Category Archives: Teva Chonon

what can i get for 16 frujus?

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DSCF3401the two tools

So the Other day i got my hands on a brand new MRP G3 carbon chainguide -big ups to wide open for hooking me up-. you know the single ring guide for mountain bikes. After installing it onto the yeti,  i noticed the chain was rubbing against the guide in the big cogs -it was already happening with me old chain device E13 LG1+. mainly because i hadn’t added the proper 2.5mm spacer between the frame and the outboard bb drive side (as it is recommended for 73mm Bottom brackets shells.) because i wanted a better chainline.

Anyway, the rubbing was annoying me a tad and after a little brain workout, i thought of pushing the chainguide closer to the frame and the only way to do it was! the Hammerdsmidt facing tool. i remembered a few years back that the hammerdscmidt groupset required a well faced bb+chainguide mount to be as accurately in-line as possible and that truvativ had produced a tool for this issue.

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Evidently, it took so much brain power of my own to make a connection of what i needed to happen and the solution. face off metal off the chainguide mounts so the guide would be closer to the frame! boom! it all happened in matters of days. the boys from Sram/truvativ wholesalers would have the tool! they have to!

rode to their workshop, boom! got that Hammerdshmidt facing tool for the price of 16 ice-blocks. but boom i can’t use the tool without the handles and attachments…

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Luckily, the guys told me to use the campagnolo BB facing tool to use the arms. This evidently happens -in my opinion and noone else so far- because the truvativ was made to fit the park tool bb facing tool BFS-1. However! i believe that Park tool has copied the campagnolo design  for facing tool thus the reason for the coincidental fit.

Once again, with luck, the boys from Truvativ NZ are also the campagnolo distributor. And evidently, they had the mega bucks arsenal of campy tools, but i had to go through the big man in charge, skinny and tall really, THE David Benson himself! luckily he was in a good mood and let me borrow the priceless tooling of the cycling gods.

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 Knowing i only had 24 hours with the tools, i made sure i used it properly and safely. After rushing back the shop and a quick stop-over at home in the middle of the whole process -i had to pick up the campagnolo grease- i spent the 4 hours in total shaving off1mm from the ISCG05 tabs. I thought that i was supposed to take 2mms off but i got impatient and it turned out that 1mm was perfect.

All i can say is to always double check to make sure everything fits proper and don’t rely on what you think you should cut. measure, measure, measure and install and take apart and install again.

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Euro Asia Imports

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Hi everybody!

welcome to an exclusive little post i have been meaning to post in the past four frecking months.

Last October, i got the opportunity to visit one of the most amazing bicycle wholesaler while Visiting the United States of America with my beloved girlfriend Sarah.

I mention Sarah because while i was doing my little visit i had lost track of time and spent 3 hours taking photos and getting my mind blown away by the sheer amount of cycling history that those dry californian walls are hiding.

Anyway, the whole visit is all thanks to Twhites Bikes and our ‘amazing’ communications skills and professionalism. Actually, we just asked them if i could come check the place out and they said yes.

It took a while to find the place as it was so inconspicuous and bare of any big signage. For all you bike nerds out there, that’s how you recognize quality in the business industry, not via tons of hype and colours and showmanship, except the japanese, they can do whatever they want. i’m talking crap right now.

So! let’s get going with this visit. i’ll keep it short and succinct in order to appreciate the images. they’re not really in good chronological order but bare with me.

their offices are sitting above a chiropractor ( just in case you guys try to look it up on google maps)

that’s their main entrance door. minimalistic to the bone

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The man in charge: Dave Lundegard

He showed me around and made sure i got to have a view of every tiny corners of the place.DSCF2131

 

the view when entering

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they still use punch cards, crazy cool!

 

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Memorabilia everywhere!
DSCF1986DSCF1990sweet shwinnn clock (not for sale)
DSCF2045This is the view of one the 3-4 warehouses they have filled with New Old Stock parts. they also have a couple of containers sitting outside packed to the rafters because they needed more space. the amount of stock was acquired sometimes via bike distributor closing down and getting rid of their old stock.  EAI would get told and they would just buy it.
DSCF2054the way it works is that the office has a small warehouse with most of the parts. the other warehouses are like ‘back-up pantries’. if the main warehouse run of an item, they just waltz to the other building and re-stock the main one. you wouldn’t believe the quantity i’m talking about.


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Hubset especially made for Eddy Merckx when he was destroying the hour record. Dave believes that there are only about 6 or 12 pairs ever made of those and euro-asia has 3 deadstock of them! stilll in box with seals still on. be prepared to pay the right price for those.


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Yes people! i did get close to their gold pro chainring. still in production but good things take time. the finish on them is insanity.

 

 

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Oh! that? it’s the office tarantula. no big deal

DSCF2170and his leftover skin

 

DSCF1883You want Cinelli lazer? they might have a few NOS frames lying around getting built up.

DSCF2146How about a track Lazer? those were just pristine to the max. drooling material indeed. 

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couple of panorama shots for the sake of it.

 


DSCF1867Lunch time in the warehouse.

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Drawers full of cogs
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just plain cool
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anyone for a campy 60t track?DSCF1918

or maybe a taste of the ultra rare campy -i don’t know what they’re called- chainring. double pitch? skip teeth? i should ask Dave Benson.

EAI were the 1st campagnolo distributor in the USA in the 70s and they have kept a super strong relationship with the italian brand over the years.

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Anyway, nothing beats a tequila shot while visiting the warehouses

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it’s a fax machine.

 

If you want to see more mind-blowing stuff click on this link. it’s my flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/t_tchong 

 

 

 

 

Adventure Mondays

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Teva and Justin took me out for some long overdue mountain biking. I got to ride tevas super deluxe carbon double banger while justin tested out his new specialised purchase.IMAG0044

 

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Teva held it down old school on his fat chance and had no problem keeping up with us old fellas with new bikes.

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beers went in the creek and we were off for a twisty dry 14km loop.

 

28012013545bent tooth?28012013546some bush surgery on justins chainring
2801201354928012013551chillin.

Thanks guys!

 

Anawhata to Bethells Beach

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Taking a knife to a gun fight was Dave Benson’s apt description of taking a cyclocross bike into serious singletrack. Seeing Teva roll up on his awesome Yeti for our overnight excursion into the Waitakere Ranges  made me wonder what I was getting myself into. But the weather was crystal clear and not too hot, so off we went.

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The last time I rode this trail, it was really boggy. I’d hoped the week or so of fine, dry weather would have dried the trail out and made it more ridable. It hadn’t.

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After bashing through mud pits, bogs, mud holes and some fun sections, we came to a junction. The choice was blast down a trail that put us 5kms from Bethells Beach or try to find a sneaky route through some private land that would spit us out a bit closer. We tried the latter. It wasn’t all bad. The downhill at the start was rad. It was fairly wide but with deep rain ruts snaking all the way down. Negotiating it was a process of trying not to slide into and out of the ruts. Too much fun. This was the wrong way though, so we had to push back up the other side. After a lot of bike pushing we made it back to the junction.

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The blast down the last downhill through the bush was the best part of the ride. I got caught out by the rocky sections, blowing through my inch of Continental Cycloking travel at the front and pinch flatting. The pic above is me pumping up my front tyre at the end of the trail. I’d have to do that another half-dozen times — knife in a gunfight.DSCF3072

The Waitakere Ranges at the end of the trail.

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We made it to Bethells Beach eventually and then over to Oneil’s Bay where we made camp among some old pohutukawas just off the beach. I got to try out my Hennesy Hammock. I took a bit longer than the dude in the video to set it up, but it happened.DSCF3086

Teva went ultra-light with this snazzy paracord-camo tarp bivy set up.DSCF3100

Cooked a feed, drank some whisky, chilled out.

Thanks for the photos Teva!

 

Edit: that’s the last photo i took of the evening that i forgot to send justin -teva-

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They don’t have mince&cheese pies in australia.

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You might have noticed but i was in the affluent and creative city of Melbourne recently. Evidently my inside bike nerd pushed me to check out the cycling landscape and ‘test’ out the different bike shops around whilst riding Rowan’s bike of Pavement Destruction. So here I am at fancy “Saint Cloud” checking paintjobs on Somec and all. Having a Chat with moustachy dude (Rowan knows who i’m talking about) and perving at parts as per usual. 

However when it was time for me to leave i thought of going to check out Anchor Bmx. And whilst i proceeded to find the place on the map, a interesting chap on a kmart mountain bike (let’s call him Chris because i can’t remember his name) started to chat with moustachy dude about random stuff (and i mean random, Brian mckay style).

The moment the talk started to get a bit to jazzy for my liking i took it as a cue for me to leave. But that’s the moment Chris thought of taking me to Anchor Bmx. Just my luck! as i thought sarcastically to myself. Anyhow, i had nothing else planned for the day and i could always bolt away if it got a bit awkward. Nonetheless, here we go riding around checking out the side streets for street art and random galleries that Chris wanted to show me.

After about 20mins, he took me on this small street where arty kids were hanging out in an empty lot with a veggie garden. Across the road from the organic children was an industrial building with metal and wood junk lying about. Chris proceeded to knock on the door of 47 Chapel st and a gentleman in a engineer’s overall came out and had a wee chat.

I found out that this Chap in question is Jesse Geisler and has been making bike frames and tools for frame builder for the past 20years! His brand is called ‘Bike Bar’ and from what i have seen he used to lived in Sydney a while back.

Having only a few mins to ask questions and take pictures (chris was rushing me a bit), here is what i got from the amazing workshop.

Apparently Jesse does not use much of the internet medias to get known. He mostly relies on word of mouth and business doesn’t seem to stop for him. However, If you want to talk to him or contact him he does have a website http://www.bikebar.com.au/

 

 

Rock Lobster

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So the other day i visited Rowan and Shanelle in Melbourne. Did you know that you have to a plane to go to melbourne? can’t even ride there. Evidently, we decided to squat their apartment for handful of evenings. His pad is Big, and i’m not talking Tom Hanks in ‘Big’, I’m talking Mr. Big from Sex and the City BIG. there is so much space that you can stumble drunk around the whole place without hitting anything. love it. And if you bring some, you can do lines in the bathroom because they have a bench in there, a bench i tell you! Quite Miami if you ask me. But the place has so much flair and style which is not shocking given the people who live there.

Then proceeded to visit Browan at his job and check out the hype. The place is a room tucked away on the ground floor of a 50′s building (i’m guessing it’s from that era, don’t quote me on it). They have a choice as set up, a maître d’hôte (aka mason), a show Colnago kitted out with Dura Ace ax, stuff in a cabinet, barber chairs, a tv cranking sports, toys, a beer fridge (surprisingly full). So they do fades, shaving, conversations and drinking. The Nec plus Ultra is that those son of a guns are sponsored by Rapha! casual

The Maître d’hôte


Obviously i couldn’t turn up in melbourne empty handed. notice how Rowan’s love for camo extends to his bench seat.

Once again, thanks Rowan and Shanelle for putting up with us, especially when Shanelle was a couple of weeks from finishing her semester at school. Sleep well you two.

Sunday Roast

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finally remembered to take pictures of my winter bike that took me a while to build because i was busy spending money on pretty strong carbon (more on that later…). so i had the opportunity of getting a amazing sillgey last year in october (read ‘free’! thanks to DADDY Too White!)

that’s the frame before i got it pimped up

anyway, after a few months of having it just lying there collecting dust i finally got it painted by procoat and got the classy treatment (which i have been patiently waiting to get it done) and got a gloss black with gold flakes.

after getting the frame re-couloured, i had my good mate Baxter to fabricate me some ultra rare-pretty much one of a kind- stickers for the bike and voila! magic!

 after that part i started to go awol with my budget and decided i needed to put the whole bike as swiftly as possible. so i wanted to have two words in a certain particular font  that this japanese company made plastered all over the bike because i thought it could be nice.

here is the result.

 

are those ultra rare vintage xtr brake levers that only use to come in a lever/shifter combo?!

of course not! nothing a bit of steady hand and dremel won’t create adventure times.

duracell
duramarmite (dad’s jokes are lame)double dura ace! all the way!

yup carbon braided saddle

you might have notice i’m running 2 different model of dura ace brakes for extra dura points

octalink to 55teeth of heavy grinding

22 tooth of 72 engagement point

allegance to metal

please support your L.B.C.

Pt Chev Master Brewers beer competition

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The next round of the Pt Chev Master Brewers competition is scheduled to go down in eight weeks’ time so I thought I’d post some pics from the last one.


The last competition was all about IPAs. This time we’re brewing stouts, so Orlies is fixing to brew up some black metal beer. Does anyone know of any Mexican black metal bands?
This time round we have a new entry from two-thirds of the SBC hiking squad, Teva and Conrad.
Here are a couple of bikes from the last brew comp too:

My O’Brien

Stu Jacob’s Independent Fabrication.

Bob’s Colnago Super.