From the London Times
If Sheldon Brown had been only an excellent bicycle mechanic, the esteem in which he was held, while great, could not have extended much beyond his native Massachusetts. But because of the selfless use to which he put the internet, regret at his death has been felt across the world.
His knowledge of bicycles, from a lifetime of riding them, taking them apart, fixing and modifying them, was encyclopaedic. For more than 20 years he earned a living from that knowledge with the spanners, screwdrivers and tyre levers of a succession of bicycle workshops around Boston, and he could probably have gone on doing so happily until retirement. Then, at 49, he found at his disposal an invention more powerful than anything in a mechanic’s toolbox. He quickly saw that the internet could make his expertise available not just to the customers of one bike shop, but to anyone who wanted it, anywhere. It turned out that a lot of people did. The website he built, sheldonbrown.com, has attracted millions.
Sheldon Christopher Brown was born in Boston in 1944. After his father’s death in an air crash when Brown was 9, the family settled in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and it was in the Marblehead town dump that his career in the bicycle business originated. During high school he built bikes out of parts scavenged from the dump and sold them. Like many in the 1960s he heeded Timothy Leary’s call to turn on, tune in and drop out, not staying long at college or in a series of jobs selling shoes and hi-fi, and driving taxis.
By 1972 bike repair was his career, and he set up the Boston Bicycle Repair Collective, a fellow founder member being Stan Kaplan, inventor of the Kryptonite bike lock. After, as he described it, being “purged by Maoists” from the collective, for a time Brown turned his dexterity to camera repair. But he went back to working on bicycles, and by the early 1980s, in a move towards his ultimate future, he was not just repairing bikes but writing about them.
His audience in specialist cyclists’ magazines, however, was necessarily limited. Then came the internet.
In 1990 Brown had joined Harris Cyclery, a shop a few minutes’ bike ride from his home in Newtonville, a Boston suburb, as a mechanic. As the internet developed, he became a contributor to cycling newsgroups, and in 1995 Aaron Harris, his employer, let him set up a website in association with the shop. Initially it was intended to sell specialist parts, but soon Brown took it far beyond that. “Aaron let me spread my wings,” Brown said in 2001.
The website certainly flew. Last year sheldonbrown.com had more than half a million visitors a month. They came for everything to do with bikes, from advice for timid beginners on how to mount a bike to instructions for the daring on how to build their own tandem. The site has a glossary of almost 1,000 terms from “A and B chainrings” to “Zzipper”.
If you couldn’t find what you needed on the website, you e-mailed and asked, and “captbike” usually replied the same day. Answering 200 e-mails most days, he was courteous and informative, but hadn’t time to be wordy. One correspondent, told that replacing his 20-tooth back gear with a 22-tooth would make climbing hills easier, asked how much. Back shot a classic captbike reply: “10%.”
Brown did not charge for access to the site or for his e-mail advice, but the site was a vindication of the internet freeware credo that putting up free content will bring its own reward. It brings in about half Harris’s business.
But sheldonbrown.com was, and is, about more than commerce. Nor is it just a compendium of technical information. It includes a blog that started before the term existed, recording the personality, the philosophy, the likes and dislikes, and above all the family life, of the man who built it. In 1979 Brown married Harriet Fell, who teaches at Northeastern University, Boston. A daughter was born in 1981, and a son in 1983. The blog records his devotion to them, his pride in their accomplishments, and such family adventures as touring in France on two tandems when the children were 6 and 8.
Given his lifelong delight in cycling, it was particularly cruel that in the past two years multiple sclerosis gradually robbed him of the ability to ride a two-wheeler. His response was characteristic — he got a recumbent tricycle and kept pedalling, still riding it to work until shortly before he died. And he wryly put a page titled “The Bright Side of MS” (easy parking with a disabled sticker, jumping airport security queues) on his website.
The response to his death has been a fitting combination of bicycles and the internet. From Melbourne to Missouri, cyclists have held or are planning memorial rides — co-ordinated, naturally, on the web. The London ride is on April 6.
Sheldon Brown, cyclist, was born on July 14, 1944. He died of a heart attack on February 3, 2008, aged 63
I saw this on Boing Boing and just had to repost it here, so as to reach my massive readership (of bots, webcrawlers, and spiders).
In addition to looking cool and potentially empowering you with the speed of Mercury, they’re reflective, too!
They’re available for $15 from The Conran Shop.
The other day I was perusing the latest Bike Nashbar sale catalog when I came across:
ATC2K, the ultimate waterproof self-contained action cam!
And it’s on sale for only $109.95! I intended to go online and do a little research on this seemingly wonderful device, but kept forgetting. Finally I managed to think of it while a computer was at hand and did a little digging.
It does indeed seem perfect for capturing web-quality video on the bike, lashed under the car bumper, who knows, perhaps even strapped to the back of the cat!
Anyway, a bit more digging and I find a place that has it for $89.95 and they have a coupon code for free UPS shipping! Click-click-clickety-click, it’s ordered!
Presently I’m having some (minor) difficulties with the retailer I ordered it from, so to them I say: No link for you! Due to said difficulties, I go looking for a Plan-B, just in case. Imagine my dismay when I discover that Amazon has it for $83.99
, also with free shipping. D’oh!
Naturally by the time I found this out, the problem with my order had been straightened out and it’s too late to cancel the order. Oh well, that’s how they get you, you know.
So stay tuned; videos will be forthcoming!
I’ve had the new bike for over 3 months now, but for some reason I just got around to putting its Madonna del Ghisallo medallion (which I purchased in anticipation of buying the bike) on. As I’ve written before, this isn’t necessarily about religion, but it has become a sort of talisman to me. Both of my other bikes have one and now, so does the Felt.
Click for close-up of medallion.
I really like the way they look once they take on the patina of an old penny, but right now I’m digging the contrast. The bike, stem, and bars are all matte black, so the shiny copper medallion is a nice counter-point.
Yeah I know… “Thirty-six minutes to ride less than 7½ miles*? Wimp!”
You have to take into consideration all of the stop-signs and red-lights getting out of town (16, by my count), plus I had a 10-15 mph headwind, and I was taking it easy (honestly).
*The distance from my house to here and here (they’re the same place).
The other day I wrote about discovering a place where I could get my favorite jersey repaired. As is my habit, I procrastinated and didn’t get it mailed like I had intended.
Thursday was a perfect day for a ride, and since Thursday’s also one of the days that I-Pro (AKA ‘the bike shop’) is open, I again forgot all about the post office, grabbed the new bike, and headed out for a ride and ultimately, to the bike shop. Chatting with Roger at the shop and I told him of my jersey repair plans. He agreed that this sounded like a good idea and with my assertion that “it’s not like I could replace it for that price” (about $37 + shipping).
A little while later, I was browsing through his selection of gear and came across several of the ~2001 version of the shop/team jersey (the same as the subject jersey), tagged seventy-some-odd bucks, just as they were when I bought mine. Holding one up I asked:
“How long until you mark these down?” to which he replied that they already were, to (he thought) $30.
“Geez! Why didn’t you say something earlier? I actually can ‘replace it for that price’“, I laughed.
“I forgot I still had some of those in your size”, Roger admitted, rather sheepishly.
I had forgotten to bring my debit card along (usually not a bad idea to leave it behind when I’m going to the bike shop to browse), so tomorrow I’ll stop in and grab one (or both) of the smalls he has left. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a bargain, and those really are nice jerseys.
Yesterday I was perusing some cycling newsgroups (as I am wont to do) and came across a link to Specialty Outdoors:
THE outdoor gear sewing and repair expert. Alterations, modifications and problem solving of technical clothing and equipment are my specialty. Visit the About Specialty Outdoors pages for more information, including photos, prices, and samples. We can do technical clothing repair and alteration, Gore-tex repair, tent repair and modification, backpack modification, and custom work too, just to list a few things. Be to sure to check the photo galleries as new items are added all the time. Factory authorized by The North Face Inc. for modifications and alterations to their gear.
In addition to tents, backpacks, and skiing gear, they also do cycling gear. Not only that, they actually have tips for sewing your own jerseys and shorts! (Oh how I wish I had a sewing machine and a talent for sewing). Anyway… I have this jersey, one of my all-time favorites (here’s me wearing it); a few (~5?) years ago this jersey (which was still relatively new at the time) was spending the winter resting, while the long-sleeved jerseys had all the fun. Imagine my horror when, come spring-time, I discovered that all of its elastic had gone all crunchy and lost its elasticity.
I emailed Specialty Outdoors with some questions and immediately heard back from Penny Schwyn. A few emails back and forth later, and the deal is as good as done. I’ll be shipping my beloved jersey off and a few weeks later getting it back good as new better than new!
If you want to find out more, here’s the Outdoor Specialty FAQ
The new bike (frame) came yesterday, so today it was off to the bike shop to buy a stem, have the cranks installed, and have rivnuts put in to mount a bottle cage.
Roger got it all buttoned up today, so I picked it up, brought it home, and put on the wheels, chain, saddle and seat post (why is it that it’s a saddle, but it’s mounted to a seat post, anyway?) fiddled with the bar/brake lever position, etc. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get out for the inaugural ride, but holy frijoles, I can’t get over how light this bike is! It’s the lightest bike I own, by several pounds. I’m guessing it’s right at (or just under) 16 pounds, but it feels even lighter than that.
I’m planning to ride tomorrow, and I’ll probably take a picture or two (of the new steed), too; so stay tuned, Bat-fans.
So, the last time I was at the bike shop I asked Roger about the 2007 Pista Concept, specifically, how soon can I get one. He rings them up and they say that they should be shipping framesets in late January, early February. This sounds good; just in time for my income tax refund.
Then we had our annual ‘employee appreciation’ brunch for work and I got my bonus, which will actually cover the cost of the frame! Time to hit eBay and look for some components!
I already have the brake, brake levers, wheels, seatpost, saddle, and another Madonna del Ghisallo medallion (this has become like a rabbit’s foot to me, both of my other bikes have one). So, I go cruising eBay for a crankset and pedals. Without even breaking a sweat, I score myself reasonably good deals on a Miche crankset and bottom bracket (see pics here and here) and a set of Speedplay X-2 pedals (see pic here).
Now all I need is a stem and some handlebars. Oh… and the frame, of course.
I can hardly wait for new bike day!
So, since I decided that I am going to buy, and build up, a Bianchi Pista Concept frameset, I’ve been patrolling eBay for components.
First I got a good deal on a Selle Italia Flite Ti saddle, then I got a Ritchey WCS seatpost. Last night I went ahead and put the new saddle and seatpost on the Pista and was amazed that it actually felt appreciably lighter when I lifted it up. I knew that the original saddle/seatpost combo was heavy, but… wow! A quick bit of research, addition, and subtraction later and I found that the Pista is now another ~202 grams, or a bit over 7 ounces, lighter. Combined with the sweet new wheels, I’ve shaved off well over a pound, probably closer to 2.
Today when I took it out for a spin, I was stunned by the difference. The bike feels noticeably lighter, quicker and even more nimble, plus, the Flite suits my derriere so much better than the ‘WTB Rocket V Comp’ saddle the bike that came with.
Somebody should kick me in my (now much more comfortable) butt for not putting a Flite on sooner. My geared bike has a Flite on it, which I know I’m comfortable on for 8 hour+ rides. I don’t know what kept me from putting one on the Pista for so long. I guess I liked the look of a chrome bike with a shiny silver saddle, for one; and it wasn’t like it was ‘ass-hatchet’ uncomfortable. I didn’t realize just how heavy (and uncomfortable) it really was, so I stuck with it (it was shiny!).
The Pista’s new found sprightliness has me really excited about eventually hanging these parts on a Pista Concept’s much lighter frame. It’s going to rock!
So, my eBay “shopping” seems to come in bunches; nothing for a while, then ‘zip, bang, boom’, I’m buying stuff!
When I resigned myself to the fact that I have to buy another fixed gear bike, I knew that this meant I’d need a few components. I’ve found eBay to be the place to go for good deals on such things.
When I bought the Pista, I got the brake levers, front brake, pedals, and chainring from eBay.
So, anyway, I’m looking around for such things when I come across a Campagnolo “peanut butter” wrench. Naturally I decide I must have this. I’ve been needing a 15mm wrench for the Pista’s track nuts anyway. My stubby Craftsman combination wrench is perfect for carrying along, but something with a bit more leverage would be nice when portability isn’t an issue.
So anyway, I decide to bid on the wrench, it looks well used, but functionally fine. I decide I’ll go as high as $22.00 for it. I make my bid, then do a little research. The first place I find that has them wants just under $30, so I’m feeling pretty good about my bid, but then I discover that Excel Sports has it, brand new, for $21.95.
D’oh! I should have looked first. This puts me in the position of anxiously watching the auction, desperately hoping to be outbid. Which, mercifully, I was.
So, I dodged that bullet, plus, I bought a set of brake levers ($25) and hopefully I’m about to get a really good deal on a set of Dura Ace (7700) brake calipers. Why a set, you wonder? I can swap the rear brake’s fixing bolt with one from a front brake and have D/A front brakes on both fixies!
So, I went and (finally!) picked up my new Phil Wood cogs for the Pista Monday. The word “shiny” doesn’t begin to do them justice. Unfortunately, neither do photographs, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
Stainless steel, polished to a mirror finish… they’re pretty enough to be jewelry, for cryin out loud!
Oh, so shiny!
So, back in February when I got the new wheels, I decided to pull out all the stops. To that end, I had Roger (at I-Pro) order me a couple of Phil Wood cogs, a 16 and a 17. As luck would have it, the 17 was out of stock, but they were just about to do a production run, so no worries. As the weeks rolled by, Roger was having a hard time getting any sort of time commitment from the folks at PW; or even getting them on the phone.
Finally this past Saturday I decided I’d had enough; gorgeous, shiny, and machined from stainless steel or not, I was sick of waiting. I intended to go by the bike shop after work Saturday morning and have Roger tell them where they could stick ‘em, and order some EAI or Dura Ace cogs from Euro Asia (which are decidedly less ‘pretty’) unless the Phils were either there or on their way. Naturally, I was exhausted when I got off work and went straight home and to bed.
When I got up there was a message from Roger on the machine. The cogs finally came in!
“Yippee!” I thought, “I’ll go pick them up Monday.”
The message continued… “that’s the good news, the bad news is, I’m going to be closed all next week, until the 17th.”
“Gee thanks, Roger.” I said to the machine, “The good news is, your cogs are here, the bad news is, you can’t have them!” I just had to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. Oh well, I’ve waited this long; another week won’t kill me… damnit!
