To whom it may concern:

As you may or may not have heard already, cycling guru Sheldon Brown has passed away. He was a strong advocate for fixed gear bicycles, and cherished the old Sturmey Archer ASC 3-speed fixed. He was also big in the push (at least outside of Sun Race) for a re-make of such a hub. Now that plans are in the works for such a hub, I feel that it would be very appropriate that this new ASC be somehow tied to Mr. Brown's name and memory. I hope you seriously consider this, as he has touched more lives than many could even dream of.

Sincerely,
Tim Wesolowski
Santa Cruz, CA

I feel like doing something in his memory, but I can't think of anything that's quite adequate.

When I first started to use the internet to enhance my cycling experience, I stumbled across Sheldon Brown, Ken Kifer and Jim Price. It is so sad to know that all three have passed on. Thanks to the internet all three can still share their wisdom. I know they are having a great time, cycling in Heaven.

world is missing a great man

we owe him more than we know

RIP. You could always look at his site/postings to check the veracity of stuff you heard elsewhere. The true expert.

rest in peace sheldon.
you'll be missed

RIP, man this comes as such a shock.

I sent one out to them.

I reckon there's a lot of projects that didnt get ignored or dumped cause Sheldon had the info and the manner to make people want to build bikes. Mine included.

Sad news.

My heart goes out to his family and friends. He will be missed by many, including those that knew him purely through his endlessly informational and helpful website.

I never knew Sheldon Brown, except through his web-pages. It is amazing, how much he has helped me, and how much biking knowledge he has imparted to the world.

For a person I never met, he has impacted my life greatly.

He will be missed immensely.

Rest in peace, Sheldon.

i cant really think of what to say... we have lost our guru. my condolences to his wife and family.

I was looking at a used bike on ebay. I posted a question about it on bike forums and Sheldon wrote to me telling me what a nice looking bike it was, that red always made a bike more desirable and that I needed to replace the stem if I bought it because the stem that was on it would fail and was dangerous. I felt very grateful to him for his advice and taking the time to answer my question.

Sheldon Brown dies and Cannondale is bought by ****ty bike company. This day officially sucks.

his site was a great help when I was assembling a bike for the first time. He is already missed.

I was just checking up on his health concerns the other night and I really admired his positive attitude to his illness. Like others here on Bikeforums, I learned heaps about bikes, repairs and touring and he is deserving of a state funeral.

He provided me with an education in mechanics and bikes in general and he definitely saved me heaps of money. As Bikeforum members maybe we could start a collection or memorial ride under Sheldon’s name for research into MS. I always felt I owed him something.

My sincerest condolences go out to his family and friends.
Gordon P

More than one month ago I said I wouldn't log onto Bikeforums until the end of February, and so far I've kept my promise. Today I came across a posting on Craigslist with the news of Sheldon's passing and had to break my promise.

Sheldon Brown was an amazing guy. I remember reading through his site during my first days as a young cyclist, trying to decide on my first road bike. I stared in fascination as he taught me the differences between freehubs and freewheels. And it was through Sheldon that I first realized the virtue of using the front brake wisely.

It was only the other day as I descended down an ice-covered 15% grade on my single speed road bike with 23c tires that I heard Sheldon's voice in my head. "The front break almost never skids," he was saying to me gently. And so I inched down the slope, slowly and deliberately, my left hand clutching the lever as tightly as I dared and the right hand holding the brake just enough to keep my rear wheel holding its line. And I made it. I made it.

A man much greater than me didn't make it, however. And I will forever miss his numerous middle names, the way my heart would pound with excitement whenever he quoted one of my posts in agreement, and his crazy, iconoclastic sense of style. This man must have had one hell of a life, and the cycling world has lost something truly special with the passing of Sheldon Brown.

Sheldon, I raise my Tiagra shift levers and correctly-spelled derailers in a toast to your life. I am immensely grateful for the way in which you inspired my passion for cycling and for all the help that you have given to the cycling community.

Rest in peace. May there only be tailwinds up in the sky.

-The Beef / Will
Feb 4th 2008

Not many people other than Sheldon Brown could make those ridiculous-ass tires look good.

When I first got back into cycling a few years ago, his site was one of the first I came across when looking for information. I kept coming across it, over and over, for pretty much any question I had about bikes. I eventually just started searching his site directly instead of using Google. Such an amazing repository of information. Even in spite of knowing pretty damn much everything about everything, he never let it go to his head, and he was never a jerk about it. He just wanted to help other people enjoy the hobby that he loved so much himself, and that's pretty awesome.

Sign me up for a Sheldon Brown Edition Sturmey-Archer ASC hub.

I, like many of you, owe an incalculable amount of thanks to Sheldon Brown. I can't remember any other person who has impacted my life so very much without even talking to them. Thanks for everything you did for me, and that you will continue to do.

...

Horrible news! A real loss...... My thoughts are with his friends and family.

Thank you Sheldon.

This is a truly sad day. My heart goes out to the family. I too have spent hours pouring over Sheldon's pages chocked full of knowledge. I would often go read an article knowing full well I might never use the information in my cycling day. I simply wanted to know more about this activity that I love. And who better to explain the nuances of the bike then Sheldon? Tailwinds for the Master.

RIP. the site has been a wonderful resource for many and though I spent the last three-odd years in the Northeast, I had yet to meet Mr. Brown. Always wanted to. Thank you for everything!

I can't begin to guess how many times I have visited his sites. He was such a huge part of the biking world, and leaves a massive viod with his passing.

My condolences to his friends and family.