I have a fillet brazed cross bike in the works right now, and thought I'd share a look as things progress. I made the seat tube reinforcement today. When fillet brazing with a standard sized seat tube, it's a good idea to add this piece. The walls at the top of the tube are thin to make way for a 27.2 mm seatpost, and this sleeve will make it quite a bit more substantial without adding extra weight to other parts of the tube. It starts with straight gauge 4130...













... and ends looking something like this. The tube used to cut this out of has an inner diameter that is near perfect for silver brazing clearances. This will be brazed on to the seat tube, and a breather hole will be drilled in where the top tube intersects. Locating off of that hole, I'll then make the down tube/bottom bracket miter on the lathe.

Labels: Building, Cyclocross

For three years now our local club has hosted a time trial as part of the Maine Time Trial Series. They have been well attended and well regarded, and this year we are hosting the race twice, on May 23rd and June 7th.

Registration for each day is now open on BikeReg.com:

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7780

http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=7782

More info can be found here:

http://www.belfastbicycleclub.org

The course actually starts and ends in Searsport, the next town up the coast from Belfast. It runs 8 miles out to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory (well worth checking out on its own) and 8 miles back to the start along one of the best kept stretches of Route 1.

Don't miss these events. They are friendly to first timers, and the competition is top notch.

The Belfast Criterium may feature a new course this year, and we're ironing out the details now. You didn't read it here, but this years event may be USA Cycling sanctioned, making this race New England's best alternative to the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. We're still aiming for July 4th, and the new course will be one of the best for racers and spectators alike, so plan on bringing the family.

Sign up for the time trials now, and pencil the criterium in for Independance Day. If all goes according to plan, registration will be open before March 1.