Eureka Moment January 07 2013, 0 Comments
On yesterday's ride I was looking down at the rear brake when I had a giant light bulb go on over my head.
A simple M6 coupler replacing the nut on the brake shoe stud. Then I drilled out the PB Superflash mounting bracket to 6mm and bolted it on. Yes, that simple.
Why not just use the rack mount just out of view at the top of the picture? On many bikes as with this
Rambler, the light interferes with the chain stay and can not be properly aligned without a spacer. Often in my experience the spacer will end up letting the bolt come loose. This coupler solution solves both the mounting of the brake pad and the light with a single commonly available piece of hardware. I have had the Superflash down at the rear drop out for a few months now, but find that I am more likely to turn it on if it is up higher.
Hooray for the corner hardware store that stocks plenty of bike friendly Metric nuts and bolts!
Yesterday was one of those days where it was sort of hard to get out, but you are so glad you did afterwards. the morning weather has been in the 40's, and while I should not complain, it is still chilly. The plan was to ride out to farmer's market as usual, but I was stalling, the weather was unpredictable to say the least, heavy winds and fast cold rain showers. I only ended up catching the edge of one squall on the way home.
The ride was well worth the effort. Even though I stalled, I still completed what may be one of my top winter projects. After two years of deliberation, my favorite knickers just got better
with the diaper now in the scrap bin they are infinitely more comfortable, knees and legs are warmer and I will thus be getting back out on more cold mornings. Now to start looking for a good set of knickers that do not have the pad from the start. Any reccomendations?
Clean Slate January 02 2013, 0 Comments
Yesterday I made it out for a quick surf check and rode through a quick errand or two. The weather was chilly, but beautiful. The last few weeks were on the quiet side here at the blog. We were working through the loss of my wife's grandmother as well as a good solid round of the flu, never a dull moment. With those issues, the associated travel and the holiday madness moving into the rear view mirror I am looking forward to charging into the next year.
Our first round of Ramblers should finally be making it out of paint in the next couple of weeks. I can not wait to get this batch of five out under their patiently waiting riders. The next round will be much larger, and the volume will help with the scheduling issues this round had during fabrication, as our team learns how to grow out of being a small fish in a big pond.
Speaking of this next round, the
pre-sale is on, there is a significant deal for newsletter subscribers. Shipping is free for those who can make local pickup here in Ventura. I am also working on a pick up solution for out Portland customers, either through a scheduled delivery date or with a partnered LBS. If you fall into either category you can choose the "Free Local Pickup" option at the checkout.
I will be improving the look and feel of the site and storefront incrementally over the next couple of months. Feedback at each step of the way is welcome, as it helps to know if I am heading in the right direction.
2012 was a good year, 2013 is going to be a big year. One certain trend last was that milestones consistently came through on the 13th, so I am thinking 2013 is going to be one big milestone in its own right, and I plan working my butt off, but still can not make it happen without your help. Lets make this year a big one at OAC.
I had a couple of sweet shots hit my inbox this morning. My friend who had me do the 650b conversion on his
Trek a while back is starting to get out on some overnights. around the local mountains.
I am pretty jealous, and thinking we need to get some people together in the next year and make this happen more often. We really are blessed with a ton of incredible options all within a 40 mile radius.
New Friends December 19 2012, 0 Comments
One of the fringe benefits of the business ha been getting to meet a whole new batch of people who I would have likely never otherwise met. The new vendors, contractors, industry folks, fans and yesterday, press. I was able to get out for a ride with Juan Carlo from the local paper as well as an active member of the
Ventura Bike HUB.
It was a fun time shooting some pics and getting to see another giant smile after a few miles on a
Rambler. I am sure we will be crossing paths much more often from now on. We went for a windy ride up through Emma Wood state park, crisp and cool, but howling wind. The park is usually empty of campers this time of year. This time there was just one couple, and they had the most curios contraption in tow, there was no way we could not stop and check it out.
It turns out that it was a railway signal inspection car from the mid 40's, and such a cool piece of history. The owners are on their way up to NorCal for a
NARCOA New Years gathering and rally. The drivetrain was pulled from a Model T, hand crank 2 cycle engine, etc.. Most of it was original, with a few additions like a bell and seat for the grandkids. This is a perfect example of why getting out on your bike can be such a powerful thing. What are the chances you would have stopped the car on the freeway to go see what the little yellow car was all about? A five-minute stop, and we were able to meet a couple preserving a part of our country's history that I would have never know about. Best part is, we were all having fun, and were outside.
Get out on your bike, meet some new people, explore, stop and check things out, and have fun!
New Plan December 14 2012, 0 Comments
It has been a busy week, the seasonal flu circuit finally caught up with our household, and while a drag, I am thinking we got off pretty lucky so far. I made it out for a short spin today before the next round of rain started.
I am catching up on more than a few fronts. There is a push to get our short run of production Ramblers out to their new owners before the year ends. I am confident that will happen, even with all the holiday scheduling challenges.
You also may have noticed, either as a backer or in the side bar, that the Kickstarter project did not fund. I am grateful for all of you that had pledged your support to our program, and disappointed that we were unable to approach our goal. I am working on alternate funding to gat a smaller batch of bike into production. At this point I have 6 prospective buyers and need to get to ten. I will be re-opening the web storefront in the coming week for deposits. With alternate funding and ten or more buyers, I can place my order in January and have bikes ready to ship in April. Stay tuned here or the email news letter for details.
I am also reviving the leather wallet program I started about a year ago. I have a new source of leather from Hermann Oak, that is much nicer, more supple, thinner, and stronger than the last batch of leather I had. I have improved the design a bit with a money slot, as well as adding a couple of different designs.
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I will be getting these out as fast as I can, and adding them to the web store as well. This batch has red thread, there will be blue and yellow, think Rambler colorway. The wallets are something I do for fun, thy are simple designs tat work well, and help get my sewing fingers back in shape as I get ready to work on some more bags.
Happy friday, I hope you are able to squeeze in some warm dry miles this weekend.
It is amazing to see the amount of potential energy stored up in the California dirt, every year once we get out first solid wave of rain things start to explode. Millions of acres of dry brown grass and dirt spring to life in waves of green.
The plants hold the dirt in place for the rain to come. Growing up where perma green was the norm, and the soil drained, (Florida) I am still not quite used to the mud.
Some places here will drain and dry within a day or two. But there are spots like this that will stay mud pits for the next 4 months. The catch is that this particular mud pit shaves miles off of my cross town errands, once again I am glad for the fenders, also know as mud guards in some parts of the world.
Lunch Date December 03 2012, 0 Comments
What seems like a week's worth of rain finally abated, and the wife coaxed me out of the garage to go for a ride.
The smile would lead you to believe I did something right, but I am pretty sure it is just the fact that she likes her bike ;-). We went for a cruise around town, scoped out the new playground, and checked the surf.
It has been big lately, other commitments are keeping me out of the water. I need to make the time, but the recent run of overhead waves would likely drown me.
The next five Ramblers are getting closer to done. As always thanks to the guys at Zen for their hard work, and the update photos.
Only Me? November 30 2012, 0 Comments
Are you getting tired of seeing just me in ALL the Rambler pictures?
Believe it or not, I have devised a fantastic solution. Ramblers are going to be available to the growing hordes of fans, but first I need you help to get production going.
The catch you ask? There is only one, if we do not raise the cash to get the production going, well, it is just going to take longer to get a Rambler between you and the road. In a nutshell, without Ramblers being sold, it is hard for us to keep having them made.
We NEED your support to make this happen.
