FRAME
With a plan in place, major components selected, a fork in progress, and the design finalized, it was time to get the frame made. I knew that many top builders might hesitate to put their name on this unconventional design with custom and untested parts, so I shopped around.
If this design proved successful, I did derive a full size range of geometry parts. Thus, I chose a factory capable of production with existing commercial accounts. I did disclose that I was only interested in one frame for now, and paid to put it into production. They built the frame with the exact geometry I requested (below):
Here are some of the other highlights.
- Titanium frame
- PF30 bottom bracket for compatibility with a Squid Oner Eccentric, allowing for BB height adjustment if needed
- 44mm headtube
- Designed for 28mm tires, with clearance for 30mm and some 32mm
- Two-tone media blast and brushed look graphics package
- Syntace X12 style dropouts
- Carbon ISP (integrated seatpost)
- Butted top tube and down tube
- Seat mast topper with 20mm adjustment
I ultimately decided against getting into the bike business because of the economics. Not the quality of the frame, which was very impressive. The design, likewise, was a success.