COW BELLS, PIT BOOTS

Winter came early. One day it was in the low 90's, and the next day snowing and mid 40's. That is Idaho. We have a saying around here "if you don't like the weather wait 24 hours". This rather rapid temperature change caused quite the scramble amongst the cross racer's - myself included. I had to get a bike done and out the door so the rider could get some time on it before the series started. It turned out great. Availability on fork's and a delay in the paint job really slowed things down, but we remained patient and ended up with a snazzy bike. Truly custom with a sweet combination of parts. I am real happy to see the enthusiasm for cross bikes. They are a lot of fun to build and even more fun to ride.

Next, on the list is to finish up our carbon frame. It will be a winter long project getting it just right. I have changed a couple of things on how we are going to build them so as a result I am staying focused on the development of our carbon - taking my time and testing the process. There is a simpler way of building them, but that would just not be my style. I think I enjoy torturing myself when it comes to developing products.

I still have a full platter building bikes. A couple of last minute cross bikes, and customers looking to have the bikes by early spring. We will also be helping with some prototyping and development of a bike line. More on that later. Right now I have to go dig out the cowbell's and find some pit boots for my kid's. It's RACING time!

Cross

The prototype carbon/titanium cross bike is finally done. I have been riding it about a week now and what a fun ride it is. I live on a dirt road with several trails surrounding my house, asphalt grass and single track all within 1/4 mile. It makes for some fun cross courses, I have been building some natural barriers and cleaning single track. The main purpose of building this bike was to test and try out mold #1 for carbon fiber. It came out much better than I could have ever hoped for, I also thought it would be a good opportunity to build a cross bike that I have desperately wanted, and to use some of the spare parts laying around the shop. I have always been a fan of titanium cross rides, and with all the carbon cross bikes currently coming onto the market, I thought it might be fun to build something that would be light, strong, and custom. I do not know how I feel about a cross bike built entirely out of carbon fiber, I think I would eventually want to try and bunny hop a 40cm barrier and fail miserably, but i would still try. The result would be a damaged down tube, but not with titanium. I think this bike will hit the nail on the head, best of both worlds carbon in the cockpit and titanium in the chassis. I was really impressed with the ride, comfortable, stable and responsive. It is significantly stiffer and quicker than my previous steel bike while on par with comfort.

In the bottom two photos you can see that it is a tube to tube lug. Precisely mitered, bonded together, then hand wrapped and compression molded while being curred at a specific temperature. The most difficult part of the process is orienting the fiber direction for optimal strength and ride characteristics. More on that later, and hopefully some nicer photo's as soon as I can clean it up and stop riding it long enough for my wife to snap some quality shot's.

Painting

"LATEST CROSS frame with CARBON lug" Those long hours have paid off. I Can't wait to show you the final frame! Hang in there just a bit longer, and I will have pictures for you to see. I think it's a pretty cool design. While you are waiting to see those pics here are a few pictures of Beth and her new ride, with a paint job that she came up with herself. The paint job was a little tricky to do because of the detailing, and multiple colors. I paint most of the frames myself, there are very few painters in the area and it has taken some patience learning how to paint correctly. Someday maybe I will have a local painter that enjoys it as much as I enjoy building the frames. CLICK ON PICTURES FOR CLOSER LOOK.

Virginia's New Ride

I got to build a TI cross bike for a girl named Virgina who lives in Ogden, Utah. She is a cross racer and was super stoked to come up North to pick up her new ride. She came up and hung out over the weekend and did the triathlon while she was here. Here are a few pics of Virginia and her new cross bike. As a fitter I like the photo of Virginia riding the bike, usually you view the rider on a trainer while doing the fit and that is what we did the night before. In this photo she is actually racing the bike, rather than spinning on a trainer. On her previous ride she had a difficult time getting comfortable on the hoods, let alone the drops. The picture displays her going straight to the hoods with a good torso, arm, and knee angle. Sometimes a angle finder is no substitute for a good photo of someone racing their bike, and feedback on comfort and performance after a race. The bike also allows her some adjustments in reach and handlebar height without having to purchase new components. I have noticed that fits need to be periodically changed as individuals gain or lose fitness and flexibility, it is always nice to have a bike that can change with you.

CLICK ON PICS FOR CLOSER LOOK.

Oven Baked Goodness

The past couple of days I have been nailing down this carbon fiber project, and have come to the conclusion that my wife wants me out of the house. Well, I have taken over her baking oven to burn serious chemicals in it. I don't know that she is approving of the fact that when she now bakes something yummy it comes out tasting like bikes parts. Well, that is what I call Oven Baked Goodness. The smell of carbon fiber curing in the oven, and now in my food. I bet she can't wait until I get my new commercial oven.

Our good friend Tim came over last week to get his bike looking SPANKIN NEW. He has a Kelson Ti road bike that is a few years old. He has taken amazing care of the thing, but it has seen some serious miles. The cool thing about Ti is that you can make it look brand new with just a little love. We took off all of his parts and sandblasted it with new etched Kelson logos. It looked like a brand new bike. He bought all new parts and finished it off. It's amazing what a little LOVE can do. (Tim and his new ride)
We had the annual bike party last night hosted at the Anderson's home. What an amazing host they are, and what a turn out. Music, games and good food makes for a great end to an amazing summer.

Carbon Fiber Frames -

So, for the past several months I have been working on several mold ideas trying to master the art of carbon frame building. I have visited with several engineers, and have worked endlessly on the carbon mold to get it just right. I am SO close to being able to be one of few builders out there who can weld titanium, steel, and coming soon build CUSTOM carbon fiber bikes. I am super stoked for this opportunity.

Previous to Kelson, I had another small business

where I designed and sold custom carbon fiber kayaks. Hundreds of hours I spent sniffing epoxy resin, and shaving, kayak molds to make them just right. It mainly started out making them for friends, but grew into something that people wanted from all over. It was a super fun time in my life.

Here are a few of the pics from our kayak days and the boats that made my life exciting.

One of the few pics of me working on the carbon fiber boat

What a busy summer I have had. Frame building has been going well. We have built several steel and Titanium road bikes, And have been doing some conversions on some steel frames. I built earlier in the summer a 650b bike for a long time customer. No photo's yet, He took it before I had a chance to snap any. But the feed back was very positive. I have never rode one myself (other than this one around my yard). He said it climbed like a goat. He was able to conquer some climbs that he was unable to do in the past, and it was very comfortable. It was originally built with the thought of beating a PR on the white rim trail in Moab Utah. We wanted something that would be light, comfortable, and maintain momentum at speed. I can't wait for him to smash his record.

I have been fortunate enough to get in several races this summer. I have been having some problems with leg cramps, I think it is genetic. I have tried everything. I think I nearly OD on endurolytes at the last race. Anyone have some idea's, I would be happy to hear them. I am looking forward to the Cyclocross season. I have a new bike in the works for myself, something completely different than what is available on the market. I think it might be just the ticket as far as durability and weight. I have also just completed two Ti cross bikes for customers, one is off to spectrum for a custom paint job, and the other has etched logo's. I will post pictures soon. So check back. If anyone has some content they would like to discuss on this blog, please let me know.

Thanks for lookin, Brian

I am back!

I have not posted on this blog for month's. I recently noticed that my website has seen a fair share of traffic as a result of referrals from this blog. So evidently I need to update this blog more frequently and perhaps provide my in site on some valuable information on frame building, fitting, and training. I will do my best. Any suggestions on topic's would be appreciated.

So what have I been doing since August? Good question. Mostly trying to survive another Idaho winter. But on the cycling side of things, I have been busy building frames, training, and recently taking the test to become an USCF certified coach.

Frame building has been going quite well. I am staying busy with a lot of repeat customers. Building frames for there family, and updating there first generation steel Kelson's with some new titanium frames. I have become quite comfortable with my titanium road frame building. And have recently experimented with a 650b mountain bike. It turned out great! I had a customer who wanted a hard tail that was a little different. So why not a 650b. For those of you who do not know what a 650b is. It is the tire size between 26" and 29". It works well for shorter riders who would like to join the big wheel revolution. A little smoother than a 26" hard tail yet spins up quicker than a 29". Might be just the ticket. I am currently getting ready to put out a batch of steel frames. I have invested some time into selecting some quality tubing, filler rod, and various dropouts and small parts that will step up my game in the steel market. I have a strong passion for steel frames I love how they ride and I feel that they really can be a superior material for women and riders who are looking for a particular ride characteristic in a frame.

Now for the big news. Many of you may not know that I have had a fair share of experience with composites. I use to build carbon fiber Kayak's and was involved building drift boats. So it only seems logical that I combine my knowledge of frame building with composite manufacturing and build some custom carbon bikes. I have invested significant time and money into developing my own process for building a tube to tube custom carbon bike. Many people have contributed. Edge Composites will be supplying the tubing. Paragon machine works has provided all the bonded Titanium parts ( head tube inserts, bottom bracket, dropouts). I am waiting on just a few minor details with the molds and then we will be able to produce our first prototype for testing. I have tested a few joints at home and have been very pleasantly surprised by the results. My wife is a little tired of me cooking carbon fiber in the oven. So it looks as if I will be purchasing a curing oven hear real soon. I will keep you updated on the progress and will clue you in real soon on the whole process.

Thanks for looking, Brian