Steel frame and fork

 Not totally sure what to call this one except that it should handle a lot of different conditions. It really is kind of a big-tire road frame and fork. The frame and fork are built pretty light as this one will not be carrying a lot of weight. The setup will take 700x45 tires and will be set up with a 2X mechanical group with flat mount disc brakes.

Tig SL 29er frame

I like the lines of the rear stays and bridges. The curves really flowed on this one. I still have yet to build the tapered steel fork for it but I wanted to put this one on the blog as it is likely the last customer frame of 2024. I have built 94 frames this year so far-I think that is enough !
 

The Mako Shark rolls

 A customer in Nebraska asked for an SL road frame but painted like a Corvette Mako Shark. He even had a metal shark to be applied to the top tube. It is an interesting build as the parts that were available were from three Shimano groups. Yes, this is a road bike but it needed to be mechanical shifting with disc brakes-not that easy of a combo to get these days. That said, the GRX 820 levers and derailleurs do the job when coupled with an Ultegra road crankset. The wheels are Shimano RS-710 , probably the best deal Shimano has on carbon tubless wheels. This bike is around  $ 5,500.00 as shown- it's a hell of a lot of bike for that money. Who would have thought that custom would ever be a 'price point' bike. 

Haven't seen this one in a long time

About 1980 I was a hobbyist frame builder and a guy I worked with was a cat-1 racer doing cyclocross. He was open to me building him a frame to race on so I did. I really didn't know how to build a proper 'cross bike so the first one was a failure. This is the second one-much different than the first and only a bit more successful. The big difference is that this one is still rideable while the first one would up in the recycling pile and never was ridden again. The first frame was too steep and twitchy so I made this one long and slack. It was pretty good in the mud but still a primitive effort. It did get ridden and it has withstood several owners and over 40 years.
 

I'm not 100% sure what number frame this one is but I'll guess in is one of the first 15 frames I have built. I spray painted it in my driveway and it still seems to have not been re-painted.

I was so discouraged after my first two 'cross bike attempts that I did not build another one for about 5-6 years. I think I have a pretty good grasp of what it takes to build a 'cross frame now. Failing on those first two was all I needed to get inspired to eventually become fluent in 'cross bike geometry and riding characteristics. 

I'm really happy that this bike found a new owner who really cherishes it. 

Touring-big tire-all-road go anywhere steel frame and fork

This customer is a veteran of the infamous 'Jobst" rides of the '80's and '90s and before , where folks would meet up in Palo Alto at Jobst Brandt's house and spend all day riding mixed terrain on road bikes with tubular tires. This bike should make that kind of riding a bit less daredevil and also have more load carrying features. The fork has braze-ons for the rack that the customer brought by. He also had me braze on a pump clip 'Peter Johnson' style for his custom painted Silca pump. There's some real throwback features such as Shimano SF dropouts that were culled from a framebuilder's stash-these dropouts have been out of production for maybe 20+ years. It was a cool build with the paint a nod to the Eddy Merckx frames of 30 years ago. I hope that the owner likes the way it rides. 
 

Rim brake road frame and fork

 This one has a Columbus 'Life' tube set for the most part. The frame is less than 4 lbs. which is pretty light for one like this. 

The fork is a style I have been building since the late '90's - straight blade crowned fork with just enough room for a 700x30 tire, maybe a 700x32 Gravel King. Should be a nice, fun ride.

7005 CX/Gravel frame going to New Paltz, NY.

This one will have all sorts of stuff on it that was painted to match. The seat post,bars and bottle cages are all seafoam green now-I'll want to see what this build winds up looking like. 
 

SSCX/Geared frame in steel with rocker dropouts

This one is going to Tennessee. The rocker dropouts allow the use of a single cog or freewheel or even an internally geared hub such a s a Rohloff or a Shimano Alfine. It's like having two bikes.

 

Touring / gravel frame in steel

 This one will be set up with GRX 12 speed Di II. It has the 'Ultimundo' tube set in all the places where I could use it so it is not a very heavy frame. It will be mated to an Enve G-series fork and a King headset.

Steel 29er with tapered steerer rigid fork

 I have to make a few more of these forks in December. There's not much of the year left so I need to take care of folks who have been very patient waiting for these special items. 

This is my first frame with the UDH. What do I think ? Can't say just yet. I have to see how it works compared to what came before it. 

Ultimundo disc all road....that's right !

This is a first- an Ultimundo road frame made for disc brakes and larger tires. This means that the Enve all-road fork is used and with this setup the tires can be as large as 700x38. It is still a road bike and not a gravel bike. I hope the owner likes how it rolls.

 

Tracklo-X in steel with Paragon sliders

OK, so how do you get a big tire fixed gear that takes disc brakes ? The Paragon Slider dropout helps , but the, what do you do for hubs ? Paul Components offer a 142x12 thru-axle fixed rear hub. This customer had specific requests-level top tube, room for 700x45 tires, hourglass seat stays and braze ons for a frame bag. Where does the hydraulic line for the rear brake go ? Through the bag in a special channel, that's why there's no guides on the top tube. If there's no bag in use, Paragon makes some cable clips that bolt onto the bag bosses. It's unique and it is something I am doing for the first time-always nice to have a new idea from a customer that has actual utility . I hope that the bike sees lots of use.

 

7005 road frame with carbon fork going to Long Beach, Calif.

 This one is made from Dedacciai Fire tubing and is mated to an Enve carbon disc/road fork painted to match.The color really lights up in the direct sun-unfortunately it was a rainy day so I could not take a photo of it outside.

7005 CX frame going to San Jose, Calif.

 This customer is close enough that she will drive to the shop. The low standover is needed as the customer's legs are very short. This is a good example of what a custom frame should be- a solution for someone who cannot usually find a production frame that fits.

The front of the frame is capped off with a Jen Green white bronze head badge.

7005 road plus frame going east

This was definitely road frame week- prepped three of them , shipped two of them out. This one is pretty tall , made from a mix of Dedacciai Fire and NOS Easton Elite tubes. It wll be mater to an Enve AR fork.

 

7005 Road plus frame for Saint Louis

This one is huge-I think the rider is 6'8". The head tube was so long that my reamer would not work without some adaptation. The decals were special ordered chrome finish from Screen Specialty shop, Ink. , my decal supplier since the '80's. 
 

In spite of it's size, this is not a very heavy frame. Some of the tubes are NOS Easton Elite from my stock of tubes that I got in 2002. Hard to believe that they are finally getting used after over 20 years of storage.