Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Disc-only steel 'cross frame

Who says you can't have modern features on a steel bike ? -Not I. This frame has BB-30, tapered dead tube and a disc-only brake setup-stuff you find on carbon bikes from the mega-companies. A customer from San Diego specified these features and even source the head tube from the U.K.
The downtube is larger than I use on most steel 'cross frames and it mates up well with the larger BB and headtube.
The top and seat tubes are of normal diameter and the rear stays are not oversize, giving the rear triangle a graceful look that would have been impossible with larger tubes.
The Paragon BB and dropouts like the True Temper OX Platinum main tubes are US made.
The only imported tubes are the chainstays which are Columbus Nivacrome. The frame weighs 4 lb. 2 oz.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Steel road racing frame for Berkeley

This frame is built from True temper OX with an S-3 top tube. Before I put on the braze ons it weighed 3 lb. 6 oz. , about the same as an Easton elite aluminum frame in the same size.

The customer specified straight seat stays.....less work for me and a more classic look. I'm sure this frame will see a lot of miles in Nor-Cal races in the coming year.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Big tire road bike all ready for a vacation

The test bike came back from Dirt Rag Magazine and after a little tune up it is ready for a rare three-day weekend in the Sierra foothills. I put on some Rivendell Jack Brown 33 c tires that they generously provided for the bumpy roads around the Amador county wine country. I also installed a Paul Components seatpost to get a little more setback. The Brooks saddle felt a little too forward for my tired old ass.
Here's the new seatpost. Finally, soeone makes a nice classic style seatpost with some real setback.

Bontrager restoration

One of my customers dragged this frame out of his garage and asked me to build a for for it, get it repainted and build it up with all new parts. It is around 18 years old and is a Bontrager OR mountian frame. I built the fork from Tange blades from the period and put a Shimano SLX group on the frame with a stem and handlebar that I had laying around. I'll swap out the bars for something with more rise. The customer provided the decals......don't ask me for them-I have none.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

'Cross frame for Flagstaff

This frame is scandium and it has the BB-30 shell and the 50 MM head tube that can run the tapered steerer loved by the UCI and all the Euro-racers. This rider is pertty tall and has trouble getting far enough behind the BB with his saddle position. The 72.5 degree seat tube angle on this frame will hopefully take care of that. The 43 mm chainstays will keep the weight distribution centered.
With the 35 MM seat tube and 44 mm downtube, the BB-30 and larger head tube do not seem out of place. I'm hoping that the owner will find the ride of this frame to his liking in all situations, paved or dirt. It may be a 'cross frame but it is light and stiff enough to feel good on the road.
With a fairly tall frame I can get a little more curve into the seat stays. I actually have to bend them a bit more to get the cantilever bosses at the right distance from each other.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Disc-only 'cross frame for Wisconsin

The disc-only 'cross bike is becoming a regular build in my shop but this one is a little different in that it will have a tapered-steerer fork. This is only the third frame I have built for this headset/fork setup but like the disc brakes , there's somewhat of a trend happening for this feature. My guess is that the front end of the bike will be pretty solid and there will be no chance of fork shudder as there's no rim brake. Is it overkill ? -I can't say....I do know that there's going to be some really cold weather usage of this bike and maybe the extra braking power and solid front end will be good.

I ran out of disc mounts and had to make this one out of 7005 plate. It's probably a little stronger than the stock item and I was able to get a super nice custom fit.

This one is bound for Oregon

This is a race-day bike made from the lightest stuff in the shop. I hope it lasts long and gets used in all that mud up there in Eugene and Portland.
There's a couple of things on this frame that might help it hold up to the beating that is cyclocross racing. # 1, the seat stays are really stout, pertty much straight-guage 7005.# 2, the new chainstay gussett will help prevent a crack at one of the more highly stressed points in the frame.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Really small 'cross frame for bay area local

Yes, this is a 'cross frame although it looks like a mtn. bike frame. The person riding it is only 5'3" so it has to look like this. One good thing, it doesn't weigh anything.
There's a few NOS US made tubes in this frame that I save for bikes like this. I don't have much of these tubes left and it will be a sad day when they are gone for good.
My guess is that some sort of newer 'V' type rear brake will be used as the cable room behind the seat tube is minimal.

Bound for Bakersfield

Yes, the day after tomorrow there will be more than liver and onions, chicken fried steak and oilwells in Bakersfield-there will be a custom single speed cyclocross frame and fork from you-know-who. The blue decals are custom ordered from a local sign shop and are a little different than my stock versions.
I really wish I had a blue seat collar to complete the look but I'm sure one will be on this frame before too long. I had to ship it today with what I had in stock.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Yes, I still make forks with 1" threaded steerers

And that's exactly what this is.....maybe a month late but it is built and soon to be in the hands of a very patient customer.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

The rack is full again


Six of these frames, the ones without paint will be off to the heat treater today. I have almost enough work to finish off the year if I include a couple of projects I intend to show at the handmade bike show next year. I won't enter them in any competition, though-I'm all about the work speaking for itself and not looking for a trophy for what I do every day.

Collector's corner : Eisentraut in the house

You don't see this brand very often, an Eisentraut signature road frame. The frame is about 25 years old and the second owner had it on a roof rack and well, you know the rest. Fortunately, all that is needed is a fork alignment-$ 30 and he'll be good to go, unless I find something else wrong. The lugs are very nice on this bike....understated ,but I know full well how much work went into this frame.

Disc-only 'cross frame

Well, it had to happen some time.....the disc brake revolution on cyclocross bikes has made inroads into my build list. This is certainly not the first disc-only 'cross rig I have built , but the frequency of this kind of request has gone way up in the last few months. There's a lot of advancement in the brake systems and the recent UCI reversal on the disc brake ban at sanctioned races has fuled the latest trend. I try not to have an opinion on this subject and leave it up to how these bikes perform in races. My guess is that they will do fine. I have fun building them.
I made the cable routing for the brake hydraulic compatable so the rider can have a choice rather than be stuck with no alternative to a cable actuated brake.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Steel 'cross frame and fork for San Fransisco

This is a Euro with a fender package option. No racks, no touring stuff, just a race bike with fenders.
This should be a sturdy reliable ride for town , country roads or the bay area race courses.
The owner of this frame and fork was a founder of Cyclocross Magazine so I know he'll appreciate all the time and care I put into this frame and fork,