Small 650 boost MTB frame in steel

 This rider is just a bit over 5'5"  so standover is important. I accomplished this with a low top tube and a short integrated 95 mm head tube. The frame will use a 120 mm fork and can take 2.45 " tires so it should be good for semi rough conditions. 

WCCX frame for a member of the junior team.

This kid was tiny when he joined the team a few years back but now he's over 6'. His dad also races on the team -the frame will be set up with mechanical shifting . I hope that he can get to the front of the race with this one and get some podium finishes- he has the speed.
 

WCCX SSCX frame for a team rider in Fairfax, Calif.

 I just dropped this one off yesterday when I went on a road trip north. This one will work Di II with gears or SS. The rider has been riding SS on the team since 2013 so he's an old salt. I'm hoping that he will make the trip to Arkansas to the nationals and be in the grand parade that is the single speed class there- always a spectacle. This one has a SQUID EBB, pretty much the choice of the team for the last decade or so.

7005 time trial frame for Indiana

Just waiting on the seatpost to arrive before I box this one up and send it off . I have not built a TT frame in a number of years but I do have a lot of materials in stock to do so. This is my first disc brake version-that probably gives you an idea how long ago I built the most recent one. This one is built mostly from NOS Easton Elite 7005 US made tubing. I hope that the owner gets really aero on it and smashes some personal records- 

 

Forst In-route frame for me.

 That's right - the brake line goes through the BB shell. It was interesting getting it done but it looks to be rolling in this photo that the customer sent. It is a steel single speed CX frame that I am probably going to see at the Nationals this December. 

Steel road frame with steel fork.

Level top tube, QR axles and rim brakes.....definitely a build that harkens back to a time when bicycles were simpler and some would say more graceful. The frame will be outfitted with Campagnolo 10-speed ergo that the customer has waiting. I hope that he likes the way this one rides. It's sturdy and made for stability at high speed and all day comfort. 
 

7005 all-road frame for a local

The owner of this frame has had a few injuries so a new geometry was requested. The front center is really long to accomodate a far forward foot position . The head tube has been lengthened to help give an upright riding position. I hope this hits all the marks and checks all the boxes. The frame is mated to an Enve Adventure fork painted to match.
 

27.5 " MTB for bay area rider-full Shimano XT 8200 build

That's right- the newest wireless shifting from Shimano and it really was not that big of a deal to set it up. The frame is for a shorter rider with short legs so standover was important- this was achieved with a reverse-curve top tube and an ultra short integrated style head tube.

 

7005 CX/Gravel frame

 This one could be raced but it is not a CX race bike . It has three bottle mounts and room for slightly bigger tires. The Enve G-series fork was painted to match and the whole thing really has the look of a team bike. The owner's son actually does race on the team and was the one who put the deposit down on this frame - nice gesture !

WCCX frame going to junior team member

This was a rare non-batch build for one of our juniors who just won the junior national road title for the 15-16 year old age group. This puts him on the radar for all sorts of recruiting by major road teams but most of them do not have CX programs. With this being the case, we are throwing our support behind his 2025 UCI and CX nationals schedule. With luck, maybe he will get a decent start grid spot for the nationals and not have to pass 60 riders to get to the podium. He has a shot and this will be one of the frames he uses to give it a go.

 

Steel track frame and fork- really a Path Racer for Washington, DC.

 Track frame with brakes ? The British called this a 'Path racer' in the '50's and I call it that today. This one is really tall- the customer provided the Tange Ultimate and Columbus Max tubes for the build- an interesting blend that actually makes sense for durability, quality and stiffness- which is important in a large frame such as this. The Paragon machine works dropouts were also from the customer. I really hope that he likes what I built for him-I had fun building it.

Ultimundo disc steel frame

 Yes, now with flat mount disc brakes. I don't have an example of this on my website but I have made a few of them. This one is for a bay area local and it weighs in at 3 lb. 15 oz. - not bad for steel. There's some NOS True Temper S-3 and Platinum in the main triangle that I get recently - nice to have the good US stuff again. I only have about a dozen of these top tubes so when they are gone, that will probably be it. 

2025 Made show .......I'm not going.

 That's right- if you were under the impression that I was going to be there  I'm not surprised. The show website says that I will be in booth space # 324 ......but I will not. I did not register for the show and I did not pay for the space.... I guess that bit of information was not taken into consideration when the show management laid out the floor plan. The photo above is of my space from last year. Did I like the show ? Yeah, it was pretty good-I sold out of socks and made contact with two great shops from Japan- Circles and Blue Lug- both shops that I had read about and was very happy when they came by my booth and were introduced. 

So, am I done with bike shows forever ? Not really sure about that but this year no shows for me. I opted for vacations instead and I have had a couple and want to have a couple more before the end of the year. I also want to use the touring bike I built - for a show- and finally go on a bike tour before the tires rot off the rims from being stored so long. Yes- self neglect is a problem when you work for yourself and like your work. I'll miss seeing my friends at the show and will also miss spending time in Portland, a city I had serious thoughts about moving to a bit over 20 years ago. I really had a good time connecting with old friends and the pre-show ride around Portland with the visit to Chris King and Torch and File was the highlight for me. Sitting in a booth at a bike show is mostly a boring affair, at least for me-I had to bring some things from home like my bad music collection on cassettes and my guitar with which I can make my own bad live music. I did have bikes there but only got to ride once- that's the irony about bike shows-it's all about bikes but the riding part seems to be missing for the most part. I did do a lot of walking , though. 

So, if you do go to the show I hope that you enjoy it and that it is even better than last year. You are the reason the shows are worthwhile- there can be lots of cool bikes and talented builders there but if there's no people it's kind of pointless and depressing . Also, just in case you are wondering- I am not going out of business or retiring now- I'm just skipping the show........I think that after all these years and all the shows I am allowed to do that ........

Steel long reach caliper fork.

This one has an axle to crown length of 377 so it will work with a Shimano 650 long road caliper or something like it. I used to build lots of frames and forks with this spec before disc brakes took over. I still think that this style of bike is very useful and a great do-nearly-anything platform. I owned one for almost 20 years and rode everything from a five day bike tour to a couple of laps in a rainy cyclocross race. 
 

Travel gravel # 2 with fork

 This has a lot going on- S&S couplers, fork with triple mounts , rack mounts , fender fittings- it's a long list. The drive train will be GXX mechanical shift 2X  . I don't think a frame and fork like this is available as a stock item. I guess this is why someone would go custom rather than production. There's fit considerations for sure but all the little features add up.

Want to buy my other track bike?

 Bet you have not seen this one- or if you have, it was just as a post on Instagram. I built it for myself right after I sold my track bike. Do I need this one ? Not really, although I really like it. It has all of the NOS NJS bits off my shelf that I have been hoarding for a decade. Now it's not boxes of parts, it is a rideable steel track frame with some NOS True Temper S-3 , 

just like I used for the junior program I helped back about 20 years ago. There's a pair onf NOD Dura Ace large flange track hubs , a Sugino crank with a Tange sealed BB and some Tange aluminum sprint bars. I made the angles a little less upright so that it would behave in the street. The fork has been ridden but not much-it is the fabled Alpha-Q track fork, not something one sees very often. Interested ? are you 5'9'-5'10" it can be yours for $ 2,500. There's no pedals but it has been test ridden and it has a solid quality feel. There's also a new King headset as well - email me if you want more info. 

Travel Gravel for Westport, Ireland

If you take a close look at this one you will see a pair of S&S couplers as this is a travel frame.The person who ordered it is an old friend and he splits his time between Arizona and Ireland so flying is something he does with regularity. He finds that having the bike pack smaller is a big benefit for frequent travel, even if the airlines don't always charge for a full bike box. This one will be mated to an Enve adventure fork.