"Product Testing" Finish Line Ceramic Grease

Working around the shop overhauling bottom brackets, wheel bearings, headsets, lubing stems, pedals threads, seat posts, and  bolts threads. I could name a few more but why!!! Requires one to apply grease to these parts. This is like re-living childhood... getting to play with a substance (grease) that ends up everywhere, where you intend for it to go and every place in between. After years of experience handling and working with  various brands, multitudes of colors grease is not the same. The feedback in your fingers of what is good in the way of grease (the way in feels... tackiness, sticky, thick or thin, smooth texture, stringy). Life is an ongoing process... so are new cycling products today its grease. Synthetic grease with teflon-infused ceramic nano-bits, what's not to love? The color is white it has a nice clean look. The feel is right! This product works with steel or ceramic bearings that's a plus. Time will tell how good it really is. I need to go clean-up... thanks for checking in.
by Perry

 http://www.finishlineusa.com/products/ceramic_grease.htm

A Bike Built For Mom

I couldn't build a bike for my dad and not my mom. Hell, I'll build a bike for just about anyone who'll ride one and mom seemed keen on riding. That was all the encouragement I needed. 


My mother grew up poor and never owned a bike of her own. She doesn't have the great childhood memories of riding bikes everywhere all the time that many of us hold dear. It seems all this "bike joy" had pent up her entire life because when she let out an audible "weee!" on her first downhill coast, it was unquestionably sincere. 


I chose a mid 70s Peugeot UO-18C mixte frame as the platform for the build. It's the right size for her and the mixte design will ensure easy mounting/dismounting for many years to come. She has some upper vertebrae injuries so an upright position was called for. The Nitto Dove bars were perfect. While I'm a big fan of derailleur drivetrains, I chose the new Sturmey Archer X-RF5(w) wide range 5 speed IGH for mom's bike. Coupled with the thumb shifter it's a no-nonsense, no-worries drivetrain perfectly suited to an inexperienced cyclist. 


The wheels were built by Vic and I with polished 700c CR-18 rims and Sapim double-butted spokes. The front hub is the economical Sanyo H27 dynamo (generator) hub we're fond of here. I like the centerpull brakes so often found on vintage bikes, but in the interest of maximum efficiency and minimum maintenance I upgraded the bike with the Tektro R559 calipers and FL750 levers. Her bike has confidence-inspiring braking; perfect for the hills of western Kentucky. 


To tackle the climbing part of those hills I paired a 42t chainring on the Stronglight 93 crankset with a 21t Nexus cog on the hub. This pretty much gives her two climbing ratios, two cruising ratios and one to bomb down the hills. 


Being a horse rider most of her life she really appreciated the Brooks B18 Lady's Model saddle. I installed PDW "Bourbon" grips that match the saddle well, Velo Orange sealed bearing touring pedals (these are so lightweight and grippy!) and Spanninga and Planet Bike lights. The Peugeot "brrrring, brrring" bell was a kind gift from a fellow vintage bicycle enthusiast in Paris who wanted to contribute something to a bike I was building for my mom. 


Happy riding to all you mothers out there!

By Justin Hughes

Spring cleaning!

Vic has been working hard the past few weeks organizing, building, cleaning and spiffing up the shop. An expanded selection of Brooks saddles greets customers at the store front, with vintage Brooks photographs and advertising displayed throughout the shop. A new organized workbench gleams with a salvaged bowling alley top. Overall the aesthetic of the shop more closely resembles the aesthetic of the classic bikes we love. Get out to enjoy the early Spring weather and stop by to see us!

55cm Windsor Carerra Sport

During the 1970s and 1980s, Acre-Mex manufactured Windsor bicycles under the direction of Remo Vecchi. Vecchi had formerly worked as a builder for Cinelli in Italy. The Carerra Sport model features chromoly tubes, Sun Tour forged dropouts, striking chrome head lugs and Sun Tour components. It also has Sunshine high flange hubs laced to Windsor branded alloy rims.

Our freshly restored Windsor had been stored indoors by its sole owner and is now available for $550.

Justin

Justin remembers: he can tell you most everything you might want to know about classic lugged steel road bikes. Although he has only really been working on bikes for a few years, Justin already has the knowledge of the passionate hobbyist, and he is ready to answer most any question with information and enthusiasm.

Justin holds degrees in finance, hotel management, culinary arts, and accounting. He goes to see local music and plays his own, drinks bourbon, works on bicycles in his garage, and works full-time as an accountant.

He plays electric guitar in the band Dallas Alice, named after the character in the song Willin’ by Little Feat.

Out on the road late last night,
Seen my pretty Alice in every head light
Alice, Dallas Alice

Justin once visited 17 out of 24 restaurants over 350 miles of the North Carolina Historic Barbecue Trail. That means driving 350 miles and eating 17 meals that look something like this:

Even with all these hobbies, he still has time to cook for his wife Tiffany. In fact, I have been over to their house and managed to catch a few of those "everyday" meals, and was so impressed I had to record two for posterity:

Justin is a great guy, who is likeable to all, and his wide-ranging, sincere interests makes him a singularly interesting guy too.

by John Wade

Fine Hand Built Bicycles and Making New Friends

Recently, I rode my 650B World Voyageur conversion to the shop. As I dismounted and went to roll my bike inside I spied a beautiful orange bike locked to the lamp post in front. I walked in to meet the owner and ask about the bike; obviously not something I see everyday.

Inside I met Negishi, a distinguished looking gentleman in a driving cap. Negishi's English is not perfect, but we had no trouble discussing fine bicycles. I asked him if I could photograph his bike (I had only my cell phone) and he politely obliged. Gishi, who is from Tokyo, has been in Louisville for two years. Gishi, Vic and I spent over two hours discussing vintage bicycles, fishing and food. I got such a kick out of hearing Gishi "oooh" and "ahh", searching for the English word as he pointed at bikes in the Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles. I asked him how many bikes he owned and Gishi answered "Two."



"Only two, huh?", I asked. "What is your other bicycle?". He explained that his other bike is a Gary Fisher klunker replica. "Cool!", I exclaimed. We exchanged contact info and promised to meet up for rides and perhaps some fishing soon. It's always nice to meet someone much like yourself and it seems even more so when that person is from a different country and culture.

As we were outside the shop looking at his bicycle Parkside Bikes owner, Ben, rolled up on his gorgeous Merckx. Wow! Three orange bikes!



Here is Gishi's Alps 650A machine built by renowned Japanese constructeur Hiroshi Hagiwara. It's purpose built for hill climbing. He pointed out several of the features to which I was naturally drawn. He explained that the pump is positioned behind the seat tube to make portage easier and that he chose to have if fillet brazed rather than have lugs as he preferred a simpler look. Pretty neat, huh?

A Bike Built for Dad

My dad has been increasingly interested in my bicycle builds and a few months back decided that getting back on a bike was how he would shed a few pounds and get his heart and lungs in better shape. He left all the details to me. I built this bike with the idea that this would be his only bike and that it should be comfortable, reliable and versatile. He can use this bike for short jaunts, long rides, picnics and hauling things to and from his workshop. Mostly, it’ll be a comfortable perch to ride along the rivers and lakes near his home.

I delivered the bike to him in western Kentucky--where he and my mother live--this past weekend. He hadn’t seen the bike. He loves it. It fits him well and he’s a big fan of the bar setup and 8-speed indexing thumb shifters.

The frameset and racks were powder coated locally by JHF Finishing.

We had a great weekend of visiting and riding the local roads. Happy riding, dad!

Frame: 1985 Trek 620

Headset: VO Grand Cru sealed bearing

Racks: Dajia Expedition and VO Pass Hunter with integrated decaleur

Saddle: Brooks B72

Cockpit: Soma Oxford bar, Nitto Technomic stem, Sturmey Archer levers, Dia Compe knob, VO elkhide leather wrap and PDG leather grips

Drivetrain: VO Polyvalent crank (46/30) and Grand Cru sealed BB, SRAM PC-870 chain, Ultegra 6500 deraileurs and 8sp indexing shifters mounted to VO thumb shifter mounts

Pedals: VO sealed bearing touring pedals with MKS deep half clips

Cables & Housing: VO braided stainless housing and stainless cables

Brakes: NOS Shimano SLR BR-M732 with Kool Stop Eagle pads

Rear wheel: VO 36h Grand Cru Touring hub, Sapim Race spokes, polished Sun CR-18, 11-28t SRAM cassette

Front wheel: Sanyo H27 dynamo hub, Sapim Race spokes, polished Sun CR-18

Tires: Soma Xpress terra cotta 700x35

Fenders: VO Zeppelin 700c 52mm

Lights: Lumotec IQ Cyo Senso R (dynamo) and Spanninga Plateo (battery), custom made mount



By Justin Hughes