cross bikes...

so forgot to mention that in addition to building the widgets, I was bending cross chainstays for some new orders, (btw- have one left...takers?)
The new ones will feature an s-bend that will allow for up to a 1.95 tire to be put on, thus a 29er/cross ala indecision bike is born! I just have to think that someone with a cross bike will either at some point entertain the idea of putting on bigger tires for a 29er experience, or will sell the thing and someone else will!
The question is, should I build these with 130 or 135 rear ends? I think the best option is 135, mainly because before all the 'jonny come lately' types showed up on the scene things were 135...shit, I remember when Tom Ritchey would send out prebuilt wheels that featured ultegra hubs with 135 mm axles! god damn those were awesome wheels!
Anyhow, would like some input here...
pics are of the process, using my super awesome tubing bender to shape the stays....hmmmm, german made tubing!

dang it bobby...

making progress on multiple fronts at the same time....yesterday was a tough one with making some modifications to my fixtures and bending chainstays. You know you are sleep deprived when someone orders a cross bike and you send them a design for a road bike, more coffee required.
Been enjoying reading mindless drivel from bicyce retailer (aka-velonews), I paid for this? for some reason an american talking about the great advances in production his company has made in taiwan is just plain nuts to me. I guess we will all be folding sweaters at the gap at this rate. I seem to recall a time in the 80's when I wanted to attend the vocational program but was pushed to 'college prep' classes instead. Well, here I am more than 20 years later and the only benefit of the college prep classes was typing (so I can waste valuable time wringing out my soul on this thing..ha ha ). I had someone ask me if I was an engineer a few days ago, I replied...''are you kidding? my dad is an engineer and would have killed me if I wasted that education on this stuff''
Picutred is some engineering for ya, had to modify my main tube mitering fixture to get the correct elevation and more alignment range to accomodate the clamping block that I replaced. I love milling aluminum! looks like a robot face too.
Thanks Don Ferris for keeping the numbers simple on centers...and in SAE!

argon.....

A few weeks ago I discovered that my purge set up with insufficient and resulted in having to completely re-build a frame. Cost aside, the most important thing is that I can sleep at night knowing the frame was built well and can hold up. I get the occasional comment about how much a frame (or stem) costs and it usually can roll over my shoulders, but this is annoying. The fact is that things are expensive for a reason, surely not to finance my crappy 2007 pick up truck that is slowly dying, or my condo on the beach. Argon costs me 120 bucks a bottle, I got through half of one just building a frame, 60 bucks right there, add in titanium at an average price of 1.69 an inch (roughly 200 bucks for a standard frame), then the cost of the bits like seat tube insert, guides, bb shell....and you add an additional 110 bucks. Time, well, that is usually about 4-6 hours. Am I to assume that your cheap ass wants a cheap frame because you think I make too much? or you just don't care about your health? maybe if we weren't all slathered in cheap consumer goods sold by the pound we would get it huh? ha ha..
I offer titanium stems now, and yes...expensive. But if you are one of those folks who prefers to have something super nice that accents your ride than you will get it, if you are focused on weight and cost well you will never get it. The stem weighs the same as a ritchey wcs stem, but is TITANIUM and made FOR YOU, one at a time...not forged en'masse. A thompson may cost half as much Warwick (yes, identifying you now) but its not titanium, which costs a shit ton more than aluminum.
The new purge rig is pictured above, yay, works like a charm...

new headbadges....yeah, we need badges...so do you..

does anyone really read this thing, and why is it so hard for me not to swear on this blog? got to remain clean, must not swear....sh$%, ha ha...
new headbadges are available now, will be standard on all edwin frames, no more waiting for them to be made in philly, sorry Jen Green.
The badges are milled out of solid brass plate and have a radiused backside for mounting..

titanium stems, you need one...

just got done doing up a titanium stem, looks good, quite light (duh, its titanium)...these things will sell well I am sure.
Price each is 150.00,  yay...titanium.

fatties .....

sometimes you have to ride something with skinny tires...it is fun...now wearing lycra, well...that is a different story.
This is eric loverings new road frame, full 3.25 titanium tubing with come carbon tubing thrown in for good measure..stay tuned.

ti frame time

just finished up a nice little titanium frame for Melissa out of Texas...this thing came out quite nice! the fun part as the issues of dealing with adequate purge, ended up building some new fixtures to flood argon into the frame and a nice little dropout shield as well. Such a treat to weld titanium, just nerve wracking... there is NO hiding of your work under layers of paint...like wearing no pants...

moots is king

Nate working at Moots....Nate used to work with me at edwin. Nice shop man!

titanium...

welding up a few titanium bikes this week, always a pleasure to work with the stuff! its funny how folks seem more interested in carbon, not sure the exact reason. Some folks claim weight, but I think the main thing is the fact it is so swoopy and shaped. I have a hard time not admiring Time's frames, they are a pure example of function and art...
If you get a hankering for titanium though, give a shout! had to scramble to find a new supplier for titanium after Tisport stopped distributing it. Thankfully, I found a  good source, but to get the price right I had to buy quite a bit...QUITE a bit. I cannot whine, as titanium manufacturers and brokers like large orders since its a pain in the ass to make the stuff and its always better to sell more.
So, if you were thinking titanium, this is a good time to call....
Doug

bmx frames

so while there isn't alot of demand, I seem to be staring at a good amount of bmx tubing I bought for a customer that faded away and left me with a ton of inventory. I am inclined to just build this stuff into some frames and liquidate it to make room for some good stuff...
takers?

kevin neirman saves the day again!

got hammered with a ton of stuff yesterday, to include submitting an ad for the local paper (the park record). I wanted to get this done, but frankly was up to my eyeballs with alot of ongoing stuff in the shop at the same time, so I emailed the venerable Kevin Neirman to see if he could bail me out (again!),
he did, and by god, its outstanding!
I hope this translates into some business!

cutting with the new fixture....

just a quick update, added a new fitting to the old anvil main tube mitering fixture, this thing is fantastic, allowing me to miter with NO movement of the tubes for chatter proof precision...yay!
got a ton of bikes to wrap up now...

bend it!

okay, so a minor headache ensued last week after finding out that my main source of titanium tubing was closing up, and that the availability of pre-bent chain and seat stays was nada...ugh. So, what do you do? build your own damn fixture right? easier said than done! the issues of bending thin wall tubing to tight radius's is no small feat. The concoctions of sand filling or using ice to keep the tube from collapsing are nice, but not my style...why not make something that works great?
Enter my buddy and edwin 'saver of the day' john o'connor, who I consider to be a huge part of the whole edwin program. John and I spent quite a bit of time discussing and obsessing on this and all credit should go to john for the final design. This thing is unlike other benders, in that it pulls the tube through the mandrel instead of forcing it to 'sit' onto the mandrel...anyhow, it works great and means that the newer and final edwin design for stays is now attainable.
The problem with being in this business, aside from the lack of sustainable profits, is the cost of developing and making the things that not only bring about the product, but the path to finding what designs capture your image and stand out. Frankly the bullshit meter pings when I see all the same things coming round and round with regards to design, hell, with a good marketing team and some snazzy pics of some shaven leg unich and a great tag line, I could probably bring hi-tensile steel frames to market with 35'' wheels touting how much faster you can go on big wheels...hmmmm, a thought.
but, as usual, I go off on a tangent..
The bender will be a big part of things here, and I hope to find other builders in the same spot I was in last week who would like to have me make their tubes for them rather than buy one, of course they are for sale too....so don't be shy...

okay, time to work now...

coffee is here, who wants some???

okay, have a ton of coffee now, the delivery was impressive, getting it off the truck was like wrestling a fat guy! anyhow, started roasting into the evening last nite and have enough to fill orders for awhile (but hopefully not too long!)
coffee is 8.50 a pound direct from the shop, that is 3 bucks less than the closest competitor and you can be assured it is roasted within a week of your order....

yay...