The Radavist

Festka‘s work has always has an edge, from their first NAHBS bikes to their artist collaborations, the Czech builders have an eye for design as well as the ability to finely tune carbon fiber as a material. Continuing on their previous Dazzle-inspired road bikes is their new Zero frame.

Complete with Di2 and Rocket Wheels, the paint job on this one is much more profound and incorporates Festka’s new logo and font. It captures your attention but allows the bike to communicate differently depending on the side that you are viewing it from. It was originally designed for Michael, one of Festka owners.

With 1.5″ headset bearings, oversized tubing and a pressfit 30 bb shell, the Zero comes in at 1,300 grams. Not intended to be an ultralight frame, it was designed from oversized tubes and lugs to extend the lifespan of the bike.

See more of this incredible machine below!

Nitto has been making handlebars for a very long time. To give you some perspective, back in the ’80s, there were dozens of handlebar manufacturers, then Taiwanese factories shut down all but one: Nitto.

Over the past few years, the Japanese handlebar manufacturer has lent American framebuilders a hand. Sycip cycles, being one of the more recent ones.

Now in stock, at Sycip’s online shop are the heat-treated aluminum JJ Bars and the CroMo steel JB bars. Both come in black or silver and are in stock now at Sycip.

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!

Small-time frame builders can deviate from their normal M.O. and create more precision machines with very little issue, which is why I think framebuilders will forever offer a better fit to your specific cycling needs.

Agendas aside, this Shand Cycles Stooshie cyclocross race machine is based off a Stoater platform, with a few geometric tweaks, tuned in for CX races… oh and camo never hurt! See more at the Shand Flickr!

With Rapha Travel heading to OZ for the Tour Down Under, they contacted one of Australia’s finest framebuilders to create a commemorative road bike. This black, yellow and green Corretto just screams Baum, with Busyman bar tape and Rapha insignia, it’s bound to be someone’s dream bike.

See more at the Baum Flickr!

Being a fan of Grant Robinson‘s photography is easy. What’s not to love about framebuilders and mountain bikes?

Here’s another video from the Between the Eyes project:

“While many action sport photographers create beautiful, pixel-perfect photos, Grant is one of the few who doesn’t just document the act but the emotion and feeling of the moment. He doesn’t often attempt to stage perfectly choreographed action sequences. While some photographers and their subject work tirelessly to manipulate the surroundings and reproduce The Moment, Grant is more than happy to snap and move on, avoiding recreating a synthetic representation of The Moment.

Rather than trying to capture the action he lets it wildly dance all across the image. Rather than freeze-framing a millisecond, wrangling and seizing it forcefully, he allows the motion of the moment, the many moments, to truly show themselves. The result is what some people consider imperfect images and perhaps sloppy technique, but a closer look reveals a story about the warmth of the act, the adrenaline of being on the edge, and the dance of skill and chance, both for the subject and the shooter. Life isn’t perfect so why should every image be so?

Some of Grant’s photos are far from some people’s categorization of excellence, but by being imperfect they display feeling or emotion that is much harder to place deliberately.”

Road technology, with regards to custom framebuilders, often flattens out and begins to form into a mesh of nuances, or details. Case in point is this new Talbot Dalsnibba road. Di2 is by no means new tech, yet the mixture of the rear brake placement, ISP, wishbone stay and sleeved lugwork makes me really want to comb this bike over, piece by piece with a camera. Luckily, photographer Phil Rooney has already done that. To see the rest of Phil’s photos, head to the Talbot Frameworks gallery.

Oh and the color ain’t bad either!

Czech builders Festka recently completed the development of their newest frame project, simply titled, ONE. Boasting a 60% stiffer layup process than previous Zero models, these custom road frames will be available shortly, with custom geometry and paint, at Festka.

See more below.

New England is rich with frame builders and that’s exactly what the New England Builder’s Ball is looking to celebrate. In partnership with the KMC Cyclocross Festival, the East Coast Greenway Alliance is pleased to present the New England Builders’ Ball, a celebration of bicycle framebuilders and an exhibition of their work.

Don’t miss it, Friday, October 3rd in Providence, Rhode Island.