Steel Di II gravel frame for local rider

This one is a mix of Columbus tubes - light top tube and seat stays but a mid-weight down tube and pair of chain stays. Lemond bicycles used to call this the "Keel" approach. I just call it sensible. The frame is pretty stout but the weight is only 4 lb. 4 oz. for the equivalent of a 57 cm frame. 

No rack or fender mounts or guides for mechanical shifting- this one had to look clean. 

 

Small steel townie for a local .

The woman who ordered this frame is someone who got a bike from me maybe 20-odd years ago. This is what she is calling her 'retirement bike'. She has a townie now but it is very old and is not the best fit. It also does not have all the features that she requested on this frame.

There will be a steel fork with it but it is still in the process of being built. I should have the whole mess done tomorrow. My hope is that she likes the fit and the way it rides. Building a bike like this for a 5' rider is a challenge but that's why I exist....to build the kind of bikes that one does not find in stores. This is a prime example of that.

 

Aluminum CX frame with steel fork.

This was the combination I used on CX bikes from around 2002-2004. After that nearly every CX bike had a carbon fork. I raced on one like this back in the day and only sold it after I got injured and had to sit out a season. 

The steel fork is heavier but it is a lot less money and I can build it with any rake I want. There's not much variety in carbon CX fork geometry so this is a bit of an advantage for certain size bikes.

The owner is not a total Luddite, though- it will have modern flat mount disc brakes front and rear.
 

WCCX frame going to Sanger, Calif.

This might get raced, it might not but it will definitely get some dirt miles out in the sticks. This rider lives very close to the national park area of the Sierras - Kings Canyon, Sequoia and the huge foothill region. I'm sure there are endless dirt roads to explore. 

 

Big tire steel gravel frame going to Canada

This cyclist was very specific about what he wanted- slack head angle and room for really big tires. This isn't a formula I would have come up for a bike like this but this customer is willing to roll the dice on this idea. Many times I have been surprised how well some of these plans turn out to be great bikes. I hope that will be the case for this one.

The rear brake is post mount - not something I have put on a drop bar frame in a few years as now they are all flat mount. This rider has plenty of post mount brakes so that's what he will use on this frame. He will use an adaptor on the fork- might be a bit more complicated but it will definitely save him from having to buy new brake calipers.

One more current spec is the dropper post routing. I figure that about one in fifteen gravel frames are done this way in my shop but that number is probably going to go up in the coming years as the dropper gets more popular. 
 

Super tall 7005 road frame for Florida

Yes, this is a big one- one of the largest of the year so far . The rider is 6'8" but only 200 lbs. He has broken a few bikes over the years so he asked for heavier tubing and he's getting it- NOS Easton US made Elite top, seat and down tubes. I still have some of these in stock so when I was selecting tubes it was an easy decision to use this set that normally for building 26" wheel MTB frames.

The rider requested an American flag decal for the frame but he didn't know that much of the frame would be built from US made materials- I think he will be very happy. 

 

Steel all-road frame

Rim brakes are not dead - here's the proof. I have built about 3-4 rim brake frames in the last month so there's  a case to be made. 

This steel frame and fork are going east as the fender mounts would indicate. The frame and fork are also set up to take racks.