Had a great time at the show. All the bikes were super nice and the pizza was top notch, perhaps the best I have had. Box Dog took this photo of my small booth. Travis from Freight Baggage made a nice little rucksack that is made for the rack and the pickles are from Boozely’s.

here are some photo from the Box Dog flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/boxdogbikes/sets/72157626201502279/

Location: Una Pizza Napoletana 210 11th St and Howard St. San Francisco, CA 94103

The greater San Francisco Bay area is home to numerous world-renowned bicycle frame builders. On March 20th many of them will converge at Una Pizza Napoletana in San Francisco for ‘A Ruota Libera’, a bicycle and pizza show designed to showcase and celebrate the rich culture and history of frame building that exists right here in our own backyard.

Anthony Mangieri, owner and pizzaiolo of Una Pizza Napoletana, is an avid mountain biker and owner of several custom made bicycles. For Mangieri, the event represents an opportunity to invite fellow craftsmen, who share his appreciation for detail, into his own ‘workshop’ where he will happily churn out his signature Neapolitan pizzas for the show.

Sean Walling, owner and frame builder behind Soulcraft Cycles, immediately saw the value of bringing local builders together for the show and partnered with Mangieri to bring A Ruota Libera to life. “The frame building talent we have within a 50 mile radius is an embarrassment of riches,” says Walling, “and Anthony has the same obsessive approach to pizza that we have to bikes, so why not get together and give the locals the opportunity to experience this all in one place.”

Walling and Mangieri both agree that A Ruota Libera will be a great venue for all, whether frame builder or fan, to appreciate what results from years working toward mastering a craft.

A Ruota Libera will also showcase a live musical performance by the internationally praised duo, The Mattson 2 and a screening of ‘FROM STEEL’: The Making of a Soulcraft’ by director Michael John Evans.

The name “A Ruota Libera” is Italian for “Freewheel.”

Moretti Beer and Mr. Espresso coffee will also be available.
Admission to the event is $10 (includes pizza)
Free on site bike parking will be provided.
Tickets are available at the door the day of the show.
Doors open at 1pm and close at 7pm.

www.unapizza.com
www.soulcraftbikes.com

Also, there is a Pass & Stow group on flickr too to check out here.

I am bro’s with the Box Dog people, they are good old bike folks with a knack for doing and selling good things. Jackie, one of the worker/owners came by the shop to see where he could help out, after some BSing, we got down to business and he mitered a bunch of tubes. Here is a blog post of photos from his experience: BDB blog

If you are in the SF, stop by their shop!

My friend Cameron told me about this rack mounting system. Simply mount the head of the M5 bolt from the inside till its good and tight, then add a spacer if needed, rack, washer, and a nylock nut. Done and Done. All racks now come with this super hardware option.

Why is it better? Well if you loose hardware on, lets say, a washboard dirt road, the rack will stay in place – it might rattle and look pissed off, but it will stay upright. Can’t say that for a simple bolt washer combination. Yeah, thread-lock is cool and works, but I think a little overkill is warranted in this particular spot. Again, done and done.

This is the new backpack from Freight Baggage called the Rucksack (I like stretching the U sound to a long OO sound), which I have been using to drag books, lunch, tools, water, layers, tea, and other miscellaneous belongings. Its waterproof, has a bunch of pockets on the outer layer of the bag and has a cinch strap at the top. I am not sure what the size of it is, it just feels right which is all I need to know. here is a link to the
Freight site.

Travis over at Freight Baggage has been working on a bag for my rack for a while. This is one of the prototypes. The roll-top helps keep the things in the bag snug and the front 3-D pocket can hold things that are needed frequently. The capacity is about that of a normal paper grocery bag. The mounting system is a bit different on the newer bags, it now has two straps which keep it snug.

Curtis had me make a  couple of racks, one went on a bike for the 2009 manifest show (which he took fifth overall).