Crank: a blog for stuff.

Hot Time, Summer in the City.

2011-06-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a few months, but a lot has been going on. I'm going to quickly outline all of this for myself and anyone else who happens to be reading or care:

1. Adventures- I've made a point to go on a bunch of them when I can. I plan on going on more. These aren't all bicycle related, but I'm sure most of them will be.

2. Music- I've been learning the guitar, and therefore, built one to play electric when I'm good enough.

The guitar I built from a kit I ordered from Ebay. Naturally, I made a few modifications and upgrades. It sounds great! The weird box looking thing with the cable sticking out of it is actually a recording microphone I built out of some parts I had lying around. It's 2 sided- singing into one side sounds like a megaphone, and the other mostly like a regular mic. I think the next one I build is going to have a better filter and maybe a tone knob.

3. Artwork- I've been painting murals, and I've relaunched my website.

What you're looking at above is a great space in Fishtown that we were allowed to paint at/on. It was of course vandalized shortly after, but whatever. You can't do street art/public art without accepting that it's going to get destroyed someday. Usually sooner rather than later.

I've also moved into a new place with my girlfriend, and am in the midst of getting that all together. It has a lot more space for projects and a nice backyard too. I'll probably post more Mural pics later on, but for now you can go to my website to see more.

'Tis the Season.

2010-12-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've written here. Not too much to report, unfortunately. Lots of projects that are stalled out or not seen through. I really hate that feeling. I would like to play music and make art and travel, but I feel like I'm waiting for something, which is silly. I did start a new collection of art today. Or at lease, nailed down some sketches. It's a small start, but it's the spark I need. I am looking forward to some creative flow and offering something to the world again, even if it is just asthaetic.

In other less bummer news, I built a new touring bike, which is pretty rad. I'll have pictures of that up shortly (months and months from now).

Saturday Night, Saturday Night!

2010-07-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

It seems I am an awful friend. Had to work today, and missed out on some close friends' engagement party, so I'm the only loser home alone on a Saturday night while all of the friends are out living it up! Am I defeated by this cruel certainty? YES! I mean NO. I went for a bike ride, on a new whip that I built for "The Lady-Friend". It's a beautiful evening, so I stopped at the Penn Treaty Park and sat on a bench, looking creepy. I didn't TRY to look creepy, but I find that I have little control over this aspect of my life, as I have no control over the two female picnic'ers setting up shop not too far away and casting annoyed glances in my general direction. I did manage to capture a couple of nice pictures though (not of the lady picnicers)..

After all of that, I came home and watched a documentary series by PBS called art:21. One of the artists was a photographer who took pictures of dog bones and her naked children. But Barry McGee was in it too, so that made up for it. Now when creepy pedophiles google the term "naked children" my blog will come up...awesome. Also, this blog counts as something I did tonight. I am full of productive. You may notice that this entry has a different feel, or style to it than my others... This is because I am overworked, under(over?)caffeinated, and in a generally odd mood. I should really focus, but no one's reading this anyway, right? Fuckers. Anyway, I'll post some stuff about my next project, when I decide exactly what that is, and get the time to do it. Peace, homeys. Peace.

I've gotta get out of this place

2010-06-28T10:09:00.001-07:00

I think I need a little vacation from Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love is not treating me so hot. Maybe it's how crowded it is, or almost getting hit by drivers too distracted by there cell phones. Maybe its the lack of brotherly love that's getting me down. Maybe it's cops telling me my bike doesnt belong in the street. Maybe it's that they cut funding to the libraries and Fairmount Park. Maybe I've just been here a little too long. Anyway, I think I need a few days of Somewhereelseville. Any suggestions?

Into the Woods, Part II

2010-06-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

I went on a little MTB adventure in Core Creek Park a few months ago, and never quite had the chance to post about it. I took a few decent photos, as you can see;

Core Creek Park has a great, if small, trail system that is fairly well maintained throughout the year. it's about 5 miles worth of assorted single track, uphill, stream-crossing and dirt jumping opportunities, if you're so inclined. My full suspension multi-geared friends find it a fun ride, but you can enjoy it with a rigid single speed bike just as easily. I've spent a lot of time on these trails, and they never get boring!

Into the Woods...

2010-04-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (April 10th), Renee, myself, and Renee's former roommate Ned, packed our gear (actually, I was the only one to bring anything other than booze), hopped on the PatCo, and rode our bicycles into the woods somewhere in New Jersey. Fourteen or so miles away from Lindenwald, under the cover of a quiet, starry sky. It had it's share of thrills, being as it was darker than dark, and I was the only one with an adequate light. Cars seemed to give us plenty of room though. It was a beautiful, if slightly chilly night. Not the kind of night where you split the time between taking off layers and freezing your ass off. More like when you are moving, and it's just cool enough to keep you from sweating. In other words, nice. So, with the stars overhead, we venture into the woods, headed toward a bonfire and friends to keep us warm. Food and drink is had, along with stories, and entertainment via staring into a fire pit for hours.

On the ride back the next morning, it was steady cruising. We stopped at a Heritage Farms to get a bite to eat and refill our water bottles. I was starving, so I ate too fast, then puked, much to the chagrin of the people watching me puke. Good times. We made it back to the train with 4 minutes to spare, and was carried promptly home to Philadelphia. Then we ate a bunch of crab legs. Awesome.

CBG, in the key of G

2010-03-15T19:36:00.000-07:00

Finished the second cigar box guitar. I put a lot more work into the neck this time too. I'm a little more comfortable with the woodworking aspect of things now, and hope to only get better from here. I still haven't built one for myself yet, though that's next. Then I can start filling orders, which Remer was nice enough to get while being my own personal sales team.
Still working out the bugs with the headstock design, but this is certainly close. You don't think of the fact that a typical stringed-instrument's headstock is offset, and not necessarily made of one piece of wood. This design is simple, strong, and made of one piece of wood. This particular CBG was built for a coworker who gave me some parts. He's one of the "Beta testers", and will hopefully provide some constructive feedback.

Another improvement over the first one, is this one has a pickup. You can make a pickup out of just about anything as it turns out. I made this one out of a set of headphones, but you could use the piezo-electric buzzer from a smoke detector, or even a magnet and copper wire.

lomo, fo' sho!

2010-02-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

So, I got this new lomography photo app for my iPhone, which is pretty neato. This entry is an excuse to show off some pics.

I also transported a bicycle via the Ute, which worked out nicely.
With the bags on, I almost didn't need extra straps. The photo above only shows the side with the frame, etc.. The other side is holding the wheels.

Also, I checked out El Camino with Julie and Hazel. Really good food! Since all of us here on the East coast are pretty much snowed in, My new roommates and myself have put forth to getting the house cleaned up. I'm also going to start working on some cigar box guitars.

Frenchie Rides Again...

2010-01-10T13:53:00.001-08:00

Started working on the Mercier this weekend. It's a pretty interesting bicycle. Not particularly special, but still a cool piece of history to ride around. It's actually a rebadged Louison Bobet, or, I should say, I bicycle made by a company using his name. If you don't know who he is, He won the TdF 3 years in a row; 1953-55, and was known for being a bit "Hollywood", as compared to other French riders of the time. This was a time when the French were a major force in the cycling world.

It needs some work, and the paint is pretty bad. I got it as a carcass that came with a Spartan derailleur, Simplex dt shifters (plastic), Mafac Racer (!!!) brakes, and Nervar cottered cranks. also, it has a braze-on dt shifter boss, but only on the right side, and the left shifter mounted with a metal collar that was made to accomodate it. Weird. I'll have more pictures when it's done. I'm building it up as a fixed/free singlespeed.
The plan is to make a fixed gear randonneur. This was originally going to be a portuer, but I changed my mind. The head tube geometry is a bit stout, and it should handle pretty fast. It weighs a ton, mostly because of the cranks, but I never care about weight anyway. I still need a seat and some tires. Maybe a cool seat bag from Velo-Orange.

I'm setting up 40-16, and keeping the Nervar cranks on it. It has Nervex dropouts, that look nice chrome plated. I'm not sure what pedal threading the cranks are, but I do have a set of Lyotard pedals if it's french. Updates to follow.

Winter, Xmas, and whether to say two thousand and ten, or twenty-ten.

2010-01-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

Well, another New Years Eve has come and gone. Welcome to The Future: 2010. I went to the Lowe household for NYE, and was graciously hosted by the entire Lowe family. I had no idea they lived across from a church I used to play shows at all the time!

Friday, or NYD, I met up with some friends for First Friday. They were the only ones on the street selling art. I rode the Ute there, and was asked to remove it from the front of a shady bookstore because it was a "liability". Okay?

It's been WAY to cold to do any serious riding (at least for the likes of me, I'm sure someone's out there doing it), and have mostly been a homebody. I started working on a 26" touring bike, and a city bike for a friend. I think I'm gonna build up something from my secret stash too; a 1968 Mercier. Porteur style, if I can decide what to do about paint.

Maus says hi.

My Kona Ute, and Lack of cool stuff on the internet about the Kona Ute

2009-12-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

True, I've found a few forum entries and blogs about it, and how cool it was. But nothing about DIY modifications, or how it handles in touring situations, or adapting other things to fit it; so that's one of the things I'll do on this blog.
This is the wooden platform my dad and I crafted out of cedar. The standard one was plastic. Nothing wrong with it, but I wanted something a little classier, and besides, the newer model Ute's get a wooden deck, so why not?
I also added some handlebars with a drop position (flipped north road bars). My one pet peeve with the Ute is, although an upright position is comfortable for flat land cruising, any longer distance riding, uphill or headwind riding, and general want for more than one hand position was lacking with the stock cruiser bars. I also found that the bike felt more steady under a load.
And Lastly, I added 4 French army back packs, strapped to the deck. The stock Kona bags, or any panniers for that matter, tend to get pricey, and are ultimately unitaskers. These are time-tested bags that are weatherproof, useable in lots of ways, and $15 each. I.Goldberg is a good thing.

The next thing I'll address is the kickstand, which on this version of the Ute (2007, I believe) was frankly, bad. We just got a new torch, so once I get some kind of adapter fab'd up to mount a better one, I'll post the details. If their is a demand, I may even sell them. Who knows.

A blog about stuff..

2009-12-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

I started this blog separately from my art blog, as a way to post photos and babble about other things, like art, music, and bicycling. Projects, photos, ideas and other fodder will be posted here.