March 22nd, 2010 scottk
There is a tandem being built at the shop this week. We haven’t seen one in here since the baby blue mixte tandem that was built last year. You can always tell when there is a tandem being built as working your way from the front of the shop to the back of the shop requires either moving the jig or doing the limbo to get by.
This tandem is unique in that it will come with S and S couplers. The coupler on the boom tube is quite impressive in its size.
Tandems require a strong set of wheels and this bike is no different. DT 540 hubs laced 4-cross with 40 spokes to Velocity rims should do the trick.
Susan must have enjoyed the Ti Singlespeed road bike she got last year as her new Ti geared road bike is quickly approaching completion.
This frame features some nicely shaped stays.
It’s busy, busy in the shop right now in order to get all the bikes done in time for riding season. We’ll have tons of nice bikes and frames to feature on the site in the upcoming months.
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March 10th, 2010 scottk
The 2010 Toronto Bike Show has come and gone and as always there was a fantastic turnout. It’s really great to get out of the shop for a weekend and meet new people and reconnect with some old friends. We get asked a fair amount why we don’t go to the North American Handbuilt show every year. The truth is we would like to, but the cost to travel that far is quite high and when we have such a big show 45 minutes down the road it just doesn’t make sense.
The line up to get into the show every morning was literally wrapped around the building.
We built up this red city bike especially for the show; the matching front rack was a real hit.
In close proximity to this bike, numerous full grown adults were heard recounting stories of their paper route days.
We also brought Brad’s recently completed lugged road bike to the show. Brad’s bike features a Campagnolo Comp Triple build featuring hand built wheels,Chris King headset and Eriksen Ti post.
My co-worker Sean just finished building himself up a new touring bike, so we brought it to the show as well. Highlights include colour matched racks and fenders.
Marilyn’s touring bike was a big hit all weekend and is sure to see plenty of use this summer.
Michel’s long reach brake equipped road bike turned a lot of heads at the show. If you had to have just one bike, this might just be it. Campagnolo Comp Triple gruppo, hand built wheels, King headset, Eriksen post; all the finer things in life.
Hugh finished work on his personal road bike several days before the show. The frame is built out of True Temper S3 tubing and as such is quite light. We built it up with 2010 Sram Force (also quite light) and Octto carbon wheels (very light as well).
Jon’s 29er was one of two mountain bikes we brought to the show. The bike is presently built up as a singlespeed, but it has all the braze-ons necessary to run multiple gears. This bike is ready to ride fast and the pastel blue paint looks amazing.
Finally, Pierre stopped by on Tuesday to pick up his road bike. We already had multiple road bikes in our booth so unfortuntely this bike got left at home. Pierre’s bike features an 11speed Campagnolo Athena drivetrain, handbuilt wheels featuring Campy Record Hubs to Ambrosio Excellight Rims, Thomson seatpost and a Chris King headset.
If you’re interested in seeing more photos from the weekend be sure to visit our flickr site.
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February 24th, 2010 scottk
8 days to go until the big show and as is the case every year, production is in full swing. Leo just took possession of his powder blue S and S coupling equipped road bike. Leo has been gracious enough to lend his bike back to us so that we may put it on display at the show.
I’ve included a couple of close up shots of the coupling and the head tube. Leo’s bike is equipped with a full compliment of Campy components, hand built wheels and topped off with a Chris King headset and Eriksen Ti post.
We have received our first Campagnolo Athena gruppo into the shop and it sure is nice. Athena is Campy’s attempt to bring 11 speeds to a more manageable price point. 11 speed drive trains allow for an almost seamless feeling between gears which is sure to please the more performance minded cyclists amongst us.
Hugh decided to sneak in one final bike before the show and is putting the finishing touches on a Porteur style frame which will come complete with a really nice front rack. Shimano stepped up to the plate and has supplied us with a set of Alfine wheels to complete this awesome bike.
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February 9th, 2010 scottk
Last year, the final push before the annual Toronto Bike show was a tough one. No matter how much you plan and how hard you work, it seems like the final week before a big show is always full of 12 hour days. This year we have started a few weeks earlier with the hope that the week leading up will be easier, leaving us more refreshed going into the show. That’s the hope at least.
Richard has been hard at work painting Jennie’s new do-it all, S and S coupling, disc equipped cross frame. I’m hesitant to call it a cyclo-cross bike, but I’m also hesitant to call it a touring bike. Really it does just about everything well and if you had to have just one bike, this may be it. Jennie’s frame is getting a pretty amazing paint job complete with faux-chromed lugs. In the photos the lugs look like they’ve been chromed but that’s actually powder coat (pretty cool eh?). This series of photos should also give you a good idea of the amount of prep time that goes into painting a frame, especially a powder coated frame. Powder coat by it’s very nature sticks to everything, and if you don’t take your time, it can lead to mistakes down the road.
Jeff also took some time to send in some photos of his completed 29er. It’s done up in what he calls “Winter Mode” at the moment with studded tires and a rigid fork. He had Hugh braze in a boss for a pulley wheel so that he could run a Dura-Ace Front Derailleur with his 2×9 drive train. The early word is that is shifts much better than his previous XT Front derailleur.
I’ll leave you with a parting shot of a new long reach brake equipped road bike we’re building up for the Toronto Bike Show. Again, that’s a powder on powder logo on the down tube. It’s going to look pretty awesome when it’s all finished.
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