Wedding Beer

If you haven't heard, I'm getting hitched in June. And for such a festive occasion, it's only proper for there to be copious amounts of beer on premise. I have a friend in town that can help me pull off three batches of homebrew, all New Belgium clones. Matt's great at brewing. He really knows his stuff. He'll be helping me brew my first all-grain batches with his equipment, introducing me to liquid yeast, and lending me kegging setups. It'll be nice not to bottle 15 gallons of beer. The recipes and ingredients will be from Austin Homebrew Supply. Check out the beers on Beer Advocate:

10 gallons of New Belgium's Fat Tire Amber Ale

5 gallons of New Belgium's Farmhouse Ale

Oh, and I had two bottles of our Belgian Tripel last night. At 9% ABV, I could have spaced them apart a wee bit more...

Sneak Peak of a Trailer Build

Started designing and building a trailer today out of aluminum scrap. Used to be patio furniture. It will be of the two wheel variety. Will have to stay behind when we move, so I'm not too serious about it. My goal is for it to be lightweight and almost free. So far so good.

All aluminum except for those two curved I bars in the middle.

Has quite a curve to it. Its center of gravy will be pretty low I hope.

Frankenstein's Monster & Another Stamp

I've been inspired to name my commuter bike: Frank. Short for Frankenstein's monster. It really is a hodgepodge of bicycle wonder.

Rockhopper frame.
Rear U-brake under the chainstays.
Biopace double chainrings. (I ground off the teeth on the large ring for a chainguard.)
Suntour stem shifter (left side only, for front derailleur).
Sachs torpedo 3-speed hub & shifter from the 1960s.
Rear Shimano 600 derailleur with green anodized jockey wheels.
Sram i-light front hub.
Wheelsmith double-butted spokes with blue nipples.
Deore XT pedals.
Velo Orange Model 8 sprung saddle.
Spanninga front and rear dynamo lights.
Blackburn flea front and rear usb rechargeable lights.
Topeak rack/bag system.
Planet Bike fenders.
Tektro brake levers and front cantilever brake.
RhynoLite Sun Rims (heavy duty downhill rims).
Panaracer RiBMo tires.
B.O.B. Nutz for the trailer.

I consider Frank a cosmopolitan.

And see what else I have my fancy on:

I guess these stamps are actually "poster stamps." Still pretty cool in my book.

BURNED

Trailer Workshop & The Unknown

Chris is holding a bicycle trailer workshop at Charlottesville Community Bikes this Sunday, 3.20.11 from 3-5pm. Anyone in town should check it out for a donation of $15 to learn from local bicycle trailer makers. Which reminds me, I saw an awesome bike/trailer on BBC News "In Pictures" this week (click to enlarge):

"This folding bicycle has been nicknamed the Inconnu (Unknown) and apparently takes around one hour to fold. Oddly enough, once folded the bicycle needs to be towed as it forms a trailer which is flatter and broader than the bike itself. The designer and manufacturer remain anonymous."

This is the only bicycle I've ever seen that actually becomes a trailer. An hour to fold? Almost defeats the purpose... but notice the pump bracket on the bottom of the frame, the winged-nuts everywhere, and the lugged-crown fork. Oh, and I'm a sucker for those rust-colored tires. Definitely a sweet sweet ride.

Philately Lately

Doing some "shiny-gazing" on eBay last night and came across a pretty awesome bicycle postage stamp. I'm huge fan of old Fichtel and Sachs hubs, so this piece knocked off my proverbial wool socks!

I find something so innovative and beautiful in Sachs' super-machined parts. The hubs are super utilitarian and absolutely stunning on the inside. In my opinion, they really are the finest example of vintage bicycle planetary gearing. Some of the cooler ones, such as the Duomatic two-speed kickback coaster-brake hub, go for a pretty penny on eBay. It really is a great marketplace for hard to find small bicycle parts.I'm currently selling new-old-stock original Fichtel & Sachs Torpedo hub indicator/toggle chains and shifting cables. Both items are super difficult to find in the U.S.