Some of you may know I have an apprentice working with me. His name is Erik Rolf and he’s been around since last October. Erik is a lifelong cyclist and mechanic. I’ve had other apprentices over the years most notably Nic Schmidt (stay tuned for more on Nic) from 2002 to 2005 but will only consider a person when I think they have outstanding potential. I get approached a lot  by people that want to work for me and learn to build frames. Of the hundreds I’ve met only a handful impressed me enough to give them a chance. While it may seem like an extra hand around the shop would be nice, having an apprentice actually consumes a ton of my time. I don’t see any real return on my time for at least a year in the best case and I’m training my future competition. For those reasons I’m very careful about when and who I take on if anyone.

There are a couple  reasons I take on apprentices at all; first is to give back, I’ve talked about that in other blog entries. There aren’t a lot of avenues for people to learn the craft. Unless new builders have proper guidance they may produce marginal work which can compromise the Framebuilding profession and it will take far longer than necessary to learn to build at a professional level. One of  the missions of The Framebuilders Collective (of which  I’m a member) is to provide guidance to those wishing to enter the profession.

Some other reasons for taking on an apprentice are a little more selfish. For one  I like the energy, and enthusiasm. If you have a good apprentice they can really add to the spirit of the work environment. I’m also reminded how lucky I am to be doing what I do everyday for a living.  Another reason is that teaching Framebuilding makes me a better Framebuilder. I think about things in a way I don’t typically think about them. The apprentice may also have great ideas that can be put into practice. Finally, it’s good for business. As I send new builders into the market place they will build their brand giving credit to me as the person that taught them their craft. My association with quality builders to which I taught the craft will strengthen my reputation.

I never turn over the most important Framebuilding jobs and what I do allow him to do are done with strict guidance but so far Erik is a quick study and very talented. If you are interested in learning more about Erik’s experience here he has started a blog which you can visit here: Alliancebicycles.blogspot

Curtis and Mitzi from www.ingliscycles.com were in town Tuesday and Wednesday. They stay with Loretta and I for an evening and we had a lot of fun. Took them to the local brew pub for dinner and they cruised around downtown Bozeman and hung out at the shop for a while yesterday. It’ s fun to get to know the other builders outside the shows.

In the shop we’re finally getting Nate’s bike out. It took us a little longer than expected to collect all the parts but they are here now. The frame is just about completely assembled and will be boxed and shipping today. Also Gay S’s frame is done back from paint and the parts should land today or tomorrow and it will go out early next week. As for building, I’m currently working on a Ti 29er that other then the headtube doesn’t have a straight tube on it. I’ll have more pictures  if it as I make progress.

This weekend was the Tour de Bozeman stage race. There was three stages each run by a different local team. Loretta and I helped the Bozeman Masters Velo team put on their stage, the time trial. My good friend Phil Rotherham www.rotherhamconstruction.com headed up the organization and it went off  really smoothly. Phil even had his shop foreman Jerry fabricate a full blow starting ramp complete with railings and stairs.

The TT was run Sat morning followed by Sprints that evening. The Sprints were run downtown on Main street which was closed for the race and it was a really fun and exciting atmosphere. I’d never seen Sprints done before. In my experience it would usually be a Criterium but the sprints were fun and different and easy for the casual spectator to understand. On Sunday was the road race. It was a 70 mile out and back with a leg off the main course for the Pro 1,2’s and the 3’s. There is a lot of climbing and a really nice and pretty technical decent down from the main pass, Battle Ridge.

All in all everything went very well. Bozeman has a great history of bicycle racing. Back in the 70’s and 80’s we had the Sweet Pea stage race which was associated with our Sweet Pea summer art festival. The Sweet Pea stage race attracted hundreds of competitors from all over the region and around the country. In the 90’s the Sweet Pea race died during the MTB boom. Hopefully Tour de Bozeman marks the beginning of a new era of stage racing in  Bozeman. Next year plans to have more stages and a bigger field. If you  race and travel be sure to consider coming to Bozeman for the Tour de Bozeman.

PS Strong Frames donated a frame that was raffled off to all racers that pre-registered. Congratulations to Laura Landon the winner of the frame.

Some may have noticed on my pricing I have three types of steel frames listed. Currently I’m building an Extralite steel frame so I thought I’d take a moment to talk about the three types a little. My steel pricing includes Custom Blend, Extralite and then the stainless which is Reynolds 953 and Columbus XCr. I’ll start with the stainless and work my way back.

A lot of customers ask why the stainless is so expensive. The reason is that the base tubesets cost about the same as a titanium tubeset. Also I don’t offer them raw because there is too much finish work involved and the finish work produces a lot of harsh contamination I don’t want to deal with. that means I have to paint the frame which actually increases the cost over that of titanium. Actually the stainless should be more expensive than it is and chances are the price will go up before the end of the year. So who is the stainless for? In my opinion the stainless is for the person that wants the benefits of titanium but will only ride steel. The stainless is a fun material but if you are buying it for corrosion resistance, or light weight you’ll be better off with titanium.

Extralite steel includes two tubesets, Columbus Spirit and True Temper S3. I like them both equally and a persons preference is probably going to be based on the appearance of the tubes. The Columbus tubes have a lot more shaping than the S3 while the S3 is for a person looking for a  more traditional appearance. The Extalite is for a person wanting a very light steel frame. Typically the Extralite will be lighter than the stainless of equal size.

Custom Blend is what I build 90% of my steel frames with. Custom Blend is when I handpick each tube on the frame to match your desired weight to durability ratio and stiffness to comfort ratio. While the Extralite might appear to imply the Custom Blend is heavier in a lot of cases, especially for lighter riders a Custom Blend frame will actually be lighter than a Extralite frame.

I am currently in the middle of writing a page for my new site that will go into greater detail about selecting both material and tubes. Tube selection and frame tuning is an integral part of my order process and a lot of fun. I’m one of the few builders that builds with all material and tubes so I have an unbiased perspective on what benefits different material and tubes will produce. I Consider it a central part of my job to steer you to the material and tubes that will accomplish your priorities.

Below are pictures of Joe H’s Columbus Spirit Extralite frame in progress.

Currently I have a few jobs that I’m finishing up. Scott H and Nathan W’s frames are both complete and will be assembled over the next couple of days. We are also getting back Gay S’s frame from Spectrum today and will assembling it next week. I’ve started on Joe H’s Columbus Spirit frame this week and will have it ready to go to the painter by the end of the day tomorrow. Next on the list is Dave T from Las Vegas.