Image courtesy of RetroshiftBike Geek Alert! Okay, I'm kicking off today's post with a bit of bike gear geekery. So if esoteric discussion of bike componentry are not your thing, then you may want to skip over this part. (But then again, you probably do not read this blog!)

There is this new-old shifter technology out now called "Retroshift" which utilizes Tektro levers and a down tube/bar end mount which is "pasted" on to the front. With the addition of user supplied down tube or bar end shifters, a shift lever mounted off the end of the lever at the hood can be had.

This has become a fashionable thing to have on cross bikes of late. Retroshift claims that with riders abusing the typically used "brifter" in situations they never were intended for, (e.g. cross racing in mud, rain, and snow), the ubiquitous down tube shifter or bar end shifter works better, and is more robust, resisting damage in crashes, as an example.

I have been in some pretty heinous conditions on gravel, and I could see where maybe this makes sense as a component for gravel racing, or for an adventure/touring set up where the ultimate reliability is desired. Am I nuts? Anyone see what I am seeing? I will say that they look really odd. Almost as if you had non-aero levers on your bike.

Okay, so I was wrong! It looks as though we just may have our terrain looking like what I have shown here again. At least for awhile.

A big storm is brewing in the high plains today and the word was as of yesterday that we may be in on some significant snow. This means that By-Tor and the Snow Dog will be getting more "game time" in the coming days.

Of course, I have to get my son out sledding again. He's already called out some time for that! Hopefully I can find a decent sled before it gets too nasty out there! The ones we have just are not cutting it for us. But anyway, the snow biking facet of my fat bikes will be getting more play. That's good. I thought this winter was pretty much a bust so far for that part of riding these fatties.

Of course, looking at our forecast, the snow would appear to be of the heavy, wetter variety this go round, with temperatures at or slightly above freezing. So, I don't know how good this would get, unless the weather guys are wrong, and well......you know that never happens!

Update On Project Fat Road: Okay, the rims are in! Now I have to cut out the old hubs, measure up everything, and see if any spokes are available at the shop to get the job done. If not, I'll order some, of course.

The bike itself is all stripped down and ready for a final clean and re-assembly. So, once the wheels get put together, and new tires are chosen, I will be "going back the other way", as we used to say when I was a car mechanic and we were putting things back together. It should all be pretty straight forward. The main thing will be how picky I get about cleaning everything up. You know what? I ain't doin' no restoration to museum quality here. This is a bike that will be gettin' dirty/dusty, so I won't sweat the little pits, nics, oxidization, and the like. That said, it should turn out pretty nicely. It was in pretty great shape to start with.

Okay, that's a wrap for today! Have a safe, warm, and fun weekend!Posted byGuitar Tedat12:13 AM5commentsLinks to this postLabels:By-Tor,fat road,Lejeune,Mukluk,retro grouch,snow,The Snow Dog

Videotect 2: Nice Ride Repurposed from Architecture Minnesota on Vimeo.

Kevin, aka that guy who rode the Nice Ride in the Bandit Cross, sent over a link to some sort of contest that this video is a part of. Go vote for him! It's Video 12

Prolly

Do you know that gut-wrenching feeling when your bike has been stolen off the street? You left it there a few minutes ago and, coming back, it's gone, the lock clipped, your heart sinking fast? That's the way I felt yesterday when the transportation committee of the U.S. House of Representatives voted by just two votes to keep biking and walking programs out of the next long-term transportation bill. I felt like my trusted transportation option had vanished.

It was stunning to see this important committee eliminate a modest, effective investment in programs that help more kids walk and bike to school, reduce congestion on our roads, decrease energy consumption and carbon emissions, and contribute to a better quality of life in American communities.

Now of course, there is more legislative process to come. The full House has to act (and the current bill is already drawing a lot of opposition from a wide array of interests). Senate committees still need to act and the future of the bill is uncertain in that chamber.

Nevertheless, yesterday's vote delivered the same sharp kick to the gut that you feel when your bike has been taken from you. In the next few weeks, cyclists and anyone who cares about investing in good, clean transportation and recreation will have to convert that pain into an energetic campaign to restore national bike/walk programs for America's future. We'll keep you posted.

P.S. Let me end on a slightly positive note. Huge credit is due to the bipartisan group of Representatives who led the fight in committee to keep bike/walk programs. They are Republican Representatives Tom Petri, Tim Johnson, and Frank LoBiondo, and Democratic Representatives Nick Rahall, Peter DeFazio, and Dan Lipinski. If you know them, please send them a heartfelt thanks.

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JIM SAYER is executive director of Adventure Cycling Association.

At One on One
4.30-6.30 for the opening-thats right, happy hour!!

Newsletter is enroute. Quality.  Indeed: In other exciting news. The Misfit Psycles FacePage has been ‘gated‘. The idea being that more exclusive content can/will be shared only with the beggars that actually took the time to click LIKE. The rest will (should) get this: And that should work. Share on Facebook Tweet

I talked to Steve Stickel yesterday about the new machine. He threw out some numbers, I listened to some numbers, and a general concurrence was had by all. I had asked him about whether or not I would get one of those cute CAD type drawings of my new frame to carry around like a fetal sonogram for the many weeks of waiting ahead, but he said he prefers to use a protractor, compass, piece of string, sextant, #2 pencil, and wooden yardstick to draw his frames.

He might not have said that exactly. His mouth was full of candy corn, so I could only catch every fifth word or so. Apparently when you're the bearded, eccentric frame builder in the neighborhood, parents steer their children away from your house at Halloween, and you end up eating leftover candy for months.

So I took it upon myself to head over to the Bicycle Forest and hop on the free version of BikeCAD and make my own drawing. I started with this stock bike...

and after fiddling for way toooo long with some numbers, colors, and whatnot, I came up with this:

My bike will look like that, as far as having two wheels, a saddle, and something tying it all together. Otherwise, it's a terrible representation of what's to come. What I did manage to do was waste about 1.5 hours making it, which is a small price to pay to carry a picture of my future bike baby in my wallet... assuming I carried a wallet, which I don't.

There are many details that are missing in the not-so-expert 2-D version of my frame. Things that were beyond my skill level to portray.

It will have some of this (not shown in my picture):

and this (also not shown in my picture):

and this (also, also not shown in my picture):

and most certainly one of these (also, also, also not shown in my picture):

I'm excited. Things are coming together. Parts will come from far and wide soon enough, and a bike will be assembled that will forever change the way people all over the world look at Mallomars.

It was late in the evening in a little town in Colombia. We had stopped for an ice cream and were sitting at a street-side table. There was no traffic. The street was deserted except for kids riding bikes.

I loved listening to the combination of spinning bicycle wheels, creaking chains, squeaky seats, and laughter.

The streets were barely lit. No where near enough light to take a photo. But I put the camera on the table and set the aperture as wide as it would go, and clicked off a few shots as the kids wheeled by.

What I got was a grainy, ghost-like image. It looked more like a painting than a photo. I could make out the frame of the bike, part of the back wheel, the girl's sandal, and her skirt. Not much more. But the image still speaks to me.

Some travel memories are sharp and clear. They stick with you. Ten years later you can recall an event or place or personal exchange as if it happened yesterday.

Others blur and fade and mix with other memories of events, places, trips, and people encountered along the way.

I used to get frustrated that I couldn't remember every detail of every trip. Now I embrace the clear, the mixed, and the blurred memories of my bicycle journeys. They all make up an ever-expanding mental art exhibit--one that I visit as often as I can.

Photo: Colombia -- 2009 by Willie Weir

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SIGHTS AND SOUNDS appears on Friday afternoons. Willie Weir is a columnist for Adventure Cyclist magazine. His latest book Travels with Willie: Adventure Cyclist will inspire you to hit the road and just might change the way you approach bicycle travel. He lives in Seattle with his wife Kat. You can read about their local adventures and life without a car at http://YellowTentAdventures.com/.

So I've made it to 26 without ever needing to drive, thanks to my bike. I still don't, but thanks to the 'competitive' jobs situation out there I need a licence. I'm looking for an instructor and was wondering if anyone has recently learnt to drive. It'd be nice to have a 'cyclist friendly' instructor too- I've heard they exist.

Sorry if this has been discussed before, I UTFS etc...

Peugeot Perthus Pro 753 wanted size 58 to 65

Like the title says...anyone got a pair of track hubs lying around. Bought and then realised the garish error of their ways?

Worth a try...ta!

10 - 4 Track Bike for sale:

Due to a recent redundancy & needing to move house I'm (with a heavy heart) selling my HHSB.
I'd like £800 for it, as it's quite sentimental, generally I'd sell quite low on here & have done so over the years but this (to me at least) is quite a special bike.

Specs:
56 x 56 Alu 10-4 Frame
Wheel base - Fucking tiny.
3T Funda Full Carbon Forks - 21cm steerer column

Front wheel (old Formula to unknown rim) Laced snowflake DS / Lotus Flower NDS
Rear Wheel H+Son (Ceramic bearing upgraded Formula) 3x DS / snowflake NDS ...Both hubs could be serviced.
x2 Continental Gator Hardshell 700x25

Pro Vibe 7S Track Bar - 42cm (Lizard Skin Bartape with chicken fillets underneath)
Thomson Elite Stem - 100mm with 10 degree rise
Hope Heatset
Hope Spacer Set
Campagnolo Front Lateral Pull U brake (modified)
Nokon Cable & Cane Creek Cross Lever

Selle Italia (stripped) SLR
Thomson Elite Layback Seat-post (27.2)
Hope Seat Clamp

Shimano XTR spd Pedals
Profile Racing 3 Piece Cranks - 165mm - 7mm Flush Bolts
Profile Racing Euro Bottom Bracket.
Profile Racing Spline Drive Sprocket 42tooth
Sram Chain
16t rear sprocket

Fuji Track Pro (now lives on in the Fuji range as the Comp):















You get everything in the photo bar the cranks, so frame, fork, stem and seatpost, two sets of bar- the drops/stem/seatpost are Deda, the risers are FSA.

The paint job on this was done by Sam Fish, in automotive two-pack:







£300 the lot.

Time ATAC ROC Carbons, lightly used, no cleats:





£40

Pictures coming soon- Dura Ace high flange 7600 hubs (fixed/fixed rear) laced 3 cross with Sapim double butted spokes to Mavic CXP30 silver rims.

£200

Dura Ace 7710 track cranks, 165mm length, with 50T Sugnino ring, comes with DA 7700 Octalink Bottom Bracket- the one with standard and needle bearings, approx £50 miles on this from new (if that) £180.

Am selling my Giant Omnium Track Frame.

It is circa 2007 vintage (i.e. 27.2mm seatpost, aero-ish tubes and gussets).

Resprayed in pearl white (with a red flip).

It's the older geometry so 55.5mm square (ST measured C-T, TT measured effective C-C).

Come with SRAM BB and 170mm Black Omnium Track Chainset, 48T ring

£300 collected from Ealing - pics to follow this evening

Dibs followed by PM

You haz? I wan...