New York January NYC Meet-Up

[Pentode]

Pentode,

Might you have a fondness for tube stereo or guitar amps?

I'm a big fan of Suntour thumbshifters. Realize that my bikes are all tricked out with retro aftermarket parts from Cook Brothers, Grafton, and Paul. People freak out over my museum bikes that go back to the day when the best Mountain Bikes were made in the USA. Know that I am a weight weanie and that I only weigh 150 pounds. My old steel IBIS came with 6 speed Suntour Thumbshifters. Remember Microdrive?

Ha!!! Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. Guilty on all counts!

My bikes sat unused for a long while and I only just started riding again last fall. I can still ride singletrack, but I'm a helluva lot slower than I was 20 years and 20lbs ago when I bought all those bikes. It sounds like your bikes look pretty similar to mine! For me, 2 '90s Cannondales, a Kona and a pre-Trek Bontrager Race Lite.

 

[Pentode]

2015 and 2014 saw me purchasing TWO of my dream mountain bikes. The last issue of the Tange Prestige Stumpjumpers.

Those were truly great frames. The early Tange Bridgestones, too.

The other Stumpy is possibly going to go to Bethanne but she loves her 1958 Rudge so I'm not going to force that.

Nope, can't do that. I tried to get my wife to like a '94 Cannondale F500. No deal. She just never warmed up to it. I ended up rebuilding it with leftover parts-box parts and riding it myself. (I actually rather like it, Manitou III and all!)

back when I waas working at Via, we had a box full of XC Pro thumbshifters. We couldn't give them away. They are only good for weirdos who want to run a Suntour freewheel in Ultra spacing in 6 or 7 speed. If you use any one of the parts, you have to use them all if you want index shifting. Suntour's derailleurs had a different slope and rate from Shimano's

Well, sort of... actually the slope was similar, but the spacing on the last three cogs were different than the rest of the stack on Suntour cassettes. It meant the indexing worked perfectly for the lower gears and then got janky if you tried to mix systems. I've been running 8-speed Suntour thumbies with Shimano cassettes for 20 years with barely a mis-shift. The trick is to use Shimano derailleurs because their pulleys float (Suntour's don't) and there's enough forgiveness in the jockey pulleys to make up for the different spacing on the last three gears. When Suntour were in their death throes and stopped making 8-speed thumbies, I was on tour in Fukuoka, Japan. I took a bus out of town to a high-end bike shop and had the proprietor ship me four sets of shifters. I don't speak a word of Japanese and he barely spoke any English, but we made the transaction happen. We both spoke Bike!

 

[Calzone]

Pentode,

We should get together and go for a ride.

I kinda use Dura-Ace rear derailures for the float you mention, and down sized my drivetrain for less weight and rotating mass. I kinda use titanium cassettes that are "corn cobs" that one would use on a road bike, and my style of riding mountain bikes is that I am known as a hammer that has a very high threshold for pain. LOL.

My old steel IBIS Mountain Trials I currently have set up as a trials bike with 30 gear inches and a bash ring on the Middleburn cranks. Anyways I want to learn trials. Although now 59 years old, I am still a skinny bxxch at 5' 10" and 150 pounds.

In my guitar amp collection are Mark Sampson era Matchless amps: a Spitfire; and a black shower curtain Lightning; both with the rare/discontinued 2x10 configuration. I have an odd transitional 1960 brown Fender super that has the early more tweedy pre-amp, but the later vibrato with the extra tube. Oddly this transitional amp follows the Blonde Twin layout and schematic that followed in 1961. Of course I have a NOS tube collection.

My tube stereo is a Doc Bottlehead 300B set of Para-Bee's with "Straight Eight" speakers. My gal asked, "Why do those speakers have to be so big." LOL. Anyways the soundstage is huge, and one could swear that Nora Jones is looking you in the eye singing to you. No flabby bass in my system.

Cal

 

[stompyq]

What sorcery are you lot yakking about? Not one word was Leica or Summicron or bokeh. Instead, we have thumbscrews? and stumpys???

 

[jsrockit]

It's not sorcery, it's geekery. 😉

 

[Prest_400]

What sorcery are you lot yakking about? Not one word was Leica or Summicron or bokeh. Instead, we have thumbscrews? and stumpys???

It's not sorcery, it's geekery. 😉

That bike magick you must try, it moves you around in a way no leica can. If you do funny things you end kissing the ground in a special way, and everything has a wonderful and very realistic bokeh.
😛

BTW, I have a much higher than average interest in HiFi audio than anyone my age and a few years ago did gather knowledge about the stuff. Basically I listen to FLAC plugged to an old HiFi, speakers assembled by my uncle and some SS normal amp. Still, beyond what kids these days listen.

HiFi forums are way more wacked than these, geekery wise. As with bikes, it is not practical to me to get into the slippery slope of it. Reading about $muchoK components just makes it a no-no for me. You just reminded me that I wanted to buy some decent cans 5 years ago and still didn't. 😀

As of bikes, I find funny the marketing depts approaches. I was surprised to find out that my dad's '80s MTB has Shimano biopace oval chainrings when about 6 years ago I heard about the virtues of the "new" oval chainrings. That bike is curious, just a non decaled white-turquoise gradient painted Tange, all Shimano DX level components. Maybe the single previous owner before my dad had it custom made.
Rode the other day through a nice 2 mile technical and flowing trail in front of my home and it was fun. My 29er is fantastic for rolling and distance here, but not as crazy. Next thing I know is that they are bringing 26 back as 26+.

 

[Calzone]

I guess Pro-Mone would not be interested that I made speaker cables from special oxigen free copper that was especially designed for super conducting magnets. LOL.

Nor is it important that a simple triode can be thought of as a particle beam accelerator.

It does seem like obsessive thinking comes with the application of physics, and for me there is no better way to learn about physics than mountain biking. No formulas needed.

So I get an e-mail from my gal. We are no longer allowed to call her a fashion blogger. Now that she has an agent we have to refer to her as either a Digital Influencer or Digital Creative.

Anyways now things are getting rather serious and the money looks to be multiplying. I can't talk about anything, but know I wouldn't mind being a kept man. Crazy stuff is happening. Never imagined how crazy the possibilities are and how fast things can change. Seems like big-time is happening, and pretty much my life will change.

So now Fashion Blogger for now is a D-rog-IT-tory term. Let's not use that dirty word anymore.

BTW did I mention I will be annoying all you guys with some new prints? LOL.

Cal

 

[stompyq]

Nope, I only like creamy bokeh and 3D rendering

 

[finguanzo]

Ahh, HiFi audio. The most perfect specked equipment and cables for the hearing pleasure of oscilloscopes....

 

[stompyq]

Ahh, HiFi audio. The most perfect specked equipment and cables for the hearing pleasure of oscilloscopes....

Lol Fidel. My thoughts exactly!!

 

[Calzone]

Nope, I only like creamy bokeh and 3D rendering

Pro-Mone,

No 3-D soundstage for you. LOL.

Anyways HiFi can be better than sex. LOL. Anyways sex is better with HiFi.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

Ahh, HiFi audio. The most perfect specked equipment and cables for the hearing pleasure of oscilloscopes....

Fidel,

Are you coming to the January Meet-Up? I have a DVD a friend gave me on Moog Synths.

My gift to you for putting up with me.

Cal

 

[creenus]

In my guitar amp collection are Mark Sampson era Matchless amps: a Spitfire; and a black shower curtain Lightning; both with the rare/discontinued 2x10 configuration. I have an odd transitional 1960 brown Fender super that has the early more tweedy pre-amp, but the later vibrato with the extra tube. Oddly this transitional amp follows the Blonde Twin layout and schematic that followed in 1961. Of course I have a NOS tube collection.

My tube stereo is a Doc Bottlehead 300B set of Para-Bee's with "Straight Eight" speakers. My gal asked, "Why do those speakers have to be so big." LOL. Anyways the soundstage is huge, and one could swear that Nora Jones is looking you in the eye singing to you. No flabby bass in my system.

Cal

Hi Cal,

Off topic, of course, but nice amp collection! I have a 1963 Fender Princeton, a @ '52 Stromberg/Carlson AU-29 PA tube head, a Winfield Typhoon head and an early (pre-serial number) Swart 6V6 se in purple upholstery fabric. Low-wattage terrors all. Play them with a '67 Danocaster Strat and a Pfeister Goldtop.

Enjoy your meeting in NYC! I used to live in South Jersey - I do miss NYC for museums, food, music, etc.

Steve in New Mexico

p.s. Leica gear: M2, M5, M6, iiic, iiig - various Leitz lenses.

 

[jsrockit]

As I get older, the less I find I want to geek out and the more I'm enjoying life. Weird. I think geeking out, for me, was better when I was depressed. Hahaha.

 

[Calzone]

Hi Cal,

Off topic, of course, but nice amp collection! I have a 1963 Fender Princeton, a @ '52 Stromberg/Carlson AU-29 PA tube head, a Winfield Typhoon head and an early (pre-serial number) Swart 6V6 se in purple upholstery fabric. Low-wattage terrors all. Play them with a '67 Danocaster Strat and a Pfeister Goldtop.

Enjoy your meeting in NYC! I used to live in South Jersey - I do miss NYC for museums, food, music, etc.

Steve in New Mexico

p.s. Leica M gear: M2, M5, M6, iiic, iiig - various Leitz lenses.

Steve,

The world is not that big. I lived in New Mexico for about a year and a half. Worked at Los Alamos at the lab, but I lived in La Cueva in the Santa Fe National Forest.

I deeply miss New Mexico, the moody weather, the open spaces...

Cal

 

[stompyq]

As I get older, the less I find I want to geek out and the more I'm enjoying life. Weird. I think geeking out, for me, was better when I was depressed. Hahaha.

Says the apple and fuji fanboy in residence

 

[Calzone]

As I get older, the less I find I want to geek out and the more I'm enjoying life. Weird. I think geeking out, for me, was better when I was depressed. Hahaha.

John,

For me it is just the opposite. If I am not deeply involved and going all the way unrestrained I get depressed. Call it a personality disorder. LOL.

Anyways, currently I the most happy I have ever been.

Cal

 

[Pentode]

Pentode,

We should get together and go for a ride.

I kinda use Dura-Ace rear derailures for the float you mention, and down sized my drivetrain for less weight and rotating mass. I kinda use titanium cassettes that are "corn cobs" that one would use on a road bike, and my style of riding mountain bikes is that I am known as a hammer that has a very high threshold for pain. LOL.

My old steel IBIS Mountain Trials I currently have set up as a trials bike with 30 gear inches and a bash ring on the Middleburn cranks. Anyways I want to learn trials. Although now 59 years old, I am still a skinny bxxch at 5' 10" and 150 pounds.

In my guitar amp collection are Mark Sampson era Matchless amps: a Spitfire; and a black shower curtain Lightning; both with the rare/discontinued 2x10 configuration. I have an odd transitional 1960 brown Fender super that has the early more tweedy pre-amp, but the later vibrato with the extra tube. Oddly this transitional amp follows the Blonde Twin layout and schematic that followed in 1961. Of course I have a NOS tube collection.

My tube stereo is a Doc Bottlehead 300B set of Para-Bee's with "Straight Eight" speakers. My gal asked, "Why do those speakers have to be so big." LOL. Anyways the soundstage is huge, and one could swear that Nora Jones is looking you in the eye singing to you. No flabby bass in my system.

Cal

More than happy to ride with anyone, but you'll most likely find that I, although 10 years your junior, am woefully out of shape and won't keep up.

Hi-Fi fluctuates but usually involves a very modified 1960 Dynaco ST-70 and an even more modified 1957 Ampex preamp or a semi-modified Hafler preamp from the '80s. KEF speakers. None of it is high-dollar, but all of it sounds good. I take my copper with plenty of oxygen, thanks. I can't hear a difference between cables unless it's absolute crap. Too many years of gigging. 12Ga zip-cord works fine for me. I just can't devote the time or budget to being a full-fledged "audiophile", whatever that means anymore. I just listen to what I like.

I won't even get into the stable of restored, vintage guitar amps in the basement - mostly wasted on me since I haven't played guitar in a band in almost 10 years (I'm still a very active bassist) and usually just used a Princeton Reverb when I did, but they're fun and I don't want to let them go. I should probably cull the herd at some point*. Piles of old tube hi-fi and test equipment waiting to be restored, as well. Boxes of tubes, etc....

*of course, a 2x10 Matchless Lightning wouldn't hurt my feelings any if it happened to cross my path!

 

[Pentode]

What sorcery are you lot yakking about? Not one word was Leica or Summicron or bokeh. Instead, we have thumbscrews? and stumpys???

Hell, I'd be more than happy to talk about Leicas all day if only I could afford one! I wouldn't know a Summicron from a spoke wrench.

 

[jsrockit]

Says the apple and fuji fanboy in residence

I don't think you even know what a fanboy is. You guys all exhibit more fan boy behavior than me. I just use the stuff. I don't dream all day about it with drool coming out of my mouth and / or obsess over trivial details. 😱😀