Paragon Machine Works:
Bringing Home the Bacon for 30 Years
By Mark Norstad
30 years is a long time to be doing anything. May of 2013 is the 30th year since I started Paragon Machine Works. I never set out to be self-employed, run a machine shop or do anything for 30 years.
A little history may be in order. As youngster of about 12 years old, I was lucky enough to visit a family friend in the county who owned a black-powder cannon. It was just a model, but made an ear-splitting BOOM just like the real thing. My brothers and I were free to load and shoot it all afternoon while the parents sat in the shade. When it was time to go, I asked our host where he had gotten such a great thing. He replied that he had had one as a child, lost it along the way, and hired a local machine shop to make a replacement. The light bulb went on over my head at the thought that a person could actually make something from metal. Like most people, I had no concept of machine shops and manufacturing. A year later, I entered high school. I attended Redwood High School in Larkspur, California. This was 1970, and every high school in the county had shop programs. Redwood had a wood shop, an electronics shop, and my favorite, the machine shop. Even better was the the teacher, a man fittingly named Ben Bolt. Read more . . .
Download the Paragon Machine Works Products and Price List
- We are closed Monday, May 27th for Memorial Day -
You are Invited!
Help us celebrate our 30th Anniversary on June 2nd, 2013, from 11 AM to 3 PM at our shop at 253 South 25th St. in Richmond, CA. It will be a casual affair with hot links and beer served on a first-come, first-served basis. We will have our 30th Anniversary t-shirts and a selection of our bottle openers available for sale at a reduced price. Street parking is available. Please stop by and help us celebrate, you've helped to make us who we are today.
Win a $100 Paragon Machine Works Gift Certificate!
In honor of our 30th Anniversay, we are having a weekly contest on Facebook during the month of May to test your knowledge about the history of Paragon Machine Works and bicycling. Simply answer the question correctly and your name will be entered into a weekly raffle to win some cool Paragon swag. All correct answers will be entered into the grand prize drawing on May 31st for a $100 gift certificate. Winners will be announced on Facebook, so stay connected!
Sonoma County Backroad Challenge
We will have a booth at the Sonoma County Backroad Challenge on May 18th, 2013. Starting in Petaluma, this ride offers three different route options that take you through the backroads of beautiful Sonoma County. It will be followed by the Backroad Fest at Penngrove Park where you can enjoy a delicous BBQ lunch prepared by the Penngrove Social Firemen, live music, beer garden (Lagunitas Brewing Company and Petaluma Hills Brewing Company), exhibits, and more. Most importantly, this ride benefits the Petaluma Sunrise Rotary Foundation that sponsors a broad range of successful and sustainable service projects that benefit the local community. Please join us in supporting this fun event.
PolyDrop Ordering
Due to the large number of configurations that will eventually be available for our PolyDrops, we have decided to sell them a la carte and not as assembly items. As of May 1, you will need to order separately: 1) titanium or stainless steel frame components (sold as a set of 4 pieces: right and left chainstay pieces, and right and left seatstay pieces), 2) a right side insert, and 3) a left side insert. Please send any feedback on this way of ordering to donna(at)paragonmachineworks.com; if you like it then we will eventually sell all of our dropout assemblies this way.
New Products
PolyDrop Inserts
And speaking of PolyDrops, we have expanded our selection of inserts and now offer some of them black anodized. If available, the black anodized inserts are available as a pull down menu option on the bare insert product pages.
Chainstay Yoke
Our steel yoke, MS2060, made its debut at NAHBS 2013 on Retrotec Cycles' award-winning bike. CNC machined from 3-1/3 pound block of 1/2" 4130 steel plate, it is supplied in two halves that must be welded together by the builder. There are seven M5 x .8 threaded tooling holes on the inside of the yoke that may be used by the builder for locating pins. The chainstay end is round to fit 7/8" x .035" wall stays. The bottom bracket end is oval, 1/2" x 1". Both ends are long and can be cut back or mitered for proper fit. This yoke will clear a 3" tire. For detailed dimensions, please refer to the drawing tab on the product page.
Bottom Bracket Shells
We have two new bottom brackets shells: 1) BB0027, made from 3/2.5 titanium, and designed specifically for the Shimano SM-BB91-41A press fit bottom bracket adapter, and 2) BB2038, made from 4130 steel for the SRAM PF30 bottom bracket. BB0027 has an OD of 1-3/4" and is 93 mm wide, allowing 1 mm for facing after welding. The inside diameter is supplied .5 mm undersized to 40.5 mm (1.594"), and must be finished to size by the frame builder. BB2038 is 2" OD x 84 mm wide, providing 1 mm for finishing. The inside diameter is supplied .5 mm undersized to 45.5 (1.791")mm and must be finished to size by the frame builder. It is relieved in the center for weight reduction to 47.24 mm (1.860").
Tapered Steerer Tube
Our steerer tube, MS2009, is tapered 1-1/2" x 1-1/8". These are nominal dimensions that identify the proper headset to use. It is machined from 1-3/4" x .375" wall 4130 steel tubing. The crown race seat is supplied 1.592" diameter, and must be finished to size after fabrication by the frame builder. For further dimensions, please see the drawing tab on the product page.
New Staff
We are fortunate to have a group of incredibly talented and devoted employees. We'd like to officially welcome our three new employees: Tyler, John and Luis. They come to us with different backgrounds and experiences, but are all proving themselves equally valuable. We're glad to have them as part of our team.
Find Us on Facebook
Paragon Machine Works is now on Facebook. We will use Facebook to showcase new products, notify you when items are back in stock, and to post photos of our products and events that we attend.
New Video
Check out our new video on You Tube: Making a Dropout at Paragon Machine Works, by our awesome photographer, Rory Earnshaw, of Rory Earnshaw Photography.
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