Expedition Bicycles?

[Jonathan Hanson]

I will absolutely stop in to say hi. I know the Surly is a stout frame; I was seduced by the handmade English one mostly on aesthetics, although it's at least as strong as the LHT.

Very few bike shops show any interest in touring anymore, so it will be great to meet an owner who likes long distance rides.

 

[Clutch]

Is that his Surly in the photo?

No that isn't his bike...something I found....his bike is waaay sweeter than that. His dream tourer is a Waterford.

http://www.waterfordbikes.com/

 

[DaveInDenver]

His dream tourer is a Waterford.

Nice. Waterford makes some really, really nice stuff. Back in the day when I was still working in the shop, I remember the old Paramounts. It was a sad day when Schwinn decided to kill the Waterford-built Paramounts in '94, but by then Waterford was really just building them as a contractor anyway. When I was a kid I remember daydreaming about a new P13, P15, P10. We had one of the black & gold 50th Anniversary bikes from '88 in the store, talk about a beauty! My buddy rides a bright yellow Gunnar Roadie, just simply a sweet ride. Someday, someday...

 

[Clutch]

He also current owns a Moots single speed/geared hard tail. They made him a special dropout so he can run either or. The realy cool thing about owning a Moots, they have a room you stay in for free at Steamboat, CO. Which works out quite nicely if you are up that way.

I only have an old VooDoo single speed and a Santa Cruz 4X, and a couple of Dyno beach cruisers. I had a Voodoo Rada road bike, but, road riding bores the hell out of me...oh well, to each their own.

I used to really be into the bicycle thing, I got a little burned out on it and the culture, my KTM 300 has taken over. Life is about change and exploring new things, right?

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

The resurgence in handmade steel bicycle frames has paralleled the resurgence in fine mechanical watches, and for the same reasons.

The Waterford bikes are beautiful, as are those from so many other small makers. It's a great time to be interested in good bikes.

I'd like to have a 700C touring bike for road touring once the rough-stuff Thorn is finished, but I want to build the frame myself. There are a number of schools around which will take you through the entire process of lugged steel construction and send you home with a frame with your name on it.

 

[Clutch]

There is a local Tucsonian building lugged frames...check it!
http://www.bohemianbicycles.com/homepage.htm

http://flickr.com/photos/25271457@N00/?saved=1

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

I had no idea! How cool . . . . I'll have to go talk to him. Maybe he could be persuaded to take on a short-time apprentice.

 

[edgear]

Jonathan -- here is a good bicycle expedition book you should check out: Two Wheels North.

I'm almost halfway through it. It's about two teenagers who bike from Santa Rosa, CA to Seattle, WA in 1909. Definitely a good read!

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

That looks wonderful. I'll look for it. There's another story somewhere about a mother of three who rode across the country on a bet, in, I believe, 1894.

 

[Colorado Ron]

Wow, this thread has really inspired me. This last week I bought my son a new MTN bike for his birthday. Nothing high end, but nice. Got my wifes and I bike off the dusty hooks and gave them a good once over. Installed new tubes in all the bikes and ordered a trailer to haul the kids that cant ride yet. I think we are going to give it a good summer to see how we like it. Kids want to take their bikes on our big trip, but with room restraints we shall see. Just wanted to post to let you guys know we are going to give it a good try. So far I road about 5 blocks and was ready for :camping: haha. That about killed me, but hey!-One day at a time right.

 

[Christophe Noel]

This thread sparked a couple random thoughts. I spent the better part of 15 years working on and off in bike shops. One day a guy rolled up to the back door of our shop in Colorado with a complete pile of junk. I looked at his rear tire and said, "that tire is so old, it won't last 10 miles." The guy just looked at me, smiled and said, "wish someone would have told me that when I left Seattle last month."

Along the same lines, I was living in Alaska working as a guide and one of our buds was planning a trip from AK to Mexico by way of the Continental Divide trail. He did it in absolute record time on a $500 Specialized Hardrock.

Every time I swing a leg over my team provided $7000 bike, I realize the gear is just a small part of the overall endeavor. But is sure is fun to buy gear!

 

[DaveInDenver]

our shop in Colorado

my team

What shop and what team?

 

[Christophe Noel]

That particular shop was Lee's in Fort Collins. Currently I race for a team based in Flagstaff, AZ. Mostly road racing. Bikes are Scandium Voodoos.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Currently I race for a team based in Flagstaff, AZ. Mostly road racing. Bikes are Scandium Voodoos.

Grand Canyon Racing?

 

[Christophe Noel]

Grand Canyon Racing?

Sorta. It's got a new name for the season and we split the squad. Looong story.