Shopcast

The Surly Karate Monkey is a well known machine in the world of 29ers (bikes with extra large 29" wheels). The horizontal dropouts are great for single speed, fixie or internal gear set ups, yet a derailleur hanger on the dropout makes it easy to add gears.

Chris digs his Karate Monkey a lot and came in ready to add a sweet rack and get some nice panniers for hauling a bit of his world around with him on his bike. The Tubus Logo was his rear rack of choice, but it looked like it would barely clear his rear tire (too low!) and being that he has a pair of bigger tires at home (to say nothing of fitting fenders to the bike) this tight clearance cannot be ignored.

Lucky for him he is well versed in a software program called Solidworks. He created a drawing of the hardware he needed to extend the height of the Logo Rack and then sent his drawing (as a digital file) to a machinist that made the hardware (and even anodized them blue to match his bike).

The disc brake side (pictured above) is using a 17mm Disco Rack Spacer (a Perennial Cycle custom product) as a way to clear the disc brake.

Very Nice work Chris!

Vision Recumbent was a strong recumbent brand for about 10 years (Vision went out of business in 2003). They were well recognized for their Under Seat Steering (USS) recumbent design.

This Double Vision tandem was purchased used by Peg who happens to have a single Vision (USS R-42 with a 16" front wheel). She purchased the tandem with Over Seat Steering (OSS) and she had us convert it to USS as that's her preference and after a couple of summers riding it OSS she knew that she wanted it converted.

The conversion was a pretty large task in that the parts are not available, so we had to make them. We used seatpost clamps on each side handlebar which meant that the bars were adjustable up and down as well as in or out. The conversion ended with a great position that pleased the owner very much.

These types of jobs are a real challenge and very satisfying at the same time. Being that Perennial Cycle was one of Vision's largest dealers for many of their years in business, we certainly are familiar enough with their designs to pull off this job.

We have a pretty wide range of customer's at the shop that put in a good amount of miles each year. Some do (or lead) a lot of club rides, some love the call to tour, some are just all round bicycle users and some are big time commuters. Mark is a commuter with a love of a good tour every now and again.

Mark consistently gets in over 4,000 miles a year. We're talking year after year after year.

Here's some Q & A that Mark submitted as a "Bike Profile"

Bicycle (year, brand and model): 2000 Vision R44, 2002 Vision R85 tandem, 2005 ICE-T

What's your primary use of this bike?: Commuting, but I do day rides and I tour with my wife.

Do you have an especially memorable ride that you did on this bike?: All my rides are memorable, but our tour last summer through the Iron Range in northern Minnesota was a hoot.

Are there any accessories or custom modifications on your bike that you'd like to point out?: I've crated my own "T" bar for mounting my computer and ! light systems and it cost under three dollars. I'll try and get some close up pictures downloaded.

Anything else that you'd like to mention about the bike?: They are like riding on a human powered magic carpet.

Thanks Mark!

This is our first Phil Wood hub that has 74mm dropout spacing. 74mm spacing is a standard size for a large segment of the folding bike world. This smaller dropout spacing is plenty wide in regards to wheel strength as it is always a small diameter wheel.

This particular wheel has been built up for a Brompton bike (16", 349mm ISO), though don't expect to see it locally or even domestically as it was shipped to France after I took these pictures. The rim is a Velocity Aeroheat 32 hole, though only 16 holes are being used.

I look at this hub and can see a guy with a black leather apron chucking a block of aluminum into a lathe to do his handywork. I realize that CNC is the more likely production method, but it's a beautiful component with an old school look about it. Lookin' Good Gilles! Enjoy it.

Browse Perennial Cycle's selection of Phil Wood Pro Brompton Wheels HERE.