Vintage Bikes of the future, 26 inch wheel mountain bikes?

Why you should start collecting 80's and 90's mountain bikes

They say 30 years makes a classic. So pretty much, judging by my time here on this earth, I'm pretty much a classic myself. Classics enjoy the respect of enthusiasts and turn heads when being showed off in a modern environment. The mountain bike as it originally was has also become a classic. 

Crested Butte, 1980. There was a repack mountain bike race that day-viewed the first generation of mountain bikes, a far cry from what we would consider to be a mountain bike today. Cantilever or drum brakes, bull moose bmx-style handlebars, and heavy frames with long rear triangles were on the forefront of technology back then. Many of these bikes have sadly not made it into collector's hands after decades of rigorous thrashings on the mountain bike trail. The ones that have made it will soon be as valuable as the most expensive vintage Italian road bikes.

With the recent popularity of vintage road bikes and fixies, old ten speeds have enjoyed a vast number of avenues for replacement parts and upgrades. Most tire manufacturers still make 27" tires, for example. 27" and 700c wheel replacements are still to be found for many of these bikes, even replacements for rear wheels that require a freewheel instead of a cassette. In fact, ever since 700c became the popular wheel size on road bikes, they have been able to co-exist with 27" bikes until this day. I'm guessing back then bicycle companies respected the consumer's wallet, that or 27" wheel touring bikes were seen as benign and not a threat to 700c wheel racing bikes. 

Never in all of bicycle history has there been an attempt so blatant to eradicate a wheel size option than what the bicycle industry is doing with regards to the 26 inch mountain bike. A year ago, I wrote an article saying this would happen, based on market trends and feedback from working at a bike shop. It seems that overnight, all of the good, mid-school wheels and components have either been bought up or priced up at a 300% inflation rate. This is an unexpected outcome to the 650b and 29er wheel craze of the last few years. I can't seem to find anyone who sells good 26" freewheel threaded wheels anymore, unless they are heavy bolt ons for cruisers. The only wheelsets I find available are cassette compatible and top end brands like Mavic. What ever happened to the Zac 19's?

I can only compare what is happening to the 26", unsuspended, steel mountain bike to what happened to film photography. All the powers that be in the photography industry got together , and in less than a decade, film photography was gone. I saw my first digital camera around 2001, a box-like object that used a floppy disc and could only take five pictures at a time. By 2004, 3 mega pixel cameras where starting to become common among most people. In 2009 when I took my film camera to Germany, I received a few impressed looks and one person even told me that they had forgotten what a film rewind sounded like. I had to take my film to a specialty camera store to get it developed, and that was 5 years ago. I still have my film cameras (good ones, at that) but seldom use them because I don't know where I'll develop the little film that I have left in my refrigerator. Were film cameras that much more inferior than digital cameras? No, in fact a 35mm camera with a really sharp lens could get the equivalent of 64 mega pixels in image resolution. My medium format camera could get an even much higher resolution still. So why did the industry have to force film into obsolescence?

For the same reason why the bike industry is forcing out the 26" wheeled mountain bike: to make money. By forcing everyone to upgrade across the board, the bicycle industry is forcing consumers to buy their product, because all other options have been eliminated. As much as I loved my film camera, once all of the one hour photo labs started closing down, I really could not use it anymore. So let's say I were to break a wheel or a 7 speed shifter on my mountain bike. There may soon come a time where that will mean the end of that bike's lifespan as a mountain bike. It will from that point forward have to become a beach cruiser, because those will be the only wheel and tire options that will come in 26 inches. As a desperate measure, I may just have to buy a Wally World bike or a Magna bike from Target with 26 inch wheels, just to swap parts onto my old mountain bike. 

As consumers, we can choose with our wallets whether or not we like what the bicycle industry is doing. When I say bicycle industry, I am not including bicycles found at department stores, many of which still come in 26 inches. I'm including The two big American owned companies in the industry and the one big but still emerging Taiwanese "giant" who are driving the change. "The Big Three" currently own most of the patents in the industry and are known to buy out other companies just for the sake of eliminating the competition. If we don't like what they're doing, then we don't need to buy their mountain bikes, it's that simple. When we start seeing more aftermarket parts available for our old-school rigs, then we can entertain the idea of buying their products again. 

In conclusion, forced obsolescence is never a good thing. Look what that did to letter writing, no one writes hand written letters anymore. Fewer people read the printed page, now you see people reading on their tablets and "eBooks". People don't invite other people over to look at their photo albums anymore, everything is shared online and invitations are kept to a minimum. When something becomes obsolete, our values and manners suffer. Some people will say that it's just a wheel size, that it's just a hobby and that truth be told all bikes were meant to be disposable anyway. But it's much more personal than that. Pricing out the consumer or forcing an expensive change on them is taking advantage of their long time integrity and the fact that they're cyclists. It's telling them that there's a cost of entry and a economical barrier to doing what they love to do. It's telling the consumer either pay up or quit riding a bike. It's an underhanded and indirect way of pre-qualifying people to do something that everyone should have the right to do; ride a bike. Straight up class warfare, if you ask me. 

Here's my answer to what the bicycle industry is doing. I'm going to start collecting vintage mountain bikes and components. I hope to accumulate enough parts to do my own maintenance without ever having to step foot in a boutique, hipster-owned bike shop. Once I can no longer do maintenance on my bikes, all future mountain bikes will come from Target. That's how I'm going to choose with my wallet and I'm sure others will follow suit. The modern bike boom is over, it's been over for about 3 years now. With this forced change the specialty bicycle market will not keep enjoying it's temporary run of sales for very long. Once the bicycle demands of the upper echelon of society are met, they will not derive any more profit from the rest of us. Until another Lance Armstrong comes along and gets people into Tour De France fever, most people will no longer see the need to buy an expensive bicycle again. 

End of rant.

My Schwinn Restoration- Before and After

Before and After: My Schwinn cruiser restoration

If you're already tuning in to my blog, you know that I do custom bicycle restorations. The "Transform your Klunker" segment of my blog has gotten me my first restoration project, this one of a kind vintage Schwinn cruiser.The serial number on the head tube leads to believe that this bicycle was made in the late 70's to early 80's. When I received this project, the wheels were rusted through, and many parts were covered completely over by brown surface rust.

Before and After: Surface rust removal.

 I disassembled the frame and put the parts in a chemical bath for a few days to remove the rust from the surface. After removing most of the rust I went over the parts with a steel wool brush to get any remaining bits of rust off. I had the frame sandblasted and powder coated. The powder coating finish was ready within a few days and I had decals also placed on the frame.

Frame after arriving back from powder coating.

I found these vintage decals to match the frame perfectly.

I got to work installing the bottom bracket and single piece crankset. I purchased new bearings and repacked the bottom bracket with new grease for the bearings to quietly roll along.

Repacking the bottom bracket.

Crankset after assembly.

I also had a better preserved Schwinn head-badge that I was able to replace the old, worn head badge with.

Era specific head badge

There were some parts, such as the wheels and fork of this frame, which were not salvageable. I found a replica fork and wheels at a local bike shop and was able to replace these quickly. The end result made for a great final product.

Finally, all finished

The end result of this restoration is a bicycle that the owner will get many more years out of. A restored cruiser like this costs about as much as buying a new custom cruiser. The difference is bikes like these were made of steel as opposed to today's bikes which are made of aluminum.  They were made to take the abuses of country roads and paper boy routes from a time were people depended on these bicycles to get them around different places.


If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area or can cover your own shipping/transportation costs, please feel free to ask me about the bicycle you would like restored. You can email me pictures of the bicycle from all angles and what you would like done on the bike. I will get back with you with either a quote or realistic response if your bicycle is not able to be salvaged. To learn more about my restorations please feel free to visit my "Transform your Klunker" page on my blog.

For a free quote, send me an email with pictures of your bike to the following email address.

Faces of L'Eroica

A race lost in time: The participants of L'Eroica are as vintage as the race itself. Photographers- Nicola Carignani, Ertzui Film, also follow them on Flickr.

Welcome to Gaiole, a small town in the state of Chianti, Italy. Here is where the L'Eroica bicycle race is held, a race that has it's own unique following. Bicycle racing is big all over Italy, so it's no surprise that there would also be a bicycle race in this area. The difference is that this race comes with a theme of it's own; vintage bicycle racing. And the participants are no less vintage than their bicycles, whether it's in appearance or in age. This bicycle race does not allow any bicycles made after the 1980's. The rules also specify that the bicycle needs to have shift levers if geared. You can see bicycle's here from all the way back to the 1920's and even older still in working function and actually being used in the event.

A tweed ride on steroids, L'Eroica winds through gravel roads that out of tradition have never been paved. It follows some of the route of Strade Bianche, a race also held in Chianti. Riders race on these roads the same way they have been for almost a century. The race is known for being self supported, but if you happen to catch sight of the pit crew they might be able to lend you a spare wheel.

No Mavic Yellow cars in this race, but this guy might help you if you happen to have a flat. Spinwell

A race full of hardcore, handle-bar mustache sporting guys. My kind of peeps. By Velorunner

Taking a rest break. Courtesy of Cicli-Berlinetta

This race truly embodies the romanticism of the golden age of cycling. It personifies the ideals and visions shared by those who have an appreciation of the old-school and long for simpler times. And these guys don't merely collect their bicycles in a show room and use them as conversation pieces. They are out there mashing on their cottored cranks taking their heavy bicycles up and down winding hills, through pot holes, and through loose gravel and unpaved roads. Guys like these can just take the easy route and sit on their lawn chairs drinking their Ensure. But they choose not to, and that's why I admire them for their hardcore ability.

I'm a niche blogger, and micro-niches like these fascinate me. I learned about L'Eroica researching if there were any bicycle races that were suited to people who rode on old bicycles. In an age were carbon fiber is king and the cost of professional gear turns away many people from getting into racing, this might be the answer to the common person. This looks like a fun event to hold in my area, and collaborating with the community I would like to one day host such an event in my city.

My trip to Georgia and North Carolina

A Bicycle's Point of View  From Georgia and North Carolina

Local Art from a festival in Asheville, North Carolina

I normally write articles based in my own area of North Texas. Sometimes you need a broader perspective on things, or just a vacation. This is exactly what I did on my trip to Georgia and North Carolina. Although I can't lump sum the two states together I can surely say that both possess a wonderful variety of natural terrain and wonderful people. 

My trip to Georgia covered the north part of the state around the Atlanta Area and south of the state on Tybee Island, which nears the city of Savannah. I left behind my ten speed conversion at home this time in favor of a more off road friendly Mongoose Otero. I do both mountain biking and road biking, and saw this trip as an opportunity to get out into the trails of Georgia and the mountains of North Carolina.

One of the stops that I made along the way, on my trip to Georgia, was the Big Creek Park trail and Greenway in the cities of Roswell and Alpharetta. This gave me a chance to try out my brand new Go Pro Hero 2 helmet camera.  Here's some video of the trail that I rode during my time there.

The surrounding cities of Atlanta, such as Roswell, Cumming and Alpharetta, are full of wide open spaces more so than you will find in north Texas. There are not as many construction projects or deforestation as where I currently reside. The roads are more narrow and wind through hills at fast speeds, yet I saw an array of cyclists safely riding in the area. It's a beautiful place to visit, dotted with tall pine trees and a mix of the rural and the urban combined. 

In the latter part of my trip to Georgia, I visited Tybee Island, off the coast of the city of Savannah. Tybee Island is known more as a tourist destination yet the whole island has bike routes and the cruiser culture is very much alive on the island.

This Truett's Diner is one of the first diners owned by the maker of Chick Fil'A

Showing off for the Camera: Popping a wheelie at Tybee Island.

One can relax at the beach, rent an old beach cruiser and peruse around, fish at the pier, or wait until the evening tides bring in good swells for surfing. I stayed on the island for two days, and on the second day swam to one of the neighboring isles close by. It wasn't until later that I discovered that they were catching black tipped reef sharks at the pier. Oh well, I survived to tell my story at least!

In contrast to the ocean and urban scenery of north and south Georgia, North Carolina was its own animal to say the least. The mountains, although not as tall as the Rockies, were still mountains indeed. The scenery was breathtaking. Mountains would descend into valleys and picturesque views of cattle staggered up a mountainside were common in this area. On my stay in North Carolina, I visited the towns of Waynesville, Canton and Asheville. Waynesville is a quiet little town with a classic city center in the middle of it. Galleries exhibited some local artist's crafts and the restaurants made a point of serving good, healthy food. Waynesville is definitely not a food desert; I can't even recall seeing one fast food chain nearby. Everything is local, fresh and organic. They even have a local farmer's market in Asheville where fresh produce is readily available.

On my second day on my visit to North Carolina I visited the towns of Canton and Asheville. There I checked out the Rough Creek Watershed historical trail and caught a glimpse of a black bear about 40 yards away from me. Riding in the real mountains is a unique experience. For one thing, going uphill is more walking the bike than anything else, also something I am not used to coming from Texas. Natural spring water pours out along crevasses on the mountainside and the water looked good enough to drink. 

A view from my Go Pro in Canton, North Carolina

 Asheville got me. It understood me down to the core. From a bicyclist's, a photographer's, and an artist's point of view- it's heaven. A small city with everything in it, Asheville boasts miles of bike lanes, coffee shops and is known for its summer art festivals as well as for the hundreds of miles of forest and mountain bike trails that surround it. It's the kind of place where new ideas are welcome and creativity is encouraged. Here's a couple of shots of interesting things in Asheville.

Like I said, this place gets me. Point of view authors like Bike Snob NYC are available at their shops

True, very true

Some wacky art at the art festival

All dogs go  to heaven?  No, all dogs go to Asheville.

Electric bikes are available for cruising around the city

Laid back: This is the typical Asheville resident artist

Mural art is seen everywhere in Asheville.

What I didn't see in North Carolina is what will bring me back someday soon. This area is known for having at least five waterfalls, canoeing and kayaking and hundreds of miles of bike trails and routes throughout. Two days weren't enough to see everything this wonderful place has to offer. Who knows, I may end up pitching my tent there one of these days! Yes, I liked it that much.

Places like Georgia and North Carolina are evidence that bicycle culture is not waning, it's growing everywhere in the country. Sometimes it is necessary to get out of your local area to realize this. We can get stuck in our own microcosms and lose sight of the greater picture; the world is a big place, and there is much left to talk about. Places like Asheville and Tybee Island help me focus on the can-dos and forget about the can-nots. Stay tuned for more articles like this, because like I said, there is much more to talk about.

White Rock Lake- The beginings of something good in Dallas.

White Rock Lake Trail

And why Dallas isn't far behind progess.

Today I read a disconcerting article about the City of Dallas. This article placed Dallas in the bottom of the least bike friendly cities in the United States. The perception of Texans from outsiders is that they are a backwards people. They love their guns, ten gallon hats,  SUV's, and their giant steaks. That Texas has 5 of the most obese cities in the United States, so the assumption is that Texans like being fat, and they don't like their cyclists. Even though this couldn't be farther from the truth, the current city council of Dallas is fighting hard to maintain that stereotype. They have all but shelved a recent Bike Plan which would have revolutionized the landscape of Dallas, offering people the same bike transportation alternatives as Portland.  The obstacles they say are financial, yet money is always found to finance the behemoth highways and toll roads which in the long run hurt the small communities that they carve through.  Even though the city approved hundreds of millions of dollars for the Margaret Hill Hunt bridge, there are no bike lane implementations and the money seems to disappear altogether when the word "cycling" is mentioned.

There is a silver lining to all this negative portrayal. Dallas does has an bicycle infrastructure set in place, dormant and waiting to be activated. The place in Dallas where all current trails connect is White Rock Lake. The Lake connects with the Santa Fe, Cottonwood, and White Rock Trail system. It is also a very beautiful recreational trail connecting Dallas and it has the potential to be much more.

Here is a map of a similar route that I took through White Rock Lake today

Find more Bike Ride in Dallas, TX

Along side the trail you will find businesses that cater to the needs of cyclists. Dallas Bike Works off of Lawther road is a great place to stop for a flat, a light or even a new bicycle.  The Bicycle Cafe of Dallas is a match made in heaven for cyclists and coffee lovers alike. Let's take a photo tour of some of the highlights of today's ride around White Rock Lake.

Feeling tired on your bike ride? Stop by Bicycle Cafe for your daily dose of coffee boost to keep you going.

You can stop along the trail and relax on a dock alongside the lake

Sail boating and kayaking are popular activities to do out here as well.

A family spends the evening hours together feeding the ducks

Goose Crossing: You can see some fearless geese crossing the road around this time of day.

Dallas, for the most part, is a beautiful place to ride a bike. Unfortunately it has received a negative reputation due to the less progressive thinkers that are calling the shots. Dallas can continue to shine as it redevelops it's Downtown by including bicycle lane development on it's tab. There is currently a development boom and revitalization effort going on right now in the city of Dallas. Taking Dallas out of the Dark Ages can be as easy or as impossible as people make it to be. The challenges facing Dallas are nothing more than removing the belief that it has to be shortsighted and unfriendly to those who are seeking a better quality of life within it's boarders. As we turn the page into a new decade, let's see if the coming generation can finally bring some much needed changes to make Dallas even more wonderful than it already is.  This is what Dallas wants, this is what I personally hope that it gets.

Berlin-Why is it so Great?

Berlin: Destination for Photographers and Cyclists

Taken at the Brandenburg Gates with my digital point and shoot camera.

Three years ago I had the opportunity to visit the city of Berlin on a trip to Germany I made. Being both a photographer and a cyclist I found the best of both worlds colliding inside this city. A reminder of the old and the new, Berlin has architecture hundreds of years old as well as remnants of the soviet era and modern day skyscrapers. It is a landscape photographer's dream as well as a model city for it's cleanliness and transit oriented infrastructure.  When my wife and I traveled Berlin we did not need a car. Instead, we took advantage of the advanced rail system that can take you anywhere in the city. Much like New York, Berliners walk, ride their bicycle, or take the U-Bahn or S-Bahn anywhere they need to go. 

Cyclist on bicycle dedicated lane.

Cyclist riding near "Checkpoint Charlie" in Friedrichstrasse, the border of east and west Berlin.

In Berlin you will find aspects typical of any big city- street performers, food stands, and foreign residents selling you trinkets at every corner. Bargain choices for food include Doner Kabops and Currywursts, as well as the beer. Beer in Germany will run you much cheaper than water; 30 cents for a half liter bottle of beer compared to almost $2.00 for a small bottle of water. The Euro is the currency currently being used in Germany. Make sure you exchange your money to Euros before shopping or dining anywhere in Berlin, as it is considered bad manners to pay in dollars. If you can avoid it, do not use traveler's checks either. There is only one place in the whole city that will take them. It is preffered you use your check card in most places. Talk to your bank about any foreign transaction fees associated with using your check card abroad.

Pretty good for his age, huh? Street performer in
Berlin.

An actor reenacts an east German check point guard.

My trip to Berlin was a great learning experience. I learned a few tips on traveling abroad as well as enjoyed the sites and culture of the Berliners I encountered. Berliners can teach those living in the US on how a transit system is supposed to work, as well as the positive impact it has on its users.  Even though there are cars in Berlin, few people own them and fewer people need them. They have managed a way to do without them. Still, I love to see those little Soviet cars they made. They are awesome!

Shooting with my Mamiya

My Mamiya C33 and the 120 Project

My 1960 Mamiya C33 series Professional Twin Reflex Camera

No matter how much technology advances, there are certain art forms that resist change. Just like photoshop cannot replace an artist's easel, Digital technology does not replace the old film practices in their entirety. One example that has yet to be matched in quality only by the most advanced digital cameras is the medium format camera, in this case, my Mamiya C33 twin reflex camera. This camera uses a 120mm roll of film you insert instead of the 35mm roll on most SLR cameras. The 2"x2" negative packs as much detail as a 40 mega pixel image sensor. Depending on lens quality, you might even get more detail. 

The drawbacks? No built in light meter. All light measurements need to be done by an external hand held meter and dialed into the camera manually. It is also very bulky. Weighing in close to 5 pounds, it can be like swinging a club if swung around in defense of a camera thief. It is also expensive to buy the hard to find rolls of film and a place that will still develop them. From time to time I would sneak in to my college dark room and develop the pictures that way. 

You might think that these drawbacks would stop the modern photographer from having anything to do with such a camera. On the contrary, most photographer's dreams are to build their digital portfolio's and reputation good enough so that they can go back to shooting film cameras like these. My goal as a photographer is to incorporate this camera into my wedding photography, once I have established consumer confidence in my work.

Here are some examples of photos I have taken with this camera

These pictures go back to the time I was penniless living in northside, Fort Worth. I would take walks into Downtown with my camera and shoot at anything that looked interesting. 

Self portrait at age 19. No digital effects were used. Taken on
the bulb setting on my camera.

My lovely wife, the day I proposed.

The 120 film project is an ongoing project that I hope to build on and one day exhibit in my own personal gallery exhibition. Stay tuned for more pictures with my 50 year old camera.