Here are two frame we just got back. Both are very cool and each of the paint jobs are clean and classy. They both have custom graphics and custom colors and both are finished with a matte clear. The cross frame with couplers belongs to Lonnie V. out of Spokane. The MTB is NAHBS sample from last year that is for sale.

I built the MTB frame for display as an unpainted sample at least years NAHBS. It’s been for sale as an unpainted frame but figured I may as well have it painted. Loretta picked out a very cool combination of a Honey Yellow with brown and orange graphics. The frame is perfect and ready for a new home.

Custom Blend steel 29er MTB geared frame built around a Fox F29 100.

Regular Price $1650 plus $150 custom paint.

Sale Price $1100

Loretta and I recently built (actually Todd built it, we produced the content) a brand new website and we’re very proud of it. We think it offers a lot of valuable insight to who we are and what we do. One of the things we do that helps us relay our message is include lots of images. Fortunately for me Loretta is a photographer and since she’s always here we can shoot pictures when the opportunity arises. Every image on the site with the exception of the Owners Gallery was taken by  Loretta. I think her unique perspective and quirky style make our site what it is. In addition to the gallery images which we’ll continue to add to, take note of the images at the top of each page. None of the images (or at least very few) are staged. They are all taken during the course of the workday and reflect what goes on here on a day to day basis.  Below are images taken last week of a bike we’re shipping today. It’s a titanium Freeride going to Nick L in Vancouver BC.

Loretta had to go out and buy a new file cabinet the other day. We filled our current customer file cabinet (we also keep digital files for everyone) and things were getting a little too tight. We had our niece Malyia go through it a couple weeks ago and re-alphabetize the whole thing. It took her seven hours. I was looking through a bunch of the names while she was working and it was a lot of fun to see all the customers and frames that I’ve built over the years. I can honestly say I remember just about every name in that cabinet and there are a lot. I can clearly remember at one point when business started taking off, that I was worried I wouldn’t’ be able to remember all my customers. Turns out I was wrong. It’s amazing what the mind has the capacity to remember. It’s not uncommon for a customer from 10 or more years ago to call for a new frame and they are surprised that I remember them, their bike and still have all their information at my finger tips.

I’ll be out of the shop today. It’s suppose to be an unseasonable 65F today so I’m going to go play. It’ll probably be much cooler and rainy this weekend so I want to get while I can. I’ll be back in the shop tomorrow doing designs as usual.

For anyone that wondered what’s hanging on the walls in the office, here are some pictures. One wall is rock concert posters, one is magazine articles about Strong Frames and a couple special jerseys, one is Porsche endurance racing posters from the 70’s which I love and lastly is the sign from my bike shop which closed in 2004. I have a lot more stuff sitting in Loretta’s studio waiting for her to have the time to frame it. I’m going to pack a lot more on those walls as time goes by.

Here is a Extralite I’m building. I realized when building it, I think the hardest thing I routinely do is weld those super thin seatstay tops. They are .5mm (0.019″) and in addition to being incredibly thin they are very hard to get around because of torch access and visibility. I’ve done enough of them that they come out right every time but I still find myself holding my breath when I weld them. I used to braze them because it was easier but we found that with brass you could get some micro-cracks next to the web of material between the stays. My guess is that ’s it’s caused by the different rates of contraction between the tube and the brazing material. We used silver and had better luck but I think it’ s best to just bite the bullet and weld them. It’s harder to do but I think ultimately you end up with a better result.