Thursday, November 30, 2023

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.


 

Friday, November 24, 2023

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.

 

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

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.

 

Saturday, November 18, 2023

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......
 

Friday, November 17, 2023

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.

 

Thursday, November 16, 2023

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.


 

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

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.
 

Saturday, November 11, 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.

 

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

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 !
 

Not another raffle bike but a grand prize- SSCXWC edition bike

Yes-this is what the winners of the SSCXWC this weekend will be winning-a complete Rock Lobster SSCXWC edition bike with Easton build, Paul Klamper flat mount brakes and WTB saddle and tires.
Bikes will be fitted with painted to match Enve G-series forks. These two bikes will be custom built for the male and female winners. No options - this is the bike you win and this is the color it will be ......there's also a custom made Jen Green headbadge that will only ever appear on these bikes.  It's simple- all you need to do is win a race. How you do that- don't ask me- I'm not someone who has won a lot of races.......really only two in 21 seasons but that's two more than zero and more than I ever thought I would win.  So take a good look......next time you see one of these it is likely that you are also seeing a winner astride it.
 

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Winner ! Raffle frame going to N.Y. state


 The Butternut Valley gravel grinder ride is a small town event that I donated a custom frame build to. There was a raffle and the winner won a custom steel frame from me- here it is. As soon as I got the fit data I built it and now it is in a box making its way to the lucky winner.

Sunday, November 5, 2023

WCCX frame for east bay customer

I am currently building this one up with the customer's kit. It will be nice- Enve wheels and cockpit and GRX mechanical shift 12 speed. This will be the first 12 speed bike I have built in my shop so I'm looking forward to testing it out. I'll be putting 12 speed XT on my new 29er whenever I get around to building it.
The customer provided the King Inset-7 headset and Enve G-series fork.

 

29er boost frame in steel

Hooray !  I managed to find a way to publish again- all I needed to do was to switch browsers. Seems like Google does not like Safari......go figure.
So...this frame has fairly modern geometry- 76 deg. seat tube and 66.5 degree head tube- a real trail bike.
Tubing is a mixture of Velospec, Dedaccai, Columbus and NOS True Temper. This is my go-to set for durablity. This frame is a hair over 5 lbs.
 

National anthem played at Crest Ranch- Bonny Doon, Calif.

Sorry, mom. I just had to do it. More on the Surf City race to follow once I get my computer stuff fully de-bugged.

Well......the file of the video was too big to upload. I'll see if I can edit it and put it up - it can presently be viewed on my Youtube channel : Paul Sadoff.....check it out.

Saturday, November 4, 2023

Foiled by Google

 Well, you'll have to look at Facebook now if you want to see any frames from me. Google has decided to block me from uploading photos to this blog and videos to youtube. I opened the Google account to fix an email problem and now have all sorts of other problems. Hopefully this stuff will get sorted out. If not, this blog and all others that I have published will indeed die. I can't believe how incredibly stupid this whole episode has been - a webhost changed it's policy with no warning and it has been a nightmare trying to fix everything that has gotten shut down in the process. I'm no tech person so I'm powerless to fix this and hoping that I get help . I'm doing what I can in the mean time to remain visible on the web as a bike builder.