SUCH BICYCLES

Calling it a day...

2010-12-03T19:43:00.003Z

Any follower of this blog will know that a few months back we stumbled, lost momentum and, despite a few stutters, never quite got going again.

So sadly I must announce that the Such Bicycles venture will be abandoned. This does not mean the end of our foray into designing and building bicycles; just that the focus and flavour of what we intend to put together will change.

Further details will be posted here in due course. Thanks for your interest.

Flak Jacket for the Kula

2010-10-28T18:41:00.006+01:00

The weekend in Afan was very very hard on the poor Kona. Apart from going through a complete set (front and rear) of new pads in a day, I'd also suffered from gear cables that stiffened on day one and all but jammed on the second day. So something had to be done. My plan was to try cleaning the cables out to see if that would help, and then, if that didn't work, splashing out on some Gore professional sealed cables.

So, while poking through my parts box (as you do) I remembered that I had some leftovers from some SRAM Flak Jacket cables. I'd used that kit for full cable runs so I had the sealed ferrules and sealing tube left over. The ferrules were a bit of a loose fit on the Kona OE cables, which may have been a route in for muck, but a but of tape suitably sealed those off.

The task of fitting was really easy, and in the process I manged to ease out the sharp bends from the cable routes to further help smooth cable operation. I'd never tried fitting the Flak Jacket before for a broken cable run - I must admit that I was quite impressed with how easy it was. And it all fits well, so I trust it will be able to keep out most of the trail muck while also providing some resistance to the inevitable attack with a pressure cleaner.

I'm pretty happy with how it all turned out - but I was also quite amazed with how much muck came out of the existing cable outers! The only bit that I wasn't happy with was the end of the rear derailleur cable - I'd already used the rubber boot to seal off the open end of the cable so that will be vulnerable to pulling in muck; Thankfully I had a nice Shimano boot for for the end of the front cable.

Afan Raid

2010-10-25T21:55:00.003+01:00

My road racing friends Andrew and Stu invited me to join on a mountain biking weekend in the valley. I couldn't wait and was counting the days - but little did I know that it would so massively exceed my expectations.

Firstly off, I could not have asked for a better group of guys - and, apart from battling a little with names, I felt at home from the start. Then the trails, just totally sick. I don't know if I've ever used that term before but it just makes sense here.

Despite leaving Bath to glorious sunny skies, Saturday morning in South Wales was bleak; heavy showers threatening to make a misery of any riding. So we procrastinated. And it paid off - the rain abated and so at least we didn't get rained on. But the trail was extremely wet - brilliant conditions for me to become reacquainted with this whole mountain biking lark!

So we set off up White's Level, a great up and down course. The climb gains 525m through nice single track - a few little technical sections but mostly just straightforward, flowing trail with a few hairpins - the MTB feels like a tanker compared to the crosser! Then from the top the trail cascades back down the hill to the trail centre; the Energy section being particularly brilliant with the table tops and some rocky banked turns.

I need to grow bigger balls - I found it difficult to resist confidence braking into corners, only to realise I could have carried a load more speed! I'm sure it will come with time, but I still feel a little out of sorts come the descents.

So I wasn't too surprised when I managed to clip a rock the next morning and then put my wheel off the edge of the trail. I emerged bruised, still not entirely sure how I did that, but learning that perhaps over-thinking is my enemy. Later I got happier to just let it flow; not that I quite got the knack, but thanks Steve for constantly nagging me to leave the brakes!

Speaking of brakes - goodness - the Welsh mud is vicious! One set of pads (front and rear) after two circuits of White's on Saturday! Madness.

And apart from the crash (and the annoyingly stiffening knee that resulted), Sunday we hit W2 - a combination of White's and a trail ominously named The Wall. It was a good day on the bike, but hard. Not that I could complain: Simon, who had done zero exercise in the last 6 months, let alone having ever ridden an MTB, gamely took it on and finished it. The dude was simply mega.

So overall, a totally awesome weekend. What I've described of the riding is just the tip of the iceberg. More so, I've hardly talked about the group - suffice to say that they are just stellar bunch. I couldn't have asked for a better crew to ride & hang out with, talk bike-geek stuff, stretching techniques and ponder 21-year-olds.

Ace! Thanks guys!

The Hotel Gym

2010-10-06T21:16:00.002+01:00

I hate gyms. Passionately.

Being outside and getting exercise is fun, liberating, exciting. Gyms are just boring. The only diversions are good looking women who tend to look back at you like a sad loser if you're caught appreciating.

So I don't usually do gyms, but my sub-standard performance in recent races, and stupid schedule have driven me to using the most dreaded of all gyms; the sad, deserted confines of the hotel gym.

But all in all it was actually quite a good experience. A good half hour each of running and cycling, looking at flashing lines on the screen, managed to feel particularly good today. I was training! A rare occurrence, I know.

So, hopefully I'll be able to keep up this good habit. Bring on the weekend!

The worst part of cyclocross

2010-10-03T19:00:00.003+01:00

Mud. It gets everywhere.

Don't get me wrong. I love cross. It is the best from of cyclesport, ever. But it is hard on equipment. Sure, the Battersea proto is designed and specced to take this sort of abuse, but now living in a top floor apartment I do find bike cleaning a bit, er ... difficult.

So after the Purdown Race today, the bike was a mess. Faced with the problem of how the hell to clean the bike in my "Fight Club" apartment, I decided to head to the car wash. The dudes are the car wash were more than slightly perplexed that I wanted the bike cleaned and not the car - but when they saw the state of it, I think they got the idea.

And they jumped in will full enthusiasm, blasting every last bit of mud off the bike, pulling all the grass out of the cassette and the jockey wheels - they even shampooed it down!

Ok, I am well aware that high pressure cleaning is hardly the best way to take care of a bike, so the next step was getting the bike onto the workstand pronto to properly dry and re-lube it, but what a pleasure to have a clean bike - especially after getting it completely plastered.

Thank goodness for car washes.

Pre-race cleanliness

2010-09-28T23:24:00.002+01:00

One thing I love and hate about cyclocross is the mud.

Here is a pic of the pre-race cleanliness. Goodness, better enjoy it while it lasts.

ps. I raced without the bottle cage. In retrospect, given it wasn't muddy - I should have kept the cage with a 500ml bottle...

Discs and cross

2010-09-27T20:22:00.002+01:00

The recent rule change initially sparked quite a debate, but it all seems to have gone quiet. Apart from the Tr!ckstuff CX brake master cylinder, there have been few examples of new kit and particularly new top level disc compatible frames hitting the market.

Now, I guess the rule announcement came pretty late so many manufacturers were well into polishing off their 2010/11 season equipment - but the (lack of) uptake of disc brakes has been (to me) startling. Certainly, as the tech stands, it adds substantial weight with benefit only in really mucky events, but from my outing at the end of last season I still believe that discs provide an advantage in muddy or very wet events.

Which brings me to my first outing of the season at Lydiard Park, a dry and very cold, windy day on a virtually bone dry circuit. I did notice the extra weight and, as fatigue took hold, I over-braked a few times. I must admit that at times I wished I was on my canti-braked Kinesis!

So what do I take from this? The seriously competitive cyclocross racer needs both. For fast hard-pack races, nothing will come close to a canti-braked bike for sheer speed - but in the murk I'm sure the disc brakes will help me out. May this be a really wet and mucky winter!

The Advantages of Bachelorhood

2010-08-14T11:53:00.003+01:00

Last night I had to smile quietly to myself. I've been a bit torn up lately in my transition from (supposedly) happily married back to bachelorhood, but suddenly an advantage popped up.

I have a house guest, and so the room where the bikes are usually kept is occupied. OK most of the time, but a pain when I need to use the bike first thing in the morning. "No sweat," I thought, "I'll just stick in my bedroom." This is something I doubt I'd have gotten away with before, but here we go - just happily stuck in the bedroom.

And with the Gates Carbon Drive Belt, it is clean so no chance of getting oil all over my white bedding.

Getting down and dirty

2010-08-12T10:37:00.006+01:00

Last night I joined a local MTB group for a thrash around the local trails. Given that I haven't got a (working) mountain bike (and because I am a bit otherwise), I took the proto out.

It was a bit mad getting out there. Despite trying to leave a lot of time, I ended up leaving my flat 2 mins before the meet time, making a madcap dash through Bath traffic (and possibly breaking a rule or two on the way).

For the outing, I took the bike out with the Alfine, belt and a pair of Conti Speed Kings; so I was a little apprehensive when I saw that most of the early arrivals were on serious looking full sussers - "Hmmm ... was I going to regret this?"

They are a great bunch of people and I felt at home from the off. The ride took us up a very steep road/trail on which I quickly ran out of gears and had to work hard to keep just enough weight on the rear to maintain traction but keep the front wheel down.

The ride got knarlier from there on, some crazy descents that had me wishing for something with suspension. That said, the proto felt pretty good. Fairly easy to control through the long slides over rough ground; the rigidity being a bonus as the steering remained wonderfully responsive. I gave myself a pat on the back for that!

The flowing singletrack was fun, the 'cross bike coming into its own - the only problem being nasty tree roots, but these could be fairly easily hopped - even with the Alfine out back. The Alfine itself is a wonderful piece of kit. Always precise, and utterly reliable in shifts. The limitations found in hard road riding failed to materialise on the trails where it just proved to be a great companion. Plus, now that I've ditched the standard Versa cable adjuster for an in-line adjuster on the cable, the adjustment issue have disappeared.

The last stop on the ride was a treat - a blast around the local BMX track. Not the natural stomping grounds of a 'cross bike but a helluva lot of fun. I was a little worried about the fork when I got a few landings a bit wrong, but with a bit of speed and keeping the weight back, it was a treat! Certainly must go back there again!

All in all a brilliant evenings ride, will definitely do it again. But most of all, from the point of view of developing the bike, I was really happy with the way it handled and felt on the rough stuff. 95% of the time I felt perfectly happy keeping up with the MTBs, only the really rough descents causing me any problems.

'Cross is life.

The benefits of taking the wrong train

2010-08-03T20:55:00.002+01:00

So, somehow I managed to get onto the Swansea train instead of the train to Bath tonight, so I ended up having a rather tedious trip via Bristol Parkway and then Temple Meads which I really could have done without.

But the upshot was chatting to other cyclists on the train about Such Bikes, where we are and where we're going. I don't know why, but I tend to be a bit shy to talk about the bike - but it is great to talk to people about it and find that the ideas are positively received.

But apart from Such, it was so great to just chat to other guys who just love their bikes and love riding (if you're reading, "hi" and thanks for popping in). Kindred spirits.

Commuting on Knobs

2010-08-02T20:46:00.004+01:00

Why is it that the combination of knobblies and single speed has me riding like a teenager?

Yesterday I'd gone out exploring with some 'cross tyres on, and then was too lazy to swap them for the (train assisted) commute today. So, tyres whirring away, I attacked the Swindon streets and cycle lanes. It was dodging around barriers and taking the odd, semi-legit detour across dirt paths. With softish, 'crossing-type pressure the bike felt unstoppable. I found myself flying off pavements, hopping obstacles. Just riding for the love of it.

Perhaps I usually take myself too seriously. Or perhaps, now recovering from a my crisis, I'm starting to find myself again.

But enough self serving nonsense - what about Such Bikes?

The crisis has put the boot in, and Andy and I are trying to work out what to do next. But I'm really keen to get moving with this even if it is perhaps only framesets on a built to order.

Lansdown Hill

2010-07-31T23:05:00.002+01:00

Given the issues with my parking situation, I had to leave the bleeding car in the Lansdown Park and Ride. I took the bus down, but decided to rather cycle back up to fetch it (many will say the wrong way around, I know).

It was made all the more challenging by the bike having been reverted to the single speed set-up. And me deciding (pointlessly) to try racing a bus up the hill.

First, I must say, the single speed set-up is so much lighter and sprightly than the Alfine with the heavy 29er rims. No surpsrises there.

The 55x24 was pretty hard going up Lansdown (especially after trying to race the bus), but I managed and only stopped once (red light at the roadworks - though I was dying).

I do miss riding the bike more regularly. As a single speeder it is a joy. I found myself riding past my road a few times and just adventuring around town. I guess that is what riding is all about.

Racked up

2010-07-15T20:08:00.006+01:00

I've been getting a lot of miles in lately, but more crucially testing out aspects of the bike that still need to be resolved - load carrying.

Although the bike is designed as a fast commuter, it does need to carry if a load if need be. Having ridden an entry level road frame with "load carrying capability", I realised that it isn't enough just to have the mounting points for the rack, the bike needs to handle properly with the load on it. This was always part of the concept, and was accounted for in the geometry - but needed to be tested.

So I've racked it up. A Racktime rack fitted beautifully, though I have found compatibility with some other racks quite problematic; this will be addressed for the production dropout design. I was very pleased with the rack mounting points. The bottom mounts directly on the 7mm thick dropouts are rock solid, and the top mounts - welded, not riveted, to the frame - add rigidity. All good.

I've ridden over varying terrain commuting between Bath and Swindon, taken it fully loaded across London and into Essex and humped it on and off a few trains. And I am pretty happy with how it rides. The handling is pretty good loaded, so I'm happy with the geometry. Certainly it is a compromise and it does lean towards better performance unloaded, but it is still pretty solid and confidence inspiring when loaded up on the rear.

The same rigidity issues that cause problems with the belt drive when really giving it can plague the stability on rough surfaces or when trying to crest a rise at a high cadence, but these will be resolved and I'm happy will be designed out of the next iteration.

I still stand by that it will be ready when it is ready, but that it feels like that point is coming closer.

ps. The belt drive and Alfine are a wonderful, wonderful combination.

Back in the saddle

2010-07-07T21:18:00.001+01:00

It has been a long time. My personal crisis isn't over - it will take a while to get over it, but I have started living the rest of my life.

Starting with my first commute to the office from my new home in Bath - my any mode.

Decided to ride it, 50km each way. It was good fun. I do love the bike, though the frame needs tuning as it beat the hell out of me on the rough tarmac. Also think a switch to a steel fork might be the answer.

Anyhow, more miles and more R&D. Watch this space!

Sorry I've been quiet

2010-06-07T23:29:00.003+01:00

For regular followers of the blog, I must apologise for two things - the lack of postings here and (to a lesser extent) the lack of progress. A friend at work laughed when I refered to my present personal issue and "a minor setback"; this is certainly a low and unfortunately this has suffered.

A few words though, I've spent a lot of time on the bike lately. If anything, recent events have meant even more time in the saddle. I'm getting on well with the Alfine + Gates Carbon Drive - it certainly is a brilliant combo. But the way we have it at the moment is not perfect, and I've alos picked up some minor issues with the Alfine 8 and Versa shifters.

More to come soon, I promise.

Been sick :(

2010-05-24T20:58:00.001+01:00

I've been ill with a viral infection, so nothing much to write about (though I did ride the bike to the doc - goodness, it is nice).

So, here is a brilliant blog post that captures the joy of commuting in London.

A long time coming

2010-05-06T20:44:00.005+01:00

I finally managed to prise the Alfine off Andy. Ok, I might be exaggerating slightly, Andy was always very happy to hand the Alfine over, but I was having a ball with the smooth simplicity of the single speed belt drive and certainly learning a lot about the belt drive.

I remember when I first mentioned the Alfine to Andy (many months back), he was skeptical; now he is a total convert. Personally, I've never ridden an Alfine for any significant period, certainly not on a day-to-day basis, so while I am sold on the concept, I'm yet to be totally won over.

Although I got the wheels on Tuesday, a seriously annoying bout of man-flu over the last few days has kept me from building and riding the proto, but finally I got around to it. In reality, it hasn't been that long, but it certainly has felt like it.

The build itself was fairly painless. The belt line was just about perfect and with the Alfine sprocket also being a 24T, the same as the single speed set-up, I didn't even need to adjust the EBB. The cable guide was also spot on, giving a very tidy routing.

The Versa VRS-8 shifters are also interesting. If you are used to Shimano STI levers, these do feel a little slender, but seem perfectly comfortable. The shape of the levers is fairly Shimano-esque so no surprises there. The action of the shifting is smooth and positive, though I'd probably have preferred a shorter shift lever arc. The only criticism I have of them at this point is that they are supplied with a rather flimsy cable adjuster (a Ritchey branded component); it does the job but I think I'll swap in some SRAM in-line adjusters on the weekend.

I've only ridden it around the block (a few times) so far to early to write about my experiences with it, but once I've got a few miles in, I will surely let you know how it goes.

ps. Thanks for all the interest. I was surprised with the response and questions that rolled immediately after I added the Contact link. We do have a lot of work still to do; particularly testing ver2.0 as well as resolving the numerous commercial issues. But we are getting there. Keep the questions coming, and thanks again for following our progress.

Stacks of Racks

2010-04-24T18:27:00.003+01:00

I don't know how many racks I have looked at, either online or in the metal, over the last two weeks. The problem is that I am fussy. I wanted it all - something lightweight that could easily handle the load of a week long unsupported tour and provide enough clearance for my size 11 feet when carrying my large-ish pannier bags.

I also ended up buying (and returning) quite a few racks: the Tortec Ultralite, which I like a lot but proved incompatible with the frame; the Racktime Lightit, which proved to be too short, not providing enough heel clearance; the Tortec Velocity that fouled the 'guards; ...

To cut a long story short, I eventually settled on a Racktime Addit; a solid looking rack, only a very small weight penalty over the Lightit version, but crucially with longer rails which allow mounting the pannier bag further back (and a second set of rails to mount the bag lower, should I choose to), so giving very generous heel clearance. It is also helps that it is beautifully designed and built, certainly a good example of what the Germans are so famous for. I've done a test fit and it is spot-on; but I'll leave the final proper fitting until I do the "tourer conversion" during the week when the missing parts arrive.

Time to enjoy a beer, then!

Version 2.0

2010-04-19T19:41:00.003+01:00

The last few days have been very busy trying to get the drawings finalised for the second prototype. Although the design remains fundamentally similar, in the tweak to Ver 2.0, every tube except the head tube changes subtly.

The biggest change will be the EBB that will be ditched in favour of adjustable sliding dropouts (though we are likely to keep the option of the original dropouts available for simpler derailleur-specific builds). Other smaller changes include a slightly smaller top tube and beefier chainstays. All in all, tweaks to make it easier to set-up but also simply ride better.

In parallel, while Andy continues trying to break the Alfine, I have also been preparing the Proto for a week long tour that will take in approximately 500-550 miles in 5 days. I cannot wait, though I do loathe swapping back to a chain after having been spoilt by running the Gates belt drive!

So this week I'll pry the Alfine kit off Andy to test fit it to the Proto just to make sure there are no issues, and then we'll be pressing the button on Ver 2.0. Can't wait!

Spring's here!

2010-04-10T19:42:00.020+01:00

It is official. Spring has sprung. Today was sensational! As soon as I'd got the domestic chores out of the way (ok, some of them), I grabbed the bike and headed out in a t-shirt and shorts to enjoy the sun. It was great so great to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and the wind in my hair after months of wrapping up!

A combination of the day-job, and a bad back have made it difficult to make the progress I'd have liked to with Such, so this weekend I was determined to get some of those issues ticked off the to-do list.

First up was fitting of 'guards and a rack - though I must admit to an ulterior motive: I do plan to go on tour later in the month.

I started with the rack but soon hit a snag, the rack I had chosen, a Tortec Tour Ultralite, would not fit without a compromise of a 2mm spacer each side - this being a result of a little fouling between the rack leg and the dropout. A Tubus Vega with "plate ended" legs as opposed the the "squashed tube" of the Tortec would fit perfectly, so I'll swap the rack for one of these in the meantime. That said, for production, the rack mount point will be modified a little to accommodate Tortec-style rack legs.

With that disappointment, I moved onto the 'guards (or fenders for our friends Stateside!). This was a pleasure. The design of the mounting points requires a little more effort in fitting the rack, but the end result is arguably a lot tidier and crucially does not interfere with the rack mounts (the disc caliper already being well out of the way).

I'm particularly chuffed with how the seatstay bridge mount point has turned out. It does require drilling the 'guard, but it eliminates the nasty bridge bracket that is required when attaching to a brake bolt, and also results in a much more rigid (and consequently rattle free) installation. But mostly (I think) it just looks really tidy.

Purely by coincidence, the Kinesis DC19 fork uses a similar arrangement with the 'guard mounting points halfway up the inside of the fork blades, so this maintains a visual symmetry. Neat, huh? We are looking at alternative fork options, including steel and Ti, hopefully we will be able to replicate this feature.

With disc brakes, plenty of clearance for cushy, pothole-friendly rubber even with full 'guards (32c Vittoria Randonneur Hypers on there at the moment, and loads more room), a completely fuss-free, clean belt-drive, single speed drivetrain (alternatively Alfine - belt or chain, or conventional derailleurs), a silky Ti frame and ready to tour or 'cross if that takes your fancy - is this perhaps the coolest commuter for London?

Better late than never ... and more about the belt

2010-03-27T19:08:00.007Z

You never realise how much you depend on your computer until it breaks. My old workhorse had been groaning and complaining for the last few months, but finally gave in last weekend - simply refusing to boot up and leaving me quite distressed. I managed to get back online in a fashion by swapping in a spare hard disc and installing Ubuntu, but it was touch and go which made me think it was more likely a hardware than a software problem.

Fast forward a week and I have a shiny new "ultra-portable" laptop which works a peach, making me a happy camper. Anyhow, you probably aren't reading this for laptop reviews, so I'll just get on with it.

The belt itself has been a revelation. I've always thought the best inventions are those that you don't really notice. Take electricity. You flick the switch and you have light. While you are in the lit room, you don't think how great the electricity is. But when it isn't working you really notice it is there.

To me, the belt drive is kinda like that. When you ride it for the very first time, it feels very smooth, but before long you stop noticing it. You just get about your ride, the bike feels great - like it's just had a good lube - but otherwise you hardly notice it is there.

Then you ride with a friend and suddenly you hear the whirr (and occasional clatter) of the chain. A noise that was once taken for granted seems suddenly so invasive. The same goes for the feel; hop onto a chain driven bike and suddenly you notice the mechanical feel of the chain meshing with chainrings and sprockets. Not that it grates; to the contrary, I enjoy the mechanical feel of the bike in the same way I like old cars. Just that the belt erases any transmission vibration and is simply smooth, which is lovely.

Ok, granted my belt is still very new and I am keen to see just how it wears, but so far I am very impressed. At the moment I have been running it as a single speed, but I plan to try it out with the Alfine in the coming weeks - something I am looking forward to a lot.

In terms of the proto frame, fitting the belt did present a few snags. Nothing insurmountable, but certainly issues that I'll aim to resolve in the next iteration. This will almost certainly mean a switch to sliding dropouts instead of the EBB for the belt driven application, though we will most likely keep the option open for fixed dropouts. I'd be interested to hear your views!

So, with a good few miles under the wheels of the first prototype, I'm busy revising the drawings for the next prototype. None of the changes (besides the new sliding dropouts) are major, so I expect the next prototype frame will be with us soon. Not much time if we are going to keep to our schedule, so I'd better get back to it!

ps. The green tape was a little fun, and I'm loving the bullhorns.

Smooth, like butter ... yum

2010-03-14T16:59:00.004Z

Rides beautifully.

A few snags during fitting, but nothing that either can't be designed out for the production version, or that isn't just part of the learning process.

Now, I really must get around to the less exciting stuff like fitting a rack and guards!

ps. More to follow, I am just too knackered for now.

Ooooh oooh! Is that box for me?

2010-03-11T19:05:00.005Z

The UPS man popped by this morning and dropped off another apparently empty cardboard box. The box was from Universal Transmissions, the European agents for the Gates Carbon Drive system. For those who don't know, Carbon Drive is the relatively new bike drive concept that replaces the oily, mucky chain with a clean, lube free carbon fibre reinforced belt.

From the start we decided that Such Bikes are all about technology that makes sense, and this is reflected not only in our approach to design, but also selection of technology. Part of this philosophy is the Gates Carbon Drive.

I hope to get this installed this weekend (there are just a few small bits and bobs I still need to do the job properly); can't wait to try it out! I will definitely post my impressions of the belt drive as I gain experience of it and put it through its paces.

Look where you're going!

2010-03-08T20:24:00.002Z

Countless times I've ridden along, mesmerised by the yellow line or the crumbling edge of the tarmac. You know the situation, head down into a headwind, keeping up that just uncomfortable, but steady rhythm.

The situation was like this. I was running a touch late to get to my wife's show, so I needed to give it stick. I'd got onto the relatively uninterrupted expanse of Chelsea Embankment and was in the zone. I was happily watching the Red Route double red whizzing by as I blasted into the cold north easterly when suddenly the double red became a single red line, and then the grey bumper of a Jaguar XJ.

It is quite odd that you have enough time to think "This is going to hurt. Idiot! Nice Jag though. Good thing it isn't a van or an estate", but not enough to actually touch the brakes.

Wham! Chin hits the rear window - I tumble over the roof and land on the pavement. I must have landed on my feet because I didn't have a single scrape or bump, apart from my chin. I'd like to put it down to a childhood spent wiping out on my BMX, but more likely a lot to do with luck.

Damage check, OK but dazed. The Pig, my utility/hack bike, is looking very much the worse for wear. The Jag looks perfect, just a small smudge of the bar tape I had wrapped onto the bar ends. It would easily polish out, if not just wash off. Not a dent or a scratch!

Back to The Pig, the lights are still attached and working. The front mudguard is detached, the fork is bent so that the front wheel is tucked underneath. The saddle is bent, probably from the landing on the pavement. The wheels are still perfectly round and seem to have shrugged off the impact. But it is unrideable.

I wheel it over to the tube station, lock it up and get myself to the Islington theatre late but amazingly in just in time to see my Darling on stage.

Somehow I managed to ride into a car at full tilt and emerge pretty much unscathed; a) I am extremely lucky, and b) I am very thankful that I got to learn this lesson with only minor loss to both me and negligible damage to the car I hit.

Fortunately a few months back I picked up a nice early 90s Tange Prestige tubed GT frame with horizontal dropouts which has been begging for a new lease on life - I feel a renovation project coming on!

Riding in the city

2010-03-04T21:51:00.007Z

Waiting for the train at Fenchurch Street

I am really enjoying testing the Battersea prototype. Apart from the warm feeling I get riding a bike I designed from tube sizes down to the exact location of each cable guide, I just really love riding this bike. But I guess you'd expect me to say that.

This past weekend was a bit of pottering but also a long ride on Saturday out to Box Hill. For the role of road bike, I stuck on a set of 25c road tyres and pumped them up to their maximum. The bike certainly felt much more alive than running with the 32c rubber, but this had more to do with the reduction in rotational mass rather than rolling resistance. The narrower rubber takes marginally less effort to get up to speed; once rolling though, it is a more agitated and I was hard pressed to notice any difference in rolling resistance. If anything, the larger volume tyres made riding feel easier as all the roads felt billiard-table smooth.

Tyre comparisons aside, the long run out to Box Hill (and the climb itself) was very instructional, and what I learned will definitely feed into the revised design. I was also heartened by the attention that the bike got at the cafe, it seems to be generally well received.

This week has also been about testing in the environment that a Battersea would be expected to spend a lot of its working life, on the commute. The disc brakes once again proved their worth. As would be the case, I was faced with two SMIDSY incidents (pulling out from side roads) within the first mile, and in both cases the ability to drop anchors was crucial. While you certainly can get by perfectly adequately with rim brakes (and many do), I found that the order-of-magnitude-better stopping power discs provide gave me a lot of confidence.

Of course, this testing lark isn't all fun. Puncture on Wednesday saw me pumping up my tyre with my mini pump (on a cold railway platform when already running late). Not sure how much longer I will be able to resist CO2 canisters!

The "Hardship" of Testing

2010-02-24T20:05:00.006Z

One "hardship" of developing a new bike is having to ride it, a lot. So this past weekend was largely spent in the saddle getting some quality miles in.

Saturday was spent out with Andy and Ryan in the Chilterns riding the lanes out to a lovely pub in Stoke Row for lunch. It was a great opportunity for the guys to get a feel for the proto, and for me to get a taste of the Alfine; the Alfine is a great piece of kit and I can't wait to get it onto the prototype. I also can't wait to get my hands on one of the new 11-speed versions later this year.

A good few laps of Richmond Park was the order for Sunday. I had intended to head out to Box Hill, but bad weather and house guests swayed me to stay closer to home. The proto makes a very relaxed road bike; I'm looking forward to taking it out for a tour - I think it is going shine at that.

For this coming weekend it will probably be much of the same, but there are still many more testing outings planned - from loaded touring to a little cross country riding. Tough life, hey? :-)

The Battersea prototype rolls

2010-02-15T16:04:00.004Z

This has been one crazy weekend!

The build in earnest started on Friday afternoon, but working with relatively unfamiliar parts (discs brakes, Gore Ride On sealed cables, ...) I took my time to make sure I got it all right.

Ryan was over to make sure the graphics were applied to the frame just so, Bryan was on hand to lend enthusiasm and and extra hand whenever needed. Come about 1:30am, the bike was just about right. Come 3am I'd finally got myself into bed, but still hardly able to sleep with anticipation of riding it the next day.

A misunderstanding the night before had me taking my darling to breakfast at Bertie and the Boo coffee shop in Balham (highly recommended, but warning - the place can get chockers for all the prams and the like). At first I was terrified of leaving the bike locked up, but fortunately I was able to just about see it from where I was sitting.

Then home for a bit more fettling before Bryan and I headed out for a nice ride around town, mostly inbetween drinking coffee. Ok, I am the designer, so you'd expect me to say good things about the bike, but I must say it handles much better than I'd expected. Mostly I love the way it feels planted and reassuring without being stodgy. In fact, if anything it feels chuckable. Ride quality is always going to be good on 32mm tyres, but a good deal of that must also be down to the frame. I was aiming at every road imperfection; sure you feel the bumps - but they don't pummel you. This is a bike I can imagine riding all day quite happily; good thing, because I have a 6-day tour planned - for testing purposes, of course!

It was interesting watching people's reaction to the bike when it was parked up. I was very pleasantly surprised how many people would stop to look at it, pointing to various aspects of he design. It has certainly given me a lot more confidence in what we have here.

After getting it back, and realising that I'd set the Avid BB7 brakes a little tightly, I gave the bike a once over to get it prepped for the London Cyclo Cross Team Championships. I was picked to run in the A-team, and was really looking forward to it. My performance on the day was, unfortunately, disappointing as I was troubled by my chest maladies, but the bike performed faultlessly. It proved an absolute hoot to ride, I was just a bit disappointed that the course didn't include more technical sections that would provide greater challenge to the bike! That said, the long downhill with a gentle, muddy sweep at the bottom was an absolute hoot and the brakes were a boon into all the tight corners.

I still need to get many more miles in on the bike, but my impressions so far are positive, I think we have a winner here. A rack and guards will soon be fitted and the bike tested in both real world, and some less than real world conditions. Geometry will remain the same, I'll just be tweaking some of the tube sizes, and altering the rear dropouts slightly.

But all that aside, not much comes close to the feeling of rolling out on a bike that you've created yourself. Thinking of how, just a few months back, this concept was just an in-progress CAD drawing gives me such a rush. And this is just the beginning!

The proto has landed!

2010-02-09T19:14:00.004Z

Yesterday I get a call from the mailroom, "We have a package for you, but it feels like it's empty"

Needless to say, I legged it down to the mail room at full race pace.

It took ages unwrap the frame, and even longer for it to sink in that Such Bikes is no longer just an idea, but has been translated into metal in my hands. Apart from very minor finishing issues that took me 20 mins at most to resolve, the frame looks great - very well finished. Certainly something I am proud to put my name to.

My friend Ryan, firmly part of what is Such, finished off the branding this afternoon - so at the moment the intention is to get it all together and then finish up the build later in the week, and then debut it on Sunday racing in the London League Cyclocross Team Champs.

I can't wait to feel how it rides; not just on the rough stuff, but also through the cut and thrust of the city with a backpack, chasing through the lanes and ambling fully loaded on an epic.

Why I hate integrated headsets

2010-02-07T18:43:00.007Z

Today I stripped and cleaned my cross bike in preparation before the next race. The last event at Herne Hill was incredibly muddy and so the oily bits took a pounding.

The frame has the usual accumulation of water and muck, but pulling out the integrated headset confirmed why I despise the confounded things! The top cartridge bearing (left) was perfect - all contact surfaces still perfect thanks to a good smearing of waterproof grease on assembly. The bottom bearing was a mess. It was jammed in place by a horrible brown paste - a mixture of the fitting grease and the fine mud.

The bearings themselves, being reasonably good quality, were fine. The problem is the grease/mud grinding paste that had worked its way between the frame and the bearing. Chris King has a great explanation of exactly why these headsets are evil, but in short, this muck gets into the seat between the frame and the bearing. With use it will cause the bearing to slowly damage the bearing seat; depending how much the bike is ridden in this state, this might at best need the bearing seats to be recut - at worst it makes the frame a throwaway. Sure, keeping it clean helps, but who really wants to be stripping out the headset after every wet ride?

Perhaps traditional cups don't look as good (though I don't agree with that), but at least the worst a bearing failure can do is wreck an easily replaceable bearing cup. And this is why Such frames won't use integrated headsets. Ever.

Waiting waiting waiting!!!

2010-02-01T21:26:00.007Z

All the parts for the prototype (bar the gear cables) have been procured and are littering our little flat. Everything is here apart from ... the frame!

It's killing me, and it is killing Andy. It's crazy. I cannot wait to see the frame. It was dispatched on Saturday, so it must be about a week away.

The suspense - it's murder.

http://www.suchbikes.co.uk

Starting the build of the Prototype

2010-01-17T22:48:00.007Z

What a weekend! Bikes bikes bikes. Heaven. ;-)

With the arrival of the prototype frame immiment, we have purchased all the parts required for the first test build - which will be in the format of a conventionally geared, but disc braked cross bike. Certainly, it isn't suitable for the top level of Cross, where discs are outlawed. But that is missing the point. This bike (among other things) is aimed at being fun in the mud. Plus, it will have several other cards up its sleeve.

One of the first components to arrive were the rims and spokes. I'd picked the hubs up a while ago and they'd been staring at me accusingly for the last month or so. The kit is not especially exotic, but I expect it certainly will do the job well; Halo Aerotrack rims laced on Shimano LX hubs with DT Swiss Competition spokes. Friday night I started the front and now, Sunday, I'm feeling pretty chuffed with myself having just finished the rear. And if I may say, the result looks pretty hot indeed.

That said, I haven't been working on them all the way through. It was a good weekend, a lot of Saturday spent wandering around town doing a lot of window shopping, and today preparing my cross bike for next weekend; it had been caked with mud after the last outing at Herne Hill and had only been hosed off and the chain lubed to prevent corrosion. Today I did a nice strip down, and re-lube - and I cleaned all the mud out of everything.

All in all, a knackering weekend, but well worth it now having a spotlessly clean cross bike, but more importantly a pair of kick-ass looking wheels for the first Such Bikes prototype.

Such Bikes

2009-12-27T20:52:00.004Z

I'll be teaming up with my friend Andy to kick off Such Bikes in a bigger way that it has been. Until now, Such has just been a "repository" of some bike meddling - but in the next few month we'll be launching some innovative products that will bring a new dimension to urban and recreational cycling.

New branding will soon be in place, and the website (http://www.suchbikes.co.uk) will then reflect this and be fully up and running (I expect this to happen by mid-January). These are exciting times.

Design is complete on the prototype for the first product - an urban bike named Battersea. We're working in a few more concepts at the moment; we still need to work out how we will roll these out.

As they say, watch this space!

Wheelbuilding and a new look ...

2009-12-13T16:19:00.006Z

In spite of my racing has taken a back seat (due to asthma related chest issues) I've been having a lot of bike based fun lately.

So in the meantime I've playing as usual, mostly just tweaking The Pig to get it running even sweeter for the commute. This has largely been just fundamentals like gear and brake adjustments, a cable replacement, new brake pads and fitting some remarkably useful SKS Beavertail mudguards (that I had expected would be terrible, but that work surprisingly well). So nothing terribly exciting. I had originally fitted my much-loved and well-worn Selle San Marco Rolls saddle, but with the coming of winter and increasingly damp weather, I fitted an old synthetic MTB saddle I had lying around that is arguably just as comfy, but I don't mind leaving outside in the off shower.

I had discovered that The Pig's old steel hubs were well past their sell-by. They felt really gritty, with a lot of play. Stripping them revealed a good deal of pitting, and some interestingly egg shaped "balls". So I'd been aiming to get a new pair of cheapie wheels at some point. Then, somewhat fortuitously, my friend Ryan donated a pair of old wheels off his Specialized Crosstown - the rims were wobbly, but the hubs still in relatively good nick.

After procuring a relatively inexpensive Tacx truing stand and a decent dishing tool, I set about stripping Ryan's old front wheel and The Pig's front. I was running under the assumption that The Pig's old rim was still straight, which thankfully proved to be the case. The new old hub proved to be in good nick, and a good clean and re-greasing of the bearings had it spinning sweetly again.

Following Sheldon's wheelbuilding guide, I set myself at the task. Lacing was easy enough, and I think I probably made the requisite number of lacing errors to make sure that in future I'll pay more attention to what I'm doing and not let my mind drift. And perhaps keep the pint of Bombardier for after the job, not before. Anyhow, long story short, after about 3 hours of trial, error and a few curses, the wheel ended up tight and true. A hammering on commute over the next week, with the best that London's tarmac can throw at it, will prove how well I've built it. I'm caressing the table.

The new look? My friend and partner Andy and I have been cooking ideas for developing Such that we'll kick start in the coming months. I'm sure that is going to be a great ride indeed!

Gathering momentum

2009-11-23T21:34:00.002Z

I've just completed the design of what will hopefully be the first Such frame. It incorporates a many of the features that I think will make the ideal, real world commuting bike. Now to get it built!

Someone, send over some more Midnight Oil!

Good news on the way

2009-10-08T19:57:00.002+01:00

This blog has been quiet for a while, but things unraveled today that will hopefully kick Such Bikes alive.

I dare not say more for fear of jinxing it.

Madame's new grips

2009-09-15T21:04:00.004+01:00

I had half a bar's worth of Fizik tape in my box from taping up from bar ends way back, so when I saw it recently I hatched the idea to tape up My Darling's grips and bung the end with corks.

A few botched attempts at trimming champagne corks down, I noticed the cork on the bottle of Rioja we were enjoying was just about the right size. Snipped in half, one half per side, turned out to be a perfect fit!

Neat, huh?

My new bike!

2009-09-15T20:44:00.007+01:00

Crazy weekend. I finally managed to get the seized seat-post out of the old GT Palomar frame this past Sunday. All other methods having failed, I resorted to Sheldon's cut method. 6 hours of hard labour later I'd got it out. The feeling of achievement was sensational.
But we were due to get to my Darling's birthday picnic in an hour, and I really wanted to get the bike going so, after discovering that a spare 27.2mm seat-post I had lying around wouldn't fit, I popped out to raid the local stores for a 26.8mm post.

That sorted, we realised there was no way we'd get all we needed to take to the picnic in a pannier and backpacks, so the trailer was hitched to The Pig, and it was off to Hyde Park, fighting the gears that simply needed a good deal of attention.

Sunday night, mellow from a few beers, I raided my box of tricks for a new gear cable and got the drivetrain running sweetly. The Palomar was a fairly low end model, so the running gear is cheap pressed steel Shimano 7-speed; but it does amaze me how sweetly it works, specially given how little attention it needed and how much neglect it has had.

I've been riding it all week on the commute. I've discovered that the right crank arm is bent, and that riding on flat pedals is no fun at all. But that aside, it is a barrel of laughs. It reminds me so much of how I felt riding my BMX; it is just such simple fun. Plus, competition on the commute is so much more fun on something slower - there are so many more other commuters to race!

I'm determined to resist the urge to upgrade, but will allow myself a new crankset and a pair of Eggbeaters. And maybe some new grips...

Project Pig - My new commuter

2009-09-09T17:00:00.003+01:00

Having converted my commute bike into (what I think is) a very nice cross race bike, I have a terrible problem that I am not able to just ride it around and take it places the way I used to with the Genesis for worrying about it. Not that I have necessarily let this stop me getting around on the bike, but I do find myself anxious to get back to it or getting overly protective over it when taking it places.

This is not healthy. The thing is, I am perfectly happy to give it stick for its intended purpose, but somehow I feel that if it is going to gain scars, they'd better be in competition, or at very least training. Not from some inconsiderate toss on the train dumping his heavy MTB on it. Hence Project Pig.

A while back I picked up a late 90's GT Palomar mountain bike on eBay. It wasn't the best spec, and certainly the frame wasn't a paragon of all that old steel frames could be, but it was in good working order and would be a good basis for me to try a few things out in terms of renovation and refinishing. Since then I have discovered that the seat post has galvanically welded itself inside the frame, and the best efforts of Byran and I have amounted to little else other than a trashed seat post stub stuck in the frame. This is particularly annoying because, other than a bent crank, the GT is in surprisingly good mechanical condition.

The solution was simple - a new frame. But it had to be cheap as the budget had been blown on the crosser. 15 quid sees me as the proud new owner of a ratty (but I believe solid) GT Tequesta frame (to be collected this weekend), and another 25 gets me two new tyres for the commute. I have a set of new gear cables in stock. I may need new brake cables, and the chain is questionable, though I will try to re-use it.

My goal is initially to get it on the road for 50 pounds. If I like it, I might make it a bit special further down the line. Watch this space.

Double Trouble

2009-08-30T13:11:00.013+01:00

So, what does your well 'ard bike nut do for kicks on a Friday night? Build bikes of course!

I've wanted to race cyclo cross forever; ever since I'd first seen black and white pictures in bike books depicting crazy, mud splattered men attempting to cycle through bogs and shouldering their bikes while clambering wooden obstacles I had realised it was something I had to do. Having come off a fairly successful tail end of the road racing season, I decided to bite the bullet and convert my daily ride into a proper cyclo cross racer.

Much of the last month was spent scouring the internet for the parts I'd need; an inexpensive cyclo cross frame that would still be versatile during the other half of the year and some powerful cantilever brakes. My wheels were also worn from nearly three years of hard daily use, so they'd be up for renewal too. Add to that tyres that were on their last legs, the rear having started to disintegrate a week before, and a badly cut old Michelin being pressed into service as a temporary repair, it would be like a new bike even just with the overhaul.

Replacing the frame and forks would have meant that I'd have a a spare frame, fork and brake set cluttering up our spare room, something I am regularly reminded is a bad thing. The solution was simple. My friend Bryan was after a bike to get around London, I had a spare old mountain bike lying around that was too small but, apart from wheels and crankset, had pretty much all the bits needed to get him going.

About a week back it was time to press the button: lists were complied of all the parts required for each bike, we shopped around for where the best prices could be had and decided on the spec for each build. The trouble started over beers at the Morpeth where Bryan saw a very nicely turned out Kinesis Decade single speed belonging to a member of the Bikeradar commuting forum; this immediately caught his eye. The next day I'd pointed him to the the Brick Lane Bikes gallery - he was quickly becoming hooked. The parts list was revised - no way was Bryan's bike going to be a simple workhorse.

I got back from Swindon at around 6pm on Friday having raided two bike shops, Red Planet Bikes in Swindon and AW Cycles in Reading, for some previously forgotten small parts. I'd got a text from Bryan confirming that the last of what we needed for his bike had arrived in the post. The time to build had arrived!

We started by stripping the Genesis; something that I'd done so many times before but on this occasion it felt special. We put the parts into two separate boxes, those going to my new crosser in one box and those for Bryan's build in another. With the frame stripped, Bryan started cleaning and polishing it. We then got to cleaning all the parts that would be reused and before we knew it we were fed by my darling wife and the bare frame was back on the workstand ready to take on a whole new character.

Bryan had decided on a simple street white, red and blue concept; as it turned out he'd decided to "do it properly", so nothing from the old GT would be used. This would largely be a brand new bike.

The assembly went very smoothly with no major hitches, just a small faff getting the 9-spd front derailleur to work well with the 8-speed chain. In the end the set-up is a compromise and does restrict the combinations that run smoothly - it does not like crossing the chain - but overall it works well. Technical stuff aside, it looks great. The red and blue scheme of tyres and Bontrager bottle cages combined with white Oury grips and FSA carbon wrap cranks looks very cool indeed. Certainly a result in my books.

Next up was my Kinesis 4T cyclo cross bike. With the FiveT having just been launched, but only available from October, I'd managed to get one of the last 4Ts available. The relief I felt when I realised that mine was the last 57cm in stock at Chain Reaction was immense.

We'd started pretty late with this one - just a bit before midnight I'd estimate. Early on I realised that I'd made a mistake when I bought the front cable hanger, having picked a 1" rather than 1 1/8" size. After a bit of swearing and kicking myself I got on with the rest of the build, doing as much as possible before heading off to shower and sleep around 3:30am.

I shot out of bed at 7am, itching to get to the local bike shops to pick up the hanger. While waiting for the shops to open I pondered the fit and realised I'd need a new bar and stem to get the fit 100% right and identical to my race bike. I figured this would be worth it, so decided this would be added to the morning shopping list. Fortunately we have three shops in easy reach, and quickly we'd found the hanger at Luciano and a nice Ritchey stem and bar combo at Evans at a reduced sale price.

Back home I had until about 12:00 to complete the bike and convert the front room back from bike workshop to living room; Mrs Words was visiting from Bath. While I got stuck into my Kinesis, Bryan put the finishing touches on the Genesis - fitting a colour matched Trek computer and some lights.

Apart from that, it was a fun build. I will admit that I had to resort to the fitting instructions for the Tektro CR520 cantis - a process that turned out to be very easy in the end. I'm also quite chuffed with the solution I devised for the front brake cable - using a slightly modified V brake noodle (with teflon internal guide) and a barrel adjuster to make a very smoothly functioning transition into the hanger. It works a treat and the cable action is sweet.

But of course, the big question is how it rides. On road tyres it is fast and responsive. While it is still very much shaded by my race bike, I'd readily take it along to the local crit. The handling is quick but is certainly a lot more friendly than the my race bike. It is very stiff and harsh, and I'm not sure I'd like to try touring on it.

Riding Bryan's bike is a revelation. The wheels, handbuilt CXP22 rims on Tiagra hubs (as on my Kinesis) spin up much easier than the old factory wheels and with the flat bar is feels much more lively. Plus, did I mention that it looks good?

Stripping Paint

2009-07-19T19:15:00.003+01:00

Mrs Words' bike is, I'm ashamed to say, coming on slowly. When I did Tasha's bike, I learned that time spent on prep is worth 10x the amount of time, effort and annoyance trying to hide the resulting imperfections with filler primer and repeated wet sanding.

So for this project I am determined to clear every speck of old paint off the frame before starting with the primer. I want the finish to be perfect. The problem is that the Raleigh paint really did a good job on this one, the factory paint is both thick and very hardy. It seems to be a slightly elastic paint that resists scratching and sanding very well indeed. Bring on the power tools!

First I tried a wire wheel, which was rubbish. Followed this with a wire pencil brush, which was markedly better. I'd also got a sanding brush thingie that I'd expected would be rubbish that I didn't bother trying until I was just about done for the day. Of course, only to find that it was at least twice as good as the pencil brush. Oh well, when the weather is good and I get out at the frame again I expect it will be fairly quick run getting the remainder of the frame prepped before it is ready for paint.

More on the trailer

2009-06-27T18:24:00.005+01:00

So far, brilliant. It is proving really good at hauling some fairly heavy loads around (the missus loves bottled water...), although I must say that I am seeing the weak points in the design and construction of the frame and will be building my own frame soon with several improvements.

I also need to talk to the box supplier about a better solution to keeping the the lid on...

A little metalwork

2009-06-27T18:11:00.004+01:00

Today I started work in earnest on Mrs Words' bike. Before the final stripping of the old paint and sanding in prep for primer & paint, there were a few frame fixings that I wanted to remove.

Like many production bikes, this Raleigh was fitted with many "braze-ons" (I put that in quotes, as these were actually tack welded on) that would not be necessary and consequently would spoil the smooth look I'm hoping to achieve. Also, given that this bike will be using a Nexus hub, some of the "braze-ons" are simply redundant.

So I set about cutting them off and cleaning up with a file. At the same time I drilled out the down tube cable stop to allow the Nexus cable to run through uninterrupted. I'd also decided on internal cable routing for the rear brake, so the top tube cable stops were removed and the new cable holes drilled.

Clearly there is still a lot of work left, particularly sanding - but in a strange sort of way that is all part of the fun. Provided the weather plays ball tomorrow, hopefully I'll get a good lick of primer going. Then it will be to Mrs Words to get going with the new, soon to be revealed Such logo. Apparently I am font illiterate.

Mrs Words' Bike

2009-06-07T18:36:00.002+01:00

Last time my sister, Mrs Words, was around in London, we hatched this idea that rather than her buy a new bike to replace her sadly stolen Trek FX, I'd help her find a solid cheapie on eBay and then go about customising it. And so we ended up with a mid-to-late 90's Raleigh Pioneer. It was acquired for a smidge over 40 quid, and was in remarkably good nick to start with.

The idea to build a comfortable, practical but interesting town bike that would be suitable for the odd foray along canal towpath. So I'm thinking hub gears and fat tyres with lots of air volume.

The Raleigh frame is a nice starting point: it is solid so will take the inevitable day-to-day knocks, it has huge tyre clearances to run cushy rubber, it has relaxed geometry which will make it an easy ride and it has horizontal dropouts, so will work perfectly with a hub gear.

So far I've got the frame stripped and again I was very happy that it was in incredibly good shape. The second bonus was that the rear hub spacing is spot on for the Nexus-8 hub that I plan to use, so no cold setting of the rear triangle will be required.

I'm looking forward cleaning up the frame in advance of paint. Hopefully, weather permitting, that will start next weekend. Mrs Words (also pretty handy with anything graphic, it should be mentioned) will be designing the graphics for this frame, as well as a new Such logo.

A Such trailer

2009-06-04T20:07:00.004+01:00

For a number of reasons, for the last year we have been addicted to using the car for our weekly shop. In Reading the big-box Sainsbury's was out of town on a road that wasn't bike trailer friendly, the trailer was damaged in a minor accident in town, ... all "good" excuses to default to the comfort of the car, especially during the winter.

But enough, using the car for the 10k round trip to our new "local" supermarket was starting to make far less sense, and given traffic was also a rather painful experience. It was time to resurrect the trailer!

The trailer in question was originally a fairly crude "low-cost" kiddie trailer. The frame was bent in the accident, and the fabric was beginning to tear from having been used for load carrying it wasn't designed for. My plan was to strip it right down to the basic frame, straighten it and then mount a suitable box onto the frame that would be suitable for load carrying.

Stripping it was easy enough and, being steel, it straightened easily enough without cracking or any other loss of integrity. For the box, my research found that a "Euro standard" industrial packing crate was just about the size I was looking for (800x600), so I ordered one.

Assembling the lot was easy enough and I was quite chuffed that it all fitted together so well without modification - almost as though the parts were made for each other.

In practice it works really nicely, the low CofG making it very stable and the large crate proving easily able to swallow the weekly shop. To add to my sense of achievement, I hadn't got 50m from our flat when a lady stopped me to ask about the trailer. I think that perhaps I should build these to sell; I'm currently looking into sourcing the parts needed - but I do think that I can build something similar (and better) fairly inexpensively.

I also need to solve the problem of keeping the lid on (for this particular type of crate), as well as mount suitable lights, reflectors and mount a flag. Watch this space.

Carbon schmarbon

2009-05-28T20:46:00.003+01:00

The fork my daily bike was equipped with from the factory was an all aluminium affair, and it was definitely the single worst aspect of the bike. So it was almost with a sense of relief that I detected the start of fatigue cracking at the fork blade/dropout junction which gave me a good excuse to replace (read upgrade) the fork.

Now, the standard route to kill the road buzz and make the bike more comfy would be a carbon fork upgrade, but I'm getting a little tired of all the carbon hype so decided to see how a steel (in this case Tange chromoly) fork would compare.

Ok, I'll start by admitting that I dig steel; it is wonderfully springy properties an naturally smooths out the shocks and buzz of bad surfaces. I will readily confess my bias.

Self fulfilling proofs aside, I was pleasantly surprised with my steel fork retrofit. The buzz through the bars is much reduced (not surprising given the aluminium original), but it also compares very favourably with the all carbon Dedacciai fork on my race bike - taking out the buzz, but also taking out the sharp shocks that the carbon fork still nails all the way through.

Of course, it isn't without compromise. Handling and braking are both a bit softer now, the former being fine for a commuter, the latter being a small price to pay for the upside.

Thinking of upgrading to a carbon fork? Maybe think again and look at the old fashioned steel alternatives...

Steel really is real.

Freedom from cars

2009-05-15T23:09:00.006+01:00

It is funny. In the early half of the last century, with the industrial revolution in full swing, Germany led Europe in giving the everyman a passport to freedom in the form of a cheap and reliable car. And now it seems the Germans may be leading again, but this time giving people freedom from their cars.

I came across this story from the NY Times. Vauban is a suburb on the outskirts of Freiburg. What makes this drab sounding locality special is that Vauban is a leading example of how people can live without cars. You see, cars are not allowed on the streets of Vauban and driveways are prohibited. There are two garages on either end of the suburb to serve the residents, containing both private and a rental cars for occasional use by the residents. A central tramway provides links to the city. 70% of families in Vauban do not own cars. It really does sound like science fiction - especially in the Fatherland of the car itself.

It warms me to read stories like this; demonstrating that while a change to more "sustainable" transport does require some sacrifice, it also brings with it many gains - and that these benefits are not just of the sort that hippies on the fringes will enjoy, but rather genuine improvements in quality of life that outweigh the sacrifices.

But I think it is important that we don't see this (and similar) ideas as anti-car, pro-bike - but rather a return from industrial to human scale town planning. Spaces designed to be used and enjoyed by people, where kids can play in the streets and where we interact with each other. This German experience continues the thread of the urban redesign trials in NYC - which, I believe, have sparked a renewal of people using streets.

Human scale technology. Pedal on.

A bit of DIY

2009-05-09T23:02:00.003+01:00

I have a slight aversion to the dreaded "DIY". I strongly believe that this has nothing to do with ability or inclination to work with my hands, but rather all the disconnect I have between brick and mortar vs chromoly and aluminium.

But today I undertook a project that combined the two - installing a wall hanger to sort out the bike storage in out apartment. Keeping two bikes fairly out of the way, but accessible, in a London flat can be a bit tricky (we won't mention the 3rd bike that lives in the front room). It can be even more of a problem when we have guests around staying in the 2nd bedroom. A cunning solution was needed.

The passageway is the best place for them, but rather then have the two line astern, making night-time access to the bathroom fraught with the risk of shin/pedal collisions in the dark, we now have them stacked on upon the other.

The wall bracket was sourced from Halfords for a tenner, and took all of about 5 mins to affix to the wall. It feels pretty secure and could double as a handy stand for simple maintenance and tuning.

I'm fairly happy with how it does it's intended job, my only quibble being that the arm is a bit long so the bike is further off the wall than it needs to be; a consequence of the rack being suitable for all types of bikes hence making allowance for wider handlebars. When I'm feeling more energetic, I'll dig out the hacksaw and drill and shorten the arm a little to get the bike closer to the wall, and make a bit more room for walking past.

All in all though, success. And certainly the passage is a lot tidier.

Annual Service

2009-05-01T18:54:00.005+01:00

My trusty Genesis has been due for attention for some time now. The gear changing had become sloppy, and the transmission had become noisy - a frankly embarrassing state of affairs! So a week back I hopped online and ordered all the bits I needed to get her running sweetly again, but despite the parts arriving Tuesday, I've been feeling a bit poorly so haven't got around to getting the work done.

The annual service is always good fun, a time to get the bike working 100% and replace all the tired old wear items with shiny new ones. I find working on bikes very relaxing; it is very rewarding know that when I'm done, the machine will once again be working like clockwork.

I'd already done the full strip-down and rebuild earlier this year after what was a particularly harsh winter for the bike, so the work needed today was a simple parts replacement; the chain, cassette and (this year) the rear derailleur jockey wheels.

So half an hour spent with the Foo Fighters, the bike, tools and workstand - bliss. The bike is humming and shining (the oily bits anyway). A good excuse for a snap then!

Danny MacAskill

2009-04-21T19:20:00.000+01:00

I just watched this and had to share: A link to this video was posted on the Bikeradar forums. Inspirational stuff.

WARNING: This will blow your mind.

The first step ...

2009-04-19T20:17:00.000+01:00

When we moved from sunny South Africa to soggy Britain our lives changed completely. The biggest change was probably how we get around. Our circumstances meant that a car just didn't make sense, and so I rediscovered the joys of riding my bicycle.

So over the last two years my sprocketheadedness has developed into a wonderful affliction: I ride my bike every day to get to work and back, I've got back into bike racing and the constant urge to fiddle and fettle often invades our front room. And with all the riding I find I have so many ideas - ways to make bikes more useful to us, easier to use or sometimes just more beautiful. I've also found inspiration from reading about the NAHBS and seeing the incredible creations from the Vanilla Workshop.

There is a book we've had on our bookshelf for ages called "Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite". I read it about a year ago, and one phrase really resonated. I'm sure the authour Paul Arden won't mind me quoting it here:

"Do it, then fix it as you go: Too many people spend too much time trying to perfect something before they actually do it. Instead of waiting for perfection, run with what you've got, and fix it as you go."

So I've decided to get on with it and start building bikes. I don't have the facilities or skills for framebuilding yet, so I decided to start with what I have around the house. In this case, my darling wife was off in Paris for a week to run a marathon, so wouldn't be needing her bike for that time. That window was all I needed to transform her dowdy Ribble into something a bit more special.

I love lugged steel frames, so decided to give this TIG welded aluminium frame a classic look with faux lugs. It took a little longer than I'd hoped (about a week longer), and I was quite anxious about how it would turn out through most of the process. But in the end I think it has come out as well as I'd hoped.

Sure, there are things I'd change and do differently if I were to do them again - but I'm pretty proud of it. I hope you like it (I've posted a few pictures of the refurb here).

More projects are in the pipeline, and I'll be posting here as they take shape.

Thanks for looking!