Comments for Bike From Scratch

Comment on The Westside Dirty Benjamin by Shaun

Shaun — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:35:07 +0000

I’m glad you posted the link on FB because it’s been awhile and I needed to catch up on your blog. I don’t know if I mentioned this to you already or not; but at about the 92 (or so) mile mark, I caught up to and passed that guy on the Specialized Tri-Cross. As you may have already surmised (on account of the fact that I passed him) he was completely cooked and just hoping to finish at that point. And those are his words not mine. I asked him how he was doing when I passed.

Comment on Work begins on a cross bike. by Josh

Josh — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:50:38 +0000

I didn’t pay for the whole thing. I figure if they can’t make the free version do what I want…. I spent some more time thinking about bike cad and decided to just chuck it. For me I really want something full sized that I can look at, weather that be Doug’s fixture or a drawing.
Thats way cool that you picked up a fixture from Doug. Did you get the whole shebang?

Comment on Work begins on a cross bike. by clifford

clifford — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:43:27 +0000

Did you pay for bikecad proper? Or are you using the online one?
I’m light years from being a software designer and will also weigh in that it can be very frustrating to use. I’d want to try the $$ version before I sunk that kind of coin into it: if it’s just a more feature-packed version of the freebie, I’ll probably be happier in the long run without.

I bought a fixture from Doug and have been having tons of fun setting it up to randomly design weird frames. Much better than on the computer. But at the same time I’m sure there are little squidgy measurements that bikecad could just pump out.

Comment on Doug Fattic’s Class: Day 8 by Dan

Dan — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:58:14 +0000

Hey, this is Dan (Fontosaurus) from Twitter. Very cool to see what Fattic’s class was like. I had considered going to him for my learning, but getting a two-week block of time off was an impossibility then (as it is now). Great to have another Twin Cities area framebuilder, and looking forward to following your progress. (As I progress, myself.)

Comment on On Weights and Measures by Mark

Mark — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:20:28 +0000

No worries, mon! Just saw your article a bit late. After way too long, Heather’s going to get her bike in rideable condition this weekend – so I can fill you in on her smile.

At the end of the day, it is probably about the ‘umami’ (poorly translated from Japanese, it’s the ‘savoriness’) of any particular ride. All materials will have different characteristics, and it’s up to you as to if that is what you like.

It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden a steel bike – so I can’t compare. I can compare vs. a lower end aluminum bike, though – and the difference is extreme. I also compared my Ridley vs. some entry level carbon bikes (a Lapierre and a Wilier) and I really felt the difference. I bought the Ridley because it had a responsive snap to it that made it feel like it accelerated on it’s own. A downside? I can certainly feel big bumps!

When it comes to weight, worry most about rotating weight – not static weight. Physics shows you that anything that moves in a circle gets magnified by how far it is from the axis. So – if it spins, make it light. That’s where you’ll get the biggest bang for the buck.

Hmm.. guess that means I need new wheels..

-Mark.

Comment on Doug Fattic’s Class: Day 8 by Bike From Scratch › Doug Fattic’s Class: Final Thoughts.

Bike From Scratch › Doug Fattic’s Class: Final Thoughts. — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:59:15 +0000

[...] first big frustration was the bi-laminate thing and how long it took us to figure out that we should just drop it. Better planning before class [...]

Comment on Doug Fattic’s Class: Day 11 by Bike From Scratch › On Weights and Measures

Bike From Scratch › On Weights and Measures — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:47:26 +0000

[...] far more than it should. This is two fold I think. A. the steerer is uncut, and B. we did the mutant 1 inch to 1 and 1/8th inch steerer deal so I’ve got 3 inches of 1 inch steerer inside my 1 and 1/8th inch steerer. [...]

Comment on Doug Fattic’s Class: Classmates blogs by clifford

clifford — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:48:39 +0000

little does everyone know that they’ll be largely subjected to sustainable transportation grumblings instead of framebuilding talk!

Comment on Sackville Saddlesack Large Review by Brian Hefferan

Brian Hefferan — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:29:37 +0000

My large Saddlesack (serial #31, close to yours) sees hard & heavy daily usage. I’m amazed at how usable and versatile it is in daily commuting and shopping use. I leave the bag on the bike all the time even for century rides, where I’ve hauled home vegetables, watermelons, homemade pies from roadside stands, and other goodies I wouldn’t have considered with a lesser bag. I’m totally happy with it.

An idea for LC: Busted rivets can be replaced very cheaply and easily with copper rivets from a well-stocked hardware store. Just put a similar-sized rivet flange-side-out though the holes the old rivet used, put the rivet washer over the rivet shaft inside the bag, and firmly hit the shaft over the washer a few times with a hammer. I think the Saddlesacks come with hollow-shafted brass rivets, but the solid-shaft copper rivets sold at hardware store should be less likely to fatigue. I suppose it’s better to have a rivet bust from too much stress than have the fabric tear around the rivet, though.

Comment on Sackville Saddlesack Large Review by krujos

krujos — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:54:51 +0000

I’m bummed to hear that another person is having problems. The large bag doesn’t have rivets for attachments (I think because it has support from the bottom). The Ostrich Saddle bag that velo-orange sells is almost the same size (its not as deep). It is intended to be used with a bag support. Too bad about the saddle sack. I’m sure Riv will do there best to make it right.