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  • Adventures with a Cameroonian Scammer: Part 2

    Continued from part 1… On Monday, September 28, 2009 I received the following response to my proposal.

    Dear Brent Curry,

    I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

    After our meeting this morning, the committee were so happy about your product and we will be happy to see you handle this contract.

    Now I will like to know your price per Treadmill Bike also I want you to know that this contract is lot one of ten meaning that it will continue till lot ten, if you happen to win this contract you will have the opportunity of winning the rest.

    And your chances of winning this contract is to work according to my proposal, Like I said I am the chairman of this contract award committee, just to say that I have the authority to award the contract to any supplier/company that I considered creditable.

    Look forward to hearing from you.

    Best regards,
    Chief Simon Ngwa Achu

    To this, I responded:

    Wow! That’s great news. I understand that you are ultimately looking to acquire 50000 bikes, so if we divide this into 10 lots, I would suggest 5000 bikes per lot. My typical price per Treadmill Bike is $2500 Canadian. For 5000 bikes, that would be 12.5 million Canadian dollars, or 5.1 billion Communauté Financière Africaine Francs. Which currency would you like to pay with?

    Let me know how we should proceed.

    Attn: Brent,

    Thanks for your prompt reply.

    Please I want you to give me the price in US$ because the committee will like to pay in United State Dollar also I want you to know that the lot one of this contract is 50,000 bikes.

    Let me know if you are the one to sign this contract that will enable us discourse in person concerning the remaining lots.

    Regards,
    Chief Achu

    Oh my goodness! So if we win the contract for all ten lots, we could be selling 500 000 Treadmill Bikes? That’s fantastic news! The price per Treadmill Bike in US dollars is: $2288.

    Yes, I am the one who would sign the contract for this deal.

    Looking forward to further instruction.

    At this point, I had not mentioned to my wife that I had passed on our phone number to Chief Simon. Therefore, you can imagine her surprise when the phone rang the next morning at 6am. On the other end, was a man with a thick accent claiming to be the former prime minister of Cameroon! We had a brief conversation. Chief Simon’s main objective seemed to be to speak with me in person to confirm that we were ready to take this deal to the next level. I assured him that I was and hoped that we could return to e-mail correspondence in the future. For the rest of the week, I made a point of unplugging our phone before going to bed. In the ensuing days our voicemail registered numerous missed calls left in the middle of the night. I wasn’t sure if my new business associate didn’t understand the concept of time zones, or if they were just a non-issue for the political super-elite.

    The e-mails continued…

    Attn; Brent Curry,

    It was great talking with you this morning.

    I am happy to deal directly with you as it is my intention to treat directly with someone that has power to make decision, to enable us quickly finalize in the arrangement.

    This supply is a government contract sponsored by the CPDM Cameroon.

    I am contacting you in this business at this level on personal basis because I want to make personal profit out of the contract.

    Concerning the specification/model of the treadmill bike; I confirm that the model you presented is good and we are ready to work with it.

    Like I said during our telephone conversation, the first lot of this contract will be 10,000 pieces of Treadmill Bikes. My plan is that you will give me a Treadmill Bikes at the rate of $2280 and when submitting your tender it will bear $2380 and after the contract has been awarded to you and you received the payment for the supply, you would return to me the additional money of $100 per Treadmill Bike.

    I believe I have made things clear to you.

    Apart from quantity, quality and duration; there are other conditions set out by the award committees that every supplier wishing to tender has to fulfill in order to qualify to tender.

    The award Committee has decided that any company wishing to participate in this tender must be registered in Cameroon according to CAP 37 of OHADA Uniform Act, and the company must have been in existence for at least one year.

    The payment terms is optional; the first option is, if the company attached to her bid an attestation worth 30% of the contract value from any Cameroon financial institution; the company will receive 100% payment up front immediately the contract is signed. Another option is, if the company chooses to tender without an attestation; the company will supply the goods before receiving any payment.

    If we agreed to continue in this project, My part is to assist by making the payment condition easier for you. Since I am the one that contacted you in this business and due to you may not have any contact with a financial institution in Cameroon; I would provide you money worth 30% of the contract value to obtain the attestation from any Cameroon bank. But if you chooses to supply according to the second option; I would as well provide you money to handle the supply and when you received payment you return to me the money and the over-invoicing.

    Due to my position as a politician in administrative post and the Chairman of this contract award committee, I am not permitted to operate personal business. Your part in this business is to register your company and submit your tender to avoid anybody knowing that I am having personal relationship with you; then I would award you the contract.

    Like I said I am the chairman of this contract award committee, just to say that I have the authority to award the contract to any supplier/company that I considered creditable. Please I would like that you consider this transaction absolute confidential.

    You can give me a call on this telephone no +237 766 306 90 at any time . I wait for your prompt reply.

    Regards,
    Chief Simon Ngwa Achu.
    The CPDM Congress Hall
    P.O. Box 150 Bamenda, N/W Region,
    Rep of Cameroon ,
    Tel: +237 766 306 90
    E-mail:chiefachu@gmail.com

    Hello Chief Simon,

    I think I have discovered a potential hole in this plan. The Treadmill Bike is already advertised on my web site for $2500 Canadian. Anyone could do a quick currency exchange calculation and determine that that price translates to $2288 USD. When the awards committee sees that I am billing them at: $2380 per Treadmill Bike, they will get suspicious.

    To reconcile this issue, I have put together a bonus package that we could include with each Treadmill Bike. I have managed to negotiate a bulk discount on these items, so I expect the actual cost of each bonus package will be $28.76 USD. This would bring the total cost for each treadmill bike to $2316.76 USD. If we charged $2380 USD per Treadmill Bike that would still leave you with a personal profit of $63.24 USD per Treadmill Bike.

    I think you will really love the items that I have found for the Treadmill Bike Bonus Package. They include the following:
    1 X-Wing Fighter Collectible Helmet
    1 pair of Harry Potter Quidditch Goggles
    1 Hello Kitty Backpack
    1 pair of Peter Pan Getaway Boots
    1 plastic Bicycle Basket with Plastic Daisies
    1 pair of Handlebar Streamers

    I have modified the promotional poster to depict the additional items that would be included with each Treadmill Bike.

    Let me know your thoughts.

    Treadmill Bike Promo for Cameroon with Bonus Package

    For Chief Simon’s response to the Bonus Package Proposal, stay tuned for Part 3!

  • Adventures with a Cameroonian Scammer: Part 1

    In May of 2009, I received the following e-mail:

    Attn: Director,

    My name is Chief. Simon Ngwa Achu. former Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon.
    I came across your profile as I was searching for a competent and reliable supplier/manufacturer who can handle a contract supply of Comfort Bicycle, and I learned that your company is into such business.
    Regarding the contract, this is a contract supply of 50,000 pieces of Comfort Bicycle to the CPDM as an effort to reduce the global warming threat. This contract is sponsored by the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). The duration of the contract is 14 months (Fourteen months) from the date of acceptance.

    The specification is as follows:
    Frame: 20” inch frame
    Fork: 700C CS9217 Steel
    Headset: VP-H692W
    Stem: HL-Alloy Adjustable Ext 110mm
    Handlebars: MTB -155 620mm x 50mm Rise, Steel
    Grips: Velo VLG-185AD2 Black Rubber Gel
    Brakes: Promax TX-107L Front & Rear Alloy Linear Black
    Brake Levers: : Shimano STEF 50 Alloy
    Front Derailleur: Shimano TZ-31
    Rear Derailleur: Shimano TX-30
    Shift Levers: Shimano ST-EF50 21 Speed Rapid Fire
    Freewheel: Falcon FW-70 14-28T Index UCP
    Chain: KMC Z51
    Crankset: 28Tx38T x48Tx170mm Silver Alloy
    Bottom Bracket: YST BB-612 UCP
    Pedals: VP 990S Plastic Body
    Wheels: High V Profile 700C Alloy Silver w/ Front Quick Release
    Tires: Kenda 700 x 40C Black w/ White line on Both Sides
    Saddle: Velo VL-3061 B93 w/ Silver Bumper
    Seat Post: SP-233 300mm Alloy Silver

    I am the Chairman of this Contract Award Committee and I have the authority to award this contract to any reliable supplier/manufacturer that fulfills the contract conditions.
    I am contacting you in this business on personal basic because I am interested to make personal profit out of the contract. I would like to know from you about these three things mentioned below.

    1) I want to know if you will be interested in this contract.
    2) If you will be able to handle the supply within the time frame.
    3) I want to know if you will be interested to co-operate with me in
    over-invoicing the total contract in my favor as I want to make a personal profit from this contract.
    Let me know your response in the few questions then I will explain to you more about the contract and how we can proceed.

    If you are interested, I will also like to have your direct contacts for easy communication.

    Regards,
    Chief Simon Ngwa Achu.
    The CPDM Congress Hall
    P.O. Box 150 Bamenda, N/W Prov,
    Rep of Cameroon ,
    Tel: +237 971 728 64
    E-mail:chiefachu@gmail.com

    This e-mail was strange for a number of reasons. First of all, a quick web search revealed that Cameroon has never had a prime minister named Simon Ngwa Achu. However, a man by the name of Simon Achidi Achu did serve as prime minister from 1992 to 1996. I figured if I’m about to make an internet fortune, who am I to let a little detail like a middle name stand in my way? Of course, the real Simon Achidi Achu was born November 5, 1934, which would make him 74 years old at the time of this correspondence. I really had to admire this old man’s vigour!

    Another odd thing was the degree of specificity in every component that the CPDM is supposedly looking for in their global warming conquering comfort bikes. From the Falcon FW-70 14-28T freewheel to the Velo VL-3061 B93 saddle with Silver Bumper this was going to be one tricky bike to source. Or would it be? Another quick web search revealed one bike that matched these specifications exactly. It was the 21 Speed Women’s Tonino Lamborghini Urbano Trekking Comfort Bike pictured below.

    21 Speed Women's Tonino Lamborghini Urbano Trekking Comfort Bike

    Selling online for $199, this is your quintessential department store bike. And yes, in case you were wondering, Tonino Lamborghini is the son of the famous Italian industrialist, Ferruccio Lamborghini, creator of the world renowned Automobili Lamborghini. Sadly, this bicycle seems to be representative of the kind of cheap product Tonino is recklessly attaching the family name to these days. I’m sure Ferruccio is rolling over in his grave. But I digress.

    Knowing that this was just a scam, I thought it would be interesting to see how Chief Simon would respond to a slightly different offer. Here’s what I wrote:

    Hello Chief Simon!

    Thank you very much for contacting me about this opportunity. As it turns out, I do not have the means of providing 50,000 comfort bicycles with those exact specifications. However, I have recently received a shipment of 23,000 Treadmill Bikes from my supplier in Taiwan. You can read more about the Treadmill Bike here. The Treadmill Bike has received rave reviews from urban cycling enthusiasts and has recently appeared on Canadian, US and Japanese television.

    Because the treadmill bike is such a unique product, the price is higher than that of most comfort bicycles. The bike retails for $2500, but I would be willing to offer a substantial bulk discount so that you may achieve the personal profit that you surely deserve.

    The best way to reach me is through this e-mail address. I’m very much looking forward to doing business with you. Let me know how we should proceed.

    A few days later, I got this response:

    Attn, Mr Brent Curry.

    Thanks for your mail

    I would like to use this opportunity and briefly introduce myself to you once again; my name is Chief Simon Ngwa Achu, I am the former prime minister of the republic of Cameroon also the chairman of this contract award committee.

    This supply is a government contract sponsored by the CPDM Cameroon.

    I am contacting you in this business at this level on personal bases because I want to make personal profit out of the contract. My plan is that after we have agreed on the price, I will tell you the amount you would add for me when submitting your tender and after the contract has been awarded to you and you received the payment for the supply, you would return to me the additional money.

    There is no illegal formality in this contract as everything you would do concerning the contract will be legalized and according to the contract terms.

    Due to my position as a politician in administrative post, I am not permitted to involve in any personal businesses, as it is against my oath of service. Anybody in my position will as well utilize this kind of opportunity; it is possible for me to ask money from any company that want me to award her the contract but I considered it none confidential as I would not like anybody to take advantage of me in future.

    The reason I chooses to work with you is not because there are no company in Cameroon that can handle the supply, but due to I do not want any Cameroonian to know anything about my transactions to avoid anything that would sabotage my office; in this regards I would appreciate that everything we discussed or might do in future must remain absolute confidential.

    Concerning the specification/model, I want you to understand that I am a politician and do not know much about Bicycle; I can confirm any model you presented as long as the product is good and you are ready to work with
    me according to my proposal.

    Like I said I am the chairman of this contract award committee, just to say that I have the authority to award the contract to any supplier/company that I considered creditable.

    Apart from quantity, quality and duration; there are other conditions set out by the award committees that every supplier wishing to tender has to fulfill in order to qualify to tender.

    The award Committees has decided that any company wishing to participate in this tender must be registered as a CPDM contractor; and the company must have been registered with the CPDM for at least one year.

    The company must attach to her bid an attestation worth 30% of the contract value from any Cameroon financial institution.

    The payment term is 50% advance payment immediately the contract is signed and the balance will be covered by L/C certified by any first class bank of your choice in the world.

    Another option is that the company may choose to supply half of the goods before receiving any payment; in this case an attestation from financial institution is not required.

    I want you to understand that these conditions are not a problem as I have plans to provide money to sponsor the contract if we agreed to work. Since I do not want anybody to know my transaction with you; the part you would play in this business is either you register your company with the CPDM or contact any existing company with the CPDM to handle the contract with you. But in the case of using an existing company you must make sure that in no circumstance that you should let anybody know that I am working with you.

    I would like that you study this proposal very well and get back to me.

    Regards,
    Chief Simon Ngwa Achu.
    The CPDM Congress Hall
    P.O. Box 150 Bamenda, N/W Prov,
    Rep of Cameroon ,
    Tel: +237 971 728 64
    E-mail:chiefachu@gmail.com

    This was getting exciting! I had a foot in the door with the CPDM, but at the same time, I knew there would be lots of other companies bidding on this prestigious comfort bike contract, so I made sure to include a nice visual in my next e-mail.

    Hello Chief Simon,

    I’m sorry for the delayed response. I have been working hard to put together an eye-catching presentation for the awards committee. I’ve attached an image which will hopefully inspire the CPDM to select the Treadmill Bike for their comfort bicycle contract. I firmly believe that the simple, elegant design of the Treadmill Bike is the perfect
    fit for the diverse environment of Cameroon.

    Treadmill Bike Promo for Cameroon

    Could you please put me in touch with the people who will be deciding on this contract? There is lots more I could say about the competitive price, comfort and performance of the Treadmill Bike.

    Stay tuned for Chief Simon’s response to my proposal in part 2!

  • BikeCAD Pro 7.1

    BikeCAD Pro Version 7.1 is now ready. Here’s a video describing some of the new features.

    To aid the process of distributing the download instructions for the new version, all customers are being invited to join the BikeCAD Pro Update Google group. If you have not yet received your invitation, you can speed up the process by subscribing through the following link:

    Google Groups
    Subscribe to BikeCAD Pro updates
    Email:
    Visit this group
  • Treadmill Bike on Montreal TV

    The Treadmill Bike recently appeared on the French language television show: Le banc d’essai du peuple which, in English, they refer to as The People’s Gizmos.

    Due to copyright issues, I can’t share the video here. However, here are a few screen captures of the Treadmill Bike taking to the streets of Montreal.

    Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple

    This man might have been old, but he sure came alive on the Treadmill Bike. Meanwhile, this younger chap nearly ran away from the show’s host.

    Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple

    Most people didn’t know what to make of the Treadmill Bike.

    Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple

    When this FedEx employee was asked to guess the price, he wildly underbid at $300. Alas, it must take more than one test ride to appreciate the $2500 value of this product.

    Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple Treadmill Bike on Le banc d'essai du peuple
  • NAHBS 2011: A random sampling

    Last week was a busy time at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS). With so many people interested in BikeCAD, it was hard to find time to leave our booth and see many of the other bikes on display. With that disclaimer on the table, here’s a gallery of shots I did manage to take in my whirlwind tour of the show floor before the doors opened.

    Besides organizing the show, Don Walker put together an impressive collection of his own bikes. Among them was this fillet brazed tandem.

    Don Walker Tandem

    Craig Calfee had a fun mix of carbon and bamboo. This carbon tandem with S and S Couplings is an example of Calfee’s high performance offerings.

    Calfee Carbon Tandem

    Meanwhile, I also got a kick out of this ridiculous hemp wrapped carbon tall bike.

    Calfee Tall Bike

    Note the huge carbon fibre kickstand below.

    Calfee Tall Bike Calfee Tall Bike

    Rob Jones from Canadian Cyclist was conducting an interview with Sam Whittingham as I walked by the Naked booth.

    Rob Jones Interviews Sam Whittingham of Naked

    Sam’s bike eventually won the People’s Choice Award. With all the innovative features shown below, it’s easy to see why this bike was so popular.

    Naked Head Tube

    Naked Fork

    Naked Rear End

    Kimori’s bikes are always really interesting too.

    Kimori

    This Cinelli XCr is made from Columbus’ XCr biphasic seamless stainless steel tubes

    Cinelli XCr

    As always, Sycip was there with a nice mix of bikes.

    Sycip

    It was interesting talking to Herbie Helm. He had a triathlon bike at the show as well. He said he had always planned to build high performance machines like that. However, people kept coming to him for his ornate lug work and so most of his bikes are more like this beauty here.

    Herbie Helm's Show Bike

    I missed talking to Mike Zanconato at the show, but I did manage to take this overexposed shot of his bike.

    Zanconato

    Speaking of overexposed… Dang! You can’t even see the Shamrock Cycles logo on this bike, but despite my bad photography, that’s clearly Tim O’Donnell’s handywork on the Shamrock Cycles Celtic Cross. I like how the rack and fenders are built as a unit and can be removed quickly before a race.

    Shamrock Cycles

    I thought the wallpaper in the Signal booth really made their bikes pop. Signal won the award for Best City Bike. I didn’t get a shot of that bike.

    Signal

    I got to see John and Cory from Caletti Cycles on Thursday afternoon. Cory had mentioned how they’d been out riding that morning. I pictured them out riding in Santa Cruz before catching their flight to Austin and thought, “Man they must be organized! How’d they have time to fit all that in?” It wasn’t until later that I learned they’d driven down to Austin and things made a little more sense. Still, I do admire John’s clean, fast looking bikes. I have no doubt that he must run an organized shop.

    Caletti

    Caletti

    I didn’t get to talk to the people at the Mosaic booth, but they had a really nice display. I did get to talk about BikeCAD with Mark Kargol who painted the Mosaic track bike below.

    Mosaic

    Glenn Thompson from Daltex Handmade Bicycles has been using BikeCAD for a long time. I didn’t get to talk to him at the show, but I did share an elevator with him at the hotel.

    Daltex

    I wish I got a better shot of the bikes at the Ellis booth. They had some nice ones. They won the award for Best Road Frame at this year’s show.

    Ellis

    I always like to catch up with Tony Maietta, my booth neighbour from the 2008 show in Portland. This year, Tony had a number of neat bikes. On this one, he brazed rings onto the seattube to give it a bamboo like shape and then painted it in a very realistic way.

    Maietta

    The Maietta logo on the downtube was inlaid with mother of pearl.

    Maietta

    Vanilla always brings beautiful bikes to the show. This one is like the ones Sacha built for his daughters in previous years. But this one was made for the Museum of Art and Design in New York City.

    Vanilla Tiny Bicycle

    The Vanilla booth is always classy.

    Vanilla Booth Vanilla Booth

    What the Bicycle Forest booth lacks in class, we make up for with my beautiful wife Natalie.

    Brent and Natalie manning the Bicycle Forest booth

    This bike by Bilenky was of special interest because it was commissioned by Brett Horton for his collection of cycling memorabilia. It was also designed to fit Brett’s wife Shelly. This bike won the award for Best Lugged Frame.

    Bilenky

    A second bike for the collection was built by Chris Bishop. This one was also intended for Brett Horton to ride himself. Chris Bishop also won the award for Best Steel Frame with his track bike.

    Bishop

    Dave Anderson won the President’s Choice award with his Reynolds 953 road bike. This cyclocross bike was pretty nice too.

    Anderson

    The Hampsten booth was popular all weekend. Partly because of the sweet bikes, but also because of the presence of 1988 Giro d’Italia winner Andy Hampsten.

    Hampsten

    Speaking of legends, the legendary Kent Eriksen was also at the show and won the award for Best Tandem Frame. This mountain bike with Lefty fork also caught my eye.

    Eriksen

    There weren’t a tonne of mountain bikes at the show, but the ones that were there were gorgeous like this Form Titanium Prevail 29er.

    Form Cycles

    I didn’t get to talk to Mike from A.N.T. but I did get to examine his booth pre-show. Later on, I chatted with his wife and kids when they came by our booth to check out the latest features of BikeCAD version 7.0.

    ANT

    Chris King had a big booth with lots to see. Bike Snob NYC joked that this bike had an integrated charcuterie tray. I have now included the specs for Chris King’s line of headsets in BikeCAD. I guess the next update will have to include front rack mounted cutting boards too.

    Cielo

    Koh Annoura has such a keen following that a few of his customers brought their bikes to the show and helped exhibit them at the Samurai Cycle Works booth.

    Annoura from Samurai Cycle Works

    Koh and Susan Annoura handled the Japanese translation for the last update of BikeCAD. Version 7.0 has a few more terms which I took it upon myself to translate using Google translate. Koh was quick to identify a few mistakes. Apparently, directly translating saddle into Japanese results in the kind of saddle you’d use to ride a horse, not a bike. I’m looking forward to getting a few more corrections from the Annoura’s soon. If anyone else would like to add their two cents to any of BikeCAD’s various language files, they can do so here.

    Jeff Gjertsen also stopped by to discuss a dimension that would be useful for his frame fixture. I’ve included the new dimension in BikeCAD version 7.03. Here’s a shot of me with Jeff and Koh.

    Brent with Jeff Gjertsen and Koh Annoura

    Co-Motion Cycles was just across the way from our booth. It’s tandems like this that have made Co-Motion famous.

    Co-Motion Tandem

    Eric Noren is one of the more charismatic builders at the show. His personality really shows through in his bikes. I like the Peacock Groove logo carved into his dropouts. And the LED dice are awesome. They seem to say, “Yes, this bike was built by a guy with a mullet. You got a problem with that?” Not at all Eric. Not at all…

    I'm a peacock, you've gotta let me FLY!

    Sylvan was back with their lugged wooden frames.

    Sylvan

    All Speedhound bikes have this neat dropout system. Different plates can be swapped in for running regular drivetrains, single speeds, or belt drives.

    Speedhound

    Here’s one decked out with a belt drive.

    Speedhound Belt Drive

    This one had a first generation Huret Allvit rear derailleur (1958-60).

    Speedhound

    Craig Ryan is a mild mannered art teacher by day. By night, and on weekends… Well, he’s still mild mannered, but he’s the man behind Foresta Frames.

    Foresta

    This Demon frame had an interesting patina on the main tubes. If you’re going to ride like a demon, you might as well look the part.

    Demon

    Rosene won the award for Rookie of the Year. His bike really was stunning.

    Rosene

    I got to speak briefly with Alessandro Pizzuti from Pitz! Alessandro traveled all the way from Italy for the show. I’m glad he came. His bike looked fantastico!

    Pitz!

    Austin’s own Violet Crown was showing this bike which is representative of their specialty: handbuilt bikes meant to be ridden for transportation, not just racing or recreation.

    Violet Crown

    David Mills built this frame in an old smoke house where hams used to cure. The shop is in North Carolina and it’s about the size of a Ford station wagon. Amazing!!

    Mills Bros

    I got to talk a bit with Michael Crum from Magnolia Cycles. Super nice guy. And as you can see, a fine builder too.

    Magnolia

    I didn’t get to meet Megan Dean of Moth Attack, but I admire that she’s doing what she is in Los Angeles; a city that will never be mistaken for Portland.

    Moth Attack

    Rich Phillips from St. Louis, Missouri started out making motorcycles and doing leatherwork for motorcycles. Obviously those skills translate well to the bicycle industry. The bike looked great and the hand tooled leather grips were particularly nice.

    Rich Phillips

    The Vanloozen Brothers Very Big Bike was one of the more unconventional bikes at the show. As it happens, I really like unconventional bikes.

    Vanloozen Brothers

    Chris Dornbach built this bike for a customer who wanted to recreate the color scheme of Steve McQueen’s race car in the 1971 movie: Le Mans. I’d say he nailed it.

    Dornbox Steve McQueen

    We ran out of time to print new T-Shirts for the show, so by the end of the weekend, I didn’t even have one to wear myself. But I was glad to see Ken from Georgia brought his from last year. Thanks for looking out for me Ken!

    Brent and Ken

    Already looking forward to next year’s show in Sacramento!

  • BikeCAD Version 7.0

    BikeCAD Version 7.0 has finally arrived! Here’s a video describing some of the new features.

    New features include enhanced paint controls and color palettes, the option to curve tubes, the ability to save and retrieve components, an improved Fit Advisor interface and much more.

    We’re on our way to Austin. Come see BikeCAD in action at the Bicycle Forest booth #905 at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show. I’ll also be doing a seminar on BikeCAD on Saturday February 26th, at 11:45am.

    In keeping with my policy of providing free updates of the program, I’ve e-mailed all BikeCAD customers with the links to download BikeCAD Pro 7.0. If you have not received my e-mail, please let me know and I’ll send out another e-mail ASAP.

  • Sam Whittingham in the News

    Here’s a nice news piece about Sam Whittingham of Naked Bicycles and Design. I always get a kick out of seeing the BikeCAD drawings on the walls of Sam’s shop. It makes me feel like I’m playing a small part in the amazing bikes he creates.

  • Getting ready for NAHBS in Austin

    I’ve been pretty busy lately, mostly just trying to get BikeCAD version 7.0 wrapped up in time for the North American Handmade Bicycle Show in Austin, TX. This year’s show is going to be great.

    For a taste of what NAHBS is about, here’s a video from last year’s show in Richmond, VA.

  • Treadmill Bike on the Price is Right

    In case you missed it, here’s a clip of the Treadmill Bike featured in the Price is Right Showcase Showdown!

  • The Snowbird Human-Powered Ornithopter

    The Snowbird Human-Powered Ornithopter was designed and constructed by a team of students from the University of Toronto. On August 2nd 2010 it sustained level flight for 19.3 seconds, becoming the world’s first successful human-powered ornithopter. Rather than employing a pedaling action via a chain drive, the Snowbird uses a rowing motion using componentry from Derk Thijs’ Rowingbike.

    For more info visit: hpo.ornithopter.net.