There has been a bunch of interest lately regarding how large of a tire the Dropout will take.  We have posted the max tire size on the frame as 38c.  Let me clarify that a bit. 

The 38c recommendation is with the tire slammed (fully forward) in the rear dropout.  That is the largest tire size we felt comfortable recommending with the wheel at it’s most limiting position in the frame.  If you don’t run the wheel fully forward, but in the middle or back of the dropout, you can fit a larger tire.  In preparation for this post we put a 42c Continental tire into the frame and had clearance midway in the dropout. 

The fork clearance is ever greater. This photo shows a 47c Michelin tire on a 24mm wide rim.

plenty of room left

*Adam a giant bag of sunshine as always

And yes it will barspin that big tire no problem.  If you want to ride fatties go ahead.

Jesse’s All-City Dropout Prototype was stolen this afternoon from the Mall of America in Bloomington


This is the only one in existence and it belongs to Jesse who is pretty much the nicest person in the history of ever.

Frameset: All-City Dropout med frame. Counter top green
Cranks: Silver 612 protos, non branded
Hubs: All-City New Sheriffs Black Prototypes. One of only a few in the world
Rims: Velocity Chukker’s to tied and soldered black spokes

Jesse rides his bike from Minneapolis to Bloomington to work, and some sleazeball jacked it this afternoon. If you have a blog or are active on a forum or have any other means of spreading the word, please help Jesse get his bike back. It’s a huge bummer and for a number of reasons a very special bike.

If you have any info on this bike please email me at jeff[at]allcitycycles.com

The rest of the second gen proto’s arrived so I took the opportunity to mix and match different color combo’s of frames/forks that we currently have hanging around the office.   We’ve committed to the Shades of Grey and Countertop Green color schemes that you see on the Dropout page as the colors for the 2010 model year.  The green bike is currently missing it’s fork matching green decal, but those are on the way and I’ll post pics once I get the white taken off and the correct decal on. We’re also planning a limited edition colorway for the first run of framesets.  At this point we’re not saying yet what that’s going to be.

Here are the combos I put together this afternoon as an excercise.

white/cream

white/blue

white/black

detail white dropout without tensioner screws

forks

white/green    *with a green decal this would likely look sweet

brown/green    *I promise never to put these two together again

brown/black

brown/blue   *this could be hot with a blue decal

brown/cream

blue/cream

blue/blue

blue/green

blue/black

green/black

green/cream

green/blue

green/green

blue/grey

white/grey

green/grey

Keep in mind, the grey/grey and green/green schemes are a lock.  I was just checking out combos of the samples we had ordered. 

Prolly just posted his top ten fixed gear freestyle photos of 2009 and our riders Mike and Jesse make an appearance

photo by our buddy Summerinside

So far we’ve gotten one of the 2nd gen protos, with the rest hopefully showing up next week.  This one has a blue on blue paint scheme, brake mounts front and rear, and the removable cable guides to match. 

The biggest changes from the first gen to the second gen are the addition of the gussets to the top and downtubes, as well as a tube spec change on those tubes.  Both are now larger diameter.

First Gen:


Second Gen:

With the second gen we decided to beef up the chainstays to make them more dent resistant for grinding, we added the provisions for brakes, added gussets, changed the down and top tube spec, and used an ED finish (think Black Magic) on the frameset before powdercoating.  The tube changes and gussets made the bike significantly stronger, and the ED finish coats the frame inside and out with a durable finish that prevents rusting.  This finish in combination with the powdercoat is way more durable than powdercoat alone.

I am also very excited to announce that we are planning something special for the first run of framesets due in March.  I’m not saying what excactly yet, but stay tuned and all shall be revealed.

Adam’s bio is now up in the staff section.  I was hoping that this would prove that there are more people working here than just me. but since I wrote his bio I guess it doesn’t prove a thing.

Since I’m sure you’re all just dying out there to know what my Big Block currently looks like, it looks like this

knobby’s, clip on fenders, different seat.  that’s the snow machine until I get my Sturmey 3x speed fixed hub built

As part of our commitment to continually make our stuff hotter we give you saddle branding for the completes:

you like that?

we were hoping so.

Added to the complete bikes sometime next spring

You can now follow us on Twitter via that cute little link to your left.  I’ll be updating it with product news etc. 

Some quick photos in bad light of the 2nd Gen Dropout Proto’s new Gussets.  I’ll have full pics later in the week, when I have time to shoot in better light, meanwhile take a look at these

We just finished our gear inch calculator and it is now available on our tech page.

You’re welcome, and please let us know if you have any issues with it.  Don’t forget you have to hit ctrl to select multiple cogs and rings

volare_ism, one of our homies in Seattle and photographer to the stars,  sent over some pics of his Volume Cutter with his newly acquired Dropout fork on it

This  is one of the prototype forks and was given to him in exchange for some photo work.  If you remember those beautiful shots of Chris recently then you’ve seen his work.  He’s an avid rider as well and we’re stoked to have him on our gear. 

The first customer Big Block build just showed up in my inbox.  It’s a super classy build by a gent named Ollie.

nice work, and thanks for sending it in.  If any of you out there have shots of AC stuff on your bike or an AC bike and you’d like a little fame, please shoot them to jeff[at]allcitycycles.com

Sorry for the non glamour shot, but you should know that they just hit our distributor.

Get some!

Take a look under the Bike tab and you’ll find that the Dropout page is now up.  I’m still doing some polishing so go easy if you find some grammatical errors.  I ain’t no wordologist.  The Geo Chart values are all correct, although the drawing for both the Big Block and Dropout need some work to make them more accurate.  We’ll do it soon.

Also of note is the screenshot of the gussets

I often do little photo essays of my weekend for my personal blog.  Here are some  highlights from this weekends posts.

Today I was hit with a freakin double whammy.  I wake up and check the weather and it says it’s 23 but feels like 13.  Then I lift the blinds only to find out that there’s snow on the ground.  Second time it has snowed this winter/fall and first time it’s stuck. 

(I don’t know if you got the memo but double brake track bikes with hemp string instead of zip ties to hold the rear cable on (I ran out of zip ties) are pretty much the coolest thing ever. I put it in your inbox.  
I would also like to make an addendum to that memo that states that track bikes with water bottle holding capability are awesome when you actually ride your bike for more than 10 blocks at a time. and no I don’t think it ruins the clean lines, bro.  Functionality is a good thing) 

I also saw a gang of turkeys

got my first ice beard of the new winter (perhaps ice goatee is more appropriate)

and received a hornet with my handful of Mike & Ike’s from the quarter vending machine.  I should have tricked someone into eating it, but didn’t.

I’m good, how are you?

Thanks to everyone who has scooped up a Big Block, we really appreciate your support.

 xoxo
jeffrey

The first shipment of Big Block’s are finally here.. We’ve been waiting for this moment since AC was just a gleam in our collective eyes, and it is finally upon us.

first time we’ve seen the bike box design in practice

Bob, doing Quality Control

The framesets will be in stock and orderable tomorrow, as soon as we finish with our extensive Quality Control procedures.

Woo

This is the current iteration of my original Big Block

This week I stripped her down and framesavered the bejeesus out of it in preparation for the upcoming Minnesota winter. 

It’s currently setup with a 43X17 double brake fixed drivetrain.  I like riding double braked fixed in the winter and offroad, it provides the maximum amount of control you can possibly get on sketchy surfaces.  I know it’s dorky and all that, but if you’ve ever met me, then you know that I am not, nor have I ever been cool or concerned about looking stupid.  

The next phase will be the introduction of a Sturmey Archer 3 speed fixed hub, black brakes, and bar end shifters with a drop bar. I’m hoping that this setup will be fast as hell.  We here at AC have been intrigued about the Sturmey SX3 hub for quite some time, and both Adam and I will be putting it through it’s paces this winter to determine the viability of using it on a future commuter model.  Now don’t get all hot and bothered waiting for this future bike, it’s all very much in the idea phase and we currently have no plans on doing either a commuter bike or utilising a SX3 hub.  First we ride and test. Then we figure out what to do with the results.

I’ll keep you posted when I get the new setup together.