Wintry mix

I'm going out to Linville Gorge this long weekend for rockclimbing/hiking/camping with some friends from AR. Weather calls for snow and lows in the single digits. I'm packing up right now, and expect a writeup when I get back. Here's a teaser pic of the gorge.

Optimus Prime is a Badass

Found this the other day

Transformers and bikes, a winning combo.

Subfreeze Hike!

I did a subfreeze hike over winter break, and never posted the pictures from it. It was a short hike along the Billy Goat Trail on the Potomac River.

Yup, definitely freezing out

Walking on water

The Potomac

The bigger parts of the canal weren't frozen

I saw a bunch of woodpeckers which is unusual. Quirky looking fellows, really

Part of Mather's Gorge

There are alot of parts along the river with a 50 ft drop to the water

More building

I've pretty much completed the horizontal stab, all except for the hinge slots. I'm waiting to borrow a hinge slotter tool from a friend to do that. Later tonight I will get the vertical tail built. The tail section is easy and fast to build, I am just taking my sweet time building this plane. I can't wait to start the wings, though.
Now some eye candy!




You can see the steed in the background
Here's a list of things to be done for her to be done:
Build vertical stab and wing
Sand all parts
Install hardware
Covering
Install electronics and engine
Break-in engine

Goodies!

Went out to Home Depot to get som eclamps tonight. I really liked these Irwin Quickgrips. Expandable to 4". These are far better than using the weights. Also went to REI for the sale and got a rear bike light for $3.50! I almost got creamed today by a pickup, and I've been riding without lights for a while, so it's for the better. Also got a camping spork for the upcoming bikecamping trip.

Fixed gear build

I realized I never posted anything about the build of my fixed gear bike. This was a weekend project last spring (April 2007). I was walking around campus and found this old BCA bike in alright condition sitting by a dumpster. The tubes were flat, probably why someone ditched it. Whatever, their loss, my gain.

The frame is a good candidate for a throw-it-together-quick fixie. Horizontal dropouts, steel, just like every other old, cheap roadbike frame out there. Sizing was decent, 57cm when I ride a 61... good enough for campus cruising.

I took it over to the AR lab that night to do the dirty work. First job was to disassemble everything and grind off those unneeded brazeons.

I also had to think about what I was going to use for the rear wheel. To keep it in cheap fashion, I decided to use the old wheel with a welded sprocket. Went over to the design school and used their welding torch to do that.

Not a bad welding job!
After stripping down the frame, I decided to paint it safety color red, so those cars see me zipping through traffic on campus!

I came back the next day after the paint was done drying, and reassembled all the part. What popped out was this...

Ouuuu nasty seat, I know. That was what I had on hand at the lab. It was soon changed out for an old saddle I had layin around. Ok so, I'm thinking time for a test ride, right? It was past dark, but there were lights all along the road behind the building I was in, so Matt and I go back there to ride it around. Keep in mind this is my first time riding a fixie. I ride around for a few minutes, amazed that the welded sprocket hasn't given out along with the rusty spokes on the wheels, getting used to that 'fixed' sensation. I pass it over to Matt to let him try it out. "Not bad for dumpster diving" he says. Ok, initial rides, great! Time for some more speed. I ride up a hill trying out the flywheel effect, then turn around pointing downhill. Time for downhill trials... Start peddling, faster, fastER, FASTER. I see some headlights up ahead, a car coming in the one way street (I was going the wrong way here) Ok time to start those brakes...wait, what? Tim you didn't install brakes on a bike?!? By this point I wanted to coast... a big no no. The pedals shot my legs up like a kid on a trampoline, massive legs have a lot of momentum. The pedals bucked me off the seat, rear wheel popped up, lost control tail falling off to the side. When the rear wheel meets asphalt again, the bike is yawing probably 30 degrees to the side. Thigh lands on top tube, rear wheel tacos, but driver never bails! I didn't fall off the bike, after tacoing a wheel at 15mph, much to the amazement of Matt.

No problem, fun while it lasted. I went to the bikeshop the next weekend to look at wheels. I walked out with an extra wheel from a Fuji Track Pro, has Formula hubs, DT Swiss spokes, and I believe a weinmann rim. I of course got a new sprocket to go on the flipflop fixed/free hub, no coasting at all for this bike...

I eventually bought a front wheel (Performance Titan, yea nothing flashy here, remember, cheap is the keyword) in the summer since the bike looked horribly aweful with rusted spokes and rims. I'd say it looks very nice. It's actually a bit too small for me. I am looking to sell it because it gets little use now that I live off campus.

More construction pics below.

Back in Raleigh

I just got back to Raleigh a couple days ago to get ready for classes. I also cleared off part of my large desk for the Tiger build. It's a little small for the plans, but they won't be on the table for much of the build. I'm continuing the fuse build, hopefully it will go faster now that I've got a comfortable place to build. This is recent, so I don't have any new pics besides this one.

More Tiger!

Making slow progress on the build, mainly because I don't have a great place to build at my house. The downstairs workarea has been taken over by my dad for refridgerator repair, so right now I'm building the plane on the floor in my room... A few pics for now.





Happy New Year!