Sunday location: Seven | Studio || 6:05 am – 5:45 pm
- Time marker: A bit of snow today.
- Product Development: People are digging the Nella Neve Seven Cycles winter rando bike. Tonight I’ve worked out a simple and repeatable solution to the hot-swap bar challenge for the bike. It’ll be hot by Friday.
Saturday location: Studio || 7:50 am – 5:50 pm
Two pedals good, four pedals better.
Friday location: Seven | 7:20 am – 10:35 pm
- Interview: Anne Mostue‘s WGBH radio piece aired this morning. I was glad to be interviewed – and to be in the company of David Watson and Lisa Weissmann. It was good to hear some positive thoughts about cycling and bike commuting and cycling in general. We’re hearing good feedback about Anne’s segment.
- Project Bike: Commuter winter bike is now rideable. Big ride tomorrow. Working out a few bugs in the ‘hot swap’ bar system; right now it’s more like luke-warm swap.
- Product Design: Stylerius handlebar for the Nella Neve bike. It’s done, installed, and already been ridden. It’ll get a true test ride tomorrow morning. In the rain, probably.
- Business Development: Patria and I worked out the latest generation of ride leadership – Super Domestiques – at Ride Studio Cafe. Implementation begins this weekend as a beta-test for 2013. I think it’s going to be really great. You’ll have to visit the Studio – and lead a ride – to find out what we’re doing.
Thursday location: Seven | 8:05 am – 9:05 pm
- Process Improvement: Fork alignment work. We’ve had great success with Seven Cycles’ 5E carbon fork since its introduction. The fork has been extremely stable – in all meanings of the word – for nearly a decade. For the first time we’re starting to see a bit of creep in one of the specifications. We’ve tracked down the reason; I’d say it’s fundamentally an entropy situation. The fork is so consistent that some checks get lackadaisical. Statistical creep.
- Product Development: Carbon disc fork. We’ve got a prototype just about ready for testing: ride testing and fatigue testing. I’m not too worried about passing our fatigue test. Ride testing, that’s a whole other thing. It’s been a difficult balance between braking performance and fork handling characteristics. I’m fairly confident that we’ll end up with a fork that meets our desires; it’ll just be a bit heavier than I’d like. I’m guessing we’ll have it to market just as road discs are no longer in use.
Wednesday location: Seven | Studio || 7:20 am – 6:45 pm – & homework
- Product Development: Disc brake road fork. I have some concerns about road discs; and Bicycle Retailer and Industry News just printed an article about one of the challenges that not many are discussing: heat dissipation in discs for road applications. In short, the European standard is that discs “must absorb 75 watt-hours of energy over a 15-minute period.” In riding terms this equates to, for example, seven descending switchbacks at a 7 percent grade when slowing from 50 mph to 11 mph. Therefore, I don’t think 140 discs on road bikes are going to be around for long. Even 160’s seem under the borderline. Lennard Zinn writes that caliper overheating on road bikes, “[…] indicates that calipers, master cylinders, rotors and fluid volume all ought to be greater to counteract the problem […]” Making road bikes heavier? Not to interesting for most roadies.
- Project Management: A lot happening with Honey Bikes right now. A couple of prototypes in process – one of which is a randonneur bike. Working on some industry press. Finalizing some 2013 paint colorways.
- Product Development: Randonneur carbon fork: Randonneur carbon fork: I think I’ve got a wiring harness set up figured out. Testing it tomorrow, maybe. Also came up with a solution to internal wiring conflict with a lifetime warranty. Punching holes in carbon is not conducive to product longevity – not without some tricky problem solving and testing.
Seven’s coffee machine broke. While Lily kindly took up a collection for a new maker, Stumptown Coffee Roasters heard the cries of anguish and sent us a French press with some of their Guatemala Finca El Injerto – Bourbon coffee. I think we finished off the coffee in about 2 hours.
Thank you Stumptown! This got us through the dark moment of having no maker.
Tuesday location: Studio | Seven || 9:00 am – 8:40 pm
- Product Development: Working on the internal wiring system for Seven’s new rando fork. Not super happy with some of the compromises at the moment. Still have time to come up with a better solution. Skip – Seven’s electrical engineer, among many other things – is helping me today.
- Events: Worked on the 2013 Ride Studio Cafe calendar this evening. About 40 events planned. Not sure how that’s possible. But they’re all so interesting and divergent. And most are not repeats from 2012. So much good riding to “do.”
Part of the Nella Neve bike Speed Project was to include a hot swappable handlebar setup: one setup using a new generation Tiberius Bar and one setup using a classic drop bar.
For harsh weather I like drops but some people prefer more upright mountain style bars. Hence the hot swap system.
Dan V. and I designed the bar. People here are digging it. It’s maiden voyage will be Friday night.
What makes this “Stylerius” – stylish Tiberius – bar different from the Tiberius bar? The Stylerius:
- is a straighter bar than most Tiberius – more of an offroad or mixed use bar than a pure commuter or upright bar.
- has multiple hand positions including a semi-aero
- has plenty of space for multiple headlights, Garmin unit, and anything else you want mounted right in front of you
- offers the ability to mount a brake or shift lever in front of the cross bar – hence the space where the two wings meet
Here are some photos of the bar setup.
[click to continue…]
Tagged as:
Tiberius Bar
Monday location: Seven | 8:00 am – 8:35 pm
- Product Development: We’ve finally designed a fail-safe rack mount for Seven’s upcoming randonneur carbon fork. This challenge has always been one of my primary concerns about offering a carbon fork that accepts some front racks. This solution was the last piece of the puzzle. So, we’re going to start testing be week end. Likely.
- Project Bike: Rouleur Nella Neve. The latest all-season ride. A number of cool features. Working on handlebar design with Dan V. and the kit details. Frame mods happening tomorrow.
Friday location: Seven | 7:20 am – 10:35 pm
Thursday location: Seven | 8:05 am – 9:05 pm
Part of the Nella Neve bike Speed Project was to include a hot swappable handlebar setup: one setup using a new generation Tiberius Bar and one setup using a classic drop bar.
Monday location: Seven | 8:00 am – 8:35 pm