Happy New Year to you all.
And now, some crazy fork blades.....
See you at NAHBS!!!
What are we bringing?
Some kiltlike thing, dirt from a road,radioactive ocotpus??, and , well , I don't really know.
Stay tuned, and hugs to you all!!

welder guy

Buy this frame so we can go to NAHBS!!!

Ok boys girls, and all you zombies pup crawling around, I gots a bike frame for sale.
16 inch atb made for a 80 or 100 mm travel fork.
Basic info:
71 head angle, 73 seat angle .40 mm of bb drop. chainstays are 425 mm center to center. Can fit a 2.3 inch tire too.
Normal price on a atb PEACOCK GROOVE frame is 2100.
This can be your for 1000 bucks, plus the cost of paint. That  means whatever paint would cost me, it will cost you.
There is still time to add on any brazeons if you want, so if you want some type of atb touring rig, that can be done.
If you want to make ita complete bike, we can do that too.
Email with any further questions, and lets get this bike a home!!

Why is October 12th so dang important?

Many years ago, I had a dream that seemed to me so impossible.

Why it seemed impossible is not what I had thought, but what had been all around me.
You see, many of my friends, well at the time, told me after I told them I was starting a business , that I would only fail.Not ll of them, but enough to make me doubt myself.
That, my friends, was more than 10 years ago.
Now , while I may not be perfect,I know that I do lack secretarial skills, 10 years is a long time to keep anything going,even a "normal" job.
But, after  so many years of people doubting me, my skills, or even my business tactics,I have only one thing to declare : "I'm still here."

While that is only four little words, they mean so much. When I say " I'm still here", it transcends the actual words.It trumps so many things that have been an obstacle in my career.And, there have been many:
supplier shortages, paint delays,shipping damage,communication breakdowns,illness, loss of friends, ( yes I have lost friends over my start up) loss of relationships ,( yes like my girlfriend kinda stuff, mostly told because I don't make enough money) , loss of health, missing out on family and friend events, days off, a normal credit score,taxes, insurance, legal things, locations, setting up shops, venting, rent,fights with the bank, signs,blogs, Facebook accounts, oh boy!,deaths in the family, Hugs to you Quentin!!, exhaustion, depression, letting others down, moving, technically three times, and you find out how many friends you do have when you move!!, forums ripping my work apart,and me personally,getting threatening emails of my"work", misunderstandings,being told I don't build frames,that I am a hack, being an outsider in my own industry,illness ( twice I know ), loss of the "real" job, no health or dental insurance, self doubt,bank changes,office flooding,ideas stolen, never any capital to grow, time loss, so many things, and they can seem so negative.
I never said the trip was pretty, or that I did everything right.

But that's not all true. When I look back on all of these things, it does make me and Peacock Groove stronger.It makes the juice worth the  squeeze.
And squeeze we have been doing.Despite all the doubt and the tribulations, I and Peacock Groove have marched on, even if we have stumbled a little bit.The people I would love to thank , that have been here for me, and have been of the very few who have stood by me, helped me so much, I need to thank them here: thank you Pops so much, so so much, and to a truly wonderful friend, Mr. Vincent Dominguez, a thousand thank yous ...With your support it has made what the dark days have tried to take away from me. And Vince, who ever thought we would get along!?!?

Along the way I have seen needs in the community that just were not being met or served.I have always said that when I "get there"   I would love to help or sponsor some of the cool things I like. While we are not "there" yet, we are still giving back.

Like BABES in BIKELAND. P G has given away a frame to that race for the last five years!! Elise came in the other day, and it was awesome to see her so excited! While we there is still one lady who has to come get sized for her prize, come on Amy!!, this last five years of this has been ,well quite a monetary give away.Why?
I have been in the bike scene world thingy here in the cities for over 20 years, and I always thought women just got the leftovers so I said hey lets give them ladies something to race for. And they do!! Now when you look at the prizes in this race, holy cow. Companies now see the value in it. I see the value in the ladies there.
I have also helped out some local kids with their broken frames. I knew they couldn't afford to have them repaired, and I couldn't deal with them not riding. So I fixed it for them. They ride buy and yell thanks at the door.Warms the heart.
I wanted the frame builders in the TC area to have a show, so I started MINNECYCLE. A gathering of TC frame builders. Why? Cause not that many people know about all the guys around here. It strengthens our community, and our industry, and also is one of the quickest , fun, and hell it's right on the GREENWAY trail system!! We all win with this one. MINNECYCLE is great, and the next one is coming soon.

Whats the point of this rambling babble ridden blog post, the first in nearly a year?
I'd like to take this minute to point out some things that have been accomplished :
Caused a small ruckus at the NAHBS  show, twice, got one of the most viewed posts on Prolly is not Probably.com, got noticed by many EVIL DEAD fan sites, got 8 million ??? ( I was told this, but i don't know computer stuff)views on reddit,Dario Pegoretti shook my hand, had a most wonderful video made by the awesome crew at ROYAL ANTLER ,which has over 38,00 views, someone bought me and my frame building buddies lunch because they saw it and loved the film so much, free lunch!!,have been told by many people how what I do has made their life better,met the Mayor, helped new builders,  been asked for my autograph, helped build brands, been on the news!!, had a petition started to get me kicked out of the NAHBS show,have been contacted over three times about doing a "reality" show, have built some of the most kick ass bikes I have ever scene, get to build WHAT I WANT TO,made in into the MPLS BUSINESS MONTHLY mag, and THE METRO too, helped out the courage center,held many parties here at the shop,even helped make some love connections...  All this by doing it my way, the way I want to.
Not too bad I don't think. And just to let you all know now, just keep watching, because our ten year b-day is right around the corner, OCTOBER 12TH.This next NAHBS will be the one to watch us come into the next decade of business with one hell of an entrance.The things we are doing down here are just amazing, and I am most proud of it for this fact, I have done it all with a lot of sacrifice, tears, blood and will. The capital I don't have has been made up with the love I have for the bike, and most things related to it.
So, with all this going on, I'll say this: "I'm still here, now get used to it."

October 12th is P G'S 10 birthday.It's time to stop doubting and start believing.
PEACOCK GROOVE FOREVER.

A film? Brad Pitt to play me?

No. They want me to play Brad Pitt playing me.
Wait...wut?
No really, this has been one heck of a year and I thought I would take a few moments out of today, which now I have the crud that has gone around, and just say a couple of things.
We had a good, but trying year. The move has made the shop such a better and more comfortable place to build it is funny. I mean sometimes I stop and look around and giggle. It makes me giddy.
While we are behind a little bit, I am happy to say that we are catching up so fast it is pretty cool.
We have more bikes at the painters and coming back at one time then ever before. There are more creative ideas this year than I ever thought. I mean, come on ! We are making track bikes that look like the Lions from Voltron. That is probably the most awesome sentence I have ever typed, so far...
While I look ahead for NAHBS , I wanted to take a moment here today before I go pass out on the couch, as I am super sleep deprived right now, to thank everyone who has helped or supported me or the GROOVE in the last three years. Those were the truly tough ones.
But now, I like thinking about the bikes coming back from the painters, the super custom parts we are having made, the bodacious designs coming out of the shop, the brands we are helping to build, and doing it here. Some people said it couldn't be done.Well, sometimes you got to take that risk, you got to sacrifice, and just when you think you should quit, dig deeper. You might find what you are looking for.
Now speaking of that, it is a good segway to a Mr. T.C. Worley of Studio Blue photography in MPLS. T.C. came down and has been lurking around for a few years. I would like to say that he "got" what I was and am trying to do down here. So he took some pictures, and over time with his pal Tony, they decided to make a film about the Groove, and well, I guess me too. It is very weird for me to say that, like :" Come see my film about me and Peacock Groove", but come see it. I have only seen the teaser, so they probably don't want me blabbing all over about it.
Come see it for your self, I would love to see you there.
erik
http://vimeo.com/32808794

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1294835193

Summer review?

Sometimes in life, well it just goes by sooooo fast. I have not blogged as much as I have wanted to, and that me me a little unhappy, because I like it in the way that it can reach so many people in a creative way. Well, when my "writing" gets creative you will know.
Now, how about for a summer in review, and this is off the top of my head, so some just too cool stuff may be left out.
New shop, we got some new machines down here and are very excited to get them up to speed, and we will start making parts in house, yep that is right. Little parts and things that you will be able to put on your new Groove , or your bike that you have. We also got some powder coating equipment, and that should be up and running in the spring. We will be offering this as a service for repaints and parts, but until we get the quality up to what we want for a Peacock frame we will not be offering it on new frames. A wet paint booth is also being looked at to do, as we have the room, but want to do it right and are consulting the right people for this job.
The "whipe out" earlier in the year over Memorial Weekend did really shake me up. Not knowing how or what happened to me and how me , my bike sat in a puddle for over 6 hours with no one noticing is beyond me. Yes, the details are still fuzzy with me too. Point is : be careful out there people, and when some one offers to ride you home safe or tells you to text when you get home, this is why. And that is why I make people text me when they get home, we all need to watch our friends backs.
My very good, verging on great friend , got breast cancer. And it really pisses me off. It seems like shit like this happens to good people way too much. Things like this that affect you, I have come to realize, they kinda don't. What I mean by that is it effects the person who has it more. I can only be there for her, and support here anyway I can. Since she ordered a bike before she got cancer, I had to put her in line in the que. That meant she would miss cross season this year, but would have had her bike mid to late spring. When she told me she wanted to race this year despite going in chemo, I said to my self:" You better get this tougher than nails lady that P G race bike. With an attitude like that, I will do anything to help her beat this shit disease."
So, I made it my priority. I told her that and we decided to call it the :ANTI CANCER BIKE.
She has it now and has been racing it too. She is more than tough, more than a friend to me and I love her for who she is. Did I mention that she raced Babes in Bikeland 5 AND WON IT. WHILE ON CHEMO. WHILE HOLDING BACK PUKING ON THE COURSE.
Yep shes tough. She won the race, the fram and fork we give away for it, and more than the respect of everyone that day.
We got our new sign up above the garage door of the shop. I love it and it is really awesome, I can't wait to put christmas lights on it soon!!!
We survived the bathroom above the office over flooding. This was such a shitty ordeal, and took over a week to clean and re do the office. Oh well.
Now for a few plans on the coming up future:
We will be attending the best frame builder show again this year, NAHBS. I have some really cool customer bikes going this year, and one hell of a painted disc wheel. Stay tuned, this will be sure to make a couple people be all wha wha whambulance callers....but it is all in some good fun....
We are having a new website built as you read this. Seriously, this is not a joke, after 9 years there will be a site that reflects Peacock Grooves head turning bikes. It will roll out soon too. It will be a work in progress, but I am very excited about this.
And one last teaser, we have a little film that some very talented people made about the Groove, and may even be shown on a local big screen. That is all I can say about that, so watch the blog and of course the Face Book....
And if we haven't got back to you in a bit, we will soon. I am busy building the bikes and taking care of things, so we will chat soon.
Have a great rest of the week...and remember, never doubt the intelligence of a squirrel...

erik

Cyclocross Bike

So, this evening, we have a guest posting on the riddle of steel. I'm sitting here watching Erik weld together tubing for a frame, and I've got to tell you, it's pretty amazing. I honestly had no idea what went into the design and build of a custom bike. I have been invited to see him go from concept to research to drawing to cutting tubing to welding parts together to build a bike for cyclocross. He's sent me photos and shared his whiskey, whiskey when I was seriously in need of a friend and kindness. He's shown me how he's gone one step to the next. And this frame? The bike that this will become? This bike will be so fun... and will let its rider realize his potential. Who is this rider, you ask? Come out to the cyclocross races this fall and find out! Rock on Erik Noren!

Climbing out...

Of the darkness and life is ever so fragile.....
I think I have had the most aunts and uncles die of anyone that I know.
It seems that every other week, some one is dying....Sounds like a bad joke, but it is true.
Uncle Harvey just passed away, and he was one of those guys that is just a cool dude. Nice, a great grandpa, and one hell of an electrician.He even worked for the Red Owl chain, and if you know what that is, you have been in MN a while, or you are old and have been in MN for a while. The Red Owl had one of the coolest logos around...maybe a tribute bike is in order? Well, watch the blog....
After the Shit Storm of June followed up by the"What the hell hit me or what the hell did I hit" incident, I was not sure if it could get worse .
Well, it seems to be getting better.A lot of work has gone into making things more efficent and productive here at the shop. Being a true, and I mean TRUE one man shop, things can get behind fast. The move has for sure put us behind, but that is only for the short time. It is the long run I am looking at. While this may not be the best way to grow the business, it is the way that works best now.
I nthe near future we will be opening our new, or really FIRST website, andf a new blog to follow.
One of the new additions for the blog will be a list, the list of who is next in line for the build.
This will be one of those little changes that help me stay off of the e-mail, and behind the bench, making your bike. There will also be ,ore blog entries, and I kinda lik doing it, but it will be more of an "update" for the masses.Oh yeah, and check the Face Book page too. Things are fun to find and read on the net sometimes.
enjoy the Yellow Lion pic too.
more to come on all of that !!!!!
erik