Things have been getting busy around here. Which is a great thing. No complaints. I sent a frame off to paint last week, one of the last ones that will use our previous painter. I have been working on a road bike using Columbus MAX tube set this week. This is the first time I have had the opportunity to use this tube set and I think I like it .... a lot. I'm a fan of all things light and strong. We used all MAX tubes for this bike except for the seat stays. I wish they would make a nice thin seat stay with a gradual taper. I think this would compliment the "tube set" well. Otherwise, its been a pleasure to work with and I hope to get to work with it more in the future. I'm thinking I may need to use it for my next bike. Probably the DT, TT and CS. Those seemed to be the standout tubes and ones that keep true to the MAX legacy.
Spring is here. Bike racing is in full swing. I have been checking Cyclingnews.com and reading the live report of all the spring classics. I love the spring classics, more than the tour. To me, they seem like the races where true character is shown. They are still highly unpredictable and you have to be a great rider to win. You can't be escorted by your teammates and win the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix. It just won't happen.
With Spring here, it means more time to squeeze in rides. I have been lucky enough to squeeze in a good five days of riding a week. I have to get out and ride, if I don't ride, I go crazy. Everything seems to flow better when you have a good amount of riding in your legs.
The torch seems to be flowing really well. I moved up to a #1 tip. I still only use blue gasflux and gasflux 1/16 rod. I have been reading all kinds of stuff on different types of brass, not sure how I feel about it, or if it really makes a difference. I took a lot of Chemistry in college so I understand some of the jargon. Some of it is pure marketing hype, some actually makes sense. Sometimes I wish I would have spent more time in metallurgy classes and less time studying Organic Chemistry. I also talked to a few people at NAHBS that had different products that were better for 'x' and 'x' reason. Again, not too sure, but it never hurts to try I suppose. This seems to be working really well, just need to really perfect my heat control. Its a holy grail thing I'm sure. Especially now that I have thrown TIG into the mix, its a constant wanting to be better, but I think that's a good thing.
For those of you that don't know, I'm giving 10% off complete orders! This was only going to be for people that showed up to NAHBS, but since I won the Best New Builder Award, we decided to extend that offer to everyone! That's right 10% OFF COMPLETE ORDERS! You have to get your deposit in by 4/30/12. After that, the offer is no longer available. I'm really hoping people take advantage of this, its an amazing offer and one I may not be able to give out again. If you are interested please email me Aaron@stinnerframeoworks.com or give me a call (805)895-2304 and lets chat. My wait time is around 2 months right now, but I for see that going out to about 4 months soon. So get in while the wait is short! (Wait list updated!)
Now that I have switched painters, you will probably see one new frame in the next week or so, and then you won't see a new photos for a while, as they will be a paint in CO, it doesn't mean I am not busy building though.
Alright, off to the shop to polish some brass.
Here is a real good one from back in the day. I really started listening to the music in the late 90's, which meant lots of punk music. I listened to all kinds of stuff. Stuff all over the board. Coachella is right around the corner and I am not going! I have been the last 4 years, but I'm kind of over the whole scene that Coachella has turned into. Maybe that or I'm getting to old. I digress. Here is one band that I would have loved to see there. Refused always seemed to find there way on my warm up play lists before bike races too.
It is with great pleasure that I
bring you this news: something exciting is going down at Stinner
Frameworks. It’s been something we have been working toward for quite
some time...and the time is now! Although we had hoped to unleash this
before NAHBS (which just wasn’t going to happen with how busy we were),
we are thrilled to announce that the time has come.
I
had the luxury to rub elbows with the boys of Spectrum Powderworks at
NAHBS. Our meeting was brief but effective. I’ve wanted to work with
these guys for a long time, but I just haven't had the time to chat with
them and really figure out if it would be the right fit. I have been
talking to them via email since the show and working out the details.
I’ve been crunching the numbers to make it so that we can work together
and still deliver a great product at an excellent price for our
customer.
As most of you may or may not know,
finding quality painters that have good turn-arounds are hard to find.
Very hard to find. Some painters have wait times as long as builders.
Some painters charge so much that my frame prices would go through the
roof. My goal as a builder has always been to supply a great basic
product at an affordable price.
So, from this point forward, Spectrum will be doing all of the painting for Stinner Frameworks!
You
may question: what does Spectrum do that we didn't offer before?
Previously our frames were treated, prepped and powdered by a local
powder coating company in California that did an unbelievable job. They
were great to work with and had great turn-around times. After the
frames were powdered, I would then apply a top mount vinyl decal. The
vinyl was great quality and allowed me to offer my frames at a
reasonable price. Spectrum takes this process to the next level.
Spectrum still preps the frame and does a high quality base powder. They
then airbrush our decals on top of the base powder (no vinyl
required!). This ensures that the finish is smooth and flawless. After
the decals are airbrushed on, Spectrum applies a clear powder
coat to protect the graphics and the base powder. Minor disclaimer: a
few decal colors won't work with this process, and there are other
options that we can discuss should the situation arise. So to make a
long story short, everyone will be getting a show quality finish on
their Stinner!
However, better paint means more
money. Previously we were charging $350 for a paint upgrade. Some people
were more than willing to take the jump, some weren't. In my opinion,
the upgraded paint is well worth it; it’s something I get on all my
personal bikes. It is a special frame, after all.
Now
you are probably asking yourself: so how is this going to affect the
pricing? Are you going to increase all paint costs by $350? That seems
like a lot! No. We’re not going to raise our prices $350. But we will be
raising them by $200, which I think is a great deal. For only $200 more
you will get that much better of a finish. It’s a finish that I believe
makes frames that are given so much effort and attention, that much
more valuable. Top quality frames deserve top quality finishes. So
effective immediately our pricing will increase $200. Normally I would
give some advance notice with a price increase, but the increase is not
for personal gain; it is to deliver a better product to our customers.
We hope you can understand. Our frames will start at $1200. That’s still
a great deal and one we hope you will consider.
We will still be giving the NAHBS discount, which is 10% off complete bike orders if you get your deposit in by 4/30/12!
So, that being said, please give me some feedback. Let me know what you think of the change.
Otherwise, I look forward to working with you and with Spectrum to deliver top quality custom frames.
Obviously, being a framebuilder, in the US, there is a lot of talk about US made products and trying to reduce our footprint on the earth we live on. Bicycles are obviously a great choice for this. Trying to reduce our amount of wastefulness is important. Too many times we are intrigued to by the cheaper product that burned a hole in our ozone layer just to get here from the other side of the globe. Or buy the carbon bike that can't be recycled and will probably just end up in a landfill when everything is said and done. One of the many reasons I got into this business in the first place is because of these principles. I don't mean to get all 'hippy' on everyone, but sometimes I lose sight on this from time. Keeping a low impact is good. Supporting sustainable US business is important. We don't want to lose the craft. That being said, enjoy this video.
Life has been settling back in after all the NAHBS hype. I got back at the bench mid last week and started getting things done. I'm still trying really hard to hit my deadlines that I give people. I think its really important to give realistic deadlines and to hit them as close as possible. There are too many people in the bicycle industry that are flakey and/or unreliable. I don't want to get that reputation.
The day we got back from NAHBS my buddy/client Chris Ellefson got to take his show bike out and give it a real good test ride. It was great to see the bike go from show floor to dirt trail in less than 24hrs. Chris rode it hard, took a spill pushing it on the descent (first scrapes!) but had nothing but great things to say about how it handled. Its always great hearing about how the bike you worked on is just how they imagined it. He even liked the pinner T10 bars that were on the bike, which wern't the ones that he wanted. So overall, the show bike was a success, from show floor, to the trail. Just like we like it.
I met some really cool people at NAHBS. In fact all I met was cool people. Not a single person I talked to was negative at all. One person in particular that was really nice to meet was Patrick over at Red Kite Prayer. RKP focuses mostly on road stuff. Their articles are top notch and they aren't "bike snobs" either. Recently he posted this article on his website "de-briefing" NAHBS. I have read a lot of blogs and articles over the last week about the show and nothing comes close to this article. Patrick nailed it. Hopefully it encourages the people that have negative things to stop typing so loudly.
I have copied and pasted the article below. Obviously this is straight off of red kit prayer and I hope they don't mind me spreading this article around.
This is my favorite shot from the show. This is Mark DiNucci, a true god of frame building giving a pat to his heir-apparent, Chris Bishop. The thrill on Bishop’s face is more than apparent and the esteem which DiNucci offered was truly sincere. Bishop didn’t just get a nod from DiNucci, Peter Johnson, the greatest frame builder you’ve never heard of, said he plans to mentor the upstart.
When I think of the many consumer events that have been organized for cyclists, I mostly think of events that failed after, at most, three years. It’s not that they weren’t good events, that they didn’t bring together interesting people. It’s that they didn’t bring together the dedicated cyclists who will make or break an event. Don Walker, I’m here to tell you, is an unheralded genius. The seventh edition of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show hosted more than 8000 attendees, a record for NAHBS and, I suspect, any U.S.-based consumer bike show. Had you seen the line out the door of people waiting to buy tickets on Saturday you could be forgiven for thinking Don Walker was selling kisses with Taylor Swift.
Okay, that said, I’m going to keep this real. Very real. Don gets criticized for a great many things. He has a very specific view of what the show ought to be. Some folks think he needs to loosen up, take a chill pill. What people need to keep in mind is that NAHBS is what it is because it wasn’t designed by committee. It’s the brainchild of one very particular guy. That’s how entrepreneurs work. They dream stuff up and make them happen. Inventions are not the products of focus groups. So Don needs to be credited with making happen a bunch of people just talked about for years.
Let’s say that again: Don actually made this happen.
This Cherubim was given Best in Show. For obvious reasons.
Yep, there are people who want the event to be different than it is. They want it to be friendlier, have more drinking, have more riding, have clearer criteria for the awards judging, have more volunteers so the builders don’t have to leave their booths to deliver a bike to judges, and have other, non-Don-organized events be a part of the official, sanctioned buffet of events that are part of the weekend. The dissonance is because well-meaning folks want Don’s brainchild to be even better, but their suggestions sound to Don like bashing. Constructive criticism is hard to deliver. And when the intended listener isn’t accustomed to hearing it from ham-fisted delivery boys, the experience isn’t much fun. Don is like a great many sensitive artistic types, and a bit thin-skinned—not that I’ve ever rented from that suite. I’m aware that people have trashed the event from time to time, including one popular blogger. How anyone can dislike the event is beyond my ken. If you step back and look at the bigger picture, it’s easy to see that the event brings together many of the best frame builders practicing the craft. To collect that many passionate craftsmen in a single location is no small achievement and the opportunity for cycling enthusiasts to speak with some of the best out there is an opportunity rarer than a blue moon.
Following two years at less-than-exciting venues (Indiana and Virginia), Don has hit two consecutive home runs with Austin and Sacremento. It may be that his awareness of the need to draw cyclists from nearby metro areas may be contributing to the show’s increased success. Next year’s venue—Denver—would seem to reinforce that view.
The junction of head tube, stem, top tube and … well, that other bit that isn’t quite top tube made for a truly exceptional-looking bike.
The only criticism I could possibly level at the show is that he has suffered some erosion of previous top-tier exhibitors. While I did see a Vanilla, Sacha White wasn’t there, nor were Peter Weigle or Hampsten. What’s significant in this is that Sacha was one of the “original six.” Don may need to hire a salesman trained in customer retention.
Everyone’s favorite question of the show was, “Are you having a good time?” It’s a bit like asking the president of the United States if he feels powerful. He better. I had a terrific time and didn’t hesitate to tell people there was no place I’d rather be. To put my enthusiasm in perspective, I used my experience at Interbike in the mid-1990s as an example. Back then, tubing suppliers Reynolds and Nova Cycle Supply bought significantly large booths; if memory servers, they were on the order of 10×30. And beyond displays of their tubing, they would have racks displaying the work of their frame builder customers.
The seat mast design of this bike left little room from saddle adjustment. The builder had to have a high level of confidence for the fit.
I spent way too much time in their booths. I mean, I was sometimes late to appointments because I spent so much time hanging out there geeking out over the frames shown by acknowledged masters like Weigle and Carl Strong.
But here’s the thing: The quality of the worst work at this year’s NAHBS was better than most of the work I saw in those displays. The overall quality of work by frame builders displaying at NAHBS is extraordinary. Don’s enduring legacy in the bike industry will not be as a frame builder; it will be for his work in uniting the community of frame builders with an event that helped to elevate their craft and make these guys rock stars, even if only for a weekend. His work to help promote the work of these guys has resulted in countless orders that would otherwise have been sales to Trek, Specialized or Giant. Those guys will be fine, but an extra 10 sales per year for one of these news guys can make or break a year. A career.
The seat cluster from a fillet-brazed frame by Dave Kirk.
I was asked to be a judge for the awards this year. It was a request I accepted with some honor and an acute sense of responsibility. The experience was challenging while ultimately leaving me feeling rewarded. That said, there were frustrations when there were simply more bikes than could be recognized. The naked, fillet-brazed frame submitted by Dave Kirk was one of those bikes that deserved even greater recognition than it received. A “naked” bike, such as this really gives you the opportunity to see just how symmetrical the brazing is; there’s no hiding bad or even mediocre work. I felt badly that this bike escaped without a nod. Similarly, there was a gorgeous mountain bike submitted by Independent Fabrication that would have been an instant winner in most other circumstances but when pitted against the hand-pinstripped work on a Vendetta track bike, it went home empty-handed. Ouch.
Fewer than 1 in 10 frames I see with hand-painted details measure up; this Vendetta was truly memorable.
If you’ve never attended NAHBS and have any sort of affinity for hand made frames, you owe it to yourself to go, even if just once, and see the quality of this work. And, if you have a significant other who doesn’t get your love of bicycles, take them. Really. I caught a great many scraps of conversations between bike geeks and their wives and girlfriends who appreciated the artistry of the bikes on display. Witnessing non-bikies digging bikes gave me a huge smile.
Great article right? Keep up the good work boys. Its back to the bench for me. My wait list is still around 3 months. I have been talking to a lot of people post show about bikes. If you or anyone else is interested. Let me know. Cheers.
Here is a great song to get you all started off right on this monday.
Man, the last three days have just flown bye. It was an honor to be exhibiting at NAHBS and we had a great time being there. We had a lot of support from friends and family and it was great to see everyone. We also met a ton of new people that we are excited to be working with in the future.
By now, most have heard that I was lucky enough to get Rookie of the Year / Best New Builder. It is quite an honor. Thank you to everyone for your kind words and support. If I haven't got back to you yet, I will soon. There were a ton of great new builders at the show and each of their bikes were stiff competition. I'm glad everyone came packing punches. It was a lot of fun.
It was also great meeting all of the other builders. There were so many talented people at the show. There were so many great builders that I have looked up to for so long. It was great to meet you in person and I appreciate all of the advice and constructive criticism. Keep it coming!
Thanks to Don Walker and Lesley Schommer. You guys did a great job and I really appreciate it.
Ok. So on to the good stuff. Most of you haven't had a chance to see the bike. I was very pleased with how it turned out, and apparently so was everyone else. Here are most of the pictures we were able to take before the show. I'm sure more pictures will surface as the week goes on.
There was a lot of creative bi-laminate work that people really seemed to enjoy. The big thing for me was doing the 142 rear spacing. It was a huge learning experience and I want to thank everyone involved with making those dropouts come to life. Please leave comments and let me know what you think.
I hope you guys like it. One last shout out and thanks. BIG THANKS to Noah Rosen at Velocolour for making this bike look absolutely beautiful. And a big thanks to Suzanne Carlsen at Poka for giving the big the ultimate personal touch. You guys are great and I can't wait to work with you again.
Oh and Chris Ellefson. Enjoy the bike man, go get 'er dirty. Thanks for pushing me to become a better builder.
