One of the surprising challenges managing the online storefront has been keeping the shipping costs somehow fair for everyone. That is so that small purchases do not go out for free, stings on our end, or you having to pay $5 shipping to get some stickers in an envelope.
While there are tools in the storefront software, some part of their logic keeps alluding me, and there have been glitches, most I do my best to make right, i.e. we usually eat the shipping. As part of keeping this a business and not just a labor of love I need to get this part sorted out.
The only ways, without more complexity for us both, is to build the cost of shipping into the price of each item, or move towards flat rates. I have chosen flat rates.
Sales Under $75 will have a shipping and handling charge of $5
Sales over $75 have free shipping with the exception of large items like frames and wheel sets.
Rambler Frame Sets have a flat rate of $45 in the US
In the long run we are still picking up a chunk of the costs, but not all of them.
With more Ramblers starting to head out into the world I am starting to get more questions on selection and fitting of accessories like racks and fenders. One of the challenges in transitioning from a one-off custom Rando bike with custom accessories and associated price, to a production bike like the Rambler and fitting production accessories, is the fact that said accessories will likely need a bit of adjustment for an optimal assembly. I will start working through these one by one, in bite sized pieces, tag them and then add them to the site as summaries.
The first installment is related to Porteur Racks. These are most commonly used with an upright "CityBike" or Porteur build. The rack has a larger platform that will carry any thing from large loads, purpose-built bags to the best basket support you had ever imagined. A strong support for the load will reduce wiggle, and help with better handling. Here is a Rambler set up this way:
Of all the commercially available options on the market I have been the most happy with the Soma racks. They are well made, stout tabs connecting to the dropouts, and have a position to mount panniers if needed. The down side is with out of the box fitment. The top is designed around a center point mount to crown, and here at OAC we much prefer two point mounting at the top. The double mounting points provide greater stability and redundancy in the event of hardware getting loose. The center mount can work, but experience and testing have proven that is not as stable.
I am in the process of installing one of these racks on a first generation Rambler for testing and will document the process. Today I will start with the adjustments I make to the bottom mounting points.
Out of the box the rack comes with the welded tabs a little bit long. The are by design intended to have extension feet bolted on and extend to the front hub axle. IMO this is overkill for the loads that 90% of users will be carrying and I modify the rack to connect to the connecting point on the front dropout. To avoid interference with the front hub mounting a bit of the tab needs to be removed. Mark the tab to indicate where material removal stops, and then start at it with files or tool of choice, that is up to the installer's tool and skill set. I usually do this with files and a bench vise to hold the rack. If the rack is one of the non-stainless steel versions I would also recommend touching up the paint on the cut edges.
The end result is a solid and neat lower mounting, and no interference with the quick release hardware.
I will take a minute to spotlight one of the refinements between the Generation 1 and current Ramblers. The above fitment still requires a small spacer between the rack and dropout to clear the general shape of the dropout. The latest generation of Ramblers has a stainless steel dropout that is better shaped for rack and fender mounting.
These better facilitate this style of rack mount as well as using all of the Soma hardware should you choose a mount with full axle support of the rack.
The upper mounting can be solved in a variety of ways, from using the stock hardware, welding in additional struts or additional hardware that is on the market. I will address all of these an a separate post. That said here a teaser shot of some hardware we are setting up for testing, there is still some work to be done with the mock-up.
Today the first two Ramblers to be delivered internationally should be showing up at their new home in Japan. I owe a giant thank you hug to everybody who helped me connect the dots to make this happened to Wakako at
Blue Lug for seeing the value in our offerings for their market.
[caption id="attachment_4246" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Photo by BlueLug on Flickr[/caption]
I am so stoked to get this relationship going. Martina at
Swift,
Paul Components and Katty
Geekhouse all helped me make this happen, thank you.
This also means that I have sorted out the basic issues for international sales. Over the last year I have had more than a bit of interest from other shores, and now I can get this part of the business going. In a nut shell Ramblers can be shipped overseas at retail, freight will generally be handled via fedex and runs about $200 give or take depending on where you are in the world. Import duties, taxes and fees are on the buyer. If you are a shop looking to bring in multiple Rambler frame sets, as in the above mentioned transaction, contact me for a dealer agreement and we can get the ball rolling. With regard to custom complete builds, I am still a bit buried, but can help get you there, it will just take a little more time.
We just added the Paul Component Engineering
Funky Monkey to the storefront. After trying most of the currently available stops, and a few vintage offerings it became clear that the Funky Monkey is hands down the best bang for your buck. The extra long arm drops down to prevent brake cable housing from bending too tightly and binding up, and the arm sticks out far enough to clear most headsets. A barrel adjuster is included to make front brake cable adjustments quick and painless.
Everything about it just works they way the component should, no fussing, no BS, just works. Bonus points for looking good, matching the aesthetic of the brakes and being made here in California.
Keep an eye here and on the storefront. In the coming weeks we will be adding a few more components for building out your
Rambler to the
online store front
Pocket Knives September 19 2013, 0 Comments
Today I was packing up a decade old daily companion for a trip back to its makers for a refresh.
This had me thinking about my pocket knives, and other tools that I carry every day. There has been a knife in my pocket since I was about 12 years old. They are one of those things that you will use throughout the day every day if you have one with you. Having carried a huge variety, vintage, new, folding, fixed, cheap and expensive I have formed my own set of biases. There is a place for cheap knives, in general though you get what you pay for, and if you are going to use it every day why not have something well made that will last you decades or more? Really with a budget of a nickel a day and planning for a decade you end up with about $180 to spend. I have thought about bringing knives into the online shop, but held off. There has been a trend towards all manner of "camping" gear entering the bikeosphere, us included. I try to bring things that a different and better in some way than what most people in the cycling or fashion community may be familiar with. As cool as French pocket knives and Swedish axes can be, there are plenty of other fantastic options out there.
So, is there any interest out there in knives that I believe offer a better solution for the cyclotourist? Tools that bring everyday function to the occasional camper maximizing versatility for the weight? The term curator is overused these days, but I could help you cut to the chase and pick tools that I have personally used and put to the test over the years.
So what is in my pocket while the William Henry is out? This is the knife that is usually riding in my Docena, Bark River Pro Scalpel (first production for the collector nerds)
Local Advocacy September 10 2013, 0 Comments
Our town is really lucky to have some passionate bicycle advocates. Aside from making a huge push for great, and ever improving, infrastructure, they have also formed the
Ventura Bike HUB. The HUB is a pure community organization, mechanics and advocates that come together to help the community fix and learn to fix their bikes. The mission has been growing and their work is the fuel for our local transporational cycling scene. One of their bigger challenges has been finding a steady storage and working location. In the past few months they were able to secure a space with the City Housing Authority that will serve them and the community well. This past Sunday I was lucky to help them with their move from the temporary location to the new space.
A fully bike powered and volunteer driven event. There new space is awesome and will get them the exposure they need to grow.
The next steps in local advocacy have been a move up to organizing at a County level. The City of Ventura has been doing pretty darn good, as have some of the other 10 cities in our county. The trick will be learning from each other and developing tools that can be used to improve not just all 10 cities but the unincorporated portions of the county as well. There is no reason why Ventura County as a whole should not be setting the standard for human-powered transport. We have tight-knit communities, industry and year round awesome weather.
As a Coalition there has been one official meeting. We all came away inspired, and with a few questions to answer as we define our path. The first is if we should be Bicycle only or "Active Transportation"? After that comes the volunteer based efforts of setting up Web Pages, Mission statements, by-laws, organizational structures, and pushing on to things like County wide maps and governmental activism. All of this would never have made it this far if not for that hard work of
Rachel at VCCool, Thank You.
I am reaching out to all of you that have ridden this path before. Any advice or experiences you would like to share are welcome. We will need lots of help, everything from the above mentioned web designers to fundraising, shops and people who work within the city and county infrastructure. The next meeting will be Thursday September 26 6:30 P.M. at the Fillmore High school. I hope to see some of you there.
We did the poll, the response was good, the cool folks at Soma saw value and the C-Line tires are going to happen, better, they are happening this year
The tire is loosely a 700c version of the fantastic and popular B-Line series of tires. These take the well loved Panaracer Pasela and kick it up a notch. The basic guidelines are 38mm wide with the slightly narrower and thinner tread from a 35 pasela, folding bead, Supple casing, no puncture strip (not really needed) and colors. This first run will have both the Tera cotta and Black with Tan sidewalls. This tire is getting a new mold since the existing 37mm pasela is no more and the 35 was not up to the job. Current status is "in production". Once these are on a container and heading this way I will have the green light to start a pre-sale.
Without the awesome team at Merry Sales / Soma Fabrications this tire would have never happened. My persistence and their willingness and capital are making it real. Things like tire molds and importing are what they do best. They see the upcoming swing in growth of out niche and are putting the money into it on the front end. The best we we can all say thank you will be to buy, sell and ride the hell out of these once they get here.
I will keep you all posted as things progress.
Updated Here:
Worked in the semi regularly scheduled Farmer's market ride this Sunday. Bonus points for being able to start the "testing" on some new kerchief material you will likely be seeing in our online store in the near future. The weather is about as close to perfect as one could hope for. Enjoy Summer weather while it lasts.
While there are tools in the storefront software, some part of their logic keeps alluding me, and there have been glitches, most I do my best to make right, i.e. we usually eat the shipping. As part of keeping this a business and not just a labor of love I need to get this part sorted out.
The only ways, without more complexity for us both, is to build the cost of shipping into the price of each item, or move towards flat rates. I have chosen flat rates.
Sales Under $75 will have a shipping and handling charge of $5
Sales over $75 have free shipping with the exception of large items like frames and wheel sets.
Rambler Frame Sets have a flat rate of $45 in the US
In the long run we are still picking up a chunk of the costs, but not all of them.
