It has been one year since I last logged in to this site. I decided to change the domain to my name. Maybe I’ll clean it up and streamline things a bit too.
A few other things have changed as well, but largely, with COVID and all, not much is different.
The van has gone through a few iterations, as has Franken-Pig. I moved apartments but still live in the Bay Area.
Starting with the van, pretty quickly after it was built, I switched the bed to that garage/high-bed layout:
Then a few months later, decided to switch it again to a convertible futon:
Floor space makes the van more useful. Being able to flip the original bed up from the first iteration was great, but when folded down took up too much space. Having the garage is nice for keeping bikes, but there isn’t much space to walk around and stretch out, and it doesn’t do great at carrying cargo with a giant frame hanging halfway down the space. The convertible futon is kind of the best of both worlds.
I’ve since used the van to move apartments, carry the motorcycle and multiple bikes inside, etc. It still has the convertible futon and I think it’ll stay that way.
I also made a double decker rear rack setup to hold both a motorcycle and my bikes, which is pretty sweet (if I do say so myself):
The van has been to Salt Lake City, Wyoming/Utah via Yellowstone/Grand Teton/Arches/Canyonlands, Portland, Crater Lake/Lava Beds in the last year, but outside of these 4 or so trips, has largely sat unused.
It still works fine though!
Bikes have been a large part of the last year in keeping my hands busy and me sane. I’ve built so many bikes, and sold most of them, kept some of them. That will come in a future update.
For now, Franken-Pig first got new drop bars and 650B carbon wheels, then got a carbon Lauf fork, and carbon cranks with a 1×11 SRAM Rival drivetrain replacing the 2×10 before. The basket was replaced by a more bikepacking-esque setup, with a Swift Paloma handlebar bag, Rogue Panda tank bag, and Fairweather saddlebag. This has been the configuration of the bike for the last 800 or so miles, and I’d dare say it’s pretty much perfect now.
The old green BMW is still my daily driver, and has largely been completely fine, with no breakdowns or major mechanical issues. Just getting old, bumps and bruises from small dents, sun-damaged bubbling paint, etc. It’s almost at 200k miles now and still runs great.
I think that’s pretty much all for now. Big list of bikes I’ve built to come.
Andrew Liu 