My contribution for the Peter Weigle’s virtual French Fender Day is this Raleigh International 650b conversion. It’s not French and the components are mostly Italian (there are the MAFAC brakes, TA rack, Stronglight cranks, and Berthoud saddle though). This was actually my first 650b conversion and I have to say it was kind of fun!…although […]
Once upon a time a long long time ago when I worked at Circle A Cycles, I built a bike for Mike. Fast forward 100 years or so and I’m building him another one! Not a replacement but a different kind of bike. The last one was a 700c touring bike and this one is […]
There’s a lot to say about this bike so I’ll try to keep it concise (but I will go on about Jacquie). When founding WOMBAT, former pro MTB rider, and all around rad person Jacquie Phelan asked me to build her a bike, my heart skipped a beat. We have a few mutual friends but […]
I can count on my hand the number of single speeds I’ve built under my own name. Those few bikes are some of my favorites and this one is no different. I don’t know if it’s the color, the big tires, the rack, or the simplicity of a single speed but this bike makes me […]
This bike was started right as the coronavirus pandemic was picking up back in March, 2020 and then the world was turned upside down. This is officially the longest it’s ever taken me to make a bicycle. Working so few hours in the shop is the main and obvious reason. Bi-laminate construction, custom rack, custom […]
“I only build complete bikes” is what I’ve always said. But there are always times when I make exceptions. This was a unique situation where Glenn is a mechanic who takes great pride in the assembly of his bicycles. I handed the bike off to him as you see it here. I was in charge […]
I started working on John’s rinko bike in late 2019, if my memory serves me correctly. It was one of those bikes that I knew was going to be a challenge for me. I had never done a rinko travel bike but I had seen many other builders do them. I liked the concept even though the actual use for traveling might be minimal.
When Steve and Laila came to me with the idea of a matching pair of bikes I was pretty excited. It wasn’t anything I’ve ever done before and I thought that the process would be sped up a little since I’d be doing two of everything. Well, only one of those things was true. These […]
Tom is a tall fellow and was interested in having me build a bike around a 650b wheel size. After plugging in all the numbers and designing the frame, he went with a 700x38c for a more balanced bike. The frame ended up being 64cm with standard oversized tubing and a tapered down tube. It […]
Isaac’s brass detailed road bike
December 30, 2021
I was able to hand off Isaac’s bike to him on Friday which was a great feeling albeit a little stressful. Isaac runs Whetstone Workshop where his team fabricates amazing sculptures, furniture, architectural details and all points in between from brass, stainless, steel, etc. Isaac has made bikes in the past too so my attention to detail […]