Full Fat Cream! In Love with My Grand Bois Hetre Tires

Notice anything interesting about this picture?



Here is a closer look - And yes, the bicycle is standing in the sand without a kickstand!



The Grand Bois Hetre tires are 42mm wide and the Velo Orange "Zeppelin" fenders fit over them nicely.



Made to resemble the French randonneuring tires of yore, Grand Bois Hetresare available with either white or red tread, and they are made for 650B wheels only. The white tread version is really a cream colour with tiny little caramel specs, and the red version is really a brick colour. Both look beautiful. The picture above is the only one I have of the tires looking shiny and new.



After 1800 miles, this is what they look like now. Considering that I haven't washed them, I don't think that's too bad actually.



And this is what they look like after going through sand in the rain - though all that caked sand comes off almost immediately once you start cycling on a paved road.



The ride quality of theGrand Bois Hetre tires is truly superb. Better than Schwalbe Delta Cruisers. Better than the famous Fat Frank and Big Apple tires. Faster too. It is worth getting 650B wheels just to get these tires. They are cushy, stable, have excellent puncture protection, and are just as fast as narrower road tires, yet can go off-road. Almost too good to be true!



Also, keep in mind that the width will enlarge your overall wheel diameter - making 650Bs nearly as large as 700Cs with standard, narrower tires. Something to consider if the only thing keeping you from 650B is their slightly smaller size. With theGrand Bois Hetres, they will no longer be smaller.



Grand Bois tires are hand made in Japan and are of extremely high quality. Aside from thefatHetres, there is a range of other models available, suitable for various wheel sizes. In the US, these can be purchased from a handful of bicycle shops (if you are in Boston - Harris Cyclery had some the last time I was there), or from here directly. If you love the idea of a go-anywhere bicycle that is fast on the road and perfectly at home off-road, the Grand Bois Hetres are surely as good as it gets. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they are beautiful - even after 1800 miles!

Real Gone

Friends began to suspect it some time ago, but I didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want to admit it, even to myself. But now it's gotten to the point that it's affecting my sleep, my social life, even my work on the blog. And so the time has come to tell the truth:I am building a bicycle frame.




My mentor isMike Flanigan- fabled builder, instructor, and patron saint of the local steel-addicted youth.So at least I am in good hands. But why do this at all? I don't think it will lead anywhere. I don't think I will be good at it. It's something I simply can't help.




In part, I blame my environment: Boston is so replete with framebuilders, that the behaviour has become normalised here.Perhaps naively, I thought that I could watch friends light up those frame joints over and over and not get tempted. But after 3 years of it, I caved. "I'll try it once," I said.




Then there is the annoying combination of my curiosity about things like bike handling and frame geometry, coupled with my poor ability to grasp abstract concepts. In the end, I do not see a good way to "get" this stuff other than the hands-on method. If I want to understand tubing diameter and thickness, I should work with some tubing. If I want to understand frame geometry, I should put one together and see how everything fits.




Finally, having worked on a few collaborative projects with framebuilders now, I kept feeling uncomfortable with not understanding their process as thoroughly as I would have liked. When working with a fabricator on a future project, I want to be 100% aware of what I am looking at and agreeing to, not 90% as I was during the latest one. If I am interested in bicycle design, I need to go through the fabrication process myself at least once.




So those are my reasons. Maybe they are logical, maybe not, I have lost perspective at this point. But in any event,here I am: eyes blurry after weeks of reading and re-reading what I only somewhat grasp, and elbows deep in tubing which I am almost certain to ruin. And I haven't even gotten into the hard stuff yet. The brazing, that point of no return, begins next week. Mike seems to think I will actually be able to ride the bike I make, but I am not getting my hopes up.




I've been taking a lot of notes, and will continue to do so in the following weeks. I plan to post at least some of these notes online here(the name "Not a framebuilder" is a joke, inspired by my encounters with Bruce Gordon and Richard Sachs).There is not much content there at the moment, but the notes are coming. I will also write up a few cohesive posts about the whole thing on this blog, once it's over. In the end it might be a story of failure, and I am willing to accept that. Won't know unless I try!

Orange Pepper

This 'California Wonder' bell pepper is almost ready to be picked. Anyone have some good recipes using bell peppers?

Growths

Resurrection fern (Polypodium polypodioides).
The latin name really seems to stress the fact that the plant has "many feet". It's an air plant that can play dead - click the link for more info.


Fungi. I haven't delved into trying to figure out the names of fungi yet - I think this is a type of shelf fungus. (If you know the name please leave a comment.)

Special care

My sister's miniature rose.



My sister, demonstrating the special care needed for the rose (nothing).

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I can't remember if she didn't know the name, or if I just forgot to ask. Maybe she will email or comment and let me know.

New Year, New Rope.

So I rang up Danny at K2and said send me a rope. He says what kind of rope do you want?I said a pretty one, beyond that you can decide, you know what I do. So, a purple Rocca 10mm. Perfect. I want it to look good as I repeatly fly off the top of my project.

Miss Landmine exhibition in Oslo

Dutchman and I visited the controversial Miss Landmine exhibition in the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum in Akershus Fortress (Oslo) featuring the candidates from Cambodia. The project is currently banned by the Cambodian government just last 28 August , a week away from the pageant opening date to be held in Phnom Penh. Officials say that the beauty pageant will destroy the dignity and honour of the disabled, especially the women. A taboo.



Here are some of the contestants below:





Cambodia is clearly not yet healed from its tragic past. But being Asian myself, I can also see the other side of the coin why the Cambodian officials refuse to go along with. In Asian culture a disabled beauty pageant can indeed be seen as a mockery. Asian people in general are respectful, traditional and sensitive, meaning they can easily be offended. They are also a very superstitious lot that tend to put meanings into almost everything.



In addition there are still thousands of undetonated landmines in the Cambodian countryside that kills and maims unsuspecting civilians each year. Obviously this is a much greater, more critical and lingering problem the country needs to solve.





Some of the press clippings about the controversial Miss Landmine contest collected and exhibited at the event.

The goal for Miss Landmine beauty contest is to raise awareness about global landmine contamination, the dangers posed for the unexploded landmines, identify the position and identity of the rest of the landmine survivors and enhance the self worth of the participants.

I voted for a candidate online but I will not tell who.

Click here to view the Miss Landmine magazine with the fotos of the contestants: Miss Landmine Magazine and click here to vote: Vote for Miss Landmine