Well . . . it rides good if nothing else.

Well there you have it, all built up. I think I should have gone with a horizontal top tube. For some reason it just doesn't look good to me. Like I said it's an experiment. I took it out for a little ride this afternoon. It's very stiff, but what do you expect from 035"/.9mm straight gauge 4130. Tommorow I'm going to go out for a 30 milers and should tell me a little more than the 2 miles I rode it today.

The experience has taught me a lot about how to go about it next time. The split seat tube consumed a lot of braze (4 Sticks!) and extra time and weight. I'm going to build a single speed 29r and use this method to give it short chainstays.

Four Pictures, For You

Here's some pictures after most of the paint has been removed. Some people wanted to see the "C D" cutout. The cutout will be backed by the seat-post, or anything I think of between now and the time I build it. The seat-tube does have one flaw with the way I made it. I capped the end so "stuff" wouldn't get inside the post. Only problem is I have and adjustable reamer, and I need a bottoming reamer to get to thebottom of the tube, so I can't get a post down any further down than 1/2 way down the "D". Live and learn, it's not bad. I already have a plan in the works to remedy this issue. You will see it on my 29r.

My camera isn't the best. I used to have a crappy 4 mega pixel, then it broke and I got this 6 mega pixel camera, that all is seems to do is make bigger 4 mega pixel picture if you know what I mean. The frame looks a little better than the pictures but you get the "idear". I still have some junk in the joints from the old paint, and it's not clear on the photos, but now is a good time for me to post pictures, so here the are.

(click on pictures to enlange)

Primer, always use Primer

I've decided to paint my first few frames with just Krylon spray paint instead of spending time and energy powder coating them or whatever. The thing is I might want to add something later. After all these first frame are R&D projects. My first frame I used the primer, but someone told me I could get away without it, tat if the surface was rough enough it would stick . . . complete bull . . . well maybe not, the actually the problem came from the fact the paint ran as soon as it hit the frame. I had sanded it all using 80 grit thinking that would be good enough for the paint to stick, and basiaclly I'm just looking for something to keep the frame from rusting. Basically after a few swipes my frame looked like a melting candle. So I've spent the last 3 days cleaning all that yellow goodness off. Now were going to have a cold snap so I don't know when I can finish it.

So always use the primer if your going the rattle can route. It's not that the paint will stick better, it just won't run as bad . . . and I mean run. Completely ruined 3 days.

Sneak Peak

(Click pictures to enlarge)

1980 - 1981

Some people might remember racing BMX at Hill Park off 23rd and Maywood. It was pretty much Cyclo-Cross with BMX bikes because the course was just laid out on the grass. No jumps, just turns and grass. No starting gate either. He would pound a stake in the ground, attach a piece of surgical tubing to it, then pull the other end across the start line, then we would all line up our front tires to it. He would tell us "Riders Ready!", then he let go of the tubing (Back then it was called the "Rubber band start")

Soon the riders who were good got interested in the National scene and National events. Although the name IBMA (International Bicycle Motocross Association) sound really big, it was no more than one guy running BMX races every weekend locally. Attendance at that time was probably around 300+ racers. To get national points we needed the IBMA to become part of the ABA (American Bicycle Association). At the time there was also the NBL (National Bicycle League, Mostly East Coast). We chose the ABA because of what I call "The Nebraska connection". The Omaha area had 4 to 5 racers that traveled the US.
Joe Baumert
Greg Grubbs (Became the first X-Games BMX Commentator)
Chris Heyden
Tim Littlethorpe (Who started Reach bicycle Co. and is still involved with BMX behind the scenes)
Rex Reason (Who became a Cat-1 road racer)

Obviously since the Nebraska boys were ABA we went after ABA, and basically our people met there people and hatched out a plan to get the IBMA to change to the ABA. The IBMA (Ed) didn’t like that Idea. . . . Stop me if you’ve heard this one before . . . . we were Banned from IBMA events/or the only thing going on local. So our parents formed the PBMA in association with the ABA. The IBMA withered away and the PBMA went on.

This is a list of the Kids who’s parents founded and spread the sport of BMX through the greater Kansas City area about 27 years ago. I’d post the parents name, but I can only remember more Kids names than parents. Not that nationaly proganized BMX wouldn’t have found its in Kansas city, It's these people who donated time and effort to do it. It maybe documented some place, but I can’t find it.

Tim Applegate
Jason Beaman
Norman Jones
Jeff Simmons
Mike & Sheri Barry
Tim, Jeff, and Missy Sparks
George Stewart
Steve Shope
Scott & Mark Bilbrey
Trevor Litton
Neal Banks
Doug Prather
Mark Delaney (Later ran Shamrock BMX in Wyandotte, KS)
Drew Jameson (Later ran the VFW BMX in Roeland Park, KS)
George Austin (The first Kansas City area ABA member).

I probably forgot a few, and if I think of them. Or somebody reminds me I’ll edit this

The PBMA’s first track was located off 93rd street between Blue ridge and Bannister Mall. . . . (Of special note this is where Dennis McCoy got his start in BMX. Before he made his success with freestyle in the ESPN X-Games, he used to race BMX.) . . . You can still see in the field just west of the bridge the old car tires that used to line the track. That track was closed because the neighbors didn’t like it. So the City forced us out and we moved to Harris Park in Lees Summit. Where I big building stand now used to be a corral that we converted in to a BMX track. Lee’s Summit close the corral and built a building on it. So the PBMA built a BMX track where the KCIR motocross track is/was. That was in 1986-87 about the time I made my departure from BMX.

Other tracks in Kansas City were
Shamrock BMX in Wyandotte, KS; Ran by the Delaney’s
VFW BMX in Roeland Park, KS; Ran by Drew Jameson
Track II in Liberty, MO; I forgot who ran it. It was close because the section of I-435 running from Liberty to the airport wasn’t built yet, and the track was in the way.
Blue Spring BMX; built in conjunction with the PBMA and (Jim Talley, Owner of Village Peddler Schwinn).

Back to 1981. After a couple years (79-81) I was traveling around the national scene I got my first real BMX bike.

This is a picture of my first real race bike. Not too many kids had a BMX bike with
Campy Super record cranks,
Bulls-eye bottom bracket,
Bob Reddy (magnesium pedals with titanium axles),
Tange MX-5 Aluminum Headset,
Torker 6 bolt stem,
Robinson narrow profile bars,
Dia-Comp MX-1000 brakes,
Phil-Wood hubs, (Back when they were made from 3 pieces)
DT double butted spokes w/Alu nipples
Araya-N rims,
Tioga MX-4 tires
Oakley grips (Moose Antler)
I Used only Phil wood grease and Energonics gold chain lube. (Are you kidding me, I can’t believe I remembered Energonics Gold Chain Lube).
I used to ride to school on it from time to time, but for the most part I rode my old Mongoose for obvious reasons. It just happened to be coincidence I rode it the one time the school was giving the bicycles safety inspections and my JMC didn’t pass because I didn’t have reflectors. Well goes to show you can’t please everybody.

The front triangle is assembled

The front triangle is assembled I should be able to get the stays done. I don't mind the cutting and mitering the tubes, I find it fun and challenging, It's the brain dead cleaning up of all the brazing that I'm dreading . . . Filing, Grinding and Sanding.

(Click the pictures to enlarge)

Heres a little close up of the head tube. This is the tube after a little filing. This is my second bike and I have a lot less filing than I did on my first one. First I'm tinning the joint, then I'm putting the fillet on with a bigger flame than I did last time. To clarify I'm using a bigger patch of heat, but not hotter. I used to get caught up in what the flame should look like, what size tip, or whatever. The only thing that matters is the heat. How large, and how hot.


This is the Bottom Bracket. I have a lot of clean up here. This is a little more trickier than the Head tube area. The Bottom bracket is thicker and it takes more time to heat up. One trick is to heat it up inside as well as outside. You have to hold the heat on the bottom bracket shell, more than the joint like you would the head tube area.


And the backside of the bottom Bracket


Can't wait till I'm done with my 10th frame. It's all about heat . . . actually you can throw cleaning the tubeset in there to. Having clean tubes, and a good amount a flux makes it so much better. I think my next purchase will be a Gas Fluxer.

What's Gas Flux? A gas fluxer adds flux to the flame, it helps fight contamination of your work, and it helps the brass flow better.
http://www.gasflux.com/

The Jigs UP!

The jigs Up! While the job of putting those blocks and tubes on the plate seem pretty elemantary, getting them on the plate at those specifc angle is anthing but. As you can see the seat-tube is not conventional and setting that angle was a little more tougher than normal, it was the top tube that took the cake getting it to the right angle.

(Click on the picture to enlarge)

Split Seat-Tube Road Bike

The Split tube 29r frame got highjacked. Actually I have another idea for my 29r, so I'm going to make another road bike. I was going to use a 1-1/8" fork, but since I have a 1" laying around I'm going to use that for a while to see if I like the 370mm chain stays. If I like the frame, I'll make a fork. If you have looked at the geometry you will notice one glaring detail about the fork it has 55mm of rake. I'd like to dial that back a bit to 45mm.

My plans tonight were to get the tubes miters for the front triangle at the least if not brazed together. Well in reality I spent the night finishing the seat tube, and redrawing the frame. So hopefully tommorow I'll get the front triangle done.

The seat tube worked out fine. I'm sure I cound have gone with 1/2" instead of 5/8" like a decided to do. However 5/8" works real nice when combined with the 1-1/8" seat tube. When all the tubes are assembled side by side, this leaves 5mm between the 5/8" legs and the edge of the bottom bracket. however this configuration only leaves room for a 23c tire as seen in a previous post. I'd like to use a 28c for my downtown adventures, so something is going to have to be manipulated since 1-1/8" converts to 28.6mm. So my mathmatics this leave you with 0.3mm space on both sides, but in reality it look closer to 1.0-1.5mm. enough to clear in the stand, but not enough when your riding.

1969 - 1980

I was born in Independence, MO in 1969, about a year later we moved to a a 16 acre farm in Orrick, MO. In 1974 I learned how to ride a bike on a Huffy, Thunder Road.

In 1976 I moved to Raytown, MO. I got a Mongoose, Moto-mag (No pictures). I guess you could say Bicycle racing was in my blood. I moved to Raytown I was ready to plant my flag . . . literally . . . as the fastest kid on a bicycle. I’d put signs up in my front yard to the effect that if you thought you were faster than me on a bike, then bring it on. My dad was continually taking these signs down.



My dad was in construction and met some who son was into BMX Big Time. George Stewart. He was one of the best racers Ever from Kansas City. So not long after I started racing BMX bicycles in 1979 at the age of 9. I got my first race bike at Katchum Schwinn off Truman Road. It was a Candy Apple Blue, Mongoose, Team SuperGoose. I know what your thinking, Why did he get another Mongoose if he already had one. At the time I still had my Mongoose Moto-Mag. The thinking was I would have a "Thrash Bike" and my "Race Bike".

For you Mongoose triva buffs there there is a difference between the Mongoose Moto-Mag, and the Team Mongoose.

The Mongoose "Moto-Mag": Only the main tubes were 4130.
The Mongoose Team: The entire frame is 4130.
Then . . . there was the Roger DeCoster Signature model the was a Mongoose, Moto-mag only with oval holes in the head tube gusset.



My first race was at the Downs Arena, The races were ran by a guy named Ed Bondurant. He called his association the IBMA. (International Bicycle Motocross Association). Downs Area was located just to the west of Shawnee Mission lake off 87th/85th . It’s a storage building right now, but back in the late 70's and early 80’s in was an indoor arena for rodeos, and BMX racing. And there were even 2 outdoor tracks. I’ve gone a lot of group rides that go past that building and little do they know the history.

Now I'm Cook'n With Gas!

Well my idea for the split-tube, seat tube has come to fruition. Originally I had planned to use 1/2" tubes to make the split, but I didn't think they were going to be stiff enough so I went up to 5/8". I took it and tried to flex it with just one leg. It was a lot stiffer thean I thought. I believe the original plan would have worked . . . no doubt.

Here are some picture. This is the best I can do balancing the seat-tube, wheel, and camera in the wind, but you can see even with the "Over Sized" split tube I have plenty of clearance.

Right now for a race frame I really want to go with the 1/2" tubes, and I think I'm just going to finish this one up and make it another expeimental road/cross/ do-all-2-all bicycle.

It look like that back tire passes throught the seat tube, but make tires don't pass through seat-tubes . . . Is it an illusion?


Nope the rear tire passes through the seat tube!


Yeppers! . . . Got Clearance!

Run Out Of Acetylene This Morning

After I figured out I ran out of Acetylene. I had this run through my head."They F you at the drive through". (You'll have to pause my Music player)