just a quick post.

just trying to get all packed up for a lee's ferry/glen canyon kayak trip. all our kayaking stuff is strewn all over, and it's taking some time to find it. we'll be gone from thursday night until tuesday morning, see you then! soooooo.....to tide you over, here's a pic of ben's finished cruiser - whew! i'm felling a little carpal-tonal from all the polishing! it's off to paint, and i'm starting allan's bike when i get back, then dave's, both 29ers. also, here's some customer pics that have been collecting for a little while - happy bikes! if you send pics of you and your coconino in action, i'll post em'. over & out, steve.

we had the trails to ourselves.......

that's right! four hours on the trails and not one other trail user. awesome. i rode up schultz from the last campsite on schultz pass road across from the entrance to dogfood through all the clear, cold stream crossings to the cutover back to dogfood {we always used to call this old road "t-bar" because of the old piece of t-bar driven into the ground at the "y" on dogfood} and up to the pipeline, turning left to moto trail, ripping 3-wheel drifts down to the silver gate and then back up to the car. man, i'm allot faster downhill and on technical trails then the last few years! sorry for the quick post, just wanna let everyone know that i'm getting out there.......i'll put some pics up tonight of ben's cruiser frame, i'm going to try and finish it today. man, there's a shit load of work in those things.......prices will likely go up. also, for coconino customers: expect the price of shipping your frames/parts/bikes to be higher {they are not reflected in pricing} i sent a frame & fork to virginia to the tune of $64.00 yesterday - ouch! more soon, steve.

all kinds of stuff..........

just a quick post - i've got sooooo much work to do! so, here's a pic of frank's bike, i finally got all the bits'n'pieces together, and it looks SWEET! it's a cyclocross-ish commuter, and it's probally one of the lightest bikes i've ever built. it's the kaisei japanese tubeset, and it built up really nice, some of the finest quality tubes i've ever used. if you want to check them out, they are distributed in the usa by united bicycle institute - www.bikeschool.com it also uses the lewellen dropouts front and rear and dazza's sti mounts too. all this would add up to about a $200.00 upgrade on the build, that stuff don't come cheap. also, cross forks as pictured will be going for $275.00, available with frames only. and a post braze pic of ben's 29er cruiser fresh outta the dunktank, as soon as it stops dripping i'm gonna get busy polishing that baby up - my hands hurt just thinking about it! and lastly, a few pics of me working on ben's bike - i cut myself pretty good, burned my thigh, got a blood blister, and filed my knuckle on his frame alone. shure you wanna build frames?

ben's bike coming right along - beautiful!

some progress shots of ben's bike. it's looking really, really sweet! it's a 29er onespeed, and the angles and all the curves really flow. i'm taking a break on it today and i'm gonna start on it again tomorrow, i have some design details i want to mull over and i need to clear my mind, get some exercise and get the dogs out, so i'm off for a solo handcycle ride in my back yard at fort tutthill county park on the soldier's trail network. enjoy! steve.

hot sauce review: "la india brava"

hot sauce review #1, first in a new coconino series. i'll be reviewing some of my favourite sauces occasionally, hot sauces being one of my favourite things. life without hot sauces and salsas would be truly bland! so here she is: "la india brava." "the brave/fierce indian woman." boy, the name says it all! this indian woman will kick your ass! made from almost 100% ground chiltepin peppers, this may be one of the greatest bang-for-your-buck sauces i've seen yet. i picked up a few bottles in caborca, sonora, mexico. and,i wish i would have picked up a few more! it says "producto authentico de la sierra sonorese" and i belive it. the chiltepine is believed to be the ancestor of all modern chilis and is native to northern most mexico and a few patches protected in a nature preserve in a secret location in southern arizona. it is a hot little ball, each an individual chili. i have a picture in my "back from mexico" post of bulk chiltepins. the chiltepin is waaayyyy beyond the heat range of most white people, and when i bought a big bag of them the gal at the store looked at me like i was nuts. ingredients are listed as: water, chilis, vinegar, salt, spices. the fruity flavor of the chiltepin, totally distinct from the habenero, really shines through a nuance of salt and a slight garlic/vinegar aftertaste. a product of navajoa, sonora, this is a great memento of northern mexico if you think you are tough enough to go mano a mana with la india....... rating: *****. steve.

trying to get strong again.....

got out for another ride again with denise and the dogs. started at the still locked gate on schultz pass road and cruised to the top of dogfood at the pipeline and back down. i'll be really stoked when the higher trails open, i don't like fort valley so much, flatter trails hurt my neck, i have a c4/c5 fusion in my neck in addition to my t11/t12 fusion that causes me so many issues, and on longer, steeper climbs i don't have to look up so much. plus, you get to rip the down hill.....also, with the heavier bike, the increased drag from three wheels inflated to 18psi with thorn resistant tubes full of slime and the smaller muscle groups of your arms it's harder to carry speed on rolly trails, although i'm getting stronger and better at carrying speed by keeping pedaling while chest steering more of the time on downhills.....there's allot going on on an offroad handcycle. still, after the long, wet winter it's really great to be back into the forest! even sedona was hard to get into. every time i had a day off it would snow - usually for about four days. however, in a couple of days i'm meeting with rick from the phoenix adaptive sports foundation, he is bringing up some nordic sit-skis for me to measure. i'm going to at least make one for me, and more if there is a need, so i won't have to not get out in the woods during big winters. also, been out on some experimental trout forays, but it's just not going off on the mogollon rim - yet. there's lots of water, blueridge was probably almost 30' above last year - but the water is cold and murky, and the wind is keeping it that way. the rim lakes really didn't go off until end-of-may-ish last year, and really kicked ass during the monsoon season. but, may first will see us at lee's ferry for a three day float. can't wait! steve.

bikes in, bikes out.

here's what's happening this friday! trent's bike is officially finished, twenty two brazeons later, and will ship to paint in the morning. color? "desert playa." wait and see. he's been spending time in nevada and the atacama and the color out there must have worn off on him. and, here's the beginning of a WHOLE lot of work - ben's 29er cruiser. the cruisers are always gonna be a whole lotta work, but boy, they sure are super cool, one of the coolest things ever, if you ask the owners of the seven or so coconino cruisers out there {i'd have to count for sure, post a comment if you own one and are reading} and, here's frank's kaisei tubed cross bike fresh outta the box. SWEET! i'll post more pics when i get it prepped/stickered/head badged. it sure feels light, and the fork looks great. i'm outta here, i'm tired, have to make dinner, shave, shower, make dinner and lay down. i'm going biking tomorrow. maybe i'll see you out there! steve.

4-16-08

here's some pics of the goings-on here at coconino world headquarters. spring is in the air - you can tell mostly because the air outside is whizzing by at about 30mph! "wind season." to be followed by "dust season", then "rain season", then "fall", and finally "snow season." also, some of our flowers inside are blooming, the gorgeous purple ones are african violets, and the pink ones are inpatients. when we hiked up to machu pichu the ground was covered by inpatients.....and, the red finches are singing outside the house and building new nests in the eaves of the shop. been really busy around the pad, we had our nephew scott here checking out collage, and rody from groovy cycles and friends hanging out and riding bikes. during all this, i got four wheels built, and got trent's bike almost done. i'll finish it tomorrow, all i have to do is polish the bottom bracket junction and install all the many touring braze ons. what color, trent? next, ben's double toptube 29er cruiser! stay tuned, it's gonna be a beauty! steve.

lower trails opening up in flag.

the south facing lower trails are opening up in flag, and i got out for a short spin yesterday on schultz creek and fort valley. it was really nice to get out in the pines, especially in a spring where there is water flowing in almost every gully. didn't get out very far or very long as my rotor cuff on my right arm that i use crutch walking is hurtin' and i need to get my sorry ass in some sorta shape after the long winter. off road hand cycling is soooo hard that you need to ease into it or you will injure youself for shure. the dogs were pretty stoked to be able to do a bunch of swimming and we don't have to bring dog water! here's to getting in shape for the summer! steve.

getting back to buisness.

got good progress on trent's bike! just seatstay day left, then brazing and polishing/brazeons. and, since it's a touring bike, it's gonna have lots of them. and, some random shop pics - a shot of the downtube/headtube miter. nailed that right in the center, huh? you think that might be sorta sharp? and, a closeup of tacking/tinning. i sorta do a combo while i fit the tubes together for. pre-brazing alignment. i've found i can get better results doing tiny amounts of coldsetting if the seattube is fully "tinned", or having a very tiny braze all around it. when i do this, i go for maximum brass penetration, actually shoving brass into the joint while hot for a substantial internal fillet. good stuff! and, here's hairy wart doing some side work - mass producing seattube sleeves. it's great to have a whole box of stuff like this pre-made. and, a shot of just another reason to go to mexico - to buff out the hotsauce colection with blends unavailible here in the usa!

siiiick.......

well, so much for just feeling "kinda bad". now i think i've been downgraded to feeling "really, really sucky". i've spent most of the day on the couch with the heat on high. i don't know why i've gotten sick so much this spring, but it sucks and has me currently running a few bikes behind. with some "framebuilders" just letting their customers hang and not returning communications i just wanna keep in touch and let you know where things lie. i currently have knocked the build que down to twenty two bikes! if you have communicated with me about sending a deposit/sent a deposit in the last week or so {about four of you} then this number does not reflect your order. the longer i do this {over 5 1/2 years now} the more i realise that it's just really hard to forecast exact delivery dates, BUT, one of the main reasons i pursue this blog is to keep the build Que informed that i am actively getting closer to each individual build. also, each individuals place in the build que may fluctuate slightly due to tubing supply and the person's responsibilities like procuring necessary parts and asking to be set back in the que due to financial responsibilities {it happens}. sooooo...... here's the next five builds coming up, in order: trent's 29er {being built right now} ben's 29er cruiser {you better get that fork on the way, ben!} allan's 29er, dave's 29er, and toby. i hope this helps, and i'm gonna do my damned-est to be back in the shop tomorrow, and maybe get to go on a ride again someday.......thanks for the ongoing patience! steve.

finally got frank's bike done, starting up trent's.

just taking a quick break in between bikes.....going back out after this post, my seattube sleeve should be done de-fluxing by then. got frank's kaisei bike all done - whew. seems like i've been working on it forever! it came out really nice, one of the lightest bikes for it's size i've built. overall, i was super impressed by the kaisei tubes, and hope to have an opportunity in the near future to utilise them again! but, now on to a bike of a totally different color! i'm starting trent's heavy-duty 29er touring bike. these never come out light, and they are not meant to, just to be super reliable under any conditions in the middle of nowhere. trent spends alot of time in northern chile, and this rig is gonna see time out in the atacama desert, the driest place on earth, and if you are gonna ride out in the atacama, you better have a trusty bike, believe me, i've ridden there. it's like the moon. here's some tubing specs: toptube: 1.25" x .035 4130. headtube: 37mm truetemper. downtube: 1.5" truetemper verus heattreated. seattube: pacenti/reynolds 1.25" sleeved to 1 3/8" {bomber}. chainstays: dedaccai .9mm s-bend. hand bent 4130 seatstays. paragon machineworks bb shell and dropouts. tough! trying to keep busy with a nasty spring cold totally kicking my ass, steve.

back from mexico!

here's some pics......did too much cool stuff to list, but here's some highlights: we kayaked with sea lions and dolphins and saw a whale, got in swells in the open sea big enough to get scared, caught and ate some cool looking fish, hooked something big enough to tow our tandem kayak into the wind for fifteen minutes which i lost. {probably fortunately.} fixed bikes for elson and the nice folks of puerto lobos, sonora. lived off the grid on passive solar power for a week, bbq-ed a fish for elson's birthday big enough for twenty people, ate great food all week, showed denise what real tortillas and fish tacos are like, bought a bunch of cool stuff at the farm store in caborca, and found the mother load of chiltepines. a great time! viva mexico! steve.