Zanconato

[Mshue]

Getting closer...

Very, very nice!

Closer? What's left to do?

[zank]

Very, very nice!

Closer? What's left to do?

Hard anodize them and ride 'em. Make sure they are going to shift and hold up the way we say they are going to.

[zank]

Here's an excerpt from my latest blog about why I love pearl paint jobs. From the heart...

I love pearls. Growing up, I went to a ton of car and motorcycle shows. My dad is in that biz and we spent quite a few Sundays walking around looking at some incredible machines. I love seeing perfect paint jobs on big car panels. Orange peal (a type of surface roughness) and ripples pop out like a giant pimples. But perfectly flat finishes with super high gloss are just amazing. I think pearls compliment the efforts of the finisher in the same way that they can put a giant beacon on sins; they simply expose everything. If the underlying metal or paint work is less than perfect, the tiny pearl platelets pool up and/or don't reflect the light back in a uniform fashion. It kind of looks like swirls. Your eye immediately picks up on this. If the clear coat has orange peal or fish eyes or just ripples, the reflected light is distorted and it makes the color look almost yellow. But when the metal work is smooth, the primer is sanded out like glass, the base coats are smooth, the pearl coat is uniform, and the clear coat is flat, smooth, and buffed, look out.

[Roman]

It never happened without pictures:

[WFSTEKL]

It never happened without pictures:

Good lord, Vince, is that your killing machine?

[davids]

Good lord, Vince, is that your killing machine?

A gentleman from Buffalo named Craig is the fortunate one.

[Roman]

No, not yet, grasshopper.

Sometime soon you'll see a white machine with black decals, dura ace, regal, etc.

I don't ride killing machines any more, just nasty look machines.

[WFSTEKL]

It sounds like you are getting a mauling machine which is right in my wheelhouse.

[davids]

I saw a wonderful little exhibit of Shaker furniture yesterday. Simple, unadorned and pure, even after generations of use and (sometimes) misuse. And then I read this quote from one of the church elders, and it resonated with what, I think, you're trying to accomplish with your frames:



"faithfully and well done, but plain and without superfluity... and suitable for their use."

And often quite beautiful:



I'm pretty sure you're not a Shaker, though. Are you?

[Shinomaster]

I saw a wonderful little exhibit of Shaker furniture yesterday. Simple, unadorned and pure, even after generations of use and (sometimes) misuse. And then I read this quote from one of the church elders, and it resonated with what, I think, you're trying to accomplish with your frames:



"faithfully and well done, but plain and without superfluity... and suitable for their use."

And often quite beautiful:



I'm pretty sure you're not a Shaker, though. Are you?

Form follows function. <----click

[DCT]

mike

talk to me zanconato and di2 bikes

do you have any in the queue?

any particular ideas you have when you do it?

my next zank will be a di-z

[zank]

Oh, Daddy. Di2 is incredible. But you already knew that. I have a few in the queue, including the one I'm working on now. I have to hand it to Shimano. Their internal wiring kit rules. Basically, my idea is to keep every run of wire as concealed as possible. The main concern though is finding either low stress or reinforced areas to drill the holes. I'm trying to go into as many reinforced areas as possible, i.e. drill into castings rather than just tubes. But as is always my mantra...clean and uncluttered are the goals.

What impresses me the most are the function and how clean the complete bike looks. When Ui2 hits the market, the other guys are really going to have to scramble. Campy is a few years behind and I can't recall even hearing about anything in the works from SRAM. I really think this is a game changer and Ui2 will push it past the tipping point. There will be plenty of riders who want the tactile feel of cables. But there is a massive segment of the market who simply want the latest gizmos. This stuff just happens to function incredibly well to boot.

[R.J.]

Funny. I routinely harass starry-eyed frame builder hopefuls I'm around with some reality checks. I ask them the same questions. They don't realize that all of the blow and fast women come at a price. It's really hard on the family.

Hey, Zank,

As one of the starry-eyed wannabes, any advice, especially from someone such as yourself, is much appreciated. I recently got an internship at a frame builder's shop in New York. What would be some advice that you would be willing to give someone just starting out or that you wish someone would have given you when you were first getting involved? Any recommended reading?

Thank you for your time.

Also, saw that you liked Alterra Coffee . I was an employee there (as well as at Ben's Cycle, where I was lucky enough to get to bother Vsal's Dave Wages) up until my recent move to NY. Small world!

[brucew]

Ui2?

Ultegra?

[ron l edmiston]

mike,

a friend is enamored with italian frames --- lights on for a colnago ... said, "friend -- zanconato ends with ato..." gota be kin to ago " ... light shadow is beamin on usa custom hand built "zank.."
ya still have room on yo stringer??

my best to yo lady,

ronnie

[DCT]

owning a zank is a keeper ladies and gentleman. this guy makes the good stuff

[zank]

Hey, Zank,

As one of the starry-eyed wannabes, any advice, especially from someone such as yourself, is much appreciated. I recently got an internship at a frame builder's shop in New York. What would be some advice that you would be willing to give someone just starting out or that you wish someone would have given you when you were first getting involved? Any recommended reading?

Thank you for your time.

Also, saw that you liked Alterra Coffee . I was an employee there (as well as at Ben's Cycle, where I was lucky enough to get to bother Vsal's Dave Wages) up until my recent move to NY. Small world!

Hi R.J.,
The best advice I can give you is to have a purpose for doing it. Don't become a framebuilder to just build frames. Become a framebuilder to address something about bikes that drives you nuts. Don't try to be all things to all people. Find a niche and carve it out. I wanted to build clean, simple, and well executed cyclocross and road bikes. Drill down and figure out why you want to build bikes. There has to be more meat there than just because they're cool.

I'm sipping Alterra right now. Our routine 10# shipment actually arrived yesterday. It's the only way to start the day!

Good luck. Don't be shy. Ask questions along the way.

[zank]

Ui2?

Ultegra?

Yes, sir. 2012 I bet.

[zank]

mike,

a friend is enamored with italian frames --- lights on for a colnago ... said, "friend -- zanconato ends with ato..." gota be kin to ago " ... light shadow is beamin on usa custom hand built "zank.."
ya still have room on yo stringer??

my best to yo lady,

ronnie

Ronnie! Grandpa Guerino was born in Sovizzo about 180 km away from Cambiago, the birthplace of Ernesto Colnago. There's always room on the stringer! Tell him to get in touch and I'll take care of him. Thanks!

Austin is right around the corner. Are you bringing Tammy this time?

[zank]

owning a zank is a keeper ladies and gentleman. this guy makes the good stuff

You, sir, are a prince. When do we get to see pictures of the repainted cross bike?