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

When it rains, it rains poop...or ...

Time for a helmet?
Ladies and gent's,
I have been a little absent lately and I thought I would drop a little blog post about what has bee REALLY going on.Well, life happens... and it happens when you least expect it.....Now lets dive in!!
A few Wednesdays ago I was in the shop doing my most favorite this ever in the office:PAPERWORK. I despise paperwork. It is horrible, dull, frustrating, and the worst is that I am not great at it, but doing this keeps me away from the bench, where I need to be. When I am not behind the bench, I am not building your bike. Things like this add up, and put me behind.Now so everybody knows, the office is located directly below the mens room of the second floor and as this is I now know the difference between the flush of the toilet to the flush of the urinal, the sink, and the knock knock knock of people hitting the soap dispenser for the soap. While this may sound a little add to you all, this is just an astute observation on my part.
Now, whilst I was doing this horrible , evil paperwork, I was listening to the sounds of someone washing their hands...for about 20 minutes...Then, I heard a little drip drip drip...onto the black plastic I mounted to the ceiling, in such a case as this would happen.
I knew exactly what was happening : the toilet was over flowing and my god please let there be no poop in it!!
I ran up stairs as fast as I could to fix this potentially "shitty" situation...and I was late. I saw water running out of the door, and oh boy I did not want to go in there. But, I had too! There was so much at stake!!
I opened the door to see about three quaters of an inch of water, the toilet clogged , and the handle still down, and water flowing out of the bowl like a righteous angry two year old crying at the supermarket.
Well , I panicked. I ran to find a plunger, but before I did that I did fix the handle, so at least the water stopped.I ran to three different bathrooms to get a plunger, but my quest was fruitless, and I decided to run to the local hardware store to buy one. Sounds like a stretch of time, but I made it there and back in UNDER SIX MINUTES.
I ran back upstairs and there was the janitor guy, and another tennant, and my shop sharer guy Erik, the "other " Erik ... He looked at me and said, :" Did you see your office?"
At that question, I just let the plunger slip out of my hand and walked away in silence, know I was walking back to a potential poop shower on most of the things I love.
Well, I was right. The office was all but destroyed...but at least it was not super poop water.
I still got bleach , and any other type of disinfectant and got to it.
I had to remove a few furniture items and discard them. I lost so much paperwork it isn't even funny, numbers, messages, invoices, a paniting, some posters, but it stayed away from my computer....I have that.
I ripped the carpet out, and got some new stuff. I also found out that my lease and my insurance do not cover any water damage....that was a punch to the baby sack I was not ready for....
AND just when you thought it was getting better....
I went to a concert a week after the toilet bowl from Hell experience , and I met a buddy there and was very excited to see one of my favorite bands play. They did not disapoint, and I left before the main act came on. I just was not that into them, and I thought if I left early, I could get to the shop early and play catch up because of the toilet incident.
What happend that night I may never know. But what I DO KNOW is that I left the show about 11 pm, and I knew I would be home by 1130 ....
I woke up somewhere in the street about 430 am.I don't remember exactly where I was, but I must have been close to home, maybe within three blocks or so...
When I came to, I was in a puddle, lying on my back, and when I moved my left arm I knew my shoulder was out of socket and that hurt, more so than usual.I was bleeding from my elbow, my left hip and lower back hurt, a lot. The lower part of my left leg hurt too, but, I had no pain in my head...for a while.
I did the collar bone check, and that is when I knew that my shoulder was out of joint, when it didn't want to move that way. I put it back in its socket and started getting up. And that took a little bit of effort, and time. As I looked around, I saw my bike, my beloved Country Mile, and while it was scratched up a bit, it looked okay. I had my wallet. I had my bag.I had all my stuff, so I am pretty sure I was not "jumped". What I do not know is the scary part:
Did I get hit and run? Did I hit a car? Did I have a small stroke? Did I have really low blood sugar and pass out?
I don't know. That is what is scary....
So after a few and wayyyyyy more than I want doctors visits, I can work, but they are all mad at me and want me to take a couple of weeks off. Well, I can't do that. We got a lot to do down here at the shop, and we are getting caught up, we are getting things done, but some times, when it rains, it rains shit.
I aint dead, and it could be a lot worse.
Be safe out there everybody, and if I have not gotten back to you in the last couple of weeks, well now you know, and Ill get to ya soon.
erik

Way better picutre thingy...

As per a request, here is a way better picture of the POPULAR MECHANICS issue we all got into.
Enjoy, and I here it's gonna be a sunny day on Sunday. Better be or I am gonna change the name of the day.
noren

Dude, its where the big Peacock is......

Well we just got in our new headbadge for the new Peacock Groove headtube standard . The new standard head tube will be 3.5 .....feet.
No really, now the pizza guy will know what we mean by :" Its right under the big Peacock....."

POPULAR WHAT??

Good evening or morning everybody.
I would like to take this little slice of cyberspace to thank all the fine folks AT POPULAR MECHANICS for the fine work and effort that went into the article that we , Peacock Groove were in.
You did just read that right, P G is in the POPULAR MECHANICS !!
This has been a long road coming, and they heard about the move and wanted to hear about what was going into the new shop. And they came down and did a photoshoot and interview and everything. It was very surreal .
I am very proud of this moment because all the time since I have been building frames the only real goal I ever had was to make my father proud of me.
Fame , fortune, and all the things money can provide were secondary. I just wanted my Dad to sit down, be reading his Popular Mechanics and say:
"Shit...that's my son!" Mostly because for years he would leave an issue out on the table wit ha note for me to read this or that article in the issue... I thought :" Wouldn't it be cool if some other Dad left it out for his son to read, about something Peacock Groove was doing?
That would make all the cuts, burns, bruises, late bikes, bounced checks, "Dad you got five bucks?" , repaints and late nights worth it. It really is that simple.
I would like to think that the return of American manufacturing is at hand, and that the people can get back to work. We can do it here, and we should.
Keep it local, and keep it PROUD .
We are labourers, we make things.
noren

The Wampa!

Well, here at Groove HQ for years we have been tossing around an idea of a big ole fork for your fat bikes....or if you just want a fork for your 29nr or 26r that can hold some fat meat...Meet.... THE WAMPA !!
This line of forks can be made to suit your braze on needs, fenders, water bottle mounts , light mounts or whatever....
the choice is yours .

Spring, sadness, and rebirth !

Happy warm weather up here everyone.
This has been a very difficult time up here in the last few months.The shop is coming along, but the move was very difficult and took much longer than I would have liked or wanted. There were and still are things that pop up and take money like you would not believe. Power, the air vent system, running air lines, prepping an area for a pint booth, yes a paint booth, and of course optimizing the space for efficiency .This all takes a lot of time, and it is finally coming to an end. I really want the 10, 12 and 14 hour days to end. I would like to ride again.
There have also been a few deaths in my family, and a close friend. When things like this happen, they can be hard to deal with on many levels : having to take off to deal with these things and not getting back to anyone, business OR personal, helping family that you have not seen since forever, and the cost of it all. But, there are good ham sandwiches to be had. Not a good trade off if you ask me. So, this has been the spring of sadness for me, and one way of taking care of this feeling is I am going to ride more. I have in the last 14 years never really just RIDDEN. More than just riding to work, or for errands, but I want to go on a RIDE ! To somewhere, to ride, and then ride home. This is one of the priorities that I am going to make for myself.
And, some of the bikes that came in for a repaint are going in the booth soon and that is the rebirth part of it all. It was nice to see a couple of these old bikes and then put some nice head tube reinforcement rings on it, and some internal brake routing. And new paint , and BAM !! New bike.
Now, I am going to go get caught up some more.Kamal, Scott and Mike , you are on deck, watch this little blog!
noren

NAHBS and oh my!

I wanted to let everybody who follows this blog, all 3 or so, to know that we survived another NAHBS, but this one was pretty exhausting .
Due to some recent health issues, and the strange fact that sleep still continues to elude me, it was all just to get through it.
But, I am back and we are catching up on e-mail and some orders.
It can be very hard doing the one man thing, and I hope ya all get it, and when we all ride this summer, well that will be just groovetastic.
Keep your eyes peeled for some NAHBS photo action.
Keep the rubber side down,
erik

The Reign of Columbus MAX !

For as long as I can remember, I have been hugely fascinated by the MAX tube set , and all its adornments.
I was building with the max 7 degree offset crown the day Peacock Groove came into existence , and I remember many frame builders saying how heavy and stiff it was. That it was no good, and took to much labor to make.
Well, I did not care. The look and ride I desired was right there in that fork crown, blades and dropouts! I was in love with the MAX aesthetic , and I could build them all day. Are they a little more work than other forks? Yep. Are they worth it? Yep, every file stroke.
While I have always wanted a MAX frame and fork for myself, I was too busy building bikes for other people and I finally put myself into the cue. Yep, I get to wait too.
Now, since some time has passed, MAX is back in demand, and Columbus has answered. Now there is MAX and MINIMAX, and MAX lugsets back in production. The new fork crowns will make for awesome cross machines and touring forks, possibly some 29nr action?The possibilities are there, and you know we will take it to the deep custom level. I love this crown, and the possibilities wit them.
Here is a couple of shots of possible? NAHBS forks, one by the Groove, and one by the very mysterious Vincent Dominguez. Can you guess who's is who's ?
Have a nice weekend.

Where do old steel road bikes go to die?

Well, if they were built right, with the right materials and a lot of love, taken care of, they don't.
I linked Jeff's Bike Jerks blog entry, and you should go take a read. A local boy doing the Stupor Bowl race on a steel Croll road bike that I built back in 1997? Maybe '96? '98? When you have been doing this as long as I have, the years get a little blurry.
Search the Bike Jerks Blog for Croll, and you might be a little surprised .Jeff loves this bike, and he won another, yes ANOTHER Stupor Bowl on it. Now don't forget that this race is hard, and this years race was even harder.
This frame and fork are over ten years old, still running local races and winning them to.
Steel. What can we say?
Did I mention that Jeff has a Peacock too?
Lucky guy.

http://bikejerksmpls.blogspot.com/2011/02/stupor-bowl-14-race-recap.html

ROLL THE DICE.....

Well gearing up the the NAHBS is at hand and we down in the Groove have been at it a little bit.
It is nice to be back in the shop after being sick for so long, and things are rolling out of the shop and the crazyness is back to what we call normal down here....
Have a lot in store for you all this coming couple of months:
The Cutters Ball part DUH, NAHBS , and soon to follow an open house and Minnecycle 3 , plus maybe a little spot in a big ole magazine?
Well, after you go for your ride, then stay put and watch what happens in the Best City to Be a Cyclist. Well, according to Bicycling magazine anyway.
While the dawn of the fall is far away and this thought may be skipping the best time and rides of summer, watch the fall for the Groove, we might just be shakin' our tailfeathers in the mud with a bunch of skinny knobby tire types.
Yep, Life in MN is pretty dang good.

Stop riding in winter?

We get more than a few e-mails or phone call up here that ask: "You guys ride in the snow?"
Well, duh.I think it is one of those Midwestern things that what a lot of people do up here, they just do. No bragging, no complaining, no real big deal. They just do it. And, with winter being a major season up here, well we make the best of it. Ice fishing , snow shoeing , snowmobiling , winter running, making a snowfort ,sledding ,skiing , drinking, well drinking can be done at the same time with almost all of these events.At the end of a winter activity filled day in Minnesota, a nice whiskey is most welcome. Hopefully, it will be in front of a fireplace with good company.
Now when people call up here and ask the question I posed earlier in this very post, my response is:"Hell yeah. We even race." Now with that being said, here is some video of Mr. E.Z.Taylor ripping it up on his mega custom Groove 29nr at the first ice race of the season. EZ got the hole shot, and he led the whole race.Get in front and stay in front, now that is a good strategy . Great times and good weather.
enjoy the day, and ride on, winter or summer.

Weld Mold 880 T !!

Here is another pic in the Campy sacrilege bike that is being made.
What I would like to point out is this:
Look at the weld bead, and notice that it is still nice , not rusty, and still seems "shiny". Why?
Well because this is an awesome product from the WELD MOLD company named 880 T.
This stuff is basically a stainless alloy and is the greatest stuff ever for TIG welding bikes. It is what all the pros use, and I will never make a bike without it.
So, the stainless part of it is what in my mind is excellent. I like to think that if the paint or powder were to come off of the bike, specifically at the joints, then your weld bead is highly resistant to rusting. It is also very strong, the mechanical properties of this filler material is incredible. There are a lot of boring data sheets on it and I won't bore you with them, but to sum up: 880 T kicks ass.I love it, and I have used it for the last 5 years, and I will use it as long as it is around.
Have an awesome day,
erik

Sacrilege ?

Since the start of my building career , I have had ideas that have not been popular with some, if not a vast majority , of the frame building community.
I have always thought outside of the contemporary plane of thought whether it was painting miniatures , racing radio control trucks, showing horses, or the writing club I was in.
While it always seemed to me that whatever it is that you do, there is a " base canvas " that is the excepted norm. Once you start to deviate from that canvas, it can seem that you are no longer part of that norm. Take some types of music :
I have never said that I like punk rock music.But, it was informed to me years ago that Social Distortion IS punk music. I like Social Distortion, and I never really thought of them as punk rock. I just thought that they shredded . What is funny to me, is that people spend time arguing whether or not they ARE punk, I just like the music. I think that deep down that is the basis of all the bikes that come out of here:
different for each person. Made for their tastes, not the general public. One at a time, for that person to ride and enjoy, and for the masses to try and fit that bike in a genre ...
And now, maybe the point of the post, what do Disc brakes , fenders, Columbus Max tubing, a 73 mm bottom bracket shell, Motorhead, cards, Campagnolo 11 speed,a braze on front derailuer mount, crazy s bend stays have in common?
Well, Peacock Groove of course !

Little tease!

I thought I would post a little pic of a frame we just got back from the painter, and it is for a good friend, I just don't want them to see it all yet!
I decided to add a little gold outline to the dropout, just because I have never done anything like this before.
So.... here is a little pre NAHBS picture!

Gus, water safety, and NAHBS....

Meet Gus. You may know him as the "OFFICIAL" package inspector for Peacock Groove and its associates , but he has since moved on to bigger , more important things for he, and you.
" WOOF, RRRRR, WOOF BARK ! GRRRR WOOF WUF."
Let me translate :
"water safety belongs to you and those you love. Please do not go swimming until a half hour after eating, and always have a swimming buddy. It is important to have the proper clothing and only swim in the areas designated for swimming. If you follow the rules, fun is always right behind!"
At least, I think that is what he said, as some of his barks were in German....
And he also wanted you to see this NAHBS teaser shot.

New shop, pneumonia, and the NAHBS!!

Well it has been a little while since we went down this little bike path known as the RIDDLE OF STEEL....Well, the title says it all. We moved, have been setting up shop, and getting things : painted, wired up, hung, plasterd, painted, moved, moved again,pizza, sick, vented, more wiring, and hanging some posters too.
Some things between this and myself being really very sick from the end of October to the End of November, and even into December. Docs don't really know what it is/ was, but it seems to be gone. I feel better than I have in months!
So, if I have not returned your phone call, or e-mail, please be patient or e-mail or call me again, I am catching up on all that type of stuff.
As for NAHBS, I am pretty excited about it this year. I think I have a couple of cool bikes going down to the show. Also going this year is a nice little slew of other local builders too :
Speedhound , Vincent Dominguez, Dave Anderson, Matt Appleman, and Curt Goodrich !
Looks like we got ourselves a little convoy. I attached a couple of teaser pics, and they may or may not be part of the bikes going down there. One thing for sure, they are true Peacocks.....
erik