grips

Vassago Fisticuff

I just finished up Roch's new Vassago cyclocross/commuter/dirt road /do everything bike.....this was a really fun build and i was able to work with a few new products that i've never seen before. For starters, Woody's wood enlay fenders were a treat......i did have to slightly modify the rear fender so that the front derailleur could swing far enough to work with three front chainrings. I opted to use a small mallet and wood chisel to remove just enough material.....smoothed it back out with a couple of files and then finished it off with dose of varnish. I hated to cut into a $150 set of fenders, but hey....someone had to do it !

Also...since budget was still a priority (complete bike for under 2K), this was also my first experience with the knock off Nitto moustache bars. The Dimension bars were labeled that they were not compatible with shimano bar end shifters, a small gamble worked out on behalf of price reduction and our set of shifters installed just fine. We also saved a few pennies with the use of the Dimension seatpost. Ironically though.....the budget was blown wide open with the use of the Brooks B17 saddle and matching Brook leather tape (the 8 inches of spare tape was used to wrap the chainstay). The stem was a used Thomson elite that was laying around the shop....and before you jokers bust me about the amount of headset spacers used, we had to use a bunch to get the moustache bar level with the saddle height, which is where they need to be, UNLESS of course you're in yoga and have some serious flexibility. Roch.....he's big, stiff, and runs like a trotting giraffe. Trust me.....i've seen him run before ; )


The drivetrain was composed mostly with Shimano Sora components, three rings up front and nine in the rear (PG950 12-26 cassette). Shimano Deore disc hubs laced up to some of those wood grain Velocity Blunts that i showed in a photo and talked briefly about below. This wheelset kinda matched the hole character of the build, the new owner and seemed like a good fit. The pedals are Shimano's A530's with one side clip-in and the other side platform, perfect for those days when a clipless shoe is too bothersome. We used Avid BB5's and Tektro RL520 brakelevers to handle the modulation. This is a perfect combination for drop bar/disc brake applications.

enjoy the new bike Roch ! It was a blast to put together.

Velocity rims

I've always liked Velocity as a brand because of their ability to change and manufacture rims to follow the current trend, and for the money their rims are competitive with the other big players in terms of durability and function. However, velocity moves to the beat of their own drummer. They seem to be always bringing a breath of fresh air to the wheel with fashion and style. For me.....i'm a sucker when it comes to novelty rims that duplicate the look from the past. Faux wood grains. Oh yeah.......the drool meter runs high for me on these. Spendy though....approx $100 per rim.

and how about something a little different, 29er Velocity Blunt rims with glow in the dark polka dots !

Leipheimer Decal

picked up this cool sticker from the Leipheimer bike shop over in Butte this past weekend. Thanks for the decal Rob ! I like stickers !!

pugs ride with shrek

Had a nice ride through Coyote Coulee with the infamous Shrekster this past Sunday morning. The snow (or lack of for this time of the year) was fairly easy to pedal through with exception to the upper portion of the loop, it had recieved quite a bit more snow to plow through. Here's a couple pics from Sunday. Conditions are still good to ride.....so get out there. Also, Robert mentioned that the Lake Como loop is still rideable, yes the entire loop.