Not trying to be rude

I would just like to say that I'm not trying to be rude.

To all the kind people that have sent me e-mails reminding me that you want me to be your friend (FAcebook) and reminding me to join your professional network ("Link" something), please know that I'm not ignoring you I'm just scared of the unknown. I'll have to back burner those invites until I find some time to concentrate on those things.

I can't believe in this day and age we have to feel we need to apologize for not going with the flow of the hectic world of social networking. I learned that buzz phrase this morning.

If Rob Yetter is reading this. ROB! I will have to get back to you too. I went back through some messages and just recently saw your message. Nice to know you are out there. Awesome!

DJB

A weekend of livin' the dream!

More work on the truck.


Inventory some parts finally Friday night. Still missing some stuff though to do a complete build. Aargh!



A little of this on Saturday.


More of this Sunday. I'm getting a good coat of dust on my teeth.


After a quick bite to eat with a friend Sunday evening, back at the shop.


Shane Kramer sent me a pic of his latest hand crafted guitar building talents. I believe its his first "colored" model. I love the black with gold hardware. I can't wait to maybe strap it on and plug it in this summer if he doesn't sell it by then. I very excited to hear all about it.

CD at Redlands

Here is Thursday's winning Prologue bike from Redlands courtesy of Chris "at the office" Davidson.

Ahhhh, I'd rather be at the scene right now. Good old Redlands.

Oh no!

Oh no, Roger does really read this! Ha!

What and Wish

Ah my love! How are you today? I consider this one of my tools.


WIsh I was working on Will's bike (and Erin's and Matt's).


Working on the truck overhaul. Wish I had more moments but to be honest between answering all those e-mails from Roger (seeing if you are reading Roger) and being PLOWED by F.O.T. jobs, I get interrupted. You might be wondering what the F.O.T is? I can't really say but a few who read this know about being PLOWED. Wow, that Forstner bit is as big as my head.


A guys got to eat! Might as well make a bunch so I get more than one meal out of the effort. This time of year I never get a chance to eat properly.


I've got a little of this in. WIsh I had more.


A guy has to eat! (FInger in the Nutella).


Jonathon E. sent me this pick. Good use for the frame... I think. Did we ever think that was a nice bike? I can't remember. I can see a Cannondale Raven frame being put to that use too.


Awesome! I've been looking for a particular Pete Townshend/The Who poster for years. I can't find it but this was kicking around on my computer desktop. Artistic statement?

ORBEA #1

Here's what the other bikes will look if I ever get more parts sent to me.

I've been trying to rush build two bikes for Oceanside 70.3 and the photo shoot. It takes way too long and too much energy and too much money to get things done last minute. It's one of my peeves. I'd like to vent about it but who knows who might be reading.

fun

EMBED-Bicycle Ghost Rider - Watch more free videos

Finally some real work

Sitting at a desk answering e-mails is the suckiest thing I do with my day! Yet here I am writing a blog entry. What the...?

I'm not sure "suckiest" is even a word. My spellcheck says it isn't. Could that be so?

FINALLY, I have some work to do that involves working with my hands in the shop. Since I have so many folks I never knew were looking at this blog (wow 7 comments from the last blog entry), I thought I'd share some sentiments about what makes a quality professional bike assembly. Douglas Jay Berner Professional Bike Assembly (DJBPBA). I put a good deal of care into my builds that you won't find from a regular factory assembly. I deal with athletes that make their living using the bike and the best part of my job is to make sure the bike functions the best it can and I believe that can start right from the initial bike build. I can usually tell by a rider's reaction who got one of my builds compared to most shop or factory builds.


For example, I remove the screws that attach the rear derailleur hanger and the front derailleur braze on mount to the frame. Those bolts can sometimes vibrate loose. Since most athletes don't check them regularly enough, adding some blue loctite can eliminate that possibility of then loosening during a race.


I also like to cut the fork crown races so they are slotted. Why not absolutely necessary, it makes them tool free to install. If I have to replace one at a race it is easily removed with out having to carry the crown race removal or installation tools with me. Thanks to CD for this little pro trick.


Even Tristan had some busy work to do sorting the clothing. I remember a few years ago when we got rid of red/white/black color scheme to go to orange and was told we would be orange from now on. Look what color we are now. I wonder if the West Hill Shop in Putney Vermont still has the same jersey. If they do, then they win the award for keeping the same color scheme FOREVER!

Cheers,
DJB

Who's watching?

Look what I got today. A nice new batch of Orbea's. Normally I would hesitate letting the athletes know but I'm going to see who reads the blog. (Guys and gals, before you start e-mailing me about your bike, there are no parts yet.)