Max Hoffman and the Amazing Wooden Derailleur

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Wooden campagnolo derailleur created by student Max Hoffman.

Max Hoffman is an Evergreen student. When not in class, he is often to be found at The Evergreen Bike Shop. The 21-year old cyclist has created something amazing. Here’s a bit of the story, with thanks to “BikeRumor.com:

At an early age, his passion for bicycles had him turning wrenches for one the of largest Campy dealers in the country – the Bicycle Pro Shop in D.C. It’s their in the trenches that he developed an admiration for the beautiful and exotically priced Italian components.

Having never owned any of the components, Max had his first break during his Sophomore year of school at Evergreen State College. While working at the community run campus bicycle shop, someone donated a broken Campy Record Derailleur. By dissembling and hand measuring with a set of calipers each component, he carefully translated every subtle curve into a small block of walnut. Without the assistance of a computer, mill, or CNC machine, he constructed the wooden sculpture over the course of 50 hours, using nothing but hand tools such as jewelers saws, files, and chisels!

Read the full post and see more photos at BikeRumor.com.