Gene, Gene made a machine...

Hi there, My name is Gene and I've been an employee at Cycle Loft since 2007. I know it sounds like I'm opening up at a meeting, but I assure you I don't have a problem. A few years ago Jeff started a blog for the shop and other outlying interests of the shop. It has lost some momentum since it's inception and Jeff approached me about breathing some new life into it. I gave up writing for a living after falling in love with cycling. It's a good thing because it's always paid the bills. I've been a mechanic for 15 years or so and specialize in custom wheel building so I like to talk about wheels a lot. Throughout this blog you'll find some technical articles about bicycles and specifically, wheel products, the physics of cycling, and anything going on in the shop mixed in with some humor. Not too much though, as we are very serious about our part time amateur bloggership. You may just  find yourself encountering interesting articles such as this:

http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/11/mpg-of-a-human/ 

 or this, which you wish you hadn't:...

As an aside, a generic shape not designed with aerodynamics in mind—let’s call it a man-bear-pig—will have a drag coefficient around 0.8–1.4. A trout, on the other hand, has a drag coefficient around 0.1. What we really need is a trout on a bicycle! Then we’d really be smokin’. We can turn the famous feminist slogan that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” on its head with the observation that a bicycle really screams out to have a fish ride it! - See more at: http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/11/mpg-of-a-human/#sthash.tHs5BKjC.dpuf

As an aside, a generic shape not designed with aerodynamics in mind—let’s call it a man-bear-pig—will have a drag coefficient around 0.8–1.4. A trout, on the other hand, has a drag coefficient around 0.1. What we really need is a trout on a bicycle! Then we’d really be smokin’. We can turn the famous feminist slogan that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” on its head with the observation that a bicycle really screams out to have a fish ride it! - See more at: http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/11/mpg-of-a-human/#sthash.tHs5BKjC.dpuf

As an aside, a generic shape not designed with aerodynamics in mind—let’s call it a man-bear-pig—will have a drag coefficient around 0.8–1.4. A trout, on the other hand, has a drag coefficient around 0.1. What we really need is a trout on a bicycle! Then we’d really be smokin’. We can turn the famous feminist slogan that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” on its head with the observation that a bicycle really screams out to have a fish ride it! - See more at: http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/11/mpg-of-a-human/#sthash.tHs5BKjC.dpuf

As an aside, a generic shape not designed with aerodynamics in mind—let’s call it a man-bear-pig—will have a drag coefficient around 0.8–1.4. A trout, on the other hand, has a drag coefficient around 0.1. What we really need is a trout on a bicycle! Then we’d really be smokin’. We can turn the famous feminist slogan that “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle” on its head with the observation that a bicycle really screams out to have a fish ride it! - See more at: http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/11/mpg-of-a-human/#sthash.tHs5BKjC.dpuf

 http://www.boston.com/yourtown/boston/backbay/bbgallery/boston_world_naked_bike_ride/

I have a history of shirking technologically newborn stuff and have been accused of being a retro grouch luddite, but don't judge. I can appreciate a thing for it's quality, craftsmanship, and beauty. I love steel bikes for their simple beauty, downtube shifters for their mechanical perfection, and commonsense stuff the everyday rider can appreciate. I fell in love with wheel building because it offered such a dynamic way to improve the overall ride quality of a bike. Because of this, I often have wheels on my bike that are worth more than the complete bike. Well built wheels can make a good bike great. But, the best wheels are those designed specifically for you. Designing and building wheels that are customized to deliver the ideal ride characteristics for the user is an art. It's not just about picking a bunch of nice products and assembling them correctly. (Well, mostly it is)

Having the experience and knowledge of how materials, rim shapes, hub design, spoke thicknesses and lengths, and lacing patterns changes the wheel's characteristics and how a rider with their machine affecting the experience. The relationship between a rider and their bike is an emotional one, and in the end, riding a bike is only for fun. Even if it is used as a tool for training or commuting, carrying rabbit traps into the wild or hauling fish to market, it is still a fun experience. See!!??? photo...

Of course, there's always the exception...
















You rarely hear anyone say gridlock this morning on my bike on the way to work was hell. Or, I just got put together for $2,000- bucks for an alternator. You know why, because, bikes don't have alternators. But they do have wheels and they'd be a lot less fun if they didn't. I look forward to spending time with each and every on of you. Signing off for now. By the way, if you're curious after just this post about wheels--send me an email, let's talk! -Gene (gene_ruiterATcycleloft.com)