35th Anniversary Colnago with 50th Anniversary Campagnolo Super Record

One of these is hanging up in Vecchio's, but with Colnago Carbon 5-spoke wheels and 35th Anniversary Colnago-C-Record Group.
eBay
current bid:$4k
4 days left

Somec Tandem Track

nasty
for sale, $800

Thursday Night Ride

Hey everyone, the crew is riding dirty tonight. If you havent been in awhile, come tonight its going to be super prime weather, and sunny till like 9pm ! We meet at folsom field @ 7pm.

Im gonna have more fliers to give out, and any help spreading the word is greatly appreciated. BAC to the future Part IV is looking to be our biggest race ever, and weve recently added a ton of sponsors who are giving away a bunch of cool prizes.

BAC To the Future Part IV - Alley Cat Race - July 3rd

UPDATED - 06/17/10 (New sponsors IZZE, DVS, Snarfs) ; 06/18/10 (New Prize category, and Sponsor Baphomet Cycles)

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Alley Cat Race, and Trix Competition

Race Starts at 2:30 SHARP so dont be late !!

Check back the night before for a map with all the checkpoint locations

Ohh and here is a link to the event on facebook so you can tell your friends

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Prizes:

DVS - is giving away a pair of their new Cadence X DVS Shoe for the winner of the Race AND for the winner of the Trix competition.

The Top 10 races, and the Top 3 Trick riders are also getting prizes from DVS

Snarf's - (AKA best sandwich shop in boulder) is going to be giving away gift certificates to the top racers and the trix winner

IZZE Sparkling Juice - everyone who races gets a free IZZE courtesy of Action Marketing

Baphomet Cycles - New prize category added, the winner will be chosen at Bama's discretion. The prize is a pair of his new super durable no nonsense Pantagram knickers.

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Meet at the Folsom Field Buffalo at 2:00pm

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Fast Fucking Friday

Wheelbuilding Measurements etc

I recently re-read Jobst Brandt's book the Bicycle Wheel and it inspired to me make a wheel-related post (as well as hand-build some 36 spoke wheels with Mavic MA2 Rims). So I got on my computer and made some basic wheel building tools.

If you've ever built a wheel, you know that before you can begin, you need to calculate the length of spokes to use. I wrote some MATLAB code that calculates the spoke length you need for a given rim and hub combination. If you have MATLAB, then you can paste the following text into an m-file and run it as a spoke length calculator. Otherwise, if you are a computer nerd, I think that C & C++ are similar enough to MATLAB that you could modify the code to work as such.

%Peter's Spoke Length Calculator
disp('unless otherwise implied, all measurements are to be entered should be in mm, but typing "mm" afterward is not necessary')
disp(' ')
D = input('What is the Effective Rim Diameter? ');
disp(' ')
d = input('What is the Flange Diameter? ');
disp(' ')
WL = input('What is the Left Flange Spacing (Center of Hub to Center of Left Flange) ');
disp(' ')
WR = input('What is the Right Flange Spacing (Center of Hub to Center of Right Flange) ');
disp(' ')
S = input('What is the Flange Hole Diameter? (Usually 2.4mm) ');
disp(' ')
X = input('What is the Cross Pattern? (eg. 1 2 3 4; radial=0) ');
disp(' ')
N = input('How many Spokes? ');
disp(' ')
T = 2*pi*X/(N/2); %Spoke Angle
A = d/2*sin(T); %A = Spoke Position Offset
B = D/2 - d/2*cos(T); %B = Radial Component
C1 = WL; %C1 = Hub "Half Width"
C2 = WR; %C2 = Hub "Half Width"
LL = sqrt(A^2+B^2+C1^2) - S/2; %LL = Left Spoke Length
LR = sqrt(A^2+B^2+C2^2) - S/2; %LR = Right Spoke Length
fprintf('The Left Side Spoke Length Needed is %4.1f mm \n', LL)
fprintf('The Right Side Spoke Length Needed is %4.1f mm', LR)

The program works fine if you know all the measurements, and for most rims and hubs a quick google search will get you all the necessary dimensions if the manufacturer and model of rub and rim are known. But if you can't find the information online, or don't trust the source, then you must measure the rim and hub yourself. So I made a few metrics that show how to measure hubs and rims yourself, supposing you have an accurate set of calipers or a steady hand and a good ruler.


The flange diameter is measured from the center of a spoke hole on one side of the flange to the center of the spoke holes opposite that hole. So pick a hole and measure from the center of it to is opposite. To verify you are doing this accurately you should count 8 spoke holes between the two holes for a 36 hole hub, 7 spoke holes between the two for a 32 hole hub, 6 spoke holes between the two for a 28 hole hub, ... (N/4)-1 spoke holes for an N hole hub. The flange hole diameter is kind of hard to precisely measure so it is usually safe to assume it is 2.4mm.


A dimension that is particularly hard to measure, at least for rear hubs, is the distance from the center of the hub to the center of the left and right flanges. Here is one of many ways of measuring this:
Measure the OLD (over locknut distance -- which is usually 100mm for front hubs, 120mm for rear track hubs, 126mm for old rear road bike hubs, 130mm for modern road bike rear cassette hubs, 135mm for modern mountain bike rear cassette hubs, and can be all sorts of things for tandem & other unusual hubs), then measure distance "a" and distance "b," which is the distance from the end locknut to the center of the hub flange for both left and right sides respectively. The distance WL from the center of the hub to the center of the left flange is (OLD/2)-a and the distance WR from the center of the hub to the center of the right flange is (OLD/2)-b.


Another dimension that is particularly hard to measure is the effective rim diameter. The effective rim diameter is the diameter of the inner wall of the rim where the spoke heads sit. One way of measuring this is to drop a spoke nipple in the rim and measure the distance between the top of the nipple head and the outer rim diameter. I have done this by marking a spoke stuck down the hole into the nipple head then measuring the distance "x" from the end of the spoke to the mark. Subtracting this distance "x" from the outside rim diameter will give you ERD, the effective rim diameter.


Hope these are useful to someone.

Headset Tutorial

Hey, y'all. Thought I'd try my hand at a mechanics tutorial since we haven't had much content to post lately (but hey, if you only posted original content how often would you post?). Heres the first in what may become a series -- how to overhaul a threaded, unsealed headset.









Note: I posted this on a popular online bike forum and asked for some feedback and have a couple things to add.

1. The orientation of the ball bearing cage isn't always necessarily ball-side-down, the ball side should face the bearing race, which is almost always down for the bottom race, but can be either way on the top race.

2. When tightening/adjusting the top nuts of a headset, use two wrenches, one to hold the bottom nut in the correct position, and the other to tighten the top nut.

3. Some people suggested that the amount of cleaning of the ball-bearings was overkill. Indeed, if you regularly maintain your headset, all thats really necessary is a wipe down with a clean rag and some fresh grease. This headset (like a lot of "track" headsets, which have no grime seal on the bottom) was thrashed, so it needed a lot of cleaning.

4. I wrote "biodegradeable, please" about what degreaser to use. I was informed that "bio" degreaser is no longer bio-degradeable after it has grease and grime entrained in it. So I'll take the opportunity to say this, use as little degreaser as possible and dispose of it responsibly. Degreaser should be landfilled or taken to a solvent disposal site, not dumped. Regardless of what jerks on the internet say, I still think citrus degreaser is better for the environment than a solvent like tetrachloroethene.

5. The frame (not mine) in the photos is busted, you can see damage in the paint/tubing where the headtube meets the top tube and down tube. If your bike is damaged in this area, its not too safe to be riding hard, and you should keep a close eye on the damage to make sure it doesn't get worse.\

6. Finally, this Park Tool page has everything you could possibly want to know about threaded headsets.

Thursday Night Ride

Ok first off wanna thank everyone that came out last night, shit was super prime, hella good weather, had a good ride all around town.

For anyone who hasnt been in awhile, come out next week, the weather has been perfect for riding, something we have all been waiting for, as this winter was pretty brutal.

Meet 7pm @ Folsom Field Buffalo - on campus

May 27th, Thursday night

Free Chrome Bag Repair

There’s been some underground Chrome bag repair going on and Baphomet Cycles needs your help before going public. We need to do a few more repairs and get some testing done before setting this up as a fee-based service. While there have been quite a few successful Strap replacements, we need to do a few more before we feel 100%.

So here’s the deal:

A) If you have a thrashed Chrome bag seatbelt/strap, we’ll do the labor for free and you only pay for the price of the strap (about $5). Send me an email to make an appointment, and we’ll even have your bag back to you in less than 24hrs.!

B) If the “waterproof” plastic/rubber part of your Chrome bag is cracked, wrecked, destroyed, and no longer waterproof, we’ll fix if for free, and you only pay for the price of the chemical (about $5). Send me an email to make an appointment, and we’ll even have your bag back to you in 24hrs!

bama@baphometcycles.com
baphometcycles.com

The Mythical Thursday Night Fixed Gear Ride

A long time ago, in a land not too far from my "place" a group of youngsters used to mob up and ride bikes. Oh the times they had, evading the law, frequenting parks and hollering at people at Pearl Street on any given Thursday.

But then, tragically, they disappeared. Rides became limited at first to only a few individuals, often riding directly to do some loops, then breaking apart to go their separate ways, riding into the dark alone. The ride was falling apart.

We lost our way. With the onset of school, for most, and jobs, for all, the rides were overlooked, shoved under the rug, put on the back burners. What we need the most, the freedom, the release was left unaccounted for.

Then came the discrepancy between our riders. FGFS or not. Stunt? As groups of kids began to dabble in the newest craze, the few rides that came together became segregated by style. Stunting was no fun for Tri-Spoke enthusiasts and who was to blame them.

In the past year the Revival Premier showed just how many kids there were out there that loved to ride bikes. We shared a night of reflection on just how far we had come, and how much there still was to learn and experience.

So, I propose to you now. Begin again. Bring your bikes (whatever style), enthusiasm, and youth and come ride again as we once did. Stay updated as our rides will be posted here as they are decided upon.

As always-Ride Your Bike...HARD

Korean Keirin

The keirin race is kind of an obscure track event. Not obscure in the traditional sense, but obscure in that, until recently, it was not very common outside of Japan. In fact, it would not even be an Olympic event had the Japanese Keirin Association not bribed the UCI $3 million to have it included.

Keirin racing is strictly regulated in Japan, a lot of state revenue is made off gambling on races. Frames and parts must be approved by NJS, a governing body which sets standards for equipment so that no rider has an unfair equipment advantage over another. When someone mentions keirin, I think of Japan and NJS bikes & parts because used keirin frames are popular here in the US.

To my surprise, I recently learned of a similar keirin racing organization in South Korea when I stumbled across a blogspot selling used Korean keirin frames. I'd seen these frames on eBay occasionaly in the past but didn't think much of them, just thought they were plain Korean track frames.


The blogspot has some sweet frames, but its hard to tell what exactly they are. This Corex for example is made of Columbus Keirin tubing and built with Nagasawa parts.

But its not really clear if they're made by Nagasawa, or if they're made by someone else building with Nagasawa parts, does Nagasawa even sell their frame parts?

This Cello Kalavinka looks pretty sweet.


This particular one has been repainted and had Kalavinka decals applied. You wouldn't know the difference if they didn't say it was a Cello. Is it a Cello or is it a Kalavinka? Does anyone know?

Even more confusing: Cello 3Rensho Now I really don't get it.



Can someone explain this builder-branding system to me?

Sick Colnago Pursuit

Yahoo Auctions

Fluid Dynamics

CETMA Racks

This is Morgan. He hooked me and my buddy G-Rad up with 1/4 oz of recreation herbs couple summers ago at the Cycle Messenger World Championships in Toronto. See that rack on the front of his bike, its CETMA rack, they're rad. I recently got one (after 6 months of waiting). Expect a full, detailed, review soon.

Velospace Super Users

If you haven't heard of velospace, its a popular social networking site for bicycle (mostly fixed-gear) enthusiasts (your bikes myspace page). Velospace should not be confused with FixedGearGallery or Crappy old 10 speed gallery. The difference between them is somewhat significant and usually boils down to build quality.

Most fixedgeargallery submissions look something like this:

Whereas velospace is a place where you see bikes like this


Anyways, I thought I'd make a list of my favorite velospace users, dudes who have huge collections of wild bikes.

Ceya, a dude from NYC with a lot of track bikes with huge saddle-handlebar drop. I remember there being more bikes on his page at one point but velospace servers are notoriously bad at keeping/organizing/storing photos.

Ceya's Gianni Motta:


Hrrundel, a guy with more C-record equipped track bikes than an Italian velodrome in the 80's.
Some of Hrrundels bikes:





campafreak, a serious collector specializing in East German bikes from the 80's; campafreak.com
Some of campafreak's bikes:





kdh747, a guy from Japan with some crazy bikes; owner of PedalMafia.
Pretty much defines Tokyo tarckx bike style






dustin, a guy who owns a used camera store and tarcks out lots of old pursuit & time trial frames. Also, the owner of a gold plated Cinelli.
Some of Dustin's bikes:





Insomnia, another serious collector, specializing in late 80's/early 90's time trial bikes.
Some of Insomnia's bikes:





Finally, as an added bonus for making it this far, The failest BMC evar