riding turkey creek trail with friends.

went for a great ride up turkey creek trail the other day with a bunch of friends that i used to mountain bike with. it was cool to hang out with all them AND have them see me ride my hand cycle up some rock problems that mountain bikers walk up............info on the trail here: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/red_rock/turkey-creek-tr.shtml

cruising the meadows by turkey tank. cool soap yuccas thriving around it.

this whole valley has really cool geology! we didn't see anyone else.

here's everyone watching me suffer........it's super steep, technical and pretty unrelenting. all in all a 4 1/2 hour beatdown.

a cool Christmas cholla going off! i've never seen one this big or with this much fruit.

here's the view from our coffee table after the most recent snows. not bad, huh? i'll check in later with the start of Jim R's road bike............Steve.

updates on Irfan's bike.

Irfan's 29er nearing completion - classy lines!

here is what i do for hours on end. give me a stack of CD's and a bunch of coffee and i'm good to go.

i layed some pretty fine fillets on this frame!

not much to do here......that's nice in hard-to-get-to places.

a constant bead all around.

my polishing station.

i finished off the day by heavily modifying some paragon MTB disc dropouts for Jim R's upcoming build. been really busy trying to tie things up as Denise & I are going to Baja for almost two weeks on Feb. 6th. if you need to contact me, get ahold of me before then.........more later, Steve.

Mark's bike all good to go!

double post day! just got this from Mark W. today as well: Steve, A couple of pictures all built up. It was over cast so the paint does not really show to well. I was able to ride for an hour last night. I loved every minute of it. I have a long ride planned for Saturday if the rain stops.Thanks for everything. You did a masterful job! Mark. thanks, Mark! that rig looks NICE!! steve.

Brian's bike made it to Singapore just fine!

i am greatly relived that Brian's bike successfully traveled from little ole' flagstaff to Singapore with no hangups. i am greatly relived. it was designed as an "aggressive commuter", and it looks the part! enjoy, man! Steve.

*next SIX builds* get ahold of me, folks!

checking tolerances and clearances on Irfan's bike - looking good!

so, here's the next *six* builds out of the current que of somewhere over twenty bikes. i'm currently looking at december as far as delivery on new orders, but i seem to run a little ahead of schedule *most* of the time............1: Jim R's road bike: i think we're on the same page, and your kaisei tubeset should be here today. 2: Mark. mc. D: found the blue print for old #86, got your rohloff plates in, waiting for your fork. just like #86 but with a straight toptube, right? all good. 3: Simon Z: got your old blueprint, you want a gear bike just like your 1-speed, right? 4: Lex W. let me know what shock you have picked out. 5: Phillip H. 6: Ed M. get ahold of me, guys - i'll do the same. three of the next six builds are second bikes. that's cool, thanks guys! the next two builds not listed yet are too..........be talking to you all soon, Steve.

Irfan's bike, another Sedona ride.

Irfan is a photographer, so he asked for extra pics, and i'll try and oblige! here's his front triangle during an alignment check. sweet! this is the 2nd alignment check, i checked the seat tube/ bottom bracket sub-assembly after it was tacked to make sure that i was building off of a straight base. note the employee lounge in the background........

sussing up the chain stays and the dropouts.

trimming off excess material from each end of the Dedacciai S-bend chain stays.

buffing out the dropouts - adding a bevel to the ends and sanding off the surfaces to eliminate hand oils and give the surface some "bite" for the metal to adhere to.

dummy-ing up the pieces to make sure that all the tolerances are correct - you have to account for tires, chain rings, cogs, chain, front derailleur, bottom bracket width, crank/heel clearance..........i've also marked the slots for the dropouts as well.

about 20min. with a hacksaw and a thin warding file and the dropouts are all fit up. most builders slot straight into the stay and then post-brazing bend the dropout in a vise to the desired angle. i account for the angle and slot the stay by hand to avoid bending the dropout. just stronger in the long run, i figure. harder, but that's OK - i sorta run that way.

the brazing has been completed in the anvil fixture and simultaneously mitered on the mill. i had a cool pic of this, but it didn't upload, i guess..........once the flux soaks off {tomorrow} i'll attach the stays.

a beautiful day in Sedona! thunder mountain and chimney rock in the background.

happy doggies in a nice muck hole left over from the snow.

Denise having fun with her new tripod.......

a long day - i was out 4 1/2 hours - quite the arm workout, i was totally cashed!

a couple arrowheads i found. i have quite the collection, i find them somewhat often. they are almost always broken, as they were lost by shooting the arrow at something and missing and loosing the arrow. hundreds or thousands of years later, i find them. i have a whole bowl full! more later, Steve.

mid-January update........

Mark W's frame all done! i REALLY dig the color, it looks different in every varying light. up close in direct sun it had blue, green and even purple specs.

swoopy stays all around for generous tire clearance. it's going to do allot of desert riding in SW Utah and the client wanted clearance for 2.35 tires.

this frame has great "flow" in the lines........

Irfan K. - this is your bike! i'm slowly making process on it, but all the sub-assemblies are ready to go.

shop helper Barry got the fork and stem we made here all painted to match his frame & got it all together - pimpin'!

i went and totally blew out my back this week - i just reached for something and WHAM! the big lump of scar tissue where my spinal fusion rods meet where my seven broken ribs were just knotted up brutally - game over. i could barely even sit up, and every time i get up Gus steals my heating pad! back onto a high ibuprofen diet for awhile - i can just work in short spurts and then i have to lay down for awhile. hopefully a bike ride in the sun in Sedona tomorrow will loosen me up. see that purple foot? that there is pure, undiluted nerve pain, folks.............hanging in there and trying to get all your bikes to you on time.........i think i'm a little ahead right now, thankfully. thanks for all your Patience, Steve.

been awhile.....

i got out and did a loop on "lost watch" trail in the dry creek basin yesterday - it's been almost four years since i got out on these trails!

rock crawlin'! allot of mountain bikers walk up this, but heck - i can just park!

a couple dead agave plants. they live 30-60yrs in the spiky form, grow the giant asparagus - looking flower stalk in an incredibly short amount of time, bloom, are pollinated by bats & moths, and die.

an archaeological site along the trail.

Denise soaking up the sun! i sure am grateful to have her to help get me out on the trail and spot me, and heck, i just love being with her!

dog's eye view of the dry creek basin.

a little off-trail shredding........thanks for looking ya'll - tomorrow, some build shots of Irfan's bike, and NEXT FIVE BUILDS. stay tuned - Steve.

a quick video..........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH5Dew1BEms

Mark W's bike going to paint.

off to paint today! still a bit of snow around the shop............

smooooth........

looking good all around! more soon, steve.

brian's bike done & boxed, sorry for the muddy pics.....

sorry for the muddy pics, the grey sky coupled with the big window-high snow drifts and the flourescent lighting make for some poor photo conditions on what is a really cool bike.

front angle with king headset cups in place and the world-famous bronze headbadge. this will be my first frame in Singapore!

rear shot of hand bent disc brake goodness......

here's the final pics - it's going into a box right now. this project has drug on tragically long due to unforseen issues - sorry man! i'll get you the box weight and dimensions ASAP. steve.

back at it.......

i almost completely disassembled my one-off a few days ago, so i got out for a spin on Jim Thomson trail in Sedona with Denise & the critters. beautiful! in the 60*'s. the bike worked pretty well. i have to take it apart about twice a year to keep it running really well. it's all a different story when you can't push your bike out........

sweet trail conditions, nice to be in short sleeves!

a great example of what the one-off will crawl up!

when i say taken apart, i mean taken apart.

"chipping in" on the snow and ice load at the house - man, we have TONS of snow!


just a quick post and i'm gonna go work on Mark's frame. great to get out in the sun! it's really hard to keep in shape in the winters for me, but man, i'm going to really try. hopefully between the bike and the sit-ski i can get through the winter without having to just sit by myself in the shop like last year..........more later, Steve.