Redbones BBQ, Chester st Davis Sq Somerville MA.

“Basket bike”

Come by purchase a raffle ticket to support MASSBIKE and NEMBA and maybe win this bike

Two are ready to go, one almost ready and another that will be built with parts I have in stock. These bikes will help with my next Road bike project as well as my shop move and build out, that will be happening over the next months, for a complete move by August.

Green Truss bike

Green Truss bike $3,000.00 $2,500.00 SOLD

• 56cm [good for someone 5'8" to 5'10"]
• 2 speed kickback rear hub [coaster brake]
• front dyno/drum front hub
• Brooks B72
• King HS
• White Ind crank
• ANT pedals
• Woody fenders
• ANT stem
• Big rear saddle bag [not pictured]
• For the original $3,000.00 price I can have the bike stripped and add another rear hub option of either a 3 speed, or 8 speed hubs with either coaster brake or drum brake] and in any other color, but green looks good with the parts and leather.

Road bike

Road bike with fenders   $2,000.00 $,1800.00

• Fits someone around 5’7″ to 5’9″
• 52cm x 55cm top tube [slight slope TT with up right position]
• Shimano 105 components ,10 speed [full group]
• 34/50T x 12/30T
• 700 x 28mm tires
• Some scratches on top tube and rear fender
• Nice bike, rides great.
• I am still riding this bike everyday, but it will clean up fine. I have  a new road project i want to build, so this one will pay the way for that, so good deal for anyone that buys this 

New 56cm Roadster $2600.00 [picture coming soon]

• Nexus 8 speed hub
• Dyno front hub
• Dual roller brakes
• D-Rack
• ANT stem
• Full chain guard
• Full fenders
• Brooks saddle
• All nice components and all new
• The frame, fork, rack and stem are made. Soon to be coated black, but if you but it now, then you can have any color you want.

Another bike in the works:

Roadster deluxe bike, might be a Truss bike. Can be any size, but if no one buys before I build it I might make this around 58cm

• Around $4,000.00 [possibly less if pre-paid]
• Almost all made in USA components
• Drum dyno front hub
• 3 speed coaster brake rear [or drum]
• ANT stem
• Pauls cranks
• ANT pedals
• Brooks Imperial black
• Leather tape black
• Oxford bars
• King HS [silver or black]
• Paul’s seat post
• Paul’s lever
• Delta tires, cream, brown or black.
• Can also be built with single speed Phil hubs and black Paul’s racer brakes.
• Frame style could be diamond, Truss or ladies loop frame.

All sales in North America only [sorry]

If anyone is interested in any of these bikes for sale, please do get in touch or send the links to anyone you think they might be a good fit for.

Thanks, Mike

“Cards and flowers”

Thank you to everyone that wrote to Betsy and I, sent cards and flowers, wishing us well and a speedy recovery.

We are getting along well and doing our best to move on. We hired a lawyer to handle the case and he asked us to not facebook or talk about the accident any more. It will take about a year or so to get this resolved, but Betsy and I are happy to be alive

One thing that has been really great is that I have been without my van and forced to ride my bike everyday! I feel great and the weather has been so nice. The rain that we have had has pretty much missed me while riding to and from work. I really do not want to buy another vehicle, but at some point will have to. Having  a van for my shop is really helpful and while I could exist without a van and rent one here and there, it would be more of a strain on my work.

I have had some great classes over that last months, but have not really taken any pictures. The people that take my class are so happy to be here and that really makes my day bright. While I am a lifer and have been in the business since I was 18 and never get tired of bicycles…it is still very inspiring to see people so jazzed about making there own frame set.

I am without a class for the next two weeks now. So I will use this time to catch up on so many backlogged projects, such as repairs, paying bills and some frames that need finishing.

I also have another demo bike in the works. A Roadster demo, 8 speed, 56cm with all the stuff. If anyone thinks it might work for them let me know. I hope to have pictures of it next week.

“Teaching to weld”

“Around the shop”

‘machines”

“My van”

This Sunday evening, my wife Betsy and I were in a terrible auto accident.

We are OK, but Betsy was injured pretty bad. She suffered a concussion, a broken rib, some internal bleeding on her liver, cuts on her arm and had to have many staples in the back of her head. I was uninjured, just very stiff now and my lower back hurts. We got back from the hospital Monday evening.

A guy in a full size truck [Ford F150] ran a red light and plowed into the passenger side of my van [where Betsy was seated]. He was going about 45 or 50 mph and I did not see him coming , until the last second.

I will be home with Betsy all this week, to help her begin her recovery and she might be able to go back to work next week. We are both so very lucky to only have suffered what we have and so glad that we were not killed or paralyzed etc…

West St & RT27, Medfield MA.

When the truck hit us, we were pushed into this guard rail and that stopped us.

Betsy and I feared this very intersection for many years, for this very type of accident and now it happened to us. Betsy witnessed an accident at this same intersection, just last year [happened right in front of her]. I do not think we will ever go through here again.

I went to the police station today to start the paper work. I got what little info they would give me [for some reason they will not give out or me a police report?]. From what I can see, the guy did not have a drivers licence and they did not arrest him or give a ticket? The police would tell me nothing.

he was coming down this hill

No skid marks, he did not stop, just plowed into us!

This was the worst day of my life. I thought Betsy was going to die. The hit was sooo hard. The Medfield EMTs were wonderful and did a great job tacking care of us.

I am really shook up about this. Luckily Betsy does not remember the crash, but is doing very well with all other aspects of memory.

I were my helmet on my bicycle about 95% of the time and not a helmet Nazi, but consider myself a helmet wearer. Now I think it might be better to wear a helmet while driving a car. It was a good thing we were in my van. While we love Betsy’s Prius, this would have been a different story if we had been driving it.

van is gone

“Welding with knee”

I am a bit of a procrastinator about a lot of things, but one big one is rack making. It is not that bad once I get rolling, but they do take a lot of time for the amount you can charge for them. I delay it and find other things to do in the shop [there is always something to to]. My racks are made free hand with out any fixtures and it is difficult to keep things straight. I do not have a fixture, because each rack is made on the bike to fit around the various bits [forks height, width, brake type, wheel size etc...]. Plus bending is never really the same or at least for me, so it is hard for me to make the rods line up. Every time I make a rack I think that is the last one and I will just use either a Paul’s flatbed or some import rack.

“ANT D-Rack”

“Frontal”

This bike is for Hazel in Boston. She has been waiting since August 2011. Another very understanding customer that I appreciate very much. This bike embodies a lot of what I want a bike to be. Made with just about every one of my favorite American made components. Paul’s Components has really been coming out with a lot of great new stuff and today I noticed that they have a new much improved website.

Making a bike with USA made components are really much better. Not just because blah, blah it’s cool to be MUSA, buy local etc…the components quality are really unmatched. The biggest visible value is the crank, rings and freewheel from either Paul’s or White Industries [maybe Phil Wood too, but I have not used yet]. When you run a single speed the chain tension or out of roundness can be seen when you pedal the bike in the stand. The Import made stuff just wobbles all over the place and you can see the chain tighten and loosen with every rotation. With a Paul’s crank and a White industries freewheel…rock steady!

While it is worth every penny, you do have to pay for it. A fully equipped ANT with USA components cost around $5,000.00 or more. A lot to pay for a single speed city bike. can you use it, can you lock it up. Yes you can and often people do. I have to take the same parking/locking precautions wither the bike cost $1,000.00 or $5,000.00  The only way I could care less if the bike cost from nothing to say $300.00.

Good safe bike parking…that is the future for improving the quality of life of riding in the city…well there is all that other stuff like having a safe place to ride [that actually goes where you want to go] and not getting hit by a drunk driver/ road rage etc..

‘Paul’s cranks”

“Hazel’s bike”

Rick brazing DT mount

Last weeks frame class was with a local person, Rick R from Wellesely MA. We made a Club Racer style road bike to fit fenders, TIG welded, straight blade fork [like I made in the IF days]. Rick had assembled a nice set of components, including Paul’s brakes & seat post, King head set, Selle Antomica saddle, bar end shifters and a Sugino crank with a 34/48T. Nice combo to make a great riding club bike.

Rick TIG welding

Rick put his bike together quick and got a ride in this weekend and sent me a note about it.

Mike,
I just wanted to drop you a note to let you know how excited I am about the bike! I rode it yesterday and today, and, while I expected it to be comfortable, it has been surprisingly quick and stiff as well. It is a blast to ride. I set out yesterday morning for a quick 10 mile ride just to check some adjustments and ended up riding 50 miles just because I was having so much fun! Definitely will be my “go to” bike. I think the lower bottom bracket drop really adds to the feeling of stability and it tracks amazingly well. I hadn’t worried about toe overlap but it is nice not to have to even think about it. I had a great time building it with your guidance and corrections and really enjoyed the week. Aesthetically, I am very happy with how it turned out. I like the simplicity of the look, especially coupled with the performance. . Thanks so much for everything!

I hope you enjoyed the weekend. The weather has been really nice.
Rick

Rick’s Road

 

Rivendell Cross/Tour

The Geekhouse/Back Bay Cycling Club Swap Meet was a huge success, but we did not sell this Rivendell Cross/Touring frame. This belongs to one of my customers, who wants a less flashy bike to get around town on…what better than a black ANT with no decals.

51cm seat tube [center to center] x 54cm top tube. Canti mounts, 1″ threaded with King Gripnut HS, Joe Bell paint job. This is an early Rivendell [maybe 1995 or 1996], very good condition. $1,500.00 obo

Rivendell Cross/Tour

The swap meet was very busy. A lot of the action was happening between venders, before the show even opened! Then once the door came open the show really got going. The vibe was very good and positive. So many bike people having fun, searching for the part or seeing a part…just to build a new bike around [which I am guilty of]. They will be holding this swap meet twice a year, so you should check it out next fall.

Swap Meet

Swap Meet, so busy

My lovely assistant

Today I just finished my new XY fitting machine.

XY fitting machine

This contraption will really help with making bikes for people and dialing in where the bars and saddle go [all that really matters]. Not a very good picture, but you can get the idea that you can capture the X and Y coordinates of the bar and saddle clamp.

Last week we had a great class with Tim S from Maine, building a Ladies Loop frame Roadster for his wife.

Tim S with his wife’s Roadster

The week before I had another good class with Joe C from Berkeley CA, building a 650B Rando dirt road touring bike.

Joe C and his 650B bike

From January through February I had an extended class for Luke Devine, helping him come to market with his new frame shop. Luke was a great student and he picked up the work very easy and I look forward to working with him more. I have a lot to say about this, but will need to write another post about Luke’s new shop, when I have more time.

Luke’s 1st bike

Next Friday Betsy and I will be at the Geekhouse Bicycles swap meet at the Boston Headquarters. I will make another post about this with details next Monday…got to get home now it is Saturday night!

Ladies Roadster

Ladies Roadster   $1,500.00  SOLD

• Fits someone around 5’2″ to 5’7″
• 7 speed SRAM hub
• Rim brakes front and rear
• 700 x 32mm tires
• Mostly new components on new frame set
• Used parts [Wheels, tires, shifter, crank, BB, pedals, rack, kickstand]

Road bike

Road bike with fenders   $2,000.00

• Fits someone around 5’7″ to 5’9″
• 52cm x 55cm top tube [slight slope TT with up right position]
• Shimano 105 10 speed
• 34/50T x 12/30T
• 700 x 28mm tires
• Some scratches on TT and rear fender
• Nice bike rides great.

“Truss Roadster”

Truss Roadster $3,000.00

• Fits someone around 5’7″ to 5’10″
• 2 speed kickback
• Rear coaster brake
• Front drum brake/dyno hub
• 700 x 35mm tires
• Very nice bike and components
• Low miles [about 200?]
• No changes or options

Any bike purchased within a week will get free shipping [or reduced by $150 if a local pickup]

I can’t believe that today is the last day of 2012! Needless to sat that not much blogging has been going here at ANT. The classes over that fall and winter have been all time consuming. I always think that I will be writing about the latest class, but sometimes my students are not interested in being on the web or I just don’t make time to take pictures or write.

I had planned on getting some new bikes ready for the new year. New models and pictures to celebrate my 10th year of full time as ANT, but have missed the mark. I still plan on doing this, but it will be later that the January dates I planned on.

I have another 6 week class starting the first week of January and will be making tools for that class the rest of this week.

If anyone is interested in any of these bikes for sale, please do get in touch or send the links to anyone you think they might be a good fit for.

Happy New Year, Mike & Betsy

“Scott’s 6 weeks”

Today was Scott’ last day of his 6 week frame building class. This morning he picked up his trailer and we got him all loaded up to head home to the DC area where he lives. Scott plans to set up shop at some point in the near future, along with his fitting studio. Just a matter of finding some suitable space and getting the word out. Once he gets up and running I will add some links to his site.

“Scott’s first road bike”

We managed to build 4 lugged road frames, the first one a complete bike. We were both quite happy with the way they came out. The brazing was good enough to be able to powder coat the frames [most brazed bikes need to be wet painted to take care of pin holes in the silver or brass].

“Head lugs”

This picture has a lot of dust on the frame

A lot was learned during this course, for both of us. Each time I teach a class I learn something too and often rework the way I instruct or describe how to go about accomplishing the task at hand.

Building with lugs has its challenges too. Mostly in respect to the down tube/head tube lug angle. Most often this angle is around 60o for lugs I can purchase, but this is the area that changes the most with the variation of fork height and shorter top tube lengths. Most lug sets you can purchase come in 73o HT/ ST and 60o  DT/HT angles, which are perfect for a medium size road frame with short reach brakes….not much else.

Bending these angles can be done up to 2o, however I have not been satisfied with the results and I feel the lugs get pretty mangled in the process. That is why you will see so often builders will use a lug-less or Bi-Laminate construction [TIG or brass brazed], or lastly making your own lugs out of tubing [it is like building two frames to get one]

“Scott’s tube cutting machine”

I have some more exciting classes coming up for the next 3 or 4 months. Anyone interested in joining in for the fun, should get in touch.!

“The watchful ANT eye”