I am a proud daddy! I will have some better photos next week, going to go play with the snow-birds in the sand!

I got myself a new frame last week since my wife decided she wanted my old one. The new one is same as my old one a Hei Hei 2-9 this is is just a 20" , my old one was 19". I got it just after having a wisdom tooth out, i was still numb and happy at the bike store. My tooth turned into dry socket witch is very very painful, and forced me to put off my build and miss the Mcdowell 60 last weekend. But i did have a few moments to make a new frame bag, well 2 in fact. I made one just like my other bike, then another more fancy. Both turned out good. they keep getting better. This one has straps for my pump and a small bag on the big compartment side to hold my patch kit, multi tool, chain links, and tire iron. You know, all the stuff that eats holes in the bottom of your bag or spare tube that you can never find when you need it...  I already have ideas for the next one i want to build as soon as i can get more #5 bulk zipper. Anyway, Looks like everybody else is really pushing things on bag development, Real nice work out there! Keep up the good work. Here is a picture of all my new toys.

Cheers-JF

for sale is my beloved CDW frame bag i had built for my TD-10 adventure. It is a "deluxe" model with removable center divider, and left side small items compartment as well as a special wallet holder. It is in great shape except one separation on a seam up near the front triangle which has no effect on its performance. It was made for a home made steel frame i made. I have since retired the frame and hung it on the wall as a reminder of the good times we have had together. I have also since learned to make my own bags and have no need for this one anymore. dimensions....

TT 20"
DT 24 3/8"
ST 14"

Very similar to the pugsly or many Large / 19" steel frame.

asking 100$, or trade for cool bicycle stuff... let me know what you got... right now i am looking for a 22/32/44 Shimano crankset with external BB lx/ hone/ slx / or XT.... or a set of disc brakes.... I like shimano brakes... M535... hope rear hub...  let me know...

thanks- Jim
623-210-6867
jim@jimfab.com

The sign says " escort required ". I think a ST connector would be nice or head south through Colorado city in Arizona. I guess that an Ex-boxer called the Chicago kid , from Salem Oregon lives in Colorado city Arizona near the Utah border   

Thanks or that link!

I am sold on this one! I would love to tour the entire length of highway 89A someday. The whole thing is epic ( Congress, AZ to northern Utah ). This one is on my list for sure. Going to get the map sometime next week.

Thanks- Jim

Everybody?

Anybody know anything about the Utah cliffs route on the ACA site? They say 250ish miles 50% dirt / pavement. Sounds like a good long weekend trip to me. IMO this area of the world was made during the creators " artistic phase ". Some of the worlds most stunning landscape. I am guessing that since it hits over 9k that it is spring / fall trip? anybody ever done it know anything about it, wanna do it?

http://www.adventurecycling.org/routes/utahcliffsloop.cfm?pg=detail

Cheers-JF

The devil is in the details..... I guess that a steel wheel and an aluminum chain is the secret, no wonder i had a tough time, i had it all backwards 

One more poke at this.... note the " use "... makes me giggle a little.

Features
Manufacturer Suggested Age: 12 Years and Up
Bicycle Frame Material: Steel
Seat Features: Adjustable Seat Height
Wheel Height: 24"
Rim Material: Steel
Tire Type: Smooth
Tire Width: 2"
Gear Speeds: 21
Bicycle Chain Material: Aluminum
Used For: Cycling
Care and Cleaning: Hand Wash
Dimensions: Height: 28.3 "; Length: 53.0 "; Width: 7.3 "
Product Weight: 44.0 Lb.

My .02$

For me, It is the best thing ever. Like most folks on this site, i like to ride in remote areas for days at a time. As we all know "remote" and "days at a time" means that you ride alone most of the time. There are not that many of us out there. To me, the spot gives me the piece of mind of having a riding partner without having to cary food, water or tools for him or her. I still use sound judgement when i go out alone, but i do push the limits a bit more with my electronic riding buddy. I feel that i am smart about it though. In my help message i give directions to my backup GPS so that i can be found by my friends. I always include someone in my help list that knows the area that i am going and is capable of helping if need be. I also understand my limits and always plan for the worst case. I also like to take it on group rides. You never know what kind of trouble someone else will get into. Being able to transmit an exact location to EMS / search rescue can be a big help. I know this, this is what i do for a living. Even knowing an area better than anybody else is no good if the sender cant give you even a small clue of where they are. It is sad that so many use them as an "EASY" button, but one thing i have learned in my line of work is that a true "emergency" is in the eye of the beholder. I bet that the spot numbers for "true" rescue are on par with the 911 system. I will look into it. It is also great for the wife to get live updates on travel out of cell range. No more where are you, when are you gonna be home calls. Now it is " hey, what's going on in Tuba city? can you stop in flag and grab some pine needles?". I love it.

Thanks,

I went on GE and could not see way other way around the area i was thinking about. i must have ben a bit hypoxic and dehydrated when that naked indian tell me about the bypass?  Weird?

The 300 is at the top of my list for this year for sure. I really want to get over Tucson way this fall and try some of the great sounding stuff you guys have got including most of the 300 trail and a taco Tuesday ride 

Thanks again, Great pictures everybody!

Well, that is something i need to ride as well, Looks like i may be busy next week. The area i am talking about is north of 89A and west of Sedona. It follows a creek bed in a 30-50' canyon for about 3-4 miles crossing the creek a bunch of times. I remember a fun trail after it that runs along a power line that you almost need to duck under at one point because it is so low to the ground.

I must save time for the 250 next year, looks like a blast! I like the idea of the new format. Was the thought of knowing that you would see your friends at the end of the day a motivating factor when times got tough? Any plans to try the format with the AZT300 or other events? I am looking forward to the AZT this year!

Thanks- JF

Question?

Is the picture of the red / slick rock in post #55 the alt route to the river crossing section in Sedona, Not sure of the name of the trail but it has ben my arch enemy every time we have tangled. After getting all backwards on the Sedona BFL and crossing it at full flow like 9 times somebody asked why i did not get op on the slickrock bypass? Just wondering if that is the spot in the picture? If so i am going to go find it next week.

Rock- JF

Found this

Great Divide Mountain Bike Route Part 1

details of a s to N journey.

Cheers- JF

Do it!

I have built myself 3 frames now. i took one i made the divide last year. There is no better feeling than riding your own gear. Despite what others may tell you, there is no real secret or tricks to frame building. It is just like anything else you make with 2 hands, the drawing board is where all the magic happens. fitting and welding is the easy part (although i spent most of my life with metal so my opinion my be jaded a bit, Hence the online handle jimfab, jimfab was my metal biz for sometime before switching profession). I made myself a cheap, easy and effective frame jig. Bought my butted tubbing from nova cycle supply, made my own drop outs and bent all my own tubbing. You can TIG weld or braze a frame. Brazing is much cheaper and easy. Dont limit yourself to a bike you dont want, it is just as easy to build one you like. There is a fair amount of online resources for ideas and pitfalls. Aircraft spruce is also a good place for non butted 4130. My divide bike cost me about 130$ including powder paint to finnish and it is exactly what i wanted. I will try to add a photo of my 29er divide special and my homemade fat bike if i can find it. Feel free to Pm with any questions.

Rock- JF

Mr. SS punk is right, there is no substitute for experience but it is almost priceless to sit down and talk to others with experience in this event before hand. Last year i did everything as Mr. SS punk described including many overnighters and 3-400 mile weeks on ST trails. However i have to say i learned the most the 2 days before the event in Banff talking with everybody else about there gear and experiences. I have no doubt that if  i had that info before the trip i would have made it much further than I did. It is hard to explain in an E format how difficult the mental game is on this ride. And this ride will tell you allot about yourself that you never knew. It is one thing to be tough minded like i thought i was, but try to continue on when you bonked 5 hours ago and you still have 40 miles and 8K of climbing on a snow covered pass in grizzly country in the dark with nobody to talk to and a dead I-pod till the next service x 17-31 days al the while haunted by memories of your wife, friends, pets, home. Again it is HARD or impossible to explain on an E format. I would say the best training for this ride would be some kind of CIA / Jedi anti interrogation training or something. Like i say, i thought i was tough, I caved in 3 days. This is why i want to try again so bad, not to test my resolve, but to further improve it. Not a bad way to see some great country either.

Rock- JF

Looks like Matt has pushed on to the second stop tonight. Looks like he will be attacking Mingus Mtn. at night.. Mingus is Native American for BIG FRIGGIN HILL!

Rock on!

Check out the wingnut packs. I dont have personal experience with a wingnut but i did make myself a pack on the same idea of keeping all the weight on my hips. I cary 6L of water and a few bits of food for hours without back issues. It works so well that i am going to make a 10L pack next. A wingnut is on my wish list for sure. To compare, my old MULE hurt my back within one hour and it only had 100oz (3L) in it. Otherwise, i think osprey makes some fine looking fanny packs, One guy i ride with has one, he likes it.

Cheers-JF

Thanks!

I am not sure if how i am doing things is " right " but I am more than happy with the end results and they work for me. I did allot of web searching for things like sewing zippers, stops, edging, all kinds of stuff. All i found out is that there is many ways to skin a cat. I am glad this helped someone. There were a couple similar post's in the past that were helpful to me. Forgot to mention above that i use 2" webbing for a backing to some of the velcro straps, longer straps get the same material as the bag with the edges folded over. Some bags get a center divider made of 2" webbing and velcro. this bag was too small for a divider.

Today i finished another bag for my fisher paragon. This one is my best work thus far, still room for improvement but i am happy. Jeff and Eric are pretty good at what they do. I have used my CDW bag as a template of correct sewing many times. Not sure how they do it, but Jeff's work is prefect in every way. I can sure appreciate there handy work more now that i have tried it a few times myself. Not sure how they make a living selling custom bags as cheap as they do ( i am not complaining  ). I also better understand the wait times involved, these things are time consuming.

anyway.. Here is my latest creation.... cheers-JF

Everybody

Getting geared up for a tour of southern UT. Looking for resources for GPX files For Gooseburry mesa and Moab area and anything in between. I already found great stuff for Moab on the TF website but can always use more  .

Thanks- JF

here is the rest..

Everybody

I recently took up sewing to try and make myself a few things for my bike i was unable to go out and purchase. I have ben having a bunch of fun with it and have made some pretty cool things. I finally took some pictures of my last frame bag build to hopefully help others that may be thinking of giving it a go. I dont know if i am doing things the way a real sewer would, but it gets done and works just fine for me. this is my 5th frame bag, each one is better than the last. Now almost all my bikes have them, dont know how i lived without them before. steps in pictures...

1. Make a cardboard template of how you want the bag to look.
2. cut your material 1/2 inch bigger all around your template. I use heavy denier for mine. I like it better than the ripstop thus far.
3. next i cut a liner from thinner denier to make the Left side, wallet / thin storage side.
4. I cut my zippers to length. I use #3? standard plastic zipper. again for me works fine for me. you can use whatever zipper suits your fancy.
5. Next i sew the zippers in place, then i go back and cut the slot behind.
6. using 2 inch webbing, cut 3/4 inch long pieces and burn edges to sew on as a zipper stop.
7. sew on zipper stop. I sew a square then an X. Works great, looks good.
8. Sew lighter denier to left side pannel. i go 1/2 inch in to allow a good flange to sew other parts to and maintain size.
9. make velcro straps, this is where you need to pay attention that you dont sew stuff on backwards.
10. sew on straps
11. cut top / side strip to enclose bag, i cut the thick denier around 3 inch to get about 2 inch wide finnish product.
12. sew strip around one side then flip outside in.
13. sew other half together, now should be inside out.
14. inspect all sewing work, if happy flip right side out, and fit...
15 enjoy