Thursday, March 28, 2024

Steel gravel frame for bay area junior rider

This color is called "Blue Morpho" and it is wild- changes color depending on how the light hits it. 
Some times its blue, some times copper, some times burgundy. It really has all that and more and does not look garish or distasteful. I am sure this will not be the only frame this color coming out of my shop this year.


 

Re-condition on a road frame set

This one came in with a good sized dent in the chain stay and some rusted cable guides. It is about 15 years old so it was ready for new paint as well. The color is a wild sparkle black and not seeing it in the direct sun is missing out on a really amazing look.
This was originally the whole package- steel frame fork and stem. It got stolen a few years ago but by some sort of a miracle it was recovered and back with the original owner.

 

Fillet brazed ride anywhere 650 frame and fork going to Kansas

This long time customer has moved to a part of the state where long gravel roads abound.
After riding these roads as his daily commute he came up with this formula for a bike that would not only suit the riding , it would fulfill some aesthetic wishes - # 1, fillet brazing. # 2, level top tube. # 3, crowned raked fork with capacity of at least a 2" tire. #4, NOS bits such as the dropouts , skinny tubes and seatstay caps. 

 I had fun building it -I hope he has fun riding it.

Monday, March 25, 2024

New model ? Road racing frame in 7005 with dropped seat stays

The guy who I share my shop with- the one who owns all these nice slabs of locally salvaged wood- requested dropped seat stays. This style is current on a lot of pro-tour bikes. 
Since none of my bikes are in the pro-tour , I'll call this one a 'Bro-tour' team issue replica.......who knows...maybe I'll have to build more of them. Structurally, I'm not 100% confident in the area of the seat tube / seat stay junction holding up as well as a normal design but this customer was willing to roll the dice and be a test pilot. I guess time will tell if it is going to last as long as the more conventional frame design. Fortunately, the aluminum seat tube is pretty stout. I don't think I would do this design in steel as the wall thickness on a steel seat tube is barely .6 mm....... not much there to take the stress.

 It does have a fairly modern sporty look, though....

Rocker single speed/geared steel MTB frame

This one is going to Bismarck, N.D.  ....way up north. The customer asked for no wishbone so that's why it has s-bend seat stays- this is actually a bit lighter than the wishbone.
The customer also asked for the rocker dropouts for the ability to run single speed-this is a nice way to have a bike that does two duties.
And of course, a Jen Green copper headbadge adorns the front of the head tube- always a nice option.
 

Thursday, March 21, 2024

WCCX single speed

This is the final frame in the first aluminum batch of the year.This one will have an EBB bout could also do geared with a wireless setup.
I really got in a groove with this batch and tried a different setting n my welder-I like it. Not a big change, just a slightly different heat range that makes the welds just a bit more flowed out. I like the look, even if it does not have any structural advantage.
If you don't see your frame in this batch, don't worry- another batch will be coming up after I spend April catching up on the steel list.
 

Thursday, March 14, 2024

7005 road frame for Junior team member

While we don't have a road team, we do have a CX team with a number of talented juniors. The rider of this frame is a real talent , riding elite level races at 14 years old.
This 3 lb.3 oz. road frame will hopefully be a great training tool for him. Some of the tubes are pear shaped NOS Easton Elite. I still have a small stash of these that I use every once in awhile.