Oh the joy of a new bike! It all begins by waiting patiently as the frame is hand crafted from raw materials. Then a little longer as a shiny new coat of paint is applied to its body. Following that comes the stork, delivering your fresh happy baby. Oh joy! But we need to outfit our new treasure. Hours of pouring over catalogs, dropping into bike stores, talking up friends about this component and that component. The time spent pondering gear choices. But soon decisions have been made, the components gathered, and the build begins.

Begin with the headset. Then the saddle and seat post so we can attach to the bike stand. In goes the fork and on goes the stem. Onto the stem the handlebars perch. We move down the frame and in with the bottom bracket. On go the derailleurs. Then a brake here and a brake there. Chain rings on the crank arms. Left crank on the spindle, right crank on the spindle. Where did that chain go? Oh, under the pile. Thread the chain then double check. Move back to the bars. Slide on the top mount brake levers and follow with the shifters. It’s all coming together. Step back and admire your work.

Now we are ready to cable. Route the housing for each of the cables. Go around? Go under? Go over and around? Measure twice and cut once. Thread the cables for the brakes and shifters. Rear wheel mounted? Time to tune the derailleur. Spin the cranks and start shifting and working the cables. There’s life in the bike! Clack clack clack twist twist twist click click click… ahhhh. Now it’s shifting smooth. Were almost done. Adjust the brakes, toe in the front, only a bit. Check the gap and adjust the range.

Your baby is looking ready to go. A final sweep through all the bolts. Nothing loose. Release it from the stand. It’s ready to go. Oops, where the pedals? Now they’re on and it’s time to ride! Head out for a spin. Don’t forget some tools for on-the-fly adjustments. Out the door and off to the trails. The bike is running fine. The happy feeling of a new ride.

Pictures coming soon!