lots of money into. When this happens no one learns anything, fill-in-the-blank component manufacture and bike shop get to make a much more cost effective sale (plus labor for installation), product is wasted, and the whole magical mystique thing continues on.  The consumer is never told that had they spent their money more wisely (against the discretion of bike shop salespeople and the brands that back them) they would see a higher return on their purchase in the form of easier and less expensive repair, extended longevity and a more user friendly product. 

This is what the inside of your brifter looks like. Most of these will be quickly discarded  :(

Simple gear means simple fixes

  This bike wrenching thing is pretty universally applicable, accessible and as stated earlier nearly anyone is capable of doing it.  When presented as the basic function that bike mechanics can be, it opens up a new world for "home mechanics/hobbyists" and those who wish to be able to do most basic repair themselves.  When things like wheels, drive trains and bearing assemblies are designed in ways that function as simply but effectively as possible, it allows for intelligible and repeatable repair with fewer and fewer proprietary parts, tools and knowledge.

The fact of the matter is that bicycles and their inner workings do not need to be over engineered, super complex feats of technological alchemy to do what they have been doing very well for a very good while.  If you look at the design and function of a road or cruiser bike from the the 50's and beyond, you will see that not a lot has changed even with the many refinements that have occurred along the way.  It is only due the relentless focus on corporate earnings that we see such forced "innovation" in this massively competitive market that gives us back such obsolescence, complexity, and lack of cross compatibility.  It is simply not in the best interest of the bigger powers that be to have your bike and its components to last for 10+ years and be highly serviceable for low cost.

A simple, well designed bicycle.
Most of these parts can be opened up and worked on many times over with few tools.

Getting started

 

If you want to either buy a complete bike and begin servicing it or start from the ground up with just a frame and fork; here are a few of the things I would recommend after having gone through much trial and error throughout the years with various bike builds and repairs both at home and in bike shops.

1.  Getting a reliable bike frame (steel will outlast and outclass just about anything) that uses commonly accepted industry standards.  1" or 1 1/8" head tubes for a variety of fork replacement options. A 68mm bottom bracket shell that will work with an incredible amount of bottom brackets, be it newer outboard style bearings or square tapered units allows myriad option.
2. Selecting wheels that use conventional spokes, materials and designs.  Regardless of whether or not you prefer disc or rim brakes: there is a reason why aluminum clincher rims, stainless steel spokes and 32/36 hole hubs have constantly been used for well over 70 years.
3. Using a drive train that will allow you to mix and match cassettes/freewheels, shift with confidence and be serviceable.  For those of you who don't know me well, my ideal drive train is a friction setup that allows for near 100% interchangeability.  If needed one could use  Suntour shifters, Shimano derailleurs, Campagnolo hubs, an atom freewheel, sugino cranks/rings and a Sram chain all on the same bike.  Good luck finding a modern, off the shelf bike like this.  The initial setup for friction shifting is very simple and the upkeep is even simpler.

Purchasing within your means is key to doing this all in a non stressed, fun fashion.  There will be marketing pressure that pushes the importance of having tons of gears, ultra light weight material and super modern components, but if you can only afford an inexpensive used 70's road bike, work within your means and make the most of it.  Some of the most incredible and cost effective bike builds I have seen and taken part in have come from 70's and 80's frames that have been graced with ergonomic bars, comfortable saddles, racks for hauling gear, wider tires and lower gearing for practical riding.  Even if practical riding is not your thing and you just want to go fast, all of the aspects above can still be applied to such a bike.

Someones old Raleigh that got some good love. All the aforementioned upgrades brought this beauty back to life.

Sticking it to the man: Grant Petersen and Rivendell Bicycle Works

Grant Petersen.  You can't really utter this name in a room full of bike people without getting more mixed opinions than you get shades of color in a hand full of paint swatches.  The guy and his Rivendell Bicycle Works are legendary, notorious, misunderstood and massively important all at one time.  For those of you who don't know, Grant Petersen is the founder and owner of the 23 year old Riv (will refer to as so from here on) who specialize in what many would consider (and perhaps Grant himself) bicycles that maintain the fire of time tested, comfort oriented, practical frame designs and bike builds that have an emphasis on the aesthetic value of lug work, unique color selections and clean, smooth lines that suggest and achieve a rugged elegance.  Building the frames around componentry that boasts simplicity, interchangeability and accessibility are one of the staple facets that underscore Riv.  Grant, along with his friends and helpers who have come and gone along the way at Riv have helped breathe some greatly needed fresh air of no-frills, do it yourself, keep it simple mentality into the psyche of a speed-of-light-changing bicycle industry.  To look deeply at what Riv seems to stand for would entail one to simultaneously look at Grant himself; for the previous is not substantiated much without the latter.

 of one of the Riv employee bike builds.  This bike does a good job of checking off
all the marks that make a Rivendell bike what it is in my eyes.

Bridgestone Cycles

In the mid-80's Grant landed a job as the marketing director for the stateside division of Bridgestone Bicycles and began splicing his philosophy and ideology into bicycle design and marketing for the company.  It would be easy to get lengthy by going into depth about the prolific nature of each of the many bicycles (MB, XO and RB series all being considered) that grant and his team helped design; suffice it to say that with the correct viewing glass, Bridgestone's USA division (Bstone from here on) stood out as an absolute diamond in the rough during a time when the waters were convoluted and muddy.  As the race oriented nature of the mountain bike boom (and road for that matter) saw bicycle frames built and spec'd with frighteningly light weight materials, component design that often functioned on a razors edge and metal bonding processes that compromised fatigue life; Bstone was giving the proverbial middle finger to the inertia that seemed to suck in just about every niche of the bike industry at that time.  

Bstone was like a sore thumb that the industry couldn't quite push down.  From the deliberate use of lugs in the frame construction to the continued outfitting of friction shifters in a time when marketing and selling a bike without indexing seemed like financial suicide, Bstone was pushing durability and simplicity as the modus operandi while being perceived as a seemingly fringe outlier in cycling.  Thanks to grants visions, what sound like some strings of good luck, flexible leadership at Bstone and some amazingly Honest-to-god marketing; the company put out some incredible product and imagery that will be remembered for a long time to come.  After having poured 10 strong years into the company, Bstone closed the doors to it's U.S.A division in 1994.  Regardless of what varying degree of input and creative freedom Grant did or didn't have at the company, it's importance would have a long lasting effect in the cycling industry for years to come.  Fast forward to October of the same year and Grant, carrying the same torch started Rivendell Bicycle Works with the little money he had after a short stint of unemployment.

a photo of Grant looking slightly proud and borderline embarrassed as he holds a 1993 MB-1
.. those bi-lateral forks tho ;)

 Riv's Importance today

After founding Riv Grant maintained the same level of dedication through not only his product line but also an infrequent mail order magazine called the Rivendell Reader that seems to be somewhat of a holdover from an early mail-only news letter called the Bob Gazette.  These zenes along with the Riv seasonal product catalogs of the time offered a deeper insight into the thoughts and questions of grant and his small company.  Articles spanning the subject matter of fishing to the practicality of double sided, non-clip in style pedals was staple material in his anything-sorta-bike-related approach to the proliferation of the company's identity, or lack thereof.

So here we are; its October of 2017 and I find myself half jokingly, half seriously entertaining the notion of spending what by my standards is a hefty chunk of change for a birthday gift to myself.  As a bicycle builder/teacher at our non-retail, city/grant/donation funded community bicycle shop I make little cash: enough to save here, spend there, and dream a little in between.  I want and have for some time wanted a Riv frame set even though I have had bicycles that closely parallel what various Rivs frames would offer.  I might not actually acquire one anytime soon, but a Joe Appaloosa touring frame would certainly be right in line for the last touring bike I would ever need or possibly want to own.  Though a very similar build can easily be accomplished almost entirely with vintage and second hand bits, the new spin on classic design, geometry and overall build principle that Riv brings to the table is very much worth supporting in my opinion.

I would be kidding myself if I said I have not taken some inspiration for "mountain bike" builds
from photos of well built bikes like the bombadil, hunqapillar and atlantis. 

Though you could easily acquire a slightly less expensive, mass produced, modern equivalent of one of their frames (the Surly cross check's nearly identical geometry to the Atlantis for example), its important to see that by spending the extra dollars you solidify a lifetime investment (assuming you keep the thing and don't ride "enduro" level trail on it) that will not only outlast your components and look beautiful while doing so, but will help put some dollars into the pockets of a great little state side business.  There simply aren't many companies left that parallel the quality, goals and ideologies that Riv endorse.

After reflecting on the matter I find that its not so much that I need a Riv as it is that a huge part of me wants to contribute to one of the last standing sticks in the cogs that compose the inner workings of our mostly ass backwards bike industry.  I see Riv as just that, a company that is not afraid to follow its values through the thick and thin of things, regardless of brand recognition, monetary gains or fill-in-the-blank incentives to sell out.  Though certainly not the only one, Riv is a company that continues to pour love into designing and carrying well crafted goods that seem to maintain a phenomenal life expectancy while boasting all the earmarks of time tested, enduring goods.  If more companies would put a foot down in the midst of outward pressure from distributors, the promise of easy sales to under educated consumers and the promise of continuity in the form of cheap labor and manufacturing, we might see a slightly brighter future for the industry as a whole.  Though Riv is a small company with just enough employees to count on both hands, their impact has and will hopefully continue to echo throughout the cycling world as a force that is not afraid to cut through the smoke and mirrors of tomorrows X-hype products that exist simply for the sake of existing; that are sold simply to meet the margins and maintain the status quo.

All great things come to an end: Closing Stevie's Happy Bikes

For those of you who know me or live in the Albuquerque, Coralles and Rio Rancho area probably have either heard or seen that Stevies Happy Bike Shop has closed down.  For nearly 35 years Steve has worked on servicing and building bicycles in both his hometown of Belen, and Coralles, NM.  Being one of the last bike shops that truly catered to the utilitarian cyclist: primarily repairing, consigning and upgrading commuter oriented vintage bikes, Stevie's was indeed a gem of a shop that had one of the most down to earth feelings of any bike shop in Albuquerque.  Before working for nearly two years with Steve I would ride in from downtown Albuquerque into Coralles and spend time digging through the seemingly endless array of "boneyard" bins, racks and bikes/frames.  From hubs and derailleurs to bars and tires, Stevie had decades worth of second hand accumulation.  Old take offs salvaged from trashed bikes, discarded parts for upgrades, boxes of stuff given away and the occasional bulk purchase of used bits gave the shop a healthy supply of gear to keep the wheels spinning for both the unsuspecting commuter and avid tinkerer alike.

When Steve brought me on he had heard about my love for primarily Retro/Vintage style bikes via one of his employees.  Unknown at the time to me, Stevie became aware of my knack for servicing peoples bikes in the area and having an overall fondness for breathing live back into otherwise unloved or forgotten bicycles.  Eventually as I came into the shop more frequently we would have discussions about our mutual love for serviceable, long lasting bike and component design, our disgruntled feelings about the bike industry's trajectory as a whole and the joy of simply getting out and riding.  It was only a matter of time before I was working 30 hour weeks turning the wrench, doing sales, placing orders and getting an overall feel of what life in a small, locally owned bike shop was really like.  Of all the shops in the greater Albuquerque Stevie's always felt the most at home, and it seemed inevitable that I would end up working with him in some capacity.

This post is half expression of gratitude for having had the ability to work so closely with such a humble and down to earth bike shop owner, and half homage to what was considered by many, as well as myself, to be the last bike shop of its kind here in NM.  I have come across many who after having heard the news have been massively bummed out that one of the last good resources for used bikes and parts is now a thing of the past.  

Thank you Stevie for giving me the opportunity to grow along side you as the shop days closed to an end.  Though there were many ups and down throughout the journey, the overall takeaway in experience was incredible fun, tons of hands on experience with both very modern and very old bicycles, and the forging of some great relationships in the wake of it all.

a photo of Stevie that someone took before the wall was brought down and
we expanded the shop twofold in space.

Stevie will be continuing bike repairs on the side as a solo, home workshop based repair service.  He will operate with a semi-mobile model doing basic on site fixes as well as picking up bikes to take back to his shop for work.  Stevie's Happy Bikes officially closed at the end of July, 2017.  Thanks to everyone in the community who helped make this place a great little hub for all parties considered.