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Phil,

“Maggie” is in wait and see mode. She also likes the Specialized FX-6 which weighs 21 pounds and is full carbon.

My criticism of that bike is that while it has nice carbon wheels and has a reasonable low gear, it lacks on the top end for a high gear Say for motoring downhill.

Perhaps not a bad limitation. This is marketed as a “fitness” bike. Evidently Maggie fell for the marketing.

At this point also I think the Newsboy for me has proven to be a keeper as is, even though the 97.36 inch high gear is somewhat limiting on descents. I can go wider than the 1.8 width I currently use now and gain a taller profile to extend my top gear range.

So in a way both our top end gears will be limited and will be close to 100 gear inches which is fine on a rail-to-trails.

This is why I favor a 3x9 for more gears, wider range, and where overlaps are good, especially for long epic riding/touring.

Perhaps I too favor the FX-6 for Maggie because of the carbon wheel set and the light weight. The laws of physics become more pronounced in smaller people like Maggie and I who are lightweights.

Anyways now maybe I can be selfish with the 9-speed on the shelf to build out a bike for me.

Cal
 
Six out of eleven photos in “Maggie’s” book are mine. One of them was published in Vogue without any photo credit.

How much does it cost to give a photo credit? Anyways my work for Maggie got “lifted” all the time. To me pretty much it is stealing.

Some thinking has been done to create my own version of a Trek FX-6 out of the Ti IBIS. Pretty much converting it from a 2X11 trail bike to a 1x11 “fitness bike.” Different tires and pretty much a fun bike that would weigh about 17-18 pounds with slicks/ gravel tires. Nice thing about the Ti IBIS is that I can go really wide on the tires for Cush.

I have a 46T and a 48T to go set up the drivetrain. Then I would strip out the Rock Shox Judy SL and install an IBIS Type 2 fork that Steve Potts made for me. As a trail bike with 2.1 and 2.3 wide tires, front suspension, and 2x11 it weighs 22 pounds.

After things are all dialed in I would upgrade the chain ring to a Wolf Tooth to prevent chain drop. This would be a good bike for the Empire State Trailway. Perhaps not so relaxed and comfy as my Newsboy, but an exciting ride that likes to go zoom-zoom.

Cal
 
I wonder if we will be heading into the fashion shows in September. Seems like the grandson will be in daycare by then.

I think I will try some slightly taller tires on the Newsboy to make the gearing slightly taller. Will be interesting to have a wide tire capability for comfort and added traction.

Today I will concentrate on strength and do some weight training.

Retirement can be looked upon as boring, but it is relaxing and it is great to not be burdened by stress.

Cal
 
Phil,

Rocket Ron’s in a 24x2.35 in Liteskin are on sale for $60.87 at Schwable USA.

I suspect this tire might be closing out because that has been the case in the past.

I happen to own one and I mounted it again to check the clearance on the Ti IBIS. The tire measures a diameter of 25 inches and the width on a rim inflated is about 2 1/4 inches. In my case on the Ti IBIS this tire would fit if I shave the side lugs a bit.

These are really great tires that are only 500 grams for a folding tire. They also have a low rolling resistance.

Don’t know if you have the clearance…

Cal
 
So far “Maggie” has a fashion show to attend. Good possibility that I’ll be included and attending.

September 15th will be Tommy Emmanuel at the Peekskill Paramount, an old Art Deco theater that seats 1,100. Looking forward to this show.

I conceded that I am less of a mountain biker and more of a fitness cyclist. I already have the Newsboy and the IBIS Avion SS for the Empire State Trailway. The Ti IBIS Mountain Trials is currently set up as a 2x11 XTR for trail riding, but pretty much is not a good bike for Blue Mountain where my steel IBIS Mountain Trials is set up as my technical/slow bike.

The Ti IBIS would be great for the carriage roads in Lake Minnow-Wask-KA, but otherwise would go unused. I guess I realize that perhaps I am no longer a mountain biker that I once was, and now maybe a better use of the Ti IBIS would be as a 1x11 with a 48T and an 11-42 cassette with gravel tires.

The flavor would be for an aggressive responsive gravel bike that would compliment and also contrast against the Newsboy, a relaxed comfortable bike for epic rides, and the IBIS Avion SS which is a step in more responsive, yet balanced handling. The Ti IBIS would be more of a hammer bike that displays aggressive handling with less gears. Kinda made for climbing, standing and pushing bigger gears.

Kinda funny how I am utilizing mountain bikes as a platform to convert into gravel bikes.

Also know that the medium Steed Springs made by SRP are kinda too heavy a duty for my 150 pound frame. This gets exaggerated because on an IBIS Mountain Trials the front wheel is mostly unweighted with almost all the rider’s weight right over the rear wheel.

I guess I could mix the soft and medium springs, one in each leg of the fork for an intermediate feel. Hmmmm…

I love the soft springs on my Judy SL on the steel IBIS. The medium springs on the tricked out Judy XC is almost like a lockout on the suspension fork. Travel is very minor and minute. Almost like riding a rigid.

Anyways I’ll keep the 2x11 kitted out just in case when required or needed, but a soft set of Steed Springs will be needed.

The grandson will be a year old in a few weeks. He is already walking. In many ways he is advanced. Today I strolled him in Blue Mountain. Think I will do some kettlebell behind the head presses and some pushups.

I kinda dug into Fluke fishing, and these scented “Grubs” are the rage. I tied up some dual hook rigs, and will use a fish-finder that allows the line not to be directly tied to the sinker for a heightened sensitivity. The “sharpies” on the last party boat trip both used these scented grubs made Berkeley on two hook rigs.

These should prove deadly on my two rods with braided lines. Both rods have soft tips for jigging: but one is fast action and long; and the other short with a moderate action that leads to being parabolic. They both have a great feel. Both very balanced.

The next fishing trip might involve bringing the grand daughter, a nine year old. Maybe a mistake because she is kinda high maintenance and all I want to do is relax. Oh-well.

Cal
 
My local Audi dealer where I get my state inspection and oil change every year is still trying to buy my car. This time it is not towards another car or SUV.

It’s a 2015 now with 35K miles on it. Pretty low mileage for an 8 year old car, but I bought it in 2020 just after I closed on the house with 16K miles on it.

I like the side collision avoidance, but that’s about as far with technology I would want to go. I don’t need more things to break. The technology is so old that the phone integration is only 2G, but know I don’t use it.

Lately I have been using the car a lot for day trips and over nighters. The mileage is adding up, but the type of driving I do is very infrequent city driving. The mechanic says that my brakes are still fresh and are a 9 out of ten as far as wear goes, meaning it is not unreasonable for me to do 100K miles before needing brake service.

The way I drive this car it could still be around 15 years from now. Could be close to passing the 25 year mark and be an antique car. Why would I sell it?

Is there still a used car shortage? I know that smaller “compact” cars are in short supply. Manufacturers and automakers have been building larger cars, trucks and SUV’s because of higher profit margins.

Cal
 
Will deflation in China be exported?

Deflation by definition is an oversupply. This could be goods or services.

Use to be “when the U.S. economy sneezes, the world economy catches a cold.” Perhaps this is true for China the world’s second largest economy, by one measure.

I use by one measure because if you count the European Union as one economy (EURO), the EU economy is about the size of the U.S. economy. Another way to balance things suggests China’s economy is the third largest.

China is suffering a collapse in real estate, part of their economy that the government has subsidized and supported for growth, but the demographics suggest that the Chinese population has peaked and demand has only further to fall.

”Look out below,” I say.

Then there are debt problems, mostly internal.

Youth unemployment remains hidden and goes unannounced. The mass urbanization has also peaked.

Many economic wounds are said to be self inflicted, bad policy, after bad policy. China can no longer feed itself and relies on food imports. Not good when you need grain from the Ukraine.

Not good to discourage exports by hostile maneuvers and siding with western enemies when you rely on the west to support your export economy. Perhaps the west will learn that they don’t need cheap goods/junk from China.

A joke is the Belt and Road policy that was trying to expand China’s spheres of influence. These huge infrastructure projects has been a folly of sorts. Third world developing countries are now in debt to China on projects that have design flaws, shoddy workmanship, and structural flaws. Chinese labor was imported into these developing countries to add insult to injury. What initially was a projection of “good-will” became “ill-will.”

Anyways I remember how the Cold War was won: Ronald Ray-Gun doubled defense spending when our economy was three times the size of the USSR. Pretty much we bankrupted their economy because they tried to keep pace with our defense spending even though their economy was smaller.

Like in the Cold War an economy is being undermined, but basically almost all the wounds are self inflicted. China destroyed its own economy.

Cal
 
Daycare and fitness have merged into power walks using a jogging stroller.

Although the jogging stroller rolls easier than a regular stroller it weighs as much as one of my light bikes. Then add in a 25 pound big boy who is almost a year old.

The ergonomics are also better with the jogging stroller and I can walk without a hunch.

Anyways a different kinda workout, so much so that I went to bed early and required 9 hours sleep. The key to fitness when you are old is rest.

I am also emphasizing strength training.

A development with the fashion show that so far only “Maggie” has the invite, but this designer also started doing menswear, so I will likely also get “dressed” by this designer using his clothes. This would be a first for me. Kinda common for people/celebs that are invited to attend these shows to be “dressed” even though they are in the audience.

Kinda cool, but it also might require us going into the city to pick up these clothes and also returning them. Don’t know if the clothes will be delivered by courier or not.

A friend of ours received a bomb threat of his business and home in Peekskill. He sponsored an event that supported the LGBT community and somehow things got out of hand. Very misplaced because our friend is married, straight, and has two little kids. Really crazy. Our friend tried to support inclusion…

An economic storm in China is still brewing in slow motion. One thing for certain is that the world economy and world trade will be lower. They say a rising tide raises all ships, but also the converse is true. China has debt problems and they don’t seem to have a good track record as far as policy goes. Might take a while to unwind, but unwind it will.

Basically what I’m saying is trouble for everyone… Also I’m afraid of the many unintended consequences that are unknown and remain undiscovered at this point.

I am doing an inventory of my bike spares and filling any possible holes while some supplies are still available and cost effective to secure. I figure I could build another bike or two if I bought a frame or two, but this involves mountain bike drivetrains and wheels.

Just trying to look forward, speculate, and playing the waiting game to see how things unfold. Kinda like a game of chess…

Cal
 
I ordered a VBC set of chainrings from White Industries. The 44/34 will provide the taller gearing I want and also give me the wide range I want.

I already have the cranks from when I initially had the Newsboy set up as a basic 1x11. I’m using my Middleburn cranks with a 42/32 with an XTR 11-42T cassette. Mucho gears, but not enough high gear for honking.

Pretty much the Newsboy will be kinda maxed out as a mountain bike that has been converted into a really nice gravel bike. Those Rene Herse tires allow an EZ-PZ conversion.

BTW this bike is sub 20 pounds and weighs 19 1/4 pounds with a heavy leather seat and mucho heavy handlebars.

I fitted a chrome Koski fork that matches the polished Ti frame so it has a pretty loud ghetto look to it. Also all retro boutique hardware that is at least 30 years old, so the bike is somewhat a rolling museum.

I have 1.8 inch wide tires on it presently, but I can add 2.3 width tires for additional Cush and comfort. Still the bike would be sub 20 pounds.

With these new chainrings the bike has evolved over time into a perfect bike for me.

Decided to keep the Ti IBIS as a trail bike with a 2x11 XTR 42/32. What a great bike, but the last thing to change is softer springs on the front. This is a perfect bike to ride the carriage roads at Lake Minnow-Wask-KAA in New Palz. I can see me coming around that hairpin turn by the Gunks heading into town.

Already have the Newsboy and IBIS Avion SS for the Empire State Trail.

Today we walked into downtown Peekskill. Of course we had the grandson in tow using the jogging stroller. I’ll throw some weights around to work on my definition and strength. My core is tightening up.

Cal
 
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I figured out from the IBIS Avion SS that a triple makes it EZ-PZ to get mucho wide gearing, even though it is only a 7-speed.

Then I have a 9-speed drivetrain which expands things further with an 11-34 tooth cassette. Bonus is that these XT cassettes are still available from Jenson so I loaded up the truck. Since this is a precious resource that I bought when affordable that is now costly I saved this drivetrain, and now I will use it to build “Maggie” a new/old retro bike.

I just secured a Fat Chance “Yo Betty” in a 10 inch frame size made for most likely a woman who has a height of 4’10“- 5 feet.

Maggie stands at 5’2” so the frame is on the small size as far as seat tube, but the 20 inch top tube suits her and is the same as her Trek AL-4 Domane. The triangles are tiny and also because the wheels are only 26 inch her stand over will be less awkward. The 28 inch 700C wheels make it hard to dismount. Had to teach her to lean the bike to get a better step over. I figure the short seat tube will suit her fine and in a way is like a step through.

The Yo Betty is a metal flake blue, uses a 1 1/8 inch steerer, and I happen to have a Koski clone like fork that will fit the bike. Will likely have to buy a stem, bars, a headset, and a bottom bracket. The Fat Chances use a press in bearing that uses locking collars that I am not familiar with.

Comes with a 29.4 long seat post. The price was crazy, but I got it at a best offer price. The condition of the paint was mucho better than the 12 inch IBIS Avion SS. Overall I think the Yo Betty is a cooler bike than the IBIS Avion SS, even though I love-love mine.

My Newsboy and IBIS Avion SS share much of the same geometry. The Newsboy is an 18 inch frame and the IBIS SS is a 17 inch frame. The biggest difference is that the Newsboy has a 42 1/2 inch wheelbase, the Avion SS only 42 inches, and that half inch difference is due to the onger rake in the Koski fork that slows down the steering and relaxes the bike. I happen to like the smaller frame of the IBIS Avion SS, even though the Newsboy is more comfortable for epic rides. Glad I have both.

I have the drivetrain, a set of retro wheels with Mavic narrow 231 rims and White Industry hubs, and a set of blue anodized Pauls Components brake levers that are spares. Have a set of black wall Rene Herse Natches Pass 26x1.8 tires. 11-34T cassette, and a 9-speed XTR drivetrain with a 46/34/24 set of chainrings.

This will be an interesting project and a very cool and pretty bike.

Cal
 
Thats a really nice American Classic seatpost. Ouch on the price. Are your Paul’s levers linear pull for V brakes? Don't get the 1st or 2nd generation XTR V brakes, just go with reliable non-parallelogram XTs or lower. No reason for XTR unless one is racing, and even then theres little reason for the eXTRa expense when weight savings is minimal. The XTR V brakes came squealing out of the box because the parallelogram linkage allowed the brake pads enough play to oscillate like a violin bow against the rim. Shimano scrambled and sent out shim kits which were only a temporary fix because they wore down with use.
You’re going to need to get a 110mm or longer travel suspension corrected rigid fork or actually get a newer suspension fork, or the handling of the bike is going to be incredibly twitchy. You’ll need probably 460+ mm axle to crown. Most of these came with 120mm travel forks.
That seller has a veritable bike museum out in Pittsburgh. He had a perfect Ritchey Logic fork for my Breezer, but the steerer tube was too short. That guy has a lot of uncommon stuff and he knows it, hence the prices.

Phil
 
Phil,

The asking price was mucho costly and kinda crazy. I chewed off $200.00 off that price. Still costly, but I wanted it.

The most recent price drop on the IBIS Avion SS 12 inch was only to $399.00 and the paint was not so pretty. Clearly I paid a premium for a cleaner frame. I also find this bike to be more interesting since I already own an Avion SS.

The bike has 135mm spacing, the head tube is for a 1 1/8 Inch steerer. I have a rigid Koski clone that has an extended 16 1/2 inches drop out to crown. The 1 1/8 steered means this is a 1997 or newer frame.

The blue anodized Paul Component brake levers I have on hand are for canti’s. I know canti’s are not period correct… Might have to go V-brake for the sake of staying vintage correct on this bike. Oh-well…

For brakes I like Paul Components. I also love their BoxCar stem, kinda elegant.

Originally this frame had a “Bomber” fork with 80mm of travel. I have to do more research on forks from the 1997-2000 era. The 16 1/2 ATC on the rigid fork is just shy of my Rock Shox Judy SL’s 17 inch ATC height. With elastomer sag pretty close to moot. Meanwhile my original Koski forks have a 15 1/2 ATC height, obviously pre suspension.

The IBIS fork that came with the steel Mountian Trials has an ATC height of 16 inches.

The American Classic seat post is nice.

Anyways I’m recycling what I already have, and pretty much trying to deflect “Maggie” from spending $2.7K on a Trek FX-6 which is only a 1x11 with limited gears.

The Trek AL-3 Domane has a 20 inch top tube, which is about right for Maggie, but the stand over height is a bit tall for her. I’m afraid the 12 inch IBIS frame also could also be a bit tall for her even though its a mountain bike. I think the smaller 26 inch wheels and the step through effect of the smaller frame will suit her well. The Trek AL-3 seems a bit too tall for her, and it is awkward.

Anyways it will certainly be a very cool bike and mighty cute with those tiny triangles. Know that I snagged all new 9-speed XTR except for the shifters. Long-cage for 45 teeth Max-Cap.

This bike was made in Saratoga County New York, so this was after Fat Chance merged with Serrota. This bike is not of the Somerville Mass vintage or original Fat Chance. The first year of the Yo Betty was 1996 which had a 1 inch steerer, 1997 and later steerer tubes were all 1 1/8 inch. Only produced for 4 years and not in great numbers. I have never seen one in the wild, but now I own one.

Kinda funny is that Maggie is afraid that she might like the bike I’m building for her more than the bike she just bought. I’m pretty certain that will be the case. I am kinda styling Maggie with here bike which is mighty cool.

Cal
 
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Phil,

Paul’s Components has ones that either mount a cable hanger off the seatpost or the steerer tube, but V-brakes are period correct and seem more elegant. I think V-brakes with Paul Love Levers is the way to go. The Paul Mini-Moto V-brakes are cool. I was just looking at them.

Cal
 
Been gathering up and going through my bike stockpile organizing and culling through materials to get a sense of what I need to order.

Mounted tires on rims and also added a cassette to get the wheels ready for when the frame arrives.

The prices have gone up a lot for a Chris King headset and at Pauls Components the bill won’t be small.

I shifted around some pedals between my bikes to optimize. The Newsboy now only weighs 19 1/3 pounds. The Steel IBIS got heavier and is now 25 pounds even though it is only a 1x11.

Had a relaxing day on the waterfront listening to some free Jazz. Used the opportunity to take some shots with the Leica CL to post.

I am learning that Fat City Bikes and Chris Chance has a cult like following. A lot of what Chris Chance did was to develop a sorta counter culture. An interesting guy for sure.

Got some smut on how “Yo Eddy” evolved. One of the employees was a graph-FEET-E artist and he created a circle with crossbones that sported a Mohegan that got riffed off of in the shop. The Yo Eddie is the most iconic bike that Fat City developed, and the Yo Betty plays off that legend.

”Maggie” loves the appeal of a bike especially made for a woman. The parts I’m assembling out of my collection is impressive, all top shelf components that will end up being a custom bike. Seems like she prefers black anodize to match the frame decal lettering, makes sense, but I would add some blue anodize to add some accent and loudness, but that’s me.

For instance use a black MiniMoto V-brake in the back against the blue metalflake frame, and add a blue MiniMoto to the front to stand out against a black rigid fork.

The spare set of blue anodized “Canti-levers” originally were purchased for when I upgraded my Ti road bike to 9-speed Dura-Ace from an 8-speed Dura-Ace that exploits mountain bike XTR shifters on a straight Ti bar. The blue anodize levers will be held/retained for that purpose again for use on my road bike.

Also know that I have a silver set of Canti-levers on the Newsboy, and I could swap them out to make the Newsboy louder and more ghetto. The Newsboy already has purple and red anodize along with black and silver. Adding some blue only adds a little volume. LOL.

They say China is responsible for about 30% of the growth in the world’s GNP. That’s enough for it to effect the other 70%. The takeaway is that some businesses that utilized or utilize or supply China will suffer disproportionately. It is doubtful investment and capitol will flow into China when there is a vast oversupply that is causing deflation and an over 21% youth unemployment.

Pretty certain that there will be some spillover if these numbers are correct. Things eventually catch up and go sour elsewhere. Could get bad…

Cal
 
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Morning Cal,

New to me Hasselblad CFV16 Digital back by Nokton48, on Flickr

I've wanted this CFV16 Hasselblad Digital Back for over twenty years. This one came along at a decent price and now it's mine.
Fat Pixels and Beautiful Colors, this is a coveted Hasselblad item. And it matches up perfectly to my 500C/M and 500 EL/M bodies. Kinda like shooting Kodachrome. I'm totally mucho stoked 🙂 It's on it's way.... Heh Heh
 
Phil,

Certainly I have a lot of money tied up in my inventory. I spent a lot of money, also I bought stuff that not only was great stuff, but also was before prices went nuts. Over time a lot of added value happened… Now this equipment has me priced out, yet somehow I own it because I bought this stockpile when they were not costly.

I figured out that Yo Betty’s are kinda rare. They came out in 1996 with a 1 inch steerer, and in 1997 they changed to 1 1/8 inch steerer. This 10 inch frame is a later version with 1 1/8 inch, and by the year 2000 Fat City Cycles was no more. Only produced for 4 years and then in very limited numbers.

From a 1999 catalog I discovered a size chart: the 10 inch frame is recommended for someone 4’8”- 5’2”; and the 12 inch frame from 5’2”-5’3.” Basically there is an overlap between a 10 inch and a 12 inch frame for someone 5’2.”

My thought was that the 10 inch frame would be on the small side of the fit, but actually it is kinda perfect and better for “Maggie” because of the added step-through effect. Given the choice the 10 inch frame is better. Also know that the top tubes between these two sizes measure the same.

I also saw in this catalog that Synchros stems were part of the spec on built bikes. I happen to have one that measures 120mm, but it still might be too long for a woman.

1999 specs: 26.3 inch stand over height; 20.9 inch top tube; 60mm 1 1/8 head tube; 39.2 inch wheelbase; 10 inch frame weight 3 pounds 11 ounces. Quadruple butted tubing.

The bottom bracket is likely a 118mm or 121mm for a 68mm shell, where I speculate the 127mm is for a 73mm shell. This axel has no shoulders and the bearings are press fit and retained by clips. I happen to have on hand a Ti 113mm BB axel that lacks shoulders and is the required 17mm diameter that is part of a White Industries BB that features an adjustable chain line.

Of course locking collars are required, but I don’t know if I have the clearance with my short BB axel. Would be great if it worked.

Interesting to see the few pictures of a Yo Betty online. The triangles are so tiny, and the frame presents a deeply sloping top tube. The stems seem elongated and the seat posts are mighty tall. The geometry looks kinda radical. The short wheelbase under 40 inches means very aggressive steering that likely will be twitchy.

To counter this I need to encourage a long stem and wide bars to slow down the steering.

Cal
 
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