As of today, Wednesday, December 12, 2012 there are four remaining spaces in the Brevet Series™ project queue, which will be capped at a total of ten bikes. The deposit window remains open until the 31st of December, unless the 10 bike limit is reached first.

If you’ve been on the fence about reserving a bike, please know there are a number of inquiries in process right now. Depending on how the project works out, we’ll likely run another Brevet Series™ project in 2014. Given the level of interest, I’d say it’s very likely.

We’re excited to announce the color choice has been made. All ten bikes will have identical single color powder coat, with decals under a semi-gloss top coat. The DuPont/Tiger Drylac color code is RAL6011. See examples of it here:

sample one

sample two

sample three

I’d describe it as a kind of mossy/split pea green with a touch of sage/gray. Under cloudy skies it’ll look darker, closer to the Moto Guzzi in the above links. Under sunnier skies, more like the machinery. I must admit I was influenced by the gorgeous 1961 Bianchi Speicialissima I sold in 2009. A lovely bike with a superb ride. Another one of those bikes I would have preferred to have kept, but someone else is now enjoying it more than I was at the time.

I also had the medical surplus cabinet from my workshop as a basis for color choice. You can find images of it in any number of shop shots from this website or the flickr photos. Here’s a few for your enjoyment:

one

two

As it happens, it appears to be the paint color of our house:

three

Sheesh! I didn’t realize that this color had such a presence in my life, but so it goes.

Rivendell Bicycle Works used to offer it as a standard color choice for their custom line as a “Pea Sage Green.” When I ordered my All-Rounder from them in 2001, I waffled between the Pea Sage Green and the “Harvest Gold,” a kind of mustardy yellow. I went with the Harvest Gold. Also a fine color, which I’d happily put on a Boxer Bicycle any day of the week.

That Rivendell All-Rounder is now rolling around Manhattan and the boroughs with a milk crate on the front. Here’s a couple pics of it’s present state.

These photos were borrowed from Alan Sikiric’s blog “Cycling Weapon of Mass Destruction.” See:

CWMD

It’s a funny story about that bike. I received that Rivendell All Rounder in 2002 and proceeded to ride it for the next 8 years all over the place. I sold it in 2010 because it wasn’t getting much use, since Boxer Bicycles had taken over my life and my bike stable.

Just recently, I came across Alan’s blog and wondered if it might be the same bike. I contacted the new owner and asked it, indeed, it was and he confirmed my suspicions. He also sheepishly asked if I was upset at the condition of the bike?

Nope. I’m glad to see it getting as much use as it appear to. It’s certainly better than I was achieving in 2010. And, I had my time on it, with thousands of miles commuting, day riding, randonneuring and touring/camping on it. I rode it across the U.S.A. and from Paris to Budapest with southern excursions through Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy and Croatia in 2004-2005.

I’ll never forget those experiences and will often reminisce about the great adventures my girlfriend (at the time) and I shared. That girlfriend and I married in 2009, had our son in 2010 and we still talk about “the Trip.” Now we talk about maybe doing smaller excursions, like our weekend travels to San Juan Island in September.

I learned so much about bicycles, while on that tour. I learned about handling, the value of comfort weighed against ultimate performance, the pleasure of quality tires and rigid racks, and the importance of keeping the camping gear fairly light in order to keep it fun and challenging. I also learned a lot about photography on that trip, and the importance of it in my life.

Staying “in touch” with the greater internet world was different then, only 7 years ago! All the social networking sites would make it trivial to update a large number of people on our whereabouts and goings on, virtually anywhere in the world. It’s amazing how that’s all changed so dramatically in such a relatively short time.

Most of all, I think I learned the true “value” of bicycles on that trip. And I’m not talking about what we paid for our handbuilt steel bikes. I’m talking about how even though I no longer own that Rivendell All Rounder, I still value it as a well worn tool, an old and faithful friend.

It’s the memories, experiences and relationships made on that trip that are what make the whole thing meaningful. I could have done it on any number of different, more or less expensive, bicycles, but that I did it on that bike will always matter to me.

Happy trails Gaylen!

Back to happenings around here.

Darren and Mike received Boxer Bicycles earlier this year and I never got around to writing about them. Go take a look at their dedicated pages from the “2012 Projects” tab at the top, or just click the links below.

Darren    

Mike

I hope you are all enjoying your Wintery weather, wherever you are. Unless, of course, you are on the Southern hemisphere, in which case I’d hope you were enjoying your Summery weather.

Either way, cheers!

If you’re using the contact form on the site to get in touch, please be sure to include your email address in the body of the message, in addition to the box requesting this information. If your email address is not in the body of the message, I may not be able to reply to you. This is really a fail-safe measure to insure I can reply.
Consider it a belt and suspenders approach for public appearances sorta situation, whereby you’d prefer your pants not to spontaneously fall down in front of a large crowd with international media present. Just an example, that’s all it is.

There’s lots in the works round here and I’ll have updates on that soon, so please stay tuned. Here’s a couple teaser photos till then.

There are two important pieces of news in this post, so be sure to read through to the bottom.

We are launching a new project at Boxer Bicycles called the Brevet Series™ line of starter kits. Four kits in the series, each with the same frame and fork, are offered to provide the same excellent performance and optimized handling for front loads as the full custom line of Boxers, but with a much shorter lead time and different cost structure.

All details can be found at the new Brevet Series™ page.

This is a limited run of 10 bikes, with an ordering window which closes December 31, 2012. For what it’s worth, there are 9 remaining slots as of September 13, 2012.

I will whittle down the full custom build queue through December. Brevet Series™ projects begin January 2013, with scheduled delivery June 2013. Full custom builds will be put on hold through June, then it’s back to normal through the end of the year (2013).

This is also the right time to announce that the pricing for the full custom bikes is going up. I’ve held back the increase for as long as possible, but market fluctuations require this move. The launch of the new Brevet Series™ kits should help flesh out the offerings at Boxer Bicycles, hopefully to include riders who have held out for just such a project.

Josh at thebicyclestory.com interviewed a group of framebuilders about the first bike they ever built – what was it? where is it now? that kind of stuff. Anyhow, go read about my story here.

Photo credit: Leslie Larson

For Sale: Boxer Bicycles Cargo Bus SOLD!

The bike we built for the 2011 edition of the Oregon Manifest is SOLD. You could call it a Cargo Bus, but I think the better description is a cross between a Chevy LUV pickup and a school bus. Sort of an El Camino or reverse Euro Mullet. Or just yellow submarine.

This bike is fantastic for trips to the library, pre-school/day care, and your local park with the super playground. It’s equally fun for spending a day at the beach or picking up fresh produce at your neighborhood farmer’s market! You could load it up with the grill and fixins for a picnic barbeque down on the lake. There are so many possibilities with this set up and you don’t have to keep it to shorter rides.

Even with a load on the front, the bike is still lively for those inclined to ride quickly. But the Boxer Bicycles Cargo Bus really begs you to relax, forget your worries and need to hurry about. Why not take your time and enjoy the day?

It is up for sale SOLD with a new improved rider interface/control setup. For the event it was built with downtube shifters, compact double cranks and a more aggressive riding position. Now, it’s equipped with a wide range triple crank set, bar end shifters and an upright riding position with the superb Nitto Albatross bars.

Details are as follows:

• Handbuilt cargo truck style frame with integrated platform rack and child carrier mount, butted steel tubing for the frame/fork and 4130 aircraft grade chromoly steel for the boom tube and rack. Frame has internal wire routing for front and rear lighting. Fork is built for the connector-free Schmidt SL dynamo hub, to provide simple wheel removal without the hassle of disconnecting your light wires.
• Schmidt SON Delux SL dynamo hub, eDelux headlight and Busch & Mueller fender mounted taillight.
• Handbuilt wheelset with 20″ front/650B rear with wide supple tires to smooth out and spice up the ride. Two additional 20″ tires are provided to fine tune the comfort and performance.
• Rear Shimano XT disc hub with a heavy duty axle and excellent dust shields to provide years of bomb proof service.
• Bike Handling optimized for front loading of cargo and/or passenger.
• Easy gear changes provided by Shimano indexed bar end shifters, right “at your fingertips.”
• Cold Forged Shimano XT triple crank set with comfortable MKS platform pedals.
• Wide, sturdy aluminum Honjo fenders with integrated mudflap up front to keep your feet dry and clean.
• Powerful Avid BB7 disc brakes and Jagwire Ripchord Kevlar reinforced cable housing for sure stopping in any weather.
• Brooks B-17 Special saddle for utmost comfort and good looks.
• High Visibility front mounted I-Bert child carrier seat. Chat with your passenger as you cruise along in style and comfort. Fits most children age 1-4 years weighing up to 38 pounds. 
• Handcrafted cargo satchel made of waxed cotton and supple leather to carry two grocery bags worth of stuff. Designed to still enable use of the removable child carrier when filled to capacity.
• Super easy rear wheel removal provided by the custom Integrated Chainrest System means you don’t have to get your hands filthy handling the chain! See this video for a demonstration of how it works on a Boxer Bicycle Randonneur.
• Handbuilt, chrome plated steel bottle cage for wide mouth Stanley ‘Char-Vac’ insulated bottle (“thermos” is included). Great for keeping your oatmeal warm on those dark winter morning rides through the Pacific North West rain and chill.
• Zefal HPX Classic frame pump.
• Cargo only weight limit of 80 pounds.
• Cargo + Passenger weight limit of 65 pounds for safety and security of child and rider.
• European style integrated rear wheel cuff lock is great in low risk areas.
• Integrated lock can be replaced with optional custom rear pannier rack for even greater cargo capacity. Please inquire about the optional rear rack.

Bike basic dimensions are as follows:

• 55.5cm Seat Tube
• 57.0cm Top Tube
• 32″ Standover height
• 44.0cm Chain Stays
• 74″ overall length of bike + rack
• Rack platform is 19.5″ W x 22″ L
• 11.5cm Stem with about 1.5″ rise
• 170mm cranks Shimano FC-M730 Deore XT

We would prefer to sell this bike locally in the Pacific North West to avoid costly shipping fees and hassle. However, if you are interested and located out of this region, please contact us to discuss options.

This is a lightly used bike with less than 100 miles on it. There are a few small marks in the durable powdercoat finish, but overall it looks close to new. The Cargo Bus is for sale now SOLD.

Mitch wanted a bike that rode well, worked with him on the hills, let him do long day rides and brevets, handled well with a load – even an overnight camping load.

He did his homework and came to me with a sensible build kit with a few exotic pieces that just made the project that much cooler.
This graceful silver bike sports the same integrated chainrest design I’ve used on two Oregon Manifest entries, 2009 and 2011.

I believe the design was created by one of the contributors to Bicycles Quarterly, Mark Van deKamp, for his custom bike built by Curt Goodrich and tested in the magazine. A nice vintage iteration of this idea was recently displayed on the Bicycle Quarterly blog. It is used on a lovely 1962 Alex Singer, using a Nivex derailleur, custom fabricated dropouts and Maxi-Car hub with wing nuts.

Mitch is using thoroughly modern drivetrain parts on his bike, reserving the vintage parts for the MAFAC Raid centerpull brakes with brazed on pivots. Amazingly, the 11 speed Campy Athena brake/shifters shift the 8 of 9 nine speed cogs on the Dura Ace FH7700 rear hub, using a new Shimano Deore LX rear derailleur. I’ve modified the hub with a 7 speed freehub body to allow the extra drive-side room for the chainrest, which takes up the space where the smallest cog would be. The Campy shifters index perfectly with the derailleur and cassette, making the rear wheel removal that much easier.

You just shift to the highest gear position and the chain falls on the chainrest. Stop the bike. Remove the rear wheel as you normally would and the chain stays on the rest, which is stainless steel so no ruined powdercoat there, nor will it corrode over the years.

To replace the rear wheel, you need only move the body of the derailleur out of the way, like you normally do on a standard bike, but won’t have to handle the chain as it’s still sitting on the chainrest. Then you’d want to re-attach the straddle cable for the rear brake.

To get the chain off the chainrest, lift the rear wheel, get it spinning in the forward direction, click the front shifter onto the second or third cog on the cassette, then gently turn the crank forward and watch as the chain lifts off the rest and back onto the cassette cogs. Simple, elegant, keeps the bike and you clean. You could also just do a cyclocross style mount, where you run along side the bike and jump on as it’s rolling, then shift, turn the cranks and go.

It’s a nice system that works equally well on road or mountain hubs. There are a few limitations, in terms of specific models that are compatible with the 7 speed freehub body, but the selection is good enough that you aren’t likely to feel want for a better hub. The Shimano hubs are nice with decent seals for the loose ball bearings, so maintenance is simple and only needs to be performed once a season, if the bike has full fenders. Fortunately, with regular annual maintenance, these hubs can last for a very long time.

I’ve also posted a video on a recent post to this website. Check it out here.

It’s been fun to set this one up and I’m quite pleased with the shifting performance. I really was skeptical when Mitch requested it, but it seemed there were enough accounts of people doing just such a thing, on the interwebs, and you know how everything on the internet is true, right? The combo works so well, I’m even considering getting a set up like this on my personal bike.

Enjoy the bike Mitch, I certainly have!

I used two film cameras to shoot the following gallery, in addition to my standard digital SLR for in-shop shots. A new, to me, Olympus Pen FT with Zuiko 38/f1.8 half-frame camera was fun to use and good for close-up work, though the viewfinder is rather dim and the lens might do well with a CLA. The lens has a vintage character that is a nice contrast to the uber-sharp digital Nikon lenses I use. The Leica M6 Cosina Voigtlander Color Skopar 35/f2.5 is a nice, compact combo, also with a distinctive character. There’s a little distortion and vignetting but I sure do like how this set up fits in my coat pocket. Good stuff and adds to the enjoyment of documenting the creation of these bikes.

The Boxer Bicycles integrated chainrest system allows the rider to remove and replace the rear wheel without handling the chain, keeping the rider and bike clean and facilitating easier rear tube replacement.

It’s an option on all Boxer Bicycles. It does require a specially modified Shimano rear hub or any freewheel hub that doesn’t use a cassette, but these parts are readily available.

This bike is a recent project, now headed to a lucky fellow in Zanesville, Ohio. Aside from the very useful chainrest, this bike is using Campy Athena 11 speed shifters with a nice Shimano Deore LX 9 speed rear derailleur. The cassette uses 8 of 9 Shimano cassette cogs. The whole system shifts flawlessly without resorting to any shifter modifications or Shiftmate products. These components are fully compatible right out of the box. Maybe we should keep this quiet so that Campy and Shimano don’t alter their products to be completely incompatible, as they’ve done with all their other drivetrain components.

I’m a downtube shifter user, myself, but this set up works so nicely, and uses lots of 9 speed stuff that lasts a decent amount of time, that I’m considering using it on my own bike. Now, if I just had one of those nice integrated chainrest thingies, I’d be riding in style. Maybe my bike will have an appointment with the torch sometime soon!

Tom is one of my very first “customers.” I built him a low trail replacement fork for his gorgeous Tournesol years ago, before I had officially opened for business. After a few years of enjoying that modified bike in many a Seattle International Randonneurs brevets, Tom got in the build queue for a complete Boxer Randonneur. So, Tom is my first repeat customer! Very cool. What an honor to be able to work with Tom again, because it is gratifying to know he liked my work enough that he wanted more. Very very cool.

Tom took delivery of his Boxer Randonneur a few months back and just recently I had it back in the shop for some modifications and a replacement decaleur. The original decaleur I built for his bike looked nice, but really didn’t have enough forward extension, nor vertical drop, to work well with his bag or handlebar position relative to the rack. So I built a replacement decaleur of a simpler, better-fitting, more functional design.

We also swapped out the fenders for a wider set that give greater side clearance for the 32mm Panaracer Pasela tires he’s riding. Please ignore the dirty tires, he’s been riding it, okay?!

Oh yeah, this was the first time I got to use my new fork jig, designed and built by Alex Wetmore. I really like how simple it is to set up and loading and unloading the parts, which I have to do repeatedly in my fork building process, is super quick and easy. It also easily accepts my Anvil Bike Works dummy axles, which makes the jig worth the money, in my opinion. Alex sells these jigs as a kit, though it’s as a hobby project, since he’s a very busy guy with his day job. Thanks for making this jig available Alex!

For more information about the jig and Alex’s other offerings and projects.

The gorgeous paint was done by Keith Anderson.

Thank you Keith!

This bike was built for the Schmidt Son Deluxe SL dynamo hub, the one without external wire connectors. It’s a neat design that allows the rider to remove the front wheel without having to disconnect any wires. I like this idea and can imagine how it would be a very nice feature to have while fixing a flat tire on a dark and stormy night in the middle of a long brevet. I’m usually tired midway through a ride like this and I can imagine removing the wheel without disconnecting the wires from my standard SON 28 hub.

That would suck, because my back up headlight is usually a Planet Bike Spok front light. These things are dinky and totally insufficient for seeing one’s way. I like it very much as a headlamp to read the cue sheet in  the dark, but I only call it a back up light to meet the brevet requirements. It’s a gamble for sure, but I figure it is highly unlikely that my Schmidt lighting system would fail under normal riding conditions, so why bother carrying a bulky battery powered light that is not going to give the same performance of a high powered dynamo light? Instead I take the risk and carry the Spok.

All that aside, Tom will be riding this bike on brevets and his daily rides in and around Seattle, and I don’t know what his back up light of choice is. Thanks Tom!

Chris is a very well traveled fellow who wanted a travel camping bike. With glittering gold finish. On the frame _and_ fenders.

We built up a 700c wheeled S&S coupled frame and fork with all the braze-ons he could ever want for his custom handbuilt front and rear detachable low-rider racks. This was a nice project that turned out well and went to a super nice fellow in the Bay Area. Chis is a bit of a connoisseur and collector of modern Constructeur bicycles. His collection includes a Toei, an Ebisu and now this Boxer. Oh yeah, he also has a custom built Hunter unicycle.

Dang!

Chris is now gathering parts to assemble the Boxer Travel Camper.

On a side note, you might be wondering about me, since I had seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth after the Oregon Manifest Event. Well, I have no fancy answer, besides having been busy keeping my head down and working through some backlog in the build queue.

The Oregon Manifest is a fun and challenging event. I had a good time participating in 2009 and 2011. Unfortunately, it’s also a very demanding event, in terms of time, energy and financial expenses. This is ancient history, in modern smartfone, interwebs timeframe, but I figure I should at least mention it, since I did participate and have a great bike as a result (which will be up for sale in the very near future, so stay tuned!). For the 2011 event, the design criteria seemed to be rather different from the 2009 criteria so my entry was a major departure from the typical Boxer line up. In fact, it was so different that it may be the only Boxer Cycle Truck ever.

I’ve got other projects to share, which I will, over the next few days, so again stay tuned…

Wayne received his new Boxer Travel Randonneur in early August, leaving just enough time for him to get familiar with it, work out any glaring fit issues and practice assembling and dis-assembling the bike before his departure for Paris.

PBP 2011 runs from 21st – 25th August. Thousands of riders, from all over the globe, will endeavor to join the league of Anciens, those who have completed this storied bicycle ride within the alloted time frame. Some riders hope to make a good time, finishing the brevet in as hurried a fashion as they possibly can. Other riders will simply be glad to finish at all. And then there are those special riders who endeavor to complete the ride as near to the time cut off limit as possible, getting the full meal deal, you might say.

Of these many thousands of intrepid riders, three will ride their Boxer Randonneur bicycles. I can not tell you how cool that feels. It’s why I do this, toiling away, day after day. Riding PBP  has been a goal for me for years and this and that other thing has conspired to keep me from it. In fact I missed the current edition (running as I type this) and the last, in 2007, so that I could continue to build Boxer Bicycles LLC, as a business and going concern. In ’07 Boxer Bicycles LLC didn’t officially exist, but I was building it behind the curtains, so to speak.

It will remain a goal for me, though I can’t forsee when I’ll actually ride it. Perhaps in four years. Perhaps in eight. Hard to say, but it’s still fun to dream and live vicariously through others who are experiencing it now. At this time, 11:18 pm PST Wayne is through the return controle at Tinteniac at 57:41 hours cummulated time, 867 kilometers of a 1200 km brevet.

I’m not sure which group he left with, but I think it was the 90 hour group. The official PBP website allows one to track riders and see some interesting breakdown of average speed between controls and overall average speed. It looks like that last stretch from Loudeac to Tinteniac was a slow go, though he may have taken a sleep break.

Anyhow, I am so glad that Wayne appears to be riding well. I hope his experience is matching what I see in his numbers. Good times for Wayne. And Jeff. And Vinny. And Robert!

Go guys GO!