Here are the latest builds from Max and I. Max I and got matching frames except I got mine equipped with S&S couplers. Both of us are short but wanted to have frames that allowed for wide 700c tires.
Although both of us are residing in the Bay Area, we hope to come down and ride through Wilder as much as we can. Max is currently working at the Sports Basement in San Francisco and I'm working at Recycle Bicycle in Berkeley and working as a production intern. Seriously, being an active member of the Bike Coop pretty much guarantees you a job leaving college. This is pretty useful if you're like Max and I, who got degrees in Music and Film.
The frames were built by Traffic Cycle Design. Traffic Cycles is run by Spencer Wright, a former Bike Coop core member, now based in New York. Spencer makes bikes of all shapes and sizes, from monster cargo bikes to elegant belt driven bikes.
Max has a lighter and more modern build with a SRAM Force group set and an Ultegra/Open Pro wheel set.
My set up is a mix of old and new. It features dia comp bar end friction shifters, Sugino Alpina compact cranks and a 105 group set. The shifters and the cranks can be ordered through our distributor Velo Orange.
The Gran Cru brakes and Nitto m12 rack are also from Velo Orange. We currently have a set of the brakes in black at the shop.
The cables on the frames are routed on the top of the bikes to prevent mud and dirt from interfering with shifting. My bike is equipped with cable connectors to allow for quick dismantling.
The bikes have a braze on where you can attach a pulley that allows the use of a bottom pull derailleur. This picture also shows the downtube coupler that can be loosened to take apart the bike in half.
I built the rear wheel using a lacing pattern called three leading three trailing. The Bike Coop is a great place to learn how to build wheels. If you're interested, ask a core member and they can guide you through the process. It's not difficult but, it does require patience. It is definitely worth the investment of time and money as hand built wheels will last you a lot longer than machine built wheels.
If you are interested in building up a bike, let us know what you are interested in and we can hep you out. We have many distributors and can order parts that we don't usually stock. Keep in mind, build up a bike from scratch is usually more expensive than buying a bike complete. The benefit is that you get a better bike with parts you picked out and the satisfaction of putting together a bicycle yourself. We can also order other bike related items such as clothing and bags. I'll save that info for another blog post.
