Buddy Rick from 1919 making sure there is film(memory card) in the camera

Over the weekend my good friend and web genius Jared added some new pics to the website (www.galluscycles.com). There are 3 new bikes posted, Stephen’s belt drive bike is in the track bike section, Clint’s road bike, and Rick’s (a different Rick in the above picture) 650b Mountain Bike. I started a new section called ” Adventure Bikes” for bikes that don’t really fit in any one type of bike other than being able to handle multiple types of terrain. Rick’s bike is in this new section along with a few pics of the 20″ wheel Travel Grinder, so actually there are 4 new bikes on the site. Though I need more pics of the Travel Grinder eventually. The ones up were taken on short notice so the bike could be featured in Popular Mechanics Magazine. Did I tell y’all I had a bike in Popular Mechanics? They did a spread about cargo bikes and the Travel Grinder was in it.

Thanks to Nick Prendergast for taking the photos once again. And to the lads and lassies of 1919 Hemphill for letting us use their space for the shoot.

Its been a tough few weeks as my mom passed on December 22, 2011. I was able to spend a lot of time with her during her final days, which was a blessing. I took some additional time off to mourn her loss and start moving forward, albeit moving a bit slowly for now.

As this blog is more related to my business than to my personal life, and I am also a rather reserved individual I don’t wish to expand too much. I will say that I loved my mother very much. We were very close. She was one of my greatest teachers and my biggest supporter. Anyone who had met her could tell you that she was THE kindest, nicest, welcoming person.

The past few weeks have been a time for reflection and even examination. I definitely don’t have all the answers, many of which will mostly likely remain elusive. But one thing is certain; we must always chase our passions with everything we have.My mom was a very talented individual and accomplished a lot in her professional and personal life. But her success and even her talent was only possible from how damn hard she worked. 

Being back in the workshop over the last couple of weeks, and getting in some nice long bike rides has been the greatest therapy, and I am now very motivated, excited, and grateful for what I get to do everyday.

Thanks to everyone, friends, family, near and far that have helped out the last few weeks. And to those out there that are similarly dealing with loss or tough times, my heart goes out to you and please stay strong.

In the next few weeks I will have a lot to share with y’all so please watch this space.

Jeremy

Sorry for ignoring this space for the last couple of months. As I had previously mentioned back in September, my mom had been going through cancer treatment for some time. Since returning from Europe her condition has unfortunately gotten a lot worse. Bikes have been on the back burner  since the Texas frame builders show back in October, as I have been spending more time helping her and my family and visiting with guests and relatives that come to see her.

That said, I have not completely been ignoring the workshop, though working at a much slower pace than normal. I have been working on a stainless lugged cross/commuter bike with couplers and disc brakes. The frame is nearly done, just a few braze-ons and then the fork and racks. Once it is a cleaned up  a bit, I will have some pics up. And I will mention that I am very excited about this frame and pleased with how it is turning out.

I have also had a photo shoot with Nick Prendergast, and now waiting for web wonder boy Jared to add them to the main website. And I have written and sent off my PBP article to Bicycle Times. Hopefully it meets their standards and gets printed. Additionally I have signed up for NAHBS in Sacremento, but now need to figure how the hell I will get there with a bunch of bikes.

One of the bikes I will be taking is the bike I built for myself to ride in PBP. It is a stainless 650b classic randonneur style bike with couplers. I have not been able to post any pictures till now because I finished it 2 days before I left for my trip and then I left my camera in Glasgow, where I spent a week after Paris. I have now received my camera, and let’s just say its not a good idea to leave your camera in the possession of old haggard Scottish bicycle messengers. I had to spend a lot of time deleting photos.

Here is a couple pics of my PBP bike in Paris the day after the event. I had no time for clean up before the trip, but have since done quite a lot of cleaning and even though it is stainless(the fork isn’t, hence the surface rust), it will get a lick of paint before NAHBS. There are also a couple PBP pics that I took and some that my friend Jeff Newberry sent to me.

"Galluis" French for Gallus

Good ol' sleep deprivation

My friend Jeff Newberry somewhere in the French country side

Hey everyone, blog has been quiet for awhile now. I have been back in town for over a month now, I wish I could write more about my trip, but I  have been busy piecing things back together and getting my routine back on track. Getting there…I am now working on a disc brake, coupled, stainless lug dream machine for Matthew Lerberg. Sounds like a lot going on, but it will actually be a very balanced and subtle bike. I have also, slowly but surely been getting back on the bike since Paris-Brest. No need for super long rides at the moment, so keeping things in the 30 mile range during the week, but I am keeping up with my R-12 (an award for completing one 200km for 12 consecutive months) so have had a couple long days in the saddle.

One of the major upcoming events for Gallus Cycles is the Texas Custom Bicycle Show this coming weekend, October 15th and 16th at the Austin Convention Center. I hope this late announcement sparks those spontaneous folks out there to attend. This is the fourth year (damn, time flies) we have done this show. I am very pleased to have been part of the show each year from its conception at the Superdrome in beautiful Frisco, Tx.

One of the highlights of being part of the show from the beginning is watching myself and my peers work progress. A lot of us started out around the same time, and its interesting and encouraging seeing the improvements in design, quality and business (though our bikes were rad from day 1). It keeps things fresh, and urges one to keep marching forward.

I am particularly excited about this year because I am bringing some knock out bikes. It will be the public debut of both the belt drive track bike and Rick’s 650b adventure bike. In addition, and just as spectacular, I am bringing Clint’s absolutely gorgeous  All-Rounder and my new stainless, coupled, 650b Randonneur that I made for and rode during Paris-Brest-Paris.

My 650b bike is currently a well ridden  work in progress. Though the frame is stainless, the fork isn’t so after the show it will receive some professional paint(the paint on there is temporary a-la-rattle can), polish the frame up properly and  make a new rack. So kindly advert your magnifying glass and judging gaze towards my other bikes…

This will definitely go down as one of my greatest sporting accomplishments and most sensastional experiences. I don’t think I would want to even know what is a harder event then PBP.

I can’t write much just now. I need to pack my bike up to go to Glasgow tomorrow, too slow on these French keyboards, and, big news, I will be writing about the ride for Bicycle Times Magazine.. Maybe some pics shortly

I have been extremely quiet about this in the public realm of my business, but now I feel it is necessary to share. Though this was a tough experience it does not compare to the pain and suffering my mother has been experiencing for well over a year now fighting brain cancer. My grand randoneé is completly dedicated to her. It would not have been possible without her love, support, and guidance. She has approached her situation with the same class, dignity, and compassion that has always defined her as a person. Her perserverance has been the greatest influence on my success and determination.

One of the things that makes this bike even more special is that I made a custom seat post for it. The customer had originally asked for an integrated seat tube/seat post where the saddle clamps directly onto the seat tube and doing away with the seat post altogher. I was concerned about adjustability and to some extent strength.  I have seen a few bikes that have somewhat of an external seat post, where the tube bolts to the outside of the seat tube. This provides a little more movement, gives the appearance of a tall seat mast, but still seemed to be questionable durability wise. I liked the idea of a seat mast, with minimal clutter, but wanted some adjustability. I didn’t have to scratch my head too many times till I figured I could design and then make a post that clamps internally by way of a wedge bolt much like that of a quill stem.

While doing a little “r and d”, it turns out my idea was not at all anything new. Campy used to make one a long time ago, I found a shop in Wisconsin called Yellow Jersey ( I believe Jonny from Jonny Cycles used to work there)that at some point converted existing posts to internally clamping ones, and it also turned out that a lot of the bmx companies make them for their bikes. As I had already dreamed up the design of the post, made custom bars and dropouts, sourcing one of these pre-made ones was clearly not an issue. Once I had the frame in paint I began working on the post.

As I typically build all of my bikes by hand I don’t have my own lathe or mill, and have pretty limited experience on them. Luckily my friend Chris Watson, co-owner of Arundel Bicycles  , allowed me full access of the machines at the Arundel Development Center and bounced off ideas and techniques with me. The design was relatively straightforward. I started off with a stainless steel tube, turned it down to the standard seat post size of 27.2 mm. I then made a plug for the top end of the post that was counter bored and mitered. I brazed the 2 pieces together, and then made a stainless wedge bolt for the bottom end. I cut a few notches in the bottom of the stainless tube so the post could expand courtesy of a Titanium bolt Chris gave. As I don’t TIG weld, I then had Chris TIG weld some what were originally stainless down tube shfter stops onto the top of the post. These stops would then hold the hardware used for the Thompson Seat Post plate that I will used for actually holding the saddle.

Here’s some pics:

I don’t want to put too many pics up of the actually bike till its totally done.Since the last post I have had loads of people asking about the custom dropouts and how the belt went on. I purposely didn’t show any pics of the drive side drop because I was having to get a little more work done on the stainless faces. I still need to polish them up a bit but here is a little teaser to keep you people satisfied for a few more days.