Wednesday, December 28, 2016

S-3 mix steel road frame with carbon fork

 This one is pretty much the 'Ultimundo' model without the internal brake routing or the head badge. The big S-3 down tube and tapered fork give the bike a really stable and sure-footed feel-great on those high speed descents.
The bottom bracket stiffness is also really good with the oversize down tube, especially for a sub-4 lb. steel road frame. This model will change when I run out of S-3 tubes some time in the next year or so. I ordered heavily on these last week to ensure at least 20-25 more of these will be available before the tubes are extinct. I will most likely substitute a Columbus 'Spirit' down tube for 2018 unless I find a US tube that mimics the shape and properties of the S-3. Vari-Wall is a company that might try to make a similar tube. I have some of their samples in the shop I will build a prototype with some time in the next few months.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Di ii 650 drop bar adventure bike

 Yes- that's what it is. Make of it what you will......should be fun to ride on the trails around the Santa Cruz mountains. The fork is a 3TTT 'Luteus' and will take avery large tire. The rear end is also made to take a big tire so if the going gets rough  this bike should be up to the task.


Thursday, December 15, 2016

Etap travel bike for Colorado

 The customer spared little expense coming up with this package. It is a big tire breakaway/S&S  travel bike with the new Sram Etap wireless shifting. I had issues setting it up with the Sram video but checked out another one from the official German Sram tech guy. His demo was different and clearer -once I followed the procedure I got the shifting working in just a few minutes . I was not able to road test the bike as the rain was coming down in buckets today.

The customer also came up with the whole paint scheme-one of the best from Allan Neymark-the local painter I use for all the clear coats and special work. The execution of the job is first rate.

The bike will take much larger tires but was spec'd with these Continental 700x28 road tires. The Paragon Poly-Drops allow a number of configurations, even belt drive.
 The Jen Green copper mix sterling headbadge adds a nice classic look that goes well with the Brooks  saddle.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

An oldie comes back to roost

 I built this bike in 1994  in the old Gross rd. location. This is a 650-A fillet brazed road frame , fork and stem with some small lug-like appointments. The paint was done by Mark Bunten ( Dr. Deltron) who retired from painting a number of years ago. He used a 'sponge texture' technique that had a bit of popularity back then. The rider was very small, just over 5' so the 650 wheels were a good match .
 The gearing is insanely wide with a special triple adaptor lever on the left shifter. Back in these days there were no triple STI levers. This bike was ridden a lot back in the day but has sat idle for maybe a decade. It will now reside in my shop-a very unique bike from over 20 years ago.

first 27.5 boost frame

 Yes, I have finally gone there and I'll likely build more like this. The frame has a 148x12 rear axle and will take up to a 3" tire. Not quite a 'fatbike' but really substantial traction compared to your common variety 2.2 MTB tire. The ride should be a lot more 'cush' as well.

 The paint is a nod to a style popular back in the late '80's. I had a number of bikes painted this way as did Ibis and a number of other brands of the day. The fades were done over a powder base coat by Allan Neymark. I think that he really nailed it on this frame-he said that it didn't happen on the first try but he persisted until he got what you see here. The frame will be mated to a Fox 120 mm boost fork-one of the most substantial suspension forks that have been in my shop. Price on a frame like this with this paint is around $ 2,100.00