Monday, February 13, 2017

Steel CX frame for Pleasanton, Calif.

 This one is just awaiting some parts to be ready to build up. The frame is my popular CX SL big tire version, good for the many gravel events and exploring the back country. The Enve fork was painted to match.
 The frame will get an R-685 Shimano hydraulic brake set and an Ultegra drive train. Should be a very reliable setup and very durable. The frame also sports one of Jennifer Greens head badges-getting more popular every year.

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Travel CX frame, fork and stem for France

 Lots going on here. This disc brake heavy duty S&S coupled steel frame can be run geared or single speed as the PF-30 shell will accept the Beer components EBB. Also, you can go belt drive as the Paragon Poly-Drops have a split when the inserts are un-bolted. Also, there are a number of different insets available, even one for the Rohloff rear hub.
 The steel fork has a 15 mm thru-axle and a port in the dropout for a generator wire so the whole mess can be internal. The upper wire hole is the breather hole in the steerer . The hole for the headlight mount is visible on the front of the lower part of the steerer. This is only the second fork I have built with this feature. It allows an internal wire without weakening the fork or creating a place for rust to develop as would happen with an external hole in the blade. Drilling holes in fork blades is something I avoid for lots of reasons and I didn't have to do it here.
The stem is one I built with Paragon fittings . These are heavy but virtually indestructible. I usually charge $ 200 for a stem like this. The cable routing is '90's style with the pulley for the front der. Not something I have done for quite a long time-it was requested by the customer and he's the boss. Rack mounts in the rear and fender mounts on the cross members complete the build. I definitely spent some serious time on this one and hope that the customer likes the result.

Big tire CX frame for Seattle

 Fender mounts and frame protectant are two features of this frame and fork that I will be sending north tomorrow .
 The fork is one I made with post-mount and fender eyelets. This is a blend of the timeless steel frame/fork with the newer axle standards of the disc brake wheel sets.
This should be a real work horse, one that can take a fair bit of abuse-also with the room for fairly large tires the ride cam be dialed a number of ways. Not a race bike-pretty much an anything bike....but if you wanted to you could race it as long as there were no big shouldering sections on the course !

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Recent complete builds

 Most of theses were assembled by the customer. Bike # 1 is a 650 adventure bike, truly a big tire CX bike for the woods.
 Bike # 2 is an 'Alfie', the latest edition. This one is Di II and has the 11 spd. rear hub.
Bike # 3 is the tig Ultimund road with an Ultegra build. I assembled this one and now have a good supply of S-3 down tubes to make about 12 more of these frames. After that I'll have to change the tubing formula as True Temper is indeed going away for good.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Disc CX/Gravel frame for Utah

 There seems to be a new trend of folks having their fork painted to match the decal color. This frame is a pretty familiar platform-steel frame with a tapered carbon fork-thru-axles front and rear.

I think that this was by far the most popular frame of 2016-I must have built at least 30 of them. This year is looking to be much the same with all the gravel events getting more popular. I have done a few myself and do like the format. Nothing like riding mixed terrain for 4-5 hours with no need to go crazy anaerobic like in a CX race. The rides may be hard but the pace is usually pretty relaxing for a competitive event.
It is only Feb. but I believe I have nearly 15 of these on order already and about 10 in aluminum. Perhaps this is the bike that does more than all the others-good in the dirt but not too sluggish on the road.

Road fixed gear

 Yes, not only do I build these but I own one. Riding a fixed gear on the road can be a really excellent workout. There is no better way to really feel connected to the pedals when you can't shift and can't coast.
 This frame is the 'Ultimundo' tube set-S-3 down tube, OX Platinum top tube and Columbus 'Life' rear stays. The frame is under 4 lbs. but feels very stiff due to the large diameter S-3 tube.
The fork is an Enve tapered road fork so that a front brake can be mounted for riding in traffic.