Ruckus has come to be known as the shop in town that takes on the craziest of projects. Bikes/wheels that were once thought destroyed can be brought back to life. Any accessory can be designed and machined to fit into any existing frame and now this.

My mind is blown by all the cool parts to this. I got permission to ride it around and I am going to try and take it up to Portland International Raceway and take it around the race track a few times and really open it up.

Repairs have been keeping me quite busy lately. I did get the chance to fabricate some new handlebar prototypes, imagine a MaryBar mating with a H-Bar and birthed the HandleGnar. I am playing with the idea of creating a custom handlebar system, where you and I will work together to design and create your dream handlebars out of carbon fiber. Do you want them ridiculously light weight, inhumanly stiff, integrated headlights, aero profile, integrated lasers or keyboards?

If this sounds interesting to you email me at info+handlebars@ruckuscomponents.com

Below is a repair that turned out smashingly. Surrounding the largest impact there was a dime sized area that required repair. The other two impact areas had minimal damage. 

One of the major benefits of composites compared to other materials is their repair-ability when damaged. If this had been a metal bike, you would have need to saw out the tube and weld in an entire new one, this is both a time and money consuming venture. It also would affect the way frame rides and feels. Later this week I will highlight a few more repairs I am finishing up today.

Ruckus is able to turn around carbon fiber repairs quickly, usually around 10 days from when we receive it. So get your bike/wheels/components repaired so you can ride them again!

There are many other projects in the very near future so stay tuned for more Ruckus.

The first bike tour is probably the hardest; unsure on what to expect from the terrain, equipment and most importantly from your body. I set off from Portland with two of my closest friends, 3 bikes, 2 Bob trailers and a plan to be in San Francisco in 10 days. We only knew that we needed to go straight to the coast and then straight south via the pacific coast highway.

We left Portland after a big breakfast feeling fresh and full. The first leg was probably one of the harder days we encountered; the hills between Portland and the coast are long and tiring and when we unpacked for the first night we found an extra 15 lbs. in bricks and weights put in by our friends (revenge will be sweet). The following days were filled with rain, mist and chilly ocean breeze. The further south we eventually we found sunshine and warm weather.

The pacific coast is dotted with a wide variety of people, bikes, equipment and reasons for their journeys; some notable being:

· A couple only doing 25~30 miles a day and camping a lot

· A single guy on his way to graduate school at Berkeley

· Two older guys on a recumbent and folding bike that always seems surprised to see us at every day’s campsite (we were competitive with these guys)

· Two guys playing guitar for money and camping in the ditch every 20 miles

· Two guys biking from Eugene to Guatemala raising money for prosthetics research http://rompglobal.org/

· Some teachers with the summer off

· A handful of people unemployed and using it to figure out some of life’s questions

· A guy that had a fully loaded bike and was carrying two surf boards from Seattle and surfing every beach along the way

The scenery was beautiful and breathtaking; the bike path detours being the main highlights of the trip. In certain areas you are able to get off the main highway and bike through amazing scenery like Redwood National park, Avenue of the Giants, Umpqua Sand Dunes and many other postcard-eque coastal views.

The hardest part of the entire trip proved to be all the RVs that we had to contend with; why a RV needs to tow a Hummer is beyond me. Overall most vehicles were respectful and gave us plenty of room, but there were a few circumstances of having a vehicle “take a swipe” at us. Also there were certain roads (Hwy. 1) that basically don’t have a shoulder at all and is the only route to go.

The trip was a great time filled with endless hijinks, conversations and clear thoughts. It has been a long time since I have had the chance to bike for enjoyment (I love racing/training but it’s different). After biking 800 miles in 9 days it makes everything seem just a little closer and reinforces the ideas that you don’t need a car to get there.

Yet another epic looking house on the coast

Long misty downhills while competing for pavement space with log trucks.

Apparently North Dakota isn't the only state that loves giant roadside attractions.

Over the next 14 days I ll be on my first vacation in two years riding down the West Coast with two of my best friends.

Since I don't have a crazy rig like this guy, I won't really have email/internet access. But I will periodically check through my phone.

Rain makes corn,
Corn makes whiskey,

Whiskey makes my baby frisky

We have had a steady rainfall in Portland since September, and it feels like my rain clothes are permanent part of my body these days.

Ruckus Labs got some new equipment in house, the most notable are

casting oven for high-temperature resins: there are some crazy new resins out on the market and they need to be baked to cure. Some of benefits of these new resins are that they have carbon nanotubes in them, can withstand much higher temperatures, and overall are much stronger.

flat plate casting press: this is used to case the bash/chain guards and it maximizes the perfect ration of resin to carbon fiber. This makes the guards stronger and lighter while giving them a perfect surface finish right out of the molds.

industrial sewing machine: this 3/4 hp, dual needle machine is going to be used to test what is called "Z-stitching". yes you can sew carbon fiber, it is just hard to do. there is a lot of experimenting to be done, but some of the preliminary results are completely off the charts.

digital microscope: used to examine test samples of all the new carbon fiber methods that are being experimented with. Also a great form of entertainment.

So expect lots of new technology from Ruckus Labs in the next 6 months

The Ruckus Test Team is a proud supporter of the National MS Society and is helping with this great event.

World MS Day is on May 26! To rally and bring awareness to the cause, the National MS Society, Oregon Chapter is hosting a 26-hour Spinning event at Pioneer Square in downtown Portland.

You can volunteer to spin for just one hour, or come and spend the whole night with us! Shifts are available starting at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 25. We'll spin all night, serve some breakfast, and keep on going until 7:30 pm on Wednesday, May 26!

Join us and hundreds of other participants as we dedicate ourselves to a world free of MS. (Prizes, food and drinks to boot!)

Sign up for a shift here!

Questions, contact Josh Townsley at 503.445.8347 or Josh@defeatms.com

Cruising around on the internet I happened to come across a bike to end all bikes.  

$1.2 Million and 580 pounds in bicycle nomadic processing power, Steve pedaled 17,000 miles around the country.

You can read more about this crazy project here

http://microship.com/bike/index.html

I think I have a new project.

Do you have broken carbon fiber parts beyond repair? 

I am in search of your broken carbon bike parts, frames, and wheels, they can be in exchange for Ruckus apparel, and/or credits towards components.

The idea is to amass broken parts and experiment with reconstruction methods which will be used for analysis and testing. Based on my findings this data might be used for a possible journal publication. All people/organizations who have donated will be thanked in the publication.

If you have some broken carbon you want to donate please email me at shawn@ruckuscomponents.com with a photo and a description.

Thanks

Shawn Small

Chief Engineer | Ruckus Components |rethinking carbon

Stories from cyclists about cycling, (think FUBU but for bikes)

Here is what Paul Kramer (Editor) Says

"This is the premiere issue of Riders’ Collective—a cyclist's source for some of the best material on the Web. Here are a dozen stories—about cycling, by cyclists, and for cyclists—from New Zealand, Australia, Czech Republic, Tunisia, and all across America. They cover a wide range of riding styles—and a wide range of writing styles as well. I hope you enjoy reading them.

You can access the Web sites of the featured writers, photographers and advertisers by clicking on URLs in the text, photos and ads."

The issues are free to download and enjoy, check it out here

http://riderscollective.org/

Frames-in and frames-out; sometimes as fast as 6 days like this recent Cervelo. It took some battle damage from a weak derailleur hanger which liberated the derailleur directly into the seat stay. Completely rebuilt and good as new.

These guys either have too many bikes or too much heavy machinery

But if your bicycle/wheels/shoes/components are broken, we can do almost any carbon fiber repair, contact info+repairs@ruckuscomponents.com

Goggles Check

Labcoat Check

Clipboard Check

The only difference between this kid and myself is that I have a hat on.

Lately I have been working a solid 6 day rotation and today is no different. But right now I am taking a break while the vacuum pumps run on a repair project.

Due to the awesome powers of the internet I came across this great ad from 1985. I wonder if I could get the "Hick from French Lick" to join the Ruckus Test Team?

Just as I was about to head into the Tin Shed this morning I get a call from Erik at Portland Design Works saying that there is a big mess out front of the building. 

I guess what happened is that someone had a seizure while driving and crashed into a power pole which is precariously bent over the building. For the sake of safety the power is shut off and we aren't allowed to enter the building.

Stolen from the good lads of Portland Design Works

So today I am sipping coffee at SweetPea Bakery and working on accounting (Quickbooks hell) and various office work.

In other exciting news check out a Ruckus Components ad in the first edition of the Rider's Collective, available for download May 1st !

Also Ruckus Components will be a sponsor for the Spartacus 100 race in Michigan. From talking with the promoters it sounds like it is going to be a gnarly race. Details here:

mysinglespeed.com/spartacus-100-blood-and-gravel

EDIT// If anyone has pictures from the Sunday fashion show it would be much appreciated if you could email them to shawn@ruckuscomponents.com I want to see how ridiculous I looked //EDIT

This past weekend was the Pedal Nation Events  Bike Show; this was also the first consumer show for Ruckus Components.

I got the chance to meet a lot of new people from the Portland area. There were lots of cool things to see, from bike fashion (I actually ended up modeling on sunday....) to radical new methods of transportation.

Here are two of the coolest items I found at the show, the first being the Stites Trucker Trike from www.stitesdesign.com/. I actually already know Bill and he is a machining genius. 

Secondly Joe-Bike released their new local/handmade new cargo bike the ShuttleBug. This is a great bike at an affordable price, glad it came out!

This weekend is the Pedal Nation bike show in Portland, this marks the first show for Ruckus Components.  

Oregon Convention Center – Portland, Oregon

Tickets: 

Adult tickets are $7 at Oregon Convention Ctr Box Office. 

Ticket office opens at 9:30am Saturday & Sunday

*Kids 12 and under are FREE.

*Complimentary “Free” tickets have all been claimed as of 4/7/10. No more available*

Show Hours:

Saturday, April 10, 2010 – 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 11, 2010 – 10am – 5pm

Come find the Ruckus booth and say hi. I might be wearing this,

A few members of the Ruckus Test Team are involved with making this awesome event happen.

"All are welcome to ride and join us for treats and live music by Brent DeBoer, of the Dandy Warhols at the finish line! Participants at the Bike MS Fun Ride can also take advantage of free registration for Bike MS, our two day fundraising ride on July 31st + August 1st, 2010!"

Free snacks, free music, free entry to the MS150 Ride.

Do it.

Just got pictures of these huge fenders mounted up on the Jones SpaceFrame. I am really happy with how well they fit. They follow the circumference of the tires perfectly. An exorbitant amount of time was spent getting the shape, geometry, carbon fiber lay-up just right to make these fit perfectly. The carbon fiber was then hand cast in custom molding and machined for the final shape.

Do you need custom fenders to stay dry? Sick of flimsy sheet metal or plastic fenders. Then email info+custom@ruckuscomponents.com for your own pair of custom fenders.

More pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruckuscomponents/

Shawn Small here at Ruckus Labs where the future is being made today, and today we are creating the latest in cutting edge technology.

Some insider information with regards to the new bashguards, there will be two versions:

LightningGuard

28 grams and tough. It can take a serious beating while remaining racelight. Ballistic coring entombed in a carbon fiber shell. 

ThunderGuard

55 grams and damn near indestructible. Ballistic coring entombed in a carbon fiber shell with an indestructible outer edge.

Also at Ruckus Labs we like to push new materials in places they shouldn't go. Going to ride a few carbon fiber+mystery material cogs around town for awhile to see how they hold up.

Next weeks plan is to get more labcoats and to build a hovercraft for the shop.

THURSDAY THURSDAY THURSDAY

Ladies + Mountain Bikes = AWESOMELAND

Ruckus Components is throwing in a new 2010 bashguard to a lucky person, these aren't even released to the public yet!

Awesome Land: Women Of Dirt is a unique look into the world of Downhill Racing, Dirt Jumping and Freeriding. This film looks through the eyes of the wondrous women that have helped grow the sport of Gravity Mountain Biking with their strength and courage. Other mountain bike films have overlooked these vibrant and dedicated women, but no longer!

Awesome Land: Women Of Dirt celebrates the mountain bike while celebrating the women who love them. A beautiful and energetic film that opens a window into an awesome world.

The Lady Riders staring in this film: Tammy Donahugh, Stephanie Nychka, Cierra Smith, Emily Johnston, Lisa Myklak, Jill Kintner, Leana Gerrard, Dawn Cashen, Katrina Strand, Kathy Pruitt, and Darcy Turenne.

All Ages show - tickets are $10 online only at www.orbike.com 

Be sure to get your tickets now. Online registration only at:http://www.orbike.com/servlet/com.gcm.servlet.event.EventView?commodityID=37047&command=createProcurement&supplierID=369

Doors open at 7:00pm. Movie starts at 7:30pm. Come early to pick up door prize ticket, stickers and other door prizes. 

Door prizes and schwag will be given away the night of the show with a purchase of movie ticket. 

A portion of ticket proceeds will be Donated directly to Medial Teams International to support the earthquake relief effort in Haiti. 
Find out more: http://www.medicalteams.org

Just finished and shipped a pair of huge fenders for a Jones SpaceFrame. They are the biggest fenders I have ever made and would probably fit a motorcycle.

First: Start Dio

Second: Turn up your speakers to 11

Third: Mute the audio on the tank tread video

I am finishing up the build kit for the first frame from Ruckus Components. It is a 57 cm cross frame for myself.  Erik from PDW  refers to it as the Gumby-1 and I decided to go with it.

All the carbon fiber was hand spun from single-strand raw filament into the frame shape. This process allows each millimeter of the frame to be tuned to any specification.

Want a bottom bracket faster than Cavendish? Done.

Want a hammer proof top layer? Done.

Want vibration dampening? Done.

By spinning the tubing in house it allows for almost infinite possibilities.

Time to hang up my trusty On-One for awhile and ride Gumby-1. 

Right now there are a handful of custom road frames in the works for the Ruckus Test Team and then onto the world of 29'er

Now to go build Pokey.

Just got these pics of a freshly installed Ruckus Bashguard on the new S-Works singlespeed 29'er. The full rig weighs in exactly at 19 lbs. Color me green.

And I just came across this strange video of a robot dance competition in Japan. I m thinking about entering some of the Ruckus robots next year.....

My life is a balance of engineering and cycling. Tonight is an electrical engineering lecture called "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Cyber-Science"

Also this cracked me up and yes there was a LAN party at my house this past weekend.

Another frame repaired and returned today.

Repair work is incredibly interesting as it allows me to assess other manufacturing techniques. An in-house inspection strategy was developed to accurately determine the extent of non-visible damage. Often with composites the damaged area is much larger than what can be seen with the unaided eye. A combination of sensors, frequency response analysis and statistics help to determine the boundaries of the damaged zone. There will be a future article about these techniques. There are a few highlighted repairs on the flickr account here http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruckuscomponents/sets/72157622648282274/

This Scott Plasma TT bike was damaged from the very best of bike handlers, airline baggage handlers... There was quite a bit of damage to the down tube and most of that had been over the decals. Part of the decal had to be removed for full inspection and repair. In the end the repair turned out great, the damage was undone and the decal was blended back to it's once glory.

If you have something carbon that is in need of repairs please contact info+repairs@ruckuscomponents.com to get rolling again.

It has been fairly quiet around the Ruckus Labs as of late. I m working diligently on a few custom projects and almost done with the final design on a new product line.

But a few events have transpired.

1) I was honored to sponsor the BuyLocal Cycling Team bike. It is an amazing work of art with a focus on buying locally made bicycle components.

 Check out more pics here --> http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathowie/sets/72157622699088074/

2) Here is a custom Cielo on the ocean front of Japan with Ruckus Fenders. I might say epic.

3) The Metrofiets bike with the largest carbon fiber plank is the focus on NPR today! Phil and Jaime are great chaps building even greater bikes!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121034522

If your bike could talk to you what would it say?

What would you want it to say?

What if it could tell you that your tire pressure is low?

Or that it is time to lube your chain?

What about if it could give you directions?

Program your own light flashing patterns for at night?

Communicate with your smartphone?

GPS output if your bike gets stolen? "hey I m at -77.76991,27.91626"

So much data output it makes your brain melt with joy?

Interested in meeting to brainstorm the future of BikeBots?

email at info+bikebots@ruckuscomponents.com

I love robots almost as much as I love bikes, so it was only a matter of time before the two were combined into the nerdiest thing on two wheels.

Ruckus Components is not your standard company. Pushing the status quo and having fun doing it. Carbon Outlaws.

2008 Cross Crusade Champion/Vanilla Workshop rider Kevin Hulick crushing it at the Cross Crusade finale. If you look close enough you can see the dual Ruckus chainguard set-up. Kevin needed a solution that made dropped chains impossible. 

Ruckus chainguards are put to the test out in Colorado on the Focus Team bikes. 

When seeing these bikes I needed a towel to wipe up my drool pool.

Say it 3x fast

drool pool

drool pool

drool pool

Last night on the Oregon Field Guide (OPB) they showed a brief glimpse of De Ronde van Oeste Portlandia (the Tour of West Portland). With more than 500 riders in only its third year it shows that the people of Portland love bikes, pain, and daunting hill-climbs.

Last year was my first year of De Ronde, the spirit and attitude of the riders made it encouraging and fun. I ll definitely be back next year, hopefully my roommate won't be cursing my name the entire route....

Video and information here

http://www.opb.org/programs/ofg/segments/view/1728

The SingleSpeed Cyclocross World Championships came to Portland in a maelstrom of fury and carnage yesterday. This was the last year for Portland to host the event before it moves onto Seattle. Seattle will be able to do the SSCXWC full justice next year. I for one will be there with a bike that works for more than half the race. 

The good people of Yakima built a full thunderdome, yeah a thunderdome. 

Photo Courtesy of http://www.pdxcross.com/ Best CX photographers ever. Buy their awesome book http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/481824

A great write-up with pics via BikePortland.org http://bikeportland.org/2009/11/09/singlespeed-worlds-ups-the-ante-for-cross-antics/

The Portland Cyclocross scene is a great place for product testing and a great place for product destruction. This season I have broke:

• 1 9 spd chain
• 3 alloy chainring bolts
• 1 slashed tubular (not repairable)
• 1 SS mountain bike hub

This Saturday come out the Open Haus for the new UBI facilities on 3961 N. Williams. Ruckus Components will be there with some shiny carbon fiber bits and pieces. 

Further details --> http://bikeschool.com/blog/

I just got this beautiful frame dropped off in need of repairs. You can see the seat tube "lug" is cracked. The crack goes around roughly 65% of the seat tube area, and is slightly visible on the inside. I have a repair plan worked out and it will be in race shape yet again! I will follow up with some photos when I am done.

After a dinner last night that included a side of bacteria, I am using today to work from home and catch up on various computer work.

Recently I started prototyping a few new projects that I might want to make more of someday, we'll see....

I finished a mountain bike handlebar that is beyond silly. It is a bit narrow (24 inches), weighs a hefty 100 grams and honestly hurts me from being too stiff. **note: I don't have a suspension fork on my mountain bike**

Lately I have also been doing a few carbon fiber repair jobs (frames, wheels, components) as well. One of these was a wheelset that took some battle damage (Rolf Prima). Fixing a wheel presents a lot of challenges, like

• I didn't want to add a lot of mass to the wheel that would create heavy spots while rotating.
• The wheels were going to be used for cyclocross.
• Couldn't interfere with the braking surface.

Here is the first look at the wheel before the decal was removed, doesn't look too bad.

And here it is with the decal removed, there is definitely some battle damage and that crack goes all the way through the sidewall.

I ended up removing part of the infected area since it couldn't bear load anymore.

Here is a finished shot, it isn't 100% invisible but the wheel is now usable again. If someone really loved those Rolf decals they could be put back on over the re-work area.

That or a cute Hello Kitty band-aid.

Another awesome Oregon Manifest event coming your way Thursday night. A special screening of the movie We Just Work Here at 8:00 pm. We Just Work Here is a documentary by Brian Vernor (of PureSweetHell fame) which gives an insider's view of the Santa Cruz Bike Company.

Come watch a sweet movie, have a beer, and donate food for the Oregon Food Bank for the upcoming winter season.

Thursday October 15

Green Dragon (928 SE 9th St)

Doors: 6:30 pm Film 8:00 pm

Hosted by: Ruckus Components, Portland Design Works, Showers Pass, Tonic Fabrication, and Beloved Cycles

So the Oregon Manifest is almost upon us and it damn near killed me with last minute bit and pieces that had to be finished.

But everything is finished (well almost).

This is by far the biggest/heaviest single piece I have made to date. It is a 3.9 lb cargo rack for the Metrofiets cargo race bike.

Here are some various sets of fenders they will be present in the show

There are a few more parts to finish up this morning. But soon I ll be able to sleep again.

The Ruckus Porteur front racks are almost here. The pre-order deal is now closed and I would like to thank everyone who took advantage of the deal. Further details about the racks will be released towards the end of the week, but here is what has been finalized so far. 

The rack rails are constructed from shiny stainless steel tubing bent by local rack builder TCB Racks. The platforms are a wood/carbon fiber composite made in house. The wood core is a way of maximizing both strength and vibration dampening, while keeping material costs down. Overall it is a unique blend that looks classy.

The racks are light weight, weighing in just a tad over 2 lbs. But they can carry an impressive amount. Lets just say I have used it as a chair already.

The multi-layered composite allows for crafty engraving of almost any image or text for an extra fee. If you want to design how your custom graphics will look please use this pdf (Template for Plank Engraving) as a helpful guide. Below is the Ruckus logo and the Ruckus Raptor...the possibilities are endless. Your rack should be as unique as your bike, think of it as a tattoo for your rack.

Note: not pictured is a stainless steel tube backstop which be included with each rack.

Note: not pictured is a stainless steel tube backstop which be included with each rack.

Last night I went to the Red Bull Rampage event at the Doug Fir, they had a special screening of Rampage: The Evolution and guest appearances by many of the guys in the film. Honestly I know next to nothing about it downhill bikes besides:

• you fall a lot 
• big suspensions
• these guys are made of something I m not

EDIT

having this video embedded really started to annoy me

trailer here now http://www.nwdfilms.com/new/nwd_10_dust_bones_teaser

by 5 pm PST the Ruckus Porteur Rack presale will be over!

So contact info+racks@ruckuscomponents.com to take advantage of this offer.

It includes $25 off and custom engraving of your choice!

A porteur bicycleis a kind of cargo bicycle designed for carrying cargo loads on a platform rack attached to the fork. The first porteurs were used by newspaper couriers of Paris, who would typically carry up to 50 kg of newspapers on the front rack. Other cargo such as wine, was also distributed by such bicycles."

Who doesn't like newspapers and wine?

Each part of the racks are fabricated in Portland, OR. The rack legs are constructed from a polished stainless steel tubing with the rack planks being a composite of carbon fiber and wood with a special clearcoating for durability.

The carbon fiber/composite racks are underway and will be available for purchase soon. The first style of racks are rail-less flat-bed style, they feature lightweight stainless steel tubing and carbon fiber/composite planks. (pictures soon)

They are so light that you won't even notice you have a front rack on (well unless you load it up with cargo). A bonus side effect is that they resonate similar to a 39 mm deep carbon fiber wheel and sound bad-ass.

If you are interested in pre-ordering one for $25 off contact info+racks@ruckuscomponents.com for details.

In other developments I just finished a set of custom carbon fiber fenders for local builder Rob Tsunehiro of Tsunehiro Cycles. They are a proprietary carbon fiber lay-up that is strong enough to do pull-ups with. For the record I weigh 170 lbs, try that with one of those plastic fenders that needs to be replaced every winter.

The first generation of a truly custom carbon fiber frame is well underway. I spin all my own tubing from raw carbon fiber fabric, so that each section of the frame can be finely tuned for maximum performance and a truly unique ride.

Recently I met with a local PDX rack builder to help develop the Ruckus racks. We are working on a few prototypes next week, further details and pictures will come. But I will say that they will be extremely lightweight and able to haul heavy loads.

I am excited to collaborate with local builders to help expand the line of Ruckus Components further!

Random::Came across this picture of the world's fastest bike (it drafts behind a pace car).

Now that is a big chainring and a crazy frame. Certainly not 3:1 legal according to the UCI.

My favorite thing to do is create fun prototypes to play with. It keeps things interesting around the shop and lets me test new materials and processes.

This is a front rack that I made out of a Carbon fiber/Birch Composite. It makes it very light weight and durable. The rails are all aluminum to also keep the weight down. Overall there has been some great feedback on it and am looking into working with TCB Racks to produce more. Overall the rack weighs a scant 3 lbs. Front racks are meant to haul cargo not be a haul.

Forged from the fires of Mordor these hammers come to you. They were made as a prize for a ping pong tournament for the Ruckus Test Team's Night of Ruckus for MS. After visiting Paddle Palace to pick up the rubber plates for the hammers I found out that these hammers are illegal in normal Ping Pong Tournaments. Apparently they can only use Ping Pong Paddles and not Ping Pong Hammers. I also found out that there are underground ping pong tournaments where these Ping Pong Hammers can be dual wielded.

The night of Ruckus is almost upon us! Only a few more hours then we can partake in "friendly" games of ping-pong, beer, and one hell of a raffle. Remember Saturday night starting at 5 pm at Blitz-Ladd 2239 SE 11th Ave.

The raffle now includes prizes from our friends at:

Portland Design Works

Zipcar

Chris King

Showers Pass

Stumptown

BikeTiresDirect

Veloce Bicycles

Brooker Enterprises

Laughing Planet

Yoga Union

Ruckus Test Team

Ruckus Components

I would also like to thank BikePortland.org for helping spread the word around Portland.

**Warning, there might be a special ping-pong entrant**

From http://misovivi.tumblr.com/ and Portland Design Works

WHOA, the judges panel was released today and it is a badass list of people so far. Behold

Bryant Bainbridge as been a road rider and wrench since the 60’s and was one of the earliest members of Northern California’s Mountain Bike movement, running one of the first shops dedicated to custom Klunkers. He Directed R&D for Specialized Bicycles through the 80’s and managed Anodizing Inc.’s frame production for the big brands in the early 90’s. Since then he has directed product sustainability metrics (environmental footprints) for Nike and is now back with Specialized directing product creation process.

Rob Forbes is best known as the Founder of Design Within Reach and for the vision of a business that developed into the leading retail destination for modern design in the US. His academic training includes a BA in Aesthetics from the University of California at Santa Cruz (1974), an MFA from Alfred University (1979) and an MBA from Stanford University (1985). In 2007 Rob left DWR to launch Studio Forbes, based in San Francisco, to further his interests in design, culture, and commerce. He is a lifetime cyclist and proponent of modern urban design initiatives and programs that help us reduce our dependency on cars which led him to found a new company, Public, Mass Transit for One.

Ron Sutphin, president of United Bicycle Institute, has worked professionally in the bicycle industry since 1978. He has been an instructor at UBI since its founding in 1981, and has been teaching the craft of custom frame building there for over 18 years. Unique in the world, UBI’s program has served as a major incubator for the renaissance of custom frame building, especially for lugged steel and titanium. Scores of successful frame builders first learned their craft under Ron’s guidance at UBI. Over 12,000 students from all 50 states and over 40 countries have made the trip to Oregon to attend UBI.

Sky Yaeger has been leaving her mark on the cycling world since the 1970s. Product manager for Bianchi USA from 1990 to 2006, she was responsible for designing and developing such industry-shaking and consumer-revered models as the Milano, the Pista, the Pista Concept, and the San Jose. While at Bianchi, she introduced the first production single-speed ATBs, the first production cyclocross bikes, and brought production single-speed bikes to the masses. Joining Swobo in 2006, she launched their much-acclaimed bike line from the ground up in less than one year. She has continued to create new benchmarks for urban bikes, including the first ever chromoly frame that has been Galvanized, the Sanchez.

I must say that this is a very intimidating list of judges. The list of entrants is also very intimidating,

Argonaut Cycles

Cielo by Chris King (not to be judged)

Circle A Cycles

Courage Bicycle Mfg. Co.

Curt Goodrich Bicycles

Dinucci Cycles

Hufnagel Cycles

Igleheart Custom Bicycles

Inglis Cycles

Independent Fabrication

Ira Ryan Cycles

Map Bicycles

Pereira Cycles

Rebolledo Cycles

Richard Sachs Cycles

Signal Cycles

SyCip Design

Vanilla Bicycles

Vertigo Cycles

On the bike, every member of the Ruckus Test Team knows to go big and blow up early or go home. It’s with this same spirit that the team is taking on the Bike MS 150, a 150-mile fundraiser to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The goal of the ride is to raise awareness as well as $2000 for the cause. 

We are hosting a night of controlled inebriation complete with games, possible dance party, lots of beer and door prizes at Blitz-Ladd on July 18th. The bike community has a big heart and we know you do, too! So come out and cause some Ruckus.

The raffle prize list is turning out to be a good one. Details soon!

The Ruckus Blog is now RSS capable, so add it your RSS reader and never visit again!

I am currently working on a few articles about carbon fiber. Topics to include:

Carbon Fiber Recycling: Detailing the how and why of recycling Carbon Fiber

What is Carbon Fiber?: What is Carbon Fiber and how it is made

General Machining Practices: How to drill and cut composites yourself

Bio-Resins (Green Resin Systems): The future of epoxy resins

Friday night I got the chance to meet with local builder Natalie Ramsland of SweetPea Bicycles at Show and Tell Pdx.

She presented on her own personal background on how/why she got into framebuilding and the forces that keep pushing her forward. The passion and thought that she puts into everything she does is really inspiring to me. She also introduced her new line of bikes accurately labeled the Lust Line. Her bikes are as beautiful as they are functional.

**Disclaimer** I am not going to make up silly acronyms (OCLV, FACT, CNT, VCLV, M2CM, etc...) to describe the same techonolgy.

As I get set up for manufacturing of all the other RC parts, I am dabbling in some side projects. Specifically a composite steadicam system, a cycling computer mount for time trial bars, and the line of custom carbon fiber frames that will be released in the future.

So far testing has been promising, the top tube and head tube pieces are beyond strong. I haven't been able to break them yet, guess I will just have to increase the forces on them.

As you can see in the picture there are two different finishes on this tubing.  The TT has a surface veil on it while the HT has only unidirectional carbon fiber as the outside layer.

Soon I am going to do some testing to determine if I can press regular headsets into the HT. I am thinking yea yeah. 

Updates to folllow.

So the design criteria was listed tonight for the Oregon Manifest Design Challenge.

All I have to say is that the Constructors Race of 77 miles, 4600 ft of climbing and various tasks sounds like the most painful aspect of the entire thing!

I really love design competitions because they consist of sleepless nights, stomach wrenching worries, tragic disappointments, and hopefully epic successes; in short engineering and design at its best.

I am starting to compile all the wacky ideas that I have always wanted to include. Some might make it in and some might not....we'll see.  Probably better if most don't.

The project will stay updated here as time goes on.  But certain parts will have to remain a secret, unless you buy me a few beers then I might talk.....

I would like to say thank you to everyone for waiting so patiently.  This has been a long time coming and a lot of hard work and great people are helping to make this dream come true!

Come back often and check for updates as we release new products and publish technical content relating to carbon fiber and the cycling industry.

With the support of Zipcar, Bikesafetylaw.com, Smalltowngems.com, and High-five, we were able to start the Ruckus Test Team.

The focus of the team is to field test all of the components through the most demanding applications.These aren't pro-level riders who have a fleet of mechanics and replacement parts waiting for them the instant they get a speck of dirt on something.

These are Cat 1,2,3,4,5 riders in every discipline. Will the parts be misused, probably. This is just more to take to the drawing board.

The 2009 Cross Crusades have come to an end. New champions, broken wheels, smiles, and words of congratulations amongst the riders.

Camaraderie at its finest.