Shamrock Cycles

[hmbatrail]

Thanks man. Actually, this year's team CX bikes will look just like it.

[hmbatrail]

Team Update:

This has easily been the most fun and successful race season I (we) have had in quite some time. MTB season has come to a close with five of the six team members participating throughout the Spring/Summer/Fall campaign. Several top 10 finishes, a few podiums, and one BIG win with Amanda taking first at the Mohican.

Cross season is in full swing and the joy of success is a very close second to the joy of participation. Nearly a dozen top tens and five podiums so far. I have long been an advocate that the best vibe is at a mountain bike race but this season is starting to skew my perception. We are having a great time, we try to be encouraging to others, we try to be approachable by all, and act as ambassadors to the sport. I hope we are succeeding in that because it sure as hell feels like we are. We are, by anyone's definition, a team. And that is harder to pull off than you may think.

At the end of the day this is still a business enterprise for me and I want/need to see a return on my investment. That is starting to happen. Beyond just awareness by a greater audience, I have taken orders that I can attribute in part or whole to the fact that the customer was able to walk into my tent at a race and touch/feel/ride the bikes.

To those of you who have teams and provide the bulk of the support (Curt, ER, Mike, et al) I wish you all a very successful Fall/Winter campaign and hope that you are having as much fun as we are.

Pictures tell a thousand words:
Shamrock Cycles Racing - a set on Flickr

[e-RICHIE]

Team Update:

nice to see you back here tim atmo.

[Curt Goodrich]

Tim,

Thank you for the well wishes. The team is having a great time. Congratulations on your team. The bikes and riders look great! I'm really glad that all of your hard work in fielding a team is paying off at many levels. Well done and well deserved.

[YiPsan]

Congrats Tim.

[steve garro]

Hey, Tim - how is the stem jig treating you? - Garro.

[hmbatrail]

Hey, Tim - how is the stem jig treating you? - Garro.

Steve,
Working out great. Makes the process a little less foolproof. I rather enjoy building stems.

[steve garro]

Steve,
Working out great. Makes the process a little less foolproof. I rather enjoy building stems.

pics? - Garro.

[hmbatrail]

pics? - Garro.

You bet but it will have to wait until after the weekend when I am back from Louisville GP.

[Nathanrtaylor]

The team bikes at Louisville GP were beautiful.

I agree that there's nothing quite like a perfectly built tool being used exactly to the purpose it was intended.

[hmbatrail]

The team bikes at Louisville GP were beautiful.

I agree that there's nothing quite like a perfectly built tool being used exactly to the purpose it was intended.

Thanks man. It was nice catching up with you. Got some decent pics of you in the SS race. Tried to give bell and cheer every time I saw you!

[Nathanrtaylor]

Thanks man. It was nice catching up with you. Got some decent pics of you in the SS race. Tried to give bell and cheer every time I saw you!

Where are the pics? The cheering definitely helped.

[hmbatrail]

Here you go. This is Sunday. There is also an album for Saturday.

OVCX- Louisville GP SUNDAY - a set on Flickr

[Larry]

Tim...I was at a cross race in Newark, Ohio a few weeks ago and saw several of your bikes. They were beautiful looking rigs. Love the color combination...

[hmbatrail]

Tim...I was at a cross race in Newark, Ohio a few weeks ago and saw several of your bikes. They were beautiful looking rigs. Love the color combination...

Thank you very much. I appreciate the kind words. The team colors have worked well. They look good and are quickly and easily recognizable.

[Archibald]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the kind words. The team colors have worked well. They look good and are quickly and easily recognizable.

Yo Tim - Kindred soul & Irish appreciator here. What do you have planned to display the MTB goodness at NAHBS?

[hmbatrail]

Yo Tim - Kindred soul & Irish appreciator here. What do you have planned to display the MTB goodness at NAHBS?

Well sir, I plan to have a couple different flavors. A pretty straightforward, no nonsense, run whatcha brung 29er and something a little different than that.

[hmbatrail]

I don’t have a blog because I don’t have enough to say on a regular basis to fill it. In lieu of a blog I am using this thread. You are a captive audience.

Sometimes simple observations seem so pertinent and salient but so easily missed. What do I mean? How can two seemingly completely unrelated topics have so much in common but I fail to see it for so long?

In addition to frame building I have a second life completely unrelated to framebuilding. Some know, most don’t, that I also do some work in the financial field. Specifically, I help not-for-profit institutions implement socially responsible investment programs. Mission-related investing, SRI, ESG, shareholder activism, do good while doing well, etc. It doesn’t take up a huge amount of my time as I work on a consulting basis but I believe it is noble work and I enjoy it. I believe I am helping other make a difference.

On the surface these two activities (framebuilding and investment consulting) have nothing to do with each other. On the surface that is correct. Rarely does a NFP seeking financial advice also want a frame. Rarely does a customer seeking a frame also want me to take a peek at his donor advised fund. But there are commonalities that are so basic and simple yet overlooked. Both are a series of steps, processes, decisions, and living with those decisions. When I build a frame I am doing so to the best of my ability at the time. I believe I make a damn good frame and I am supremely proud of it. I will run it up against anyone. But it is not perfect. I never have and hope I never will build a perfect frame. I do the best I can armed with the knowledge I have at the time.

When putting together an investment portfolio for a NFP I am doing so based on the best information and knowledge I have at the time. I am not omniscient but I am not a fool. Many of these organizations rely almost exclusively on the returns of their investments to keep operations going. If the portfolio rolls over and dies there are direct implications with the community. One less staff worker getting signatures to save a nature preserve. One less scholarship offered to some kid who really needs the money to get to college. One less cot and meal for someone who lost their home. The implications are so fucking daunting it makes you want to cry sometimes. 2008 was a dark time. Everything I believed in was being called into question. Am I doing this the best way I know how? Is it time to try it differently? Is there a better way?

When I build a frame I build on the knowledge gained from the previous frame. And the one before that. And the one before that. And . . . But I would be a liar if there weren’t times when I question what I do. Am I doing it the best way? Is it time to try it differently? Is there a better way? I know the stakes. Someone has invested their time and money and has entrusted me to build them the best bike they have ever owned. He could have gone to a blue million other builders but he chose me. That is responsibility. That is accountability. That is humbling. There is a lot to lose in that proposition. There comes a time when you need to turn off your brain and rely on what got you here. I build the best fucking bike I can armed with the best information I have at the time.

I sleep well at night.

[e-RICHIE]

tim - thanks for this atmo.
you're a true asset to this board and the f'builder community, and i am glad to call you a pal.
oh, and to have one of your flasks too..

I don’t have a blog because I don’t have enough to say on a regular basis to fill it. In lieu of a blog I am using this thread. You are a captive audience.

Sometimes simple observations seem so pertinent and salient but so easily missed. What do I mean? How can two seemingly completely unrelated topics have so much in common but I fail to see it for so long?

In addition to frame building I have a second life completely unrelated to framebuilding. Some know, most don’t, that I also do some work in the financial field. Specifically, I help not-for-profit institutions implement socially responsible investment programs. Mission-related investing, SRI, ESG, shareholder activism, do good while doing well, etc. It doesn’t take up a huge amount of my time as I work on a consulting basis but I believe it is noble work and I enjoy it. I believe I am helping other make a difference.

On the surface these two activities (framebuilding and investment consulting) have nothing to do with each other. On the surface that is correct. Rarely does a NFP seeking financial advice also want a frame. Rarely does a customer seeking a frame also want me to take a peek at his donor advised fund. But there are commonalities that are so basic and simple yet overlooked. Both are a series of steps, processes, decisions, and living with those decisions. When I build a frame I am doing so to the best of my ability at the time. I believe I make a damn good frame and I am supremely proud of it. I will run it up against anyone. But it is not perfect. I never have and hope I never will build a perfect frame. I do the best I can armed with the knowledge I have at the time.

When putting together an investment portfolio for a NFP I am doing so based on the best information and knowledge I have at the time. I am not omniscient but I am not a fool. Many of these organizations rely almost exclusively on the returns of their investments to keep operations going. If the portfolio rolls over and dies there are direct implications with the community. One less staff worker getting signatures to save a nature preserve. One less scholarship offered to some kid who really needs the money to get to college. One less cot and meal for someone who lost their home. The implications are so fucking daunting it makes you want to cry sometimes. 2008 was a dark time. Everything I believed in was being called into question. Am I doing this the best way I know how? Is it time to try it differently? Is there a better way?

When I build a frame I build on the knowledge gained from the previous frame. And the one before that. And the one before that. And . . . But I would be a liar if there weren’t times when I question what I do. Am I doing it the best way? Is it time to try it differently? Is there a better way? I know the stakes. Someone has invested their time and money and has entrusted me to build them the best bike they have ever owned. He could have gone to a blue million other builders but he chose me. That is responsibility. That is accountability. That is humbling. There is a lot to lose in that proposition. There comes a time when you need to turn off your brain and rely on what got you here. I build the best fucking bike I can armed with the best information I have at the time.

I sleep well at night.

[davids]

Thanks for sharing that.