Good to hear Mike, good news. Evil condition that is.

TJ: I can't find a non-dislosure here at work, but I might have one at home. If so I'll PM you.

Wow! Just gorgeous. Hope you don't mind if I steal that idea.

i pack the bean compartment with grounds, for maximum caffeine content.

also, it's a marinoni pista. in metallic purple!

Thanx
Hotness! love that frame.

so today has been fun. Switched cog from old to new wheel, switched 4 tires, adjusted stem height, swapped 2 cranks, 3 pedal sets, changed 3 chainrings, 2 brakes and a new set of bars, and only 1 bike is presently ridable. Still to go new race face crank on the mtb (thanks agin Krusty!!), tires on wifes bike, old cog back on old wheel, fix brake and make some coffee asap.

Crap, out of coffee.

Sweet! La Bicicletta has a yellow one built up in the shop. It looks fantastic. I am still waffling about a year 1 (1975) red one in Montreal.

It could be risky to my marriage, though. I have a black Nagasawa on the way and am eying up a second one. I think the Marinoni could push my wife's patience a bit far.

Well, if you need pre-ground beans it's really not gonna make a huge difference where you get 'em from, imo. For the best coffee you wanna grind 'em immediately before making the coffee. The Black Cat espresso (roasted by Intelligentsia) at Manic/Darkhorse/etc is really great, but they'd probably cry if you asked to pre-grind for espresso. ;)

That said, you're probably better off with pre-ground coffee rather than using a whirly-blade grinder. But any other coffee nerds, feel free to speak up. I actually invested in a fairly expensive (by most people's standards) coffee grinder, but I still just use a fresh press and a moka pot (like what you have) at home.

As for the amount.. just fill the filter overflowing with coffee, give it a few taps to make sure there isn't any empty pockets in there, and then just use a knife (or something) to push the overflow off and make the top level. They don't recommend tamping (squeeze the grinds in) for moka-pots, generally. I guess because they don't create enough pressure to get the steam through the coffee.

Some of the best coffees I've ever had, from Nelson, BC.

http://www.osonegrocoffee.com/coffee/blends.htm

Anyone here have any favorite places in San Francisco? Going there next week. Feel totally unprepared. :)

Especially interested in places with good food and/or local beers.

I liked the aquarium for campy funtimes, theres a LOT of good cafes, gaytown is great for it, and lots of espresso places in little italy. just watch the lampposts for italian colors, little italy has turf battles with the other neighborhoods ^^.

those bars are pimp yo, WASAAAAAAAAAAAAABI!!!

Dude dups, im coming over for coffee, be warned!

And is 150 for a raceface crank and BB, 53-39 decent? it seemed like a nice price.

Merchants of Green Coffee has some really good fresh beans, they're right around Queen/DVP. http://www.merchantsofgreencoffee.com/contact_us.html
if you don't have a grinder for the beans, you could always use a blender, that's what I use and it works fine. But I'm not sure if the beans have to be ground really fine for espresso.

Lovely clean ride... Very nice, and I love the initiative with the bars - honestly didn't even recognise they were bullhorns, figured they were a north road variant. Trés cool.

Good to hear you're feeling better Mike.

PS, Coffee schmoffee... ;) I must be one of the only computer nerds that doesn't like the stuff :p

If you're bringing your bike make sure you go for a ride around Golden Gate park, nice riding through there. It's also a good ride across the Golden Gate bridge and up around the hills on the north side of the bay, nice views of the city etc.

Cafe Flore on Market St. has some good food and coffee as well.

If I'm going for the Singlespeed World Championships, I'd better be bringing my bike! :P There's actually a party/ride that's going across the bridge and into the park.

Come join us in the City on the Bay in anticipation of the Greatest Show on Earth, the SSWC! This unique opportunity allows you to mingle with the seedy underbelly of San Francisco's bicycling culture, and ride with them off road in the urban environ. This all starts at the legendary American Cyclery, SF's oldest bike shop and refuge to the cycling masses. We then ride mostly off road and across the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headland for much social exuberance.

-Meet and greet old and new friends from afar!
-Size up the competition!
-Determine who's most likely to make a drunken ass of themselves!
-Demonstrate your intent to make a drunken ass of yourself!
-BBQ foodstuffs in true 49er style!
-Imbibe beverages of fortitude and refreshment!
-Show your mettle in various Feats of Strength!
-Win prizes of interest and useful nature!

anytime bredda, anytime...goin for a stroll to pick some cafe and give it a whirl

I get up at 6am, you'll be sorry!!!! :lol:

LOL tj, I am going to have the same issue tomorrow, 7:20 start for yorkdale.

gonna try to beat my personal record of 32 mins. hopefully with less red lights and minus the burnout northbound on dufferin. well rested this week, HOOAH!

Mmmmmmmmmm, what size is that Marinoni. I might be able to save your marriage ;)

SRAMs website sucks, theres no search function! ARGH.

and this reminds me, SRAMs chain has split on me thrice already. *******s!!!

Three times?!!? That's not just a design issue, the same chain?

What other options are there? I am happy with my whirly blade, but maybe I don't know what I'm missing.

Yep, its a PC-870 1/2" by 1/32" chain. I ripped it in half once on a climb, removed about two links, and reattached it with a suitable replacement pin. Then it died again in a different place, same idea, uphill, and was similarly patched. Then it died again, throwing me off a cliff and I ripped off my ghost-shifting deore and re-rigged the bike SS ghetto-fab style with a KMC singlespeed chain I had kicking around. The SRAM chain will likely decorate something someday, but Im never putting one on a bike again. NEVER had a KMC split on me, no matter the force I subjected it to.

Likely a side-effect of the derailleur, Ive had a lot of trouble with the Deore I bought. Again, due to many factors least of which being the way the Ironhorse's hangers bend at the slightest tap. I think this is its last season..

EDIT: after all that i guess what im saying is its not a design issue, its a lower-end chain that isnt meant to put up with the stresses I make it endure.