Single speed disc-only 'cross bike

This frame is bound for Chicago and will get an MTB disc fork in carbon. The customer told me that Ritchey makes one in a 409 mm axle to crown length, not much longer than a standard cyclocross fork. This will allow the bike to take a really big tire up front if needed and makes the bike a little more versatile.The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea.
I put the ususal curves in the stays but since they are all bent by hand, they are unique to each bike. I had a little more poetic license with the seat stays as there was no brake boss placement issue.
I didn't wiegh this frame but it felt pretty light for a slider equipped 'cross frame in steel. The light weight is due to the OX True Temper tubes. The head tube is a bit short as the extra 14 mm of fork make it necessary , almost like a 29er for a shorter rider.
The chain stays are Reynolds 725, my favorite for 'cross and road frames , mainly for the tire room and stiffness of the material.

Fixed gear tourer ready for racks and the road

This bike is going to see some miles......lots of miles.....crossing the USA miles. On a fixed gear , you ask ? -Yes, that is how this man rolls. There are some really nice bits on the bike, Phil Wood, White Industries, Nitto , Brooks to name a few. I'm waiting on custom racks from none other than Bruce Gordon. The only thing missing besides the racks would be the headlamp which I'm still researching.

Big tire road bike dressed up for the show

This is the final incarnation of the big tire road bike I built last year. I have finally installed the correct parts-all 5700 group, Honjo fenders and yes, that is a blue Brooks saddle. There's a brand new pair of Challenge Parigi-Roubaix tires and some blue Fizik handlebar tape. The bike will be on display at a show in San Fransisco at Una Pizza Napoleatana on Sunday 3/20 from 1-7 p.m. Admittance to the show is $ 10 and there will be 15 builders, a band and lots of great pizza.

Single speed 29er for S.F. Pizza man.

The owner of this frame is pretty darn good with a wood burning oven.....to be frank, I think he's the best I have run into in my years of sampling pizza in a few countries.
There's a matching fork for the frame but I didn't get a chance to photograph it before leaving the shop. I'll do that tomorrow. I have built many forks so far this year and I am on course to maybe have a record year in that regard. It seems like the old steel fork is making a comeback.
No disc brakes or shock for this customer, just pure single speed simplicity. The welding on this frame is about the best I have ever done. I have figured out that I needed to get a little closer to the work with the torch....something I tell my U.B.I. students-it's about time that I heeded my own words !

Parade of steel

The last few weeks have been filled with building steel frames. Here are a few recent ones almost ready to be picked up or shipped out , depending on destination. This one is just going to the east bay so there is a chance the customer might be able to drop by and pick it up personally.
This is a typical Team Euro meant for racing in Nor-Cal.
This pink one is also a bay area customer and a member of the racing team. He is not getting the team color but has decided to go rogue in a way. The tubeset is really light and the frames is well under 4 lbs.


This is the most recent path racer almost ready for assembly. The owner wanted no decals and a flat clearcoat. It actually looks very nice in person-the photos don't really convey the look very well.

This customer is also a bay area resident and will pick this up as a complete bike ready for fixed gear touring....that's right, I'm not kidding-trans continental fixed gear touring to be more precise. He's a mightier man than I.

This frame will not be picked up by the owner as it is bound for Taipei, Taiwan. The black came out glassy smooth. This is a Team euro that will accept fenders and a braze -on front derailleur.
The wishbone seatstay was a request from the customer. I tried to bring in the seat stays a little to make it a little sleeker than the mountain bike version.
The headtube will have a sterling silver head badge instead of the usual decal, a nice upgrade to the overall look.
This rack represents about 5 weeks of work. It's like a rainbow right now.

Track frame and fork for a ten year old girl

This is right after lunch-the front triangle is getting checked for squareness. If it looks like there is a little clutter near the granite slab , you are just seeing the tip of the garbage iceberg. A woman emailed me wishing to set up a time to visit my "studio". I assured her that it was not a studio but was more correctly referred to as a "s*** hole". It just so happens that really fast bikes come out of this space, whatever I might call it and this pee-wee racer is no exception.
I donated the materials for this project as I was informed that the family was not rolling in cash but had an extremely motivated ten year old daughter who rode the velodrome in Encino, California. This will be the fourth frame I have built for a child less than twelve years old. I built the fork with a crown that had been sitting in a box for over ten years.
The rear dropouts were some samples I got from Tange. I think I have had them for around four years.
The chainstays were Reynolds 725 that I had cut too short for an adult bike. In the end, I used about 90% old stock for this frame and it is all very high quality with only the top tube being 4130 straight guage aircraft tubing. This frame may be small ( it was built for 24" wheels and a 4'4 1/2" rider ) but it is as serious a steel track frame as I build. I'm sure it will get some hard racing on the bank track in a couple of weeks.

Riding in Nisene Marks

if you have never ridden in the Santa Cruz mountains than you are definitely missing something great. These trails and roads go on for a good number of miles and you can climb to great vistas of the Monterey Bay.
Here's the bay and the cold front coming in. We did wind up getting rained on lightly for the last 1/2 hour of the ride.
Taking a call at the top of the climb......I wouldn't know about such things as I don't have a cell phone. I do borrow them on occasion, though. This was the top of the incline but it is actually about 6 miles short of the summit. This was far enough for us to get to the top of what would be almost 1 hour of single track back to the coast.