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Photo by Keith Teket
With a killer paint job from Fresh Frame, custom components by Drillium Revival and the exceptional hand of Chris Bishop, this might be the best track bike I’ve seen all year. I’m seriously blown away here. See more at the Bishop Bikes Flickr!
Ohhhh man. I can always post a photo of a Bishop Bikes seat cluster. It’s like Chris’ signature and he didn’t hold back on his latest work. See more of Brian’s track frame at the Bishop Flickr!
Photo by Keith Teket
I know this photo shows very little of the actual frame, or of the Campy 80th group, but you’ve gotta have a reason to go to the Bishop Flickr, right? That and the seat tube cluster is what I would consider Chris’ speciality.
Photos by Keith Teket
Chris Bishop’s Columbus MS track frame made the rounds on the internet almost immediately after it was built and documented. I’d say that it was one of his most popular frames to date. So popular that when Ben put a deposit down, he specifically requested the road version of the beloved MS track frame and that’s exactly what he got! See more at the Bishop Flickr!
One of the biggest critiques I abhor reading online is “too bad the fork is drilled”. This is Chris Bishop‘s answer to the track bike’s conundrum: to drill or not to drill? Drill away! He’ll just add a stainless brake hole embellishment to cover it up when you don’t have a brake. So rad.
Finally! I’ve been using my Chris King ceramic PF30 BB on my Argonaut and all I’ve wanted is to be able to put one on my Bishop as well. These things are legit and if the word of a raconteur isn’t good enough for you, they’ve been raced exclusively by United Healthcare.
100% made in the USA, with a 5-year warranty, available for 24mm or 30mm PF shells, fully servicable bearings, available in ceramic or stainless and of course, in all the colors of the Chris King rainbow!
Here’s the press-release from Chris King:
“Introducing Chris King Press Fit 30 and Press Fit 24 Bottom Brackets. Equipped with our legendary in-house made angular contact bearings, compatible with our precision grease injection system and backed by an industry leading 5-year warranty, this is the only Press Fit bottom bracket you will need to install in your frame.
We have created our Press Fit Bottom Brackets to uphold the Chris King standard of precision craftsmanship and high-performance function. Based on our phenomenally successful Threaded Bottom Bracket system, our Press Fit Bottom Brackets will give your customers the same performance, serviceability, and dependability that they have come to expect from every Chris King product. With a range of additional conversion kits we are proud to offer a Chris King solution to your Press Fit needs.”
The time of disposable PF30 BBs is now gone. Pick one up today from Chris King!
Alex has not had the best luck with bikes over the past few years but Chris Bishop was looking to change that. As a native Baltimoron (is that right?), Alex has always admired Chris’ handywork, prompting him to save some money for a frame and what a bike it is. This Keirin-influenced machine has aero stays and an aero 3 Rensho fork.
You’ve gotta check out more at the Bishop Flickr.
Yeah, I know, there’s already been a ton of Bishop NAHBS love here on the site but I was very impressed that with all the bikes Chris has been building, he brought two track bikes with him. My level of respect for Chris and Tommy only increases each year and I know the owner of this bike is beyond stoked on how it turned out. Full Campagnolo C-Record Pista, Cinelli heritage saddle with matching bar wrap and those fillets! This frame will be getting a coat of wet paint from Bryan Myers of Fresh Frame before it leaves for China. Have a napkin ready, this one’s a drooler.
It should be no surprise that Chris Bishop won an award at NAHBS with this bike. For the third year in a row, this full time framebuilder and part time bike messenger brought an incredible fleet of absolutely stunning bikes with him from Baltimore. I was able to shoot three out of the four bikes, the first of which being the Drillium Revival track and now, this reverse bi-lam road.
Originally conceived by Ian Sutton of Icarus Frames, the reverse bi-lam head tube was a show stopper. When the client requested the detail from Chris, he called Ian, asking permission to make it, something he didn’t have to do, but Chris is a true Southern gentlemen. The end result is a tri-color jade, emerald and turquoise road bike with a modern Dura Ace group and a custom 1″ quill stem. The stainless rear triangle and Bishop-standard thin lugwork set this apart from the playing field at NAHBS.
Michael from Brooks England is beyond stoked on his new ride and as a fellow Bishop owner, I can say for sure that this bike is a life-long companion. Yes, I am very partial to Chris’ work, so I took a little more time documenting this machine. Go on and let it marinate in the Gallery.
Chris Bishop‘s 2012 raw track bike returned for 2013 with a fresh coat of paint and a new, Italian component group. The razor sharp blue wet paint was supplied by Fresh Frame. The vintage Cinelli and Campagnolo components were drilled, shaped and milled by Drillium Revival. Bottom line is, this bike has sass and class (you either love or hate that tag line, don’t you?).
Little details like the etched Bishop logo on the fork crown and chainstays make this build for me…
Usually when you see Campagnolo Pista hubs with drillium, chances are, they came from the Paramount facilities in the 70’s, complete with Paramount track bikes. Rumor has it that they misdrilled them too large for spoke holes and had to re-drill them, giving the flange a nice, light, facelift.*
While the technological advancements (i.e. weight) of hub designs have improved since then, there’s still that nostalgic allure of a classic Italian component with little circles cut out of it. As others have noted “nothing is lighter than a hole“. Drillium Revival are the minds behind this masterpiece hubset pictured here. Their holes were drilled intentionally and will be gracing one of Chris Bishop‘s 2013 NAHBS bikes.
Oh and they didn’t stop with the hubs. They kind of went all out! See more drilled, milled, profiled and polished Campagnolo Pista at the Bishop Flickr.
*source: Cicli Devotion
Last summer, Chris King gave me one of their soon-to-be-reissued purple NoThreadSets and all I could think was “this will be perfect on the Bishop”. For whatever reason, it sat on my desk, staring me down until the other day when I finally broke out my headset tools and installed it. This, along with the new Tune Skewers I ordered from Fairwheel Bikes (hey, no one could order them locally) brought just the right amount of purple to the already classy Bishop road.
See a few more shots below.
I used to drool all over myself when Aaron Hayes from Courage would post photos of his bikes, so it should come as no surprise that I’m doing the same now. Chris Bishop inherited these iconic track ends from a current client of his / ex client of Courage. It’s a long story, but I can’t wait to watch it unfold at the Bishop Flickr.
Sweet mother of the open road. Chris Bishop is on a roll with Michael’s road bike. The details on this thing are amazing. I can’t wait to see what he brings to NAHBS. Check out more at the Bishop Flickr!
Even though I’m not the biggest fan of modern Ergopower, I can’t get over how rad this photo is. Chris Bishop’s Flickr is on fire right now, but be forewarned, it might make you wanna spring for a custom Bishop…
I’ve been watching this bike being cut, carved and finished over on the Bishop Bikes Flickr but seeing it in all its matte black glory is making me jealous. Daniel wanted a modern steel bike with classic lines, much like my Bishop and boy did Chris deliver. Check out more shots of this ENVE-laced beast at the Bishop Bikes Flickr.
Photo by Chris Bishop
Chris Bishop has so many NOS Columbus tubesets and the MS, or multi-shaped, tubes are some of the most unique. Here’s a profile section of the tubes. From left to right, non drive chainstay, drive side chainstay, top tube, down tube and Air seat stays. Keep at it Chris. This is a great photo.
I am honored to have a bike made by this man. When you buy a Bishop, you not only get a frame, you get a world’s experience (literally) in bicycle racing, collecting and just good old fashioned work ethic. Chris began on a bike like many of us did, on a BMX, pedaling around the neighborhood. Then he began racing, until the bike messenger life caught him in the late 90’s. After traveling to race the CMWCs, he returned to the States where he enrolled in frame building classes under Steve Garn of Brew’s watchful eye.
Now Bishop Bikes is a world-renown name in frame building. With a new web site on the way, Chris uploaded some photos of his life in bikes over on his Flickr. I highly recommend you take a look!
