Marcroft's Big Cycling Adventure

Negatron

2011-09-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

I must be more positive.....

StarShipOne 2011

2011-05-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest carbon.

Represent'n in the 53/11

Tapered IS headtube. 1.125/1.25

Custom dropouts paired with Enve Composites seat/chain stay

ISP because I can.

Contact me for quotes/details

Attention Oregon Road Bike Racers!

2011-02-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple pointers for you to follow when you go road racing again.

1) Wash your gear and replace that old nasty worn out stuff with something crisp. There should be no holes and the sublimation should not be faded so bad I can see your skin.

2) Wear a matching kit. I should look at you on the road and be able to tell the last 3 squads you were associated with.

3) Wear your helmet correctly. I should not be able to see your entire forehead.

4) Shave your legs, especially in the Pro, 1,2 race. You've reach a certain level of competition, time to get serious.

5) Take all the dangling cute shit off your bike. I don't want to find myself trying to go up the road with a dude that has Tickle We Elmo hanging from his saddle rails.

6) Fenders....really?

This is road racing let's class it up.

SOPWAMTOS

2010-10-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Society of People Who Actually Make Their Own Shit (SOPWAMTOS)

Anyone interested in starting a northwest chapter?

Starting a Frame Biz?

2010-08-22T19:14:00.000-07:00

Alright, here's any easy way to go. Get a credit card, a wicked slick logo and website. Start generating some hype about your love for the craft.

Go here: your shop and place an order. Get your sic logo printed. Apply said 'sic logos' to your frames. Sell the frames for a healthy margin.

BAM, you are now in the bike industry!

That route would have been so much easier, or maybe the headaches would just be different. I don't know. The one thing I do know is, the far east is making it easy to buy frames, and from the looks of them pretty darn good frames. I mean $250 for a hardtail MTB! You think that's too inexpensive for a frame, just start doing the mark-ups from a finished piece price of $250. If everyone tacks on %60 it gets to be a retail price of over $1000 pretty quick. Manufacturer ($250) to the bike co ($400) to the distributor ($640) to the bike retailer ($1025) to the consumer. Seems about right.

Ha

2010-04-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

I've heard this conversation a bunch.

All Good...

2009-11-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

...in the hood.

This blog has been so quiet lately but there's been lots of stuff going on. First, and most exciting, is that I'm packing up the family and moving to Hood River. I've got a new job at an exciting company that will be keeping me very busy.

Second, I'm putting Marcroft Cycles on idle for a little while. I still plan on building bikes, but in very limited numbers. I'm also going to continue developing my carbon products mainly just for myself and some test riders.

That's about it. I'll try to update this blog a little more so all my adoring fans can track the progress.

Hot Sauce Committee Part 1

2009-10-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

Next Build

2009-09-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

Started work on a frame for this guy. I can't wait to get my next set of dishes from him.

Carbon Foot Print

2009-09-08T15:51:00.000-07:00

The last few months I've been very busy working on the evolution of Marcroft Cycles. Here it is, full custom carbon construction.

This frame was made by me using domestically made components. I was able to source all the components from suppliers in the USA. The dropouts and seat post clamp were designed by me and machined in a shop 5 minutes from Marcroft Cycles World Headquarters.

Pretty rad.

So Close it Hurts

2009-09-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

This week it all comes together.

Still Going

2009-08-21T23:13:00.000-07:00

Designed these:

To go here:

Which will make these guys and me very happy.

Development,

2009-08-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

it's happening:

Cancer Sux

2009-07-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Rapha Gentleman's Race 2009

2009-07-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Team O got an invite. I'll be ramping up a peak fo' sho'

What's HTC Make

2009-07-06T14:17:00.001-07:00

Oh, they make phones. Thanks Cav.

Boonen TDF

2009-07-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

In honor of Tom getting to race La Tour here's his techno song.

It's True, Again

2009-07-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

Steerer Fail

2009-06-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Must have been manufactured on a Monday.

Random

2009-06-11T20:56:00.001-07:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Smelly Blog

2009-06-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

Hang tight. I've got some cool shit I've been working on.

Lance Reality Show

2009-05-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

I've been following the videos Lance Armstrong has been posting on The Paceline.com. I'm thinking someone should ink a deal with him for a reality show. Might be worth a watch.

Seriously Good Coverage

2009-05-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Giro Coverage worth watching. It makes me excited to get to work and use up some bandwidth.

'Bout Time

2009-05-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

Just saw that Astana will debut a new kit design at the Giro. Finally. Just today I was thinking to myself how much there current kit sucks.

Dress Up

2009-05-06T18:34:00.001-07:00

Ben couldn't come get his bike today so I got to dress it up in rims and take some pictures. See:

Awesome 3000

2009-05-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

Dude at his first 'race'. It was un-timed, but he's got a number pinned on so it still counts.

Well Said

2009-04-28T07:01:00.001-07:00

I'll be updating my cards now.

OBRA Approved

2009-04-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

Cherry Blossom Classic

2009-04-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

Great course to race on. I wouldn't really know as I was OTB pretty early on every stage.

Despite my disappearing fitness I had a great time hanging at the house with the rest of the team.

Green Machine

2009-03-25T12:31:00.000-07:00

Becky R's new bike.

College Days

2009-03-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

Marcroft Cycles promotes keg stands and rude cycling kits as supporting sponsor of the Willamette University Cycling Team

Banana Belted

2009-03-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad they're done. I'm looking forward to racing someplace that isn't circumnavigating a large body of water.

Here's a recap.
#1: Wet filthy roads, fast. 17th
#2: Snow. Canceled. Sick anyway
#3: Rain, cold, fast. 19th
#4: Cloudy, comfortable, fast then slow, repeat. 20th

I managed to avoid a crash in #1 that happen right next to me. CMG kid hit the deck hard after someone knocked into him. In #4 I rode right over the front wheel and fork of a CMG kid the crashed while taking one of his 12 layers off...on the last lap. That incident took a chuck of carbon out of my non-drive crank arm. On the positive, I did get to show off my mad bike handling skills to those in back of me.

Randomness

2009-03-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

This site speaks to my anime roots

Concept Ships

Hey Rain....

2009-03-14T16:17:00.000-07:00

you can go away now. I've seen enough of you for over the last few months. Please come back later in the year. Maybe sometime in the middle of the summer to settle the dust. Other than that you should really take a hiatus for the next 7 months.

Thx

Race Bike 2009

2009-02-28T06:22:00.000-08:00

Here's a shot of my race bike for the year.

Gotta Be Special

2009-02-25T08:27:00.001-08:00

stolen from 'How to Avoid the Bummer Life'

Working with the Dude

2009-02-18T18:36:00.000-08:00

Aaaa, No.

2009-02-14T15:55:00.000-08:00

Levi's TT bike

Trek designers missed the mark on this one, unless of course they were going for gawd awful. I doubt the ugly paint will slow him down much.

Tougher Than You

2009-02-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

and me
Svein Tuft

StarShipOne Away

2009-01-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

Off to Tucson for a week of riding

Required Reading

2009-01-30T13:25:00.001-08:00

Rules to ride by

Bitch'n Beer Fridge

2009-01-19T06:33:00.000-08:00

Only one around with a Marcroft logo.

Weak Sauce

2009-01-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

This blog is super weak right now. In an effort to restore some content, here's a quick update on all things Marcroft

-Family: Being home with Dude and Kristin keeps me sane. Dude is starting to talk a little more everyday. You can tell he's putting together ideas and concepts in his head, he just can't quite verbalize it yet. He'll say, 'Truck, blah, blah blah? Cat! blah blah blah blah.' It's pretty cute.

-Sponsorships: As it's known by now, I'm sponsoring 2 teams this year: Team O and Willamette University. I will be racing for Team O again. I've officially come full circle and have ended up on the same squad I started with 10 years ago. Although now it's a little different in that I will have my name on the jersey and I'm on the 1,2 squad. Being a part of Team O should give the Marcroft name a little more exposure, especially in the PDX market. Plus it will be nice being on a good sized squad again.

-New branding: To go along with the new logo I'm working on getting a new website built up. It should be crisp and have a rock'n gallery.

-StarShipOne Project: The big project for the winter has been a new bike design. It's nothing too special but it's taken some work to get done. I'll post more information and some finished pictures soon.

-Training: Still fat but I'm working on it....

StarShipOne Saddle Clamp

2009-01-11T17:44:00.000-08:00

Pictures don't do it justice but you get the idea.

Multi Tasking

2009-01-01T13:05:00.000-08:00

Rim Fail

2008-12-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

Ka-Pow!

Going Green

2008-12-23T07:26:00.000-08:00

Marcroft Cycles management has decided the last two days of 'going green' has been an epic fail. Management would like to apologize and has promised to restore power as soon as possible.

Thx

Marcroft Cycles World Headquaters

2008-12-21T11:59:00.000-08:00

Weekend production temporarily halted due to unwanted open air modification in lounge.

More Random Stuff

2008-12-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

True

2008-12-10T13:40:00.000-08:00

LA Twitter

2008-12-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Lances' thoughts.

I Got It Too

2008-12-03T06:50:00.000-08:00

Factory Pilot

2008-11-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

In the mud

FYI

2008-11-20T10:58:00.001-08:00

Team O

Peak-A-Boo

2008-11-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm

2008-11-09T18:23:00.001-08:00

BattleCreek CCX

2008-11-07T13:45:00.001-08:00

Should be awesome just like this

Tuesday is Here

2008-11-04T12:55:00.001-08:00

PruDogBlog: Almost there...

Blog Slacker

2008-10-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

Go here until I have a little more to say....and share :) Which will be cool and worth the wait.
And watch this

and this

True

2008-10-17T19:08:00.000-07:00

see famous look-a-like faces

Really

2008-10-17T07:08:00.000-07:00

only 17 days away.
To the doubters:

D-Dub Ride

2008-10-12T19:56:00.001-07:00

Doug took ownership of his new cross frame today.

Oregon Manifest

2008-10-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Go

Should be a good show. I decided not to display for multiple reasons. The main one being that I don't have any display bikes. Plus I kinda blew my show budget on NAHBS earlier in the year.

Tight

2008-10-06T15:06:00.000-07:00

This will get me some respect

Get your own knuckles at the knuckle tattoo gun.

Breakage

2008-10-06T13:42:00.001-07:00

Bad luck for the hurt at CC#1
credit Kenji for the photo.

No, Really?

2008-10-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Gee, nobody could have predicted this.
Duh
To be THAT much better at TTing at the Tour, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure he was doped.

Photo Proof

2008-10-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

See, I can ride in the mud. Not very well, but I can.
Me
No crashing at CC#1 and I rode everything.

Ahhh, Welcome Back

2008-10-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Rain is back and so is the wind.

Looks like the air is holding in my cross tires so I'll be heading up to the first crusade this Sunday. I wimped out last week citing a sore throat and skipped the Rickreal race. I'll see how things go in the Bs. If I can stick a top 20 I'll move up to the A's....or just end my season with a top 20 finish. In reality, that's more likely.

Should be fun.

Got to Be

2008-10-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

Terry Tate

2008-10-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

I almost pissed myself.

Weekend Shenanigans

2008-09-25T06:49:00.000-07:00

Saturday: Rickreal Rampage to get my cross on.

Sunday: The Monster Peach. 9:00 start time for anyone that wants to come along. Plan on the 100 miler and a 'good' time.

Shiny Banana

2008-09-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

The Hurt's new ride.

Brrrrrat

2008-09-17T07:42:00.001-07:00

Chad Reed given it at the Suzuki test track. Please note the slow-mo view of him coming out of a corner, doubling into a set and making a clutch lever adjustment while in the air.
Video » Racer X Films: Chad Reed

Posted using ShareThis
If I had a serious amount of disposable income I'd be back racing motocross in a heartbeat.

Tall Socks

2008-09-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

For all of you on the ride today that were giving me shit about my tall socks. Here's my response, tall socks are for winners. Case in point, Mr. Contador.

Note the tall socks, just like I was wearing. Coincidence? I think not. Winners know style and tall socks are all about style.

Damon on Palin

2008-09-12T13:09:00.000-07:00

He makes a good point about it being a bad Disney movie

Tour of Missouri

2008-09-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to beat Kenji to the punch about Omer's performance today. Check it out:

General classification after stage 4

1 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle
2 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia
3 Svein Tuft (Can) Symmetrics Cycling Team
4 George Hincapie (USA) Team Columbia
5 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
6 Ben Day (Aus) Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team
7 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas
8 Tom Zirbel (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
9 Dominique Rollin (Can) Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team
10 Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team
11 Michael Barry (Can) Team Columbia
12 Dirk Müller (Ger) Team Sparkasse
13 Antonio Cruz (USA) BMC Racing Team
14 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
15 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia
16 Andy Bajadali (USA) Kelly Benefit Strategies - Medifast
17 Eric Baumann (Ger) Team Sparkasse
18 Andreas Schillinger (Ger) Team Sparkasse
19 Richard Faltus (Cze) Team Sparkasse
20 Tim Johnson (USA) Health Net p/b Maxxis
21 Bernardo Colex Tepoz (Mex) Tecos de la Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara
22 Thomas Rabou (Ned) Rabobank Continental
23 Omer Kem (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
24 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
25 Darren Lill (RSA) BMC Racing Team
26 David Zabriskie (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
27 Danny Pate (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
28 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Health Net p/b Maxxis
29 Steven Cozza (USA) Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30
30 Christopher Baldwin (USA) Toyota - United Pro Cycling Team

Stuck in the 90's

2008-09-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so stuck in it.

Lance is Back

2008-09-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

To race the tour clean, against others that are now clean.

Cool.

SS Cross

2008-09-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

In an effort to get even with Ryan Weaver for not racing for Marcroft Cycles this year I'm putting Kurt Haas on a SS with the intention of having him beat Ryan at every SS race he enters. Sorry for the tall order Kurt but it had to be done. Ryan, here's a sneak peak at the frame that's going to mess with your mind.

Fall

2008-09-05T07:52:00.000-07:00

So, it's September now and everyone's thoughts are turning towards the upcoming cross season. I'm no exception. As I finish up some cross frames I can't help but think about the start of the NBA season and especially the Blazers and their potential season. they're going to be soooo good. I can't wait to see Rudy play in the NBA. This kid's good. Always looking for a play and it usually above the rim.

Check out the dunk over Howard in the Gold medal game.
Rudy Fernandez Dunks on Dwight Howard

Suck it.

Coffee

2008-09-01T06:58:00.000-07:00

I love me some coffee every morning. Here's where we've been getting our roast. It's mighty good.

Cape Foul Weather Coffee

Fresh Tune-Up

2008-08-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

You know what this means? I'll be bringing up the rear at some Crusades this year.

Made In?

2008-08-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a pretty good article on where some large bike manufacturers have their production done. I'm not sure how old the article is but it seems pretty accurate.

Read it

The Future?

2008-08-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

Dead

2008-08-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

sexy

Waiting for the start of the State Crit.

Sometimes...

2008-08-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

I still build bikes.

Return to Racing

2008-08-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

I make my return to the NW racing scene this weekend

The Obvious

2008-08-14T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's hot

Selling Out?

2008-08-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

This logo

and a PDX address; I'll see a huge gain in business?

So it would seem judging from the shear number of builders in the greater metro area. 20 guys doing the same bikes? Really? Are they all making money and this? If it's true, I'm destined to be a non-profit builder because I'm not moving to Portland any time soon. If anything it might help to move further away from Stumptown. To a cycling community that isn't so close to a nexus of cycling that PDX has become.

Pretty soon a statement like: 'Marcroft Cycles Not Made in Portland' might be cool.

China

2008-08-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

A great place for athletes. Here's an article from Cyclingnews that talks about it.

I have terrible asthma and can only imagine that the second I got off the plane in Beijing I'd have an attack that would cripple me.

Evans Is Quite Fragile

2008-07-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Almost a 'don't 'taz me, bro!" moment

Rock

2008-07-29T08:07:00.001-07:00

A little more Fu Manchu to get the blood pumping

Busy:

2008-07-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

not eating.
working for the man.
finishing a bike.
riding.
spending time with family.
contimplating the future.
planing for the future.
not eating.

Prez

2008-07-24T15:35:00.001-07:00

PSA

2008-07-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

This is for the individual I saw this weekend on L'Alpe d'Amity.If you're out riding and you see a group of cyclists at the top of a mountain waiting for the rest of their group don't just blast by them. Stop for a second to say hi, nice day, where are you guys headed, I'm so-and-so. The list is endless. Just riding by while you adjust your i-Pod ignoring the other 8 cyclists makes you look like an ass. Not to mention the fact that you're wearing a team kit from a rather large car dealer in the Salem area. Great sponsor representation dill hole.

Back From Vacation

2008-07-16T07:16:00.000-07:00

Nothing like 6 days away from home/work and such. I was able to get some solid miles in and check out a couple stages of the Cascade Classic. I made me want to race. Unfortunately it's back to the grind.

State Champ

2008-07-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to 'The Big Hurt' Kurt who won the OBRA SS MTB State Championship a few weeks ago. That's the first for one of my frames. Pretty cool.

Cheer up buddy, you've got a gold medal!

July 4th Ride

2008-07-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

9:00AM start
4 hours
Starbucks in Salem

View Larger Map
Open invite.

True, True

2008-06-29T09:00:00.000-07:00

Required Reading

2008-06-25T10:24:00.000-07:00

Live it