I have conducted the first few rounds of interviews and photo shoots for my “Heirloom” project that I am getting pretty excited about. I figured I would post some shots from today’s work in hopes of enticing more of you to participate! THIS COULD BE YOU!
For a long, long time I have wanted a sweet cruiser/low-rider from the 70’s. A nice Schwinn Orange Krate would be the ideal, but this hot little yellow number popped up on Craigslist and I could not resist. It is in near perfect condition, right down to the original tires, and it is already super fun to cruise around on.
This is the saddle off of my recently acquired Klinedinst Special, quite severely disassembled. As you can see, everything is there and functional/moving, though unbelievably rusty. I will be tackling the job of re-upholstering this seat as part of my renovation of the Klinedinst. I have no experience with upholstery, and my experience with leather is pretty much limited to book covers, but it should be a learning experience if nothing else. If anyone out there knows anything about refinishing a seat like this, please leave a comment or drop me a line with some tips!
The newest addition to my fleet, and another Craigslist acquisition: the Klinedinst Special. I know very, very little about this bike and cannot find any information about it, or the company. The guy who sold it to me seems to think its from the 1930s and another fellow from a vintage and collector’s bicycle forum says it looks like its from right around WWII. Either way, its certainly old and unique. The frame has an interesting geometry: low and long with 26inch wheels. I am going to be fixing it up and making in ride able again. I am not going to throw around the word “restoration” because I am certainly not holding the original parts in reverence; but I am going to keep it looking pretty similar to how it does now.
Please, if anybody knows anything about this company or bike, let me know!
Photo by Tim Potter
Seriously people. Why was I not told about this? An entire show dedicated to hand made bicycles; I am not sure I can imagine anything I would rather attend. Luckily, the NAHBS has provided extensive photographic documentation of the event and the bikes in attendance. Click on through their galleries and marvel at some true works of art. For some more professional photos, check out Urban Velo’s Coverage of the show.
I am going to go mark my calendar for next year.
(via Bicycle Design Blog)
I got my saddle and rim in the mail today; joining the herds of hipsters riding Brooks I suppose. I care not what people think, I think its a piece of art and I love the idea of keeping it with me through my entire bike-riding life, it aging with me. I cannot wait to get out there and start wearing it in. (more…)
Phase two of my bike re-sexification. The derailleurs, front brake, reflectors, and all other unnecessary bits have been removed and I finally got to put on my Wood handlebars from Ken Carroll. The stem is from what was my sisters bike when she was a very very small child, a bit of a frankenstein job. All I need to do now is get my wheel in the mail so I can lace up my Craigslist hub and put the 19t cog on there (right now I am running 14t in the back and I am simply not man enough to do so). (more…)
I traded an old Les Paul style guitar kit I built up about five years ago for this flip-flop hub and 19t freewheel cog today. An individual I contacted on Craigslist was nice enough to hold the hub and cog for a few weeks while I finished up school and got back to Pennsylvania. Nothing does more to renew my faith in humanity than random acts of kindness by strangers on the internet. All I need to get my hands on now is a 27″ 32 hole rear wheel to lace this bad boy to and I will be good to go. Some more pictures of the hub and my wooden handlebars from Ken Carroll in the full article. (more…)
I must apologize for the extremely inconsistent blogging; I cannot promise I will ever level out. I have been working on a website re-design for Ken Carroll, craftsman of beautiful wooden handlebars for bicycles and here is a bit of a teaser for the redesign, which should go live sometime soon. I will write more about the site and project once it goes online.
For now, let me know what you think about the typography overlaid on top of the photograph. I did it by hand, inspired by some fantastic analog typographers and calligraphers I found online over the weekend.
Fixie featured on of www.fixedgeargallery.com
I feel like I am mentally back in the summer before sophomore year of high school, the summer I spent collecting bikes from yard sales and garages, taking them apart, putting them back together and whatnot. I went on a bike ride through Druid Hill Park today and found this fantastic trail that runs north-south almost the entire length of the park; it was great to be around trees and away from the sound of cars for a bit. The whole time I was riding, I just kept thinking that all I want to do with my life is fix and ride bikes. I am quite used to such impulses, on nearly a bi-weekly basis I decide I just want to be a carpenter, but my passion for bikes and biking has truly grown. We may soon see an influx of bikers on the roads when people can no longer afford to put gas in their cars. Think about it: not only would we save money and the environment, but as a country we could be a little less grotesquely obese, and more pseudo-hip. (more…)
