One of my new years resollutions was to ride more. Over the years my riding has gone down untill almost nothing at all. Next week I have my last exams of the year for school and I plan to use the time to ride, ride and ride. And finish my new bike!! And ride some more.

I have some old Silver that still has Cadmium in it. Normaly I would not use that stuff but I really wanted to have the experience. It is said to flow much better. Unfortunatly Cadmium in not good for you. I needed to use a mask and goggles since the stuff is absorbed in the lungs and eyes.

It really flows very thin. But I don’t think I will use it again in the future unless I really have to.

Recently I got back in touch with someone after a long time. In the past we had heated discussions about what was right and wrong about bicycles. I remember these discussions being very fruitfull and making me a better designer. It didin’t take us long to get back into a discussion this time. Topic of the mather being wheelsizes.

The discussion is about larger wheel diameters being better. As a 29r fan I believe that larger wheels offer more contact area, thus better cornering, braking and tracking, and roll over obstacles much easier. But I also am sure that it takes more energy to accelerate (cornering, etc.). This also means smaller wheel can be very effective in cornering and acceleration. They usually weight less and build a bicycle that is shorter, so easier to store, if that is a problem to begin with.

At a recent MTB worldcup the victor rode a bicycle with the now en vogue 650B wheelsize. It is said to be a happy medium between 26 inch (standard MTB) and 29r size. To a lot of people 650B might sound like something new but as with most innovation in cycling this also isn’t. 650B was the wheelsize of choice for many French constructeurs from the 30′s right untill the demise of the French constructeurs in the 80′s. With the renaissance of custom bicycle building and randonneuring the 650B has been brought back from the nearly dead for randonneur use and now also for offroad. With the worldcup victory as a possible breaktrough. The 650B might be able to combine the pros of 26″ and 29″ with less of the down side.

But our discussion was not about offroad bicycle but about city/touring bikes for tall people. Would a larger wheel such as the now defunct 635 etrto as used by Dutch bicycle manufacturers in the past of even the  über-rare 30 inch Alesi wheels be a good option for such a ride. If the rider is very tall (1.85m / 6 foot of more) the frame could fit a large wheel. And the longer cranks would even out part of the acceleration issue. So for tall people larger wheels would work for a city/touing bike. But trying to build a small frame with large wheels would not play out all of the benefits.

Besides the 635 and 30 inch there also is the 36inch wheelsize. First used as a gimmick in a cruiser style bicycle. and later in unicycles and offroad bicycles where the benefits might have come alive more. If the rider was really tall and the riding style was fluid enough a 36inch could work for touring use. Designing it would be much easier than building it. Just trying to fit the enormous wheels in a frame and still room for a normal crank would keep me awake at night. Not to mention finding a set of fenders or luggage racks fro such a beast. But an impressive east it would be.

Recently I have spend a little more time on a 650B Porteur. From the get go I was very impressed with the feeling the 650Bx42 wheels give. Enough air to filter out most of the bumps. Large enough to roll over most. And small enough to accelerate without to much effort. I am not going to celebrate 650B here. It has been done so well by Jan Heine that I don’t have to anymore. (and here) A big pro for me is that it seems very pleasing to the eye. I am always looking for good lines in a bicycles design and with 650b it seems to have a naturally good line.

I am interested to see where our discussion will take us. Who knows what big wheels beauty will appear shortly.

Two years old and allready hooked.

Allready some time ago, weekend of April 1st,  the EHBE show was staged in Schwäbisch Gmünd Germany. This anual gathering of the framebuilding tribe is a fixed date on my calender. This year the turnout was a bit less than hoped for and expected but still a nice weekend. Many old friend and new once were present. I really hope EHBE will happen in 2013.

le Cadre booth. I only brought some bikes and no promotional gear. Next time I will do my best again.

SELI bikes 26r citybike made from Reynolds 953

Ken Bloomer (Cremacycles) making me feel warm and fuzzy.

A real Journeyman riding my 50′s Porteur.

Fahrstill Magazin doing product testing

For more pictures of EHBE 2012, 2010 an 2009

Finally I have a vintage porteur

A prototype for a new tool. Should be available soon.

A Design for lasercut stainless steel cogs for Shimano UG (Dura Ace) screw on type freewheels.

Frame in jig

Made by me Quickchange Toolpost

Modified trial hubs now 135mm 6speed freewheel to be laced in Salsa rims

Something that I spend a lot of time on is designing and making tooling. I made most of my own tooling and often make stuff for others. Now that I finally managed to get the last frame order out the door I am looking into making tooling in small batches and do custom stuff. The first small batch will me a tube miter fixture that can be universally mounted on any kind of small lathe. I use a Myford but I have seen many others in use at other framebuilders. The first two prototype will be finshed soon and tested. Right now I am waiting for parts.

Other project that are in the works are: Chainstays miter fixture that fits the same post, Seat stay miter fixture that fits the same post, bottle boss drilling jig and a cheap amateur’s frame jig.

Stay tuned!!