A White Christmas - Project MB-1 Assembly & Fabrication

Well, this being Portland, OR, it was a white bicycle xmas. That's right, Project MB-1 is now road ready! I was able to get all the parts on and fitted in time for a xmas eve ride with a  couple of ride buddies for a tough, hill climbing 32 mile inaugural ride. The picture above is from our high point at Bald Peak Park.

Last week Gene from Rad Finishes called to say the bike would be ready and we arranged to pick up the frame on Thursday, 12/22.

As soon as I saw it I was, "Wow!" While the factory color is Pearl Tusk, which is a stronger ivory white, this is more white-white with the orange pearl on top. Then, when we took it back into the paint booth for some pictures, it just glowed.

The cool thing about picking the frame up on Thursday, was my vacation starts the following Friday, so I can start assembly immediately. Having collected parts and visualized how I wanted to fabricate the various pieces over the last two months would be a huge jump start. First up was the fit up the wheels to ensure paint clearance at the drop outs and to being fitting up of the SKS Alley Cat fenders. I was liking these with their matt black finish rather than the standard shiny black. These would help to keep the focus on the frame rather than distract the eye away from it.

I started with the front fender and already knew I wanted to minimize external attachment points and paint marring. My plan was to fabricate an insert to fit inside the steerer tube that the fender mount would attach to. Since a hole existed on front and back, I used the front hole as the allen wrench access to the allen head screw on the inside. The insert is a piece of aluminum that I shaped into a round shape, drilled the mounting holes, then cleaned up the edges.

I used an acorn nut on the outside for a cleaner look. (I may see about reversing the fastener set up for an even cleaner look. All fasteners are stainless steel. Once the mount was finished up, it was just a matter of adjusting the stays for an even fit around the tire.

Next, it was on to the rear fender. Again, with the goal to create simple, aesthetically pleasing fabrications I utilized the chain stay bridge threaded insert and the newly installed threaded insert in the seat stay bridge. The lower mount uses a button head M5 allen screw, a couple of aluminum spacers and a washer to protect the paint. This provided the base tire to fender gap.

Once the lower mount was done, I moved on to the upper mount. Again, a piece of the aluminum strip was just the answer. I fit the aluminum bracket to the fender mount first, allowing for some up and down adjustment. Then I measure for the seat stay mounting hole. The finished bracket is actually a little narrower than in the picture below and I moved the fender mount bracket to attach to the lower side (the side you see in the picture). This provides a nice clean look from the other side. Now all that was left was to adjust the fender stays for an even spacing around the tire.

Seat post, seat, handlebar/stem, crankset, derailleurs and chain came next. I had to shorten the 9 speed chain some but the new bottom bracket and crankset lined up nicely with the Ultegra 9 speed cassette. Of course, I suspected no problems since the 107mm bottom bracket and Sugino XD600 are the same set up as is on the MB-5. Project MB-1 was beginning to look like a whole bike, again.

I set up the handlebar in as close to actual as possible so I could begin brake and cables installation. Brake installation was straightforward since I was using the originals, just like I used the original derailleurs. The Jagwire ripcord cables and housings were a breeze to install and I actually like the black teflon coating, subdues their noticeability against the bike frame a little bit more. For the shifters, I first tried a set of Shimano 9 speed index shifters. The indexing did not line up well with the Suntour XC Pro rear derailleur, so I figured if I was going to go with friction only, I would use my Silver set. Well, their feel is great, but on my long ride, they kept auto-shifting, especially when the derailleurs were at their extended points (lowest gear in rear or large ring up front). I would then switch it back to friction mode for the Shimano Dura-Ace shifters, which  have a bit more friction.

I wanted to keep the frame lines clean, including the chain stay, so I thought about how to protect this area. The clear, thin film you can buy did not appeal to me as it did not necessarily protect against chain impact and was ugly after a while of being hit and all. What I am currently using is a piece of thin wall, vinyl tubing from the hardware store.

I kind of like it. It allows for the color and decal to show through and is thick enough to provide good chain stay protection. It is cheap and does not require adhesive, either. Well, with all the cables routed and adjusted, it was simply now just fine tune the handlebar position, which only took a few up and down the street trips, then it was time to wrap 'em up.

And then, it was like, "cooooooollllll!" MY bike, for sure. Since I knew I was going to ride it on the xmas eve ride, I took it out for a short test ride to make sure I did not miss anything significant and make sure everything was seated well. The ride was sweet, felt good, felt like an old, trusted steed, not a newly built from scratch, new-old frame bike.

The bike felt just right and quite familiar - I suppose some of that is the handlebar and seat are from the SUB (MB-5). It was more than those, though, as the comfort and feel of the bike were great.

It could be just me, but the bike seems very photogenic, too.

The xmas eve ride was physically tough, since I have not ridden any terrain like we did for the distance (2500' elevation gain, 32 miles; high point 1600 some feet). The weather, though, could not have been better - sunny, amazing views and great company. Hopefully my riding partners did not feel too held back.

The bike, save for one overshift which caused the chain to jump off the 46T big chainring, performed flawlessly. Okay, the Silver shifters could not hold against the max extension of the derailleurs, but that was relatively minor. We rode on pavement and hardpack dirt/gravel. I think I hit somewhere near 45 mph coming down from Bald Peak Park. The bike was very stable. I was very, very happy with how uber SUB has turned out.

And, here are my two riding buddies, Tom (left) and Mark on Mountain Top Rd., not quite our high point, yet. I am grateful they are great riding buddies and did not complain about having to wait for me at the tops of the climbs.

Project MB-1 - DiNotte 300R Tail Light Mount

Frame is still with my  painter, it had to be back to the frame builder for a minor fix up. Having a perfectionist painter is a good match for a perfectionist bicyclist. Since I cannot assemble the bike, yet, I can work on some of the smaller design details with what I do have.

In my desire to have less wires and such, I have upgraded my tail light from my original DiNotte 120R (AA batteries) to the 300R, built-in lithium model. It is both quite a bit larger and quite a bit brighter.

I spent today fabricating a mounting bracket to securely attach the light to the seat rails. This keeps the seat post lines clean and puts the light just a little bit higher for visibility purposes. I love the fact it can be charged via a standard USB cable.



I started with a trip to my local hardware store to get cushioned "P" clamps, some fasteners and some aluminum flat bar stock. Then, cuz it's cold in the garage, I take the seat off and do some design work. The clamps? Pretty straightforward. Now how to bend the bar stock to go from the seat angle to a near vertical?

To get the primary bend angle, I used a cardboard template, attaching it to the back of the light. Holding it up I made the first bend near the light, which sets the base angle. As I played with the second bend, I noticed it would be easier to bend a curve rather than another sharp angle. The advantage would be the ability to fine tune which is harder once I do put a sharp bend in.

As you can see,  it came out pretty well, okay, at least that is my story.

Here the light is attached to the bracket. Fairly simple, clean, secure. Not a bad DIY, heh? At least the tail light is ready to go for Project MB-1.

Fall Transitions - Still Pretty

A month! Already! Where does the time go? Fall has brought darker mornings which means some pretty cool sunrises as I climb the, what is called, south Tabor bump. Of course, this has also meant adjusting what I wear - it's cold but dry; it's cool with chance of rain; it's cold and foggy; it's who knows. Probably by the time I figure out the right combo to stay warm and dry but not too sweaty, the weather will change again as it marches toward winter.

This is also the first time I am encountering frost on my rides. That's a new experience for sure, can be pretty slick - slower cornering, leaning the body and not the bike, watch the quick moves, look farther ahead especially going downhills. Investing in lightweight base layers to help reduce the cold, wet back feeling.

Before the cold snap and all the leaves dropping, the colors were AMAZING! So, so beautiful riding amongst all the bright reds and yellows, just made me feel so awesome. Hard to be anything but happy.

Seems as soon as we went from November to December the warm fall also changed. It was a different sort of beauty out there. We have had foggy mornings which clear out for some sunny afternoons. You can see the frost in the image below which compliments the fog, grey and flat water of the Willamette River.

Even having to be more cautious on my ride, I still enjoy looking around, pedaling along. There seems to always be something different or new. Sometimes what captures my attention is a broader view as in the Esplanade view above or it could be something up close and personal, like the frost on my car in driveway in the picture below.

The little frost "hairs" were so cool!

Hope you all are enjoying fall.

Cool, foggy, rainy mornings - Yep, it's Fall in Portland

Been some lovely, fall, foggy mornings and with the darkerness some cool cityscape scenes. Above was an especially amazing morning as I rode in along the Eastbank Esplanade. The fog was rolling along the river fairly quickly. A couple of quick pictures and the scene changed drastically and the wisp of fog in front of the building was gone. I guess that speaks to be in the moment, since once it's gone, it's gone.

Time for readjusting the commuting wear, fleece - check; ear covers - check; back up rain gear - check; and so it goes. The golden red and yellow leaves on the trees and ground have been a beautiful backdrop to my commutes - though with our recent and current rains I'm sure that will change to brown mush soon.

The streets are certainly less crowded, again. I guess the much cooler temps and chance of rain has people prepping for the hibernation season - lol. Every now and then I check the indoor bike parking and it's good to see it full several days of the week. Nice knowing people have continued their commitment to bike commuting.

Not much progress on the uber SUB project, since I am still waiting on the paint. I think I pretty much have all the parts ready to go on, some old, some new. Looking forward to not just assembly, but to the fine-tune assembly to make it just right. A lot of work for a commuter/all arounder bike? Nah. I am not a member of that school of thought that a commuter should be a beater bike. Hey, if I am going to ride it that much I should enjoy it, no, love it, don't you think?

Happy Fall biking everyone.

More Fall = Lovely

Had to stop on my ride home last week to capture this beautiful, colorful view. I wish the colors started sooner and lasted longer. Living in a very green area is great, but I sure love the contrast of the yellows, reds, also the fallen leaves are pretty spectacular. Maybe I am so aware of this time of year is because we apparently are beginning what we affectionately call, the rainy season, here in the Portland area. Once that starts, the colors are not so brilliantly, being subdued by all the grey. The leaves on the ground are but a dark mushy blob - bringing more danger than beauty - they can be so, so slippery.

Project MB-1
Okay, I've come up with the name of this project. It is my vintage, retro, new age uber SUB project, because that's what it will be when I put it all together. Vintage, for the pieces I am retaining and/or making like it was originally. Retro, for the components that give the bike that old school charm. New age, for those things that are based on newer designs or technology, even though they might emote a vintage or retro feel.

I did pick up my new wheel set and they are gorgeous! Built by Sugar Wheel Works, an independently owned shop in Portland. Components? Velo Orange Grand Cru high-flange hubs (rear accepts 9 speed cogs), Sapim butted spokes, Velocity Synergy rims with eyelets and Continental SportContact tires (32-559) 26" x 1.3".

Rear Wheel, Hub Side

Rear Hub, Shiny and Pretty

Front Wheel

Front Hub

Now I sit around and think, "I want to build my bicycle ..."

I guess I will really, really enjoy that first ride.

Nearly Full Circle on My Bike Commuting - Fall has Arrived

The lovely fall mornings have been great for riding in to work. At the moment, if I actually get going at my desired time, I arrive at work just past sunrise. I get to now enjoy those great, peaceful mornings and enjoy the serenity of Portland's lights and waterfront. The changing season is beginning to thin out the morning crowds, again, too. Of course, I know it also means cold is coming as well as wet, oh well, loving the seasonal change.

More than the summer mornings, these cooler, darker mornings seem to be more calming to my constantly turning mind wheels before I cross that line from my space to my work space and the daily scurring begins.

By bits and pieces some of the new parts for the uber SUB are coming in, sort of a trickle in holiday, except, of course, I am also the one buying 'em. The hardest part? I can't put them on, yet, since I have to be anstily patient while the frame is being refinished. I suppose it is a good thing as I am forced to think about how I will put it all back together and think about the small details, like cable covers to keep the cable slap from beating up the paint and all that.

Haha, even work looks good in the early morning light (okay, this is a little darker than it actually was when I took the picture, but hey, looks better this way). Oh, it's the low building with all the golden windows.

If you ever get a chance, definitely go for a early morning ride, it truly is the best.

Project MB-1 Progressing; SUB Back to Drop Bars

I will start in reverse order of this blog's title. After a couple of days I had to swap out the moustache bars and put drop bars back on the SUB. My wrists were not happy with the limited positions and I really missed the tops for cruisin' and climbin'. I guess I am just a drop bar girl.

Next week our Team NWEA tshirts should be ready for pick up so I can finish up my team captain duties. In some ways, I feel a void as far as bike commuting support, since we are basically back to "normal" bike commuting. As the weather has changed I have noticed fewer bikes at work, but that's cool.

I continue to be loving the fall colors and the cooler temps, I guess I was ready to  have a change in the color of the scenery, and riding without totally sweating out on the ride in. With fewer folks out in the mornings I can relax and sort of meditate on the way in to work.

Project MB-1 (uber SUB)

I am looking forward to starting the assembly part of my project. The frame is off at Rad Finishes (Portland, OR) and work will be starting on Monday with stripping. I am having a brand new wheelset built, also in Portland, by Sugar Wheel Works. So, I have unbusy hands right now, well only if you exclude all the internet researching, so I am mentally picturing different ideas, products, and such. Also, building up the list of odds and ends to not lose track of. Some of my new parts will come from swapping with the SUB, which will save some dollars and, yet, not totally make the SUB unrideable.

See, this is what it looks like inside my imagination ... "I could do this, and if I do this, then I could do that ..."

Key highlights will be:

• Drop bars - the good ones from the SUB (which I have already taken off and put the other Cinelli ones on the SUB).
• New Tektro brake levers in silver (SUB still has her black ones).
• Down tube shifter bosses w/friction only shift levers.
• This allows me to see if I can get 8 or 9 cogs on the back with the original derailleur.
• Oh, paint wise, I am going with a reproduction of the original pearl tusk (slightly off white base with a red pearl overcoat).
• The new wheelset will consist of Velo Orange hubs, Velocity Synergy rims and wearing Continental SportContact 32-559 (26x1.3") tires - yep, it will have locking skewers, too.

This is will be a fun project, really looking forward to that first ride. A bonus has been to get to know the local folks, who know other local folks in terms of bike builders, painters, wheelbuilders. I am glad I made the choice to buy local for the service work.

Fall, Project MB-1 Heading to Paint

More and more the fall colors are coming to Portland. With the fairly dry weather, so far, it has been pleasant riding, seeing the leaves on the ground to break up the otherwise boring grey of concrete. The color variety is nice, especially knowing that bare trees and an overall grey landscape is not far off.

While most of my neighbors mow and rake, I think the yard is quite lovely to look at with the mix of leaves from the neighbor's birch. Plus it helps the hide the brown-grey of my hibernated grass from our hot, recent summer heat.

Riding is changing as well. A tad fewer cyclists, definitely fewer others out jogging or walking or wandering along the Eastbank Esplanade, most definitely fewer in the mornings. On the days I ride with Evan until his school (only a bit over a mile away) the bike commuting crowd traffic is heavier, I guess because it is also at rush hour, 8ish. I do also have to admit to playing some Cat. 6 games, but, hey, commuting should be fun after all.

Project MB-1
The bike has been in disassembly for a while and I have been researching, getting estimates, researching, bidding on some "vintage" parts, mentally designing and redesigning to create a new old bike that is me.

I'll likely swap some parts with the SUB, since I purchased some good, quality items and put the MB-1 parts on the SUB, which are still good. For sure the MB-1 (still working on a new name, but maybe it will be the new SUB, or SUB par deux), will have drop bars, the 170mm crankset. I think as I start putting it back together I'll figure out the smaller details - cable housing colors and that sort of thing.

I went ahead and ordered up a new wheelset, having them hand-built in Portland by Sugar Wheels. I won't go into details until they are done and I'll accompany the description with pictures. They will be nice, for sure.

The other big time consumer, and a few dollars more, will be the re-painting. I decided to stick with the original color and design (pearl tusk) and the decals will be embedded under clear coats for better durability. I thought about a color, but that seemed to "blend" too much with all the other bikes out there. I thought about a purer white like the SUB, but, then, I already have a bike with that color, huh.

To make it unique, I'll be building it with, are you ready, down tube shifters! So, while it is stripped of paint, I am having the cable stops removed and shifter bosses brazed on. For starters, I'll use friction shifters to manage the 7 cogs in back, unless I find an amazingly great deal on a good set of 8 or 9, but I'll be running a crankset designed for a 7 speed chain,. Down the road, mayhaps.

I am looking forward to getting all the bits and parts together and the fun of watching it all come together. I am especially looking forward to the first ride! WooHoo!

Project MB-1 Begins, Mild Change to SUB

The "new" MB-1 arrived home this past Thursday. Excitedly, I opened up the shipping box to see what lay inside. Overall condition is good, the previous owner(s) seemed to have put miles on it. Many worn areas on the frame, scratches here and there on the components, replaced front hub and brake levers. Well, I did know it would be a project bike, haha.

After taking some baseline pictures it was time to tear it down, get an upclose look at things. Oh my, seems like a lot of internal coating of rust - was this dunked at one time? Headset bearings look good, looks like they were recently regreased, but wet, brown grease coated the stem and seat post. Hmm, what's a good paint job these days. And if I paint, do I keep it original or make it mine, all mine?

Gee, so many options and choices - wheels, handlebars, colors.

With the bike completely disassembled, the first thing I did was to remove any external rust spots, then totally WD-40 inside the frame, I mean I drenched it. No dents in the frame, though, that's good, just lot's of paint chips, no paint in big sections along the chain stay and bottom near the rear axle.

Well, while I decide on paint, and I have a few requests for quotes out in email, I figure I can clean up some things to get a better look at 'em. Let's start with the derailleurs. Suntour XC Pro - good stuff based on some internet research. That's cool, saves me some money.

Okay, front derailleur, pretty dirty, not a lot of maintenance done - at least relative to my OCD maintenace - lol. Pass 1, spray down with WD-40 (sorry, don't mean to plug a specific product). Let soak, wipe, wipe, wipe. Next, disassemble and clean up pivot points, in the nooks and crannies (yep, those are official terms, okay, my official terms) and more wipe, wipe, wipe. Cotton swabs work pretty good for the tight spaces.

Except for a few surface rust spots on the cage itself, they scrape off easily, the derailleur is in pretty good shape. Polish up the aluminum sections with rubbing compound, grease up the pivot points and reassemble. It's a keeper.

On to the rear derailleur. Some scratches, probably lay down scratches versus crash scratches. Same plan, spray and disassemble. Cool, roller bearing jockey wheels, hopefully they are still in good condition, though I noticed you can still find replacement bearings. Probably first time this has been super serviced.

Separate cage from main body, clean and waterproof grease it, clean, clean, clean everything. Mild polish, grease and reassemble. Good to go. Put both into plastic baggies, just waiting to be reunited with the frame.

Here's my Flikr set for Project MB-1. So far, only the pics of the bike as I received it. As I progress, I update the changes.

One crazy(?) idea I had was should I go from the MB-1's flat bars to a moustache bar. There seems to be only 2 schools, love 'em and hate 'em. Well, to see, I have put one on the SUB. I'm really a drop-bar girl, so the nice drop bars will go on the MB-1. The SUB, I figure, will be the short errand bike so the moustache bars should be fine there.

Well, there's the bar. The nice thing is most people have to convert their shifters to bar-ends. Since I  have my custom stem mount for them, I just had to install the brake levers. Cool. Oh, I did swap levers between the left and right lever mounts. The Tektro levers are assymetric and the curve did not feel right, so I switched them. Now the curved section is at the bottom and is a more comfortable, natural feel when using the brakes. Weird, since it was not a problem when the levers were in the standard vertical position.

I did a test ride today, maybe 3ish miles. I miss the "tops" of my drop bars. I would not want to do long rides with these, but for errands, I think they'll be fine. I can also probably survive commuting, just not as much fun and definitely not as many different  hand positions. We will see tomorrow, heh?

Fall Has Arrived

Yep, that's right, Portland is seeing the changing of seasons. Just when I was really enjoying the sunny, warm weather, which seemed to come so late this year. We have had some rain, more clouds, but at least we still have reasonably warm weather, though I must admit it does feel cool at times.

The changing seasons has been fun to see how the videoing changes. You know, things like wiping the rain from the lens once in a while. I've also been taking my new DSLR around so I can learn all the nuances and controls (the picture above was taken with it). Maybe I'll also have a chance to try out the video mode.

Our Bike Commute Challenge month was a lot of fun! Our work team really was awesome, and looks like everyone had a really good time. I know I enjoyed seeing all the new commuters, getting to meet people at work who I've not really met before. Sometimes, it takes more than just work activity to bring you and your coworkers together! Oh, we ended up with 500.5 trips for 5,314.80 miles for a bike trip rate of 8.3%.

To recognize the team, I put this poster together and placed it in our lobby area at work. The nice thing is that others are seeing what the team has accomplished and are very positive and supportive.

I must be feeling a lack of bike projects as I ebay'd another Bridgestone project bike, a 1992 MB-1, highly prized in Bridgestone circles (Bridgestone's top of the line at the time). Here's the posting picture:

This is the same size as my SUB, 1 year older, and lugged versus welded joints. Weight-wise, the MB-1 should be a bit lighter, will run it on my scale and see where it starts at. Who knows, Evan may get the other bike as an all weather and I will build this up as my new SUB all arounder. Stay tuned.

Enjoy your season change and, who knows, maybe I'll see you out there on the roads.

Bike Commute Challenge, Sunday Parkways, and More

September has continued our amazing summer weather! September also kicked off the Bicycle Transportation Alliance's (BTA) Bike Commute Challenge month. Our work team was off to a fun start and we have been enjoying not just the official competition, but we are also having a fun team competition using "jersey" awards. We have the GC yellow jersey, new rider white jersey, sprinter's jersey, mountain polka dot jersey and we have weekly stage winners (1st to 3rd) and awards for those doing 100% commute rates. My self and one other are co-captains so we have excused ourselves from the awards.

To add to the recognition we have a "wall of fame" where we post each week's results for every one's view. What do you think?

I have realized I have not taken as many still photos recently because I have been playing around with my POV video camera. Also, I am learning about video editing and cutting and stuff. Some of my shareable stuff is here - My Vimeo Videos. (Of course, I have plugged my video site before - haha).

To help encourage my photography (that's my story and I am sticking to it) I upgraded my old Pentax *ist D to a K5. Wow, so much more to learn, including the DSLR's video capability. Truly, so much change to photography through technology. I still fondly remember my pro-slide film days, though and am still convinced there is not a medium that shoots at the same depth and color.

The lead-in photo up above is from my point and shoot and is a stitch of 3 individual shots. I took this of the Portland skyline across the Willamette River along the Eastbank Esplanade on one of my morning commutes. I have been roaming on Flikr and Vimeo and picking ideas on different shooting styles and techniques, so I am looking forward to some experimentation while learning my new camera - yippee!

The final Portland Sunday Parkways 2011 started with a drenching! I headed to the event from home and shortly after leaving the downpour started and lasted over 5 minutes. Glad it was at least mildly warm! The sun peaked out here so it was still enjoyable and I can now say I have one year where I rode all of the year's events.

I love the mural at The Community Cycling Center - so bright, fun, cheerful. What fun if all commercial buildings had something like that! Here's more photos I took, My Flikr Sunday Parkways NE Pictures.

With the rainy season upon us I am busy getting out the wet gear and I am planning out getting the SUB and my son's bike winterized. Seems like a while now since the last time I had to plan out for rain, but at least I know what to do since I started all this commuting smack dab in the middle of our winter wetness. The days are getting shorter, I do miss the daylight.

Well, happy riding to you all!

Sunday Parkways SE, More Helmet Cam Fabrication

Wow, this year the SE Portland edition of Sunday Parkways was not as much fun. Oh, it was cool to see all the people and the diversity of people out. With the huge growth over last year, maybe the time has come to break out of being hidden away along narrow side streets and really duplicate the Bogata event by closing off main roadways like our SE Hawthorne and a section of E Burnside. This seems even more needed if part of the message is to increase awareness that bikes are more than just for "play time" to the masses.

Evan and I, where there were any people, were basically nearly stopped and using the bikes more like scooters with seats. Some sections had too many parked cars which narrowed the neighborhood side streets. Near the parks, some of the vendor booths were set up in the street so not only was the road narrower, but with booth visitors in the street there was little to now room. Time for a different event for us? We'll see.

I do think it is great to see so many people out participating, and not just the cyclists. Pedestrians and families, really awesome. I have more pics on my flikr site:

My Sunday Parkways SE PDX Pictures

Warning: Geeky, nerdy content ahead ...

I have some editing to do on a bunch of my test videos, but I can share some more lessons and thoughts. Based on some internet research I had been shooting 720p/60fps as this is suppose to make for smoother playback. Out of curiosity, I switched over to the highest setting of 1080p/30fps. Wow, in addition to having the full ultra-wide angle (142 degrees), I think the imagery is better, smoother. So, I've been shooting at that setting this week on my commutes and will do some test editing. I've run my handlebar mount and have re-designed my helmet mount.

Why re-design? Based on both the bike and helmet mount I have found the key is to create an extremely non-flexing system. Bike-wise, I have better results using my home-made mount over the parts from the ultra-mount. The reason is that on a bike, there is so much vibration transmitted during riding that any of the rubber cushioning of the bought mount transfers additional shake to the camera head. Using an absolutely rigid mount and 30fps creates a very stable image.

Now, applying this same learning to the helmet mount was a bit tricky since there is always a bit of looseness between helmet and head and it is amazing how much shake your head takes, even on smooth roads. Again, changing to 30fps helped quite a bit. I also picked up some helmet pads (thanks Bike Gallery!) for free and fine-tuned the head to helmet fit. I then tried a few different mount designs and placements.

The above picture shows the camera mount and camera head in its current set up. With the ultra wide angle, I can get a portion of the helmet in the image and still have a lot of image space for my surroundings. The final test will be tomorrow's full commute ride versus the up and down the street test I did today.

The bracket itself? An earlier mount I made that I curved to create more surface to contact the curvature of the helmet. I then stuck a piece of no-slide rubber so the mount would not move around on the smooth helmet surface. I used a shock cord and slide clamp from an old pack to cinch the mount snugly to the helmet. Note the mount can be ever so slightly twisted to align it with the helmet center line.

Notice the turn knob on the left? I have a slot so I can adjust the vertical and rotation of the camera head. Using the knob I can make adjustments during my ride (after stopping to the side of course). There is actually enough space I can also turn the camera around and shoot backwards (something I am thinking of trying).

Looking forward to testing this new setup tomorrow. So far, with the setting and mount changes, the images are much better and more satisfactory to this perfectionist - lol.

If this works as my short tests have shown I may actually use the helmet mount as my primary. This is much easier to switch between bikes, since the mount is on my helmet and allows me to shoot what my head is pointing at rather than just where the bike/handlebars are pointing.

I will on getting some of today's and yesterday's test rides edited and uploaded to my Vimeo account soon. Really.

Week Off From Commuting - Fun with Video - A Great Ride with a Friend

No working this week, so no bike commuting pictures either. I could definitely get use to all this free time - just need to figure out this whole everything costs money thing - hahaha. Portland has been having a dry summer and I have to say I am getting spoiled. I don't have to carry or wear the rain gear, I can carry way less stuff and I don't have to wear layers since both morning and afternoon are very comfortable on the bike.

Even with more people out in the mornings, it is still my favorite time to ride. The heat has not built up, yet and I tend to ride a little easier since I do not want to be all sweaty at work. Helps that I wear my work clothes commuting - have I mentioned I do not like changing clothes multiple times in the day?

Me being me I have been spending time trying to refine my POV mounting for my helmet and the bikes. What a CHALLENGE! Helmet mountings - did you know they do not design a helmet with helmet cams in mind? Well, they don't. Trying to attach a flat adaptor to a non-flat surface is utterly frustrating, not to mention near impossible. When I finally found a pretty good spot, I learned a couple of key lessons: 1) even super snug the helmet moves and jounces around; 2) I move my head a LOT! Both of those learnings have led to less than ideal videos, they are okay, just less than ideal.

Now, I do like the helmet mounting because as things come up (read cars and other road hazards) I can turn and capture 'em on video. Watching the videos one has to be careful about causing vertigo and nausea, though - lol. Also, when mounted without any static item such as the edge of helmet, the image seems a bit boring, the floating camera syndrome, I guess. That's true even when bike mounting the camera.

Now, the bike mounting is great, because I know what is being captured and the image is a bit more stable. A low mounting, such as on the fork is too low except for a few moments. So far, my favorite mounting is just behind the stem to have part of my handlebars in the video. Below is the latest version.

The goal was to have something relatively simple, stable and easy to remove and/or adjust. Because the camera head is small and light, I can use less materials and still have the camera head stable. The mount is a hybrid, using some parts from my custom mounting bin of parts and a piece of a store bought clamp system. Removing one screw I can take the camera head off, and the clamp mechanism allows me to easily adjust the direction of the view. Oh, that lens hood is a home-made one, since VIO does not make a lens hood. Surprise, surprise it is made from a piece of PVC plumbing pipe.

Oh, if you want to see some of my practicing videos, I have added a link over there on the right ---> titled, My Vimeo Videos (yep, that's right, a shameless plug).

Last Sunday (8/21) I rode downtown and met up with my friend, Sandra. We walked around where the Portland Century riders were coming in - looked like a lot of hot, tired people. Kind of miss that. Makes me, almost, want to do an organized ride. We'll see, should be a few rides, yet, to come. From there we walked over to the start/finish linefor the Giro di Portland criterium, next door to the NW REI. Some pretty fast riders out there. Lot's of men riders, only about 25 women racers. Hopefully that will change and we'll see more women racers so there will be more races.

Wednesday I had a great ride with Sandra. We rode out to the new Cartlandia for a lunch stop. Cartlandia is a parking area for food carts and there is also a bike shop there to help with minor repairs and such. Cartlandia is right on the Springwater Trail where it crosses SE 82nd Ave. Springwater Trail is really nice and I am very impressed with how well it was put together. I really had a great time riding with Sandra, such a wonderful change from either just commuting or riding in those huge Sunday Parkways events (don't get me wrong, I enjoy them, too).

Thursday I rode downtown with my son, Evan. We were off to see an exhibit at the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center about Hapa (part Asian, part something(s) else). We also walked around the permanent internment exhibit. Evan saw his late grandfather listed with his family and where they were located at Minidoka (Idaho).

Fortunately, the center is just a block and a half from work, so we parked our bikes there. We also got lot's of ice water, as it was pretty hot and fairly humid. On our ride he got some lessons about what to watch out for as we had a car cut us off by turning left. She was talking on the cell phone illegally and I guess did not feel like yielding to two cyclists crossing the street. Traffic was stopped due to a light, oh well. These are always good opportunities to help him be safe and defensive as he is out and about on his bike.

Phew, I think that catches up on what's been bike happening. Oh, yeah, next week (Thursday) is the start of our Bike Commute Challenge month through the BTA. Hoping we get some more new riders and get a lot of participation. This Sunday is Sunday Parkways SE Portland so Evan and I will be heading over, probably leave home around 11am (at least earlier rather than later). So I will get some good fun riding in before starting back to the commuting riding Monday.

Hope you all have been out enjoying the summer riding and for those areas hit with mega temps, hope you are all staying hydrated.