bocote is a very hard and naturally oily wood, making it a nice candidate for rack and accessory material in the Untitled #1 bicycle. here we have the bocote in various stages of production. The block came jointed, then the rack was planed down to 7mm to match the face of the rack tubing. A special stem cap was created as well using a forstner bit, drill press (which was also converted to a light duty lathe) and a giant belt sander.
Archive for August, 2011
check out the new decals – goldy fill-in, parchment background, brownie stripes. Hope y’all like it!! But, as with all of the Krauss Bicycles, you can co-design and get pretty much whatever you want. That includes the return of late 80′s splatter paint – radical dude!
full photoshoot after decals are put on… two color paint; yellowish-creamy-foamy-yolk and dulce de leche (chimbote de argentina). Although it’s not flip-flop paint, the shadows cast on the yellow appear to absorb any surrounding objects color and re-translates it. Most of the time the shadows appear greenish. The rack top will be crafted from bocote wood, which is a (very) hardwood that is naturally oily.
built up a couple of these wooden rim wheelsets today. They are made from beechwood from slovenia, then built by hand in italy by a family who has been building wheels for centuries. and by centuries i mean 100′s of years, not specifically for 100 mile rides. They’re built on strurmey archer drum brake hubs, with an internal 5-speed rear. wrapped in the finest white tubulars – Challenge Grifo XS; superior for harder surfaces and has long wear.
congratulations to me as a full century is concluded since Krauss Bicycles went live on the world wide web. Many thanks goes out to all my tried and true clients – hope all the trails are super happy for you!!! Other thanks goes out to the ones who unite with me in my passion for this endeavor. I look forward to yet another eon to serving you all in your quest for human powered and american made steel goods.
Now go out and ride!
the ol’ caad3 is rebuilt and complete with test rides and all. rigid, fast, resposive, positive. this thing will have you in perma-smile in no time flat. step on the crank and you’re gone. no flex anywhere; lateral x,y,z axes and torsional. zilch. nada. nein. you’ll notice two chainrings and one cog. high gear to get to the trails, low gear to get through the trails. 32/42 up front pulling a 19t in the rear. (trails are very wet right now to test off road) custom design/build suicide shifter on the seatstay. use your left hand to shift it. quick flick and the chain switches thanks to great salsa rings. paul melvin tensioner. ok, paul makes some seriously fantastic probucts. any unit built by them is extremely precise and usually cnc’d. old school style. the melvin is no different. this is the only tensioner that states that it can be used for two chainrings. custom cassette spacers were made to align the sprocket in between the two chainrings. just so happens that the melvin lines up perfectly with that chainline. that’s one of the reasons why I swear by paul component engineering. yup, you’ll pay for it, but precision has a price. the bike also has NOS mavic mx601 sealed bearing hubs on wtb laserbeams (wicked light). polished an old set of coda cranks. thomson seatpost/stem for stength and style – answer protaper handlebar – the original but updated.
ting!
new day new rack. adjustable for most any bicycle. slightly wider than most rear racks to securely hold your goods. undermount threaded braze on for your reflector or rear light, or maybe (like what I saw today) a peacock feather.
chukkers on sturmey 8 speed / drum brakes. The chukkers are non machined sidewalls, which contrary to previous thought, could probably work very well with rim brakes also. Of course machined sidewalls are much better, but the profile and section appears to be the same on these rims. But that’s a discussion for another day, these wheels have drum brakes. Or, if you’re hardcore polo, use a cable splitter or split brake lever to control both a drum brake AND rim brake for each wheel. wait didn’t I just say save it for another day. yes, you did. thanks.
