Bicycles and Gear for Going Places Near and Far Self Propelled With Comfort and Speed
I broke away from the computer and sewing machines for an hour or so on the Rambler.
The weather was fantastic, the June gloom fog pulled back out to sea and sunny skies prevailed for a couple of hours. I was able to get the shot I wanted for the newsletter, and run all the errands.
Now back to the computer…
The fog pulled back today and I was able to manage a ride to the PO and drop off some boxes. With the magical powers of Mucinex I am actually pulling air all the way back into my lungs and getting back on top of things. This has been a long, month or more of allergies, cold season and general ick, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Time to get back behind the sewing machine for a couple of days!
It has been a very long month of family virus sharing, launching the Rambler, munchikn turning 2 and moving into a new classroom, bike to work month/week and it goes on and on. Last evening was a time to just take a break, ride the long way to dinner as a family and have some fun outside.
I have been sharing pictures like this for almost two years now, and every time I look at them I realize how blessed I/we are as a family to have this life together, and the freedom to ride places like this every day. I hope that the pictures help to inspire you to get out there and ride, with your family if you can, and get the most out of your home that you can.
There is still plenty going on and a backlog to dig out from, but taking time to smell the roses every now and then helps keep the machine running.
Aside from the usual ride the heck out of the bike sort of testing that needs to happen, I am also enlisting the services of a lab to test the frames and forks to EN standards. This is to ensure that the designs OAC puts out there will exceed the European standards for racing and trekking bikes. These standards are more stringent than those set forth here in the US, and help to ensure that these bikes will not only function as hoped, but meet the strict minimum standards loading and fatigue. Today the pedaling fatigue tests started, and this is what the frame looks like in the testing machine.
This test will run for about a day, and then we move on to impact and fork fatigue and impact. The lab while closer than most is still a few hours from OAC Headquarters. This makes coordination of me being there a bit of a challenge, but the goal is to be there and capture some video to share as well.
This kind of testing will be integrated into our ongoing QC processes as we move from testing into production. It is just part of the full program to ensure that the frame set you buy to build up into the bike of your dreams will be everything we here at OAC designed it to be. This kind of testing, while being the smart thing to do is not mandatory in the industry depending on how a company markets its frame sets. Many companies do this, I also believe many do not. Those that do seem to put it out there, brag about it, or at least mention it. It should make you, the rider, wonder what has been done to make sure your current or future bikes are what you hoped in terms of material performance.
I know I will be keeping everything as transparent as possible, so that you all out there can have confidence with any of our bikes between you and the road .
There have been some requests for better pictures of the color options on the frame sets. I put some time into my studio lighting this past week and was able to get some shots of the blue and red.
I feel that these capture the color as best as I am going to be able to with a camera. All three colors have a fine metallic that adds a nice shimmer and depth that is challenging to capture with a camera.