Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Boston Bike Builders Tour Series?

Ok, this is a little half-baked and I haven't thought through all of the details (like scheduling), but...

I love to ride my bike. No doubt. See the problem is that I have a hard time picking a direction. It may sound weird, but I hop in the saddle and I'm immediately like, "now what?" In lieu of any kind of inspiration, I usually end up doing a downtown traversal, heading from my hood on the Roxbury/JP line to the harbor and back. The thing is, life's already full of spinning in circles, I don't know why I'd do that on my bike. I enjoy a ride with a destination 100...no, 1000% more.

Meanwhile, I've been toying with the idea of getting an ANT for a bit now, as some of you might have read in another thread. I don't know when this would ever come off, but I've been wanting to roll down to Holliston and chat up Mike just for kicks anyhow. I've also never been to IF and I wouldn't mind seeing Seven, either.

So who would be up for a series of rides to greater Boston-area frame builders? Off hand, I can think of (in no particular order), IF, Peter Mooney, Seven, ANT, Hot Tubes in Worcester. Maybe we could wrap in some historical stuff like the original Columbia Bicycle factory site (now the T's HQ), the old Merlin & Fat City sites... You dig? Short rides could be stretched out with a couple of historic sites before visiting the builder. I don't know, whatever, ya know?

Anyhow, I don't know how the schedule would work out what with me having a regular 9-5 job and other employed people generally enjoying their weekends and evenings for themselves, but maybe it could work. Maybe I could take a few days off to make some of this work. Who'd be interested? Have I missed any builders?

I'd be in for checking some of those places out, and you know I'm usually up for a spin.

Dude, I was totally thinking of you and my failed century training when I was writing that. I need a place to go!

'sides, I'm still hauling around that zipcar crap to give you one of these years.

i'd totally be down for that! Just let me know well in advance (like 2 days).

parlee cycles in peabody, but i don't know what kind of mileage you're looking for....

It's all good. Peabody is a sight closer than Worcester or even Holliston. I forgot them, I think someone around here checked Parlee just recently.

What about Providence? Any builders down there?

There will definitely be more than a couple days notice because I'll be getting in touch with the builders to schedule with them and make sure they can deal with our ragtag crew.

circle A cycles in providence, nice stuff!

Gah! I knew there was a Providence builder I wasn't thinking of. Of course! Man, I'd love to see Circle A up close. I've seen a couple bikes and they're slick as snot.

Ok, my list is

Mooney
ANT
IF
Seven
Hot Tubes
Parlee
Circle A

Any more?

this is such an awesome idea. have fun, but don't come back unless you plan to post lots of pictures.

Peabody isn't a bad ride at all, I do it roundtrip about once a week. Maybe 12-15 miles on a bad day.

I'm interested if I can fit it in my schedule.
Let's start with the shorter rides, though -- Boston-Providence-Boston is about 100 miles, I don't think I'm in century shape at the moment. :)

You could always take the commuter rail back...

Alright, I'll start to sus out the locals. Maybe we'll do them in increasing distance. Start with IF, then Peter Mooney, Parlee, ANT, Hot Tubes, Cicle A.

I'm pretty sure I'm not in century shape either, nevermind getting places in time to see the shop, but we'll figure it out. Start easy and work up. The train back is always an option too.

Stay tuned and I'll try to have some stuff worked out a bit in the next several days.

tour de boston, haha, it would be cool if you could somehow manipulate it into a stage race

Gah! I knew there was a Providence builder I wasn't thinking of. Of course! Man, I'd love to see Circle A up close. I've seen a couple bikes and they're slick as snot.

Ok, my list is

Mooney
ANT
IF
Seven
Hot Tubes
Parlee
Circle A

Any more?

If you decide to ride to circle A and then take the train back, I know some nice ride routes to and from Boston.

If you wanted to take the train down in the morning, I could ride back with you and show you a great route. I'd say from your neighborhood to circle A is within a mile or two of 50 miles, if you take back roads all the way.

tour de boston, haha, it would be cool if you could somehow manipulate it into a stage race

this can be done. we just did a seven stage race from boston to new york:
http://www.strangersracing.com/r1

I would love to get involved in this.
Just please don't allow me to bring my wallet with me to any of the aforementioned shops... unless we can stop and donate bone marrow on the way.

Count me in, provided I don't have work, baby, or other duties at the time of a particular ride.

I might be all sacreligious and not ride the fixie, not because I've fallen out of love with the no-coast lifestyle, but because the fixie needs a new bottom bracket, and in the mean time I'm almost done building up an old Schwinn Typhoon frame with a 3-speed coaster brake hub, and it's too fresh for words.

We'll forgive.

I'm still trying to track down the IF card I picked up at the bike show to remember who I talked to because we specifically discussed setting up a little factory tour.

Oh man, I'm not back in town till Sep. 1st, so dont start for like three more weeks so I can still ride on a few of them. It would be one per weekend right?

I don't know what it's going to look like yet. I'm hoping at least one or two could be on a weekend, but it's going to depend on what I can work out, ya know?

This sounds fascinating. Count me in.

This sounds awesome-- I'd totally come down to Boston for this. But the weekend would work better for me.

I guess I'd have to leave now if I wanted to join in then?

Dude, at the rate I'm moving, it won't happen until next summer. I just tore up my little room here, but I'll be damned if I can find dude's card. Oh well, I guess I'll have to resort to the, "so I spoke to someone from IF at the Boston Bike show and he said..." card.

Would be nice to have a name attached, but c'est la vie. That's what I get for having no connections.

I'm down; however I only have fridays and sundays off, so sunday happenings would be best. Let's also try to integrate food/ice cream/ pie into this as well... ;)

Here's what Joe Ingram has to say about an IF tour (I'm pretty sure it was Joe that I talked to at the bike show because I remember thinking it was funny to have your CFO repping your wares in the booth):


People come by all the time for tours so we would be more than happy to show you and your group around. Normal hours are Monday - Friday 9-5. We are usually here around 8 in the morning or until maybe 6 at night but it is pretty slow around then so during the day would be best.

I'd be willing to leave work early on a Friday, maybe meet up at 2:30 or something, ride for 90 minutes, and land at IF to geek out.

That should be ok for me if I can get away from work.

Ok, it's time to kick this thing off. If I don't hear a good reason otherwise from yous guys, I'm going to tell Joe at IF to expect us around 4pm next Friday. Quick show of hands if you're thinking you'll do this.

I'd be down if they weren't only open when I had to work, so take pictures.

I'm going.

I'm doing it!

I'll be there.

I'll be on a plane that afternoon. So I guess I have to wait for the next installment.

Any more information on this? When and where do we launch?

It's happening. Way to steal my thunder, jackass.

Seriously, let's meet at 2:30 on the lawn in front of Trinity Church in Copley Square. That other usual place.

That will be the first of our historic sites. I expect this to be a pretty leisurely paced ride not being more than 15 or 20 miles. There may be as many as four stops between the start and finish, but I'm not sure, I'm thinking much more like two. A couple of points don't really have anything to see, they just provide some thematic support to the chosen route.

So we may throw extra mileage if it turns out that the route leaves us with some extra time. Or maybe we'll show up early at IF. We'll play it by ear. I do want to stop at a package store and pick up a little TLC for the guys for showing us around.

Bump.

Tossed mails with Joe just now and we're on for tomorrow.

Last minute reminder. I'm rolling in about 15 minutes. 2:30, Trinity Church, don't screw this up. 617 308 8274 if you need to reach me at the last minute.

Oh, the scheduled portion of our program is only about 10 miles. We can do more or not, depending on how people feel about the heat and if that rain actually materializes.

Great fun. We should do this more often. IF was extremely accomodating, and they didn't seem at all bummed when we didn't walk out 4 x $1600 poorer. We got rained on twice.

Yeah, I really didn't expect that rain when I left the house. Even when we got to IF, it didn't seem like it was gonna happen. Leaving was a whole other story, though.

Tomorrow I'll post photos from the shop and the ride route and maybe even the hysterical points of interest.

I think three 6-packs has a way of making people more accommodating. (Damn, Brad, didn't realize you were ALSO picking one up for them!)

It's very interesting to me to compare and contrast this and Mike Flanigan's one man operation (the only other builder I've visited). I'll try to get on lining up a visit with him or maybe Peter Mooney at Wheelworks. The ride to Holliston is super scenic though.

Photos are up at www.zweknu.org/pics/gal.rhtml?alb=if

As for the question about argon purging on the TIG jig, it's necessary to shield Ti with an inert gas when welding or otherwise raising it to high temperatures. While delightfully non-reactive at room human temperatures, Ti loves to just suck up oxygen at the higher temperatures achieved when welding. The welding head blows the shield gas, protecting the weld surface from the front but it's also necessary to purge oxygen from the interior of the tubes which is what the hose and head fittings were for.

It's not clear to me if the shield gas is strictly necessary when welding steel as there are obviously steel welding processes that don't use it.

Shielding gas for steel isn't 'strictly necessary' but its reaaaly helpful. I don't like to weld without it.

You always need something to protect the metal from burning. All metals will burn or oxidize in the presence of oxygen and extreme heat. The cheap method of preventing oxidation is to use flux core or flux coated wire or rod, which is used in 'regular' arc welding and stick welding, which boils and spatters as the heat from the welding melts not only the metals involved, but also the flux itself. This boiling and spattering coats the metals involved, and releases a shielding gas of its own, protecting the metal from oxidation (burning). Of course, it sucks, smells bad, makes toxic fumes, isn't very precise, and it makes big bubbly welds with inconsistent penetration. In the hands of a skillful welder, it can be OK, but its not ideal.

Torch welding uses the flame itself to create a bit of a shield. You balance the fuel gas and the oxygen to create a neutral flame, one that has no excess of oxygen, and it not demanding additional oxygen. Then the flame will act as a shield for your welding, just not a very good shield. Again, spattery welds, with inconsistent penetration, but fine in the hands of a skilled welder. The cutting torch attachment intentionally violates this balance. You heat the metal with the main 'neutral' flame, and then when you want to start cutting, you hit another lever which sprays a bunch of pure oxygen into the fire. In the presence of all this oxygen, the steel says, "screw this melting business, i'm gonna BURN" and the flame begins to physically burn all the way through the steel. Fun. :)

MIG stands for "Metal Inert Gas", and by definition, uses shielding gas. Sometimes you see "MIG welders" that don't use shielding gas, but thats really marketing jibba-jabba for "Its really a flux core wire welder, but if you bought our extra kit and a tank, it could do MIG too." If it doesn't use a tank, it ain't MIG. Usually we use 25% CO2 and 75% Argon, which is a standard shielding gas for welding steel. Different processes and metals use all kinds of different inert gasses, but the point is that your shielding gas won't burn, won't react with the metals, and will displace oxygen. When you hit the trigger on the MIG torch head, wire begins to come out of the center of the head, and gas comes out vents around the wire, so the wire is 'sheathed' in the gas. When the wire hits the metal in question, current flows, it heats up, and yer weldin'! MIG is about a million times cleaner and nicer than flux core. Its literally point and shoot, just set the current and wire feed rates based on the chart on the side of the welder, clamp on your electrode, and weld away! Anyone can make functional MIG welds in less than 10 minutes, and get pretty good after an hour or two of practice. Of course, doing really tricky things, welding really thin stuff, that all takes more practice, but basic MIG welding is really easy.

I don't have as much experience with TIG (unfortunately), but it stands for Tungsten Inert Gas, and requires inert gas for it to be truely TIG, again you can buy 'tig compatible' welders that can be 'upgraded' to use shielding gas, but if it ain't got that gas, it ain't TIG. In TIG, the heating arc isn't struck between the consumable wire and the work piece, like in MIG, but between a non-consumable tungsten electrode and the metal. Then, as that melts the metal, a consumable filler rod is sent into the pool to create the weld. Its trickier, because you are handling not just the torch head, but also the filler rod. MIG is point and shoot, but TIG is more like painting. Of course, that gives a skilled welder tons more control, which is why high-end stuff is usually TIG'd. I'm saving up for a TIG now. :D

Anyway, I just wrote way more than I intended to about welding. I'm not a pro welder, just an enthusiastic hobbiest, so my answers may not be strictly text book, they are just based on my experiences and understanding of the processes.

peace,
sam

Anyway, that ride looks like it was a lot of fun! You guys are lucky to have so many bike builders in your area. I'm not sure if St. Louis has anywhere near that density (if we even have any at all!).

Did you call all the places ahead of time and ask what they thought about you showing up and wanting look around? Or did you just ride up? Were they all amiable to showing you guys around, or did any of the shops seem to feel like it was a big inconvenience?

peace,
sam

So far the only shop we've visited as a part of the series is IF. We called ahead and they were happy to show us around with just a little notice. I've also visited ANT Bike Mike in Holliston (one of the original IF founders and ex-Fat City guy) during his open studio this spring. He extended an invitation to come back anytime I want, but it's probably the courteous thing to at least call ahead.

We got some extremely funny color commentating on the old Fat City days, too. Apparently things were a little seat-of-the-pants around there.

Thanks for the detail on MIG/TIG, I should have thought of flux core rod. Actually, I never really understood the purpose of the flux at all but now it makes sense. :)

Yeah, I really didn't expect that rain when I left the house. Even when we got to IF, it didn't seem like it was gonna happen. Leaving was a whole other story, though.

Tomorrow I'll post photos from the shop and the ride route and maybe even the hysterical points of interest.

I think three 6-packs has a way of making people more accommodating. (Damn, Brad, didn't realize you were ALSO picking one up for them!)

It's very interesting to me to compare and contrast this and Mike Flanigan's one man operation (the only other builder I've visited). I'll try to get on lining up a visit with him or maybe Peter Mooney at Wheelworks. The ride to Holliston is super scenic though.


Excellent time. Thanks for hooking that up Trevor. The folks at IF seemed pretty happy to have us, and even happier to have some free lagers.

I wish they hadn't given us those catalogs - can't... resist... black track frame...

-Brad

Oh, and for the folks who asked, here's the route. http://tinyurl.com/9aah4

We started out in Copley Sq, the traditional gathering place for the Boston Bicycle Club, the first bike club in the US. They had their well appointed headquarters on Newbury St which you can read all about here: http://www.aafla.org/SportsLibrary/Outing/Volume_05/outV06/outV06f.pdf

We stopped on the Pierre Lallement bike path across from 1274 Tremont St, Lallement's last abode before taking up permanent residence in the Mt. Benedict Catholic Cementary in West Roxbury.

From there we went to the Boston Cyclorama at 539 Tremont St, among other things, the original location of the Albert Champion Spark Plug Company, the AC in ACDelco today.

Then we went back to Columbus Ave to see the Albert Pope building at 221 Columbus where you can still see the AAP shields on the corners and P O P E spelled out in ornate lettering across the top.

From there we continued on to attempt to find 45 High Street (never did find #45 itself), the original HQ for the Albert Pope Manufacturing Company, later to be known as the Columbia Bicycle Company. Today it is the headquarters for the MBTA.

Then it was on to IF and Tir na Nog in Union Square, Somerville.

Hey, remember how we did this and then I completely dropped the ball? Yeah, well anyhow. I was just tossing mails with Mike this morning (sussing out that new frameset that I want so badly) and he pointed out that there's another Holliston Mills open house coming up on Oct 22 & 23.

I know the 22nd is supposed to be return of the Franconia Notch ride, but perhaps we could ride down on the 23rd. As I recall, there are some hills involved as you get out around Dover, just fyi.

What says ya?

i'm heading up to boston on oct 7th and swinging by Circle A on my way up to be fitted!

i'd swing the trip to the 23rd if i didn't already have plans to head down to richmond.

Sure, on the 23rd? gmaps says 28 miles by car, so figure ~30 one-way by bike through Wellesley. So Kancamagus on Saturday the 22nd and this on the the 23rd. That would be a good weekend of riding. I'm down for it.

i'm in ... that way I don't have to drive home Sat. night ... I hit the warning strip 4 or 5 times because i could not keep my eyes open drivong back Saturday.