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It begins now…well, actually about a year ago.

January 21, 2012

I started building bicycles at Circle A Cycles back in 2005. It was there I learned about frame geometry, bicycle fitting, brazing, and painting. I still continue to build there but for the past year I’ve been building bikes under my own name as well and have managed to find a good balance between the […]

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The Bikes

Dan’s 650b all-road bike
Chip’s drop bar 29er
Rob’s fixed gear
David’s 700c light touring bike
Joe’s dynamo powered Di2 disc randonneur

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There’s a first time for everything. Hiding the

There’s a first time for everything. Hiding the taillight wire connection in the down tube/head tube junction using a brass brush and a copper sleeve. Is it necessary? No. Is it neat? Yes. Is it a lot of extra work? Sort of, but it will go quicker next time. Yes, I’ll probably have to do it again. Oh well. Still need to wire up the quill stem which has an integrated switch. Never a dull moment! Big thanks to Jamie Swan who guided me through the process. He’s the best! #dynamowiring #bicyclelight #notanebike #chapmancycles

Having some fun repurposing this bell crank from a

Having some fun repurposing this bell crank from an old Shimano 600 front derailleur to activate the brake on the tight area behind the seat cluster on this mixte. I have made pulleys in the past but the bell crank functions so well! Painting this Colner frame and fork this week! #bellcrank #centerpullbrakes #mixte #savetherimbrake #chapmancycles

Apparently a lot of folks did not understand what

Apparently a lot of folks did not understand what the heck I was making in the previous video (it did say in the description). A cable hanger is an essential part of a bicycle with a cantilever or centerpull style brake. It stops the housing and allows the brake to be applied. Here are a bunch of photos I pulled from my Flickr to illustrate this essential little non-caliper cable actuated brake component in various forms. Enjoy! #cablehanger #savetherimbrake #chapmancycles

Made a few stainless brake cable hangers today. I

Made a few stainless brake cable hangers today. I like to integrate these into the seat binder when I can but some people like them as a separate component. There are advantages to both. Big hopes to have some projects come to fruition this week! #savetherimbrake #silverbrazing #stainlesssteel #chapmancycles

Another bi-laminate head tube is in the books. Lot

Another bi-laminate head tube is in the books. Lots of ways to do this but this is how I do it. I like using the finished bronze fillets as a cutting guide. I don’t let that middle part of the head tube go to waste as it ends up becoming seat stay caps and what not. The big fillets are done with low fuming bronze and the head tube insert is silver brazed with 56%. The end result is a hybrid lug and fillet brazed frame. The only real advantage is the freedom of geometry selection and the ability to take advantage of the lug edges when painting and lining. Also, it looks nice! Trying to make as much progress as possible before the end of the week! #bilaminate #lugsnotdrugs #brazing #filletbrazing #silverbrazing #bronze #bicyclebuilding #bicyclebuilder #chapmancycles

Capping a couple sets of seat stays for the two bi

Capping a couple sets of seat stays for the two bikes in progress with a piece of .9mm head tube scrap. If I am not doing a fastback (attaching directly to the back of the seat tube), these are the two cap styles that I do. Depending on where you’re from, some people call them seat stay caps and some call them top eyes. There are lots of ways to do this with slugs, various shaped plates, and decorations but I’ve been doing it this way for this long that I’m just going to keep going with it. That first tack has to be very quick so the clamp doesn’t slide off as the acute angle doesn’t make for a super rigid hold. Again, there are multiple ways to do this. Then I try to get as much bronze in there as possible. Rough cutting and then removing the excess material can be done a number of ways too. I remember hearing that Jim Merz would turn his down on a lathe. This is great unless you have a tapered seat stay. One other tip that I got from @jpweigle was leaving a little opening where the cap meets the stay farthest from the tip. If you leave a little gap and add a little drop of filler to shape afterwards, it tends to alleviate the pinhole that I inevitably got right there. Now to put them on the frame and triangulate this thing! #brazing #oxyacetylene #seatstays #bicyclebuilding #chapmancycles

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