Haven't seen a QBP # yet - any insight to that?
No sir. No number yet. Hopefully soon enough!!
Catch up while I've got a free moment. It's that time of year where the shee-ot has hit the fan!! My daily schedule has been, drop off boys, ride to work, work on bikes, ride home, work on bikes, sleep, repeat...
The new commute with the boys is nice. We cut through a private neighborhood behind us and jump on the bike path around Quibbletown. Ride through the park and a quiet neighborhood to the lake and take the path around the lake almost to the school for Summer Camp.
On Thursday we found a bird hobbling across the path so we stopped and hid him in a bush nearby. He seemed to be able to walk and flap his wings but he couldn't fly. We saw him again on friday in the same area so nothing has eaten him yet at least. We thought about taking him home to fix him but somehow I think that's not a great idea.
Got a few cool projects in. Patrick's monster Seven came in and got built up. Thing is HUGE!! 26inch top tube. 130mm stem. uncut Fox F29 steerer.
Sean's bike was in and I had to get a comparison shot. Our own EJP keepin' it gangsta.
Patrick's bike was a straight forward, clean build. Full 10-speed XT. I even laced XT hubs into a pair of Flows. He's like 6'4" and over 200 pounds so I built it strong. The next day we got in the next uber build bike. A Seven Axiom SL with internal Di2 cable-routing. We actually stole this idea from Blake's new bike...Shhhh...
We're waiting on a pair of Zipp FireCrest 404's for it and then I'll start the build. Full Shimano PRO cockpit. Might be right up there among the most expensive builds the shop has done. I think our top was just at 20k, which I built 2 years ago. I know I've done at least 12 over 10k since I started working there in '07.
I may have seen every single member of MTBNJ this week. HI!!
Nuggles was in and taught me a new way to bleed the Shimano brakes and dial in the lever travel if you want them grabbier than they naturally feel. Pretty simple to get them to have almost no movement in the lever. Turn the freestroke all the way in. Pull out the wheel. Put a business card pile (or folded card as above). Squeeze the lever until the pistons set themselves to the card. Gravity bleed the system. Reinstall wheel. Game on!! It makes the lever a bit too touchy for my liking...
Took today (saturday) off, as per tradition. So my car quest may have finally ended. The past few weeks I've been searching the globe for a clean, well-maintained, late MK3 VR6 or early MK4 VR6 GTI. I found quite a few nice candidates. Most have been slammed and stanced, as most VW's are, or at least all the ones I look at
😀
Been texting and messaging and going back and forth and back and forth and back and forth with like a dozen different guys all over the east coast. Narrowed it down to 2 cars. Planned on looking at both tomorrow after work. One in PA, one right up the street, both PIMP. Just for shits and giggles I went through the forums again just to be sure nothing else pops up. It did. I found a gorgeous MK4 VR6 that's been quasi-molested with low miles right up in North Jersey. Counted up my GTI fund and have exactly enough saved. So it looks like my car-less days will be drawing to an end. Going up tomorrow to pick it up!!
The GTI fund fund has come along quite nicely in the past 2 months or so. Overtime, commission, homework, riding to work money, saving my weekly "allowance" (married guys will get that one), not eating out, tips, etc...It's all been going into an envelope. At first I was saving it to finish the Bunny. Then I was saving it to fix the Bunny and buy a beater daily driver. Then I was saving it to buy a sorta nicer daily driver. Then I got enough to buy something that's actually cool. I could keep going for the rest of summer and I may be able to get something new, but not cool. But that's not how I roll. Just breaking into something on this side of the year 2000 is a bit of a jump for me. PS-The Yaris doesn't count!!
-Jim
