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Surprise Visitor

1/20/2016

Imagine my surprise when I received an email, out of the blue, from Mr. Peter Weigle wondering if he might drop by for a visit and see my work studio, which in fact is a corner of our bedroom. Having never met him I was pretty taken aback that he even knows who I am or that I make bags

If you are reading this, you probably know who Peter Weigle is, but if not I'll try to explain: In the smallish world of fine handmade bicycles, Peter is clearly acknowledged as one the preeminent builders of our time. He's been at it for 45 years and is going as strong as ever. He, and his bikes, are nearly legendary. So, imagine me, wondering how he even knew about what I'm up to, baffled, nervous, excited, a little bewildered...

I write him back and the short of it is we spent a few hours standing around "my studio" talking about all things bicycle, craftsmanship, and bags. It was great-- Peter is a sweet man and it was a treat to hear about his work, his approach, challenges, etc... He's also potentially interested in some bags (!) so we'll see where that leads.

He brought some interesting items along and one in particular that I was delighted to see: one of his gorgeous front racks, which I believe are the most beautiful of any out there. I've stared at photos of this little rack and daydreamed of a making a bag that might somehow pick up the lovely curved elements and compliment its elegant design and somehow play off its lyrical quality. It was fun to see it in person...

Sometimes you get the most unexpected visitors. What fun!

(Top and rack images courtesy of JP Weigle/Flickr)

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Mark's Bag

1/20/2016

2 Comments

Mark is doing a really amazing job reworking a Raleigh International into a low-trail 650B randonneuring bike. Among the work he's done is re-raked the fork, rebuilt the seat stay bridge, new cantilever brake posts, various braze-ons, cable guides, building some clever custom racks, etc... It's impressive to see his work and we've been going back and forth about his handlebar bag that will join this great bike. Theres plenty to work out: size, color of fabric, trim and details, attachments, and so on. Whats fun is how much he has taken the task in hand modeling the bag in cardboard and altering it until it is just right. His work helps insure that the final product will be just right, without any unanticipated issues.

We've also done a lot to sus out a color scheme, with me sending him swatches and him trying them out against the bike. We've landed on a cream color called "wheat" with darkend brown leather and a small touch of red to compliment the fine red details on the frame. I'm excited to see it all assembled as one.

Additionally, Mark makes some pretty sharp decaleurs (see top photo) that improve upon the weaknesses of the common Velo Orange offering, which has a weld that takes a lot of abuse. Mark's decaleur solves that issue with a robust sleeve. I'm thinking one of his decaleurs might be the right fix for Nancy's decaleur which gave out last summer.

(Top and bottom photos courtesy Mark Guglielmana/Flickr)

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Surprise Visitor

Mark's Bag

D. Cain

Sign up for periodic notes, stories and behind the scenes tales from an adventurous bagmaker

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Surpr﻿ise Visitor

Mark's Bag

D. Cain

Sign up for periodic notes, stories and behind the scenes tales from an adventurous bagmaker

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Surprise Visitor