Pushing the puddle....

I've done just about everything there is to do in bike repair. Everything except actually pick up a torch. I've decided to change that by taking a welding class at the local community college and then hooking up with a framebuilder to go over the finer points.

The first night was spent learning about how not to blow each other up, burn down the building, and generally not cause mass destruction. At the end of the class we were given a list of materials we'd need for the rest of the semester. The instructor went down the list naming off what was needed for the next session. Someone noted he skipped over gloves and asked if they'd be needed for our first night of actual welding. The instructor gruffly snapped back "You don't need gloves! You'll burn yourself, rinse off, and get back to work! Burning is learning." Immediately I thought of that line from the film Dodgeball: "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!" Oh yeah, this is going to be loads o' fun.

Last night was our first official welding session. We were using oxy-acetylene torches and goal was to simply lay down and nice tidy bead with adequate penetration on strips of 1/16" steel plate. The idea was that we were to simply push the puddle from one end of the metal to the other. We quickly realized this is much easier said than done. A couple of hours - and many strips later - I was able to lay down a semi-tidy bead only to find out I wasn't getting good penetration. I quickly learned that just because a weld LOOKS neat doesn't mean it's a good quality weld. Something to think about when people say Brand X bikes are better because the welds look nicer. I also developed a whole new respect for guys who can weld thinwall steel, especially TIG welding. I had a tricky time getting adequate penetration without getting too much penetration. Can't imagine how hard this is with some of the super thin tubesets like True Temper S-3.

Overall, the oxy-acetylene tool is hands-down the coolest tool you can get your hands on without joining the military! Even more fun than the tablesaw I bought last year!

Cycles Tournsesol

This weekend I hopped across town to visit Steve Hampsten at Cycles Tournesol. Tournesol is a side project of Hampsten Cycles aimed at making bikes in the tradition of the French constructeurs.

In many ways I think they're closer to what Herse was doing in his day than anyone else in the small but growing constrcuteur market. What sets Tournesol apart is that they are technology/material agnostic. If carbon is the best material for a rider then they'll make the bike from carbon. If centerpulls work better they'll make the bike with centerpulls. He's built 650b titanium bikes with disc brakes as well as more traditional lugged steel bikes. During my visit I saw a fork built for 650b wheels with centerpull studs and even stainless guides for a dynamo wire. This was in the same shop as a titanium bike fitted with 35mm tires and a Wound-Up carbon/alloy fork with fender mounts.

This is very different from other builders who make constructeur bikes as if it were still the late 40's and ignore recent advances in components and materials. I'm no expert on the constructeurs but I'd wager good money if Herse were around today he'd be pretty excited to work with carbon or titanium. Many modern constructeur builders seem to think weight doesn't matter and this is different from Herse and his generation. Just look at the radical features of the sub 20 pound technical trials bike in the Golden Age book. Looking at those bikes and considering the weight savings to be had with more modern materials it's hard to justify paying top dollar for a bike with fenders and lights that weighs 24+ pounds. The Tournesol bikes are perhaps the best embodiement of the original constructeur ethos of maximizing the integration of the various parts of the bike in order to create a lighter and stronger overall bike.