That picture is Will on his new Platypus.
In honor of Thanksgiving, here's a special treat:
Sorry.
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Will, Vince, and James went to Philadelphia and caught this show:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Gszn8uV36w
PENCIL
The future of "bicycle riding." Pay attention to the inspirational audio from the ... riders on the screen. This is the weirdest thing I've ever seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0fIti9arLo
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Will converted his Susie to a two-speeder. He'll talk about that in the email update, but here are some images with minimal comments:
It's a 38 x 28 double with no front derailer. Can Will shift it? You betcha. You'll see in the next email update on the 18th or 19th.
18t cog. Paul chain tensioner, called a Melvin.
Good clearance here with 2.6 tire.
Here, too.
That's a nice seat lug.
Will rode this bike for two days on Mt. Tam. He'll tell more in the email update.
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It had been a while since I'd seen a genuine Potato Bug, but I found this sad sack of one on a dog walk. That's a film-canister cap, for scale, since. no Sharpie. I think they should sell empty Sharpies cheap, for photo props.
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My latest and now totally lifetime permanent change is to ride the centers of trails, or at least stay away from the edges, which at least around here, are getting wider all the time with so many suspension bike riders avoiding bumps, for crying out loud. Here's Pal Jeff doing it the new way:
My latest grump is kind of a bummer scold, a horrible thing to do, but oh well. It's riders creating smooth paths on the edges of rocky trails. You can see it here, there on the right. Ring up or down on the rocks doesn't make the smooth path go away, but it doesn't add to the erosion.
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For three years, maybe 2012 to 2015, we had a downtown store that sold only bikes, books, and hatchets. People dug its quirkiness, but we had many zero-dollar days, so didn't renew the lease. It was fun in its quirky way, we met some nice people and some quirky ones were attracted to the combo and all that, but I was working 12 hour days for most of 3 years, so there's that, too. I found this biz card in a drawer and it reminded me. It is now a bookmark.
And the mug from the failed enterprise. Ride, read, cut. Or maybe WE ride, we read, we cut. Latin's a toughie.
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Assorted Updates
G.O.A.T. Gloves
I thought we'd have them a month ago, and now I think we'll have them in two months. Undyed, vegetable-tanned goatskin with 85 percent organic cotton crocheted bags, logo-free except for a goat's head stamped on one of the gloves. One layer, un padded. As gloves go, fairly groovy. I'm not a glove fan but I've been liking (not loving) them. I mean, I love how I can forget that I'm wearing gloves, and I guess I like knowing I can do a high-speed palms-down handskid and come up chuckling.
Derailer
It's just slow. I think in two weeks we'll have something to show, a sample with more metal in it.
Holiday Stuffs & Clothing in General
We'll have more of the New Zealand possum wool neckies, more Australian garment. Possibly some knickers, one in five chance of sweaters.
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Will inspired me to do this. If I had just one CLEM I wouldn't have, but I have two.
This is a great bike.
Wasted picture, just the drivetrain.
Shimano's cheapest front derailer and a dented chainring guard, but it works smoothly. This Tourney (model) derailer shifts as well as anything, but we don't sell them because...most people who want a derailer for a fancy bike want something that's not at the bottom of ye olde barrel.
kjhkjhkjhk
The stick is one way to limit movement. There are other ways.
I just slicked it up, figuring this would be more helpful:
I think we're all sad to see the wood go, but I swear I'm posting this because I think one of you might try something like it, and real hardware will make it easier. It shifts perfectly.
Will got a comment on his thing, his foot-shifting in the last email update--there was a video of it--and the comment was along ye olde lines of, "This is a solution to something that a front derailer solves"; and another person commented that it is dangerous.
The things are... we're here to have fun, not just to solve problems. Sometimes we even create problems. Bicycles invite modifications and experiments more than any other object in the universe. Take stuff off, put it back on, nothing's permanent, or needs to be.
Foot shifting isn't dangerous the way Will does it. We're not recommending it, but he's so good at, and it's fantastic! It's another way to enjoy riding a bike. It's not show-offy, either, because it happens fast and nobody knows.
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First rideable prototype V-brake. Of course it works well--two long V-brake arms with all that leverage, and good pads. We're having two models worked on. This one will be de-cornered and a few more things. Mark has already modified an arm and sent it back. We'll see. The big thing is, it takes road pads and the pads clear the fork blades and stays when you open up wide.
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On the other side of the fence, there's this new racing thing, not an object. that will totally absolutely trickle down to us and give recreational bicycle riding another weird twist. The kind of recreational riding that is about going faster than your friends, at least.
I am all for glucose monitoring as a way to check out how close you are to diabetes, or how your last meal screwed you up.
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Hey, we've all made regrettable album covers, let's cut her some slack.
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Will's Platypus is all together now:
Rapid-rise rear derailer, 40x30 chainrings, lots of silver and black, panda everywhere you look.
Platypus's favorite food is the shrimp.
Link to more and will's comments here.
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We "aren't in a position" to do paper brochures anymore. Here's one from the Cheviot, about the sheep. It may be irrelevant, but it is informational, and it's all true:
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All for now, see you in a month or so.