Zanconato

What's old is new again

Tue, 11 May 2010 09:26:59 -0500

I've gone back to the old blog. It's much easier to upload photos to, and easier means I'll actually do it. Thank you for the visit here. Please proceed to http://bikesbyzank.blogspot.com.

Thanks!
Mike

NAHBS was incredible!

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:29:22 -0500

I had an absolute ball meeting so many of you in Richmond. I got to meet lots of my customers, whom I've only known over the phone and emails in the past, and happily put a face to a voice. What a thrill! I am so blessed with such a wonderful group of customers. Thank you!

It was also a joy to meet so many folks from the various forums on the web. No more hiding behind those screen names now! Ha! Talking with people face to face is still my favorite form of communication, but again, putting faces with names will make online discussions even more fun.

And, of course, seeing old friends in the industry and meeting lots of new ones was worth the trip alone. What a great community we have. It's so wonderful to see it thriving.

Thank you to everyone for all of the support. The booth felt full the entire weekend. And everyone just wanted to talk about riding their bikes, which for me is the whole point of all of this. I'm already looking forward to Austin!

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with Bill Schieken from CX Magazine and In The Crosshairs. The video is here.

Now it's back to work. I brought home all of my incredible Anvil jigs and tooling and I am so psyched to start building bikes.

I'll close with the same thing I said above. Thank you so very much to all of my incredible customers. Without you, of course, none of this would be possible.

NAHBS Cross Bike

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:20:23 -0500

v2.0

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:16:38 -0500

With NAHBS looming in just over a week, I have completed the first frameset in my new shop. From here, things will be full bore. The blog updates will be coming a few times a week from now on, and I am so excited to restart the framebuilding gig in my own space in Sutton, MA. It's a fantastic town and a cool old mill that received a major face lift after almost being left for dead back in the 60s. This is my room as I found it...

It was a great blank canvas and has taken shape since then. I've brought in two Bridgeports, a LeBlond lathe, and all of my other tools. I will be taking delivery of my new Anvil Super Journeyman frame jig and Anvil mitering fixtures at the show. But this will give you a little taste of the progress so far.

So things are coming along. And here are some photos of the first frame. Here are the joints post-brazing. You can see the flux, which is an acid that gobbles up oxides and other nasties during brazing and promotes the flow of the silver into the joint, on the surface with little to no burning. Heat control is everything in preventing charring of the flux.

Here is the result after soaking off the flux.

This bike will be on display at NAHBS, along with two others that should be back from the painter on Friday. I'll be posting up pictures when I get them.

If you are going to Richmond, please stop by and say hi. I will be in booth 529/531 (across from Chris King's 20' x 20' I believe).

Happy cycling!

2010 Zanconato Kit

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:29:51 -0500

I am ready to kick off another Zanconato clothing order. I'm very excited to be partnering up with Vermarc out of Belgium for this year's kit. I have been wearing Vermarc for a few seasons now through the club I belong to, and it's the most comfortable and longest lasting clothing I have ever used. Of particular note are the bibs, which make the long days in the saddle a dream. You've no doubt seen Vermarc kit in use by pro teams Quick-Step, Silence-Lotto, Milram, Landbouwkrediet, BKCP, Topsport and many others. We're talking pro-level stuff here.

Please drop me an email at mikez@zanconato.com or through the contact page of the website. I can forward all of the information and the order form to you. Deadline is 10/16. Delivery will be around the first of the year. I look forward to hearing from you!

A plea for your dirty pictures!

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:11:10 -0500

Get your mind out of the gutter. Hey, all of you current zank owners. I want to build a gallery on the website with all of your bikes covered in mud, road salt, sand, grime, filth, and dead worms from those early spring rides. I want the world to see you are riding the bikes and not hanging them on a wall somewhere. Please make them as high a resolution as possible. Email them to me at bikephotos at zanconato dot com. Thanks!!

The Fire Chief gave me the thumbs up for the new shop space at Manchaug Mills in Sutton, MA. I'm really excited. A glorious 8 mile ride from our apartment or a quick 12 minute drive if I need to get there in a hurry. Not bad!

Have a great weekend!
zank

The galleries are up!

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:38:53 -0500

check 'em out.
road
cross
shop

New Sucker Brook Cross website up!

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:35:04 -0500

I am thrilled to be sponsoring the Sucker Brook Cross again this year. It's a fantastic race and a fantastic cause. Check out the new website.
http://www.suckerbrookcross.com/

And don't forget to resister early on BikeReg!
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?eventid=9143

new site, new blog, and it's good to be home

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:03:41 -0500

Hi gang,
Well, the misses and I made it back to MA and it's nice to be home. We really enjoyed our one year stint in WI, but there's nothing like seeing friends and family.

The new site will be complete over the next few days. I'm super excited about it. ITDR has put together a fantastic site and I couldn't be more pleased. Thanks to Ann Marie and the gang there.

Cyclocross season is on the horizon! Time to break out the Mastik, check the embro stocks, and keep doing the hard intervals. The pre-season is almost over and the big show is about to begin.

I will be posting lots of photos as I get up and running again at the shop. Come back soon to see what's new.

Thanks!
zank