Stainless Steel Touring Bike

This bike has gotten a lot of attention so far in its short life. People seem to like shiny things, and this one does indeed shine. Beyond being blindingly bright, there are so many details that I figured I ought to lay it out for those who might be interested. The bike is mostly finished. There are a couple more bags that need to be made, and a decaleur that will mount off the stem -- in this sense it is still a work in progress. So, here's the low-down:Stainless Steel Touring

Spork Head Tube BadgeThe frame and fork are made from KVA stainless steel. The split-plate fork crown is made from laser cut stainless.  The racks and stem are made from chromoly steel, and were polished and chromed.

The bike has 26" wheels (international standard -- this is a touring bike, after all), disc brakes, a connectorless front generator hub made by Schmidt. That means that there is no plug to worry about when changing a flat tire. The wire runs from the inner face of the dropout directly into the fork leg. The front and rear lights are powered off the hub, and the wiring is all internal.Breakaway Binder

The frame is a breakaway style, with a coupler on the down tube, and a breakaway point on the seat tube. The seat post is integral to the structure of this system, which is brilliant and simple (No, I didn't invent this. Neither did Tom Ritchey -- it came from way further back than even his design). The seat stays come in below the seat tube breaking point, and the rear rack stays attach higher up on the seat tube, where seat stays would normally be. This gives the bike the appearance of having a traditional rear triangle, and serves to support the rear rack. 

Front Rack & LightThe front rack has an upper deck that can be used intependantly of the low riders, which are detachable. The rack supports the fender and the front light. The rear rack has an integrated u-lock holder. Notice the leather sleeve on the lock shackle. This was made by Dirt Jr., right here in Portland. I plan to put these up for sale on my website soon. They look so much nicer than what comes with the lock. We're working on a vegan option as well. 

Rear Rack & Lock HolderThe frame uses traditional tubing dimensions (1" top tube; 1 1/8" down & seat tubes), and has a straight truss, or second, top tube. This supports the head tube and seat tube, stabilizing the ride for weight bearing, particularly when the bike is fully loaded with bags. The space between the two top tubes was an ideal place to add storage, and the frame bag was custom made by Black Star Bags here in Portland. There's enough capacity in this bag to carry a couple of tubes, maybe even a folding tire, tire levers, patches, a multi-tool, energy bars, phone, etc. 

Stainless LogoThe down tube logo is also stainless steel, laser cut and brazed on. It took three of us to keep it set while brazing. Next time, I need to video record the process. I left the panel around the logo exactly as it looks right after brazing, without polish. That gives it the burnt, dirty look, which really stands out nicely.

There is a polished titanium spork head tube badge that is removable, and fully functional. People who ride bikes have to eat, right?Stainless Steel Touring

Part of the reason I built this bike was because I hadn't yet seen a really utilitarian bicycle made from stainless steel. Stainless is expensive, and the amount of time and labor required to bring it to a mirror finish was ridiculous, but the final product is so striking that I believe it was worth it. I hope you agree. I would like to see the same style bicycle, or something worthy of commuting, made from stainless steel and with a brushed finish. Everything Shiny!

Polished StemAnother reason I built this bike was because I was invited by the Portland Art Museum to display a couple of bicycles along with the Cyclepedia exhibit this past summer, 2013. It was an honor to be invited, and I wanted to make something that I believed was worthy of being shown in such a prestigeous museum.

Here above is the photo series from my flickr site. There are a few repeats, but I chose to use them all, because each of them looks so good. Photo credit goes to Anthony Bareno. He took all these in the studio at Velo Cult. He said it was the most difficult bike he's ever shot. Too many reflections. If only there were some way to photograph this bike in the dark! Please check back in the future to get a full ride report. 

Brenner Commuter

Here we've got a straight-forward lugged commuter.

Brenner Commuter

It's a classy bike for a classy lady. Nothing brightens a gray winter sky better than a warm paint job. This bike has racks and enough carrying capacity to go on tours, and it has all the standard equipment for riding year round here in the northwest. I think the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy.

Touring Bike For Sale

Bike For Sale!

Ready To Tour

It's a beauty! Here is a fillet brazed 26" wheeled touring bike that is ready to travel. It's loaded with cool stuff, and is now for sale. This bike was seen at 2012 North American Hand Made Bicycle Show in Sacramento, California. 

Here is quick run-down of the features: 

26" wheels, clearance for 2.3" tires with fenders; wide Rhynolite rims

Frame size: 575mm top tube and 600 mm seat tube. The standover with 2.0" tires is 860 mm (slightly less than 34"). Seat tube angle is 73 degrees; head tube angle 72 degrees; fork rake is 60 mm and trail is 45 mm.

This bike has traditional tubing diameters (1" top tube and truss; 1 1/8" down tube; 1" threaded fork steerer). The truss top tube is for added stability from the front to the back of the bike when the bike is loaded. 

Low profile racks front and rear. Rear rack ties into the fender for a very clean look. Front low rider racks are detachable and have 3 mounting points for added stability. Both front and rear racks were designed around the smaller front-style Ortlieb panniers. Integrated Rear RackDetachable Front Low Rider Rack

Bike comes with a large Carradice seat bag. The bag has a small support rack to stabilize it. Between 4 panniers and the large seat bag, this bike has serious carrying capacity (Panniers not included).

New-old stock XTR front & rear derailleurs, and XTR rear 9 speed cassette hub.

New-Old Stock XTR Derailleurs

Front generator hub which powers both the front and rear lights.

Gilles Berthoud leather saddle; high polish seat post by Paul Components, and Berthoud stainless fenders.

Sugino Mighty Tour triple crankset: 48/36/24T

Chris King headset; Nitto Pearl stem, 110 mm; Nitto Noodle handlebar, 44 cm; Brooks leather bar wrap

Last but not least is the silvery blue paint. It's a thin wet paint that is a near perfect match of the blue-gray highlights on the vintage XTR derailleurs. It's a gorgeous finish, pleasant and understated. 

Large Size Seat BagA lot of thought went into the design of this bike. It would make a great randonneur, light touring or fully loaded touring bike. It has excellent functioning parts that are durable, and are nice to look at. This bike is going to fit a person who is between 6' and 6' 3" and it's safe to say, it's going to make someone very happy for years to come. 

Head Tube BadgeThe price of this bike is negotiable. It's now a used bike, and has been tested on tour and longer rides. Because of this there are some scratches in the paint, and some wear on the parts. The bike is sold as is. All reasonable offers will be considered. If you have any questions, or to request further information, please send me an e-mail

Here is a gallery with other photos of the bike. 

Enjoy!

Mike Muzik's Touring Bike

The Oregon Handmade Bicycle Show was in Bend, Oregon this past weekend. The event was coupled with the big cyclocross Halloween race, which draws a pretty large crowd every year. The race has been at the coast, in Astoria, for the past few years. They moved it to Bend this time for a change of scenery. I didn’t make it over to the race, but I heard part of the course was too dusty to see. 

The bike show was held at the GoodLife Brewery. I’m not sure of the exact number, but I think there were about 35 or so booths. I liked that it was a smaller show. A steady stream of people came through, and nobody seemed overwhelmed. At the larger shows you can see peoples eyes turn to spirals from goggling at bikes for too many hours. It’s a particular form of melt down that affects the insatiable bike nerds.

Jonathan Maus of bikeportland.org was in Bend covering the story of the Halloween Cross Race. He also posted a summary and overview of the bikes he saw at The Handmade Bike Show. 

Here is one of the bikes I brought with me to the show. It’s a touring bike for Mister Mike Muzik. I’ll let the photos tell the story. 

Off Road Touring Bike

Ride Review

The BeastIn Portland, Oregon, we're pretty lucky to have Forest Park, one of the largest urban parks and nature reserves in the country. The main through-way in the park is Leif Erikson Rd., which is a mostly unpaved fire road that runs nearly 12 miles from one end of the park to the other. Forest park is a great place to walk or ride, and it's only about 10 minutes (by bike) from downtown. 

Yesterday I rode through the park. The sun was shining and by mid afternoon it was nearly up to 70 degrees. I rode the new 29er touring bike totally unloaded to see how it handled, changing the tires from 47c semi-slick road tires to WTB Exiwolf 29” x 2.55 – big fat knobby off road tires. This is the same bike I picked up in Eugene and rode back to Portland a couple of weeks ago. It's a stable bike, but I wanted to see how it handles at speed over bumpy terrain. 

This bike was built primarily as a touring bike, and has the clearance for fat tires and fenders. I haven’t reviewed this bike yet because I wanted to spend some time in the saddle in various conditions and see how I liked it. For the trip back up from Eugene it was great. Very stable with weight, sure handling, comfortable, a wide gear range. Even with about 15 pounds of gear on the front I was able to ride no-hands without a problem. 

Park Entrance from Germantown Rd.

Going through the park yesterday I was again impressed with the stability and handling. The bike has detachable low rider mounts and a fairly sizeable upper deck on the front rack, which means it can hold a lot of gear. Even unloaded the bike steered easily, and flying down a rocky, gravelly section of Lief Erikson I sat back and took my hands off the bars and the bike held its line easily. Stability, no hands, with or without weight on the front – I like it. 

I didn’t remove any of the racks, and carried along my u-lock in the integrated lock holder on the rear. The bike also has large stainless fenders, mud flaps and a kickstand – all these things add up, and make the bike heavier than one I would usually ride through the park. I would like to strip the bike down to the bare essentials at some point and try it out. But, even with all the extras on the bike I was very impressed at how quiet it was – no rattles, squeaks or knocking. Even the lock shackle is wedged in so it can't rattle. The only thing I noticed was that in especially bumpy places the lower part of the front fender would shake back and forth enough to hit the knobs on the tires -- not a big deal, and to be expected riding off road with fenders.  

Knobby Tire TouringAnother trip I want to take is with the bike fully loaded on the same trail, just for a comparison – fully loaded front and rear panniers and a dry-sack on the upper deck of the front rack. I want to pack it as if I were going for a long trip off road. It will be slower going, obviously, but I’m very curious to know how it feels. I’m fairly certain that it’s going to do just fine.

You know what would be even better, would be to pack it as if I were going on a long bike trip, and then go on a long bike trip. We’ll see what this summer brings…

Flickr Photo Set

Off Road Touring Bike