The Official Guide to the World between the Wheels

"I would like to say first that I’m honored to have been given the chance to participate in this. Michael was a great sport and he is truly a good friend, thanks. This system of voting was very similar to “dancing with the stars” because no matter what professional thought was put into the bikes it was clearly won by common voting. The Stork has many friends and they carried me to Victory. Thanks to all of you!"

Both Bikes are awesome and I have to say I was worried once I saw the detail EvilXI put into his paint, its very rad & wicked! (round of applause for this) btw I almost put fenders on mine so don’t knock’em

Lets not forget this was a fun challenge and neither of us are enemies or in a battle of any sorts. doing things like this takes us places, introduces us to people & entertains us…. hey and most of all bikes are just plain cool!

We should be able to see from the above statement that I did officially win the Pavement Project Evil Earl challenge. A few people have been asking about it lately and I apologize for not following up but with all the media attention and jet setting around to hit all the morning talk shows I just havent had the time or energy. ;0)

Seriously this was an abslolute good time from start to finish. Below you can read details about my bike build and why I did certain things. Enjoy if you decide to read.

*Stork

THE EVIL EARL BUILD:

The Earl… I don’t build, adjust, modify or change anything for “showbike” status. All my bikes are ridden and things are done for a reason, cool or not cool, sometimes it’s just because I like the particular part, they serve a purpose or they may be just for shock value. Let me work through my Build of Evil Earl here with some explanations

I started with swapping out the steel fork for a Bontrager Carbon Elite for the use of a disc brake which I feel in my area is a must. Great braking in any condition and little to no maintenance for long periods of time. The rear drive train is a Sturmey-Archer two speed kick back hub with a coaster brake. Yes also low maintenance and wonderful braking in all conditions. The two speeds give me the hill climbing gear and the slow cadence cranking I love on the flats to hang on with the other city commuters using 9/10 speed stuff. I know you die hard fixie people are thumbing your noses to me but for the price and the function the 2 speed hub is simple fast and safe with the brake. Let me have this one…ok. I had a set of wheels worked up with all black spokes and nipples except for 7 red on the rear and 4 red on the front. By the way the front wheel is an older Bontrager hub that we took apart and installed a solid axle in to keep it street wise (no skewers on a city bike). I wrapped these wheels with a set of Bontrager Nebula Plus tires in a size 45 for smoothing out the rough Pittsburgh roads. To finish off the wheels I melted some heat shrink on the stems to give it the all black look. Let me add that the coaster brake and the front disc also keep my wheels looking “fresh” since there are no braking surfaces to wear on the rims.

The rest of the drive train is finished off with a stainless steel Wipperman Track chain wrapped around the 18T cog and the SRAM Force 175mm Carbon Cranks (42T) which are supported by the GPX Ceramic Bottom Bracket Cups. These were installed because I’m a big SRAM Fan and these cranks give my Evil Earl somewhat of a race touch. Just to let people know it can turn up the heat when needed. The SRAM graphics also meshed well with my vision of the builds completed look. A pair of All City pedals painted flat black and plates changed with on black plate on the left pedal.

A King headset was installed in divided colors and upside down to stick with the Earl decal on the seattube. I added the Bontrager SSR stem and the classy looking Capital Bars. I screwed on the bell for alerting other commuters and walkers & just to say “hello”. Grips stayed stock since these “Earl” editions are pretty nice. I used an Avid Juicy Ultimate Hydraulic brake and had a machine shop cut me a custom rotor with “Evil Earl” in it just so you know it’s the original Evil Earl.

I added the Carbon seat post and Race X Lite saddle and mounted a Trek Flasher in place of the rear brake. Water Bottle screws were removed and plugged and lastly I crudely wrapped a small piece of Bontrager Bar Tape on the top tube….Why you ask? Anyone who has ridden an Earl with the u-lock locked into the bottle opener knows it rattles “slightly”. Staying true to my crisp, clean and functional thoughts I don’t want a bike that sounds like its falling apart and we all know Evil is silent. I’ve called this bar tape my “u-lock bumper” and even added a small Velcro strap to hold it in the bumper securely. Let it be known this bar tape is not secured on by any adhesive or other tape. Its wrapped and tied back underneath itself to stay on. Total silence as Evil Earl comes upon its prey! Oh but wait this tape also serves a 2^nd purpose, when I do remove the lock and lean my bike against a bike rack to lock it up this “u-lock bumper” protects the paint on old Evil Earl by giving me a soft padded point to lean the bike on. BAM double duty!

Lastly I bolted on the Kick Stand. Ugh I know everyone hates these but I respect my equipment. I have integrity and pride in my bikes and a simple thing like a kickstand shows that I respect this bike enough to “display” it rather than lean it against something or drop it on the ground. Sure a Mountain Bike or Road Bike would be a little dangerous with such a thing bolted to it. But A bicycle that is ridden for the pure enjoyment of getting somewhere on the streets in my favorite chrome shoes and a pair of jeans requires nothing short of a support system such as the kick stand. Rock it! This bike is meant for quick access and isn’t intended to be stuffed in a corner or hung up.

Summary- I basically went with a simple yet functional street build. I accented things with red staying with a Bontrager parts theme as much as possible. I have red accents on the rear hub, bottom bracket, wheel nipples, rear light, pedal plates, saddle stitching, tire logos, Avid Juicy Ultimate brake adjuster and my U-lock Bumper. This Bike has been and will continue to be RIDDEN locked up on stop sighs, fences, parking meters, trees and bike racks throughout the city of Pittsburgh!

more photos can be see here thanks to Mary.

*stork

Evil Earl Creature (Pittsburgh PA)

Want a bike that can do just about anything the average cyclist could want to do? Then get your hands on a Dual Sport!

So I got one of these dual sports last February and immediately "upgraded" it with a slew of carbon parts and other unrealistic stuff but hey that's what I like and since its my bike no one can stop me from having fun with it.

I want to get the point made that this bike is one of the most versatile rides i have ever owned. Sure it takes a few minutes to swap out a rigid fork for the suspension fork to ride it in trails but its so simple that the average cyclist that replaces chains, greases bearings, adjusts parts etc. can easily handle it. If its a little above you then take it in to your shop when changes are needed.

here's some facts on the uses I put it through:

A full season of weekly road rides with the Trek of Pittsburgh shop
over 1/2 a dozen Centuries this year
My longest ride this year- 143 miles which was part of the Trek 100
a few charity rides
my weekend transportation to Pittsburgh for lunch on "no car sundays" (average 80 miles each time)
Lite trail rides when I rode to the Park then did a few miles of trails before riding home
It carried me from Kalkaska to Traverse City Michigan in the largest one day race -Iceman 2011
training rides for intervals and speed training.

to prove these facts i'll post a video a little later this year.

stork