Received some parts today

Demolition M5 25T sprocket and ODI Ruffian grips in white.

I'm just waiting on a KHE half link chain and Stan's Notubes.

My wheels should be built by Friday.

Getting my sprocket and grips tomorrow

I just received an email from Outside Outfitters. I'll be receiving my sprocket, grips and frame saver tomorrow.

Katrina's Townie did not arrive..

BUMMER!

Picked up my built frame/fork

I forgot to take a picture before installing the seat, handlebar and brake.

Katrina's already accessorizing her "in transit" Townie

Here's what she has so far from HTO and REI.

Ordered Katrina's Electra Townie

Hudson Trail Outfitter found an Orange Pearle Townie 7D at their Annapolis, MD location. They requested a store transfer. It should arrive on Monday.

Just got my pedals

Fly Bikes Ruben Alcantara in white

Dropped off my frame, fork, stem and headset

Hudson Trail Outfitters in Gaithersburg, MD will be doing the build. They will only charge me $25 since I'm already a member.

Dropped off my rims and hubs to get built

Germantown cycles will be doing the build. I'm expecting to get on Saturday.

Waiting for a few more parts..

I need these parts to complete my build:
Demolition sprocket
Gusset Half Link Chain
Odi grips
Halo Combat rim
Fly Bikes pedal

More parts....

Package came in a day early

Delivery Notification Dear Customer, This is in response to your request for delivery information concerning the shipment listed below.
Tracking Number:

1Z 385 A7E 03 4001 875 4
Reference Number(s):

102303, CG:C:B:28384, 12191
Service:

GROUND
Weight:

10.00 Lbs
Shipped/Billed On:

09/26/2008
Delivered On:

09/30/2008 9:30 A.M.
Delivered To:

GERMANTOWN , MD , US
Location:

FRT PORCH
Thank you for giving us this opportunity to serve you. Sincerely, UPS Tracking results provided by UPS: 09/30/2008 10:36 A.M. ET

Sold Katrina's Cinder Cone

Picked up Fong at Twinbrook Metro and rode back home to Germantown.

He test drove the Kona and loved it.

We disassembled the wheels and packed it in my car. I dropped him off at Shady Grove Metro. He took the Metro the rest of the way.

Time to shop for a Townie.

Sold my Kona, finally!

Thanks to Mark from Buda, TX. 

I finally have the funds to complete the bike.

Ordered more parts

I ordered the following parts from Dan (outside outfitters):

Halo Combat Disc Rim - 36H white
Alienation Midget Stick Blk 25.4mm
ODI Ruffian Lock On Grips Bonus Pack Wht/Blk
Demolition Black 25t F1 Sprocket
Maxxis Holy Rollers 26 X 2.20
Maxxis Holy Rollers 26 X 2.40
Gusset Slink chain 1/2" x 1/8"
Hayes Stroker Trail Rear V6 Brake Kit, White
Hayes Adapter 6" (160mm) Disc Rear 51mm IS
JP Weigle Frame Saver

Package from UK arrived

The seller took the time to package the hub.

Here's the hub, not bad for $49.71.

I also received my new pair of shoes today.

NPJ front hub on ebay.co.uk

I found this NPJ hub on UK ebay.


The auction just ended and I'm the highest bidder.

Looks like this hub will only cost me $49.71 including shipping to USA. I love auctionsniper.

I discovered this brand while researching 20mm non-disc front hubs. It costs $141.82 (with the current exchange rate) at bike-mailorder.de and shipping to USA is an extra $50.

The hub is made in Germany, so it must be good :).

Christmas in August

UPS package

KHE Hindenburg 2 piece crankset

KHE Euro Bottom Bracket

KHE Geisha MTB - 11T, 36H

DMR Headstock Stem

UPS delivery notification

I just got UPS notification that my parts were delivered today. I can't wait to get home.

Shipping boxes

I got a couple of shipping boxes from Perfomance Bikes in Rockville, MD. I will use it to ship the Kona.

Shipping notification

I just got notified that my order got shipped.


Here's the order and status page from outsideoutfitters.com


It's very informative, it even shows the tracking number.

I should receive them this Friday.

My Kona Cinder Cone on Ebay

Just posted my mountain bike on ebay. Here's the link.

2005 Kona Cinder Cone

KHE Hindenburg 2 piece crankset..BAD?

I was doing some research online on the Hindenburg Crankset and I found a blog stating the Hindenburg Crank is weak.

Here's a quote from the blog:

"In september 2007 we got the news that colony is about to build a lite crank. The 2-piece idea has now changed to a 2.5 pieced version with 19mm axle 48 toothed. The reason for this is simple: crank and axle cannot be heat-treated together; people who see the pictures of broken khe hindenburg 2pc know why. There is no hint if the weight of 755g is actually, but the crankset will apear in august 2008.The streetversion has 2 length 170 and 175mm, there is also a flatland version with microgear only and 160mm length. It is available in black, white and limited in grey and tangerine."

Though the blog is convincing, further search on the web, did not yield anything supporting it. I was concerned, none the less.

I gave Dan Joyner a call and expressed my concerns. He said that he never heard of the Hindenburg breaking, he also mentioned that it is warrantied for 1 year.

Dan offered to change the order, however, he assured me that I will not have issues with warranty.

I told him to go ahead and order the Hindenburg, since I haven't really found anything to support the claim made in the blog.

With the Hindenburg set aside, we discussed spokes and rim recommendations. I told Dan that I found a great website for DIY lacing. He encouraged me to lace my own and learn from it, but to have a shop do the actual truing and tensioning for safety concerns. HALO Combat rim is his recommendation.

Birthday present from Katrina

Katrina gave me a nice budget for my birthday.

I called Dan and ordered the following parts.
KHE Geisha MTB freecoaster hub with 11T driver and 36 holes.
KHE Hindenburg 2 piece crankset
DMR Headstock stem
KHE Euro BB Cup Bearing Set

Dan price matched some online stores. Outside Outfitters is the best.

Credit from Outside Outfitter

Credit from Outside Outfitters showed up on my Discover Card. Dan price matched the DMR Trailblade 20 from another online store.

I'm very confident in recommending Outside Outfitter to anyone. You guys should give him a call.

Animal Strip

Animal Strip Pivotal Seat

Interesting observation

I decided to be a patron to my local bike shops. I figured that they probably order from the same distributor as online shops.

What is interesting about my experience?

All the shops I dealt with hardly showed any interest. Only one out of nine stores took my number down. I was informed that I would be called, if they can do it. Of course, noone called me.

Parts arrive

Here are the parts I received today from outsideoutfitters.com.


Nice and simples graphics.


Nice chain tugs



DMR Trailblade 20


20mm axle



NS Jalapeno


Cane Creek Tank Hit

Top Picks for a Ladies Cruiser Bike

Here's Katrina's email.

___________________
From: "Katrina"
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2008 12:05:03 -0400
To: Ben
Subject: Ladies cruiser bikes

Bianchi Milano Parco

Breezer Villager

Kona AfricaBike

Electra Townie (diff speeds and colors here:)

Katrina

Kona Africa Bike

We had to kill some time, apparently, my sister's flight is delayed. I decided to drop by Big Wheels in Arlington, VA on the way to Reagan National Airport.

While I was busy checking out what they have, something caught Katrina's attention. It was a Kona Africa Bike. It was a cool looking cruiser, too bad it didn't have flat foot technology.

The salesperson recommended the Electra Townie.

No buyer's remorse

Here's the response from Dan.

Ben,

No problem. We’ll do that. Do you want white or black in that fork? Originally, you said white was fine.

Thanks,
Dan

Found a better price

I originally wanted an NS RNS fork, but I ended up ordering a DMR Trailblade 20 in white. While doing research on the trailblade, I stumbled on to ebikestop.com. They had it for $153.95, so I sent Dan an email.

Here's the email I sent him.

Hi Dan,

I just ordered some bike parts and I found one of the items cheaper on ebikestop.com. My Order Number is 101529 .

The following item is priced at $153.95 on ebikestop.com:
DMR Trailblade-2 20mm Disc Fork

Here is the link to their website:
http://www.ebikestop.com/dmr_trailblade_2_rigid_fork_20mm_thru_axle_disc_only_black-FK3102.php

I would like to request a price match.

Thank you,
Ben

Missed opportunity

I waited a full day for a paypal invoice, but to no avail. I googled NS Suburban and found outsideoutfitters.com selling them $323.99.

Made a call to Outside Outfitters and got in contact with Dan Joyner. We discussed my needs for a few minutes and by the end of the call the following parts were on their way to my house.

The hunt

I decided to base my project on 2008 NS Suburban 26.

Here is the description and specs from NS BIKES website:

This top-of-the-line frame has undergone a lot of upgrades to keep this product on the cutting edge of the dirt / street market. We have looked at the 2007 Suburban from every angle, analysed every single detail and finally came up with what we think is the coolest frame on the market right now. It’s not a revolution, but really a substantial evolution of the successful 2007 frame. There are now two versions, 24” and 26” because we decided that it was not possible to really make one geometry that is a PERFECT fit for both sizes. We have shaved off all unnecessary material from the frame, and speced some VERY special tubing – such as the custom - triple butted top tube and the unique NS down tube with integrated gusset and ovalised butting. We have actually managed to make the frame even stronger without making it heavier thanks to cutting out all the unnecessary parts. The frame has an ultra clean look thanks to the new brake pivot system (when removed there is almost no trace of pivots on the frame) and the special removable cable guide system (if you don’t want to use guides then you can remove them and get a super clean top tube and seat stays).

The Suburban will be sold with some very small NS logos, but there will be a big sticker sheet in the box so you can customise your frame as they like and make your own work of art.

Key features:
revised geometry
beautiful Marzocchi Z1 Sport fork with 160 mm travel
100% cromoly frame for strength and great ride quality
siutable for long distance riding as well as hucking and jumping

Specs 24"/26" (80mm fork)
Headtube angle: 70,0/70,0
Seatpost angle: 71,0/71,0
Top tube lenght (physical): 553/578mm
Seat Tube lenght: 296/296mm
Chainstay lenght: 375/388mm
Wheelbase (min): 1000/1035mm
BB height: 308/318mm
BB shell: 68mm
Seatpost: 27.2mm
Weight: 2.39/2.44 kg
Largest tire: 2.4x26"
Colors: Black, Green, Violet, White, Yellow

Includes axle positioners and derailleur hanger.
________________________

Exhausting all the US retailers for a white frame, I ended up calling Lama Cycles in Canada. I discussed my needs with Justin and ended up ordering the following parts:

NS Suburban 26'', White
NS RNS Fork, White
NS District Low, White

I ended the call by asking him to send a paypal invoice.