Chris Abraham » brooks

My Portland City Bike is this Surly Steamroller

Chris Abraham — Fri, 13 May 2011 23:17:07 +0000

My Surly Steamroller is sorted out as my commuting, city, daily, single-speed, street bike:

The only upgrade that is left is that I plan to add more permanent fenders, to be installed by the Bike Gallery here in downtown SW Portland, probably a set of German SKS fenders that are more permanent than the current set.

As it is, the only changes I have made have been a read Shimano single pivot side-pull caliper brake, the front and rear “temporary” SKS XL Raceblade fenders, a grunty White Industries ENO freewheel, a set of metal-cage MTB pedals with plastic toe clips.

To all of that, I added a simple, black, standard Brooks B17 leather saddle, a front and rear Planet Bike Beamer 3 headlight and a Blinky 3 taillight lights, a little chrome bell, two Salsa brake levers, and lots and lots of reflective tape because one time I went out early not thinking I needed my lights and felt super-vulnerable heading home, so I threw on loads of red and white reflective tape.

Oh, and I almost forgot the most important and essential upgrade. I added 28C Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires to the whole thing. According to their site:

The SmartGuard layer made from a flexible, special rubber offers particular resistance to shards of glass and flints. Even a thumbtack cannot penetrate this protective layer. The SmartGuard belt does not increase rolling resistance.

In my humble opinion, the most annoying thing in the universe is not having buoyant, durable, puncture-resistant, grippy tires to protect both rims and my progress when I am riding around on them.

And, all of this all locked down with bolts instead of quick-release skewer. Quick release is a real no-no when you’re using a bike in lieu of a car and plan to lock your bike somewhere or another outside a pub or a nightclub or downtown when you’re shopping.

The final purchase, of course, is the most important. I grabbed a U-lock. This time around, I picked up a KryptoLok series 2 Mini-7 by Kryptonite. I didn’t need an Evolution Mini and I have gotten smaller locks but sometimes it is really nice to lock up my bike along with the front wheel, for old time’s sake.

A Love Note From David Plouffe

Chris Abraham — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:57:14 +0000

Here is a love note to “me” from David Plouffe, Campaign Manager for Obama for America. Barack Obama wants to personally keep me, ChrisTOPHER Abraham in the loop. I hope the Obama White House keeps up this sort of thing. If Barack Obama and David Plouffe are smart, they won’t make me resubscribe after the inauguration, they’ll just continue educating and informing me into the future. Please.

Christopher –
Yesterday, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden announced key members of their national security team.
Barack and Joe have asked some of the country’s most experienced leaders on national security, foreign policy, law enforcement, and military matters to come together to renew America’s security and standing in the world.
Watch the video of Barack’s announcement and learn about the national security team.
Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator from New York and former First Lady, will serve as Secretary of State.
Secretary Robert Gates, the current Secretary of Defense, will continue to serve in that role.
Eric Holder, former Deputy Attorney General and a former United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, will serve as Attorney General.
Janet Napolitano, Governor and former U.S. Attorney for Arizona, will serve as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Dr. Susan E. Rice, a Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the Obama for America campaign, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, will serve as Ambassador to the United Nations.
General Jim Jones, USMC (Ret), former Allied Commander, Europe, and Commander of the United States European Command, will serve as National Security Advisor.
Barack’s national security team has been assembled to represent all elements of American power, diplomacy, and leadership that will be vital in overcoming the challenges of the 21st century.
Watch the video of today’s press conference:

http://my.barackobama.com/securityteam

These appointees will be tasked with strengthening current alliances and forging new ones, protecting our citizens at home, defending against our enemies, and promoting our values and moral leadership throughout the world.
While the challenges they are sure to face will be great, the opportunities to unify our country and our world will be even greater.
With your support, we’ll meet those challenges and opportunities with the hope and optimism that has brought us to this moment of change.
Thank you,
David
David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

Mein Fahrrad Was Stolen Last Night

Chris Abraham — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 14:13:18 +0000

I received an email from my business partner, Mark Harrison, at 0500 this morning that I saw when I woke up this morning,

:-( All three bikes got stolen last night. Fuck.

The three bikes in question were my SOMA Delancey single speed and Mark’s old reliable Giant mountain bike, a bike that Mark has owned for probably more than a decade, and a spare green piece-of-shit

Well, I really loved my SOMA Delancey single speed and can highly recommend getting one. Since they sell the Delancey as a frame, I got to build the bike up from the frame, and really bought some amazing components for her.

I really had her dolled up with a Miche crank, a Chris King headset, a Brooks Professional saddle, a Shimano 105 brake, a Salsa stem and seat tube, and a gorgeous wee two-finger brake lever. She was nimble but she was not a fixed-gear bike, she was a single-speed. I will miss her and I am sorry that she was stolen.

May she rest in peace.

My Pretty Fahrrad

Chris Abraham — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 23:22:34 +0000

My Pretty Fahrrad, originally uploaded by Chris Abraham.

Since I don’t have a car in Berlin I flew over my bike, a SOMA Delancey single speed with a Chris King headset, Miche Pista crank set, a Salsa stem and seatpost, and an awesome copper Brooks saddle. Not a fixie but single speed with a front brake, a Shimano 105. Thank you to the guys from Capitol Hill Bikes who helped me build her up from the frame and fork.

Bugatti Veyron 0-60 2.8 Seconds 0-100 5.5 Seconds 0-100-0 9.9 Seconds

Chris Abraham — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 09:46:30 +0000

Press Release:

Triumph for Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti Veyron has wiped the floor with the opposition in Autocar’s annual 0-100-0mph contest, featured in the current issue of the world’s oldest car magazine, even managing to beat a Suzuki GSX-R1000 superbike.

Featuring 25 of the world’s fastest cars, from the 14th placed £79,995 Aston Martin V8 Vantage to the second-placed £34,995 Ariel Atom, the shoot-out pitches the cars against each other in a straight fight to see which is the fastest to 100mph. There’s more to it than just outright speed though – slowing from 100mph to a dead halt is just as important.

The Veyron, with its 987bhp 16-cylinder engine, wasn’t necessarily the favourite to win. “A low weight tends to be the key to a good 0-100-0mph car,” said Autocar’s road test editor Adam Towler. “Cars like the Ariel Atom and Caterham Superlight historically dominate this contest.”

But the 1890kg £880,000 Bugatti ripped through the gears to hit 60mph in 2.8sec and 100mph in an astonishing 5.5sec. It then stopped in just 3.4sec, giving a 0-100-0mph time of 9.9sec.

Not only is the Bugatti faster than the Suzuki, it creates more g-force at maximum acceleration than you’d experience in an F-16 jet fighter at take off or when skydiving.

But the lightweights still turned in an impressive performance, from the relatively unknown £32k Brooke Double R in fourth place to the £35k Ariel Atom 300 in second.

“Although the Veyron is undoubtedly the quickest road car ever, you can still have nearly as much fun for much less money,” said Adam Towler. “It’s good to see British sports cars doing so well against such an impressive machine as the Bugatti.”

Autocar also brought along an A1 GP car, driven by Brit Robbie Kerr, to see how a purpose-built race car would compare with road-going machinery. The 550bhp single seater weighs just 695kg, and proved to be the fastest vehicle on the day with a 0-100-0mph time of 8.4sec.

Competing Cars 0-100-0 Time (seconds)

A1 GP 8.40

Bugatti Veyron 9.90

Suzuki GSX-R1000 10.70

Ariel Atom S’Charged 11.00

Ariel Atom 450 11.05

Atom Private Owned 11.05

Caterham CSR260 11.95

Brooke Double R 12.50

Porsche 911 Turbo 12.50

Ford Focus WRC 13.57

Lambo Gallardo 13.65

Ascari KZ1 13.80

Corvette Z06 13.80

Alpina B6 14.80

BMW M6 14.95

TVR Tuscan 2 15.00

BMW M5 15.20

Audi RS4 15.80

Aston V8 Vantage 15.81

BMW Z4M Roadster 15.95

Porsche Cayman S 16.46

Lotus Exige S 16.60

Nissan 350Z 18.80

Vauxhall Astra Sprint 18.85

Vauxhall Astra VXR 19.05

Renault Megane F1 20.55

Mazda 6MPS 21.00

Ford Focus ST 21.35

Vauxhall Vectra VXR 22.35

Vauxhall Astra Thurlby 22.65