Blog has Moved

This Blog has moved to http://www.718c.com/blog/ as of June 22, 2010...see you there

The magic of Google Analytics

My online store has only been open a few days, but through the magic of Google Analytics, I have noticed some pretty cool trends.  

The biggest is the global spread of visitors. 

It seems like I am cornering the Northern Africa market:

Online Shop Online

So I finally took the plunge and opened an online store.  The concept here is a nice simple interface, with a few quality products that I believe in and use on a daily basis.

718 Cyclery Online Shop

Everyone has grand ideas of setting up one of these shops, going out into the backyard in a lawn chain, and watching the money roll in.

As a matter of fact, as I have learned over these last 2 years, these things take attention, time and caring. I am planning that this will be a natural extension of who we are and what we do, and not some disjointed site with lots and lots of crap listed. However, as always, my plans are flexible.  The original concept for 718 Cyclery is certainly not what it has turned into. 

I used to stress that I didn't have a business plan...after reading Rework, I am so glad I never wasted my time with one.  Business plans are guesses, and they set you up for disappointment if things don't go "according to plan".  I much rather let my passions and interests lead me than a spreadsheet and sales forecasts.

So, as I write this, and my shop is less than 1 day old...I am a little nervous of what will happen when that forst order comes in.  Will I be able to treat customers they way I like to be treated?  Will it be an extension of the craft and quality that my bike shop embodies?

Stolen 718 bike recovered!

Here is an exerpt from a cleint who had his bike stolen the day after we built it...

http://www.718c.com/images/718_091/718_091.html

Joe,

I just thought I would let you know that this evening I successfully regained my Peugeot! Last night I saw a craigslist ad for what had to be my bike, because I custom made it with you, so I used an auxiliary email address and set up a meeting to purchase the bike. I then called the police, filed a formal report, and went to the sixth precinct today in the late afternoon. Eventually several plainsclothes officers came with me secretly to the meeting and conducted a sting operation. I now have my bike. 

I just wanted to say that getting my bike back had a lot to do with the fact that (a) it was completely unique, (b) I had a list of every single part on the bike, and (c) I printed off pictures of me building the thing that you posted online. Perhaps that could be an advertisement slant for your shop! 

Best,

Jeffrey

My stuff, out there

Much like a musician must feel when he/she first hears their song on the radio, I get excited when I see/hear about my bikes and wheels out there doing their thing.

I recently built a pair of Surly's that will be trekking across the US this August

I also recently built wheels that my brethren at Team Lope are using on the California AIDSRide from SF to LA.

(note those H+Sons wheelsl)

Much more to come....

None, None More Black

A former client (I believe he bought my second bike) has returned with a challenge.  He would like a bike with everything (and I mean everything) in matte black

The frame and rims are no problem, but we are talking about the hardware and fasteners on the brake calipers, etc.  I called John at Ever-Nu (my powder-coater) this morning, and he is confident he can do it.  

I am going to bring a brake caliper over for a test shortly.

Cross Country Bike Build

I have been commissioned to build 2 touring bikes for 2 clients who just graduated Law School and are trekking across the country in August. After a few preliminary meetings and alot of research, we have decided on building up the 26" wheel variant of the Surly Long Haul Trucker frame.  The 26" wheel size was chosen over the 700mm road wheel sized frame because the 26" frames came in smaller sizes that better fit the riders, AND 26" wheel/parts are more widely available along a 3000 mile trekking route.

We have chosen a combination of Shimano Deore and Tiagra components.

Crank: Shimano Deore M590 170mm 2-pcs Crank & BB 26-36-48, Silver. 

This crank was chosen for its touring gearing ratio and its durability.

: 

Front Dérailleur: Shimano Tiagra FD4503 9spd Trpl Braze-on Front Derailleur:

Rear Dérailleur: Shimano Deore M591 SGS Long Cage 9-speed

The frames showed up today

I got the first frame up on the stand and laced the rear wheel.  Its a 26" Alex Adventurer and a Shimano Deore hub.  The Spokes are DT Swiss (double-butted), 263mm on the drive side ,and 265mm on left.

(My) Bikes in the Wild

Much like the excitement a musician must feel when he/she hears their song on the radio for the first time, I get a rush when I see my bikes 'in the wild".

This guy was an easy one to spot, as it was done for an associate here at work,  

Gallery. Blog

This bike, the classic Roger Riviere, was created for a client who works 2 blocks away.

Gallery. Blog

Roger Riviere

I have finished up a project with a client who is using a Roger Rievere frame.  Having a good amount of experience with French frames of the 1970's, I was unfamiliar with the bike or the name behind the bike.

(from online sources)

Roger Rivière (23 February 1936, Saint-Etienne - 1 April 1976, Saint-Galmier) was a French track and road bicycle racer. He raced as a professional from 1957 to 1960.

Rivière, an time trialist, all-around talent on the road, and a three-time world pursuit champion on the track, lost his career to injury. He was positioned to take the lead in the 1960 Tour de France but crashed on the Col de Perjuret descent of Mont Aigoual in the Massif Central while following leader Gastone Nencini. Rivière hit a guard-block on the edge of the road, falling 10 meters into a ravine. He landed in brush, breaking two vertebrae.

There are some pretty striking photos of Riviere as he lay after his crash in a ravine, twisted and paralyzed.  They are not necessary for me to repost them here.

Rievere had admitted to using the drug Palifum, which may have factored in his judgement and subsequent crash.  Many accounts list him as a tragic figure, someone full of potential 

1975 model

Regarding his bikes, I found this:

 ...were made by Gitane, Rogers last major sponsor during his cycling career. Roger Riviere had an unfortunate accident during the Giro where he rode off the roadway and down an embankment suffering severe injuries to his back causing paralysis. The Riviere line of bikes had bicycles extending from low end to some high end models which were showcased at the bike shows in the 70s. The high end models featured chrome lugs. Other bicycles were bike boom bicycles mostly with foil seat tube stickers and handmade in France stickers. Most of these bicycles featured chrome tipped forks and chrome fork crown. The 70s era bike boom Riviere’s used cottered Aduprat crank sets, simplex components, 27 inch wheel sets, and CLB brakes. The Roger Riviere bicycles disappeared around the late 70s

The frame itself was acquired on ebay,and arrived in my shop about 1 week later.  It does have many of the details French bikes from the era share, from lugging to geometry.

There is a sticker that says "hand made" on the reverse of the head tube, and I wondered if that meant that it would deviate from sizing standards. 

The bottom bracket is threaded French, but thats what I expected.  Looks like I'll be ordering one of these...


Here are some initial shots of the bike as it arrived in the shop.

More to come as this build is booked for a few weeks from now....
(Jump forward a few weeks to build day!)


The bottom bracket was decidedly French.  Check out this post to see the tool/process that I used to install.

After the BB went in, the square tapered crank slipped right on.  Its a 170mm pake, with 46t teeth

I built up th ewheels using Surly hubs, Alex Dm18 Rims and Dt Swiss double-butted spokes.

Drive-train installed and tested.

the client selected these great Nitto bars.  they were 50cm across, and we cut them down to 44cm  to facilitate his urban commute better (so he's not knocking into parked car's mirrors)

Oury grips were slelected.  Not sure if they're French, but they sound French, so that a s good fit.  We had to cut the grips down slightly in order for them to fit, wioth teh bvrake lever, on the shortened bars.

Fini

This was a great projects, and hit on alot of what I enjoy about my shoyp...a great client, a historic bike, a few challenges, great build weather and in the end, a smooth riding 35 year old machine thats back on the road.  This client's day job is near my day job down on Wall Street, so I am looking forward to seeing this bike locked up outside of his office soon.

On Gears

For 2 years, I have tried very hard to keep my business simple; building simple bikes collaboratively with people. As a bike shop that is gaining more and more attention, I had many requests for geared bikes.  In the spirit of being a small shop that didn't want to loose focus, I usually passed this work on the local shops.

That all changed recently as I decided I had the capacity and means to expand my situation from the fixie/singlespeed scene into something that embraces more of what NYC bike culture has to offer.

Below is a project that came in recently from a work associate.  It was a 1982 Bianchi with Shimano 600 components.  He was looking to upgrade the wheels and modernize/simplify the drivetrain.

New wheel on the stand, old wheels in the distance

He initially had a 6 speed cassette, which we changed to a 9 speed cassette, built on a Shimano Tiagra hub and Alex DM18 rims.

The crank was removed and replaced with a Pake 170mm, 46t crank.  A Shimano 9-speed chain was also installed. The rear derailler is Shimano Tiagra.

Once everything was installed, we adjusted the derailler's low and high limit screws.

Final bike. (note: jaunty seat angle at clients request)

Review: J.A. Stein's Cartridge Bottom Bracket Handle Tool

The following is my review of the Cartridge Bottom Bracket Handle Tool from J.A. Stein Tools.

This extremely well made and durable tools was built to serve one purpose, the installation/removal of cartridge bottom brackets (well, thats sort of 2 reasons)

Here's the situation; you are faced with driving in a sealed bottom bracket, and need all the leverage you can get...(btw, this is a French Threaded BB, but it makes no difference obviously)

Using the Park BBT-22, you pop the tool on the end of a socket wrench and hopefully apply enough pressure inwards so as to insert the bottom bracket.

The problem here is that there is really nothing anchoring your tool to the offending bottom bracket, so slippage and associated knuckle-meat damage usually ensues if you run into any resistance whatsoever.

The tool from J.A Stein is ingenious, and follows the concept of their other tools (see my reviews here)  that deal with bottom brackets in that they utilize a screw-in clamping mechanism to keep the tool attached to the component.

So, here's how it works.  You need to use the smaller Park Tool BBT-32.  It s seats in the tool housing, and is secured by a tightening screw.

The tool in then threaded onto the bottom bracket which has been threaded partially/slightly into the bottom bracket shell.

The tool is now firmly in place.

Using 2 hands, the user is able to grab the extremly sturdy metal handles.  There is an amazing amount of firmness and leverage involved.

The bottom bracket is rotated in place.  Obviously, this tool can be used to remove testy bottom brackets also.  

In conclusion, another finely made tool from J.A Stein.  One by one, I move through their catalog, and now have 3 of their tools.

On mothers day and youth lacrosse

So, I closed the shop down this weekend. The reasons were important

family events. I actually caught a little flack from potential clients for this but:

1. My family comes first, everything else is a distant second

2. The reason I don't have a storefront at this point is I like the 

flexibility my "appointment only" setup affords me.

3. This closure was booked weeks in advance, it's not like people 

signed up and were bumped.

The resultant of all this is I am booked out the wazoo the next month, 

which is good also.

So, what was so important the weekend?

On Saturday, I took my sons 3/4 grade lacrosse team (which I coach) to 

leafy Maplewood NJ for their 1st away/travel game. 

(my son, being chased by 3 defenders)

(now 4)

(now 5...needless to say, this didn't end good)

No offense to my 

rabid biker client base, but there's nothing more important than my 

Saturday. Sure, we got lost on the way, but these 26 little guys (and 

parents) look to me for leadership and attention. Our program (The 

Brooklyn Crescents...check out the website, I designed it) has been 

around for 4 years, and this is the first year they've expanded to 

include a 3/4 grade boys team. As we are 1 of only 2 lacrosse programs 

in NYC, we play slot of suburban teams. I have played lacrosse for 

many years and through college, so I know the experiences these guys 

are having will last a lifetime.

(Brooklyn's own)

Sunday was a trip to my patents for mothers day. I won't elaborate on 

this event too much, as it's family significance should be obvious.

So, there's my weekend, and I'm beat. On my way to work, writing this 

on the R train, pretty exhausted, but very fulfilled.