Wearing many hats here at Campfire, Jake has found great alignment for his many skills and interests working with us. Jake grew up in the Tucson area enjoying many of the outdoor adventuring opportunities from running to climbing. But more recently Jake has gone all in into the world of cycling and bikepacking.
We gladly yanked Jake away from REI where he had gotten himself established as a bicycle mechanic. Now he is wrenching for us and along with taking care of our event and product photography.
Another great bikepacking business skill that Jake brings to the table is bike bag sewing. Jake builds great bags under his brand Good Dog Packs.
Cayce’s colorful wheels – December. 9, 2024
This last week I got the privilege to build one of the craziest and most colorful wheelsets to ever roll this world. Cayce got some powder coated spokes, anodized hubs and rims from Onyx and Son, limited edition Gravel King tires and a custom Sinewave Beacon. I can’t wait to see where these funky wheels take Cayce.
Gustavo’s purple Univega – December. 2, 2024
Yesterday I got the opportunity to overhaul our friend Gustavo’s beautiful purple Univega superstrada. All new bearings on every moving part, fresh grease, a wax and polish, new tape and chain. This bike rides like new! These are always fun projects and satisfying to finish up.
Black Friday deal in the shop! – November. 25, 2024
Free selfies with Jojo! (our temporary celebrity employee) while supplies last. Jojo has been hanging out in the shop this week while his trusted human has been on vacation. Come by the shop and see Jojo’s glory in person this holiday shopping season.
A cool car, at a bike shop? – November. 18, 2024
Working downtown Tucson we get to see a lot of fun people and cars. Yesterday walking to my favorite burrito shop, The Little One, just a block away from the shop I see this amazing Ford model A from the 1920’s drives by me. I’m more of a bike nut than a car nut but it’s a cool sight to see!
Split belt Rohloff Ogre – November. 11, 2024
This week we got to put together this slick split belt Rohloff Ogre build. Wrenching in the desert we don’t see belt drive bikes often. Pinning together a split belt is an exciting thing to experience. This belt and bike will travel many hard miles before needing service.
The New SRAM’s Apex12 Groupset – November. 04, 2024
I got to install the new Apex 12 speed X-actuation last week on a monster-cross build. I installed these brifters on a carbon hard tail with a Sram Gx eagle rear derailleur. For the brake calipers, I installed some Sram Guide ultimate post mount calipers to adapt it on the mountain bike frame.
I have to admit, I am very impressed by the new brake feel and crisp MTB shifting and compatibility of this group set. I wish I took a picture of the full build, but I got this image of the brand new levers. This upgrade would be fantastic on a Salsa Fargo or cutthroat build if some one wanted the massive range of mountain bike gearing and hydraulic brakes and drop bars.
The mysteries of dropper posts – October. 28, 2024
Everyone’s first experience with a dropper post is nothing short of a mystical experience. How does it work? What’s the secret? Why would I need this? Where does the post go?
Dropper posts have to be one my favorite bike components and after taking many dropper posts apart and learning their secrets they still amaze me. Here’s a picture of the guts of a dropper post before being reassembled, an amazing feat of bicycle engineering.
David working on bikes – October. 21, 2024
Today we have a AI generated photo of David wrenching on a bike. I’d like to think that this worthy of a tidbit. I hope you enjoy this image
Sonoran Summertime Campfire – October. 14, 2024
When the sun goes down in the Sonoran desert, and the temperature drops to a brisk 89 degrees campers, bike packers and thru-hikers quickly scramble to find a source of warmth and light. There is no such thing as a perfect Sonoran Summertime Campfire but I’ll share with you some tips on how to create one.
Step one: Grab a headlamp or some sort of light source, a bottle of some sort and something orange and transparent (in this case I used a headlamp, a small bottle of fireball and a Nalgene water bottle).
Step two: Defuse the light through the orange item to recreate the signature campfire orange color and place it on top of the water bottle
If these two steps are preformed correctly people will gather around, kick their feet up and start to tell stories. In addition: this fire is a smokeless fire.
Bonus tip: Add something in the bottle to draw attention and give people something to stare at, just like a real fire! For this I used 6 Tangerines to get this desired effect.
Matt’s Mash build – October. 07, 2024
This week, I got to do a frame swap—taking parts parts off a Canyon Grizl and putting them on this sweet Mash frame. The color combo on this bike is sure to turn some heads. This bike rips around the city with ease. All in all, a fun build indeed!
Moonlander – September. 30, 2024
Surly’s new Moonlander landed last week and has been the talk of the shop ever since. 24×6.25” tires, pinion gear box, dropper post, massive cog. What more could you want? Swing by the shop if you want to test out this lunar landing equipment. Here’s Burger enjoying a cruise around the shop.
Bubble wrap Toby – September. 23, 2024
This week we packed up our first Tout Terrain Xplore 2 after a dynamo wheel build and installing a new sinewave beacon. I was surprised to find this bike from Germany came
Well-packed in a 40ft X 4ft sheet of bubble wrap. I’ve never seen a bike packed this way, but I bet it would be a tough bike to damage during shipping.
Bikepacking Journal Cameo – September. 16, 2024
This week our friend Josh sent this picture of me in the newest edition of Bikepacking Journal. This picture shows our wrenching set up at Ruta del Jefe (a horse stable, two packable bike stands, a small table and camp chairs). It was a weekend of brake repairs and chain lube. Ruta de Jefe is such a wonderful cycling event happening at Cuenca Los Ojos, Mexico. The event focuses on the rich culture and biodiversity in the borderlands and the border wall’s effects on animal and human migration. I haven’t had a chance to read this article yet but I can’t wait to check out the latest edition. It’ll be available in the Campfire Library once we get our copy. This was a great reminder of this wonderful experience we had.
Hope/Spank mullet build – September. 9, 2024
Built a set of wheels last week for my buddy Dylan’s Evil Wreckoning. 27.5” the rear and 29” in the front, sounds like a party. These Spank 359 Vibrocore (foam filled) rims with impressive radial compliance soak up all of the bumps. Paired with some silver Hope pro 5 hubs, this is a shred worthy combo. I’m excited to see these on the trail.
Angel Fire – September. 2, 2024
This last weekend I made a trip to Angel Fire in the mountains of New Mexico with some friends! It was so nice getting out of the heat for a weekend to enjoy the endless runs down the mountain, hitting jumps, berms, drops and rocks. Nothing but the altitude and sore hands held us back. It was such a blast on my last minute Salsa BlackThorn build. I’m excited to get out and try it again sometime soon.
Blackthorn build – August. 26, 2024
What’s a bike mechanic without a continuous bike project obsession? This week I’ve impulsively built up a carbon Salsa Blackthorn for a weekend on the slopes at Angel Fire with friends. I’ll be back with an update on how it rides. I’m excited to finally try out a carbon full suspension bike.
Hub selfies with Toby – August. 19, 2024
Today we take a glance trough the reflection of a recently polished son 28 dynamo hub. You will find the smiling faces of Toby and Jake. This is the last thing a hub like this will see before being laced to a rim and ridden around. The power generated from this hub will light the way for countless hours of night time riding and accessory charging. Isn’t that neat?
Flat Bar Conversion – August. 12, 2024
Yesterday I had the honor of converting this beautiful Panasonic to flat bars for our friend Molly Sugar. We got some Simworks Mowmow bars on there, Paul brake levers and rounded the color scheme with some pink brake cable housing and grips. This thing is fast and fun now, I’m excited to see it on the streets.
Work shop organization project – August. 5, 2024
This week Toby, Ellie and I embarked in the largest reorganization project we’ve done in the last 2 years in the workshop. After dreaming and planning for months, the time was right to jump on the project last week. We are still finishing up the final adjustments and organizing everything, but we are excited for the extended shop space and the new work flow. I’ll Im have an updated post for y’all when we get everything buttoned up.
See a hug send a hug – July. 26, 2024
Toby wanted to give Kip a hug, 9,419 miles between the two of them proved to be an issue. So this is Toby solution in three simple steps: he will hug a bike that just so happens to be the exact bike the Kip had been dreaming about, ship the bike to Kip in Kenya, when Kip opens the bike (after it has spent 3 weeks in the middle of the ocean), he too will hug this very same bike. If Toby’s calculations are correct this should complete the long-distance hug.
Copper Creek – July. 19, 2024
On this weeks episode of Jacob searching through his photos to find a tidbit-worthy story; we find a photo of Toby and Henly on a scouting adventure in Copper Creek walking over a sketchy bridge over bright turquoise water in late spring 2022. On this adventure we set out to find the remains of the Sibley castle built in the early 1900’s and a way over the Galiuro mountains. We rode and hiked many miles up steep and rocky mining trails, found some fresh spring water to stick our toes in, took a nap under a shade tree. On the satellite images you can see the copper creek (under this bridge) is filled with bright blue slag from the copper mine, we had to stop and see the creek for ourselves,
Bicycle Mine Cart – July. 12, 2024
This last weekend in Reno, I had the chance to visit an old mine in Nevada city. In the opening of this mine they had some antique equipment. This mine-cart adapted bicycle caught my eye. This single speed mine cart comes with a carbide lamp, a basket and of course a helmet for those low hanging beams. What more could you ask for?
Soma Wolverine Build – July. 5, 2024
This week I had the honor of building a Soma Wolverine for our friend Bear. Bear was looking for a steel bike that could do it all and then some. From city commuting to the rough trials of bike backing, I’m excited to see where this bike takes bear. Soma does know how to make a beautiful practical bike.