Steve’s New England Trail Tamer
Photo Credits to Chris Firth, the great dude sleeping on my couch the last few days. #gallery-1 { margin: auto; } #gallery-1 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-1 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-1 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } Rigid... Read More
Hopefully there is room for two in the Coolest Shifter in the World Hot Tub
Someone shared this link with me today. http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/11/28/first-look-retroshift-brake-shift-levers-for-cyclocross/ Looks like I’m not the only one fed up with overly complicated shifter mechanisms sullying the beauty of the sport. I like the way Retroshift went about adding the shift mount directly to the brake lever, I still think my version is a little... Read More
Somewhere Between Atrophy and a Trophy (or) Racer 1282
So, any etymologists among readers in the ether? Is the word for the wasting of unused muscle the antonym for the prize in a contest? I’d have to guess yes. New England CycloCross 2011 will be winding down and I am fraught that failing to find time delve into the fray of the CAT 3 field to fight for a finish in the mid fifties, I’ve failed maintain my muscle tone, let... Read More
Turkey Pie Main Street (or) Brown Friday
The inevitability that an uncomfortable conversation would begin among the kind of multi-generational and politically/socially disparate group congregated for thanksgiving at the first mention of the occupy movement was palpable, and I was prepared to waffle. I like that people are getting together and voicing that they are paying attention, and that they don’t like... Read More
Budd Bike Works is hiring.
Well, sort of, maybe, for the right person with a penchant for photography and social media and willing to work in exchange for a bike frame. My friday night light is low, and the camera was shaky. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Budd Bike Works is hiring.", url: "http://www.buddbikes.com/2011/11/budd-bike-works-is-hiring/" }); Read More
Balancing Act (or) The Seven Billionth Baby
Budd Bike Works is something like a Fairy. Yeah, a magical winged thing that only exists when someone believes in them. At that point, that some soul believes enough to commission a custom frame build, the lights come on and I start designing and building. This fantasy world where I hone metal to earn my keep is not independent of the reality of the fact that I have to keep... Read More
Mycology, My apology, and maimed frame revivals (or) Failure Analysis
I feel it is a responsibility I have as a bicycle frame builder to use my personal bikes as a platform to push the envelope of design innovation and then do my damned best to tear that envelope to shreds. Hitching a trailer loaded with over 400 lbs of cargo and schlepping it over a hill proved to be the undoing of the undulating, thin walled chain stays that I’d hammered... Read More
The Physics Book Definition of Work (or) Fallen Fruit
There is no time like labor day to make an audit of your position in the workings of your place. Just a couple of days in defiance of the schedule you are regularly beholden in pursuit of the next paycheck, are a rare opportunity to take in the periphery once the blinders are removed. At least that is the case for me this year. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to spend much of... Read More
Low Contrast (or) Interdependence Day
In moments that I am feeling particularly proud of my toil wresting a bespoke, high performance bicycle frame from a pile of steel I am prone to seeing in myself that stoic, independent, spirit that has always been such an integral facet of the American mythology. Taking a step back I see the error in that thinking, I am but the smallest cog in a system of economic and social... Read More
29′er Build Update III
A real Nail Biter this one. Go Bruins. #gallery-6 { margin: auto; } #gallery-6 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-6 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-6 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } All the bits cleaned up after filing. Not... Read More
