Tour de Lincoln

Need proof that the Land of Lincoln is neither flat nor boring?  Check out the Tour de Lincoln, a week-long bicycle tour of historic Lincoln sites throughout Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.  The ride takes place August 16-23, 2008.  This event is being organized by a friend who is a both a bicycle enthusiast and advocate.  It's sure to be a fun ride.

Todd

Sheldon Brown

I can't find the words to describe how I feel. You'll be missed, Sheldon.

Todd

Another Obama Video

It's Super-Duper Tuesday Eve. So, allow me one more inspirational video.



If you are inspired to support Senator Obama, feel free to give to his campaign at my Obama Fundraising Page. Thanks.

Todd

Obama's Music Video

It's the political season. So, please bear with me.

Todd

Online Ordering is Here!

It took a while, but Tullio's finally enters the 1990s and offers online ordering!

Just select the items that you want by clicking on the "Add to Cart" buttons. When you are done shopping, click any of the "View Cart" buttons to begin the check out process. Payment is through PayPal's secure payment system. You can use your credit card, and no PayPal account is required!

For a limited time, all online orders will receive free ground shipping in the continental US!

Remaining Heron Inventory

I'm often asked what Heron frames are left in stock. So, here is the complete list:

50 cm Road - Rockwell Red
50 cm Road - Primer
51 cm Touring - Shippingsport Silver
53 cm Wayfarer - Gooding Green
56 cm Rally - Rockwell Red
56 cm Rally - Primer

Frames that are painted can be shipped right away. Frames that are in primer can be painted any of the four stock Heron colors within several weeks. E-mail me at todd@kuzma.com with any questions.

Todd

NANOWRIMO Time Again

If it's November, it's NANOWRIMO time. NANOWRIMO is National Novel Writing Month. Challenge yourself to write 50,000 words in the month of November. It doesn't even have to be any good. I finished it in 2004 but failed in 2005 and 2006. I am even busier this year, but my failures were mostly due to illness. So, if I can stay healthy, who knows. Who's with me?

Todd

Heron Production Ends

I have recently decided to end production of the Heron line of frames. Rest assured that this is not due to a lack of business or customer support. Rather, this is a personal choice and a difficult one at that.

A limited number of frames remain in a few sizes and colors. If you are interested in one of these final frames, please inquire at your Heron dealer. I will remain available for repairs, repaints, and warranty service. So, customers will not be left without support.

--Todd

eBay Alert - 64 cm Heron Road in Gooding Green

I'm selling a 64 cm Road in Gooding Green on eBay. The frame is new but had been scratched in shipping. Details here.

Tall people rejoice!

Todd

Final (I hope) Website Update

Both the Heron and Tullio's websites should now be fully operational for all browsers. Thanks for your patience.

Todd

Another Web Update

It looks like the Heron site should be working for all browsers except Firefox. A Firefox fix (say that three times fast!) is in the works. Meanwhile, Firefox users should be able to access the site by using <http://www.heronbicycles.com/index.html> to access the site. Stay tuned!

Todd

Website Update

The Tullio's site is back online! We are still working on making the Heron site accessible to all browsers and operating systems.

Todd

More Web Problems

The Tullio's website has been down for a couple of days now. My site host has had a catastrophic server failure that they are still trying to repair. I hope to have the site back up very soon.

Also, work is progressing on the Heron site. Some folks have had trouble accessing the site. It seems that some browser/OS combinations have no problem while others can't access it at all. If you are having problems, try going around the main page by loading one of the others (like http://www.heronbicycles.com/frames.html).

When I learn more, I'll post it here. Thanks for your patience.

Todd

Going Out of Town

I'm going to be out of town from Saturday, July 21 through Sunday, July 29. During this time, both Tullio's and Heron Bicycles will be closed. I'll be back in town and open for business on Monday, July 30. Thanks.

New Heron Web Resource

While I personally construct and maintain the Tullio's website, a good friend has handled the Heron website for me. Unfortunately, that means it takes a little longer to resolve problems or update site information. So, I have begun the process of integrating all of the Heron information into the Tullio's site.

Some of you have reported sporadic problems accessing the Heron site. If so, you should now be able to find the information you need on the Heron portion of the Tullio's site. Eventually, everything will be on one big site, and the Heron URL will forward to the new, expanded Tullio's site.

--Todd

Computer is Back Up

I got the computer going again and am working to return e-mails. Thanks for the patience. Also, the Heron website is down, but I'm checking into that. Darned computers!

Computer Problems

Just a quick note to let folks know that my computer is down. Until it is repaired, I'll try to check e-mail from friends' machines. However, it might take me a bit longer than usual to get back to you. If you have something that you need quickly, give me a call at 815-488-1858. Thanks.

A Discussion of Super Thin Spokes

There is one known issue with spokes with very thin middle sections like DT Revolutions. At some point while tensioning the spokes, the force required to turn the nipple on the spoke will become greater than the force required to twist the spoke at its middle. Beyond this point, it will be impossible to turn the nipple without temporarily relieving the spoke tension. This point will occur at a spoke tension that is less than optimal. The result is that the wheel will not be as strong as it should be.

It is possible to force the rim inward enough to relieve the tension so the nipple can turn. This will allow the wheelbuilder to achieve the optimal spoke tension. The downside is that this is such a pain-in-the-butt that many wheelbuilders don't do it. It will also be a pain-in-the-butt should you ever need to true the wheel.

I believe that most wheels built with Revolutions are built with less than optimal spoke tension, and durability is usually sufficient. However, if durability is sufficient with, say, 32 Revolution spokes at less than optimal tension, it will be just as sufficient with 28 15/16 spokes at optimal tension. The weight of the spokes will be nearly the same.

I won't build with Revolutions any longer because I won't build with lower spoke tension and I don't want the pain of dealing with temporarily relieving spoke tension just to turn the nipple. Of course, should the opportunity arise, I wouldn't be opposed to using them on the left side of the rear wheel since those spokes are never at high tension.

Touring Front Derailleur Update

There is a new problem when using the Shimano Deore LX front derailleur with the Sugino XD600 (or similar) crank. The latest version of the LX front derailleur (and most of the other current Shimano front derailleurs) has a new cage that is more profiled with larger shift ramps than before. It is optimized for Shimano MTB cranks with 44-32-22T chainrings. When using it on the XD600 crank with 46-36-26T chainrings, the inner portion of the cage will hit the middle chainring when shifting to the large chainring unless the derailleur is mounted VERY high. When mounted high, the shift ramps are in the wrong places and will rub against the chain in many gear combinations thus requiring constant trimming.

The current road triple front derailleurs from Shimano have a similar cage profile. They are now all pretty much limited to use with Shimano's standard chainring combinations. This is true even with a friction shifter. As a result, I have now switched to Campagnolo triple front derailleurs. Their cages are also profiled but not nearly as much as Shimano's. They work extremely well with both friction shifters and Campagnolo Ergo shifters. The cages are wide enough that trimming is seldom required to avoid chain rub.

This trend makes me want to buy up any NOS straight cage derailleurs I can find on eBay. Those old derailleurs are very light, durable, and functional. They just don't index well with STI shifters.

Heron Site Down

The Heron Bicycles website is currently down because of problems at our site host. Hopefully, the problems will be resolved soon so we can get the site back up. I'll post any news here. Thanks for your patience.