Search Term – Change
Eric Estlund of Winter Bicycles like many builders, is beginning to step into the production / semi-custom market. While he’s still making fully custom frames, his recent Pelican rando project for Box Dog Bikes marked a new direction for Winter. At his NAHBS booth this year, Eric displayed two semi-custom production bikes. One of which is en route to Texas now. Still, I couldn’t take my eyes off this track bike…
Going into the 2013 NAHBS, I wanted to find a way to capture the personality of the builders and the bikes they create. Headshots, especially when the subject is comfortable around you, is an easy way to do so. As I was halfway through this shoot, I realized something: the builders look a lot like their frames. Drawing that comparison is easy enough, shooting portraits in convention center lighting is not. That said, I’m pretty stoked on how these came out.
I wanted to thank these men for what they do and I wish I could have gotten around to shooting everyone but this selection is pretty spot-on.
It was hard to miss Festka’s mirror-like finish on their track bike. These Czech builders brought a little something for everyone. If their Motol Chrome track bike isn’t your thing, maybe their neon pink carbon Zero road or razzle-inspired XCR Pablo road would do it for you? I didn’t get a lot of time to chat with two of the builders, so check out more information at Festka and see more in the Gallery.
Ira Ryan and Tony Pereira‘s new framebuilding company, Breadwinner unveiled their full range at the 2013 NAHBS. While Ira and Tony’s own speciality approach to frame building is still present, the branding and choice paint selection unify the brand into one of the most impressive offerings I saw today. Some details from previous projects returned with new life and with a breathe of confidence, the two Portland builders have a very promising future ahead of them.
Nao from Tomii Cycles won’t be at NAHBS this year but that doesn’t mean his work isn’t worthy of the show. His Flickr has been exploding with great photos of even the simplest things like fork ends. Check out more photos at the Tomii Flickr.
Custom, bent titanium chain guard for a titanium singlespeed porteur? That sounds like a show bike if you ask me. Surely, Firefly will be there, right? Nope. Not going to NAHBS. But that’s because they deliver everything from the elegant, modern road to quirky customer requests and document each one like it is a show bike. While the gang won’t be at NAHBS this year, they are moving into new digs in March. Best of luck guys!
If you carve it, they will come (for orders). JP Weigle is a master at what he does. His 650B randonneur conversions and his own frames rival even the top vintage French framebuilders. If he can carve something, he will. It doesn’t matter if it’s his own con denti pedals, or drillium dropout faces, the man will find some way to leave his mark on metal. Like many builders today, JP Weigle documents his work on his Flickr.
I don’t know what sparked this post, I guess I just wanted to make a point that not every framebuilder can make it out to NAHBS but that doesn’t mean they’re not capable of producing show-quality work.
Here’s something unrelated to bikes but related to frame builders. I shot some photos last week of Ian from Icarus Frame‘s recently completed Triumph moto for Megadelux. His interview is now live on their site, so head over and check it out! Usually, I sway from moto content but a lot of people expressed interest in seeing more shots of this beast when I posted my Recent Roll photos earlier this month.
This is so rad. Renown builder and painter Dario Pegoretti worked with the Stuttgart State Academy of Art and Design to create some over the top, exclusive bicycle frames, all to promote the Olgäle-Foundation for children suffering from cancer in Stuttgart. Check out the full press release below (if you like reading) or just look at the pretty pictures.
Thanks for sharing this Hans-Georg!
I love that frame builders, like Mosaic are taking the initiative to tell their story through narratives like this. Sure, it’s marketing but kudos to encouraging people to get out and ride. I’d love to see something similar unfold from a number of other builders too.
I have no idea what’s going on here and my best guess is, that’s the point. Stinner Frameworks designs, fabricates and rides their bikes in Santa Barbara, California. They’re one of the builders I’m looking forward to seeing at NAHBS, especially if they’re into trippy shit like this.
Photo by Nao Tomii
“Ooooh. Wowwww. So pretty! Can’t we just put a clear coat on it?”
This is what came out of Lauren’s mouth when I showed her photos of her Icarus Porteur. What came next was a very simple conversation that many frame builders have with their clients on why this isn’t a good idea. We’ll use this photo from Tomii Cycles as an example, only because it’s the most recent, clean fillet photo I’ve seen on my Flickr feed.
I’ve heard just about every frame builder complain about the double-edged sword that is fine fillet brazing. With social media becoming a powerful tool for builders, they expose a precious part of their process: bare fillets. If you’re a master at finishing, you take pride in your pinhole-free, smooth fillets. They’re evidence of a lot of precise work and while they look great raw, they need to be painted.
Why? Oxidation. Rust destroys steel and the only thing that keeps it from forming is a primer. If you simply clear-coated or clear powdered a frame, it would rust. Even in a matter of weeks it would be present. For the longevity of a steel frame’s lifespan, it needs to be properly primed and painted. Don’t forget to Frame Saver, either!
In order to protect your bike frame, you must use a primer. This allows the paint to adhere correctly and protects the raw steel from oxidation. Without primer, the frame will eventually rust under the paint. Or in this case, under the clear coat.
“But what about those fillets? You can’t cover them up!” Well, good fillets and good paint go hand in hand. You can cover bad fillets with good paint but they’ll look like shit. If your fillets aren’t smooth, or show the profile of mis-mitered tubes, paint will not cover that up. You don’t see the bad fillets being macro photographed now, do you?
A good builder doesn’t need to use filler and painters love them for it. It makes their job easier and the paintwork shows. Simply rub your finger over a fine fillet braze to feel the difference. Or watch the light reflect off the paint as it coats the shorelines. The best thing for an immaculately-finished fillet frame is a great coat of paint.
While Lauren was initially a bit bummed that her pretty, raw frame would be covered with paint, after explaining this, she understood. Especially after I showed her examples of exceptional paint covering exceptional fillets. So as a public service announcement for your builder, don’t even bother bringing this up! I’m sure they’d rather save their energy to discuss paint options with you.
NAHBS bikes bring out the best in builders but like many of the greats, they never really have to do anything different. That’s the beauty of NAHBS. Little details like this one in particular really bring a bike to life… I can’t wait to see the Bishop offerings to the NAHBS gods.
In 2012, PiNP’s content was like a pinball machine. It seemed like every other month, I’d find myself in another city. Some familiar, some new, but I traveled everywhere with my bike and camera in hand, ready to see what was out there. Throughout these travels, I formed a lot of strong friendships with a lot of incredible people. Some of which have become my best of friends. We rode hard, we partied harder and somehow, I managed to keep the year in focus.
Here’s the PiNP 2012: A Year in 55 Photos…
The Athletic is a relatively new site that’s still in its infancy but the curator is far from a new-jack. Jeremy Dunn, formally of Embrocation and currently Rapha has been working on a new publication that will take a slightly different look at the cycling world we live in. Mostly, he’s a really great narrator and the man can take a folder of photos and create a dialog. I know this because that’s how we covered the 2012 ATOC for the Rapha blog.
I hate to call ideas “projects” but he’s got some ambitious plans for 2013. Hopefully which will include some cross-pollination with PiNP. For now, head over to the Athletic and check out a story on the recently relocated Alchemy Bicycle Co. These ex-patriots of Austin have found themselves in Colorado, which appears to be the next Portland for frame builders.
2012 brought a lot of videos to the table here at PiNP. I had to scroll through 60 pages of fixed freestyle, track bike, cyclocross, BMX videos and everything in between to compile this list. Unlike previous years, these videos were chosen based on my own personal impact. I didn’t look at the number of comments, or hits, they just stood out from the rest and were, at least in my opinion, very influential. From frame builders, to FGFS and good old fashioned mashing on track bikes, these were my top picks for 2012.
Check them out below.
This year, I traveled more than any year before, which allowed me to photograph Beautiful Bicycles from all over the world. When I began compiling this list, I wanted to pull in from my own personal favorites, meaning bikes that I remembered more than others. Ranking based on traffic and comments has been done before, making it too easy, so I started at the first posts this year and went through my favorites, narrowing it down to a sharp top 10 list. While many of these bikes are from the past few months, some of my favorites came in early on. A few are just iconic and others are classic, but they were all a blast to photograph.
See for yourself, in no particular order in the Gallery and notations are below.
It’s not easy finding a frame builder to crank out a production run on bikes. Most builders are slammed, with full queues and lack the facilities to undertake even a small batch. But when Box Dog Bikes approached Eric at Winter about making six of their Pelican randonneur frames, he couldn’t resist. There’s a whole Winter Flickr set outlining the process and more information can be found at Box Dog Bikes. Regarding ordering, call the shop!
When Ben Farver from Argonaut Cycles decided he was going to make the switch from building custom steel bikes to custom, made in the USA carbon fiber frames, he needed to find some local experts. The team at Innovative Composite Engineering, or ICE, were located just over the river in White Salmon, Washington state. Their expertise lies in everything from SUP poles to products for the aerospace industry. A few phone calls later and they began to meet to discuss a new, proprietary system for manufacturing custom carbon fiber bicycle frames.
ICE and Ben began to collaborate. They both were motivated to develop the frame using the best and most advanced molding technology, and to bring something new to the industry. They both pushed each other to do this without compromise or cutting corners, deciding on a few key points: There would be no vacuum forming, no tube to tube carbon lug bonding and no real hand finishing needed. The process would be streamlined, efficient and most importantly, customizable. While I can’t show you the juicy details, which I can assure you are juicy, I can show you snippets of the Argonaut Cycles process.
It begins with a roll of carbon, which is then cut out based on digital CAD templates on a large cutting bed. Each piece is based on the individual parts’ dimensions. From there, the carbon is inserted into aluminum molds, around a bladder where the resin layup occurs. Then, these aluminum molds are heated, allowing the resin to cure. This is repeated until all the parts are finished. When it’s all said and done, the frame is ready for assemblage.
Shot at ICE, these photos lay out the process used in manufacturing a 100% made in the USA carbon bicycle frame, like my Argonaut Cycles road.
EDIT: see a reply from Argonaut below that answers many questions everyone seems to have…
It’s not often you read words like this from established craftsmen. Builders like Richard Sachs are beyond popular but they aren’t autonomous in their endeavors. Richard gets help a little here and there, including a man who fabricates these head badges in the USA. Read up more here, on the ATMO Blog.
Great photo, ATMO.
