Eric P's bike/fork, some nice Sedona conditions.

parts & things - gotta start somewhere!

i do a micro-fillet under the down tube, i don't like mitering to a fillet. it will melt into the outer fillet when i join it all together.

Bam! finished fork. it came out very nice, light, straight & very stiff.

I also got the front triangle all tacked as well with the S & S travel couplers in place - they enable the bike to be broken down for travel. not especially light nor cheap - a $775.00 upgrade. very slick & handy for travel, though.

man, my hands are hammered. i don't even know how i scraped the skin off my middle finger - it just started hurting when i hit it with 91% alcohol & then filled it with Boric Acid..........

a gorgeous Sedona day! a far cry from the deep snow here in Flagstaff & only 28 miles from our house.

this was really hard - saw spots & the whole deal. i've been very strong since rowing the canyon.

getting ready to rip with faithful Yellow Dog Cody. she is looking great since her "lumpectomy." rock on, Yellow Dog!!!!

they just freakin' love this stuff. me too. Denise thought this line to be questionable, but i figure that if a bike can drop it i can.

see - rolled it all no problem!

that's it for now, not working super hard today. i want to get Eric's chain stays on & do some organisation and maybe get a shower & stuff like that. i think i need a shower as i do not remember my last one..........Eric P: can you get me a big ring & some C-Ring bolts? i wanna dummy up the cranks & BB to see if i can fit stars on your seat tube H2O cage with the 600 front derailleur. drop me an E-mail. OK? Stan G - your build is coming up, i'll contact you. then, Jay L, Jessee G, Justin H, Jude S, Sam B, Joey G, Gitty...........on it goes to Nov. more later, thanks for reading, Steve.

X-mas sign -off

all done!

dirt roadster...........

"i would totally shred this!" - Denise.

Denise says she will take it if you don't want it.............you may want to come get it. have a great day! Steve.

George's bike ready for the last touches, some pics from red-rock country.

Just about complete - c'mon up & we will dial in the contact points, string the brakes & let it loose.

fork detail to show a better color sample - it is quite nice in the sun, it shines like a desert mineral......

the snow is getting deep!! also, -9*F this morning Brrrrr...........!!

a shot of Denise with her new favorite bike - 650B wheels + suspension x one speed x custom framebuilder husband = happy wife.

i went for a spin at Beaver Creek & it was quite nice. there are archaeological sites everywhere but almost no one sees them........

i think the dogs bet on whether i will make it or not. or, maybe they are cheering?

quite the pretty place. this day it was Sunday & there were four cars for a 20-mile creek.

not very smooth going all-in-all.

just off the trail - a large multi-family ruin covering an entire hilltop.


that may be the last post of 09'...........gonna start Eric P's mega-project tomorrow. i'll tell you about it then - Steve.

i need a day off so i'm taking one / George's bike off to paint / got in a ride.

i got in a quick 3hr. ride in down in Sedona with Denise & the dogs. nice! around 60*F.

George's bike is off to paint. it's gonna be a great, classy ride.

seeing stars! gotta take a break & rest and clean up before the next build, it's gonna be a doozy.

we scored two new to us sea kayaks! they need a little love but they will be good additions to our boat quiver.

that's about it for now, all. i'm taking it easy today, i'm really beat up & tired. i'll check back with the details of the next build, it's going to be quite the project! Garro.

George's bike all brazed/workworkwork.

all smoothly brazed. just gotta polish it up & touch up the fork a tiny bit and put brake bosses & and a few cable stops and H2O bottle mounts on it and off to paint. this is a complete bike, so we will all get to see the ultimately finished product from conception to completion. cool.

this is for E-Gelle. thin, milky flux. gasflux blue, with a gasfluxer on "med/lo" and Aufhauser 680 brass-nickle rod. i get it here: www.brazing.com i use a victor torch with a #1 tip.

finished fillets. i can confidently say without bragging that it's pretty hard for me to see where i am gonna go from here as far as improvement. i have decided that i am going to offer a non-filed frame option. prices to be disclosed soon. taking orders for Sept/Oct 2010 currently. thanks, all!

pre-braze alignment check - bitchin'.

these stays kinda worked me!

the other day on MTBR frame building forum www.mtbr.com guys were saying that brass flux was not corrosive to steel. here is my side of the argument. that's oxidation from only <12hrs after brazing. put anti-corrosion goo in your frames, folks!!!!!! do it NOW. if you own a Coconino all the tubes should have vents into each tube so you can inject anti-corrosion fluid like Boeshield T-9, J.P. Wiegle Framesaver, Tri-Flo, or WD-40. your frame is an investment - no warranty on rust!

Denise's current flock - not bad!

that's it for now - thanks for reading - Steve.

George's dirt roadster coming right along.

Man, it was a really long day yesterday, but also a quite productive one. i got this far on the Dirt Roadster. looking niiiice. the fork & the wheels are done, too. i'm doing everything start to finish but the paint.

a nice fit - two eyes, a sharpie, a hacksaw and a warding file. oh yeah, practice, too..........

ditto here. tight is right!

Dan is dangerously close to completing the frame he started in the summer. it will be sweet......he is still riding the bike i used to ride that i built six years ago, rode the shit out of, and then gave to him 4+yrs. ago which he has been riding just as hard -it is tired! he also has a Voodoo 29er, but it has bad toe overlap. yuck.

new dunk tank!!!!! thanks, Denise! my old one was near blowout, and not wanting to flood the shop & then have it freeze, i upgraded. i have been in the process of overhauling all my gear. most of it needs it bad, having been used for almost seven years solid. i'm taking the day off from metalworking. i already went to the bank & had breakfast at Martanne's with Denise. i need to shave, bathe & do dishes..........normal person stuff! more later, thanks for stopping by, Steve.

just a quick "howdy"

we got hammered!!!! about 2.5' in Mtn. Dell we figure. 70mph winds clocked! it was impressive. Denise: "i LOVE my snow blower!" looks like i'm gonna be clocking some shop time, yo..........

George came up from Yuma & we worked on his plans. i made the fork this week and built the wheels. i have boxes of parts with people's names in every nook in the shop. i spent a couple of *days* just figuring parts & build kits. i also inventoried tubing, since me & Barry tore the tubing rack off the wall along with the fork blade bending mandrel & it had to be "bomberized" Thanks Smilin' Mike for the wood fab. great work, man.

all prepped up. i mitered everything yesterday and need to go fit it all together. Check this out: DT: tange prestige helical. TT: kaisei. HT: the last piece of prestige 36.5mm. ST: true temper. CS's: new true temper S-bends. fork: StT: columbus. blades: true temper. pacenti crown. BB & DO's: paragon. ST lug & SS's: 4130. stuff i've been saving for a cool project............more later, Steve.

shop update / Denise's new 650B, upcoming builds / whassup.

Denise's new 650b! she is stoked - it came out really, really nice. some out there bemoan the "lack" of 650B dedicated forks, but why? 29er forks work *perfect* FYI.

just some minor tweaks & we have to steal some pedals of one of her other three Coconinos that she has up & running and it's off to hit the trails. it's by far her lightest bike.

color: "Black Olive" a Coconino fave.

out in the shop today working on George D's fork for his 700c x fat tire Dirt Roadster, building wheels for him, inventorying stock for the end of 2009 to see what needs to find a new home & what i need to get, straightening up after Me & Barry ripped one of my entire work benches off the wall raking blades, Stripping Troy's 6yr old Coconino down for a re-painting & some added braze-ons, and just trying to segue smoothly into the upcoming builds. i just gotta get some re-organisation going before i start. SO: next five builds, get your ducks in a row & we shall talk - George: on deck. we are allll good. David S's 700c/29er world tourer: rolling along. expecting the 1st of your parts today. all good. Marzoff: still missing. Eric P's 700c frame/fork: i think we are all good. if you have any special dedicated parts i wanna see them. i'd like to at least have your wheels & cranks/rings/BB here for the build. Stan G: we gotta talk details. get ahold of me & I will do the same. Jay L's 26" trail bike/1-speed. your hubs are on the way, getting your wheels going. Jessee G's 29er - coming up! that's what is on the immediate event horizon, plenty of work there, all full builds but one. thanks for reading, all - Garro.