Corners and Curves

Hey folks, what's up?

This bike is for Oliver Laing, in Willagee,
Western Australia.

Oliver wanted a 29er race bike with
options for running a full compliment of gears
or as a single speed.

These oversized head tubes for tapered steerers are simply
the way to go on a frame made for a suspension fork.

A bit of an asymmetrical, geometrical
freak out for a paint scheme.

I like me some Heartless Bastards.
Gray
All This Time

Hold Your Head High
Get some.

Single and Loaded

Hey.

Nathan Shearer is the intended victim of this bike.

Nathan lives in the DC area and rides decidedly rocky,
steep, technical, long rides.
The geometry of the bike follows his lead.
Relatively relaxed angles, and a bb height to allow clearance for the rocks.

The paint scheme on this one is inspired by
a metal smithing process called mokume gane.
Came out pretty neato.

Sometimes when Nathan heads out into the woods, he stays there for a while.
He asked for the ability to carry a bit of sleepy time supplies.
I ended up making some racks to reflect his desire to ride
technical singletrack while, ahem, loaded.

The bikepacking scene right now is all about bags
mounting to handlebars and seatposts,
claiming all the typical light weight virtues.
Seems to me though that the bags are mounted in such a way
as to prohibit full mobility on the bike.
Its hard to make the steeps and tight switchbacks
if you can't get off the back of the saddle.

The racks have three mounting points to allow for moving and
bending in case of a crash (instead of breaking)
while still staying stable with weight.
The racks are not designed for panniers, just mounting cargo
on top to keep the weight tight, centered, between the wheels,
and as low as possible while keeping a very slim profile.

I'm sure those bags work great,
but I'm better with a torch and tubing
than I am with a sewing machine.

Makes me want to go spend a few days
riding around in the woods.

The Ergs! is your new favorite punk
band that doesn't exist anymore.
Thought you'd like to know.

Select Dorkrockcorkrod
Hit "Play all".
Freak out.

Man in Japan: Part 2

Hey, y'all.

This bike, like the last post, is headed off
to my man in Japan, Shinya at Circles & Co.

It seems the kids in Japan have been
bitten by the 29er bug. Can't get enough.

What do you think? Worthy of a bug bite?

Try listening to Wye Oak. I dare you.
They have it going on without falling
into the 1-female-1-male-duo trappings
that are so often the case these days.
Homegirl's got more pitch perfect
power in her voice than 100 screaming
middle class punk rockers.

My Man in Japan

A new cross bike comin' down the pipe.

This one is for Circles in Nagoya, Japan.
The spot for custom handmade bikes.

Classic "West Coast" 'cross geometry is usually
featured on the 'cross bikes I send over there.
This one is no exception.

Seat tube slotted in front, to keep the mud
and water from ending up inside your bike.

Plenty of room to keep the mud and water
off your bike in first place.

The Jesus and Mary Chain
is this moment's favorite band.
Automatic is pure genius.
Snakedriver isn't on there,
but its good too.

Brown Power

Greetings, Earthlings.
Another bike today.

This one is headed over to Texas for Sean Blatnick.

This bike is made for one of those forks with the
tapered steerer and through axle.
The only way to go if you're putting a long fork on a bike.

Sean is by no means a whispy climber.
A custom frame for folks that are outside the "norm"
is the way to go. A bike built for Sean, not
anyone that happens to be more or less Sean's height.

Being able to have a bike that looks exactly
as you want is icing on the cake.

Thanks, Sean!

How 'bout some Rock and Roll
with capital R's?
Rye Coalition has (had?) the chops to
bang it out with the best.
Equal parts AC/DC and Shellac.

Surf's Up!

Yo, gang.

This is a bike for Kevin Rhinehart.
It is a 26" wheeled mountain bike for him and the mountains
around his house in Los Gatos, California.

Kevin wanted a color scheme reminiscent of
the surf vans and t-shirts of the 70's and 80's.
Op all the way.

The bike is set up as being compatible with a
full compliment of gears or as a single speed.
Or anywhere in between.

Now if we could only get him to roll over...

If we were to stay in the same era
as all those surf vans and Op t-shirts,
we might be reminded of the
Press Darlings themselves,
Adam and the Ants.
All tom all the time.

Hello Kitty

The last post's bike was all about subtlety.
This one is a little more outspoken.

It's for David Bonnet in France.

The paint scheme on this one was nerve wracking.
Getting the masking in register was a leap of faith.
Turned out as I hoped though.

There's something about that blue...

Rock out with Big Business.
Check out the drums on that dude!
If you were to ask me, I'd tell you
they were way better a few years ago
as a two piece, before they picked
up the noodling guitar. But that's just me.