Steel Ultimundo road frame for a local

 I have enough tubes to make only three more of these so they will never be quite the same when I run out of the True Temper S-3 downtubes. That said, I'll still make the model but it might be a tad different in terms of frame weight and ride characteristics.

 The rest of the tubing in this frame seems to be still in production-being Columbus 'Spirit" and Life.....both are currently produced and in decent supply. It amazes me that there are manufacturers that make such specialized and esoteric materials for building custom steel frames. My thought is that nobody, not the builders, distributors or tubing manufacturers are making much money. I gues that we are all in it because it is what we care about. I am thankful that in my 41 years since I have built my very first frame that there has always been good steel available.

This frame is made from the very best steel I can get: Top tube is my last round S-3. Down tube is one of the last four S-3 bi-oval tubes. Seat tube is Columbus Life. Rear chain stays are Life and the seat stays are Spirit. The head tube is a tapered superlight from Nova. This frame weighs 3 lb. 15 oz.

Step through townie for a local

 This might be the sixth one of these that I have built in the last decade. I really like building a simple bike like this and try slightly different things on each one. This one will get the full Alfine-11 build with Hydraulic disc brakes.

 The frame has the Jen Green copper headbadge and will get a Brooks saddle with some Nitto All-rounder bars, kind of like a cafe racer. The rider wanted a town bike with a slightly more efficient position than the typical upright style with swept-back handlebars.

Even though the bike really screams for them, there will be no fenders on the final build but there will be a rear rack and a kickstand. A townie without a kickstand is a townie in name only.

Gravel frame for Monterey

 For twenty years I have been on start lines of CX and other races to hear right before the whistle the words :" Ride safe- have fun !". The person who has been saying these words at the start of over two decades of bicycle races is getting this frame.

 It has been a good many years since this person has competed in bike races as he's been one of a small crew who run the CCCX series of road, MTB and CX races in the Monterey bay area. Without these races there would be hardly any events like this within an hour's drive from my home city of Santa Cruz. Myself and hundreds of other like-minded cyclists value what the CCCX crew has been doing to keep bicycle racing alive in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.

So, it is a real honor to build this frame- it will be for gravel riding and racing for the most part so it does not have the flattened top tube for shouldering and it has three bottle mounts. The bike will be fitted with Shimano GRX Di II group. The frame weighs 3 lb. 8 oz.

Frame # 4 from 1979 returns

 When I had just barely gotten my feet wet in frame building I planned an ambitious project- I would try to create something like a semi-fancy Hetchins style frame but build it with a serious nod to Bruce Gordon. I had not met Bruce at the time but I saw his work and was immediately inspired by it,along with frames from Hetchins and Art Stump. I also wanted to make the stiffest steepest road frame in Santa Cruz- maybe not the smartest plan but here it is, 40 years later and it still rolls.

 This frame pre-dates the Rock Lobster brand by about 5 years, hence the hand painted 'Sadoff" logo on the seat and head tubes. Yes, I painted it on myself-I used to know how to do that.

 I managed to get a set of Art Stump's investment cast dropouts-there are not many of these on the planet . As attractive as they are, they did not really catch on. I had to shorten the derailleur hanger to get the shifting to work properly.

 I tried to do the Bruce Gordon seatpost through-the-stays binder. This one works really well, even if it isn't nearly as cleanly pulled off as what Bruce did. The seat lug is definitely a not to Bruce as well.

The tubing id Columbus PS, the heavy track set with oversize chain stays and 24 mm round fork blades. One can really feel the road when riding this bike-that is to say that it isn't the smoothest riding bike in town. It is not unpleasant, though. When I was 24 I did ride it 135 miles in a day and survived without breaking my back. My plan is to overhaul it , throw a larger freewheel on it and ride the Eroica California in April. Seems fitting to take this bike in particular to that event-the two-wheel nostalgia parade. I'll leave the paint pretty much as you see it, rust and all. Bike and rider will look a bit worse for wear but that , in my mind is how it should be.

7005 CX race frame going to Il.

 This is the newest version of the team CX frame- one of many I have built in the last few months. This one has a painted to match Enve fork and the new King 'dropset' integrated headset.

 The frame will also do some miles in gravel events which are becoming very popular all over the country. It seems that the midwest has a wealth of dirt and gravel roads making it a good area for bikes like this.

Small steel gravel/endurance frame and fork

 Built in a classic style with the straight steerer fork, threaded BB shell and rim brakes, this small frame has tubing diameters that suit the smaller rider. My goal was to make a frame that was not going to have a rough ride for the long miles it will be putting in. The smaller diameter top and down tube should help.

 The color is "Cascade blue", the powdercoat equivalent of what I have on my own touring bike that I displayed and the NAHBS last March in Sacramento.

The stainless Salsa dropouts have been a staple on my frames for nearly 20 years.

Team CX bike for a local

 Just got this one built up in time for the Old Growth classic, the local gravel event. Not sure where she finished up but I'm sure that the owner of this bike was in the action at the front.

 The bike is fitted with Easton cranks, wheels, post ,stem and bars- We are really happy with the support that Easton has continued to give the team since its beginning in 2004.

The drive train is Ultegra 8000 hydraulic with flat mount calipers. Other nice bits are the Chris King BB and headset in Turquoise- King has also been a steadfast sponsor of the team and this season is no exception.