Both Excellent Places

Speedhound

We are proud to announce that we are now carrying Speedhound bicycle frames and completes. The frames feature an innovative dropout system that allows the use of just about any bicycle drivetrain: road gearing, mountain gearing, internal-gear hub, single speed, fixed gear, belt drive, etc. It's very clever and cool.


The frames are also handmade in Minneapolis, available in a variety of colors, have a very cool headbadge and fork crown, and I can honestly say they build up into some of the nicest riding and handling bikes I have tried. Seriously.






This one is going to be shipped westward real soon, but we will have another ready to ride on the HC sales floor, probably next week.

price reduced on some really nice lightly-used bikes

First the Rawland (text reprinted from earlier post):

I like these Rawland bikes, a real jack-of-all-trades. This pre-owned example is in excellent, low-mileage condition. Whether you need a commuter, tourer, weekend cruiser, mountain bike, or any other kind of real-world bike, this would be a good choice.


I think this is a size M. Measurements are:
seat tube c-t: 20"/50 cm
effective top-tube c-c: 22"/56 cm
standover at mid-point of top-tube: 31"/79 cm

The head tube is tall and the steerer tube is long, so getting the bars up high isn't a problem. With a few fit adjustments, this should fit most riders between 5'4" and 5'10".

The parts are mostly Deore/LX level with Tektro brakes and levers and a Sugino XD crank. Wheels were handbuilt by me on the elusive but excellent Rigida Sphinx 650B rim (36h front and back).

Complete bike as pictured $1175 $750. That is so ridiculously cheap, I can't believe it won't sell immediately. But we have moved on to other projects, and need to make some room.


We also have this lightly used 54 cm Rambouillet:
My wife rode it a bit (maybe a few hundred miles) before we had our 2nd and 3rd kids. Now she rides a Long Haul Trucker, which is better suited for pulling trailers and carrying kid seats. So this bike is for sale for $2275-ish depending on what accessories/parts you want on it. Price reduced to $1850, as pictured minus saddle. The current incarnation of Rivendell road bike costs more than that, just for the frameset.

The versatile Sam Hillborne

Of all the unique and interesting bicycles we sell, none has lured more customers into the shop over the past year or so than the Rivendell Sam Hillborne. Most people that have heard about Rivendell want to see the pretty lugs and candy-colored paint in person, but the real beauty of the Hillborne lies in its versatility.

Consider this one, set up as a "road bike" with light wheels and light tires. Keeping with the theme, the crank is a modern compact double.

This is a really fun bike; you should come in and ride it.

Going in another direction, we decided to make a Hillborne that emulates the "adventure bike" concept that is currently popular. Who knew that a bike with sidepull brakes could fit a 700x45 knobby tire with room to spare? The Woodchipper handlebar, camo tape, and frame bag really tie the package together.

 

Minnecycle this weekend!!!

Please consider joining us this Friday at 6:30 PM for a ride from HC to the Minnecycle show, featuring the work of local bicycle framebuilders and other bicycle-themed artwork. Bring lights and some money.

Note, the graphic that was here previously was from 2009. My apologies for the confusion on the dates. For 2010, the dates and times taken from the Minnecycle2 Facebook page are:

Friday, July 30 - 4:00 to 11:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 31 - 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Evolution of an unorthodox machine

The Thill Family Bicycle started as a stock 1992 Santana Arriva tandem that I found in nearly-new condition for a good price on Craigslist.

I upgraded the wheels with the heavy-duty touring wheels I had originally for my Atlantis (which I sold). I also replaced the unnervingly skinny 700x26 stock tires with some Jack Brown Blue 700x33, which were a bit of a squeeze. Most importantly, I modified the stoker position for a small child (namely, my daughter Elissa, age 4 at the time), using some stock stem and bottom bracket adapters marketed under the Problem Solvers brand (from QBP). My friend Mark at Bikesmith Design provided a crankset with the arms shortened to 90 mm (and threaded for tandem, of course). The subsequent addition of the child-seat (shown above with my son Oliver, age almost 2 at the time) was a short-lived experiment that made the bicycle difficult to control. Anyway, Elissa and I rode the bike maybe 100 miles last Fall before we had some crummy weather in October that compelled me to put the tandem away for the winter. During the Winter, I asked Bikesmith to make me a 1-1/4" quill adapter (diameter of the adapter is 1-1/8" or 28.6 mm). The quill adapter slides into the threaded steerer tube like a normal 1-1/4" quill stem, and is just the right diameter to accept a 1-1/8" threadless-style stem. As you may know, there is not a wide selection (new or used) of 1-1/4" quill stems (the stock stem from Santana was not terribly comfortable), but there are hundreds of options for 1-1/8" threadless stems. The quill adapter gave me much more flexibility to fit the bicycle to my body, and made longer rides more comfortable and fun.

This Spring, as soon as it seemed reasonable to go camping, Elissa (now age 5) and I loaded up and headed to Carver Park Reserve.

Elissa rode about 65 miles over the two days, and had a great time. I couldn't have been prouder. On the down side, I decided (again) that the Jack Brown Blue tires were not for me (tried them on 3 bikes, and hated them every time). I switched to Panaracer Pasela 700x28, which made the bike much more lively and fun to ride on pavement. The problems with this tandem started to become obvious:

1. There was not enough tire clearance for tires that would allow me to comfortably do the kind of multiple surface rides and touring that I most enjoy. When we rode trails or gravel, Elissa complained about the bumpiness, and I felt that the skinny tires didn't provide enough control on loose materials like gravel and sand.

2. Cargo capacity is the same as on a single touring bicycle (front and rear panniers), but must be shared by two riders. It's workable, but sub-optimal for travel with children, who require toys, books, etc.

3. Elissa was a fun companion, but Oliver was getting to the age where he would enjoy bike rides, too. I felt bad leaving him behind when Elissa and I went riding.

One day, in the presence of some bike geek friends, I openly proposed the idea putting an Xtracycle on the tandem. That idea, because it is ridiculous, received some laughs. But I was half-serious. The more I thought about it, the better I liked the idea. I could carry lots of stuff, including an extra passenger, and the Xtracycle with a 26"/559 mm wheel has plenty of tire clearance. One day at the shop, I noticed my Pugsley fork and wheel lying in the corner. Porn music started playing in my head (wah-wah-chicka-wah-wah) and it started to come together: Tandem plus Xtracycle plus Pugsley. The cherry on top was the potential for using disc brakes, even hydraulic! I would be foolish NOT to do this! (yes, a headset adapter is required).

 It turns out the Pugsley wheel and tire produces some pretty scary handling characteristic with a bike of this length. Luckily, this is the symmetrical Pug fork, which will take a normal wheel, too.Off with the Pug wheel, and on with a more conventional wheel with a Schwalbe 26x2.35" Big Apple to match the rear. Mr Rose at Shockspital modified an Avid Juicy brake by adding a hose long enough to cover the span from the handlebar to the rear disc.

The maiden voyage of this contraption was a 65-mile jaunt through the river bluffs and rolling hills between Minneapolis and Wilson, Wisconsin, where we over-nighted on the property of Dave's Brewfarm.

Elissa's previous long day was about 35 miles. On the Brewfarm trip, she did back-to-back days of 65 and 72 miles, respectively. I frequently offer her a chance to get off the bike, to take a break, but she usually declines in favor of more pedaling. After a 137-mile weekend of hills and heat, we were walking in the house and I asked if she was glad to be home. "Yeah," she said, "but I'd rather be out on the open road." Huh.

Last weekend (Independence Day weekend) we stayed closer to home, but still rode the tandem a lot for errands and general transportation. It turned out to be a 70-mile weekend for Elissa and me, highlighted by a trip to the St Paul Farmer's Market:

We also made a side trip to a grocery store on the way home, and our load was impressive!

Once home from the grocery run, my wife mentioned that Oliver (now 2-1/2) is usually very enthusiastic about the bike, and very sad when we leave without him. I immediately found some suitable clothes for him, strapped on his helmet, lowered the saddle a bit, and snugged his feet into the toe straps. We made a tentative trip around the block:

Wow, he didn't jump off or freak out! We kept going. Down the street, turn here, turn there, pretty soon over the bridge and westbound on the Minnehaha Parkway bike trail. Then around Lake Nokomis. Some old lady rode behind us for awhile before making a snide comment about my decision to have a small child on the bike, but Oliver was doing just fine and having the time of his life.

All total, Oliver has 8 miles on the bike. I suspect he'll have 100 more by the end of the year.

Open Saturday, July 3!

Just so there's no confusion, we'll be open during our regular hours of 12-4 on Saturday, July 3. Come and visit us, and let me talk you into buying something!

If you're looking for something to do Saturday evening, if you like bikes and sausage and you want to be part of a bona fide spectacle, consider attending the famous annual party at the palatial estate of Shockspital founder and HC friend B. Rose (and his wife, Julie). Here's the data:
Start Time:
Saturday, July 3, 2010 at 5:00pm
End Time:
Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 5:00am
Location:
111 37th St E
Minneapolis

It's family-friendly until it gets dark. After sundown, different story.