RIP Sheldon Brown.

[simonali]

Sad news. Not a regular on his site, so I was unaware he was even unwell. Clicked many a link to there, though!

Going to Boston at the end of this month and hoped to find the time to pop into the Harris Cyclery and maybe even get to meet the man himself, but it's not to be now.

 

[ChrisKH]

Bugger.

What everyone else said.

 

[Arch]

Very sad. I loved his spoof products.

 

[frog]

Very sad. I loved his spoof products.

How to clean a chain - classic

He will be greatly missed.

 

[Disgruntled Goat]

He was The Man when it came to all things cycling.

 

[Fnaar]

I've had his site bookmarked for a few years...lots of useful stuff, and good explanations for a mechanical hamfist like myself! Good sense of humour too.

 

[Nigeyy]

I live very close by to Harris Cyclery, and have been in many times. I was often asked if I wanted to go down the stairs to see Sheldon, but I never did -I thought that I'd be more of a nuisance and guessed that he had to deal with that kind of thing quite often.

My claims to cycling fame revolve around Sheldon; I almost bought one of his bikes a couple of years ago, as well as he asked if he could post some info I'd written on his web site. Though I never talked with him directly, I'd contacted him via email and was surprized when I got an email from him directly answering some relatively trivial question -I couldn't believe he did that given that he must have received so many emails every day. Reading some of the message boards, I wasn't alone and this was truly his way.

One thing I'm glad I did is that I thanked him for his help, and asked if I could buy him a six pack. Though I'm close by, great intentions don't do anything, but I'm so glad I did take the time to do this -I dropped off a six pack of Harpoon IPA at Harris Cyclery (he emailed me this was his favourite).

A truly good guy.

 

[mondobongo]

Very sad news. His website was truly the font of Velo knowledge.
Condolences to his family and friends.

 

[beanzontoast]

His was one of the few sites that I bookmarked as being actually useful for learning about how bikes really worked beyond the superficial.

Very sad news.

 

[arranandy]

What a shame, RIP Sheldon. My condolences to his family. I emailed him a couple of times with bike-related questions and was suprised and delighted when he replied.

 

[Dayvo]

A sad loss indeed!

I occassionally read his blog, and even though he knew he was beaten (by his illness) he never let it get him down. He was/is an inspiration in many ways.

Ride in peace, Sheldon!

 

[Jacomus-rides-Gen]

Very saddening news, the man was a living legend in the world of cycling, who worked so hard to fight cycling's corner.

Heartfelt condolances go out to his friends and family.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Well, it was not unexpected, but a great loss to cycling and humanity. He seemed like a really lovely guy.

 

[domtyler]

I have been following his health issues over the past year or so and am saddened to hear of his demise, I don't think it was expected.

A real shame, a real loss.

 

[John the Monkey]

A couple of nice articles;

Grant Petersen of Rivendell Bikes Remembers Sheldon Brown

Linked from that article is an interview with the man himself, that has some interesting nuggets in it

So…a young Sheldon Brown. How did you become so
smart-about-bikes? Lots of people have been into bikes as
long as, but few have learned as much about them.

Well, I didn’t just ride them, I worked on them and put
together strange bikes from disparate parts. I built my first
tandem when I was in high school, from a couple of
Raleigh 3 speeds. I rigged it with drop bars in front, and a 6-
speed gear system (Sturmey-Archer 3-speed hub with 2
sprockets and a Benelux Mark VII derailer.).