Big steel 29er S/S in use

The tires ar big, the rotors are big, the bike is big and the rider is big.......the world in harmony. The slider dropouts make this the geared/single speed double-life bike.

Commuter bike with a southwest theme

I don't use the services of Spectrum powdercoats in Colorado often but with the quality of this paint job I might be re-thinking that. Pictures really don't do it justice. The details are spot on and the customer was really impressed.

Big tire road frame for upstate New York

Seems like the frame that is right between a road racing bike and a cyclocross bike is gaining popularity all over the country. It's nice to have a bike that will take the big tires but still be pretty light and quick. This one is built of scandium for the most part and will have a steel fork. It may look like a cyclocross frame but it isn't......but if you had some 700x28 tires on it you could easily ride some dirt shortcuts on your way to wherever.

Frame for Chris King.......

Well, not that Chris King , but the one you might not know in Fresno. This steel Mountain bike frame will probably see a lot of the Sierra foothills. This detail of the aluminum dropouts is this weeks big brainstorm. Now I can offer a carbon seatstay with my Paragon hooded dropouts which unlike many aluminum dropouts should never be obsolete and hard to get replacement derailleur hangers for. I'm always happy when I figure out something.....

Here.s the discmount with the tubular brace that will keep the frame from bending from the force of the brake over time.

September batch # 1

Most of this month has been devoted to building steel frames but the last two weeks will see the completion of the nine scandium frames on order. These five are all cyclocross frames, the last remaining late-order team bikes and one for a rival team. The next batch is also small like this one, only four frames and all of them are road frames. After that it will be 7005 for two weeks and back to steel for the remainder of the year. Anyone wanting a road frame for the 2010 racing season should see me soon......I'm booked up until mid January already.

Failing batteries have kept me from putting up photos as of late but here's this weeks finished frame-a single-speed cross bike in scandium. I made it for a racer on a rival team.....I guess I don't play favorites when it comes to building stuff that people want. The rear dropouts are from Ahrens bicycles and are the only ones made in 7005 in the U.S.A. . Mike Ahrens makes a lot of cool stuff for builders of aluminum frames...there aren't very many of us , so we really appreciate the thought that goes into the stuff that Mike makes for this small market.

Something old and something new

Turn the clock back to 1988......this is Angelo's single speed , the third one I had built. It is almost all stock except for the SPD pedals....they are about 4 years newer than the bike. If the rear wheel appears to be smaller, it is. The 24" rear wheel was my attempt to make the bike accelerate with ease, yet have the ability to roll over obstacles with a 26" wheel up front.

Fast forward to 2009. This bike below is less than a week old and also has a smaller rear wheel. The 26" rear and 29" front setup makes a bike that can accelerate but still have the ability to roll over logs and washboard terrain with authority, or so the owner tells me. The owner rode the bike in the dirt for a distance before he realized that he had the front fork locked out.....the big wheel must really feel plush. The added tread on the ground makes for a noticable increase in hard cornering traction-a good thing when conditions are loose and dry, which they are now up here in Nor-Cal.

This bike will be now given the model designation "WTF" in reference to what folks will say when it goes speeding past..... If I remember right, that's what people said when I and a few folks went riding by on single speeds a little over 20 years ago.