Last year, the final push before the annual Toronto Bike show was a tough one. No matter how much you plan and how hard you work, it seems like the final week before a big show is always full of 12 hour days.  This year we have started a few weeks earlier with the hope that the week leading up will be easier, leaving us more refreshed going into the show. That’s the hope at least.

 Richard has been hard at work painting Jennie’s new do-it all, S and S coupling, disc equipped cross frame. I’m hesitant to call it a cyclo-cross bike, but I’m also hesitant to call it a touring bike. Really it does just about everything well and if you had to have just one bike, this may be it. Jennie’s frame is getting a pretty amazing paint job complete with faux-chromed lugs. In the photos the lugs look like they’ve been chromed but that’s actually powder coat (pretty cool eh?). This series of photos should also give you a good idea of the amount of prep time that goes into painting a frame, especially a powder coated frame. Powder coat by it’s very nature sticks to everything, and if you don’t take your time, it can lead to mistakes down the road.

 Jeff also took some time to send in some photos of his completed 29er. It’s done up in what he calls “Winter Mode” at the moment with studded tires and a rigid fork. He had Hugh braze in a boss for a pulley wheel so that he could run a Dura-Ace Front Derailleur with his 2×9 drive train. The early word is that is shifts much better than his previous XT Front derailleur.

 

I’ll leave you with a parting shot of a new long reach brake equipped road bike we’re building up for the Toronto Bike Show. Again, that’s a powder on powder logo on the down tube. It’s going to look pretty awesome when it’s all finished.