Making things shinny

It used to be that bikes where chromed to create shiny highlights. These are typical seen on seat stays, chain stays and obviously lugs. Turns out the chroming process is very toxic and there are fewer and fewer "chromers" available to do the work. One "modern" alternative is to use polished stainless steel to get this shinny effect, at least on lugs and drop out. Here is a fork crown and dropouts that are starting to shine.







The results are beautiful. You need a polishing wheel and some rouge to get things going. Naturally the complex and relatively small crevasses that are common on bicycles make it tricky to do the polishing. All you need is time.....

Back from Zion

I can't say enough good things about Zion Nation Park. In this case I got a chance to go hiking and spend some time with family.

http://www.nps.gov/zion/index.htm


I'm back in the shop with monster energy and desire to build even better bikes in the next few months. It's not surprising when you consider just how inspiring Zion can be. This year I was presented with clear skies, lush plant life and a ripping "Virgin" river. Yeah! Rip it up.