Low standover Carter 650 frame in steel

This is maybe the second 650 boost frame I have made with the reverse-curve top tube for more standover. This 5'4" rider has very short legs so I hope that he will feel comfortable and safe on this one. I have to thank fellow builder Steve Garro for the tube and for all the others I have used over the years on low-standover frames .

Another trick to get the frame low is to use an integrated head tube to reduce the stack. This head tube is from Paragon machine works.

The frame will take 650x2.6 " tires , the same that are on my own version of the bike and all the others I have made since I started with this model in 2019. I hope that the rider enjoys riding something a bit larger than his previous 26" wheels.
 

An old frame re-visits the shop

This one is # 34 , probably built in 1986. The tubing is most likely Columbus SLX and the lugs are Haden 'specialist'. I know this as they came with a nice frame decal stating the name. I really miss having a few sets of these lugs around- they were one of my favorite patters. The frame has some pretty odd cable routing, quite a story in itself but hey- it was a custom order after all.

I built this frame in the Trescony street garage before I had a business license. I was a hobby frame builder during the day and a musician at night-I worked a lot back then. The person who ordered this frame wound up getting several frames from me and was one of my earliest sponsored racers. He was a pioneer in single speed MTB racing and I built my first single speed for him in 1987.

Here's a detail of the head tube and below a shot of the seat lug and the diamond plate I made to braze the seat stays on in a fastback configuration. I did not trust just brazing the stays directly to the seat tube without some sort of lug-like re-enfrcement . Seems to have held up fine for the last 36+ years.

 

Steel 29er going to North Dakota

This one is fairly light as the rider is very light but it should be able to take a beating.

The rider opted for Paragon 'rocker' dropouts so that the bike can be run single speed as well as geared. 

The head tube is a Paragon integrated style and gives a sleek look to the front end. This year has had me busy building frames like this- many more than in the past 4-5 years. I guess the steel hard tail is making a comeback but with more modern geometry .
 

7005 rim brake CX WCCX style

This one is going to So-Cal. It is totally unique in that it has features of a WCCX frame but it is built for cantilever brakes and a straight steerer fork. I think this is the only one I have done like this so far.

It has a really nice two stage candy red powdercoat and should be good on the CX course or out on the fire roads of the San Gabriel mountains.

 

Steel rim brake frame and fork

I built this one for a bike industry person. He was very specific about the type of frame he wanted- not my usual build , that is unless you are talking about 15-20 years ago. This bike will take 700x40 tires and yes, those are down tube shifter bosses. 

There are fittings for full fenders and a rear rack. The frame is pretty tall but weighs only 4 lb. 8 oz. 

 

Small steel frame with carbon fork going to Japan

 

It was a real trick getting the standover on this frame but the integrated head tube really helped.

This is about the limit of how small of a frame I can build for 700c wheels and still have it ride well.

Steel 'Path Racer' with sliding dropouts

I still have to build the fork for this one. The idea is a frame that will be ridden fixed gear 90% of the time but still have F&R flat mount disc brakes for riding in city traffic. The option for gears will be using a wireless setup.

 

Steel gravel frame for a local

This one is made to take up to 700x47 tires - that makes it practically a 'drop bar MTB frame'.

You can see that seat and chain stays have a generous spread. There's also a chance the owner might opt to install fenders so there's some fittings for that. This is frame # 74 for the year ....a surprising number in view of how much time I lost from my injury. If I had not broken my leg in July I think that my list would have gotten very short . As it is , I'm still booked up well into next year.

 

Carter 650 Boost MTN frame going to Va.

Made for 2.6" tires, this is the plush ride. The frame will be paired with a 160 mm travel fork so it should really soak up the bumps.

This frame looks a little cleaner as the customer opted for no bottle mounts or rack mounts.

 

SSCXWC trophy prototype bike for sale

The race is over and I have to build two more of these for the winners of the drunken parade otherwise known as the single speed world cyclocross championship. The race moves from city to city and sometimes country to country annually. This is the special first prize edition-custom headbadge and graphics to commemorate the Santa Cruz edition.....unlikely to ever be repeated.

I built this bike my size so it is suited to a rider in the 5'9"-5'10" range.  Seat tube is 520 mm c/t/c and the virtual top tube is 560 mm. Head tube is 155 mm.  Bike has an Easton EA-70 build except for EC-90 SL carbon cranks. Paul custom order flat mount clampers are all broken in and stop really well. There's also a gold Chris King headset. The fork is an Enve G-series painted to match. Tires are 700x35 WTB Cross Boss but the bike can take much larger tires , up to 700x45. The rear droputs are paragon 'rockers' and you can get an insert if you want to run a rear der. but that might get you some dirty looks depending on where you are riding. Price is $ 4,100  which is far below what a bike like this would cost from me. It only has a couple of small scuffs from being ridden. I have ridden it and it was used in the Saturday qualifier by one of our team riders. Own a piece of history - and you can fake people out that you are the world champion.....but you'll have to get the tattoo if you really want to pull it off. 

Email me at paul@rocklobstercycles.com if you are interested. Buy it before I get too attached to it......
 

BTRB going to Florida

Rim brakes - check. Long chainstays -check. Crowned raked fork - check. Downtube shifter bosses - check. Level top tube - check. See where I'm going with this ?

This rider doesn't seem to need any of the new tech from the last 20-odd years. The caliper brakes will have 47-57 mm reach and the frame should take 32 mm tires with fenders. The customer wanted really long chain stays - 450 mm. I have not made a frame with these specs for years but I don't have a problem with this design. I think that it will have a very smooth ride with the longer wheelbase and slightly larger tires.

 

Boost 29er for a tall local rider

Yes, this is a big one. Didn't even need to cut the fork steerer.This one will be all XT and Fox build with a remote on the fork as well as the dropper post.  Should be a revelation for this rider as he has never had a mountain bike large enough.

 

Steel 29er boost

Behind gravel or CX frames, this type of frame has become the most popular thing I build currently.

My new wishbone tubes are a bit stouter than what I had been using for the last 20-odd years.

This one has the routing for a dropper post. Other than that it is very typical of what has been going out my door in this year of 2023.
 

Gentleman's touring bike

This bike was a long time in the making but the customer was in no hurry ans the details show a lot of thought. The customer is a former bike shop employee and an old friend. He actually made his own fenders-he even made some for me that I will showcase on another post later.

The build is an interesting one- Sram 11 spd. levers adapted to 12 speed.....I guess there's stuff available to do that- I had no idea. All the rivits and bolts along with the spoke nipples have been color co-ordinated..it is really something to behold in person. If I ever exhibit at a bike show again this would be one to bring.

The frame is aluminum- many of you might think that it isn't the right material for a touring bike but in most cases the tires really determine the ride more than the frame material. With big tires such as the ones seen here I'm sure the ride can be plenty smooth for long distance.

Of course , the bike would not be complete without a Jen Green headbadge.....in copper, of course.

 

WCCX complete bike

Here's one I posted as a frame and fork recently. The build is Shimano GRX 12 spd. with Enve wheels, cockpit and fork. This customer used to be in the industry and knew exactly what he wanted for the build and where and who to get it from- this made my job a lot easier !

Not going for the current style of flared drop bar , he chose traditional road bars for this build.

 

Steel rim brake CX for a local

Yes- another one......a rim brake CX frame in 2023 ! This is further proof that the rim brake is not dead.

The frame is mated to a painted-to-match Whiskey # 7 carbon fork. Yes, these are still made, thankfully.

The decals are the original style in seafoam green, a nod to the team bicycle color. This rider actually is on the team and has a team bike. I guess he wanted to try riding the same style bike that was popular around the time he was born......or maybe before !