Why haven't the Gallery Pages been updated in a while?

Blame the "day job"... Basically beginning in mid-2010, a long term project in my job begin taking over much of my free time. This continued to expand through 2011 and finally finished in January of 2012. If you draw a graph showing the average pace of gallery additions over time, you will see them drop precipitously during that period.

As I dig into the stunningly large quantity of submissions in the backlog, I'm also turning up some which were incorrectly routed by me (and my email setup), so there are images sent as far back as September, 2010 which have been patiently awaiting posting.

I apologize for the delay, but now have got some time to start working on it. If you sent in an image between 9/10 and now, it's likely to be showing up. Hang in there and keep your eye on the Cyclofiend.com Gallery Updates Blog.

How can I get my bicycle in next year's Current Classics Calendar?

All images in the Cyclofiend.com Calendar were taken from bicycles which have been submitted to the Galleries. To be considered, you must first send in photos and a description as outlined on the Guidelines page. If you have more questions about the process and the qualities I'm looking for, send an email to calendar (overat) cyclofiend (dotty) com. That will give you more information regarding the necessary image resolution required, as well as a few other hints. UPDATE 2/12 - There has only been one calendar printed, and I'm currently evaluating the possibility for one in 2013. I mean, since the Aztecs didn't bother to print one, there will be one heckuva demand...

Why have you listed my email address?

Because a lot of other folks will see your listing and may have questions for you. By default, your email address will be listed as a hyperlink (i.e. - a clickable bit of text which will generate an email). I am happy to omit your email address from the listing, but you need to tell me to do so. (By the way, I do not post phone numbers or specific address location information which many people have in their email footers.)

Unless I receive specific instructions otherwise, I will include
(a) the email you put in the body of your submission or
(b) the email from which you send the submission or
(c) the spam-thwarting spell out of yourname overat somedomain dotty comm*

If you don't want me to do that, please put "No Email Please" at the top of your submission or in the subject line.

*If you spell out your email - e.g. "bob at bob dot org" - I will leave that in the text as you typed it, but won't make it into a hyperlink.

It's also pretty easy to set up a gmail (or similar) account on your end, and filter it pretty aggressively.

What's this about photos with pets?

If you supply a bicycle photo with your pet and make a donation to this site, 1/2 of your amount will be gifted to one of the animal rescue groups shown on the right hand side of this page. These are two local groups which my wife and I have worked with, and two national groups which seem to be doing the right thing.

I don't have a pet, can I still submit a photo?

Absolutely! The pet in the picture thing was kind of a whim, but the first cross bike photo submitted had Gunnar (yes, that Gunnar) in it, so it seemed like we should formalize it.

Of course, if you thinking of getting an animal companion, please consider giving a rescued animal a good home. Petfinder.org is an excellent resource for locating specific breeds and rescue groups in your area. Rescue and "2nd Chance" animals are some of the most grateful animals you will encounter.

Can't you just pull the photos off of my (or someone else's) website?

Sorry, can't do it. There's a few reasons.

First, I don't really have the time to go out and get them.

Second, if you send them to me, there's no issue about me obtaining someone else's "intellectual property".

Third - It seems that the SnapFishes, Ofotos, PhotoBuckets or what have you compress the screen images in ways which seem to sacrafice photo quality if you just download directly from the screen image. Some of them also imbed their little logo as a watermark in the photo. Bleah. (Artistically speaking...)

I sent you 20 photos - where are they?

As I said on the guidelines page, I'd rather have 5 (five) really good, well thought out photos than a whole bunch more. Sometimes if there's a 6th one which really adds something, I'll let it slip in, but I just don't have the time to process and transfer more than 5 per posting.

How come no people?

Because when you get famous and I have a photo of you without a model release on file, your lawyers will come after me like rabid fleas...

How come you didn't include some of my photos?

If there were too many people and I didn't have the time to blur their features, or if there were animals seemingly under duress, they won't make it into the Galleries. Those are the two major reasons for omissions. Oh, also not having a bicycle in the photo...

Why am I being asked to donate?

Throughout the Cyclofiend.com site, there are a few "Donation" buttons littered about. Clicking on the donation button:

will open a secure page with Paypal where you can make a donation. You can either make a payment through your Paypal account, or if you don't have one, you can sign up on that page (or use the credit card option). The donations are purely voluntary, and are used to defray hosting expenses and bandwidth charges all of which continue to edge upwards as the site becomes more popular.

If you want to mail a check, send an email to cyclofiend (at) cyclofiend.com and I'll tell you where it goes.

What's up with the dog?

That's Tashi, she was our Cocker Spaniel, who was a rescue we got through Hopalong Animal Rescue. She had been out on the streets for a while, and then in the clink for two weeks when we first met her. She was at her "termination date" when we fostered her, and about a half hour later, we realized she had found us. She had a good gig and I still miss her.
If you see a "little Tashi" next to a listing in one of the galleries, that mean's that the photo has a pet in it. Even if it is a cat, lizard, snake, macaw, raven or whatever you call your pet...

Can I submit my Cross Bike if I don't race?

Absolutely!

If your bike was designed for cross, snap a photo and send it in. It doesn't matter if you use it as a commuter, a touring bike or rain trainer... I'd rather not see a mountain bike that has had its bottle cage and bar ends removed, even though you may have raced that.

If you have raced your cross bike - great! If you want to race your cross bike, check out this page at USCycling.org Of course, if you live in Northern California or Oregon, you have some pretty great resources locally.

How do I know if I have a "Current Classic"?

It's the stuff that isn't what everyone else is churning out these days*. It ought to be designed so that it doesn't get pegged into a specific year (my personal special head-shaker is a mountain bike with a chainstay mounted U-brake... can you say 86/87?)

Nominally, I've picked bicycles made after 1978 with "classic" design aspects - adaptable design, good clearance, etc - only because Classic Rendevous and similar sites seem to cut off bikes around this point. It's a bike you wouldn't feel funny talking about on the iBob email list.

Some are racy, some are versatile, some are trash-bikes. If it doesn't seem to be like any of the other bikes, you should make a claim for its inclusion in your email (with the photos, natch...)

A Current Classic is not -

A compact framed road bike, made from aluminum with some sort of wiggly carbon bits said to have "vertical compliance" for road bumps.*

A full-suspension mountain bike*. Although a humorous failure of design might be included...

A mountain bike with hugely oversized tubes.*

Other than that, I'm pretty open to suggestions & submissions - I would tend to include mountain bikes made of steel with rigid forks, road bikes with horizontal top tubes (although this and anything else BG makes would be included) and an attention to detail at the tube joints. Lugged frames, of course. Fillet Brazed frames, of course.

(*And I'm not saying that mass produced or modern bicycles are bad - just trying to define the parameters for the Current Classic Gallery.)

Is my mountain bike a "Current Classic"?

Well, maybe... There was a period when mtb's were versatile, adaptable and dependable. These days they seem very purpose-specific. At worst, they can be finicky and needlessly over-built. So, if the needle points more to the "V", "A" and "D" than to the "P-S", "F" and "N O-B" end of the spectrum, it would be a welcome addition.

What about a gallery for my single speed mtb?

Ok...

Why do you call it "Single Speed Garage"?

Dunno. Maybe it's because when I started getting interested in ss mtb's, you pretty much had to cobble them together youself. Or maybe it's because of Frank Zappa's "Joe's Garage". Could have something to do with "Garage Band" from the Clash. Mebbe it's because in Northern California, all we have is carports and I'm jealous. Might be all those things and more.

Does my bicycle have to be a Rivendell to be a Current Classic?

Nope. The idea behind the Current Classics Gallery is to bring together those bicycles which demonstrate a commitment to classic and proven designs. Rivendell certainly epitomizes those beliefs, but the site is open to any manfacturer who crafts bikes along those lines.

You can get a good idea of other models by viewing the Current Classics Sorted by Manufacturer page. And if your bicycle isn't up there - Send it in!

Do you work for Rivendell?

Nope. I own one (well, now two) and really like a couple other models. I also as of spring 2007) moderate the RBW Owners' Bunch list over on Google Groups. Since I've tended to keep an eye on developments Rivendellian, I created a page which aggregates RBW stuff in a semi-blog-like fashion. (Although as of 2010, they have worked through some site issues and have been much more regular in providing updates via their "Blug", which I would recommend you also follow.)

This is all from a simple interest in the company and its philosophy.

Working Bikes - Wazzat?

Any bicycle which is being used instead of a motor vehicle (or a flippin' Segway...) for deliveries, transportation, hauling, etc. Follow the links on the Working Bikes page to Porteurs, for an example.