Plus One Lap

Monday, December 20, 2010

Don't drop a chain, buy one of these

Don’t want to drop a chain?

Check this out these custom chain catchers made by a friend of mine: link

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Lightweight Cyclocross Bike: Eric's Cannondale

Got an email from Eric, who's Plus One Lap alumni:

Hi,

You posted my lightweight (and custom) Merlin a back in 2007.

I just got a new 2011 Cannondale SuperX from QuadCycles in Arlington, MA.

Frame: 2011 Cannondale SuperX Hi-MOD Carbon BB30
Fork: 2011 Cannondale SuperX Hi-MOD 1.5–1.125" Tapered Steerer
Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium ES
Tires: Challenge Grifo 32
Crank: FSA SL-K Light BB30 DA-79 Compact 46/36
Bottom Bracket: FSA
Shifters/Brake Levers: Ultegra 6700
Rear Derailleur: Ultegra 6700
Front Derailleur: Ultegra 6700
Chain: Dura Ace 7800
Cassette: Ultegra 6700 11-28
Pedals: Crank Brothers Egg Beater SL
Brakes: FSA SL-K
Brake Pads: SwissStop RX GHP
Bars: Ritchey WCS Logic II
Stem: Ritchey WCS 4Axis
Bar Tape: Deda

It weighs 15-16 lbs.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Vintage Cyclocross video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9_Fs1QtsOY&feature=

via Roadbikereview

Raleigh

Got both "new" brake levers installed last night as well retro-awesome Suntour barcons. Brake cables are the same color now, yea!

Bar tape is a little chunkier than I like, but better than cloth tape as far as comfort goes.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Raleigh: Downtube painted

I wanted to do a full repaint before cross season, but seeing as I need to ride this bike daily, a full repaint is tricky.

The downtube on the Raleigh was heavily rusted, so after work yesterday, I sanded the downtube to bare metal, primed it and sprayed it black. It actually came out really nice (never underestimate a new coat of paint). I’m considering powdercoating, but don’t want to pay $100 to have it done. I have about $250 into the bike as it is now.

Will probably just ride it as is, will build up another bike that I can ride home from work and do the full bike at some point.

Also mounted the “New” pedals last night.

Before:

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

This weekend's plan:

Swap wheelset with Dura Ace wheels

New SRAM 8 speed 11/28 cassette

Install new SRAM chain
Swap 53 tooth ring with 46 tooth large ring

~~Install Suntour Bar end shifters~~

~~Install Dura Ace non-aero brake levers~~

~~All new shift and brake cables/housing~~

~~Sand/Polish stripped saddle~~
~~Sand/Paint downtube which is rusty~~

~~Install Time ATAC pedals~~

Bryan's Bianchi Cyclocross conversion

Bryan sent me some photos of his Bianchi conversion which started out as a road bike. He powdercoated a Salsa stem to match. For anyone out there considering such a conversion, maybe this will you push you over the edge.

Howdy,

Love your site and your Colnago and Raleigh builds. I thought maybe you'd like to see my bike of a similar nature. It started life as a Bianchi Nuovo Racer with a nice wide flat fork crown that I stripped down, brazed on canti studs and powdercoated. It's got a full build of 9-speed Dura Ace with XT brakes. Don’t worry, I’ve got other wheels, I just liked the looks of these for the photo! It’s a reasonable weight of an honest 21 pounds ready to ride.

It’s not my regular race bike, but does see use in our weekly series. It also has full fenders and a rack colored to match for commuting and some good randonneur style. It’s pretty much a perfect multi-use bike!

Thanks,

Bryan

Monday, October 25, 2010

Frugal Tip: 110 BCD's are your friend

130 BCD cranks are the norm in road bikes. However, finding cyclocross friendly chainrings (44, 46, 48) are not so easy in this size.

If you think $35 for a single chainring is reasonable, stop reading. LEAVE!

Personally, I think $10-$15 is a better price for a ring. You can find 110 BCD rings in the cross friendly size of 44, 46, 48 much easier. Many of these are "BMX" rings which is bonus because they often come in cool anodized colors. Many mountain bike cranks are 110 BCD too.

Cross bikes are supposed to be frankensteins, so go find that old mtb crank at the LBS or bike co-op and pair it with a BMX ring. You'll save some dollars.

Here are a bunch of 46 tooth rings in the 110 BCD pattern: link

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Feeling Nostalgic: Nishiki Singlespeed

I miss that old bike. link

Sold it 3 years ago, emailed the owner today out of the blue and she said:

Yes, my husband uses it almost daily (depending on the weather). He loves it. He actually rode it to work today.

That makes me feel a little better.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Press release: Garmin and MetriGear

Pretty big news:

First, our apologies for the extended quiet period. For those of you who have been following us over the past year, you know that it's not like us to be so quiet for so long. Well, earlier this week some great news was announced that will hopefully help explain our silence:

Garmin® acquires MetriGear, adding cycling power to fitness portfolio.You can access Garmin's press release here.

The decision to join the Garmin team was not a difficult one for us. Garmin brings incredible capabilities to the table and ensures that Vector will be delivered to market as we originally conceived: an easy-to-own and accurate power meter with the capability to offer unique insights to cyclists.

And while this path is clearly different than our original startup intent of building a company from the ground up, we now know that Vector has the ability to reach cyclists throughout the world in a way that we could never have achieved on our own. There was a moment of pause as we took in the gravity of the decision, but then smiles and whiteboard sessions quickly took over as we began to imagine all of the possibilities and long-term potential with the Vector platform as part of Garmin's fitness portfolio.

If you're reading this, chances are you've been supporting us from the sidelines for some time. It would be difficult to overstate our gratitude for your encouragement and enthusiasm. The emails and inquiries are often hilarious (intentionally, we believe!). They get passed around our team and offer great amusement as well as that extra boost of confidence that we sometimes need. Many of you know that this is a pretty complex product. We won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that it rivals the most complex stuff we (and some of our technology partners) have ever worked on. One of our favorite coded phrases that we use when we're wrestling with a particularly vexing issue is: "If it was easy...", meaning that if it was, it would have been launched a long time ago by another company, so just get on with it. But Vector is measuring forces as we expect, and when delivered by Garmin, it is going to be a solution that we all want to ride/race/train with and we'll have the confidence that a world-class company stands behind the product.

We just arrived back in the Bay Area from Interbike, where we spent a few days in our new employer's booth. We joked that the MetriGear Interbike booth this year was a "micro booth" - a small plastic box that fits nicely in our pocket and displays the multiple versions of improvements that we've made in our sensor system over the past year. Prep for a micro booth is a dream - all we had to do was wait for the glue gun to heat up! The response to a Garmin Vector at Interbike helped confirm that it will fit seamlessly into the Garmin fitness product portfolio.

We honestly wouldn't be sharing this news today if you hadn't raised your voice, typed that email, sent that Tweet, and told us that we were working on something that you were interested in checking out. Thank you. While it's too early to talk about the timing of a release for Vector, you can be sure that we are working as hard as ever to deliver with an expanded and amazingly capable group of people.

We hope to continue the dialogue and keep you updated along the way. How and in what way, we haven't quite figured out yet. But for now, it's time to get back to work on the Garmin Vector!

Thanks again.

Formerly, the MetriGear Team, and now proud members of the Garmin Team

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Waiting for stickers

Ordered some decals for the Raleigh project, had some coming from Thailand, they arrived, were the wrong type. So now waiting for the right type to arrive.

The good news is that the wrong versions I can use on another Raleigh project.

Patience is tough.