tag
Golden Saddle Rides: Sam Potts Modern Classic Road
Photos and words by Kyle Kelley
There seems to be small resurgence in frame building here in Los Angeles. GSC has been working with a few builders first hand and I’d guess there are even more working with other shops around the city. It’d be interesting to see how many people are actually building bikes in and around Los Angeles at the moment.
I wish I spoke Italian…
With special emphasis on hard tail… This Mosaic MT1 is unique.
Kyle’s no stranger to xc racing. He’s competed in – and won – a number of state and regional championships and has been climbing the ranks of the local race series. The angles on this bike are very XC-race specific (72.5 STA 70.5 HTA) and the parts were specified for, you guess it, racing. Just look at that cassette. That’s how someone who usually races singlespeed in the geared category – and wins – specs a cassette.
Sure, the 3T bars are a bit narrow by today’s standards, but as a XC racer, Kyle knows exactly what he wants. Take for example, the detail that stands out the most, the integrated seat post, something you don’t often see in a MTB. In fact, Mosaic doesn’t traditionally make ISPs on their mountain frames and for good reason. If you hit a drop and land on the saddle awkwardly, you could kink or worse, break it.
Prior to building the bike, Aaron from Mosaic double checked that Kyle knew what he was doing. From there, the seat tube was reinforced and Kyle’s bike was ready to go. I love the curves and tubing diameter of titanium mountain bikes and this hard, hardtail has got to be one of the more unique custom frames I’ve shot this year.
In Austin, Mosaic Cycles can be ordered through Austin Bikes.
I’ve been digging what Blue Lug has been doing with their Rew10 Works framesets and Cook paintworks, but this singlespeed cross bike is my favorite thus far. Subtle splatter paint over the tan base color and a classy steel fork really do it for me. The disc front and canti rear is clever as well.
See more from Rew 10 Works at the Blue Lug Flickr.
Black and orange is the new black, during the fall anyway. Tis the season for everyone to get their base miles on and what better motivation to bundle up in the cold than a new road bike. Much less, a new Firefly. I love the way large framesets look by themselves and this one’s got a massive head tube.
Check out more of this black and orange beaut at the Firefly Flickr!
Speedvagen wants to make sure you’re paying attention this morning with their 2014 Horizon Plus road bike. Well, are you? Check out more at Speedvagen’s Flickr. There are so many details here, it’s mind-boggling.
David, or as many refer to him as “the Wilcox”, is a bit of a legend in the Boston-area, much like Mike Zanconato, the builder of his trusty cross bike. Since 1998, Zanconato has been building custom bicycles in Massachusetts, which is where David got this matte-black beauty.
While Tim and David were in town this week with the Rapha mobile cycle club Tillie – after a grueling drive straight from Louisville – I shot photos of his race bike, still caked with Kentucky mud. His build is steller with Chris King, CX1, Wolf Tooth and yes, a Quarq power meter.
See more in the Gallery!
Mitch Pryer is the man behind Map Bicycles and let me tell you, that man can make some lovely racks. Map is known for their randonneurs, but as you can see, Mitch can tackle just about any client request, including a porteur rack with low-riders.
This is amazing. See more at the Map Flickr.
Aaron Stinner‘s latest customer build is so subtle that you might not even notice it’s a Stinner. Most steel builders are asked by clients to build bikes that match certain performance characteristics as you’d find in carbon frames. With such a request, come key factors, the most important being tubing selection.
For this build, Stinner selected True Temper S3, OX Platinum and Columbus Life, all three of which are common selections for modern builders looking to lighten their frameset up, while maintaining the integrity and liveliness of steel. Matched with all the carbon ENVE components, this bike will meet any expectations set by the client.
The frame was then topped off with an oyster white base coat with white metallic decals. Thanks to Aaron for sharing this project. See more below!
This is too good! The one and only Richard Sachs went down a list of 15 points in his latest blog post. You’ve gotta head over to read them, for gems like:
“Serial number accidentally banged in askew. Shit. It will look stupid. Fuck it. It’s a handmade bicycle frame that now has extra humanity. Note to self: add an Imperfection Is Perfection DVD to client’s parcel when bicycle is delivered.”
“Dang. The cat wanted to use this on gravel and a 25mm is the largest tire that will fit. I need to pay more attention. I’ll tell him I always use 25mm tires on gravel.” – “I can’t believe folks wait in line for this.” – “I can’t believe people pay me for this.” – “I hope know the next one will be better.”
“I can’t believe folks wait in line and pay me for this.”
Watching Argonaut Cycles grow and gain traction in this market is exciting. Especially within the realm of retail, a world that most framebuilders decide to avoid due to margins. But sometimes, you find a home where your brand easily nestles in between the existing offerings.
Argonaut Cycles has teamed up with Above Category, along side BAUM, Pegoretti and Mosaic. Three exceptional frame builders who have mastered their materials. It’s not bad having such great company, is it?
See more at Above Category!
… and it’s one I’d like to think that readers of this website would embrace. See more at the Baum Flickr!
I’ve you’ve never met Erik from Peacock Groove before, here’s a great introduction to the cycling industries best personalities and yes, true artists. I love this dude so much!
There’s something special happening right now within the US framebuilding industry. Something that ought not to be overlooked, no matter how too good to be true it might seem. Before we go any further however, I must make one note: a production frame is not a custom frame. There’s a misconception that everything made by a framebuilder is custom. A production run is a series of sizes, made in an assembly-line process, which drastically reduces cost on both the builder’s end and the consumer’s end.
With that come a few issues: one of which being fit and others include – often times – paint choice, or adding extras like braze-ons, pump pegs, chain holders, etc. The most important factor however is fit. Many people are driven to a framebuilder due to fit issues, but a majority of the population can be fit on a stock geometry with a series of tweaks. That said, the geometry for these stock sizes has to be able to accommodate.
Enter Wraith Fabrication, one of these new US-made production companies, headed by an existing framebuilder, Adam Eldridge of Stanridge Speed. Now, why would a framebuilder make another brand to sell bikes? Because of their construction: Wraith is tig-welded, Stanridge is fillet brazed. Adam isn’t the first fillet-braze builder to move onto a brand reliant on tig welding, either.
There exist a series of tig-only framebuilders who build production bikes for various brands, including Wraith Fabrication. Wraith now offers a disc cyclocross bike, the Paycheck and a road bike, the Hustle. These frames are built from Columbus Life tubing, with Ohio-manufactured head tube cups in Oregon and then painted or powder coated in Ohio.
Adam designed the geometries, specs and brought the project to life… using magic? Nope. Just a solid production. I got to take one of these bikes, the Paycheck disc cross bike for a series of rides over the past week. Check out an initial reaction below…
Themed bikes are usually hit or miss, but I think Indy Fab nailed this one:
“Our Hot Wheels inspired pursuit track bike is currently on display at SEMA in the Toy Store-themed PPG Automotive Refinish booth. This steel frame was painted with a combination of 3 Crystallance paints from PPG’s Vibrance Collection along with a red tinted clear coat.”
See more photos at IF’s blog.
No 22 Bicycles’ made in the USA frames are one by one, getting a bit of a make-over, beginning with the popular Little Wing track frame. While the geometry has stayed the same, the Little Wing has some new accoutrement, in the form of new cast-titanium pieces.
See more detailed photos below, along with a break-down of this frame, supplied by No 22.
Photo by Nobuhiko Tanabe
That’s a great looking cyclocross bike. Nobuhiko has been racing on this beauty over in Japan and finally took some photos of it. Head over to Blue Lug’s Flickr for the full set.
Ian from Icarus Frames came by the Radavist HQ today and he brought this new matte black road frame that just came back from paint. With a mix of True Temper OX Platinum at the seat tube, head tube and Columbus Zona / Life elsewhere, it’s got modern lines with very classic proportions. This one’s a beaut! Clean fillets, a braze-on front derailleur hanger and an ENVE road fork.
My favorite detail however was the arrow, painted on the top tube and the classic Icarus insignia on the downtube.
Shooting matte bikes in a studio isn’t easy, but I’m getting the hang for it. I wish I could shoot this beaut all built up. Instead, you’ll just have to check out more studio photos of this killer frame below.