Minus Ten Review 2009-41

Ten years ago I was extolling the virtues of single speed devices. Still am doing that.

Ten years ago on the blog I was chilling out and doing some work on some of my single speed rigs. I also was waiting patiently on any news on the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. The "festival" of 29"ers that was to occur near Brady, Nebraska at Potter's Pasture. But before I get wrapped up in the tale of ten year's ago, it may prove beneficial to you readers to recap the whole thread concerning the Ballyhoo idea.

I first was enamored of the idea of a barbecue/bike get-together when I read about what George Wissel was doing in Vermont via the old "Bike 29" blog. He was doing something he dubbed as a "Meat-Up", (where have you seen that before? Hint- Trans Iowa, and yes- I stole it from George!). The "Meat-Up" was essentially an excuse to gather up the 29"er faithful and have a hootenanny based loosely on the idea of mucking around on bicycles in the woods. It was all about fun. No real industry ties. No real organization necessary or desired.

The idea was perfect, and I was batting around the thought of doing something similar here in the Mid-West when my former head of operations at "Twenty Nine Inches", Tim Grahl, saw my meanderings on the subject and thought it should be something monetized for profit for the site. Well, we had a bit of back and forth, but with some industry interest voiced, Grahl's ideas won the day and the first "Big Wheeled Ballyhoo" was essentially an expo for 29"ers. Not my idea of a good time, although many of the Decorah people, where the event was held, tried to steer it in that direction. The event was kind of a dud, but there was enough potential there to encourage industry folks, Decorah folks, and Grahl to push for another go at it in 2008.

2008 was a disaster based upon the extreme weather and the effects it had on the expo/camping site. The event was cancelled. Grahl basically was no help whatsoever. He later basically abdicated all responsibilities for the websites he held later that year, and so the Ballyhoo idea was mine to do whatever I wanted to do with it. At the behest of MG and some other folks, it was decided to move the event to Potter's Pasture, although my initial idea was to put the event in Lincoln, Nebraska. "Fun" was back on the menu, but some industry interests pushed in and we had some sponsorship that year which was low key and cool. This was far more what I had in mind, but it wasn't to be.

As reported again in last week's "Minus Ten Review", my father in law suffered a stroke necessitating changed plans on my end. I could not attend. MG took over as the host, and no doubt the event would have been a success, but for the "wild card". The weather.

"Just got word that the site of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo was dumped on with 12-14 inches of snow last night. They decided to bag it and the event is off. Too bad really, a lot of work went into this. A lot of sweat equity on the part of the folks in Nebraska too."

That paragraph above is what I posted the morning the Ballyhoo was to kick off. It was a freak snow storm, and in my mind, it was a sign to quit. It just wasn't meant to be. Besides, at this point, going into 2010, 29"ers were not weird anymore. They were "mountain bikes" and 26"ers were obviously on their way out.  The unique factor was played out, and I couldn't see the point in basing an event on a gathering of "29"er freaks" when we weren't really freaks anymore. Which, in itself, was alright with me. I was happy to see 29"ers weren't going away anytime soon. Plus, I had enough crap on my plate to choke a horse. 

So, thus ended the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo.

Minus Ten Review 2009-41

Ten years ago I was extolling the virtues of single speed devices. Still am doing that.

Ten years ago on the blog I was chilling out and doing some work on some of my single speed rigs. I also was waiting patiently on any news on the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo. The "festival" of 29"ers that was to occur near Brady, Nebraska at Potter's Pasture. But before I get wrapped up in the tale of ten year's ago, it may prove beneficial to you readers to recap the whole thread concerning the Ballyhoo idea.

I first was enamored of the idea of a barbecue/bike get-together when I read about what George Wissel was doing in Vermont via the old "Bike 29" blog. He was doing something he dubbed as a "Meat-Up", (where have you seen that before? Hint- Trans Iowa, and yes- I stole it from George!). The "Meat-Up" was essentially an excuse to gather up the 29"er faithful and have a hootenanny based loosely on the idea of mucking around on bicycles in the woods. It was all about fun. No real industry ties. No real organization necessary or desired.

The idea was perfect, and I was batting around the thought of doing something similar here in the Mid-West when my former head of operations at "Twenty Nine Inches", Tim Grahl, saw my meanderings on the subject and thought it should be something monetized for profit for the site. Well, we had a bit of back and forth, but with some industry interest voiced, Grahl's ideas won the day and the first "Big Wheeled Ballyhoo" was essentially an expo for 29"ers. Not my idea of a good time, although many of the Decorah people, where the event was held, tried to steer it in that direction. The event was kind of a dud, but there was enough potential there to encourage industry folks, Decorah folks, and Grahl to push for another go at it in 2008.

2008 was a disaster based upon the extreme weather and the effects it had on the expo/camping site. The event was cancelled. Grahl basically was no help whatsoever. He later basically abdicated all responsibilities for the websites he held later that year, and so the Ballyhoo idea was mine to do whatever I wanted to do with it. At the behest of MG and some other folks, it was decided to move the event to Potter's Pasture, although my initial idea was to put the event in Lincoln, Nebraska. "Fun" was back on the menu, but some industry interests pushed in and we had some sponsorship that year which was low key and cool. This was far more what I had in mind, but it wasn't to be.

As reported again in last week's "Minus Ten Review", my father in law suffered a stroke necessitating changed plans on my end. I could not attend. MG took over as the host, and no doubt the event would have been a success, but for the "wild card". The weather.

"Just got word that the site of the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo was dumped on with 12-14 inches of snow last night. They decided to bag it and the event is off. Too bad really, a lot of work went into this. A lot of sweat equity on the part of the folks in Nebraska too."

That paragraph above is what I posted the morning the Ballyhoo was to kick off. It was a freak snow storm, and in my mind, it was a sign to quit. It just wasn't meant to be. Besides, at this point, going into 2010, 29"ers were not weird anymore. They were "mountain bikes" and 26"ers were obviously on their way out.  The unique factor was played out, and I couldn't see the point in basing an event on a gathering of "29"er freaks" when we weren't really freaks anymore. Which, in itself, was alright with me. I was happy to see 29"ers weren't going away anytime soon. Plus, I had enough crap on my plate to choke a horse. 

So, thus ended the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo.

What's This?!!

So last week I posted shots of the Gun Kote El Mariachi frame on this here ol' blog. That prompted the following comment from George Wissell from Bike29: "OK, OK, that bike will look totally awesome with a purple King headset on it....Send it to the shop?"

I responded in the comments with "Yes! Please and thank you!" But you all know the sort of silly banter that goes on in these comment sections on blogs. Besides- we're talking about a purple Chris King head set here. You can't get one anymore. So I figured it was just George taunting me with this "dangling carrot". I never for a moment let myself believe he was actually going to send the thing. I mean.............really!

So, this box comes in Monday. Mail call! Box for Guitar Ted! Wha?!!!!.............




I look inside and holy cats!!!!!
















Here it is all spread out so you can see it better.















A couuple of cool t-shirts, Swiftwick woolies in the Bike29 livery, a sticker, and............














.............that purple Chris King head set!!!!



Amazing! I was floored.

Thanks to George at Bike29. You are too kind, my friend!

And as for this purple Chris King head set? Yeah.............it's safely installed in the El Mariachi ala sinister style. Looks great, if I say so myself. I'm still not quite ready to show the El Mariachi yet. I'm getting some details taken care of, and more goodness is being devised for it which may take awhile to come to fruition.

Speaking of goodness for the El Mariachi, I should also take a second to point out that "Bobby the Ogre" from Salsa Cycles sent me some transfers for the stem. (Awesome! Thanks dude!) So that will lend a nice touch to the bike. I'll be working on this rig, testing it out, working on it, and as soon as everything I am expecting to pull together for it comes in, I'll post a pic or two. Until then, I will remain in "image silence" on the project. It'll be good! So stay tuned!

What's This?!!

So last week I posted shots of the Gun Kote El Mariachi frame on this here ol' blog. That prompted the following comment from George Wissell from Bike29: "OK, OK, that bike will look totally awesome with a purple King headset on it....Send it to the shop?"

I responded in the comments with "Yes! Please and thank you!" But you all know the sort of silly banter that goes on in these comment sections on blogs. Besides- we're talking about a purple Chris King head set here. You can't get one anymore. So I figured it was just George taunting me with this "dangling carrot". I never for a moment let myself believe he was actually going to send the thing. I mean.............really!

So, this box comes in Monday. Mail call! Box for Guitar Ted! Wha?!!!!.............




I look inside and holy cats!!!!!
















Here it is all spread out so you can see it better.















A couuple of cool t-shirts, Swiftwick woolies in the Bike29 livery, a sticker, and............














.............that purple Chris King head set!!!!



Amazing! I was floored.

Thanks to George at Bike29. You are too kind, my friend!

And as for this purple Chris King head set? Yeah.............it's safely installed in the El Mariachi ala sinister style. Looks great, if I say so myself. I'm still not quite ready to show the El Mariachi yet. I'm getting some details taken care of, and more goodness is being devised for it which may take awhile to come to fruition.

Speaking of goodness for the El Mariachi, I should also take a second to point out that "Bobby the Ogre" from Salsa Cycles sent me some transfers for the stem. (Awesome! Thanks dude!) So that will lend a nice touch to the bike. I'll be working on this rig, testing it out, working on it, and as soon as everything I am expecting to pull together for it comes in, I'll post a pic or two. Until then, I will remain in "image silence" on the project. It'll be good! So stay tuned!

The Gun Kote Frame

<=== It's here! (Formerly a Superior Blue El Mariachi)

Well, the Gun Kote frame is here and I am excited to be building up another single speed rig. Now mind you- I am taking one apart to get this one together, so it is a legit "add one, take one away" sort of situation, although the one that is being "taken away" might return again someday!

Enough about that. This turned out really neat. I like it a lot. It has a sort of eggplant color in the natural light, but the camera flash brought out the purple. If it's sunny out tomorrow, there may be some glamour shots taken to see how it looks outside.

<===The Salsa Cycles CrMoto stem got the Gun Kote treatment as well.

If you haven't been schooled up on Gun Kote, check out this post on it. That should get you up to speed on this amazing frame treatment. I hear it is tough, durable, and actually keeps rust out of the frame as well.

I'll be testing the claims, but some of them are apparently true just from looking at this frame.

<===Inside the EBB shell.

One of the verifiable claims is that of the thinness of the coating. It is thin! Check out the inside of that EBB shell and you can see the scoring from the previous installment of the Busnell EBB. You can even make out the tooling marks on the shell from the manufacturing!

By the way, there was white dusty stuff from the packing that is showing on the edge there and looks like bare metal. I assure you- it is not! I just didn't notice it until after I took the pic with the flash on, which showed it up. At any rate, it is easy to see this coating is thin, yet they claim it wears like iron. Tough to believe, but I aim to find out!

<===Check out those threads!

Another claim is that you do not have to chase out threads, again because of the thinness of the coating. Looking at these derailleur drop out threads, I'd have to agree!

It is a cool product that might revolutionize the way we get frames coated someday. My understanding is that the process is still in evolution and new techniques and effects are being pulled off with this Gun Kote all the time.

<===And there will be a build going on soon....

Yes, and I will be kitting this out with some cool stuff. I have a White Industries ENO crank set, and I have a Cane Creek short travel Thudbuster seat post coming to test which will go on this initially. I am going to put a suspension fork on it, but the jury is still out on that one. A decision on that will affect wheel choice, and brakes, so I am waiting for those "dominoes" to fall yet.

I suppose a purple part or two might look at home here. That said, I am gunning for Chris King stuff, and the only known available NOS King headset in purple in the world belongs to an East Coast Evil Genius. Knowing his love for all things purple ano, I won't be seeing a purple King headset anytime soon! Not unless I pry it from his cold, dead fingers, or Chris King starts up the magical Purple anodizing machine again. Neither of which are likely to happen. (I like "G" too much to do any harm to him, ya know?)

So the build will likely head in a red ano direction instead. Stay tuned!

The Gun Kote Frame

<=== It's here! (Formerly a Superior Blue El Mariachi)

Well, the Gun Kote frame is here and I am excited to be building up another single speed rig. Now mind you- I am taking one apart to get this one together, so it is a legit "add one, take one away" sort of situation, although the one that is being "taken away" might return again someday!

Enough about that. This turned out really neat. I like it a lot. It has a sort of eggplant color in the natural light, but the camera flash brought out the purple. If it's sunny out tomorrow, there may be some glamour shots taken to see how it looks outside.

<===The Salsa Cycles CrMoto stem got the Gun Kote treatment as well.

If you haven't been schooled up on Gun Kote, check out this post on it. That should get you up to speed on this amazing frame treatment. I hear it is tough, durable, and actually keeps rust out of the frame as well.

I'll be testing the claims, but some of them are apparently true just from looking at this frame.

<===Inside the EBB shell.

One of the verifiable claims is that of the thinness of the coating. It is thin! Check out the inside of that EBB shell and you can see the scoring from the previous installment of the Busnell EBB. You can even make out the tooling marks on the shell from the manufacturing!

By the way, there was white dusty stuff from the packing that is showing on the edge there and looks like bare metal. I assure you- it is not! I just didn't notice it until after I took the pic with the flash on, which showed it up. At any rate, it is easy to see this coating is thin, yet they claim it wears like iron. Tough to believe, but I aim to find out!

<===Check out those threads!

Another claim is that you do not have to chase out threads, again because of the thinness of the coating. Looking at these derailleur drop out threads, I'd have to agree!

It is a cool product that might revolutionize the way we get frames coated someday. My understanding is that the process is still in evolution and new techniques and effects are being pulled off with this Gun Kote all the time.

<===And there will be a build going on soon....

Yes, and I will be kitting this out with some cool stuff. I have a White Industries ENO crank set, and I have a Cane Creek short travel Thudbuster seat post coming to test which will go on this initially. I am going to put a suspension fork on it, but the jury is still out on that one. A decision on that will affect wheel choice, and brakes, so I am waiting for those "dominoes" to fall yet.

I suppose a purple part or two might look at home here. That said, I am gunning for Chris King stuff, and the only known available NOS King headset in purple in the world belongs to an East Coast Evil Genius. Knowing his love for all things purple ano, I won't be seeing a purple King headset anytime soon! Not unless I pry it from his cold, dead fingers, or Chris King starts up the magical Purple anodizing machine again. Neither of which are likely to happen. (I like "G" too much to do any harm to him, ya know?)

So the build will likely head in a red ano direction instead. Stay tuned!

Badger 29"er Drop Bar Bike: Finished!

<===Just a quick photo before running off to bed!

Well I thought I'd never see this day. The day I finished the Badger. Almost hard to believe, really, but there it is.

A bike that began almost a year ago with a phone call from Rob Pennell. (Yes! He called me!) The process of getting the frame wasn't too bad, even when you factor in the troubles that Rob had last year, I still got this in a fairly timely fashion. (As a side note, I know some folks have had trouble, and I truly feel bad about that.) Really though, with having another custom frame/fork build going on simultaneously to this bike, I couldn't afford doing both. The Badger had to wait. The decisions on how to kit it out had to be agonized over. (Shifters were the primary source of head scratching.) I had to resolve to having this be a long, drawn out affair.

Before going any further, I've got to thank a few folks here. These folks made it easier on me than it should have been. First, Rob Pennell, who started this whole thing out by offering me a killer deal on an awesome custom frame. David Pals, who got me hooked up with the Thomson stem, seat post, and some clipless pedals. ( The pedals are on my Pofahl. ) Jeff Kerkove, who got me hooked up with the saddle. Brent Gale, who hooked me up with the cranks and hubs. Finally, George Wissell, who hooked me up with the rest of the wheel components and the actual wheel build. You guys were all too kind, and I couldn't have done this without you. Thanks!

Maiden voyage planned for this weekend. I'll get some better pics, and I'll detail out the whole bike then.

And Now- For Something Completely Different.... Twin Six is having a "Spring- (Sort Of) Sale". Here are the details and some info on a charity you might consider as well:

Men’s and Women’s Jerseys $40-$60Men’s and Women’s T-shirts $10-$15 Socks Starting at $8 All T6 Bottles $5 The T6 Sack $90

The sale starts Thursday 1/31 and ends Sunday 2/3. Get while the gettin’s good.

Jenny's Light: Twin Six recently lost a dear friend, Jennifer Gibbs Bankston, and her son Graham, to postpartum depression. Jennifer was a joyful spirit who was loved by family and friends with the same intensity that she showed in her love for others. We have been friends with her and her family for over 20 years, and we will always remember her for the bright light that she was.

10% of all sales from our T6 Spring Sale will be donated to Jenny's Light, a newly formed nonprofit foundation dedicated to building awareness, detection and treatment for postpartum disorders.

Donations can also be sent to: Jenny's Light

5021 Vernon Avenue

Edina, MN 55436

Time To Ride?: Warmer weather is on the way. (Well.....a lot warmer than it has been!) I'm hittin' the gravel this weekend. Hope you can find some time and a place to ride this weekend too. Take care, and ride that bicycle!

Badger 29"er Drop Bar Bike: Finished!

<===Just a quick photo before running off to bed!

Well I thought I'd never see this day. The day I finished the Badger. Almost hard to believe, really, but there it is.

A bike that began almost a year ago with a phone call from Rob Pennell. (Yes! He called me!) The process of getting the frame wasn't too bad, even when you factor in the troubles that Rob had last year, I still got this in a fairly timely fashion. (As a side note, I know some folks have had trouble, and I truly feel bad about that.) Really though, with having another custom frame/fork build going on simultaneously to this bike, I couldn't afford doing both. The Badger had to wait. The decisions on how to kit it out had to be agonized over. (Shifters were the primary source of head scratching.) I had to resolve to having this be a long, drawn out affair.

Before going any further, I've got to thank a few folks here. These folks made it easier on me than it should have been. First, Rob Pennell, who started this whole thing out by offering me a killer deal on an awesome custom frame. David Pals, who got me hooked up with the Thomson stem, seat post, and some clipless pedals. ( The pedals are on my Pofahl. ) Jeff Kerkove, who got me hooked up with the saddle. Brent Gale, who hooked me up with the cranks and hubs. Finally, George Wissell, who hooked me up with the rest of the wheel components and the actual wheel build. You guys were all too kind, and I couldn't have done this without you. Thanks!

Maiden voyage planned for this weekend. I'll get some better pics, and I'll detail out the whole bike then.

And Now- For Something Completely Different.... Twin Six is having a "Spring- (Sort Of) Sale". Here are the details and some info on a charity you might consider as well:

Men’s and Women’s Jerseys $40-$60Men’s and Women’s T-shirts $10-$15 Socks Starting at $8 All T6 Bottles $5 The T6 Sack $90

The sale starts Thursday 1/31 and ends Sunday 2/3. Get while the gettin’s good.

Jenny's Light: Twin Six recently lost a dear friend, Jennifer Gibbs Bankston, and her son Graham, to postpartum depression. Jennifer was a joyful spirit who was loved by family and friends with the same intensity that she showed in her love for others. We have been friends with her and her family for over 20 years, and we will always remember her for the bright light that she was.

10% of all sales from our T6 Spring Sale will be donated to Jenny's Light, a newly formed nonprofit foundation dedicated to building awareness, detection and treatment for postpartum disorders.

Donations can also be sent to: Jenny's Light

5021 Vernon Avenue

Edina, MN 55436

Time To Ride?: Warmer weather is on the way. (Well.....a lot warmer than it has been!) I'm hittin' the gravel this weekend. Hope you can find some time and a place to ride this weekend too. Take care, and ride that bicycle!

The New Hoops Are Here!

Well, another piece of the Badger puzzle arrived yesterday in the form of this wheel set. I wanted originally to go all siver, but the lack of silver rims in a tubeless capable format made me change my mind to going with this combination.

All business,no fluff here. Black Stan's flow rims, DT Swiss spokes and alloy nipples in silver, and black Chris King ISO disc hubs.






I have built wheels using Chris King hubs before, but I have never owned a set until now. I've always admired their precision, inner workings, and good looks.












Angry bee sounds will be eminating from this sonic source. Aluminum free hub body keeps things light weight.

All black anodized in the "Kerkove Nation" colors.









Stan's Flow rims are wide for a good tire stance on the trail. Tubeless compatible, I will be able to also run tubes if I have to/want to. This rim will allow me to be a bit more aggresive with the Badger off road and yet is reasonably light weight, so it won't hinder me much at all on the gravel grinders.











The yellow rim strip and tubeless valve stems are all installed and ready to go. I'll be trying out some Stan's sealant with these when I get around to mounting them up with tires. That might be before the Badger is done! I am wanting to run a test of some tubeless stuff for Twenty Nine Inches yet this fall, so I may need to press this wheel set into service sooner than the Badger will get done.

The wheels were built by George Wissell at Bike 29. Bike 29 is dedicated to 29"ers all the time and this wheel set is an example of what George calls a "Royale" build. He builds each wheel by hand and being a wheel builder myself, I can say that he has done an excellent job on these wheels.

I expect that these wheels will provide miles and miles of smiles once I get them on a bike. That will probably be sooner than later! I'll chime in once I get these out on the trail and let you all know what I think.

The New Hoops Are Here!

Well, another piece of the Badger puzzle arrived yesterday in the form of this wheel set. I wanted originally to go all siver, but the lack of silver rims in a tubeless capable format made me change my mind to going with this combination.

All business,no fluff here. Black Stan's flow rims, DT Swiss spokes and alloy nipples in silver, and black Chris King ISO disc hubs.






I have built wheels using Chris King hubs before, but I have never owned a set until now. I've always admired their precision, inner workings, and good looks.












Angry bee sounds will be eminating from this sonic source. Aluminum free hub body keeps things light weight.

All black anodized in the "Kerkove Nation" colors.









Stan's Flow rims are wide for a good tire stance on the trail. Tubeless compatible, I will be able to also run tubes if I have to/want to. This rim will allow me to be a bit more aggresive with the Badger off road and yet is reasonably light weight, so it won't hinder me much at all on the gravel grinders.











The yellow rim strip and tubeless valve stems are all installed and ready to go. I'll be trying out some Stan's sealant with these when I get around to mounting them up with tires. That might be before the Badger is done! I am wanting to run a test of some tubeless stuff for Twenty Nine Inches yet this fall, so I may need to press this wheel set into service sooner than the Badger will get done.

The wheels were built by George Wissell at Bike 29. Bike 29 is dedicated to 29"ers all the time and this wheel set is an example of what George calls a "Royale" build. He builds each wheel by hand and being a wheel builder myself, I can say that he has done an excellent job on these wheels.

I expect that these wheels will provide miles and miles of smiles once I get them on a bike. That will probably be sooner than later! I'll chime in once I get these out on the trail and let you all know what I think.