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Project Bike: a Sola SL

CHiPs big wheel — “My first project bike was as basic as my development, a fixed gear with tubeless tires and a slammed stem.”

Nine months of confinement would break a lesser manâ€™s spirits, but pile another four months of New England winter on top of that, and only a select few have the will power to avoid insanity. The day was December 21st, 1977, winter had just begun and so had I. Forty-six days later the blizzard of â€™78 covered my world in white and I credit that storm with my profound imagination. Swaddled in a crib, next to the fireplace, I dreamt up my very first project bike.

For those who have experienced a perilous winter, you can probably relate to my fragile little mindâ€™s wanderings, and may have even dreamt up a project bike of your own.

If you are reading this 7, surely you are aware of the “project bike” phenomenon, but just in case it’s news to you, I define a project bike as such:

Project Bike: (n. proj-ekt bahyk): A bike that is contemplated, devised, planned, or implemented over a harsh New England winter. Traditionally a large or major undertaking; especially one involving considerable money, personnel, day dreaming, and at times outright lusting. So long as the bike has been theorized, the project can be considered “underway” irregardless of how many provable steps have been taken in the bikes physical creation. Project bikes have shown to help maintain the sanity of those trapped indoors for multiple months out of the year.

My first project bike was as basic as my development, a fixed gear with tubeless tires and a slammed stem.

I suppose that it should come as no shock that on the day of my thirty-forth birthday, and winter underway once again, that I have begun another project bike. This bike, unlike the thirty-three before it, comes from a place that none of the others have, raging jealousy. In a recent 7 entry, John Lewis discusses the late night cross ride in which he and others have been participating. Well, he failed to mention that they have also been going on morning mountain bike rides too, in bigger numbers. What feels like every other day, I listen to the glee and general jubilance of my office mates laughing and sharing stories from their early morning mountain bike ride. “Do you remember when Neil crashed!?” Followed by uproarious laughter. “Or when Dan’s wheel spun out?” They even refer to it as â€œshreddingâ€ which sounds even more fun. It goes on all day, and I just know I am missing out on good times. I love good times.

My issue, at least the one Iâ€™ll discuss today, is that my stable is missing a mountain bike. Just yesterday my jealousy reached new heights when John took delivery of his brand new Sola SL, much to the delight of the rest of the group.

So consider my 34^th winter project bike officially underway. I have determined a few things thus far, including:

Frame: Sola SL
Fork: Shock, but which make/model is still undecided.
Wheels: 650b
Bar: Flat, but the 90â€™s are calling and you best believe Iâ€™ll be rocking some stubby bar ends. Count on that.
Brakes: Hydro disc with humongous rotors. Make/Model are still undecided.

The real issues?

Geared or single?
44mm head tube or standard?
Set back or standard post–I’m still up in the air on the aesthetic.
Cable routing locale, though Iâ€™m leaning towards under the top tube.
Time frame.

As you can see, I am well underway, though I have nothing to show for it at the moment. Unlike thirty-two of my previous project bikes, I think this one has a good chance of coming to fruition.

How about you readers, any exciting project bikeâ€™s this year, any good stories of projects bikes from the past?

Happy Holidays.

Seven Cycles on the Road: Our Visit to Get A Grip Cycles in Chicago

The first weekend in December found us at Get-a-Grip’s Fulton Street Fit Studio for an evening of bike chat and wine tasting. Seven founder Rob Vandermark spoke about our customization process and fielded questions on topics ranging from steel forks – we’re working on it – to full-suspension mountain bikes – we’re working on that too. Customers brought their Sevens, and we talked about all the decisions that go into a custom bike.

While we were there we met Erick Geer Wilcox, who makes custom bike shoes, and Mike Cacciabando, who rides the most Chicago-y bike in Chicago. We drank wine. We ate cheese. It was a party.

Mo Bruno Roy at Worlds in Namur, Belgium

Mo Bruno Roy

pushing through it at the UCI World Cup race #5 in Namur, Belgium.

A Seven Shop Ride: Cross Bikes on the Evening Trails

Dan riding his bike in the woods at night — Danny V. Ready to Ride

Before the snow flies we’re trying to get out in the woods as much as we can. Wednesdays often hold the promise of a shop ride on cross bikes, if we can all remember our lights.

This time of year, our local trails are awash in dead leaves. The leaves make traction a more random event and camouflage muddier patches, all of which serves to amplify the fun. Everything that is easy fun on a mountain bike in the daytime becomes squirrely and awesome on a cross bike in the dark.

You can only ever really ride the five square feet of illuminated trail in front of you. Sections you know by heart show sides you wouldn’t have imagined.

A few nights ago we rolled single file through a trail system just a few miles from the shop, and then did a quick zig-zag over pavement to get to another small system out to the west. We finished with a spin downa nighttime bike path, only a few other hearty cyclists for company. Home in time to microwave some leftovers and put the kids to bed.

-John L.

Mudhoney PRO: The Quest to Build the Perfect Cross Bike

Mo pro II lugs before and after — Mudhoney PRO in the prototype phase

If you’ve ever been over your handlebars into a sand pit, you know that the forces that come to bear on a cyclocross bike can be both unexpected and catastrophic. You also know that trying to get all that sand out of your mouth is much more complicated than simply swishing some post-race beer around and then spitting, like you were at the outdoor dentist.

Because of the big hits a typical CX race bike takes, we think that a pure carbon frame is the wrong tool for the job. There simply isn’t enough forgiveness in that material to justify the weight savings you would get over a metal bike. That doesn’t mean carbon fiber has no place on the course though.

Carbon fiber is good at two things. First, it eats high-frequency vibration better than metal, so having some carbon in your CX frame is good when you’re flying over grass or even grinding a big gear on a paved section. You’ll be smoother and get better power transfer. The other thing carbon fiber is good at is being light. Light can be good when you’re racing, right?

But it’s not everything.

Metal is good at some things, too. Titanium, for example, will give a frame a suppleness and a maneuverability that an all-carbon fiber frame doesn’t have. In the technical section of any course, in the switchbacks or in the mud, titanium will give you the ability to use your whole body to steer with. A titanium drive train will be easier to power in chattery sections than a carbon one. Sometimes a little flex is a good thing.

At Seven, we have the ability to build an all-carbon cyclocross racer and make it every bit as customizable as any of the other bikes we build. When we set out to expand our cross line though, an all-carbon bike never even crossed our minds.Instead we built the machine that would come to be known as the Mudhoney PRO.

The Mudhoney PRO aspires to wring every last advantage out of the two materials in its design. The carbon fiber top, seat, head, and down tubes form a light triangle. Matching seat stays settle your saddle. By putting titanium lugs and chainstays into the mix, we getsuppleness where we want it, plus added durability. A titanium drive train will improve tracking and traction; it will hold the ground better than a carbon one, especially in the more technical sections.

Marrying materials in this way isn’t easy; it takes advanced bonding techniques to gain all these advantages and still be able to offer a lifetime warranty. Luckily, we’ve been mixing titanium and carbonsince 1997.

We can’t guarantee you won’t go over the bars of the Mudhoney PRO. When it comes right down to it, sand is unpredictable, and we could all use more practice carrying momentum from the fast parts of the course into the technical sections. What we will say is that you won’t find a cross racer that trackstruer and holds the ground better. And there’s always that post race beer to look forward to.