some more stuff

550 up!

2011-06-13T13:14:00.001-07:00

Friday night Brian and I scrambled to get my CB550 running well enough to make it to Des Moines for the Dice magazine party at Kung FU Tap and Taco. We replaced the points and condensers and I added some padding to my unfinished seat via foam and duck tape. Said and done we could only get three of the cylinders to run consistently but it was good enough to get me there and back.

Some Crap

2011-06-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Some parts for the CL finally arrived; piston, rings, cam chain tensioner, cam gear and gaskets gaskets gaskets. I took the cylinder to Arnold's to get bored .75 mm over which will take my total displacement from 99 cc's up to a whopping 103 cc's!

MB5 History

2011-06-02T08:49:00.001-07:00

updates

2011-06-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

I got the CL pretty close to complete and then the cam gear broke. Currently it's in pieces waiting for a new piston, rings, cam and tensioner.
After the CL shit the bed I traded Nash my chrome predator for his broken 1982 Honda MB5. The top end was thrashed so I immediately tore it down and added a Malossi 70cc kit, high compression head and a Tecno expansion chamber. When I got it the factory tank was rusted through so I cut out the bottom and used the quad fuel cell Nash had underneath the tank. Looks acceptably ratty!

CL100 Test Run

2011-01-16T15:55:00.001-08:00

Nash, Brian and I got the CL down to Hilton for some fun in the snow. We also modded the pipe with a slash cut and I added some ratty touches to the tank. I can't wait for nice weather to actually ride this bike in normal motorcycling conditions.

CB550 tail section

2011-01-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

Fabrication continues on the CB's seat a tail section. So far the frames been chopped, and the pan has been formed and welded to a section of CL100 gas tank. It's far from done but getting closer!

Developments

2011-01-05T14:31:00.000-08:00

The CL is looking ratty as hell and the 80 is a little lower than it was a month ago . . . .

Updates

2010-12-28T23:18:00.000-08:00

Tom and I got my new struts, springs, ball joints, tie rods and cv boots installed on my Audi 2 weekends ago. It took ten hours! I drove it for four days until a brake line burst leaving me without a car for Christmas. Several days and a trip to Napa and it's on the road again.
Luke dropped off the CB550 and it's full on next level awesome. I got 2 miles of riding on it before I thought I was going to die from the cold. I can't wait for spring.
My CL100 is running again after an hour of staring at wiring diagrams and a new battery. It looks and sounds ratty as shit and is going to terrorize campus this year. Once again, I can't wait for spring.
I'll get some pictures of the lowered Audi and two motorcycles in the next couple of days. . . . .

catching up

2010-12-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

As the post before this may have indicated, I have been a pretty busy guy lately. Still in school, still working at Bike World, currently single, and still having fun 24/7. I moved out of the east Ames house and into a huge house in campustown. I live with 6 radical guys and a cat named Boris. The "Rat House" is generally a cluttered mess of bike parts, mopeds, motorcycles, beer cans and 4x4's.
Speaking of which, I sold my truck last weekend which was a pretty big deal for me. It's hard letting go of something I've spent so much time and energy on. I'll always have fond memories of my rusty Toyota but it's time for something new. Somehow my 1988 Audi is still on the road. After a big surgery last spring it's running pretty well these days and hopefully it will receive some suspension upgrades before Christmas.
I built a ton of bikes this year, however I have been riding less than ever. I attribute this to laziness and motors. Yes, motors. I built two motoredbikes over the summer and fall and spent a ton of time tuning and perfecting them. It was extremely fun and inspired me to get a real motorcycle. More on that later . . .

back again . . . . .

2010-12-15T20:37:00.001-08:00

Well it's been many moons since my last post here but I'm back and ready to take some blogs. The last year or so has been off the charts. Here are some pictures of what I've been working on:

bikes bikes bikes

2009-04-05T20:27:00.001-07:00

I finished up my sting ray the other day. . . or at least got it rideable. I've got some other plans for it but it's set for now. Kevin, Matt, Sam and I did some testing on it the other night and all I have to say is that sting rays are bad ass. I now understand why folks who grew up with sting rays are so nuts about them.

Getting nostalgic with the sting ray made me reminisce about my younger years on bikes and inspired me to get out my old bmx. For my tenth birthday (July 1995) my dad bought me my first real bike, a Baja blue Dyno VFR. At that time the bike was a little big for me (the vfr has a "pro" length top tube) but that didn't stop me from riding it everywhere. Eventually I discovered dirt riding and my friends and I would ride atv trails down by the river all day and come home covered in mud. As I got bigger I learned how to wheelie and jump. I rode the hell out of that bike. I broke chains, freewheels, brake cables and my collarbone. When I turned 14 I got a set of 180mm 3 piece cranks to replace the stock 1 piece cranks. The longer arms meant more leverage and a larger sprocket. (45 tooth GT Overdrive!) This was handy for hauling some serious ass. When I turned 16 road bikes were the new bees knees. I got a Cannondale roadie and the Dyno got taken apart and put away for a long time. Well, the Dyno is back, resurrected from my mom's basement. I replaced the broken spokes, cleaned it up, threw on an original 1 peice crank, some tioga comp 3's and hooked up a modern v brake. I doubt I'll rally it like I did back in the day but it is awesome to have it back together.

Here are some unflattering pictures:

update

2009-04-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

truck works and tanwalls are totally in this season.

random

2009-03-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

The truck is in working order again. New transmission, clutch, main seal and front driveshaft are all in business. I also finished clipping the fender and got the bumper back on. She is a champion. I also got my sting ray up and running. I need to make some changes but it rides so smooth. Pictures soon . . . .

update

2009-03-20T19:53:00.000-07:00

Kev's, Matt's and my trip down south turned into a short lived tour of KC skateparks. We hit our first one on Sunday afternoon in a suburb north of KC. Kev and I wrecked some little kids and Matt wrecked his ankle. After a few hours we cruised to a hotel and wrangled up some McDonald's. Monday we got up and checked out a park in southern KC that had an enormous and very scary bowl. It was really awesome but none of us had ever ridden anything like it and couldn't do much more than pump around and try to hip some of the transitions. It was really fun but took so much energy we were done for after a few hours. At that point Matt's ankle was seriously messed up so we decided to save some money and head home a day early. Here are some pictures:

In other news - The truck is getting some love on sunday - new front drive shaft, new transmission, new clutch, new shifter seat and bushing. it's going to be a busy day but my truck will super solid and ready for heavy summertime crushin.

bikes bikes bikes.

2009-03-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

-The Stingray came back from the powdercoater and it looks awesome. There are a handful of parts i need to get for it before it's ready to cruise like wheels and bars. Soon enough . . .
-I painted my Cannondale's rims yesterday and it looks worse than I ever could have hoped. Purple on brown hubs with mismatched spokes on a bright yellow bike? Oh and blue tires. Ick. It will look right at home outside the college of design building.
-My FBM got a new brake set up last week consisting of a drilled out cable hanger with spokes replacing the straddle cable. Knarps secure the spokes to the brake. It's a slick set up.

random

2009-03-03T22:09:00.000-08:00

I got a transmission for the truck today from a fella that runs this website. He had two really bitchin rigs and an overwhelming amount of toyota knowledge. Hopefully I'll get that tranny, a new clutch and front driveshaft put in next week sometime. Then the truck will be ready for 33's and crushin.

In other news, I traded sam my rat cruiser for the stingray in our kitchen and got it over to the powdercoater in boone today. My plan is to build it up like the early stingray bmx conversions kids rode in the 70's. Chrome Tange forks, 6" 1 peice cranks, slammed banana seat, rim brakes and some moto style bars.

update

2009-03-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

Rust em up's got the busted tranny blues. Rad bikes have been appearing randomly in my house. There was a stingray with mag wheels today? Not sure who's it is or where it came from but it's awesome. Bikes bikes bikes!!!!! 55 on thursday, time to get down to gettin' down.

single

2009-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

My 1x1 is back together and ready for some ridge jammin' this spring. Thanks Jordan for the bitchin' red paint job.

Frame: Surly 1x1
Fork: Rock Shox Recon
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Bontrager
Handlebar: ? 31.8, has lots a sweep
Seatpost: Thomson
Saddle: Fizik Dolomiti
Grips: ODI Ruffian
Brakes: Hayes HFX 9
Cranks: Profile chrome 175's
BB: Profile
Chainwheel: Profile Imperial
Pedals: Crank Brothers
Chain: Sram pc 850
Rear cog: dmn 15t with dmn spacer kit
Hubs: Shimano with solid axle conversion in back
Rims: Bontrager Mustang
Tires: Michelin 2.2

more fisheye.

2009-02-09T22:55:00.000-08:00

fisheye

2009-02-06T17:29:00.001-08:00

quickie.

2009-02-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

I got a 35mm lomo fisheye from urban. My first roll is coming back today so maybe I'll have some pictures up later. Bikes, burritos high fives all day! Thank god for nice weather even though I waste it at the indoor skatepark in Ankeny. Riding feels so good anywhere at this point. Homework, homework, homework. Rust em' up truck is back in action. She is titled and insured once again and ready for some serious crushin. Sorry I don't update this thing ever. Winter point break means no keanu reeves and no big waves to catch = no new news worth taking a blog.

Since Riding hasn't been happening as much, here is a photo representation of what we do instead:

1. drink some cold ones

2. Matt gets drunk and his clothes do weird things.

3. I laugh for hours.

update update update

2009-01-19T19:10:00.000-08:00

We built a snow jump in our front yard.

random

2009-01-17T17:58:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates recently but there hasn't been much happening to warrant an update. Or perhaps there has been a lot of things but I'm lazy as hell. Winter break came and went, not much happened except the consuming of many cold ones. My roommate Sam got a Surly Pugsley which is snow bank crushin' super fly tnt. My student loans came through so now I'm loaded. My car dropped a deuce in the form of water in the crank case and total loss of antifreeze on highway 35. The motor almost overheated but I shut her down and let it cool off. Since then I changed the oil and checked the compression which was 185 in all the cylinders meaning the head gasket is okay. I also rerouted some hoses to bypass the oil cooler. (the only other place the oil and coolant is separated by a gasket) Hopefully that will take care of the water in the oil issue. On the coolant front I believe there is a block somewhere in the lines which is what caused the ridiculous pressure to ejaculate coolant all over the interstate. I'm debating trying to find the blockage myself or just taking it to a garage and getting raped. That's all for now. Have a nice mlk day monday and keep it real homies.

holiday bike check

2008-12-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

Frame: FBM Autopilot with chainstay brakes
Fork: S&M Pitchfork
Bars: S&M Slam
Stem: Fly
Headset: FF
Post: Pivitol
Seat: re-covered macniel
Cranks: profile 182's
BB: profile
Sprocket: Odyssey Vermont
Pedals: Odyssey Jc's w/ big bolts
Chain: KMC
Wheels: f - big city on primo pro hub. r- hazard on odyssey v3
Tires: f - odyssey aitken r - odyssey path
Brake: odyssey evo
Brake Lever: odyssey mono medium
Grips: odyssey aaron ross

2008-12-22T17:06:00.000-08:00

being poor is hard.

kc badger is the shit!

2008-12-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

I wasn't so sure about this fella but after reading this interview I've determined he is one bad mamma jamma.

random

2008-12-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

1. Ed Roth man crush.
2. Meow.
3. Not wrecked.

random

2008-12-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

Nike has a new video out. Overall it's pretty mediocre with the exception of Garrett Reynolds' part which can simply be described as fucking crazy. (You can skip ahead chapters with the right arrow next to the pause button. Garrett Reynolds' part is the last one.)

holy shit

2008-11-17T21:18:00.000-08:00

I know it's not bike related but good god . . .
watch this

pedal to the metal.

2008-11-17T00:36:00.000-08:00

This is an older Josh Stricker video that blew my mind. Disregard the first minute of shit eating and look how fast he goes. Am I watching Evil Knievel?

random

2008-11-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

I'm Audi here.

2008-11-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

Driving is once again a reality for me. I am now the owner of a 1988 Audi 80. Fry and I got the new sway bar installed on wednesday and tonight Tom and I replaced the brake pads and rotors. There are still a few kinks to iron out but the car seems pretty legit even at 75 miles per hour. Tomorrow I will test it's roadworthyness by driving it all day.

what's the heck is up with florida?

2008-11-04T01:00:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I saw a teaser for a video called "Banned in Orlando 2" It was the craziest minute and a half of massive hucks, rent-a-cop fights and bottle's smashing on peoples faces I'd ever seen. The teaser was wild as hell but didn't have much more than drunk people eating shit. Then I saw this fella Colt Fake's part (who just got signed to metal) and now i really want to see the rest of the video. This guy doesn't give a damn.

Crazy Colt Remix from Banned Vids on Vimeo.

between classes.

2008-11-03T10:42:00.000-08:00

stuff n' things. from Marc Seemann on Vimeo.

random

2008-11-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend was fun.

update update update

2008-10-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Wheel building is something I'd been meaning to tackle for quite sometime but was always to busy sleeping, smashing shit with my truck or drinking cold ones. Over the past month or so some acquaintances of mine built their own wheels, many of them not having any shop experience. If I was going to maintain any sense of self respect I had to do it. I picked up my old blue anodized 26" Araya bmx cruiser rim and my german Komel coaster brake hub, chopped up some spokes and with a little guidance from my good pal Tom I assembled a wheel for my cruiser. I slapped that puppy on and she rides solid. Here's a picture:

Stay rad homies!!

bikes bikes bikes

2008-10-18T22:22:00.000-07:00

new glow in the dark grips for my autopilot. thanks hannah! also hooked up some nokon housing which is rad but creaks unbelievably. and holy good golly miss molly look at those crank arms! 182 millimeters of long n' strong profile fury. Those aren't new but look longer in this picture for some reason.

update

2008-10-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Matt and I got in a car accident today!!! Some fella pulled out in front of us on duff and we wrecked demolition style. Crash em up focus got some serious rally damage but we are doin just fine.

In other news my trek 720 got some new purple paint, fenders and a custom bunny valve cap.

I found a magic gear for my old cannondale road bike. 42x16 with a half link. This sucka is pretty legit as a fixed gear. I used to be really scared of brakeless fixed gears but the more I ride it the more I like the challenge.

That's it for now. Stay rad homies!

random

2008-09-20T18:22:00.001-07:00

I got my new glasses set up. Thanks Oakley Rob! They turned out bad as hell and seeing is pretty nice. Sam Matt and I have been enjoying the nice weather by grilling a lot and having fun with bikes and skateboards.

Here are some common sights from our house:

broken beer bottles and bikes.

consumed food.

wheelchair shenanigans

Sam and an enormous super soaker

condiment / beer hop

Gangster Shit

2008-09-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

1x1 is done. Silky smooth and bad as hell. I love this thing.

Chris Maharry's race is this weekend.

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE

bobber

2008-09-01T20:54:00.000-07:00

I got some different bars for my 1950 schwinn. Also fixed the jockey shifter and cut up a front fender to make a bobbed rear fender.

update update update

2008-08-20T20:16:00.001-07:00

I'm fully moved into my new house. New blinds on the windows and all. Sam Matt and I have a roof over our heads, cold ones, a bunch of bikes, and a neon Old Milwaukee sign illuminating the front yard. Things are pretty bitchin'.

I got a Surly 1x1 built up to replace my trek. I've felt commited to single speed for a long time so making the switch to a dedicated horizontal dropout bike was pretty dang easy. It doesn't have the bells and whistles and certainly isn't chi chi gucci but I like to ride bikes and what do you know? It's a fuckin' bike!

That's all for now! Stay rad suckas!

random

2008-07-30T19:08:00.001-07:00

being homeless is really something. tonight will be night number 7 on the floor.

loose is fast!

summer daze

2008-07-18T01:13:00.000-07:00

Instead of doing the smart thing and looking around for a house on our (matt kevin and i) day off we went riding and swimming instead. We get the boot in a week.

In other news, the ames police have been way up in our business as of late, showing up at my birthday party saturday, wrongfully accusing us of lighting off fireworks monday and busting our asses for riding in the ames skatepark tuesday. Thankfully no tickets or arrests but 3 police chats in 4 days is a personal record for me. I had no idea I was such a bad dude.

rat

2008-07-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

I got the suicide shifter hooked up on my rat bike. A bottom bracket spindle threaded right on to the shimano 3 speed lever. Too perfect.

random

2008-07-06T02:13:00.000-07:00

IT WORKS AGAIN

2008-06-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

nuff said

random

2008-06-18T01:05:00.000-07:00

random

2008-06-13T01:20:00.000-07:00

cruiser makeover. . .

mods are very important.

where the party at?

2008-06-02T08:19:00.000-07:00

Kev's grad party / ghetto ramp party was a smashing success. Everyone had fun and most of us bled. Steve Fry was hangin' out with his fancy camera badassedness. He's got some photo's here: http://fryguyimages.smugmug.com
After Kev's we went downtown and got some diesels bonedeth style and did some more riding. I am so beat from this weekend but it feels so good to be riding bikes with my pals and having some good times.

random

2008-06-01T01:01:00.000-07:00

My legs are ready to fall off tonight. I've been riding to work everyday since summer started and have only driven once since February. Now that it's summer it's like riding overload. I'm lovin' it. Tomorrow is Kevin's graduation party / ghetto ramp bonedeth extravaganza. There are some mean looking ramps and Kevin says the only rule is you can't leave until your bleeding. get excited!

cool shit.

2008-05-27T22:32:00.000-07:00

1978 Mongoose bmx with a Gary Little John Sidehack.

Old moto guzzi driveshaft bike. "La Sex Bomba" pipes and enormous old brembo track brakes. oh golly gosh.

random

2008-05-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

My 720 is back in summer mode: took off the fenders, 700 x 42's and some old creaky spinergy xaeros. It's business time.

In other news:

Don't be an idiot!

the square downtube returns!

2008-05-17T17:36:00.001-07:00

My trek is back from the dead for the second time. Jim Howe welded up it's second crack last week and the broken rock shox psylo was warrantied for free with a recon u-turn. The cracked saint cranks were also replaced with a set of bontrager branded sylo ss cranks. Overall it's pretty bitchin.

random

2008-05-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

random

2008-04-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

stoked on bikes!

2008-04-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

I bit the bullet today and built up my first real bmx bike.

frame: FBM autopilot
fork: Sunday
headset: ? fuel
stem: Fly
bars: Sn'M
post: Ceneca pivitol
seat: Macniel SL
brake lever: Odyssey Monolever
brake: Odyssey Evo 2
cranks: Profile Race
bb: Profile
pedals: Odyssey JC
chain: KMC Kool
rear hub: Odyssey V3
rear rim: Odyssey Hazard
rear tire: Odyssey Path 2.1
front hub: Primo
front rim: Sun Ryno Lite
front tire: Odyssey Aitken 2.25

ready to shred!

random

2008-04-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

BUY THE NEW SWORD ALBUM

and

BONE DETH

random

2008-03-30T22:51:00.001-07:00

notes from the road.

2008-03-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

Teusday:
Got up and drove to Des Moines.
Picked up Kevin's van.
Ate mcdonalds.
On the road south on 35.
Lost in northern Kansas City.
Found an amazing skate park that was empty.
Ate kfc.
Messed up my brake pads. bought some new ones.
Rode street in downtown kc.
Matt broke his chain.
Ate wendy's
Fell asleep in the van.

Wednesday:
Woken up by the cops.
It was all good.
Fixed matt's bike with a masterlink from a chainsaw.
Ate breakfast at hy vee.
Saw a lot of old people.
Found a skatepark in southern kc with an amazing bowl. the smallest quarter was 7' and part of it went to oververt. It was scary as hell.
Ate cici's pizza buffet. So good.
Went home.

Here are some pictures and a video. Enjoy.

2008-03-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

busy busy busy. tests, work and riding 24/7. i made it down to des moines with matt, kev and jamie last tuesday. good times and lots of great riding. then last night matt and i drove out to omaha to hang out with his brother and ride bikes. found an amazing bank on dodge street. busy busy little bee. the pictures should be resized but i don't care. things are nuts gotta go!

kevin stomping a 180 over a parking stop.

kev

jamie

matt barspinnin'

manual bizz

tww promo

2008-03-02T20:21:00.000-08:00

Joe Cox has his shit together or something cause this video is going to be rad.

eat your cookies son!

2008-02-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

Ohh flat pedals, mountain drops and no gears are SO HOT RIGHT NOW!!

eat cookies! drink milk! do work!

random

2008-02-21T10:13:00.000-08:00

I got the Juno soundtrack last week. It's kickass. My truck's oil pump (literally) took a dump a few days ago. The truck will be sitting until it gets warm enough to fix it. Good thing public transportation and I are good buddies, at least until it's warm enough to ride everywhere. Did I mention the Juno soundtrack is f'ing awesome?

business

2008-02-16T23:31:00.000-08:00

Trek 730 beautification complete. . .

Matt's cannondale is purple!

Emily and TJ crashed out.

Tron funkin blow!

In other news, i had a confrontation with a light pole last week. Consequently American Family Insurance has purchased my car and I will not be driving for a while.

oops.

2008-02-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

1. i'm an idiot.

2. ian schwartz is good at bike riding.

random

2008-02-05T15:01:00.000-08:00

Finished!

2008-01-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

I got my ski bike parts back from the welder today and damn am i excited. I took it out to the park and gave'r and it rides superbly. i am aware there are better designs but i don't really care. This thing is pretty bomber if you ask me.

bikes bikes bikes

2008-01-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

i got my sinister back together a few days ago. new tires (small block 8's) and new grips are on the way.(odyssey aaron ross keyboards) I took most of the stickers off and have to say it looks way better than before. i didn't like the fork lowered to 80mm so i took it apart again and put in some new spacers. it's sitting at 100mm now which feels perfect. i hoped to ride it in des moines today but it was raining when i got there. it was kind of a bummer deal but eh, i got to see my family and hang out with joe and fry which was pretty rad.

friday

2007-12-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

I was going to ride the trainer tonight. I went to wendy's instead.

Then Matt and I took rust em up truck snow wheelin' and got good and high centered. Fortunately there was a large stick we used to pry the front axle up and get the truck dislodged from atop it's perch. Matt gets some big kudos for being a strong guy.

marzocchi fork ninja

2007-12-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

Today I lowered my Sinister's fork. My 2003 Marzocchi Dirt Jumper 1 started life at 130 millimeters of travel and was lowered to 110 when i got my dna. Since then I've wanted to drop it to 80 mm to make my head angle steeper and lower the front end of my bike. Tearing into suspension components can be intimidating because there is a lot a crap to screw up. Fortunately I know my shit.

You need a couple things before you start a project like this; music and tools. For music I would recommend Fu Manchu and for tools you'll need some lock ring pliers, a modified 12mm socket and a 20mm socket.

I won't get into the techno-nerd brutality that is disassembling and reassembling these forks but basically you're draining the oil, removing the lower assembly, modifying the damper assemblies with different spacers and putting it all back together with different spacers in the upper assembly. It can be a pain in the ass but when you're done you will have a kickass fork.

At 110 mm:

Tools and top caps:

One of the damper assemblies before spacer swap:

One of the plastic spacers was annihilated along with both of the top out springs. Fortunately (and amazingly) bike world had new top out springs in stock.

I replaced the springs and installed new metal spacers on the dampers assemblies.

Then I put it all back together.

80mm:

merry christmas to me!

2007-12-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

I ordered Chill Bro and a bitchin' fbm shirt from empire 2 minutes ago!!!! Who wants to watch bike movies this weekend???!?!

bmx-capades

2007-12-20T23:57:00.000-08:00

I got on the trainer again tonight, this time it was at bike world for the thursday night trainer ride. It feels good to move my legs and crap, but riding inside is so lame! I'll definitely be there next week.

Since I haven't been riding as much, I've had a lot of free time and until Emily left town most of it was spent drinking beers and hanging out. Now that she's outtie and Matt's sick all I do is watch bmx videos and hope someday mountain biking can be as stylish. I envy the creativity bmx riders have and the abilities they posses. The bikes themselves are much more stylish than mountain bikes and much easier to ride on the street and in the park. There is certainly a case for riding a mountain bike but recently I've wanted a bmx bike more than ever. Anyway, here is a video I stole from the defgrip site. Tomorrow We Work (right click, save as) Defgrip is a kickass bmx website. It's got some artsy fartsy business going on and always has kickass teasers and promos. The video above is badass FYI.

ouch

2007-12-19T19:30:00.001-08:00

riding the trainer is not metal.

metallurgy 101 with The Sword

2007-12-17T15:33:00.000-08:00

The last several days have been pretty nuts. Many adventures thanks to beer and free time. Things can feel pretty out of hand some times, but it's the crazy stuff you do when you're young that you're going to miss when you're old. Last night Matt and I drove to Iowa City to see Black Cobra, Valiant Thorr and The Sword. This show was certainly in my top five shows I've seen. Valiant Thorr was freaking nuts and looked straight outta 1984. I remember one of the guys saying "We should punch out the mutherfucking thermometers and smear the mercury across our faces like war paint!!" The Sword was unreal.

J.D. of The Sword.

winter sucks!

2007-12-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

All I've done the last two weeks is drank beer and run my truck into things. All i want to do is jump my bike! Hopefully we'll get some serious precipitation for some huge snow jumps.

omaha footy

2007-11-09T02:34:00.000-08:00

Here's some crappy footage from omaha.

Bike Check

2007-11-08T22:23:00.000-08:00

Frame: Trek 720 (made in waterloo)
Fork: Trek cyclocross
Headset: Aheadset threadless
Stem: Bontrager
Bars: WTB mountain drops
Seatpost: ?
Seat: Funn camo
Tape: ?
Brakes: dia compe levers, shimano canti's
BB: Truvativ
Cranks: Bontrager ?
Ring: 42t Shimano saint
Pedals: Welgo
Chain: Sram pc 48
Hubs: Shimano
Rims: Matrix
Tires: IRC 42c
Extras: pbr can shim, chopped up sram x7 der as a chain tensioner, bloody axe sticker on the headtube.

This is a 90's trek hybrid. The fork is off an XO (thanks fry!) and the bars came from emily. (thanks!) The rest of the parts were hanging out around my apartment.

fun facts

2007-11-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

grain belt can be purchased at hy-vee liquor on lincoln:

my cyclo-cross wannabee is close to complete:

my truck looks best on dirt roads in the middle of nowhere:

KP's an animal!

2007-10-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted anything. Can't say I've been doing anything worth posting. Just a whole bunch of work and school. I did see Kevin Porters part of Empire bmx's video "Chill Bro" and I definitely crapped my pants several times.

2007-10-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

No posts in a while. Nothing has really been going on worth posting. Sleeping, schooling, working, riding, eating. Matt and I got out to pammel today in the rain for some greasy ass runs on our big bikes. Matt crashed and bent his bars on the first run.
I just finished up my eight week classes which should open up some more time for riding. Actually it means I'll just be working more because i am poor as hell.

omaha!

2007-10-04T22:14:00.000-07:00

Rolled to Omaha today with Kevin and Matt for some street and park action. Our adventure really started yesterday when i picked Matt up from school. We rode the ankeny park, downtown des moines and then the urbandale park before crashing out at my mom's house in des moines. This morning Kev showed up around 8:30 and we were on the road by 9. The drive to Omaha wasn't to bad. We stopped for some McDonalds cause that's what dirtbag mountain bikers eat. Once we got to Omaha our first order of business was a seek and destroy mission at Roberts skate park. The park was definitely set up for skateboards because everything was really tight and all the transitions were short and steep. After the mandatory shredding we drove downtown. We found some pretty decent spots. Kevin hit this really haggard waterfall gap thing that took some serious nuts. Matt was 180'ing everything in sight and I got a couple manuals. Everyone ate shit at least once today. Kevin smashed his nogin pretty good on a botched 180 and I had a pretty ugly dismount after a 3 tap that left me face down on the cement. We got some serious footy so expect a video in the next week or so. On the way back we listened to Fu Manchu at the minimum 100 decibals. Here are some pictures:

Brake!

2007-09-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

My cruiser got a front brake last week. Paul lever, nokon housing and a tektro brake all of which cost me $0 with some trading and sweet talk'n. The key to the whole set up is the nokon housing. When i tried it with regular housing the tight angle between the lever and the basket made so much friction that the brake felt like a squishy piece of poo. the nokon housing handles the angle and makes my brake feel like 1 million dollars.

Chris Maharry's race is Sunday

2007-09-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sunday is the Maharry time trial. Last year there were bottles of grey goose on the prize table. Go to this race. The carnage begins at 10 in the Ashworth pool parking lot (old science center). Proceeds from the race go to cita and Chad V.

This is for Carney.

2007-09-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

Schwinn cruiser bike check:

Frame: 1963 Schwinn Tiger
Fork: 90's Klien rigid 1 1/8th steerer
Headset: a bunch of different parts
Stem: Bontrager 50mm
Handlebar: Schwinn
Seatpost: Schwinn
Seatclamp: GT red ano
Grips: Mosh bmx with the flanges cut off
Saddle: Schwinn "approved"
Cranks: GT Chro-moly 3pc, 180mm
Chainwheel: GT "overdrive" 45t
Chain: sram pc-1
Pedals: Odyssey Tripple Trap
Rear Wheel: ? w/ coaster brake and 17t cog
Front wheel: ?
Tires: Kenda Kinetics 2.35
Extras: a bell, tugnut, custom hack-sawed and hose-clamped blackburn rack, basket with imbcs number plate and a pop can shim on the seatpost. The frame also has a rust hole on the top tube that is covered with an "ouch" band aid.

axle carnage!

2007-09-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

I took my sinister apart Saturday afternoon and discovered two things:

1. I need a 20 millimeter front axle.

2. White Industries freewheels are the shit.

When i pulled my front qr out of the wheel the axle was snapped in two. This is the third front axle I've broken this year. I think a Punish-mint green Rock Shox Argyl and a 20 mm saint hub are in my near future. I also took apart my White Industries freewheel. My mouth pretty much fell to the floor when I opened it up. Everything was machined and there was no wear at all. A little cleaning and some fresh phil wood was all it needed. Who can resist the sound of 6 pawls engaging 72 times per rotation? It sounds like a swarm of pissed hornets.

I want these.

2007-09-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

Odyssey JC Trailmix pedals are available in white! Who knew?!?!

Dubuque video.

2007-09-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

Here's the Dubuque footage we took a couple weeks ago. Kevin Matt and I may all be twenty-somethings but we know how to have fun like 12 year olds. Lawnmower carnage!

it's alive!

2007-09-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

My childhood friend is back in action. For some reason I have good chain tension without my singulator? Strange. It creaks a bunch and the drivetrain is crunchy but I love it. Tomorrow it shall see some trails.

Thanks Jim!

2007-09-07T00:11:00.000-07:00

I got my trek frame back from the welder today. He said it won't break. I said OK. Here's a before and a couple after pictures.

bike check!

2007-09-06T01:07:00.000-07:00

I think the world would be a better place if people actually posted bike checks. Here is my favorite bike I own. It is a 2006 Sinister dna made in New Hampshire by Frank Wadelton.

Frame: Sinister dna
Fork: Marzocchi DJ 1
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Atomlab
Bars: Answer pro taper
Seatpost: Thomson
Seat: SDG
Grips: ODI
Brake: Avid Juicy 7 (rear only)
BB: Race Face
Cranks: Shimano Saint
Ring: E. 13 w/ E. 13 bashring
Pedals: Sea foam green Odyssey JC's
Chain: Shadow interloc V2
Freewheel: White Industries "trials"
Hubs: Surly new disc
Rims: Sun Ringle mtx
Tires: Syncros point n' chute
Extras: Dangerboy caps and an orange pipecleaner for boost.

Dubuque

2007-09-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

The Dubuque trip went alright. The jumps were ruined after a flood this summer so we rode street all day. . . . and a long day it was. Early in the day Kevin got a bunny hop to 180 off a 4 set of stairs and Matt got a nice little manual to barspin to manual. After that we hung out under this sketchy bridge with a really nice concrete bank for a while. Kevin and Matt both got 180 taps and I got a barspin to fakie I was pretty proud of. We sort of got chased out of there by a crazy cracked out family. After that we found a cool little grass bank. Matt and I both got 360 taps and kevin was really close to 180'ing it. The highlight of my trip was the wallride-manual I got at the parking garage next to the grass bank. It was my first ever and I felt pretty rad about it. We took some footage that i'll try and edit sometime soon. I definitely think more mini road trips need to happen this year. I know Sugarbottom has to happen as well as another Fort Dodge trip. Who's in?

dirt quarter of fury

2007-09-02T21:41:00.001-07:00

I found an enormous pile of soft dirt south of Mortensen last Thursday that I dug into a dirt quarter. Three days of drying and shazam! An 8 foot tall, near vertical dirt quarter pipe is born. Kevin and I went back to ride it tonight and damn was it sweet. Tire taps were the only things Kevin and I could really do on something this steep. We both wanted to 180 out of it but it was so hard to get enough speed because the run in was up hill and our lighting situation was definitely lacking. Tomorrow we're headed to Dubuque to check out their dirt jumps. I've seen them once before and they looked incredible. I can't think of a better way to spend a day off from work and school. Here are some pictures:

this n' that

2007-08-28T01:16:00.000-07:00

I got bored today and hastily threw together some footage from the last month. First up we have Kevin who just learned 1 handers and was totally pinned at south 16th. Next is some trail footage and Matt learning barspins and a manual - barspin then a 3 tap clip from the bank bank.

2007-08-26T01:57:00.001-07:00

Tonight I went to Des Moines with my good pal Jameson to ride bikes and see a show downtown. We got his peugoet working again at my mom's house and met up with Hillary and David who had driven down from Minneapolis for the night. David just finished building up his fixed gear; a 1980's Columbus track frame with a bunch of njs parts on it. The frame and fork don't have drillings for brakes and the fork must have less than 3o mm of rake. It is a very sexy machine. The ride from West Des Moines to downtown was pretty sweet but we were lacking adequate lighting for Saturday night Des Moines traffic. Jameson had a really close call with a minivan that pulled out in front of us. Kudos to him for swerving to miss the van while simultaneously giving the driver the middle finger. We arrived at the Vaudeville around ten and grabbed some beverages while the first band set up. The band was called Oh Possum and they rocked much harder than any of us expected. The Autumn Project was the headliner tonight. I've seen them quite a few times and have to say this wasn't one of their best shows. It was still a pretty rock'n good time. The show got over around 2 which meant we got to hang with bar traffic on the way home.

Hi

2007-08-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

I'm new.

Here are some of my favorite things:

Sinister dna.

Transition bottle rocket.

1981 Toyota.

some more stuff

550 up!

Some Crap

MB5 History

updates

CL100 Test Run

CB550 tail section

Developments

Updates

catching up

back again . . . . .

bikes bikes bikes

update

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update

bikes bikes bikes.

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single

more fisheye.

fisheye

quickie.

update update update

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holiday bike check

kc badger is the shit!

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holy shit

pedal to the metal.

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I'm Audi here.

what's the heck is up with florida?

between classes.

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update update update

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bikes bikes bikes

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Gangster Shit

bobber

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summer daze

rat

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IT WORKS AGAIN

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where the party at?

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cool shit.

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the square downtube returns!

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stoked on bikes!

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notes from the road.

tww promo

eat your cookies son!

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business

oops.

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Finished!

bikes bikes bikes

friday

marzocchi fork ninja

merry christmas to me!

bmx-capades

ouch

metallurgy 101 with The Sword

winter sucks!

omaha footy

Bike Check

fun facts

KP's an animal!