Vamoots CR Photoshoot for NCC

I recently had the pleasure of photographing this very exceptional Moots build that we did at North Central Cyclery. Vamoots CR frame, ENVE bars and fork, Moots post and stem, all Chris King bearings and full Ultegra. A very proper and reliable choice of components with a superior ride quality. I'd love to spend a few hours riding this thing on some smooth open roads. I chose to photograph it on the railroad because I thought the steel train tracks somehow complimented the titanium frame and the location allowed for a lot of depth. Check out a few more shots below:

1987 Schwinn Super Sport

I recently had the opportunity to refurbish this awesome 1987 Schwinn Super Sport. Lugged frame built with Columbus Tenax double-butted tubing and a Shimano 600 Grouppo. That magenta color is beautiful too. All parts were original except for the tires. I took it for a test ride and it rode a lot better than many of the modern steel bikes I've ridden.

Have a look at some detail shots below.

Titanium Colossal/Chalkboard

Yesterday at the shop, we took our giant chalkboard down off the wall to wipe it clean and write down the latest promos and upcoming cycling events. After erasing it, I thought the board would make for a nice backdrop for the titanium Salsa Colossal I just built up, and so I took a few pics. I think I like how they turned out, so expect to see more of this in the future.

The build is mainly a stock Ti Colossal, which is Salsa's new titanium disc-brake-equipped road bike, with a couple of custom touches. We added a black/red Fi'zi:k Tundra saddle and Lizard Skins duotone black/red bartape, to compliment the red accents of the build. I'm usually not a big fan of duotone tape, but I really like the way it looks on this bike. It's a tasteful build that is modern and flashy, yet subtle and not over-the-top. Come by the shop to see it in person and take it for a spin... Maybe even take it home with you.

Check out a bunch of other photos below:

Japanese Diamondback Road Bike

Once in a while, cool old road bikes come through the shop for repair or restoration. This retro Japanese-made Diamondback road bike with 105 components and rad paint job was too cool to not photograph. Click "read more", for a couple more pics after the jump! (I think i'm going to start utilizing "jump breaks" more on this blog).

Saturday Night Road Ride

Went out on a solo ride Saturday night with the Surly Pacer. It was oddly warm and I was apparently overdressed. Sweat was everywhere. I've been riding alone pretty often lately, but hopefully I'll get some more group rides in soon. Riding alone can be boring, but it's better than not riding at all.

Surly Pacer Cockpit Overhaul

 I was never completely satisfied with the stock cockpit on the Surly Pacer complete bike that I bought about 3 or 4 years ago. It came with some Salsa Short & Shallow bars that were immediately swapped out for my soon-to-be favorite Nitto Noodle bar. The stem always seemed a bit long for me, perhaps the frame is a size too big, but a slightly shorter stem (also from Nitto) solved that problem. My last issue was the levers. The Tiagra STI shifters just always felt really weird to me. The hoods were just really long, and the shape just never felt right in my hands. The shifter cables that ran out from the hinge of the lever always seemed to cast annoying shadows from my headlight and continuously snagged on things. To be honest, I don't even like the idea of STI shifters on a steel bike - the integrated shift levers just look too modern on a more traditional-looking bike. I rarely shift while riding in my area anyways, and so I didn't benefit from their convenience. I wanted something more simple and classic, and so I opted for some bar-end shifters and my current favorite pair of brake levers: the TRP RRL SR Retro Levers (why so many damn letters?)



I've been using these levers on my Nature Boy for about a year now, and I love them. They offer a really nice ergonomic feel, a spring loaded quick release button in case things get muddy, and the vintage-inspired gum rubber hoods and machined out holes are a great compliment to the aesthetic of a steel road bike. The levers just look cool as hell, and feel good in your hands. A benefit of the bar-end shifters that I've discovered is that they are actually much easier to operate than STI's in the winter while riding with big gloves. I might need to play around with the positioning of the levers a bit more, but I think I've finally found the perfect setup.



Since building the Nature Boy, I've forgotten how much I love my Surly Pacer. It's my "hill-climbing bike" - My only bike with gears. Riding in this area, gears are completely unnecessary in my opinion (unless you want to ride really fast), but any time I get out of northern Illinois, they are a luxury that I really appreciate. Surly did a great job with this bike, yet I feel like it's one of their most overlooked frames. Don't forget: They make more than just fatbikes!