SteveKrcmar
new member
Reged: 07/08/05
Posts: 1
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Hi,
I'm a freelance writer in Los Angeles. I regularly write about bikes for The Boston Globe and Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. I also covered the Race Across AMerica (RAAM) for the Seattle PI. I'm working on a story about high-end custom bikes (rigs that retail for $6K or above). If you have a cool story concerning how you got your bike or why, I'd love to do a quick phone interview with you. My deadline is imminent, so it would have to be done in the next few days. Please e-mail me or PM.
Thanks in advance,
Steve Krcmar
stephenkrcmar[the symbol for "at"]yahoo.com
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Did anyone else reply to Steve? I did and he called me. I wonder if anyone else did.
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 356
Loc: Never where I want to be
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Quote:
SteveKrcmar wrote:
Hi,
I'm a freelance writer...quick phone interview...My deadline is imminent...have to be done in the next few days. Please e-mail me or PM.
Steve Krcmar
stephenkrcmar[the symbol for "at"]yahoo.com
Ah procrastination.
I remember it well from college. In fact, I'm still familiar with it, I'm in the highly paid ad biz, creative side, and nothing like the energy and rush of a deadline to stimulate the creative juices.
Although, of course, this fact of how I operate is nothing I ever reveal publicly. (Present moment excepted.) 
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Gee Nev,
Is that all you have to say? What do you think of the idea of telling a story about how you came about buying a high-end bike and why? I'm sure a lot of people would be interested, specially the Walmart crowd. Ever see how many of those department store bikes are out there? Tons of them. And most of those clueless (at least the elitists think of them) are perfectly happy and think those who spent thousands when they spent a couple hundred dollars are foolish as all get-out.
I'm not taking sides, after all I spent big bucks on my custom Calfee. I'm happy with my purchase decision. A lot of people I told about my bike were amazed, shocked and thought I was foolish to spend so much. Of course, they all wanted to see it and pick it up and everyone who picked it up was amazed at how light it is, and my bike isn't even a weight weenie by any measure of the scale.
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 710
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
Nev wrote:
Ah procrastination.
I remember it well from college. In fact, I'm still familiar with it, I'm in the highly paid ad biz, creative side, and nothing like the energy and rush of a deadline to stimulate the creative juices.
Procrastination is a waste of time. So is every other big word.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 710
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
Insightdriver wrote:
Did anyone else reply to Steve? I did and he called me. I wonder if anyone else did.
I think that many of us who have a high-end bikes are very suspicious of media folks who want to 'know' about our bikes and why we have them. Too often we have been ridiculed about our choices and I think we have a tendency therefore to be gun-shy when someone asks about them.
Long ago I gave up defending my choice in bikes because there is no rational reason for them. They are merely my choices of how to spend my money on something that I like. "You spent how much for that bike? You have two of them?" Hmf.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Dave_Thompson wrote:
...folks who want to 'know' about our bikes and why we have them. Too often we have been ridiculed about our choices and I think we have a tendency therefore to be gun-shy when someone asks about them.
Long ago I gave up defending my choice in bikes because there is no rational reason for them. They are merely my choices of how to spend my money on something that I like. "You spent how much for that bike? You have two of them?" Hmf.
Amen.
Most cycling friends understand my (our) passion for nice bikes and justify along with me, my choices.
Non cycling friends say "Yikes! You spent how much?? Jeez, I'll bet you could keep up with Lance!" Um, yeah, sure. 'Cuz it IS about the bike.
Of course, those same non-cyclist buy a new putter every month because it will improve their game. :-)
My story for the Calfee is pretty simple. Friend had one and loaned it to me for a loooooong test ride. ...none of this "ride-it-around-our-5-mile-test-loop" deal. I fell in love with the bike and it was time to retire the steel Bianchi. Drove over to Santa Cruz to check out the factory and see entire frames painted rather than little color swatches. I found the color I liked and went to my bike guy with some deposit money. A few weeks (yes, weeks) later, I had my new bike!
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 356
Loc: Never where I want to be
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Quote:
Dave_Thompson wrote:
"have two of them?" Hmf.
You only have 2 bikes??!?
Poor guy. 
Here's the latest addition to my stable:
Here's the before:
It's an old junker Schwinn World Sport 10speed I "rescued" from a thrift store. Now it's a Fixed gear junker cruiser especial. I stripped it, ground off all the braze-ons,redished the rear wheel, painted it, had to cut the outer ring/chainguard off the front because it was all one piece, repacked the hubs, etc. Bars/stem I got off an old women's Spaulding bike I bought at a garage sale for $5. Now it's Fixed (gear). Rides like a tank, but it's a blast. Hard not to have a smile on your face riding this. Needs a cupholder on the bars I think. In addition to the bars, only purchases: rear cog, paint, tires/tubes from Walmart.
HEY! A guy's gotta have something to do in between rides. Especially when all my other multi-thousand dollar "high-end" bikes never need any work done on them -- I'm not much of a polisher. What's a guy to do? 
Maybe I'll take a photo of my garage one of these days for y'all. Including the kids/wife bikes 11 or 12 total.
Edited by Nev (07/15/05 07:30 PM)
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 710
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
Nev wrote:
You only have 2 bikes??!?
Poor guy. .....
I have only two 'high-end bikes. My other bike is a Schwinn Traveler fixie.
During the last 9 months, I've sold 2 Serottas, a Kirk, a DeRosa, a Pegoretti and a Moots, plus a few others that I don't recall.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Nev wrote:
Maybe I'll take a photo of my garage one of these days for y'all. Including the kids/wife bikes 11 or 12 total.
Almost reminds me of the garage of a friend of mine in San Francisco. He shared an old victorian house with 3 other cyclist.
If you're unfamiliar with a typical SF victorian layout, they're 2-3 stories tall, fairly narrow but very deep. The garage, on the street level, is 3-4 cars deep but only about 1.5 cars wide. The garage is usually wider than that, but the layout doesn't usually permit cars to park 'side by side' too easily.
Anyhow, their bikes hung by their back wheels (only) from the back of the garage almost to the front garage door. I never counted, but I'd guess there was easily 35-40 bikes hanging. ...and a lot of cables and Kryptonite locks too!
To be fair, several of them raced and they stored several of their team mates race bikes since they had the space. None the less, it was impressive to look in their garage.
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Dave_Thompson wrote:
During the last 9 months, I've sold 2 Serottas, a Kirk, a DeRosa, a Pegoretti and a Moots, plus a few others that I don't recall.
Now you're cash rich and bike poor?
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 356
Loc: Never where I want to be
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Quote:
skuke wrote:
Quote:
Dave_Thompson wrote:
During the last 9 months, I've sold 2 Serottas, a Kirk, a DeRosa, a Pegoretti and a Moots, plus a few others that I don't recall.
Now you're cash rich and bike poor?
That's what I was thinking.
I've followed the progress (and the photos: Dave, you didn't sell that beautiful Kirk did ya, or did you have two of those?) since I've been around this forum. Hopefully my sarcasm came though. Can't always count on those little smilie thingies.
My garage isn't that impressive, beyond the mess. A couple litespeeds (recently informed the "Huffy" of titanium) and over the top mountain bikes. But mostly a place of fun and escape -- hence the new member.
We should all be riding right now, not here.
Nev
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 710
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
skuke wrote:
Now you're cash rich and bike poor?
Ha! Not exactly. I lost a little money on every bike I've sold but made it up in volume. I've now got two extremely good bikes that suit me perfectly.
I don't know if you recall, but I contacted you a few years ago regarding the serial number of your Carbon Frames. I had just purchased one and inquired of yours trying to date mine. It turned out that our bikes were about 100 numbers apart therefore most likely the same year. I've had two more Calfees after that,a Tetra Pro and a Luna Pro. Then came my love affair with Serottas (still ongoing) and I'm on my 6th and 7th now. In between and mixed in with those were Softride, Burley, Colnago, Trek, Della Santa, DeRosa, Pegoretti, Moots, Kirk, Judd, Litespeed and several others that I don't remember (I'm old!) See my gallery here: http://www.bikefanclub.com/gallery/showgallery.php?si=&perpage=24&sort=1&cat=500&ppuser=45&friendemail=email@yourfriend.com&password= Not all my bikes are there as there were some unfortunate choices (the Lightspeed and Colnago come to mind) so they were never posted.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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Dave_Thompson
prophet
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 710
Loc: Spokane, Washington
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Quote:
Nev wrote: That's what I was thinking.
I've followed the progress (and the photos: Dave, you didn't sell that beautiful Kirk did ya, or did you have two?).....
Yup, in a fit of stupidity last year I sold the Kirk. I consider it one of the two dumbest things that I've done in my life. I will probably regret that lapse in judgment for many years.
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Steel lover, but then I like Ti with carbon too.
Licensed bike geek.
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Nev
captain
Reged: 05/03/04
Posts: 356
Loc: Never where I want to be
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Quote:
Dave_Thompson wrote:
Quote:
Nev wrote: That's what I was thinking.
I've followed the progress (and the photos: Dave, you didn't sell that beautiful Kirk did ya, or did you have two?).....
Yup, in a fit of stupidity last year I sold the Kirk. I consider it one of the two dumbest things that I've done in my life. I will probably regret that lapse in judgment for many years.
 ...
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skuke
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 302
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Quote:
Dave_Thompson wrote:
I don't know if you recall, but I contacted you a few years ago regarding the serial number of your Carbon Frames. I had just purchased one and inquired of yours trying to date mine. It turned out that our bikes were about 100 numbers apart therefore most likely the same year.
I remember that "somebody" asked for my serial number a few years ago, but that is about the extent of my recollection.
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Skuke
95 Carbonframes Tetra Pro
92 Bridgestone MB-1
90 Moser 51.151
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fastdog
new member
Reged: 07/27/05
Posts: 1
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Craig Calfee is the place to go when you want a
69 cm frame for 6'8" body ( weighs in at about 18 lbs
ready to ride too )
It is a beautiful machine.
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