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NAHBS 2014: Peacock Groove Spreads its Wings, Launches Trick Headset & Spacer Caps

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Peacock Groove never fails to surprise and delight. Just check some his past years bikes (here, here and here) for examples.

This year, builder Erik Noren brought his own new bike, a 29+ cargo bike painted and accessorized to resemble a Minneapolis-Moline tractor. Lots of folks have done John Deere imitations, but since PG is based in Minneapolis, this seemed more fitting. While it doesn’t have the brand’s innovative-in-its-time closed cockpit, everything from tow chains to round headlamps make it legit.

Plow past the break, there’s so much more to see…

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Note the springy tractor-style saddle.

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Lights are powered by a front hub dynamo with mostly hidden wiring. Additional rack mounts boost the cargo capacity when needed.

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The rear rack doubles as a tire cowl, keeping large field debris out of the spokes.

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While our favorite was the first bike, his Highlander 29er 650b drop bar (gravel?) bike was the one consistently missing from his booth to visit the photo booth.

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There can only be one Highlander. And it won President’s Choice.

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Nice lug and paint work certainly did make it stand out.

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Other customer bikes included this road bike with an octopus theme. The rider wanted to use these wheels and liked eight-legged sea creatures, so the theme carried over with more than just paint.

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A chain slap guard was fashioned from a strip of steel and washers to resemble tentacles.

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Everyone had to have a fat bike in their booth.

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Sliding dropouts let it go single speed with ease.

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If you’re thinking WTF, then make sure you have a paint scheme in mind when your bike starts being built. This customer couldn’t decide, so he ended up with Erik’s current “default” paint scheme: Purple with pink polka dots. Sometimes it definitely doesn’t pay to be indecisive.

peacock groove headsets with integrated top cap and spacer

This project’s been in the works for quite some time, and it’s got Erik pretty excited as a way to grow his company beyond just custom frames.

He’s making his new headsets in house on their own 1982 Hitachi Seikei lathe, a machine he rebuilt to get working. The trick feature is the top cap that integrates the spacers, offering top races with either 0, 5 or 10 millimeters of spacer built in. The under side of it runs all the way down into the bearing, creating a sleeve between the steerer tube and bearing and eliminating any play. Pretty simple, yet very trick.

PeacockGroove.com

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blake
blake
10 years ago

Bike is Steel, not carbon

Dropout is horizontal or track, not sliding

poolboy 1.0
poolboy 1.0
10 years ago

Highlander is 650, not 29.

Papi
Papi
10 years ago

I’m having a hard time figuring out what’s so ‘trick’ about these headsets he’s making? The spacers are built into the top cap – like Cane Creek’s ‘tall cover’ option? This feature doesn’t seem so new. And what’s so complicated about regular headset spacers anyway?

Henry
Henry
10 years ago

Post the video of him pulling the truck with that cargo bike!

Dustin @ Southern Wheelworks

The spacers are built into the upper cup, not the top cap, right?

noren
10 years ago

Hey thanks BIKERUMOR for spending some time with the Groove last weekend.
The headsets we are making are just, well headsets. We just put our twist on them. I like the new shapes we came up with, and the PLUS SYSTEM is just simple and elegant.
When we get these to the people to use what you will be getting is this:
A headset with options and a number of options to use on your standard 1.125 headtube bikes.
We will be having a standard crown race, and one that is +5 mm so if you have on of them frames and forks that have interference when you turn, the +5 crown race should take care of that. That is a nice option to have.
The top race will be a “zero” , + 5 , +10 , and +15 option. The PLUS is just that, a machined in spacer. It is simple, makes your bike look a lot cleaner, and you can change them according to your needs as the season progresses. Like, maybe put in the +10 in the winter, for a little more upright riding stance.
There is nothing wrong with using spacers, I just wanted a better singular option.
I am proud of this product coming out. I have worked very hard in an industry that is very competitive with slim margins of profit. I am a working frame builder. I make my money by building and repairing frames. Now I took what I could, bought a machine that is awesome in its lore, and am making parts in my own shop.
In order to get these made right, and in a timely fashion, we are starting a kickstarter like thing soon. We plan on launching within two weeks. The first round of these headsets will be pretty cheap. Wait for it and I look forward to seeing one on your ride.
Thanks for your support and RUBBER SIDE DOWN!!
erik

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