Current Work

2012 going fast

Wow is this year moving along at an insane rate. I can not believe we are into January with no snow and the big news being a 1" dropping tomorrow. That hardly seems news worthy to me. I am sorry for the lack of updates but I have been working on my house as well as making bicycles. It is hard since I feel I use a good amount of my creative juices at work and then I go to our house and need to keep up the same part of my brain while working on the house.

Currently I am installing a hardwood floor that is a salvaged basketball court from Chestnut Hill College. It is a cool hard maple floor but the time needed to work with the used wood is tough. bent boards, gunk in the grooves, cracks in the wood, etc, etc. I am hoping to get it finished this weekend and watch it take a beating for the next 30 years!

Currently working on Tolsun's 29R. He is expecting his first child sometime in March so we will see what shows up first. His baby or his new bike?? Either way when he finds some spare time in the spring he will have a new bike to go explore in the woods and have some personal time. Here is a few pictures of his new bike.

I also walked around the shop and took a few photos of the Monarch and its tools. I really love this machine.

Also got the Ti 650b bike done and ready for some testing.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Cheers,
Drew

Comments

All very exciting news. All

Submitted by jawn on Wed, 02/01/2012 - 1:33pm.

All very exciting news. All the Ti work is coming along nicely. I'm curious to see this old basketball floor too. Will it have the strips on it?

On a different note... what size T do you wear? I have something for you (soon).

John

may is going to come up fast

Submitted by tylernol on Fri, 01/20/2012 - 6:43pm.

may is going to come up fast !

650b bike

Submitted by nickuni on Fri, 01/20/2012 - 5:48pm.

I might need to demo that...

Year in review

What a year. Being a parent has been a really amazing experience. I am struggling to find enough time in the day but it is all worth it. The bicycle industry had an interesting year with the economy below average and for us the weather was really rough. In the end we had a nice December and the weather gods paid us back for an awful August and spring.

I had to make a decision that was tough but I am not going to NAHBS in Sacramento this year. I am spending the money for product development and pushing hard to launch the Ti bikes for 2012. I am also in the middle of a home renovation and it is consuming all my extra hours. I might get on a plane and head out for the weekend to see friends but won't be an exhibitor.

The year was productive and fun plus I feel some rather cool bikes were heading out the door. One of the most rewarding was the Di2 bike. Not for the electronic shifting but for the rave reviews it has received from the owner and how he can ride all day now and never experiences any pain. He loves to ride and had just been pushing through the pain on and off the bike. It all went away with his new bike. That makes me really happy and proud. Mostly because he could walk into any bike shop and get any bike since he is about as average size-wise as a "Joe" could get. His bike however is nothing like the standard offerings except in its appearance. Small tweaks can go a long way.

This week I am building a 650B Ti prototype. The 650B seems to be gaining momentum after a small decline in interest. There are some new rims and tires which have really sparked new interest. Here are some shots of the bike during the fabrication process. I am going to clean it up today and get it welded.

Cheers and Happy New Year.

-Drew

More Titanium

Somehow I have been rather prolific this year. Despite being a new dad and having a rather hectic life I have still actually kept ahead of schedule. This extra time has allowed me to forge ahead with my goal of having the Ti bikes ready for 2012. I am not rushing but have a goal and I really want to meet it. This week I am making a bike for my buddy Shawn who has always been one of my main test people. Shawn is a rather accomplished rider and has a rich history in the MTB world. His comments are always welcome and he has helped me get great feedback on how the bikes work. It also does not hurt that he punishes the bikes in what might be some of the roughest terrain in the country.

This bike will have the rocker drop outs which will be one of the few options I plan on offering. All the bikes will have the oversized head tube and I am still up in the air about the BB's. I might offer the threaded bb's as an option but only if the bike does not require a 1.75" DT to obtain the ride quality I am going for.

After some long days and some extra hours making tools this is the first attempt at giving them all a try. It was rather rewarding since they all worked as intended and the bike is now ready for the next step (cleaning and preparing for tacking).

If all goes well Shawn will be giving this bike some abuse as early as next weekend. Here are some photos from this week. It includes a steel bike I welded and the Ti bike I did all the machine work on.

Have a great weekend.

Cheers,
Drew

Comments

more ti!!!!

Submitted by OMW on Sat, 12/10/2011 - 10:28am.

psyched to ride this new Ti bike!!! will try and live up to the kind words posted above.

Monster Black

Always been a fan of the simplicity of the Ducati Monster Black. I am not totally a Ducati fan but that model captured out of the box what a lot of people were looking for. Simple, no thrills but well executed. This bicycle featured today is as stealth as a bicycle could be. The only de-branding we did was take the stickers off the DT rims. The rest is just a non in your face logo design. Almost an entirely USA and EU made bicycle. Tires, tubes handlebar, calipers and chain are the only exceptions. That seems like a lot but in truth that is a small percentage compared to the norm.

Martin is a professional violin maker in Queens,NY and I felt honored to make something for someone that also makes things with his hands. It was a pleasure to work with him and he hopefully will like his new bicycle.

There are no fenders on this bike because he said he has a bike for days it rains. At first that stuck me as a crazy idea but now I like the look and feel he made a good decision on the non fender approach. The handlebars are the narrowest I think they can go and still allow for total control of the bicycle.

The cable routing is always tricky with a Rohloff but I think this turned out great. All the cables running down the downtube and the chainstay. Everything on the left (non drive) side of the frame. It is kind of like a left/right mullet.

I have welded Paul's 29R and am now working on the final brazing and then the stem and post. I should have it wrapped up by the end of the week. Next week is Shawn's Ti prototype!