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It’s All Ball Bearings: Chris King Precision Components Factory Visit

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It’s All Ball Bearings: Chris King Precision Components Factory Visit

Within a relatively straightforward product lineup, Chris King Precision Components manufactures hubs, headsets, bottom brackets, and, perhaps most importantly, the bearings inside that make them spin. On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, Josh spent some time at the Chris King HQ factory to learn more about the company’s origins and what makes it continue to stand out in a crowded space of bearing-centric bicycle components. Read on below for the full rundown of what goes on at CKPC’s giant vegetable oil-fueled machine shop!

Sips and Service: Hello Bicycle Cafe and Shop Visit

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Sips and Service: Hello Bicycle Cafe and Shop Visit

Iterating on the modern-day classic of bikes and coffee, Hello Bicycle & Cafe offers denizens of Tucson, Arizona, a lovely place to land right off the popular Loop bike path. The cozy cafe is stocked with local pastries and it sits right next to a well-organized shop, offering everything from factory-level suspension service, to complete bikes for purchase. It’s become one of Spencer Harding‘s favorite hangs and he shares a shop visit below…

Who’s Got Next? A Framebuilding Summit at Caletti Cycles

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Who’s Got Next? A Framebuilding Summit at Caletti Cycles

Last week, John Caletti of Caletti Cycles hosted five up-and-coming bicycle framebuilders at his shop in Santa Cruz, California. An event that had been on John’s to-do list for the past few years, his first Framebuilding Summit was intended to be an educational meeting of the minds–a time dedicated to sharing knowledge with a group of young bike builders.

Forty-Eight Hours in Berlin with Fern Fahrraeder/Allygn, Gramm Tourpacking, Drust/Akinn Cycles, Velociao Paint, and Velo Saloon

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Forty-Eight Hours in Berlin with Fern Fahrraeder/Allygn, Gramm Tourpacking, Drust/Akinn Cycles, Velociao Paint, and Velo Saloon

Germany is an epicenter of cycling innovation and production. Home to a lengthy list of big brands including Canyon, Diamant, Focus, Bosch, and so many more, the central European nation is also inhabited by an ever-growing community of smaller bicycle and gear fabricators, builders, and makers.

While we saw many examples of cycling-related German craftsmanship on display in our Bespoked coverage last month, those examples just scratched the surface. On his way to Dresden for the show, Josh stopped over in Berlin and spent his brief amount of free time learning about the city’s special place within the larger German—and global—cycling industry context.

Read on below for a primer on Fern Fahrraeder/Allygn, Gramm Tourpacking, Drust/Akinn Cycles, Velociao Paint, and Velo Saloon!

Welcome to the Neighborhood: Treehouse Cyclery Opens in Denver’s Five Points

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Welcome to the Neighborhood: Treehouse Cyclery Opens in Denver’s Five Points

The door is freshly painted on the corner of Downing Street and 30th in the northeast Denver, Colorado neighborhood of Five Points. Behind the new blue facade, light washes in to reveal high ceilings and smooth wooden floors—heavily polished over time by both varnish and foot traffic. The rest of the space has that just-righted tidiness of a host’s house before a dinner party: intentional, inviting and immaculate. It’s an old building with a new idea, but Treehouse Cyclery isn’t its first bike shop.

Read on for Hailey Moore‘s shop visit to Denver’s newest, community-focused, bike shop: Treehouse Cyclery.

No One Is Going To Do It Except You: A Schön Studio Shop Visit

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No One Is Going To Do It Except You: A Schön Studio Shop Visit

If you weren’t already familiar with Schön Studio, you may have just seen some of their stellar work in our recent MADE bike show coverage. Tucked into a corner of a quiet neighborhood in Squamish BC, Danielle Schön has been building bikes, teaching classes, and doing a variety of other metalwork and art out of her hand-built, backyard workshop. Read on below for Pat Valade‘s shop visit and in-depth profile… 

Inside / Out at Musette Bicycles and Coffee in Bordeaux, France

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Inside / Out at Musette Bicycles and Coffee in Bordeaux, France

After six months of traveling the world–sans bicycles–Gideon Tsang and his partner Christie touched down in Bordeaux, France. With a full month’s stay ahead of them in the southwestern French city, the couple scooped up two 80s flat-bar “road bikes” for commuting and almost immediately fell in with the wonderful community-centered Musette Bicycles and Coffee. Read on below for Gideon’s insightful shop visit and interview with co-owner Rob Lawrence…

Don’t Call it a Throwback: Framework Bicycles is Making Waves in Carbon and Aluminum

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Don’t Call it a Throwback: Framework Bicycles is Making Waves in Carbon and Aluminum

Framework Bicycles presents a clean modern aesthetic while evoking manufacturing techniques reminiscent of the first carbon bikes. This spring we set storytelling reviewer Morgan Taylor loose with Framework to design and review a custom bike to their specifications. In the first of a two-part series chronicling what they’ve come to call the “black rainbow” project, Morgan digs in to the beginnings of Framework and how they intend to shake things up in the custom bike world.

American Makers Series Part 1: Paragon Machine Works and Their SRAM UDH Dropouts

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American Makers Series Part 1: Paragon Machine Works and Their SRAM UDH Dropouts

Motivated by the renewed interest in American manufacturing following the COVID pandemic, Erik Mathy shares part one in a new series where he will document how American makers of fine bicycle parts make a single part from the very start to the finish. At each stage he will ask the person doing the work two questions and take two portraits: One of the part and one of the worker. In his own words, this is a project to “explore both the processes and the people who make some of the most interesting, purpose-driven and—in their own way beautiful—bicycle parts in the world.” Read on for his first installment with a visit to Paragon Machine Works and an in-depth look at how they are making their new SRAM Universal Derailleur Hangar dropout.

Capturing the Magic of the UCSC Bike Co-op

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Capturing the Magic of the UCSC Bike Co-op

Nestled between giant trees and the surrounding University of California Santa Cruz campus, the UCSC Bike Co-op is a haven for students and community members. There are few things more satisfying than rummaging through a parts bin and learning how to wrench on your own bike. As with any good bike shop, co-operative or not, the community is paramount as many of the UCSC co-op volunteers can attest. Continue reading below as Finn Cunningham and Matt Miller, in addition to a collection of their friends and fellow co-opers, capture the magic of UCSC’s Bike Co-op…

Of the British Isles Pt. 1: A Workshop Visit with Albion Cycling Apparel

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Of the British Isles Pt. 1: A Workshop Visit with Albion Cycling Apparel

Founded in 2016, Albion Cycling has dramatically expanded its apparel offerings in the past decade. And while the product line has grown, the UK-based company has stayed true to its fast-paced iterative roots and is now working closely with the technical fabric company, Pertex, in designing remarkably lightweight and packable products, for on and off the bike. Petor Georgallou pays a visit to Albion’s design HQ for a closer look…

A Life of Custom Bicycle Fabrication: Fifty Years of Rob Roberson’s Personal Bike Collection

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A Life of Custom Bicycle Fabrication: Fifty Years of Rob Roberson’s Personal Bike Collection

Yesterday, we shared a profile of Rob Roberson that traces his storied bicycle fabrication career from the 1970s to present day. Today, we’re taking a look at seven bikes Rob built during that impressive 50-year window, from early track bikes to road frames and his most recent personal all-road build. There’s a lot of intricate eye candy here, so let’s get to it!

It’s a Lifestyle, Not a Career: The Legend of Rob Roberson

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It’s a Lifestyle, Not a Career: The Legend of Rob Roberson

Rob Roberson is an enigma in the handmade bicycle world. Some would consider him “the greatest known unknown bike fabricator” of the American frame building movement. His career, which spans nearly 50 years, puts him among a very small pedigree of builders that have both mass-production experience and have also built custom bikes under their own name without giving up the ghost. Yet, with such a significant trajectory, Rob has remained largely unknown. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring bikes made by Rob and the stories about them. Today, however, Zach Small and Josh Weinberg are honored to introduce you to Rob Roberson. 

Inside / Out at Neuhaus Metalworks and a Look at the Hummingbird Steel Hardtail 29er

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Inside / Out at Neuhaus Metalworks and a Look at the Hummingbird Steel Hardtail 29er

For a two-man operation, Nick Neuhaus and Daniel Yang have their systems dialed. Or, maybe the manpower limitations of being a small team have been the motivating force behind the duo’s streamlined Marin-based, framebuilding operation, Neuhaus Metalworks. Hailey Moore and John Watson spent some time talking shop with Nick and Daniel on their innovative 3D printed components and how these parts lead to higher efficiency in their US-made frames. Read on for a closer look at Neuhaus’ exciting approach to making steel and titanium mountain bikes.

A Father and Son Titanium Operation: A Shop Visit to Sanitas Cycles

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A Father and Son Titanium Operation: A Shop Visit to Sanitas Cycles

Sanitas Cycles is the titanium framebuilding operation co-led by David and John Siegrist. With his father’s work at DEAN Bicycles acting as the backdrop of his childhood in Boulder, Colorado, Dave decided to start working in bikes upon graduating from Fort Lewis College in Durango, convincing his dad to join him in his new titanium label. Read on to learn how John and Dave are merging the classic and the modern in their stock frame offerings and custom builds, and check out a short video from Colt Fetter’s time at the shop!

By Hand Is the Way: Cane Creek Components Factory Visit

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By Hand Is the Way: Cane Creek Components Factory Visit

Just south of Asheville, NC, in the town of Fletcher, is the Cane Creek Cycling Components headquarters. Backed up to the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s here that they assemble all of their suspension forks, shocks, and brakes by hand and continue to carry the torch of design innovation lit by their predecessor, Dia-Compe USA. Photographer Steve West is back from a factory tour and shares about the Cane Creek process below.

Materialism is Dead; Long Live Materialism: A Workshop Visit with Saffron Frameworks

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Materialism is Dead; Long Live Materialism: A Workshop Visit with Saffron Frameworks

In this shop visit with Saffron Frameworks in London, UK, Sam Rice traces a line from Matthew Sowter’s previous life as a chef to his current trade as one of the most awarded frame builders in the world. Matthew’s skill in transforming basic ingredients into magnificent dishes transfers over into his ability to turn a box of tubes into a frame deserving of the word “perfection.” Materialism may be a concept of the past, but it is very much alive in Matthew Sowter’s craft.