It’s been awhile since I have posted any builds. I have been juggling quite a few projects at the same time. I try my best to work on only one bike at a time, for a variety of reasons things don’t always work out as straightforward as hoped. Now I am caught up, so it’s time to come up for some air and share some of the things I have been working on. It’s kinda fun seeing the different projects presented together as it is quite a diverse mix. Two of the frames shown below are in paint, and the other two will be heading there next week so it is a nice way to end 2015, and will no doubt be an excellent way to start 2016 when some shiny freshly painted bikes start rolling in.
Stuart’s Custom Series “High Desert Rambler”
This is a unique frame with handmade lugs-from-scratch, klunker style double top tube, and the ability to run either 29er or 650b plus tires/wheels. There are a lot of surprises that happened with this project but I will save most of that for when it’s back from paint as it will all make more sense when the bike is built up and can be viewed complete (and because I accidently deleted most of the photos…).
J.T.’s Bespoke Series Disc CX
This is good example of what I am doing when someone wants more of a modern race bike. It is made from double oversize tubing with a 44mm head tube, S-bend rear stays and fillet brazed construction. It will be equipped with a TRP carbon fork.
Mario’s Bespoke Series Touring Frame
Once again, I accidently deleted most of the pics for this one, but the real star here is the rack. I am calling it the “UNO DOS TRES” rack as it is essentially a 3-in-1 set up. The main part of the rack is the porteur style platform. A detachable rail can be added to make it more of a basket, and when Mario heads out on a tour he can swap the legs out for a set that has low-rider pannier attachments. The whole rack is collapsible for easy packing.
The frame was made from Columbus Cro-Mor tubing and Richard Sachs lugs. The oversize lugs and tubing will provide an excellent ride for a loaded touring bike.
John’s Bespoke Series 650b Sportiff
On the surface this bike will look similar to Mario’s as the lugs and tubing diameters are the same, along with the similar aesthetics as they are examples of a lugged “Bespoke Series” frame, but they are in fact two very different bikes. First and foremost the fit and geometry was designed specifically for each rider. The tubing was then selected based on this geometry, the intended purpose of the bike and the desired ride qualities.
In the case of John’s frame, we went with Columbus Spirit for Lugs tubing. This is a really nice tube set, the frame is pretty light for its size and the ride will be have a balanced yet lively feel to it. I have started to really fine tune the different elements that will be offered with a “Bespoke Series” frame. I want to offer something that is not only straightforward for me to make, to streamline the process for all parties involved, but also has the details and a certain je ne sais quoi that sets it apart from other framebuilders’ work.
The lugs have been thinned and the seat lug refined to make it a little more pleasing to my eyes. The under bottom bracket cable guides were made from scratch, and the rear brake cable stop is also a unique touch that will find its way onto frames with canti or centerpull brakes. John upgraded to the sterling silver headbadge from Jen Green, and we have designed a pretty classy paint scheme. Can’t wait to see this one built up.
JD’s Front and Rear Rack
Officially, I don’t build racks for bikes I didn’t make. Though simple in appearance, racks are almost as much work as building a frame, even more so when it is on a completed bike. It is hard to make it worthwhile for both myself and the customer in terms of time and money. Occasionally there will be an exception to the rule. This time it was for JD’s 2007 Pereira. I remembered seeing this bike online when I had just gotten into framebuilding. It really exemplified what was possible with custom framebuilding. Each element of the frame was customized.
JD had been using a set of Velo Orange racks and wanting something handmade to compliment the rest of the bike. This gave me an opportunity to try out a new bender that I had made and enable a new style of front racks. The overall design intention was to keep things as minimal as possible, yet work with the constraints of the frame and the intended luggage. The minimalism really shows in the rear rack. The racks were nickel coated.
Additionally, I made a decaleur similar to my QR Day Decaleur. In this case it was made to be adjustable to take both a larger Ruthworks bag and a smaller Ostrich bag. Instead of a QR, JD wanted a locking skewer for extra security. Some of you might be happy to also know that I have now completed the jig to make a run of the Day Decaleurs. I have a couple frames to do and want to get a head start on my small batch Randonneur frames, so we are probably looking at late Winter/early Spring.
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