Monday, June 28, 2010

Lewistown, MT

That's one talented baby.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Montana State Cycles

Hey everybody, this is going to be a new semi-occasional post in which I celebrate the avid cycling student body of MSU. I'll just post photos of interesting or badass bikes I see around campus.

First up, this little gem of a cruiser:



This person has skillfully decorated their bike with neon electric tape. I'm guessing it's an attempt to ward off aggressive truck drivers and/or the owners believes that the spinning visuals created by the rear wheel will somehow transport them back into the 80's. It's a neon bike time machine.

isopods attack!



Sunday, February 28, 2010

visions of fruhtures past

Adam Fruh, designer at large, is a man with a fully-realized aesthetic. Completely modern, yet hearkening back to the golden age of human ingenuity, he pieces together these fragments of our industrial past into what can only be described as a vision of our possible future.
This little piece is oddly reminiscent of WALL-E, everyone's favorite little post-apocalyptic trash compactor. An assortment of failed filing cabinets have been reassembled, thus deconstructing the very meaning of storage.
Just as WALL-E's quixotic task evokes a directing of our human emotions toward the mechanized, so too do the cabinet's off-90 degree angles disarm. One can only appreciate this thing's willingness to bear the weight of our distractions. The metal exterior hides the first-growth reclaimed fir innards. Will we too maintain a kernel of organic nature as we continue to interface with the machine? Only time will tell, but lets begin our contemplation with this piece. 200$ + s&h

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Angry tatonka.


These buffalo are angry. To the right of the photo is a sharp precipice that made me feel like that little kid in Jurassic Park when the t-rex is sniffing around their vehicle. The comparison between the movie and the the actual yellowstone does not end there. The question that goes through my mind is: just how artificial can we make our environment? Can we think of nature as an independent system anymore? I know I've got the mad scientist look down:

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Bottom Bracket


After huffing a fair number parts per million of liquid wrench and allowing myself to the machine shop for some industrial-sized wrenches, the bb is out. A lot of rust in there, one of the bearing rings was chewed to shit, probably the initial problem, but after a quick cleaning everything looks reusable (no superfluous spending here, mom!) I replaced the bearings with new shiny and presumably perfectly spherical ones. After two exams today I'll look forward to some zen bike work tomorrow. I filed the vertical dropouts a bit to give myself some adjustability (the red line says that's not a word apparently) chain-tension wise. Lots of grease and I should be good to go-o-o. Plus the roads are clearing up a bit so I should be able to hit it. Thanks to the bike-mechanics at Summit for hooking it up with some new bearings.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Let's try this again


Alrighty, today I decided to put my tuition to use and went up to the rec center where they have a bike shop for students' use. This is good. There are tools. Does that mean I didn't resort to placing by bike on it's side with the crank on a vice using the crank puller as a punch after it had stripped the threads from the inside of the crank? Yes it worked, as is evident in the picture. I think I need a new bracket though, so time to use the B'lster Penetrating Catalyst to loosen those threads up. Shout out to the stoners running the shop for not chewing me out for pounding on their tools.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Fucking Bike


Oh bicycle, how I love yet hate you. I bought you for 30 dollars, and you have nickel and dimed me into debt. I spent my valentines day with you, and you treated me like shit. The 14mm machine bolts holding the cranks came out easily enough, but then you stonewalled me. I hit you with mallet, I'm sorry, but you just frustrate me sometimes! All I want to do is get on and ride with no hands up and down the amber waves of montana.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Singer 247


This sewing machine was bought at the Community Closet, in Livingston, MT. It is a Singer Model 247. Originally 12$ it was six during their Saturday Early-Bird sale.