New York November NYC Meet-Up

[Calzone]

17th sounds good to me.
Got my new toy Cal...... 🙂

Fidel,

Give it up. Does the new M2 repaint have "You suck factor?"

Also know that Bernard will be very interested in your M2 repaint.

My M3-DS had a shutter come loose. I was exercising the camera to bring back the slow speeds. Looks like it needs a CLA and the shutter repaired. Oh-well.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

AH, Mooneys. I remember that name. I grew up in ParkSlope But usually headed out to Manhattan for drinks.
Most of the bars that I knew in ParkSlope disappeared with the gentrification of the 80s & 90s.
-Bern

Bernard,

The good old days seems never left it seems with Sharlene's.

Also know they have non alcoholic beer for me.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

I shot "Maggie" Saturday on her new electric bike. Compared to my titanium tricked out bikes this thing is a "porker" weighing in at about 75 pounds. No lie.

So imagine a 66 year old woman who hasn't been on a bike in decades... Also realize that Maggie had a hip replacement about 15 years ago. Took her over to Randel's Island where there is little congestion and no flocks of clueless tourists.

In these shots you can't have people in the background.

So I seemed to have recruited Maggie into becoming a biker gal. I thought I could recycle my Ti Basso mountain bike into an urban cruiser for her, but she is a "shorty" and the bike is too big for her.

So my plan is to hook her into cyclying so she can relax and become a lazy slacker like me. Seems like she likes fat tires, but also likes the step through of a gal's bike (No top bar). I can see she does not have the flexibility that I enjoy. Perhaps like a male dog it is natural for me to lift my leg. LOL.

So I have mucho bikes, but the electric bike will be donated to a nef-few who is not allowed to have a car at RPI until he is a senior due to limited parking. I'll have to get "Maggie" a cool bike.

I know that she won't be a racer, but the idea is to get her mobile and to put time just pumping blood. Much better a two hour ride that is gentle, rather than hammering. Long-slow distance is how you train for a Marathon. Slow miles and lots of them.

Pretty much diet and exercise adds to longevity, and this preventitive medicine is a relaxing lifestyle. Meanwhile Maggie is baby sitting a 5 year old tonight so I get a bonus vacation, and later this week Maggie is heading to Cape Cod for a family event.

Perhaps I'll replace the dampers on my Epson 7800 (AKA the Jersey Barrier).

Cal

 

[fiddle]

Fidel,

Give it up. Does the new M2 repaint have "You suck factor?"

Also know that Bernard will be very interested in your M2 repaint.

My M3-DS had a shutter come loose. I was exercising the camera to bring back the slow speeds. Looks like it needs a CLA and the shutter repaired. Oh-well.

Cal

Haha,
Its not perfect. So no, I dont think it has a you suck factor..
but, its nice enough for me...

 

[Calzone]

Haha,
Its not perfect. So no, I dont think it has a you suck factor..
but, its nice enough for me...

Fidel,

I guess I'm spoiled. One reason why I have so many cameras is none of them are the perfect camera.

Some like my old Wetzlar M6 is looking might old.

*******************

BTW I'm looking at a 15 inch "Merlin" ti mountain bike and this unbranded Titanium 14 1/2 inch mountain bike that has a sloping top tube. Seems to have a low price due to being old and the small size. These bikes are possibly for "Maggie."

My Basso is polished Ti and so is the Merlin. The Ti bike with the sloping top tube has a bead blasted finish.

Merlin has a retro 8 speed with "S" chain stays and is pre V-brakes.

The sloping Ti top tube has v-brakes so it is 1994 or newer.

Wheels are 32 spokes, and it seems the cranks are 170mm instead of the typical 175mm.

As far as snob appeal the Merlin is the pinnacle and likely has a steel Ritchy fork that they used on rigids back in the day. This is the more retro bike and likely has pre suspension geometry. Shimano thumb shifters suggest late 80's perhaps.

The sloper looks kinda rad with the small triangles on a tiny frame. Looks mucho aggressive. Very BMX with a 60mm Rock Shox fork. Bead blasted titanium looks evil, but perhaps not as flashy as polished titanium.

Backstory on Gary Helfrick who is the Godfather of titanium bikes. He is basically the co-founder of Merlin. Before starting Merlin he worked at Fat Chance and cut his teeth making and designing steel bikes. Fat Chance was the only high end boutique bike maker on the east coast.

But before making bike Gary did the sex, drugs and rock and roll thing being a roady for Aerosmith. He had a full scholarship at MIT and was invited to go on tour with Aerosmith by Tyler.

The rest is history. BTW Gary Helfrick eventually went west coast and hooked up with Scot Nichole the founder of IBIS and NORBA Trials Champion. My prototype IBIS Mountain Trials is from that era when Gary was part of IBIS.

History wise I think getting the Merlin would be the coolest, and it would continue my Gary Helfrick fetish, but the no name sloper still is an interesting bike with no branding and a style of its own. Must of been built for a little rich girl. I love the sense of mystery.

Cal

 

[Pentode]

S chainstays and 8-speed suggests early 90s, perhaps ‘92 or 3. If it has thumb shifters it was either converted to 8 from 7 (you could cheat and disable indexing so you could use a 7-speed thumb shifter with an 8-speed sprocket at the cost of sloppier shifting) or it’s a Suntour group. Suntour was the only company to make 8-speed thumbies - for about half a year just prior to going out of business. They were beautifully made.

It’s also possible that smaller frame was for a small-ish man. It was very popular at that time to ride frames a size down and use a tall seatpost, especially here on the East coast where roots and rocks made a smaller frame a little easier to throw around. The trend for undersized frames tapered off as suspension gained popularity.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

XT topmount thumbshifters came speced on bikes as late as 1995 but rapid fire had already taken over. If they are XT 7spd you can use indexing with an 8spd cassette and just push past the lowest gear's notch. There's a hidden notch in there and you could run it all the way to the derailleur stop so no risk of pushing the derailleur into the spokes. Thumbshifters are the rage for cyclists who want something that WORKS so a rider could have put them on most any bike in the last 30 years. I'm building a rigid Stumpjumper with XT thumbshifters. This frame is from 1996, the last year of their handmade Tange Prestige frames. I have two of these frames, one is a 17.5, the other is an 18.5. 17.5 is currently built up as an ultimate urban bike with a set of Suntour XC Pro cantis and levers, XC Pro cranks and a Sturmey kickback rear hub so I have two gears available all the time. Perfect for a city bike. Its decked out with a set of fenders for the rain. I want to build up the 18.5 with a more long distance feel. Probably full XT 2x8. At the same time, I would love to trick it out with a matching 1996 XTR group and a tiny but tasteful but of vintage colorful anodized alloy, like was the rage back in the 90s.
Phil Forrest

 

[Calzone]

Wow. Where did all these bike slobs come from?

BTW Joe I picked up an extra-large t-shirt from the cancelled Tour de Bronx for you. The bad is that it is not so ghetto and cool a logo as last year's. Oh-well.

I use those Suntour 7 speed shifter on my Compact Drive setup on my Ti Basso (Litespeed) that has pre suspension geometry. To annoy people I use an 8-speed Dura-Ace rear derailure. Polished titanium is mucho glam and it is all tricked out with Grafton brakes and Cook cranks. My front brakes are rare magnesium Grafton "Speed Controllers" that have a patina of heavy pitting. People freak out when they see this retro bike because it is maxed out with all trick parts from back in the day.

So the Merlin seems to be out of the picture because of the horizontal top tube even though it is a 15 inch frame. The long stem suggests that it is as Pentode suggests: a man's bike for the northeast so that the bike can be thrown around easier on single track. This is something I would do.

So the 14 1/2 inch sloper forensics suggest that this bike was set up for a woman: the aheadset stem has a length of only 90mm; the cranks are only 170 mm and not 175 mm.

9 speed Shimano XT with the shifters intergrated into the brake levers. The bike has V-brakes so post 1994 I figure, but the hydrolic Rock Shox fork displays a cantilever brake arch that goes unused.

My guess is that the aheadset is a one-inch steerer tube which is mucho good because I own a Rock Shox Judy SL that will be a weight savings. Somehow I found a set of old "Speed Springs" for the Judy. I think they are the heavy version, but this could work out good for a hybred spring in one leg and soft elastomer in the second leg as "Maggie" weighs about 110-115 pounds.

The bike without peddles weighs 24.5 pounds with bar-ends and a steel water cage. I have a spare 112mm Ti Litespeed bottom bracket laying in my tool box; I have a spare Answer 1 1/2 inch carbon fiber riser bar; I have a set of pink latex tubes; and I'm thinking of buying 26x2.0 kelvar beaded Kojak slicks for their gush and low rolling resistance. I imagine I could make this a 21 pound mountain bike. The wheels are 32 spoke.

There is an 11-32 9 speed triple, but thanks to much of Phil's advice a year ago I loaded up the truck with 9 speed XTR and Dura-Ace cassettes, as well as full blown 11 speed XTR at closeout prices. Know that I bought 4 XT 11-40 cassettes as well as a few XTR 11-40 cassettes.

At this point I have options of building an urban bike with compact 9 speed using Dura-Ace with 9 speed XTR trigger shifters or bar-end shifters with Paul Component "Thumbies" (in my tool box.)

I could also do full blown 11 speed XTR 1x11 or 2x11 because I have a XTR 11 speed stockpile.

Perhaps next fall we should plan a trip to go upstate to New Paltz. We could spend a day enjoying the fall foliage by the Gunks in Lake Minawaska riding and climbing the carrage roads, and then do the road downhill into town to have a meal at the beefstro.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

XT topmount thumbshifters came speced on bikes as late as 1995 but rapid fire had already taken over. If they are XT 7spd you can use indexing with an 8spd cassette and just push past the lowest gear's notch. There's a hidden notch in there and you could run it all the way to the derailleur stop so no risk of pushing the derailleur into the spokes. Thumbshifters are the rage for cyclists who want something that WORKS so a rider could have put them on most any bike in the last 30 years. I'm building a rigid Stumpjumper with XT thumbshifters. This frame is from 1996, the last year of their handmade Tange Prestige frames. I have two of these frames, one is a 17.5, the other is an 18.5. 17.5 is currently built up as an ultimate urban bike with a set of Suntour XC Pro cantis and levers, XC Pro cranks and a Sturmey kickback rear hub so I have two gears available all the time. Perfect for a city bike. Its decked out with a set of fenders for the rain. I want to build up the 18.5 with a more long distance feel. Probably full XT 2x8. At the same time, I would love to trick it out with a matching 1996 XTR group and a tiny but tasteful but of vintage colorful anodized alloy, like was the rage back in the 90s.
Phil Forrest

Phil,

Vintage 1996 XTR is how many speed? My guess is 9-speed.

I dig the 9-speed for the durability and heavier chain.

POSTSCRIPT: I have a set of 175mm XC Pro cranks you can have if you can use them. Square taper. Discovered them in my tool box last night. Pretty much looked through my inventory. I forgot that I also have a spare 1 inch Chris King headset in polished silver.

Cal

 

[MrBern]

fake black IIIC

fake black IIIC

Cal,
I found an 11 yr old photo of my only adventure into having a camera painted.
This was set up for my WWII projects. I was using a IIIB and a black IIIa, but decided to keep them out of harms way, so Youxin Yee painted a IIIC. The knobs were stripped to the nickel plating. The shutter was fitted with a red wartime style shutter.
The brass parts were baked in black paint.

the paint wasnt very durable, but it looked good fora few days.
https://flic.kr/p/5HMeqr


-Bern

Fidel,

Give it up. Does the new M2 repaint have "You suck factor?"

Also know that Bernard will be very interested in your M2 repaint.

My M3-DS had a shutter come loose. I was exercising the camera to bring back the slow speeds. Looks like it needs a CLA and the shutter repaired. Oh-well.

Cal

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Cal,
1996 XTR was still 8 speed. As fast as I know it is also when V brakes made their debut. This was the year when all the bikes with Suntour XC Pro groups sold out as well. It was sad. Also the last year the IRC Yeti FRO tire was available. That year I got my Stumpjumper M2 S Works with the carbon tubed Judy FSX fork. I hooked that thing up with so much colored anodized bling. I also had a set of Magura HS-33 hydraulic rim brakes with a now extremely rare set of TWP hydro 2 finger levers. Those parts are unobtainium now. Virtually non existent and I got them in a shop sponsorship. I had a rare set of Campagnolo Kilimanjaro Ceramic rims laced to a pair of Ringle blue anodized hubs (until I blew apart the freehub body and replaced it with XTR after it was warrantied). I had the Kooka Splash cranks in the old non-compact gearing 48/36/26. This was a full XTR 3x8 speed bike but shifting was handled by Grip shift SRT800s.
That bike traveled around the world with me on the USS John C Stennis and I rode it in every port we stopped.
In 2013 I was in a bad way after that burglary so I sold it to the owner of People's Bicycle in Beacon.
Funny thing is that back when I got that frameset, I wanted one of the Stumpy Team frames which were Tange Prestige steel. Now I have two of them.
By the way I would love those cranks!
Phil Forrest

 

[Calzone]

Cal,
1996 XTR was still 8 speed. As fast as I know it is also when V brakes made their debut. This was the year when all the bikes with Suntour XC Pro groups sold out as well. It was sad. Also the last year the IRC Yeti FRO tire was available. That year I got my Stumpjumper M2 S Works with the carbon tubed Judy FSX fork. I hooked that thing up with so much colored anodized bling. I also had a set of Magura HS-33 hydraulic rim brakes with a now extremely rare set of TWP hydro 2 finger levers. Those parts are unobtainium now. Virtually non existent and I got them in a shop sponsorship. I had a rare set of Campagnolo Kilimanjaro Ceramic rims laced to a pair of Ringle blue anodized hubs (until I blew apart the freehub body and replaced it with XTR after it was warrantied). I had the Kooka Splash cranks in the old non-compact gearing 48/36/26. This was a full XTR 3x8 speed bike but shifting was handled by Grip shift SRT800s.
That bike traveled around the world with me on the USS John C Stennis and I rode it in every port we stopped.
In 2013 I was in a bad way after that burglary so I sold it to the owner of People's Bicycle in Beacon.
Funny thing is that back when I got that frameset, I wanted one of the Stumpy Team frames which were Tange Prestige steel. Now I have two of them.
By the way I would love those cranks!
Phil Forrest

Phil,

Cool. The cranks are yours. I think they require a 112 mm square taper bottom bracket.

So yesterday's daydream of a retro bike buildup for "Maggie" got deflated. First off someone did the modestly priced "BIN" and sniped the 14 1/2 sloping top tube bike. Secondly "Maggie" is not so enthused about a retro bike.

Oh-well. I can now be selfish with my stash of 11 speed XTR, sets of 11-40 XT cassettes, and hybred Dura-Ace and XTR 9-speed.

Back in the day I was the first kid on the block with the new 8-speed XTR. Currently the 8-speed brake levers/shifters are on my ti Basso road bike (blue fade painted bead blasted titanium Litespeed "Classic" branded under the Basso name) mounted on a mountain bike straight bar.

The wheels are heavily built with 16 straight guage, so I kinda have it set up as a gravel bike. The rest of the drivetrain is Dura-Ace. This road bike has gone offroad.

The cool thing about three of my bikes is the continuity because the steel IBIS Mountain Trials, the Ti Basso mountain bike, and the Ti Basso road bike I bought new and remember all the thrills, crashes, and milage I put on them. They have mucho sentimental value and are a part of me.

The ti IBIS Mountain Trials is crazy because it seems to have been a one-off/prototype/freak. I have an E-mail from Scot Nichole documenting this special bike.

Cal

POSTSCRIPT: You have the Dura-Ace STI 8-speed lever shifters I already sent you if you want to use drop bars.

 

[Calzone]

Cal,
I found an 11 yr old photo of my only adventure into having a camera painted.
This was set up for my WWII projects. I was using a IIIB and a black IIIa, but decided to keep them out of harms way, so Youxin Yee painted a IIIC. The knobs were stripped to the nickel plating. The shutter was fitted with a red wartime style shutter.
The brass parts were baked in black paint.

the paint wasnt very durable, but it looked good fora few days.
https://flic.kr/p/5HMeqr


-Bern

Bernard,

Nothing ugly about a brassed in camera, even a repaint.

My Hammertone M4 has mucho a lot of small chips.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

SL2 announced. Only $6K price. 47 MP and has IBIS. They increased the size of the buffer to 4 GB. New Maestro III processor should speed things up.

Glad I bought the APO 35 Cron. Along with the 50 Lux-L I will eventually have a two fully rigged camera kit with a wide and a normal.

The 50 Lux with IBIS opens things up. I have waited a long time for this camera.

Happy-happy.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

Looks great, saw a few reviews on youtube.

 

[jszokoli]

Cal thanks for picking up the shirt.

Its here...

https://us.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-SL/Leica-SL2

 

[Calzone]

Cal thanks for picking up the shirt.

Its here...

https://us.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-SL/Leica-SL2

Joe,

Nice to know that I still have that "pretty boy" slash criminal charm. The woman asked me "How many?" and I could of asked her for more. LOL.

The IBIS pixel-shift function that effectively combines exposures when using a tripod to create a simulated 187 MP sensor is mucho crazy. My guess is I will need to buy a mucho mighty big printer.

This Friday I'm taking off of work. Maggie is going away, so I have a girlfriend vacation to exploit. I think I'll change the dampers on my Epson 7800 (Jersey Barrier). I'll keep it loaded with Piezoflush until after the free luxury vacation in Amsterdam, France, Germany, and Switzerland in December.

How-Weird is sending out the mass announcement of his leaving in the first week in January. This I think is a bit rude, not because he leaked the information to me, but he leaked it out to someone else on the main campus of which I could be certain spread like a wildfire.

So yesterday How-Weird's big boss likely already heard the news as rumor. Ha-ha. Now I can sit back and watch for the entertainment value. Will this show be a mystery, comedy, or a tragedy? Anyways I can expect mucho drama. LOL. Of course like bad TV this will get dragged out, even though it is a bit of a crisis.

I'm pretty sure not much will change. Already one PhD radio chemist just quit, and this leaves one institution short handed and under duress and stress.

Yesterday's retro bike buildup and daydream really made it clear to me the value of enduring "treasure" that has mucho value added due to sentimental value. In a way my steel IBIS is as if I still owned that 67 Mustang convertible or my 1967 Volvo 122S and kept them over the decades.

Never fully realized how little continuity I have had in my life, and I'm thankful to have these few items to anchor me.

Cal

 

[Calzone]

A film was made about a merchant marine captain that was held captive by three Somali pirates. A SEAL Team dropped the three pirates and rescued this captain that was played by Tom Hanks.

I did some research to discover that the three sniper rifles use had gyros to stabilize them in a pitching moving sea. The boat that held the hostage and three pirates was being towed behind an aircraft carrier, and the snipers built their nests on the rear flight deck.

They waited til night to use darkness as cover, and also they reigned in the tow line to get a better shot.

Not easy to drop three targets at the same time in a pitching sea.

About 4 years ago I owned my SL, but not the 50 Lux, it was not released or available yet. I borrowed a 24-90 SL zoom from Leica for NYC Fashion Week. I ended up keeping this lens for almost three weeks.

One night I was in the bowels of the Bowelry and I decided to do some "Circus" shooting, meaning some sloppy shooting without care to IQ. Didn't shoot high ISO either. Some of the shutter speeds were 1/10 and 1/12 of a second. I also shot across streets into darkness.

When I downloaded the files and looked at the images on my EIZO I was surprised to see tack sharp images. The longer Leica zooms all have image stabilization and I was shocked at the sharpness. Realize that this wa with a zoom lens and not a fast prime, and it did not matter if I shot zoomed out.

This IBIS for me I have been waiting for. Realize I have fast primes. Pretty deadly.

Cal

 

[Range-rover]

The IBIS is a great thing to have in the camera Cal, as with the Sony A7II I have it
as well and in low light it works great.

 

[Calzone]

The IBIS is a great thing to have in the camera Cal, as with the Sony A7II I have it
as well and in low light it works great.

Bob,

I watch this 20 minute presentation on the advances of the SL2 over my SL.

This looks to be a great camera. The bad is that it seems power hungry. The speed has to come from somewhere.

As I suspected the interface is very much like my CL, and that is a great thing. Seems features on the touch screen advanced a lot making it much more like an IPAD. I would likely turn all the touch screen functions off as I do on my SL.

The rear screen is a quarter inch bigger and is of higher resolution. The EVF is also improved. One reviewer says that it is better than an optical VF'er.

Cal