Tinkering on Velodromedary

Custom Frame Bag

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 18:24:30 +0000

Sewed a custom frame bag in a weekend workshop at Swift Industries up in Seattle. An impractically-small one, for the partial triangle on one of my bikes. Hey, I think it looks nice, and it can hold a pump, snacks, money, keys, and a light jacket…

Apparently this old post is Too Hot For Tumblr, with images flagged as adult content by their moderators (or algorithms).

Sun, 10 Nov 2019 22:37:27 +0000

Apparently this old post is Too Hot For Tumblr, with images flagged as adult content by their moderators (or algorithms).

the bike-mounted cooler I made rides again, this time carrying 2 lbs of marinated beef, tubs of pickles, and beer, to a camping...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 00:11:00 +0000

The bike-mounted cooler I made rides again, this time carrying 2 lbs of marinated beef, tubs of pickles, and beer, to a camping trip…

New spoke cards for old rides

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 02:55:04 +0000

New spoke cards for old rides

Bike, Plane, Soft Case

Fri, 11 May 2012 23:15:28 +0000

About 30 minutes to pack the first time (including reading instructions), about 20 minutes to unpack and assemble:

Overhauling an old bottom bracket, in photos. Three specialized tools, just to do something no longer needed on modern bikes....

Mon, 07 May 2012 04:08:00 +0000

Made laminated spoke cards of three memorable 2011 group rides, just for fun: Montara lighthouse overnight, the Point Reyes...

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:12:00 +0000

Made laminated spoke cards of three memorable 2011 group rides, just for fun: Montara lighthouse overnight, the Point Reyes camping & oyster trip, and 100 miles of loops around the park.

Beer Growlers by bike. Sure, it would be easy to just carry them in panniers or mesh bags... but for the heck of it, I made...

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:10:00 +0000

Beer Growlers by bike.

Sure, it would be easy to just carry them in panniers or mesh bags… but for the heck of it, I made some minimal webbing-and-elastic structures custom fit to Speakeasy growlers, and which clip to a rack with three-point restraint so they don’t bounce around. Started a few weeks ago, but finally found time to finish (and test!) them.

People at the brewery were amused. And the coffee porter made it to a friend’s party without getting too shaken up.

Just finished a custom bike-mounted growler-carrying sling.

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:27:50 +0000

Just finished a custom bike-mounted growler-carrying sling.

A friend (and occasional bikeit rider) built herself a custom bamboo-and-carbon-fiber bike. Awesome.

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:30:06 +0000

A friend (and occasional bikeit rider) built herself a custom bamboo-and-carbon-fiber bike. Awesome.

Front handlebar bag (no rack)

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:01:00 +0000

A rare “gear” post: A few people have asked me about my handlebar bag. It’s the Rivendell Brand V Boxy BarBag.

Unlike most decent-size front bags, it doesn’t require a rack for support, which is nice, it’s easy to access while riding, and fast to detach and bring indoors at a stop. I keep my valuables, camera, small jacket, snacks, maps, and so on in it.

Winter is coming... time to put various accessories back on the bike.

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 05:06:00 +0000

Winter is coming… time to put various accessories back on the bike.

Quick lunch BBQ in a park with a friend, by bike.

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 23:22:00 +0000

Quick lunch BBQ in a park with a friend, by bike.

Made a very simple bike-mounted cooler. Arkel pannier hooks plus two bolts, fender washers to spread the force, rubber washers...

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 03:15:00 +0000

Made a very simple bike-mounted cooler. Arkel pannier hooks plus two bolts, fender washers to spread the force, rubber washers to help seal the holes drilled through the side, and some webbing at the bottom of the cooler to help a hook hold the bottom of the cooler against the rack (not shown).

Work evening: cutting soles out of special sneakers for recessed pedal clips, installing new leather saddle and Pitlock security...

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 06:28:00 +0000

Work evening: cutting soles out of special sneakers for recessed pedal clips, installing new leather saddle and Pitlock security skewers, re-taping handlebars. Dangit, sheared a bolt by over-tightening.

Clever tabbed no-tape-required bike box design (and have I mentioned you can check a bike on KLM for free?)

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 00:29:02 +0000

Clever tabbed no-tape-required bike box design (and have I mentioned you can check a bike on KLM for free?)

an evening degreasing, lubricating, and replacing brakes and bearings. while listening to This American Life podcasts.

Sun, 01 May 2011 05:55:00 +0000

an evening degreasing, lubricating, and replacing brakes and bearings. while listening to This American Life podcasts.

Glowing heart for SFbikeparty

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 03:43:00 +0000

Friday was the second SF Bike Party – an evening of biking with 500+ people, a stop in Dolores Park for some live music (Odd Owl), a Michael Jackson (and other music) dance party courtesy of Trikeasaurus in Garfield Square Park, and running into a lot of people I knew.

I got home from work about an hour before the ride was supposed to start, and wanted to quickly throw something together related to the “Love Your Bike” theme.

Replacing shift levers on a 40-year-old french road bike

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:37:00 +0000

It all started when I wanted to replace the completely functional plastic-coated downtube shift levers on my old french road bike:

With some slick-looking shifters a friend gave me:

Should be easy, right? Just cut the existing cables, replace the levers and string a new set of shift cables… wrong.

The old shifters and threaded bosses on the frame were an unusual, non-standard thread, M5x1.0mm, which as far as I can tell mainly existed on 1970s French bicycles and is no longer made. The standard metric screws near that size are M5x0.8mm or M5x0.5mm (the same diameter, 5mm, but a different thread pitch). I knew from Sheldon Brown and previous work on the bike that old French bikes are “special” and, for example, one of the bottom bracket cups is threaded in the opposite direction from pretty much every other bike ever made. But I didn’t think this applied to even small-size, standard-looking screws.

New handlebar tape for the old french road bike (and new shifters, but that's a longer story)

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 06:46:20 +0000

New handlebar tape for the old french road bike (and new shifters, but that’s a longer story)

Custom panniers: done

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 06:59:03 +0000

Pattern and details to be posted at some point, but this evening I finally finished making the pair of panniers I’d been working on on and off the past few months. Time for the next project.

Fabricated: New & improved custom pannier made from marine upholstery, with compression straps, spring-loaded rack hooks, simple...

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 08:29:07 +0000

Fabricated: New & improved custom pannier made from marine upholstery, with compression straps, spring-loaded rack hooks, simple removable-for-security external pockets for wallet/keys/cell phone, and reinforced with webbing in key areas.

Took a risk, transported a case of wine with the custom pannier and backpack pannier.

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 23:11:16 +0000

Took a risk, transported a case of wine with the custom pannier and backpack pannier.

Backpack as Pannier

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:46:00 +0000

Hey, I already have a waterproof roll-top backpack– why not use it as a pannier?

Mandrel/anvil and heavy-duty spur grommets (with teeth).

Grommets added to the bag, rack hooks bolted to them with locknuts. I could redo this later to have the grommets set in a separate piece of sturdy webbing, which is then sewed to the bag to distribute the force.

A stereo on the bike rack-- why not?

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 22:15:29 +0000

A stereo on the bike rack– why not?

Custom bike panniers in progress. Prototype 1 is lumpy, but it's a start.

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:41:00 +0000

Custom bike panniers in progress. Prototype 1 is lumpy, but it’s a start.