CX is almost here

The last remaining CX race frame orders are in the pipeline right now. I have given myself the next three weeks to complete the team bikes and a few others so that they will be ready before the season starts late next month. These aluminum frames could have been started earlier but with the supply chain strained to the maximum I'm still waiting for tubing. Supposedly everything I need to complete the batch is showing up tomorrow afternoon. This will be key as that is when I will be out of most of the tubes I use for these frames.

This one is # 2 in the batch- a World cup CX frame for a new addition to the team. I have # 3 started and it should be done today. After that , I'm just waiting on the tubes. This batch will be 9-11 frames in all and will be the last aluminum batch until November. 

 

Steel all-road big tire frame

The customer asked for 700x45 tire room so he shall indeed have that and a bit more. The frame is set up for Di II and flat mount disc brakes. It will be paired with an Enve G-series fork.

 

7005 road frame with Enve carbon fork

Light, stiff and fast. This is a frame built for speed and stability along with room for 700x30 tires.

The front end is finished off with a Jen Green sterling silver headbadge that is kind of dwarfed by the oversize tapered head tube . The headset will be integrated, 41 mm upper bearing and 52 lower.

This one is built for Shimano Di II components so virtually everything is routed internally for a clean look.
 

Steel gravel frame for bay area

In 2020 I built a road bike for the Enve builder roundup- a virtual show at the Enve headquarters in Ogden, Utah that featured a number of small builder operations like mine. The frame you see above is very much a replica of the show frame, at least in the color choices of dark rootbeer metallic paint and gold accents. This frame is not a road frame but is a gravel frame for 700x42 tires. The fork is the Enve G-series and the headset is a gold anodized White Industries from Petaluma, Calif. I was really lucky to get the headset as getting any components these days requires advance planning and a bit of luck as well. I'm glad that this one came together without much delay. I can't say that other frames are getting done as quickly. At this time I probably have about 6-7 frames on the rack and maybe 8-10 in paint and many of these won't ship because of missing parts of one kind or another. People might say " Well, its money in the bank."  But it is not money in my bank- as a matter of fact it is money out of my bank to pay for the materials ,paint and overhead while I wait to send out the frames and then get paid. I'm sure that it is money in someone's bank........that's what you sign up for when you work for yourself. -no regrets....

 

7005 SSCX for Kansas City, Mo.

While it may be a darker shade of green, this frame is very much what I build for the team riders who like the single speed category. Having an EBB simplifies things for the disc brake and rear thru axle. 

The head tube is slightly different in that it is a 44 MM ID non-tapered. The head tube takes a pressed-in headset rather than a drop-in style. This is a bit more weatherproof and some people think that it is more durable. I think that both systems are good. The fork is an Enve G-series with 47 mm rake.

This one will likely be in some races out in the midwest and great lakes. Maybe if Covid does not shut down the nationals in Illinois I get to see it being ridden. i'm always at course side for the single speed race- it is always the most entertaining.
 

Steel CX SL frame and fork for Long Island, NY.

This one is made for 700x45 tires and has front and rear rack mounts. Just about every tube on the frame is Columbus Zona or Life- even the steerer on the fork is Columbus. Now that there isn't any True Temper tubing any more , Columbus is pretty much the first choice followed by Velospec , Tange and Reynolds. 

This fork is 405 mm axle-to-crown so that there will be plenty of room for the larger tires. This frame might have the big tire room but it isn't super long like a touring frame. It should still feel snappy enough but really stable at speed.