LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
Hi Guys, I know I rarely post here but the truth is I rarely make any photos anymore. And I know I have kind of an attitude about photography over the past couple years so I'm not going to deny that either. But stepping back from it and looking at it from the outside so to speak has been a good thing for me.
Anyway, here's the story of my new bike which will eventually show up on fixedgeargallery.com.
The photos were taken with the only camera I have and I think I did a pretty good job proving that you don't need the best equipment in the world to get the shots you're after. I used a point and shoot digital, Canon SD200, which I assume is an antique by now
It's funny because at the bike site they don't appreciate the effort that goes into the photos as much as us here. But with the photo site there are things about the bike that wouldn't be noticed or appreciated. I guess that's why I felt compelled to post these photos here even though I know it's not a bike site. It's fun to see perspectives from photographers and cyclists alike.
Here's the story about this Jonny Cycles frame...
A lot of ideas were discussed with Jonny in building this frame. Our most productive conversation came during last years symposium where when sitting on the grass killing time we finally decided on a few simple ideas.
This bike could have gone a hundred different directions. In the end, I wanted to have something for a lifetime to remind me of my last dog. Ozzy is an Italian Greyhound (miniature greyhound) who I lost during a separation a few years ago. He was the coolest dog I've ever known and was a ton of fun to play with. We were best buds!
Ozzy was incorporated into the frame in a few simple ways. I didn't want anyone seeing the bike and immediately thinking "Dog fanatic!". I'm not a dog guy in that sense. So the things we did are subtle.
1. The first element is the canine tooth shaped crown. It's probably the most obvious thing but I don't think people would know what it means without telling them.
2. The second element is the hand painted non-drive chain stay logo. Behind the "Jonny Cycles, Handmade in Madison Wisconsin" text is a beautiful line drawing of a Greyhound. I didn't get any photos of it as it's difficult to photograph due to the way it wraps around the tube.
3. Ozzy has an interesting coat of fur. When sunny outside, and especially when he's active running around in the dog parks, his gray colored coat takes on a blueish tone with reflective highlights that is very striking. The overall paint job on the frame was done to mimic this. I didn't want a gray paint job though. I used a very bright white, but it has a blue pearl overlay with reminds me very much of Ozzy when viewed outdoors on a sunny day.
I had tons of other ideas but I wanted a bike to ride, not one to take to dog shows. For example, I wanted to integrate Ozzy's white "socks" (he has white fur on the ends of his legs) into the fork ends and rear stays but felt that was going too far.
You should have seen this little dude! He'd run down two flights of stairs lightning fast and jump 3 feet into the air while still going full speed, easily covering 10 feet while airborne, and then bounce himself against the back couch cushions and plop right back on the floor and zoom up the stairs again. It was the funniest thing.
Sorry, enough about him.
Full Parts/Details: DuraAce crank, 46T DuraAce chainring, 17T Phil cog, Phil Large Flange SLR hubs (32H), DT swiss spokes, Campy Lambda Aero rims, Jaguar 110mm 65 degree stem, Nitto B125 38mm steel bars, Thomson Elite post, Fizik Aliante TI saddle, MKS Royal Nuevo pedals with MKS cage and Toshi straps (I throw eggbeaters on it for regular riding).
Besides the frame, the wheelset is my favorite element on the bike, the rims in particular. I spent a long time searching EBay for a good deal on the rims and never found one. In fact, I was patient for almost a year. I finally gave in and bought a pair. When they arrived they had a few nicks and rub marks that had to be dealt with correctly. In this case it meant a full hand re-polishing from the ground up. It took far too long but the results were worth it. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that this was also the first wheelset I built up myself.
How does it ride you ask? When I'm sitting on the bike, I feel like I can ride it forever. And that's the whole point for me. Getting in the drops feels better than any other bike I have. It just feels "right". I don't know any better way to explain it. Jonny knew the components I would be using from the get go and I believe he considered that during the frame design because the component measurements were included in the final schematics he sent me. The quality of construction and proper tube selection have everything to do with the way it rides. I can't thank Jonny enough!
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Trevor Ash
Happy riding!
