I finally figured out what I need to do to take passable pictures of my bike!  Turns out that the hott yellow paint can not be photographed in the sunshine, at least not with my meager point-and-shoot skills.  Anyway, click on through and see how it came out.  I hope y’all dig the look as much as I do!

I usually wrap my drive side chainstay with a thin layer of black cloth tape, but I couldn’t bring myself to cover up these details.

A filthy cassette really makes the clean paint pop.  Little trick I came up with.  Feel free to use it.

Centaur front derailleur?  Sadly, yes.  My chain ate my matching Record one in a Tabor mishap last year.

Me!

For me, those ugly little frame protectors on the cable housing are a necessary evil.

My painted-to-match 110mm stem is proving to be a bit of a reach for my crappy shoulder, so it’s back to a 100mm for the time being.

Astute observers will notice a spot of bar I missed with the tape.  Why Easton makes their bars red instead of black will always baffle me.  I’m willing to forgive though, since everything else about these bars is perfect.  Also, I would love to be sporting some fresh 11 speed gear, but the 10-speed stuff just won’t die!

With these wheels on, the bike weights in at 15lbs on the button, including pedals, bottle cages, and the speedometer.  That would put it at a shade under 14.5lbs weighed like the magazines do it.  Steel!

Must heal soon.  Must race bike…

So there you have it, the assembled beauty.  It’s painful looking at it every day and not getting to throw a leg over it, but It’ll see action soon enough.

Have a wonderful weekend, everybody!

Love,

The Tiniest Sprinter

PS:  The ongoing pain pill party I’m having leaves me with an incredible urge to watch music videos all day.  This has nothing to do with anything, but I really want to share with you one of my all time favorites:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes?
Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike solo: 5 (31.5 round trip miles)
drove: 1

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 12
cups of tea: 3

food
bought lunch: 4
(crispy chicken wrap, soup, pizza, a whole chicken, chicken wangs, beet salad)
brown bagged it: 1
(salad, tofu, noodles)

MUSIC:
I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones
I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones

What’s My Name – Drake
What’s My Name – Drake

RECENTLY OVERHEARD:
“I like going to the fair, it’s fun. I always get an airbrushed t-shirt.” – Greg

“It sure makes the day long when you get to work on time.” – Coffee Cup

HOURS SPENT:
Painting: 24
Cleaning:.5
Administration: 12
Metal Fabrication: 12
Working with Customers: 1

And sometimes…

It’s just a big shit sandwich.

Looks like the work of “My first stitches! Educational Surgical Set (Ages 5 and up)”

Hook plate and mystery staples

Old removed hardware.  Might make cool jewelry?

My new Speedvagen is sitting patiently in my kitchen, casting its neon yellow glow upon everything it sees.  I suppose it’ll just have to get really well acquainted with my trainer before it sees real roads.

Stay safe out there, friends.

XOXO,

The Tiniest Sprinter

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes?
Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike solo: 7 (44.5 round trip miles)
drove: 0!

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 10
cups of tea: 3
other: 1

food
bought lunch: 6
(sandwich, pizza, chips, burrito, apple, burrito, salad)
brown bagged it: 1
(carrots, turkey sandwich)

MUSIC:
Lucille – Kenny Rogers
Lucille – Kenny Rogers

Take Care – Beach House
Take Care – Beach House

RECENTLY OVERHEARD:
“When I was working in a restaurant, we had this guy who taught me how to eat off plates that had been sent back. It was the best day ever. “ - Greg

“My brain hurts.” – Glenn

HOURS SPENT:
Painting: 28
Cleaning: 1
Design: 13
Administration: 11
Working with Customers: 3

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes?
Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike solo: 5 (27.5 round trip miles)
drove: 1

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 9
cups of tea: 2
other: 1

food
bought lunch: 5
(breakfast burrito, burger, burrito, chips, lasagna, mixed berry muffin, vague sandwich on a kaiser roll)
brown bagged it: 1
(leftover pad thai, enjoyed in the sunshine)

MUSIC:
Jimmy Cliff Radio (on Pandora)
all reggae, all the time…

HOURS SPENT:
Painting: 22
Metal Fabrication: 14
Administration: 6
Working with Customers: 1

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes?
Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike: 6 (39.5 round trip miles)
drove: 1

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 10
cups of tea: 5

food
bought lunch: 5
(chicken and mac n cheese, wok, burrito, cookies, pizza, BBQ sandwich)
brown bagged it: 2
(spinach salad, beef sandwich)

MUSIC:
Justin Townes Earle on Pandora, all day long

RECENTLY OVERHEARD:
GREG: “That bike looks tough as nails. It looks like a OG Vanilla CX on roids, you can tell it has double oversized tubes, it just demands a presence.”
SACHA: “Before I moved out to Portland, I was looking for a messenger bike to work on. I found a Guerciotti in a shop. It was before any CX was in major production. It had a flat fork crown, horizontal top tube, and double panel paint scheme – still looked like a classic, proper race bike bit with little nobby tires. It looked soooo mean.

HOURS SPENT:
Painting: 24
Cleaning:.5
Administration: 6
Working with Customers: .5
Metal Fabrication: 14
Design: 7
Mechanics: 4

as seen from the loft: rail-road crossing

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes? Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike: 6  (40.5 round trip miles)
drove: 2

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 11
cups of tea: 4

food
bought lunch: 6
(kale salad, burrito x 4 )
brown bagged it: 3
(sandwich, turkey burger, noodles)

RECENTLY OVERHEARD:
“Your job looks like punishment” – Todd Littlehales (metal worker from next door)

“Oh, that’s totally true, like what the fuck is the point… besides keeping Jesus happy?“

GREG: “You know why this 80 grit Klingspan emory finishes out lugs so much smoother?”
SACHA: “Why?”
GREG: “Because it’s actually 150 grit”

HOURS SPENT:
Metal fabrication: 8
Painting: 24
Cleaning: 2
Administration: 16
Bike Building: 4
Design: 14

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes? Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike: 5 (30.5 round trip miles)
drove: 2

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 9
cups of tea: 1

food
bought lunch: 4
(eggplant and roasted pepper tart, pizza, mac n cheese, hot wok )
brown bagged it: 3
(kale salad, chicken rice and peas, rotisserie chicken)

MUSIC:
NPR

RECENTLY OVERHEARD:
“Could you please not disconnect the internet while we’re skyping to England?” - Scott & Jenn
“I think you would full-fill all of my junior high dreams if you can do that paint scheme…” - Henry W. (SVCXSS Customer)
“Nooooo, nooooooooooo, nooooo!” Greg, as his soccer ball bounced on to a very busy Powell Blvd at lunchtime

HOURS SPENT:
Metal fabrication: 10
Design: 3
Painting: 24
Cleaning:1
Administration: 10
Working with Customers: 2
Bike Building: 3

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes? Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike: 2 (18.5 round trip miles)
drove: 1
dropped off: 1

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 9
cups of tea: 2

food
bought lunch: 4
(Cha-cha-cha (it’s almost Cino de Mayo fools!) and Meat Cheese Bread  - chicken salad sandwich )
brown bagged it: 2
(rice, beans and tofu sandwich)

MUSIC:
ALL DENVER, ALL THE TIME

HOURS SPENT:
Metal fabrication: 14
Design: 4
Painting: 23
Cleaning:1
Administration: 10
Working with Customers: 2
Bike Building: 2

Between our pain(t) shop and our frame shop, there are currently 7 of us. What happens here other than building and painting bikes? Our domestic side? Here are our stats:

TRANSPORTATION:
rode bike: 3 (14.5 round trip miles)
drove: 2

CONSUMED:
beverages
cups of coffee: 8
cups of tea: 2

food
bought lunch: 3
(wok, lasagna, cake)
brown bagged it: 2
(tasty bites, turkey sandwich)

MUSIC:
To Be Young – Ryan Adams
To Be Young – Ryan Adams

Humpty Dance – Digital Underground
Humpty Dance – Digital Underground

RECENTLY OVERHEARD:
“There are a lot of things I could do other than build bikes today, but darn it… I’m going to build a bike!”

“Funny how much shit gets gone when you ain’t got time to do shit.”

HOURS SPENT:
Metal fabrication: 14
Design: 5
Painting: 14
Cleaning:5
Administration: 6
Working with Customers: .5