Because it's totally trick, distinctly classic, unmistakably unique,
or just because we liked building it here is the Spectrum Cycles
Custom frame of the month.
This frame took so
long and required so much late night thinking that I delayed its
posting. As happy as we and our customer are with it, the effort
we put into it can't be justified. Over the top doesn't describe
what this frame represents. But custom is custom. Notes below:
The
customer required the use of 700-C and 29r wheelsets ranging
from 23mm road tires to 2.2" knobby 29" tires.
This tandem will be
used as both a single speed road frame and a single speed cross
frame.
Front disc brake,
Rear "V" brake.
Built in mounts for
fenders and custom fitted luggage racks.
Single speed drivetrain
with two cogs and two chain rings for quick gearing changes.
Handle bars to be
used range from traditional drop bars and flat bars to Nitto Albatross
bars.
While the Captain
will always be the same, the stokers will range from somewhat
under 5'0" to about 5'11".
The customer required
S & S couplings for ease of transport. Since there are no
accomodations for derailleurs, disassembly and reassembly is fairly
simple.
Credit, where credit
is due. We had a lot of help from our friends with aspects of
this build. These expert friends listed below;
Merlin Metal
Works (http://www.merlinbike.com)
We do not have the horsepower or expertise needed to bend
these chain stays. We sent an AutoCAD drawing along with the
raw stays down to Merlin and they took care of them for us
perfectly.
Wilsey Tool
(http://wilseytool.com)
Tim is the owner of Wilsey Tool which has been making our
special 4130 binder bosses for a number of years. We asked
him to machine the plates for this fork crown. Although we
have a perfectly servicable milling machine, the tolerances
we required for the crown plates made it too tough for us.
We sent Tim a full set of AutoCAD drawings and they nailed
it perfectly.
Independent
Fabrication
(http://www.ifbikes.com)
We could have used some sort of generic front claiper mount,
but IF was generous enough to let us use one of their beautiful
units. As nice as can be.
Gaumer Welding;
a local welding shop which helped us modify a set of our custom
track dropouts for this frame.
Click
on the thumbnails to view larger images and commentary:
1190
Dorney Road, Breinigsville, PA 18031-1123 phone:1-610-398-1986
