In the nascent days of Ti Cycles Dave built a quintet of framesets for the GS Flash elite track team for the 1992 Olympic trials in Team Pursuit.
Four of the frames were the same, and the fifth -- pictured here -- was a larger size for Andy Dahlstrom, who would go on to win the Washington State Pursuit Championship and set several records in the discipline.
This frame/fork set is on display in our shop, on loan from the owner Dennis Stuhaug.
The Moots YBB system, still in use today, came to prominence two decades ago and saw widespread use by several prominent titanium mountain bike builders. The system is simple, using a monostay configuration with a spring and/or elastomer stanchion up top and vertically compliant chainstays down low to allow for vertical movement of the rear axle. At a time when full suspension designs were often large, complex, heavy, and largely ineffective, a YBB "soft tail" could smooth much of the chatter of XC trails with relatively little fuss.
With the breakneck pace of modern suspension improvements the YBB soft tail system may seem rudimentary, but it has proven extremely durable and reliable over the years and is an integral part of many great vintage mountain bikes, most of which are still on the trails.
But all things wear out in time, and we have regularly been servicing YBB systems on Moots, Merlin, Litespeed, and other titanium bikes for many years. Generally this consists of cleaning and lubricating the parts still fit for service, or machining a new stanchion, and in the case of Litespeed modifying the Moots YBB guts that are still available to fit in the smaller diameter setup.
A recent Merlin project presented a different challenge; not only did the YBB guts need serviced, the aluminum bridge clamping mechanism connecting the suspension with the rear end had cracked, requiring the machining of a whole new yoke.
As far as we know this is the only Merlin Fat Beat on the planet with a black yoke, made entirely in house.
T47 taps are a tool we use almost daily. They are neither inexpensive nor readily available. And titanium is hard on cutters. So when one of our taps cracked earlier this year we were less than thrilled. We found no comfort in learning that another titanium frame builder had the same experience the same week. The only good news was that we had broken opposite side taps and thus we now have a spare set.
To protect the investment in a fresh set of taps, Dave made a pair of handles with extra width for increased leverage and rectangular rather than round tap retaining tabs to avoid the point loading of the tap's retaining notches that we suspect may have hastened its predecessor's demise.
We've been using them for several months and they've proven a welcome addition to the wall, and as a bonus we no longer need to switch between T47 and BSA English taps on the same pair of handles.
Cinelli quill stems are part of cycling history. There are thousands upon thousands of them in circulation on vintage bikes of all types with threaded fork steerers. They're a great part, save for one weird little bit -- the stock Cinelli quill stem bolts use a 7mm hex key and have a 7mm x 1mm thread draw bolt with a tapered nut.
This 7mm business is problematic for a couple of reasons. Virtually no multi tool or standard hex tool set includes a 7mm wrench. There are no draw bolts with 6mm hex fittings and 7x1 thread. Standard 8mm draw bolts have both a different thread size and a head diameter that is too large for the 12mm pocket in most vintage stem bodies.
We of course partially solved this issue with our M8 stainless steel and M8 titanium draw bolts, which have an optional aluminum wedge we machine in house as an upgrade to the clunky cast steel wedges found in many traditional quills. Those bolts both have a 12mm OD head that will fit in the Cinelli stem body, but the M8 threading is incompatible with the Cinelli cone nut and our wedges will not work with the tapered nut system.
To cut through all of these contradictions at once and do the world a favor by slowly removing the oddball 7mm bolts and cones from circulation we are now offering a fantastic update service to make this style of Cinelli quill stem compatible with standard 8mm draw bolts.
You send in your stem, we change the thread size on both the cone anchoring the quill draw bolt and the single pinch bolt handlebar clamp to 8mm and provide 8mm titanium bolts with normal 6mm hex fittings for both locations.
Yep, you can have a Cinelli quill stem that is both lighter and more convenient!
We are here to help.
Threading in the inserts for 15mm Thru-Axle fork inserts is a mild pain with a regular pin spanner. The tool holes on the outside face are larger diameter than most spanners and since the dropouts are hooded it is necessary to lean the tool to clear the fork leg on each rotation as the insert threads in. It just feels sloppy and it is easy for the tool to slip and mar the insert face.
Granted this is one of those small annoyances, but having a snug and convenient tool for tightening down fork inserts is inversely satisfying.
Dave came up with a quick fix using an old socket with a knurled holder and a quartet of M5 bolts turned down to pins of the appropriate diameter.
Voila!
As winter really settles in for the long haul we're reminded of a recent custom rack project for a customer with a Seven fatbike.
Our customer wanted something light and minimal, enough rack to do the job at hand and nothing more. Built for use with @RevelateDesigns micro panniers for quick overnight trips.
Light, strong, and down to get it on in the snow!
Back by popular demand, we have a small number of Ti & Handsome production seatposts in stock now in 31.6mm diameter. We run small batches of the larger diameter post from time to time and they always sell out quickly so jump on this quickly if you'd like to get your hands/butt on one!
These posts offer the same Paul Component precision machined high strength 2024 aluminum alloy head with 26mm of set-back and two-bolt micro-adjustment as our 27.2mm seatposts.
Classic Bright Brushed titanium finish with Matte Etched PDX/ORE graphic and minimum insertion mark.
100% made in the USA.
It is that time of year again! Autumn is a time when Pacific Northwestern cycling fans revel in the dark art of cyclocross, road racing's estranged half-brother with mountain biking overtones. Better known simply as "CX" Cyclocross is both a grueling test of cycling skill and physical stamina, and a festive, self-deprecating, raucous good time.
CX is mud, sweat, and gears. CX is heckling, handups, and Hup! Hup! over the barriers.
CX is fun with bicycles.
To get a taste of the speed and terrain at an early season dry/fast race, check out the view from @SethPatla's cockpit on the opening sprint and first lap of Het Meer 2015 -- with a cameo by 2014 UCI Cyclocross World Champion @LarsVanDerHaar!
After building a fantastic titanium bike for a new customer, keeping an older one on the road is the next best thing. Our repair services bring us much joy, and of course our customers are pretty pleased as well!
Most of the frame failures we see on frames manufactured by other builders fit into predictable categories. One of those is "the Serotta crack" on the beautiful windowed dropouts found on Ottrott, Legend Ti, and other frames, which in turn is often linked to improper maintenance of the seat stay bearing those dropouts are used in conjunction with.
If your Serotta frame with this dropout design has not cracked but your bearings have never been serviced, now is the time for some preemptive maintenance. Please get in touch to make arrangements for sending in your frame for bearing service. (Because of the bearing location being in such close proximity to a crucial carbon/titanium bond joint we strongly discourage anyone not familiar with this particular construction from attempting to service the bearings.)
If your Serotta frame with this dropout design has cracked don't fret, we can bring it back to life!
We have done a number of these repairs and have great success. Our current pricing is ~$375 for the full repair service, including the dropout repair and bearing replacement. Bearing service only generally runs ~$125 including parts and labor. You can read more about it on the Serotta Dropout Service page.
Over the next week or so we will be populating our Complete Bike Gallery, starting with a collection of images of our fleet from the 2017 North American Handmade Bike Show. We had a bunch of very sweet bikes!
Want Dave to build you a titanium Dream Bike? For free?
Check out http://enve.com/builder-contest/ and vote for our Ultralight all-road bike as your favorite in their Builders of the Year collection and your dreams might come true! All courtesy of ENVE Composites.
This build uses our flagship bespoke frame with Enve fork and 650Bx40 Schwalbe tires on Enve/ DT Swiss wheels, Shimano-Road Di2, White Industries headset, Astute saddle, and our stem/seatpost.
Swap in 700x25c wheels and it is ready to race.
Features dedicated left/rear brake routing and subtle ano/etched details in a clean, classic, stately package with all the essentials.
Congratulations to Enve on their 10th Anniversary and an amazing collection of 22 exquisite Dream Bikes!
All sizes of production titanium seatposts are now in stock.
Just added two more excellent fork options to the store. These REN Cycles carbon production forks have been extensively tested by the PDXTI cycling team with great results!
Both are light, stiff, and have classic straight leg styling for a fresh and clean look.
REN CX1 fork is sold out and no longer available
Our friends at Eliel Cycling are doing a limited edition US-made bib and jersey for us that has gone on pre-sale.
