Noah's bike, frame repair service, great client pics - Thanks!

Here is Noah's bike from the get-go - a 29er off to Missouri.
It is a fun project, and Noah is into the build process so I'll try to put a light onto what I'm trying to achieve with this and all builds - optimise the ride.
I designed the bike around his propensity to do endurance races in the twisty trails where he lives so it has to be comfortable while retaining sharp yet predictable handling while taking pain out of his lower back, neck and hands.

Here i am fitting up the down tube while the jig is empty - handy! ca-click! - I have been nailing miters - it's fun
I checked the geo on his current scoot, one of the "big" proponents of 29er bikes, to see what I had changed - my geometry has a seat tube angle a full 2* slacker then his "current" ride (pun intended - inside joke) as he pushed his saddle back all the way, and to rotate his hips, taking pressure off the lower spine and moving the pressure points more onto his IT/sit bones.
This also shortened up the front center of this frame from the stock one almost 1" while keeping the chain stay length the same, and the seat tube is shorter as well, 16.5" center to center.
The head tube is 1cm longer, to raise the hands as much as possible while still allowing as much stand over clearance as possible while still being able to remove a large H2O bottle from the seat tube safely at speed for endurance racing while using a 100mm 29er fork with a stand over of 33" - allot of things to consider!

Seat tube assembly done - I put allot of time into these and I feel it pays forward hugely in the lifespan of the bike.
tubing/parts list: True Temper supertherm down tube, RC2 seat tube & head tube, Dedacciai chain stays, hand formed, custom drawn True Temper top tube and seat stays, handmade seat tube sleeve, Paragon BB shell, and custom Coco-moto dropouts.

Detail of seat tube sleeve, silver brazed on.

........front triangle all tacked together.........

......... And checked for straightness, H2O bottle holes drilled - good to go.

And then chain stays added and again, checked for alignment............

.........as well as checked for component compatibility - a 2.35" Panaracer Rampage all the way forward.

And, a Blackspire 32T ring with a good 5mm of ring clearance.

On to seat stays tomorrow, office morning today & then I NEED to go for a bike ride - my body is killing me & I need to stretch it out.

Scott's car-to-overhead frame all tacked together with a new front triangle - one of the beauties of steel is it's repair-ability - this frame rode all the way across Asia on the Silk Road and then was used for thousands of miles of mountain biking only to get crushed on a roof rack, but some paint & it's back out there after around eight years of use and ready for many, many more!

My 1st braze in three weeks - pretty good, it's just going to get painted & get set back out.

The original damage - ouchy-poo!

Brazing, as you can see, it very strong.

I got these pics from Justin in NC of his finished Coconino - Damn, that came out really, really sweet - love the color!

And, one more - what a graceful rig. It always amazes me to see them after they have left my hands and I can see them in a clear vision separate from the fabrication process.

And, JM's bike - a tall bike for a tall guy - yep, those are 29" wheels!

That's it for now, folks - thanks so much for reading! - Steve.

Right back to work, mid-march 2012.

Debbie's bike all ready for pick-up on Sunday - quite the looker!
There's just something about a rippin' 26" MTB that is visually plesing in the lines & curves.


I love how the frame flows from the headtube all the way to the axles.
One of my favourite reds, too - with pearl topcoat for depth.

I'm liking red.

Also, got the roofrack-to-carwash bike repair almost done, it's in the dunktank and going to paint soon.

Back to work, I picked up three more orders while gone, so I'll put up a nre build queue soon.

Next is Noah C's and Rex C's bikes - Steve.

Back from Baja, back to work.

Wow - what a great trip!
Enjoy the pics, there are allot, and grouped into a few classes, as we did an out & back. They are roughly set up thusly: Sunrises/sunsets, random faves, desert, whales, San Ignacio, Bahia Concepcion, and the Boojum Forest.