Bad pictures of cool stuff

 A stainless rack sized to fit a custom bag and mount on the brake studs.

 A bag mount that attaches to the stem with a bolt and the bag with a pin. It's really called a decaleur, but I don't like to use that term... like most French words, it sounds fruity when you say it right and then you want to smoke and be rude to people.

Finally a classic (1985 I think) Stumpjumper frame getting a new lease on life with  new brake mounts, cable guides, powdercoat, and fork. I especially like this color. Called "Misty Purple", it looks black almost everywhere but in direct sunlight. It has a touch of metallic to it too, which all bike paint jobs should have, imho.
Another Adventure Tourer coming up next!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The 5" of snow we had on Friday is still here, giving us one of the rarest NM events ever...a white Christmas! Here's hoping you and yours are having a great holiday- get off the computer already!

For those of you on the email list (you are if you have a frame or we've been talking frames), watch for a cool offer next week.
Stay Warm.

A slip here just might void your warranty

See if you can watch without leaning to the left:

Let's catch up a bit

 Here are some belated pictures of a touring mtb inspired/based on the blue 29er from the San Diego show last April. Built for the long haul with True Temper and aircraft grade 4130 tubes. Full attachment points for rack, fenders, etc. along with three water bottle mounts and internal routing for all cables allowing the use of full length cable housing. Look close and you can see how the rear derailleur cable goes in the left side of the top tube, out the right side, then into the top of the seatstay and out right above the dropout.

The rear wishbone crown matches the fork.

 Powdercoated a nice gloss black, totally decal free, the only Matthews logo a black stainless steel "M" on the headtube. The subtle look is terrible advertising for me...but  it's custom baby, and a custom bike should look just the way you want it to.

A fork for a classic mtb up next.

Good Words

Whew, another month has flown by in a blur of bike building, baseball, and one more health scare in the family. But, the good word is that the problem looks to be solved and a few more custom bikes will hit the streets soon.....pics to follow, hopefully before Thanksgiving! Speaking of good words, here's Pete's review a a few pics of his road-worthy fixed (nice build by the way!):

" I was finally able to take the bike out for a long ride today with the friends, and I must say, it is everything I could ever ask for. It is much more responsive and nimble than my last frame, but it is still super stable. Makes riding with no hands with a slight crosswind a breeze; no pun intended. The slacker seattube really made pedaling so much easier for me; I just got to work on my strokes and get my cadence up. The longer headtube gives me more room to extended/shorten my stem. I no longer have the lower back pains I use to get. I have received nothing but compliments about it; especially about your craftsmanship. I will always be spreading the word about the great work you're doing over there and will hopefully be back when I am in the market for another bike."

                                                         Thanks Pete!

Two....was that a Niner in there?

Trying to stick to my resolution to post every build this year hasn't worked really well this month. A whole lotta work (never a bad thing!) and an emergency surgery (we don't need no stinking gall bladders!) have kept new posts from getting...erm, posted.

Got a Retro/MCClung style 29er done (no pre-paint pics for that) and this Coconino style 29er heading out this week:

 The original plan was for straight seat stays, but when it became evident the caliper bolt/seatstay area was a bit too tight for my tastes, I went ahead and curved the stay for clearance and to continue the curve of the top tube.

 Chainstay mounted disc brakes are great except for the way you have to route the cables....ever notice how most builders don't give you  brake side pics of a finished bike with low mount brakes? Well, I'm not going to be any different! ;)

 Seatstay bridge with a curve.

 Shiny "M".

Till next time...

Personalized

I found a pic of the headbadge. It's a family symbol/character. I have no idea if it's legible but I hope it is as it's not easy to take brush strokes and translate them into stainless steel with a jewler's saw and files. One thing is for sure, there isn't another one like it!