Brrr! Take me back to the present

October 5 2004
Ick! Another week's blogging missed. Sorry folks, this comes of trying to do three different jobs at once. Things are on the point of changing, however: Hubjub and my other work-from-home projects seem to be taking off. When I finally finish this wretched library in London, I am winding down the archival and spending the next few months based very firmly in Hampshire. Daily updates, promise. Trouble is, life will be so dull by then that there will be nothing to report.

October 6 2004

Meanwhile, new contacts proliferate. Much interesting correspondence with Graham Ellsbury, who is upgrading a Moulton Mark Two bought on the Internet and contacted me because of the well-documented Zerowork project from 2001. I abandoned small wheels and gears when I moved back to the country, but Graham's letters have brought back a rather difficult and frustrating period. If I'd known then what I know now... Anyway, a note for any Moultoneers who have Googled this page up: buy a Nitto stem! It's beautiful, comes in a range of useful lengths, and it's tall enough to work even if you're a six footer on a bike with 16" wheels...

October 10 2004
And so back to real time. Things have been pretty quiet for the last week, as Interbike shuts down not only the US but also a good proportion of the UK bike industry. Main news is that I was forced to search out cheapish cranks for my own Karate Monkey winter bike and that I think the ones I've found may make a good fixer stockline. Watch this space.

October 17 2004
Hooray! LeVeL Components are back from Interbike, and have stock. The order goes in this weekend. This one should run and run. On the other hand, I've finally had to concede defeat on White ENOs: they're now offline until the company has resolved their supply problem.

October 19 2004
Several days spent fighting off a wretched cold, and now road rash. My Cateye LED light, so effective in town, really doesn't cut it on the C-roads after dark. Good news on ENOs, tho: I've located a tiny stash of 135mm, so can keep at least one of the White hubs on the site for a little longer.

October 20 2004

Iain of Preston sends a picture of his Olmo fix, which sports a Hubjub-sourced lockring and chainring bolts. Dig those chrome forks!

October 21 2004
The order for the Kogswell 120s finally went in a couple of days back, and the hubs are now on their way. Same is nearly true of the LeVeLs, but Scott is sorting out supply problems on stock sprockets. CyclingPlus confirm a date for the LeVeL review--needless to say, there's no time to book an advert in the same issue. Think I may just hang out on Old Street with a sandwich board.

October 23 2004

Mail from Sydney. Or, rather, from Mark Henley in Sydney. Some of you may remember our January shot of Mark's Surosa looking pensively out over the Thames from the Millennium Bridge. Turns out that the bike was contemplating a major life change. Here it is with the Opera House for a backdrop. The bike has apparently adapted well to life in Oz, where bikers are in awe of it, fixing being in something of an eclipse Down Under. Anyway, Mark is getting a friend to take out a spare cog for him. Might be a good idea for other overseas visitors.

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