Old number one

If this bike looks old to you, it is. I built this frame in 1978 and it was my first. I rode it for a few years but it never really rode right so about 16 years ago I removed the rear triangle to go about fixing it. From that point until yesterday it hung from a hook , neglected but not forgotten. I spent a few hours yesterday and a few today and now it rides reasonably well. I'm riding it around without paint just to be sure that it will be worth the cost of powdercoat and clearcoat. I'm shooting for the original color and maybe I can find the original lettering that I used. This frame was made 6 years before I came up with the Rock Lobster name. The original decals said " Routier" which was the name of the street I lived on at the time. Maybe I should call it "Trescony"-the street where I live now.

I spent too much time on the lugs and not enough time on the geometry. Now that it is fixed to a degree I'll ride it a bit. I'm thinking that it might be fun to make use of this old rusty hulk .

Last frames of May

In the last three weeks I have built nine frames. These are the last six, four of which were built this week. I have been working super hard trying to get back on schedule and I think I'm making headway after many weeks of slow-going and delays. This batch is all Easton 7005 and pretty much a mixed bag for the most part. There's a 29er s/s , a road frame, a track frame and three 'cross frames. I decided to feature this mass-start track frame as it has some new dropouts that I have had access to as of late. They are aluminum with stainless bolt-on faces, something I have been wanting for a long time. Hopefully this will be a part that I can use regularly in the future.

The customer specified semi-aero pear-shaped top and downtubes. The rest was up to me.

Here's a detail of the dropouts.....yes, ther is a screw missing. I'm looking for it, trust me !

Tourer/randonneur frame with a British look.

The color combination and panels of the paint are definitely a nod to the style of bikes from Britain in the '60's and '70's. The paint colors are not unlike a series of four randonneur frames I built in 1995, two of which wound up in Paris Brest Paris-one being my own bike which I still have hanging in my shop. I'm not sure that this particular customer got inspired by my bike but the similarity is unmistakeable. Putting some curves in the stays helps to make for a more distinctive look than most of my welded bikes.

I had to shoot a detail of this part of the frame because I fell that it has a nice 'flow' to the lines. I don't always get so lucky......I have an artistic background but the way this particular frame came together has more to do with how things were flowing in the shop that particular week. I hope it rides as nice as I feel it looks !

Touring bikes are coming back !

I seem to have a run of touring bikes going as of late. Folks are making time in their lives to go bike touring again. Maybe it's people out of work, maybe it's students getting the summer off. Whatever it is, there is a new interest in touring like I haven't seen in quite a few years.

7005 road frame for Chicago

Some of you must think that I only build bikes for people in Chicago. Not true but this month there will be at least three going to the windy city. This frame is going to a young racer who will be a leadout man for the team. I put some heavier tubing in it to give it some stiffness for that final few KM's of fierce racing. I even put some 'cross bike seatstays that I modified a bit to make them a little narrower , more road-like.

cyclocross frame bound for Chicago

The customer for this frame wanted to have the ability to get a low bar position. With this short headtube I'm sure he'll have it. I'm in the midst of a 7005 batch that is open-ended , meaning that I am not sure how many frames I'll include in this lot. I have such an abundance of orders that I could theoretically stay on this batch for a month but realistically this will be a two week batch , maybe 6-7 frames total. This is # 1.

1996 road frame

Somewhere back in 1996 I built this frame. It has all the earmarks of something a bit earlier such as Cinelli cast lugs and Shimano vertical dropouts.....stuff I haven't seen for sale in a long time. Nevertheless, my records show that this frame was indeed built in 1996, just before I moved to my present location. A friend bought it from the second owner and it appears to be all original down to the 8 speed Campagnolo Chorus gruppo. The original owner bought the frame unpainted as he had a painter other than the one I used in mind.